The sound of tank gunfire and explosions immediately attracted a large number of Ming troops from all around. Although it was dark in the cattle shed and could not directly see the Qing tanks, the nearby Ming troops saw one of their tanks burning. In front of the cattle shed opposite
When the straw is flying, you will understand.
The various light weapons around first started boiling, and several Woodpecker machine guns screamed. Bullets penetrated the earth walls from all directions and penetrated into the barn. Then, loud anti-tank gunfire fired one after another, and the earth walls of the barn were opened.
One big hole after another appeared, and it turned into a sieve in an instant.
If the Qing soldiers inside had not hid in the tank, how many of them would have been reduced to meat by now.
Hundreds of Ming troops armed with various light weapons opened fire while slowly approaching from all directions. Grenades were also thrown over one after another, exploding inside the livestock shed.
Several grenades exploded, and the roof of the barn was gone. Two of the four earthen walls were almost collapsed, and the outline of a tall tank with a cold metallic glow could be clearly seen inside.
It's Balutu.
Strings of machine gun bullets and anti-tank bullets passed over its armor, sparks flying everywhere.
This is not because Ming soldiers were firing indiscriminately due to nervousness. Now, the warheads hitting Qing tanks are no longer ordinary warheads, but exclusive 7.92mm anti-tank warheads. This warhead has a tungsten carbide core in the middle.
It can be used for both rifles and machine guns, similar to the German "K bullets" during World War I. Every machine gun group of the Ming Army will be equipped with some of these bullets, which are luxurious and expensive for other countries. And units like armored divisions are equipped with a large number of bullets.
There will be many more.
A large number of tungsten-core bullets were swept towards the Qing tanks like water, demonstrating the confidence of the world's largest tungsten-producing country.
But this seems to be in vain. Balutu's armor is really difficult to shake with such small-caliber armor-piercing bullets.
Two Lightning-3 tanks turned their tracks and approached from the side and back paths. Probably feeling the vibration of other tanks approaching, the Qing Army's Barutu tank suddenly started up and suddenly emerged from the barn.
Get out, keep rushing forward, and at the same time quickly turn the turret, trying to shoot the Ming army tanks.
Barutu suddenly emerged, and the entire stable collapsed completely, and a large cloud of dust shrouded the surroundings. The surrounding Ming troops were shouting and coughing, and evacuated in all directions. In the smoke and dust, the only sound was the dull dull sound of the Maxim machine gun on the Barutu tank.
, the sound of slow shooting. The surrounding Ming soldiers were hiding behind obstacles, listening to the whizzing bullets passing by their ears, waiting for the expected sound of artillery.
As soon as the smoke thinned, two Ming tanks opened fire at the same time. Balutu's rear and side were hit by two bullets at the same time, and flames suddenly burst out. The top cover of the turret was lifted, and as soon as the Qing tank commander got out, he was shot from all sides.
The bullets sifted
, threw himself on the turret. But his body was forced out from inside. The Qing gunner crawled out in a hurry, his back was on fire, and he was beaten to death before he could jump to the ground.
Through the sieve, the pain immediately ends.
No one could climb out anymore. Balutu suddenly let out a series of explosions, and the entire turret was opened. The shells inside kept exploding, and fireballs shot into the sky one after another, like fireworks inside a rotten can.
.
…
On the afternoon of the 6th, the 16th Group Army, led by the 1st Armored Division of the People's Guard, pursued northwest along the railway line, passed through the hilly areas, and appeared in the south of Mingguang County. However, the Ming army did not attack Mingguang immediately.
In the south, they bypassed Mingguang and pushed westward. On the afternoon of the 7th, they advanced another 50 kilometers and arrived southwest of Bengbu, where they joined the 20th Group Army and the 22nd Group Army who had fought from Chaohu.
After two days of rapid advancement on the 6th and 7th, the right army group used armored tracks and car wheels to leave hundreds of thousands of Qing troops behind, and then got in front of them, blocking their way back. Now,
The first strategic encirclement has been formed, and the Qing troops east of Chaohu and Hefei have been pocketed.
The Qing army is bounded by Hongze Lake and Gaoyou Lake to the east, the Huaihe River to the north, the 20th and 22nd Group Armies of the Ming Army to the west, and the Yangtze River to the south. Of course, there is also a Jinpu Railway running through the middle, and the 12th Group Army has advanced along the Jinpu Railway to
Huaihe River.
