Chapter 110 Practical observation with endless benefits
After hearing the order conveyed by the herald, An Yi was overjoyed. He immediately asked Huzi and Yin Jinan to summon the company commanders, company deputy, battalion gunnery platoon and five platoon leaders from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd platoons, and ordered the instructor of the first company Huang Yingwu to be responsible for communicating with each company.
The company instructor and each squad platoon leader stayed at the station to guard. Fourteen officers from the whole battalion rode horses of various sizes and followed the division commander to the observation point set up by the front-line division headquarters. Under the guidance of the division commander and staff
Observe actual combat.
After nearly an hour of galloping, the herald brought An Yi and his party to the low mountains on the right side of Pengjiatang, which was cleverly placed by the Second Division behind the positions of the Fourth and Seventh Army. The three main regiments of the Second Division were all hidden in
The formations in the depressions around the low mountains are ready, waiting for the call at any time.
This extremely secretive and well-located observation point protrudes 2.5 kilometers from the frontline headquarters at Henggou Bridge, 4.8 kilometers from the main position of Heshengqiao where the main force of the Fourth Army is attacking on the left front, and 4.8 kilometers away from the main position of the Seventh Army on the right front.
The position is only 3.6 kilometers long. Using a telescope, you can basically extend it to 12 kilometers from east to west, and you can have a panoramic view of the battlefield with a depth of seven kilometers from north to south.
An Yi arrived behind a short mountain more than 60 meters high, and immediately ordered his brothers to dismount. He laughed at the herald who blamed him for bringing so many brothers, and took out two packs of "Hard Gate" and a box of matches from his pocket.
He presented it respectfully, and promised that if the superior blamed him, he would bear it.
The herald put away the cigarette and matches and shook his head. He pointed to the observation point more than 60 meters wide above the short mountain and turned to do other things. The six company mates, instructors and five platoon leaders who followed him were extremely grateful to An Yi.
He knew in his heart that if the battalion commander had not insisted on bringing him to watch the battle, he would have lost this great opportunity to witness the decisive battle of hundreds of thousands of troops.
An Yi tied his favorite horse, the little black colt, to a tree stump at the foot of the mountain. He glanced above and then led his brothers to the edge of the mountain road at the foot of the east mountain and quickly went up the mountain.
Climbing the mountain col, I found a row of wooded and gentle areas at the bottom of the almost vertical mountain top on the left. An Yi was regretting that he didn't bring the seven-star knife carefully made by a master in Changsha, Hunan. His beard and second platoon leader Qu Tongyuan
They had already taken out their precious swords and folding engineer shovels and started fucking fiercely.
The brothers worked hard to help, carefully removing broken wood, carrying large rocks and quietly stacking them. In less than ten minutes, a stable observation point was built that could accommodate twenty people to crawl and observe.
Deputy division commander Xu Tingyao, who came with two guards from the mountainside more than 20 meters below, originally wanted to blame An Yi for bringing so many junior officers against the order, but when he saw the beautiful observation point constructed in an instant, he couldn't help but praise it loudly.
stand up:
"Sure enough, he is an engineer. I originally had my eye on this point, but the mountain road going up was too steep and the trees were too dense, blocking my view. I finally gave up. I didn't expect that after what you did, it would be better than the three set up by the division headquarters in the west.
Even better.”
An Yi, who was lying in the middle of the observation point, immediately moved his position, happily pointed to the spacious position that had been vacated, and smiled modestly: "Come here, deputy division commander, this position is the most comfortable. There is a naturally formed depression in the mountain below your body.
, it’s right at the lower abdomen, and it can’t hurt my little brother even if I lie down for a long time.”
The brothers couldn't help but laugh. Xu Tingyao climbed up a few steps and got down skillfully. He raised his hand and slapped An Yi on the head. After that, he turned to Yin Jinan on the right and asked him for a new telescope. He pointed it at the front right side of the Seventh Army position.
Looking out, he adjusted the focus: "This new telescope is really good. It is much clearer than mine. You can even see several prominent firepower points on the left wing of the Seventh Army clearly. Xiao Yin, please use my telescope.
It's on my waist, you can take it yourself."
"OK."
