After forty minutes of continuous bombing, 180 Swan bombers, escorted by 40 fighter jets, began to return. Of the remaining 150 dive bombers, except for 35 that had exhausted their bombs, the remaining 115 remained over the battlefield. Among the 40 dive bombers,
Under the protection of fighter jets, they continued to suppress the Shanxi Corps of the Qing Army uninterruptedly.
The Shanxi garrison of the Ming Army had already advanced simultaneously during the attack (5:00). When the Ming Army stopped in Shanxi and accepted negotiations, the forefront had already advanced to Xiaoyi County. Now after an hour and a half of mechanized rapid advance,
When the first bomb fell on the Qing army (6:35), the Shanxi Ming army had already advanced to Qingxu County and Taigu County.
By the time the Ming army bombed the large fleet and returned, leaving only the dive bombers to maintain suppression (7:15), the Ming army's leading troops had already appeared far south of Taiyuan City, only a few kilometers away.
Now during the war, the headquarters in Beijing has been in operation, so the response will not be like the one on D-Day, which only reported to Guangwu a few hours later. About an hour after the bombing started, Guangwu had already learned the news.
By now, when the vanguard of the Ming army arrived at the gates of Taiyuan City, Guangwu had already learned that Nan Ming had been attacking for one hour and fifteen minutes.
Guangwu has now passed the initial state of shock. Now he is holding his forehead and staring at the various reports and memorials in front of him with red eyes. The generals are busy in the command room, and there are calls one after another everywhere, and each one seems to be...
It was a needle pricking Guangwu's temple.
At present, only the situation of the attack on the eastern battlefield is relatively detailed. The situation in the western battlefield, that is, Shanxi is still unclear.
The telephone system in Taiyuan City was destroyed by Nanming spies. Now we can't contact you by phone, so we have to use telegraph. The problem is that the telegraph can't explain clearly. Taiyuan only said that a large number of planes were flying overhead, and then they heard a non-stop call from the north outside the city.
The explosion caused the ground and window glass to tremble. A large amount of thick smoke was blown into the city by the north wind, making people choke and breathless.
I don't know the details.
As for the eastern battlefield, the reported news is relatively accurate. After all, the Central Plains Corps has been preparing here for a long time, and various basic fortifications and facilities are relatively in place. What they do every day is to prepare for the sudden attack of the Ming army. So now it is really
was suddenly attacked by the Ming army, and it was definitely much more violent than the western battlefield, but at least the Central Plains Corps was not reduced to chaos.
What Guangwu is puzzled about now is how the Ming army knew that its Shanxi Corps was hiding in the dense forest in northern Taiyuan?
Could it be yesterday's so-called "Taiyuan intelligence"? Obviously not. This was obviously a long-planned attack by Nan Ming. Looking back now, everything that happened yesterday was just Nan Ming's show. What's hateful is that he actually did it.
I've been fooled, stay with me
Nanming made a fool of himself. His own government spokesperson spoke righteously in front of the whole world and vowed to "refute the rumors", saying that the Qing army did not have a single soldier in Shanxi... Now it was like giving himself a big slap in the mouth, and then he had to fight again
Losing front teeth and swallowing:
——He was obviously a sneak attack, but he became a sneak attacker in front of the whole world; while the Ming army was obviously a sneak attack, but he became a legitimate defense in front of the whole world.
…
Guangwu thought bitterly as he approved an order twice and threw it to the staff officer standing aside:
"Conceal aircraft at each airport to conserve strength. Except for necessary reconnaissance forces, contact with the enemy is prohibited! Take it and launch it!"
Then, he signed another order and threw it to another staff officer:
"Order the Central Plains Corps to pay attention to air defense and concealment, stabilize the troops at all costs, stick to the defense line, and not retreat! We must stabilize the troops, stabilize and stabilize again! This is the top priority! Take it and send it!"
Then, he signed another order and threw it to the third staff officer:
"Order the Beijing-Tianjin Corps to immediately deploy 8 Manchu Eight Banner Divisions, move south along the Jingnan Line within three hours, and establish a defense line along the Jingnan County along the Baoding-Shijiazhuang line to prevent the Shanxi Ming Army from attacking the Zhili Plain from west to east!