Jiangsu, east of Gaoyou Lake and Hongze Lake, is already an area controlled by the Eighth Army. Now the Eighth Army has reached Sihong, which means that there are Ming troops even north of the Huaihe River.
In addition to rivers and lakes, the Ming army also used actual troops to surround the Qing army on all sides, cutting through the middle with a knife.
The Qing troops placed into the first strategic encirclement were:
There are about 2 remnants of the original Qing army in Chuzhou, about 3 remnants of the original Qing army in Liuhe County, 1 Qing army division in Tianchang County, 3 Qing army divisions in Xuyi County, 3 Qing army divisions in Mingguang County, and the original Quanjiao County
There are 3 remnants of divisions, 2 remnants of divisions in the original He County, 2 remnants of the divisions in the original Hanshan County, 2 divisions in Dingyuan County, and 5 divisions in Fengyang and Bengbu.
The Qing army that fell into the first strategic encirclement, the scattered remnants, plus the organized and relatively intact troops, totaled about 26 divisions, with a strength of about 300,000-320,000.
The news of the successful encirclement was transmitted back to the headquarters, and the Purple Mountain Fortress was filled with joy. The top management of Nanming had been immersed in the great excitement brought by the victory for the past three days. Except for Xiang Xiaoqiang, no one expected that they would achieve victory in such a short period of time.
Such a huge victory. This is simply a fantasy.
In the four days since the war started, the Central Command Hall has been bursting into applause. Every once in a while, the radio lady will announce a major victory, and the whole hall will burst into jubilation. By the fourth day, everyone is now used to this intermittent
I'm more used to it.
The news of the encirclement had just been read out on the radio. In front of an inconspicuous conference table, a group of senior generals were sitting together, looking at the huge map on the wall, and listening to Xiaoqiang analyzing the situation.
Amidst the storm of applause and cheers throughout the hall, Xiang Xiaoqiang calmed down, but had to raise his voice and said loudly:
"...The current strategic situation is: We have already eaten the Qing army on the north side of the defense line in the eastern section of the Yangtze River. However, the main Qing army of 200,000 on the north side of the defense line in the middle of the Yangtze River is basically still outside the encirclement.
Intelligence came in frequently. Guangwu was constantly ordering the 200,000 Qing troops north of the middle line of defense to attack us from the flanks.
The Qing army launched an attack. This part of the Qing army is indeed concentrating in the east and west directions, trying to attack the flanks of the two army groups on my left and right. It is obvious that neither the senior officials of the Qing court nor these Qing army generals have understood the situation.
It was so serious that I didn't realize that these 200,000 Qing troops would be surrounded at any time.
"Now, we have two options. The first is to concentrate on the armored and motorized corps, and eat the 300,000 Qing troops in our mouths first. The second option is to let the armored divisions and motorized infantry divisions
Continuing to advance, one branch crossed the Huaihe River to the north and advanced toward Suqian, Suzhou, Haizhou, and Xuzhou. The other branch headed northwest
Advance forward, bypass the Dabie Mountains from the north, join forces with the left army group, pocket the 200,000 Qing troops in the middle section, and strive to win a bigger victory in the first round. In this case, the Qing army will be in Xuzhou-Luoyang.
South of the line, there will be no main force anymore. The door to the entire North China Plain will be completely open to us.
"But having said that, if we first capture the 300,000 Qing troops in the encirclement, we can create a solid bridgehead for our army to attack below. A series of military stations, logistics supply lines, airports, etc. can be established and occupied.
We can also make use of this section of the Jinpu Railway to greatly enhance our transportation capacity.
"Both options have their own pros and cons. In order to maintain our army's lightning offensive, no matter which one we choose, we have to make a decision tonight at the latest so that we can continue the attack early tomorrow morning. What do you have to say, sir?"
General Feng Lingcai, commander of the right army group, looked around and said first:
"Although I am the commander of the right army group, I think we must consider the situation of the left army group. After all, the two army groups do not fight in isolation. They need strategic cooperation. Currently, the left army group
The battlefield is already
In Henan, they are marching in two directions: east and north at the same time. One group needs to go north to Luoyang and advance into Guanzhong, and the other needs to go south to Zhumadian and Xinyang, echoing our right road and encircling the Qing army in the middle section. This is also in line with the advance.
of strategic planning.