Yin Jinan moved cautiously, took off the telescope from Xu Tingyao's waist, crawled back to the position and raised it for observation. It seemed that the use of a less accurate telescope was not affected at all.
An Yi steadily held the heavy old-fashioned large-power telescope and looked very immersed in it. After a few minutes, he handed the telescope to Yang Fei on the left, and whispered that he had finished reading and passed it to the next brother, reminding everyone to look more at the enemy's and our positions.
Regarding the setup and firepower layout, seeing Yang Fei nodding, An Yi turned to Xu Tingyao who put down the telescope, and asked five very professional questions about the position setup and firepower layout. Xu Tingyao explained to An Yi one by one.
They all looked sideways at Xu Tingyao and listened attentively.
Xu Tingyao saw that this group of brothers seemed to understand his explanation, and the questions occasionally asked by a few people were very targeted, indicating that the understanding ability of this group of young low-level officers far exceeded the level of ordinary company and battalion commanders.
Xu Tingyao finished his explanation patiently and carefully, and ordered everyone to take a closer look at the intertwined situation between the enemy and ourselves that emerged after several hours of fierce fighting. Then he turned to An Yi and asked in a low voice what was going on?
An Yi answered without any concealment: "Since the beginning of the Northern Expedition, my company has been talking about some famous battles to pass the boring time at night. Later, it gradually transitioned to making sand tables to fight separately. Unexpectedly, this method was very popular among the brothers.
, slowly began to study and summarize the various battles that have occurred since the establishment of our army, so that we have the current foundation. Even the squad and platoon leaders who did not know a word in the past also participated in the analysis and analysis through time and again.
As we teamed up to attack and defend, the illiterate brothers gradually became familiar with all the signs on the sand table and the commonly used fonts and symbols. Later, I asked several brothers with higher education to write a booklet of military terminology for the illiterate brothers to learn.
Let them at least be able to understand telegrams and orders in future battles, and be able to write some simple reports and requests for instructions."
Xu Tingyao was greatly surprised: "No wonder... How long will it take for a brother who cannot read or write a single Chinese character to be able to read and write? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, it won't take long. My subordinates have already started. It will be effective in half a year at the latest."
An Yi chuckled, and whispered in Xu Tingyao's ear: "That booklet only has more than 500 words, and is used almost every day. In addition, every sandbox game is conducted by subordinates, and everyone on both sides of the offense and defense has to take it.
There are two oceans, whichever side wins will take it. My subordinate is the host and president. As a rule, I will take a 15% cut in the middle. If I win or lose on both sides, my subordinates will definitely make money without losing anything. The squad leader who loses more times will
You don’t even have to smoke, don’t worry, they won’t be in a hurry, haha!”
Xu Tingyao was so impressed that he couldn't help laughing and scolding: "You are so stupid! I guess casino masters like Jiang Mingsan (Jiang Dingwen) are not as stupid as you, but your trick is really brilliant. I believe your brothers will be able to do it soon."
To reach the level you mentioned, I would lose so quickly! Can you not put in more effort? Haha... By the way, send me the booklet you compiled later, and attach a more detailed learning experience.
If it can be promoted in the military, it will be of great benefit to improve the military level of grassroots commanders."
An Yi asked in embarrassment: "You don't need to write about the excitement of gambling, right?"
"Are you stupid? Who asked you to write about gambling? You won't replace it with things like competing for honors or moving banners?" After Xu Tingyao said that, he raised the telescope again and observed carefully.
In the next six hours, the experienced Xu Tingyao continued to explain dutifully and responsibly according to the battlefield situation. The brothers' eyesight was opened this afternoon and they benefited a lot.
The enemy and we fought until dark. Due to the day's fierce fighting and as many as seven fierce charges launched by both sides, more than half of the positions changed hands several times, and the offensive and defensive switches were instantaneous. It was frightening to see the Second Division on the low mountain.
Jumping, amazed, the sturdiness of the Fourth Army, the Seventh Army and the tenacity of Wu Peifu's elite troops were fully demonstrated.