Take it and send it!"
"The headquarters of the Central Plains Corps of Power Generation ordered its troops to deploy about 100 more large-caliber anti-aircraft guns to strengthen Jinan's air defense circle and strictly protect the Yellow River Bridge!"
"Your Majesty!" A staff officer hurried over, dug in with a Qian'er, and said, "Mr. Xuzhou Wu Yingshou called and asked for instructions whether to shrink the 20 divisions along the coast of the Shandong Peninsula to the central part of the peninsula?"
Ulanala Yingshou? Commander-in-Chief of the Central Plains Corps?
Guangwu pinched his forehead, waved his hand and asked:
"What did he mean? How did he say it?"
The staff officer repeated:
"Your Majesty, Lord Wu means that these 20 divisions are placed on the Shandong Peninsula to prevent the Ming army from landing. But if the Ming army lands, its naval gun firepower will definitely be far greater than that of our defenders. If we directly defend the port, our defenders will
The army is bound to be overwhelmed and cannot be lifted.
At the beginning, heavy losses would be suffered before the Ming army could land. In addition, there were more than ten large and small ports along the Shandong coast that met the landing requirements. These 20 divisions were dispersed and garrisoned. The strength of each place was too weak. Once the Ming army concentrated,
If attacked, it may be difficult to defend.
"Master Wu means that these 15 divisions will be transferred from various coastal ports to the inland. In the center of the peninsula, they will not only avoid the Ming army's superior sea and air firepower, but also occupy the inner line advantage, and can quickly concentrate on the Ming army's landing.
Port, to meet the Ming army with superior strength. And if the direction of Xuzhou is tight, these 20 divisions will be closer to the reinforcement..."
Guangwu waved his hand and frowned:
"No, tell him that there are enough troops in the direction of Xuzhou. The problem now is not how many more divisions and how many divisions are too few. As long as his troops can fight, it will be enough to remove dozens more divisions. Those 20 divisions are mine
It is placed in Shandong specifically to prevent landings. If not placed in the port, where should it be placed?... He also wants to concentrate it inland? And the 'inside advantage'? You can ask him for me, if there is no air superiority, concentrate it inland.
Lu, can he still be transferred back?
"Navy guns? I don't know how powerful the Ming army's naval guns are? But at least the naval guns can only fire for a while, just hide in the trench, and then you can directly attack the Ming army. If they are all concentrated inland, that's not possible
He who is hit by bombs intermittently, let alone marching, can he guarantee that the troops will not be blown apart? Go ahead and tell him this! Let him fight well and focus on the direction of Xuzhou, and ignore the affairs of Shandong for now."
"嗻!"
Then another air force staff officer came over:
"Your Majesty! All the reconnaissance planes sent to the front line of Taiyuan have been shot down! Lord Bai, please give me instructions, is it..."
"Keep sending!" Guangwu said angrily, "If you shoot him down, you won't send anymore? What do I want him for? What do I do with so many pilots? I ask him to conserve his strength and not to fight against the Ming army's aircraft.
That's an air battle! I didn't say no reconnaissance! Tell him, if you don't do anything today, no matter how many planes are dropped and how many people die, you have to figure out the losses of the Shanxi Corps! Take all the photos for me.
!Go!"
"嗻!"
After giving a series of orders, Guangwu fell weakly in his chair and stared blankly at the large map on the wall.
...The Beijing-Tianjin Corps has already begun to be used.
He never thought that the battle would reach this point. There are 5 Imperial Guard Divisions and 14 Eight Banners Divisions. There are only so many troops left to defend the capital. Now 8 troops have been deployed to defend the south.
, there are only 11 left near the capital. Five of them are still noble.
The Imperial Guard Division has an advantage. The equipment level and the quality of the soldiers of the Imperial Guard Division have not been mentioned. But who knows whether these young men can fight? I came to power in a coup, and I still know the situation of the various armies around the capital. As for the Royal Guards,
Teacher, he is not as optimistic as others.