"Now, in the left army group, the Fourth Armored Division led by Lieutenant Colonel Rommel has approached Zhengzhou. It is the furthest advance among all our armies. In other words, the farthest front of our army has been drawn.
It has reached more than 300 kilometers. Even our right army group and the Eighth Army have bypassed Hongze Lake from the north and captured Sihong. The battle line has also been stretched to 250 kilometers. Everyone, our next question will be
It's a supply line."
The people at the table listened to him and still didn't understand which plan he was in favor of. When he said that the two army groups must cooperate with each other, everyone thought he was in favor of encircling the Qing army in the middle section first. But what he said next
In a sudden change, the issue of supply lines was brought up again. Then everyone thought that he advocated eating the 300,000 Qing troops in the eastern section first.
However, the current advancement distance, the furthest is about 300 kilometers, will not cause supply difficulties. But he is right, the "next step" will face the problem of supply lines. At the current advancement speed, time will not be
It will be too long.
Feng Lingcai continued:
"Therefore, I think the top priority is to eliminate the Qing army in the middle section north of the Dabie Mountains, which split our two army groups into two. In this case, our two theaters can be connected into one, the Dabie Mountains will completely belong to us, and we can establish
A new supply line passes through the Dabie Mountains, taking care of the troops on the east and west sides from the middle, greatly shortening the distance between their respective supply lines."
Xiang Xiaoqiang was a little surprised:
"Crossing the Dabie Mountains?"
"Yes, Sir Xiang," Feng Lingcai smiled at Xiang Xiaoqiang, "please see, there are many big cracks in the middle of the Dabie Mountains. These are large valleys that run from north to south, and three of them are relatively flat. Our Yangtze River Defense Line
The mountain fortress in the middle section is
In the Dabie Mountains, we also built roads that lead to the defense line. We used these three roads to transport supplies from the Wuhan Plain in the rear to the middle defense line, and then dispersed the supplies to the peaks through countless small winding mountain roads.
Inside the fortifications.
"Sir, please see, the road distance from entering the mountains to our main fortification zone is about 40 kilometers. Of course, our roads are only built up to here, and beyond that is the area controlled by the Qing army. But from here to the plains in the north
In this area, the distance is much shorter, only 20 kilometers. Although there are no asphalt roads in these 20 kilometers of valleys, there are dirt roads from Beiqing. Of course, the quality is not very good, but there is no problem at all for car transportation.
"
Xiang Xiaoqiang stared at the contour lines on the big map and the road marks on it, and nodded slowly. He didn't study the Yangtze River Defense Line deeply. He didn't know that there were roads running through the north and south of the mountain defense line. He
I originally wanted to ask, wouldn't this line of defense become a decoration? But I immediately understood and didn't ask such a stupid question.
In an environment where there are dangerous mountains and overlapping fortifications on both sides, what if you are given a road? Not to mention the Dabie Mountain defense line, it is the Fangcheng Corridor, which is more than 20 kilometers wide in the middle, and there are only some sparse roads on both sides.
The low hills didn't make the Ming army just want to persuade them to surrender, but they didn't want to attack by force? This is called one man guarding the pass, and ten thousand men can't open it.
Of course, if, as he said, the 200,000 Qing troops in the north of the Dabie Mountains are wiped out and the entire Dabie Mountains are in hand, these valleys can be transformed from Guimen Pass to Yangguan Road. As long as you pass through the Dabie Mountains, you will see the Henan Plain outside.
Xiang Xiaoqiang was also a little hesitant. He looked at Zhang Zhaoxian and Tang Yunsheng to see what they meant. But one of the two veterans lowered his head to drink tea, and the other leaned on the backrest and looked at him with half-squinted eyes, as if they wanted to see him perform.
.
Xiang Xiaoqiang turned to General Fang Dongcheng, commander of the left army group, and said with a smile:
"What do you think, Mr. Fang?"
Fang Dongcheng was very straightforward:
"What Mr. Feng said is what I want to say. I also agree to encircle and eliminate the Qing army in the middle section as soon as possible."