kingnovel Chapter 1192 Following the Old Master
Chapter 1192 Following the Old Master
"Commander, I saw the 52nd Army on the way. They don't have much food or water either. Yesterday they ran into the Japanese and lost more than 2000 men in one battle. They're lacking all kinds of supplies, otherwise we..."
Zhang Haiguang swallowed the rest of his words when he saw everyone around him looking at him. Although we're all in the anti-Japanese resistance, we need to be clear about things. Why was our leader forced to return north from Hankou earlier? It was because those people didn't treat us as their own. If we send the supplies over now, they might think we're fools too.
"There are still some tough guys in the Fifth War Zone, including Commander Li. I know they are truly fighting against the Japanese, but sometimes there is a certain gap between them and us. Let's contact them and say that we don't have many supplies left, but we will still provide some support if we can."
Ma Leizi initially didn't want to get involved with these people. After being sent back by Li Shaoyi, he immediately felt that these guys were outrageous and wanted to sever all ties with them. But when they were actually on the battlefield of the War of Resistance, and his brothers were all speaking the same Chinese, how could he just ignore them?
"What is our overall strategy for the next step?"
Now that Ma Leizi was handling the matter, Zhang Haiguang stopped worrying about it. His purpose in returning to headquarters was to find out the next overall strategy. The Japanese had already made their westward advance their main operational plan. If the original plan to open up the Jinpu Railway was still in place, then we would definitely have to hold our ground along the Jinpu Railway and prevent the Japanese from advancing any further. Now, the entire Jinpu Railway front was basically at a standstill. The Japanese knew that we were a tough nut to crack, so they had all retreated outside the war zone to deal with the Fifth War Zone's troops, leaving us with some free time.
"I discussed it with headquarters, and we have two options. One option is to hold on to eastern Shandong, mainly the peninsula region. We can't hold the inland areas, so we'll have to give up some places that need to be given up. The other option is to maintain the status quo and respond to any changes by remaining unchanged."
When Ma Leizi spoke, there was a hint of inquiry in his eyes. It's important to know that although Zhang Haiguang was only an infantry division commander, he was very quick-witted, and in some ways, far better than Ma Leizi. Ma Leizi had already sent a telegram to headquarters, indicating that Zhang Haiguang was very likely to be promoted to Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army.
“Holding our ground in eastern Shandong is not our style. Even with the Japanese bayonets pointed at our eyes, we might not give up this land, let alone voluntarily. This is not the style of our Fourth Army either. So I support holding our existing territory and selecting a portion of highly mobile troops to help our brothers in the Fifth War Zone fight the Japanese. It’s not about helping them; fighting the Japanese is what we should be doing.”
Without hesitation, Zhang Haiguang immediately voiced his thoughts. To them, this territory was earned through the blood and sweat of their brothers; why should they just hand it over to the Japanese? And what right did these guys have to occupy their land?
“Your idea is what most people think, but if we do it this way, the burden on our shoulders will be heavy enough. We currently have more than 20 counties in southern Shandong, five counties in eastern Henan, two counties in northern Anhui, and four counties in northern Jiangsu, totaling nearly 30 counties, as well as more than a dozen counties in central Shandong.”
Upon hearing Ma Leizi's words, Zhang Haiguang instantly understood what Ma Leizi was hesitating about. "Our territory isn't small, but we don't have enough people."
The Fourth Army was responsible for the overall defense of Shandong Province, consisting of five divisions and two brigades. However, half of its forces were stationed along the coast. After the start of the war, no one knew whether the Japanese would land along the coast, so those troops absolutely could not be moved. If they were moved, the Japanese might very well attack our rear. We had spent a lot of money in the coastal areas.
This time, the higher-ups allowed them to build their own militia forces in order to alleviate the pressure on local defenses. We have far too many defensive troops stationed in various places. With the security regiments and militia stationed there, these troops can be freed up and become our mobile forces, specializing in highly mobile combat against the Japanese.
"Commander, we need to think of a way to deal with the troops in the Fifth War Zone. These men have seen blood on the battlefield. Some of them are bad at commanding, and some don't know how to fight. Anyway, they all look furious. I estimate that the Fifth War Zone won't be able to hold out for long this time. We need to take some of their men with us."
Zhang Haiguang stared at the map and said, "Recruiting is certainly necessary, but all those recruits are new soldiers, which is too troublesome for us to train. If we could get some veterans from the Fifth War Zone, we could combine the new recruits with the veterans and immediately send them to the battlefield, instead of having to wait more than three months to give these new recruits battlefield training."
"That's what I think too. When our leader retreated from Pujiang, he brought back more than 1 veterans, which was really impressive. Many of them are now our squad and platoon leaders. The Fifth War Zone has also fought several tough battles, and we can't just sit idly by. But it's not easy to poach their soldiers."
When Ma Leizi said this, he also marked the location on the map. We have already separated from many troops in the Fifth War Zone, which was something Ma Leizi did before. Now I regret it a bit, and it was a bit petty to do that back then, just to support Li Shaoyi, without thinking about what will happen today.
"Didn't the boss give us a demonstration when he was on the Pujiang battlefield? He first sent a telegram to the Fifth War Zone, indicating that we could take in some of the lightly wounded."
Zhang Haiguang thought for a moment and said, "Many lightly wounded soldiers couldn't get treatment in the Fifth War Zone and ended up dying on the battlefield. But it's different here. Each county has its own hospital, and we have ample medicine and doctors. As long as they bring the wounded over, they can be back on the battlefield in a few months at most. Plus, our pay is timely and our weapons and equipment are advanced. If he's not out of his mind, he'll definitely choose to stay in the 72nd Army Group."
After taking this first step, our reputation will be established. Once their army is scattered, will we have to worry about them not coming to join our ranks?