Although Guangwu ordered continuous reconnaissance to find out the situation of the Shanxi Corps. However, he ordered the Beijing-Tianjin Corps to be deployed to establish a defense line along the Baoding-Shijiazhuang line, which was a clear sign that Shanxi was lost to the Ming army... In fact, this was not true.
The solution is the most realistic choice to make when there is no way to save the situation.
Shanxi now only has the 20 divisions of the Shanxi Corps. Now it has suffered such a large-scale bombing by the Ming army. It is in the woods and the density of troops is so high. The losses must have been quite heavy. In nearly December, the mountains and forests of Shanxi were almost dry.
Digging wood to make fire... Under the double attack of bombs and wildfires, Guangwu estimated that the Shanxi Corps' casualty rate would be at least 30%. If not too optimistic, it is estimated that the casualty rate would be half.
Even if the casualty rate is only 25%, it is difficult to expect them to be able to restore their organization, organize defense, and meet the Ming army.
After fighting the Ming Army for so long, Guangwu can almost guess it now: at the same time as the bombers took off, the mechanized and motorized units of the Shanxi Ming Army were already rolling towards the north. By this time, they may have arrived
Taiyuan. In other words, as soon as those half-burned soldiers climbed down the mountain, they were about to face the Ming army's surging tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled artillery.
Therefore, the Shanxi Army can no longer be counted on... Then Shanxi can only be lost to the Ming Army first. What needs to be ensured now is the North Zhili Plain and the Beijing-Tianjin defense circle.
…
The eastern battlefield, Suzhou-Suining-Suqian, is the first line of defense of the Qing army.
The soldiers of the Qing army are now huddled in the trenches, with their eyes closed and their ears plugged, shivering in the tremors of landslides and ground cracking, experiencing the feeling of the end of the world.
The Ming army started attacking at six o'clock in the morning, but they haven't seen a single shadow of the Ming army yet. In the past two hours, there were only explosions on the position. Tons and tons of soil were lifted into the sky. No one dared to raise their heads.
Look. Otherwise you will never see the sun, you can only see the billowing smoke and the black soil that is constantly being lifted up into the sky.
The sky is covered by bombers that are still roaring and flying in formation, dropping dense "hail bombs". These small bombs are specially designed to deal with trenches. Although the power is relatively small, their high density can always
Many of them fell directly
into the trenches. Moreover, it is said that it is "not very powerful", but "relatively small", which is compared with aerial bombs of several hundred kilograms. These "small bombs" are also modified with 100mm mortar shells, and they themselves are not very powerful.
It's just a heavy artillery shell.
Once a "hail" falls in the trench, it will immediately kill all the soldiers in the trench that is nearly ten meters long. At the same time, if it is a narrow trench, then this section is no longer a trench, but a large
diameter crater. In addition to bombs,
On the Ming army's position in the south, the same sky-blocking artillery shells flew over. Those earth-shattering explosions on the Qing army's position were probably the masterpieces of these artillery. Every time these 150 mm heavy artillery shells landed, they could hit meteorites
Same effect.
This time, the Ming Army changed its previous practice of directly advancing with tanks and made long-term firepower preparations. The Ming Army Headquarters knew that the Qing Army’s Central Plains Corps was fully prepared this time, and both the strength and firepower density were quite large. If the Ming Army did not
Make firepower preparations and use tanks to advance directly, I am afraid the losses will be relatively large.
Although this kind of long-term artillery bombardment and then charge was a standard style of play in the European War from 1914 to 1918, the Ming army had never used it against the Qing army since the war between the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Although this style of play is traditional, it is also
Very classic. Long-term fire preparation is a very effective fighting method that humans have long explored in hot weapon warfare. Not only can it kill as many people as possible before charging,
Injuring enemy troops and destroying fortifications can also cause the enemy troops hiding in the trenches to suffer great mental torture. If the enemy troops are loosely disciplined and weak in will, they are likely to have a mental breakdown. - Therefore, this kind of warfare is very important.
The method should still be very useful in dealing with the Qing army. What's more, when the Ming army charged, it was not flesh and blood that faced the enemy's machine guns and barbed wire, but tanks.
At eight o'clock in the morning, after three hours of fire preparation, the Ming army tanks began to charge.