Perhaps it was because both sides had exhausted their artillery shells. The sound of artillery started sporadic at 3 p.m. and then gradually disappeared. The sound of machine gun and rifle fire on the positions of the two armies seemed to suddenly become more violent. There were beacon smoke billowing on the positions and corpses were everywhere. But
The warring parties did not make any concessions or compromises. Except for the absence of hand-to-hand combat, various other tactics were used alternately and in unpredictable ways.
At 8:20 in the evening, the gunfire gradually became less intense, and the observation group of the Second Division retreated from various observation points. Under Xu Tingyao's instructions, An Yi asked the returning brothers to return to the camp, and asked for food and bathing. After that, they immediately started a discussion, led by Hu Hu and Yin Jinan.
Host, everyone must express their thoughts and lessons, and be sure to record everything they saw, heard, and thought today and compile it into a book. A war of this scale will have huge benefits for every brother's future military career.
.
An Yi returned to the division headquarters camp with a group of officers, had a comfortable dinner, and took a hot spring bath with the officers. He also took the time to meet with the two cooks Lao Qi and Lao Wang Huan who were snatched from his subordinates and sent to the division headquarters.
We chatted happily for a while.
After climbing out of the pool and putting on his military uniform, An Yi followed a group of energetic officers back to the conference room of the division headquarters. He saw the sand table quickly made by the combat staff. A group of generals, under the auspices of the division commander Liu She, all gathered around a three-meter-long table.
Around the four-meter huge sand table, a summary of today's battle situation and offensive and defensive deductions began.
Three hours later, the discussion ended after a sharp argument. Liu Zie ordered the chief officers of the three main regiments to return to their respective units immediately, and the rest to go to bed early to cope with the fierce battle tomorrow. The chief officers of the main regiment saluted and left in a hurry.
An Yi, who had gained a lot, was about to run away when Xu Tingyao called him back.
Xu Tingyao asked An Yi to stand aside and told Liu She, Hu Shusen and Yan Erai one by one about the sandbox games often played in the engineer battalion, and turned to An Yi in the surprised eyes of the three colleagues:
"You didn't say a word the whole night. Sometimes you looked sad, sometimes you were smug. You thought I didn't see it? Frankly speaking, what did you think of? There are only a few of us now. If you say it boldly, it doesn't matter even if you are wrong.
."
An Yi looked at the encouraging eyes of the four bosses, thought for a while, walked to Liu She, picked up a 1.5-meter-long pointing stick, and pointed it at the edge of the sand table at the northern shore of the vast ax lake on the far left of the Northern Expeditionary Army at He Shengqiao:
"My subordinates suddenly had an idea just now. If the Eighth Army uses the seventeen steamboats captured and surrendered in the Yueyang and Dongting Lake areas, and then drags seventeen large wooden boats to carry a division of troops, they can sail down the Yangtze River at night.
After getting off the boat, we walked through Chibi Jiayu and arrived at Beizhuang in the northwest of Axe Lake. The approximately 125 kilometers of waterway can be completed in eight hours. We then quickly sneaked 20 kilometers eastward from Beizhuang to 16 kilometers north of Hesheng Bridge.
Anshan immediately turned around and headed south, and followed the railway and the flat road on the left as quickly as possible to the back of Wu Peifu's defenders. Our 4th and 7th armies and two divisions of our army rose up to attack. Our army was attacked from the north and south.
The enemy army will definitely be difficult to resist. With their retreat route cut off and the morale of the army shaken, they can only resist for half an hour at most. However, my subordinates still don’t know the enemy defense situation in Beizhuang area, nor do they know the 20 kilometers from Beizhuang to Anshan.
I don’t dare to say anything about what the road is like, because if a division that goes around behind enemy lines is intercepted, it may not be worth the loss.”
Liu She and the other four looked at An Yi in surprise and praised him frequently. Hu Shusen said with great emotion: "No one proposed this wonderful idea in the meeting just now. Only you, An Yi, thought of it. This shows that your vision is quite broad."
, and the successful experience of the night attack on Tingsi Bridge was learned and used flexibly. This alone is worthy of praise.
