As for the overall situation, it is controlled by great men personally, just like the three major battles in history. Although there is no accurate estimate of where the two battlefields of the Western Front and the Eastern Front will be, they will certainly not be too close, so they are not
It does not require too detailed cooperation, so this arrangement is appropriate enough. Hu Weidong is naturally very relieved about this, and Xu Xiangqian is fighting in the Northeast.
The activeness of the battlefield has made his fighting spirit unprecedentedly high. Although the "seven battles and seven victories" have not yet been completed at this time. However, Hu Weidong is not a blind and arrogant person. He knows very well that fighting with large corps is not his.
In terms of expertise, there is only one person in the 15th Army who can surpass Xu Shuai in this aspect, and that is Hu Weidong's old partner Su Yu.
"Lao Su, do you think the Japanese will attack our canal defense line? Or will they divide their forces and march westward?" Hu Weidong asked while pacing in the headquarters.
Su Yu laughed when he heard this and said, "The canal defense line is like a dog chain tied around the enemy's neck, and the hinterland of the Central Plains is a very tempting meat and bones. I think the Japanese will eventually go west, right? But before that, they must
He will attack our canal defense line. After all, dogs always have to struggle when they are chained."
"This is best, as it can help us train new recruits, and it can also consume some of the enemy's troops and medicine." Hu Weidong said, but there was also worry hidden in his smile, "Actually, what I fear most is that the Japanese take the initiative.
return
Come on, if they leave only 200,000 to 300,000 people in Xuzhou to confront us across the river, and the rest of the troops retreat to the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou area as reserves and mobile corps, then it will be very difficult for us to annihilate the main force of the Japanese army.
Much bigger.”
"Based on the Japanese tradition of 'not shedding tears until they see the coffin', it should be difficult to make such a rational decision. And commander, didn't you say that? The Japanese economy is almost unsustainable. They are more anxious than us. I don't think so."
Are you so calm?" Although Su Yu was a little worried, he still smiled and comforted him a few words. b President deeply loves bb http:mnxub
"Yes, if the Japanese fight a protracted war, the Central China Expeditionary Force may survive a few more days, but Japan's economy will definitely collapse earlier." Hu Weidong said with a smile. At this time, the phone at the headquarters suddenly rang.
Get up, he immediately stepped forward and picked up the microphone
"Old Su, you are really a roundworm in the enemy's belly. The enemy really launched an attack on the canal defense line. The posture is quite large. Many places such as Hanzhuang and Taierzhuang were severely bombarded by the enemy." Hu Weidong put down his hands after listening to the report.
The microphone smiled at Su Yu.
After hearing this, Su Yu pondered, "It seems that the enemy actually knows very well that they can't break our defense line. That's why they put up a full-scale offensive posture. But in fact, they just want to attract our attention and want to attack."
It’s just a plank road built openly and a secret crossing to Chencang.”
"Just inform the Western Front Command. Mr. Peng is also a rough and tumble person. We don't have to worry." After hearing this, Hu Weidong couldn't help but sneered, "But with the current momentum of the Japanese, they might not be able to kill all 105mm and above
All the caliber artillery pieces have been retained, so the Western Front may be won more easily than expected."
"I'm afraid the Japanese army has no choice. Heavy artillery must be pulled by cars. However, when our army has complete control of the air, it is very difficult for such inconvenient and concealed heavy equipment to travel long distances safely with the army. Even if we use
Night cover will also seriously affect the marching speed. On the contrary, staying in the repaired fortifications to prevent our army from crossing the river may have some effect." Su Yu immediately guessed what the Japanese wanted.
However, he still suggested that Hu Weidong give the Western Front Command a warning. "Although the Japanese army's abandonment of heavy artillery will weaken their firepower advantage, it will also greatly reduce the adverse effects of losing air supremacy (those who are most afraid of air attacks are actually heavy
The equipment, the light infantry situation is much better.), and the mobility of the troops has also been greatly enhanced. The 18th Army does not have as good weapons and equipment as us, and if there are too many Japanese, it may still be a bit difficult."
"It's best to be around 300,000. 400,000 is just barely enough. If it's more, it will definitely be a mixed bag, even if you don't use the encirclement and annihilation style." Hu Weidong muttered, and the index finger of the hand that was pressed on the table repeatedly tapped the table.
Obviously he was still thinking hard. In addition to worrying about the Eighth Route Army eating
Not inferior to the Japanese troops advancing westward, he also had a small thought in his heart that he did not want to hand over too many military exploits to others. The 15th Army had advanced weapons and equipment that far exceeded other units of the Red Party. If the performance could not widen the gap,
If so, that would be too embarrassing
"No matter what, let's repel the Japs' attack first. The greater the price they pay, the more determined they will be to divide their forces and march westward. But we can't just defend. We must make the Japs aware of our threat to Xuzhou, so they won't
Dare to march westward with all our strength." Hu Weidong finally made a decision.
However, things in the world are not always as expected. Relying on solid civil fortifications and advanced defensive tactics, coupled with the protection of the canal itself, the 15th Group Army's defense on the canal line can be said to be impregnable. However, when the 15th Group Army takes advantage of
Long-range artillery on the canal
After the Japanese positions on the other side launched a retaliatory artillery bombardment, Hu Weidong soon discovered that the level of defense of the Japanese positions had been greatly improved without realizing it, especially in the survivability of the troops when they were intensively covered by artillery fire and the protection of the artillery.
These two aspects.
In the early days of the Japanese invasion of China, due to the extremely weak firepower of the Chinese army, especially heavy firepower, the Japanese army was more inclined to concentrate its troops in both charge formation and defensive troop deployment to strengthen local firepower as much as possible. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, most of the
Doing this in battle will be more convenient both offensively and defensively.
Yi. But it is precisely because of this that the Japanese will suffer big losses every time they encounter the Fifteenth Army. The reason is very simple. Ever since they made an unexpected windfall in Fengtai, the firepower intensity of the Fifteenth Army has far exceeded
Domestic level, and with the rapid development of military technology and production in the border areas,
With each passing month, it is now much stronger than the Japanese army, which makes the disadvantages of the Japanese army's excessive concentration of forces increasingly prominent. Previously, due to the limited strength of the Fifteenth Army, the predecessor of the Fifteenth Group Army, it could only achieve some tactical victories.
, so the Japanese have been reluctant to deal with the Ten more effectively.
The Fifth Army weakened its advantage in fighting other Chinese armies. However, since the New 38th Division miraculously killed 200,000 Japs, the Japanese finally realized that the threat of the 15th Army had exceeded that of all other Chinese armies combined.