In fact, this strategy was first proposed by General Bai Chongxi at the Supreme Military Conference last night, and it is very similar to what you just said, and it is completely feasible according to the intelligence behind enemy lines mastered by the headquarters. But General Tang Shengzhi
The Eighth Army replied that it would take at least five days to collect the ships and prepare them. At this time, Wu Peifu's direct troops were rapidly gathering in Hebei, Henan and Zhilu in the north. Within four days, they could move south to support the enemy from Wuhan to Hesheng Bridge.
.Sun Chuanfang, the warlord who has been entrenched in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian and Jiangxi for many years, has attempted to send troops to attack Changsha and cut off our army in the middle. However, he hesitated and stood still under the various persuasion of Commander-in-Chief Chiang and the wise men of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Therefore, our army must capture Hesheng Bridge and march straight to Wuhan in the shortest possible time in order to intimidate all parties to break Wu Peifu's persistent dream, and in order to force the direct troops who are about to come to aid or have come to aid to stop moving south and shake their morale, so that our army headquarters can persuade them one by one or defeat them one by one.
.
But I want to say that even if your plan cannot be realized due to issues such as time, fighter planes, and political factors, it cannot erase your excellent military qualities and broad vision. You made us very happy and surprised."
An Yi did not expect that his accidental flash of inspiration would receive such a high evaluation. He smiled sheepishly, put down his instruction stick and stood aside.
Liu She nodded with satisfaction and asked, "What did you gain from today's actual combat observation?"
An Yi said excitedly: "The Fourth Army and the Seventh Army are too strong, far beyond the expectations of their subordinates. Their officers and soldiers move quickly and fiercely, and are not afraid of death. When they charge, they are like a group of killing machines that don't know what death is. There is no
When ordered to retreat, they will never retreat. When retreating, they will choose the most advantageous undulating terrain to counterattack covertly. They can also suddenly launch local charges while defending. Several times, the superior enemy has no choice but to retreat. This fight is brave and strategic.
Extremely tenacious, my subordinates admire me deeply! I have never seen a real battlefield before, this is the first time, and I am deeply shocked. I even wonder, what if I have to fight them one day? Is it possible?
Defeat them? But I still can’t think of a way to deal with them.”
Liu She and others looked at each other in astonishment. They were speechless for a moment as they looked at this subordinate with such an imaginative mind. However, when he thought about it, An Yi's words could not be said to be unreasonable. This world is different from any other dynasty in history. There is no moral code and no moral code.
Aren't the major warlords and various groups fighting against each other in order to abide by the principles of life? They are sometimes friends and sometimes enemies? Let's not talk about the distant ones, let's talk about Chen Jiongming, whom Mr. Sun Yat-sen originally trusted so much, and then Yang Ximin and Liu Zhenhuan, and then Jiang Jiang.
The Guangxi clique warlord Shen Hongying, who rebelled and surrendered again, and others were at both ends of the spectrum, and there were so many people who saw nothing but profit and unrighteousness. Therefore, who can guarantee that the ten revolutionary armies today will all be allies working together in the future? Who dares?
Guarantee that there will never be an enemy among them who turns against each other?
An Yi looked at the unpredictable expressions of the four bosses and was too scared to speak anymore. He was nervous and asked himself what he had said wrong? Did he commit some taboo by talking nonsense? But he also got encouragement from the bosses.
That’s what I said!
Hu Shusen and Xu Tingyao laughed one after another when they saw the daring An Yi being so frightened.
The bosses who had calmed down all looked at An Yi with smiles. After some encouragement and comfort, they told him to go back and rest early and to obey the call at any time tomorrow.
An Yi quickly saluted and left. When he turned around, the four bosses saw that An Yi's back was soaked with sweat. It was obvious that he had been really frightened just now.
Yan Er Ai shook his head and said worriedly: "I heard from those students in the first and second batches that this guy An Yi often said something about things that were about to happen, and he spoke eloquently about some advanced ships, weapons and cars that had never been imported before. As a result,
Recent introductions have proven that he is right, I am really worried that his last few words today will come true!"
Liu She and the other three laughed, but no one denied Yan Erai's words. Instead, they deliberately avoided this embarrassing topic and discussed how An Yi had so many clever ideas. It actually made him think of using gambling money to stimulate the illiterate veteran ruffian under his command to read.
, I laughed out loud just talking about it, and it also relaxed my nerves after a stressful day.