kingnovel Chapter 1164 The situation is clear
Chapter 1164 The situation is clear
"Commander, the situation reports from all directions have been gathered. To our east and southeast are the 5th and 7th Divisions, and to our south and southwest are the 9th and 3rd Divisions. In addition, to our west are friendly forces from the 5th War Zone, but we have just communicated with them and do not know if they can still hold our western flank."
Zhang Haiguang's chief of staff said with a stern face, "When Li Shaoyi took off from Hankou, the entire Fourth Army had already sent a telegram to the Fifth War Zone Command, stating that we would not obey the command of the Fifth War Zone Command and that the resistance against Japan would proceed at our own pace."
As for the various awards established by the Hankou government, the Fourth Army members were too busy with the urgent war to collect them. This was practically a complete falling out, and who would have thought that less than a week after the falling out, we would encounter such a thorny issue.
"Is this your first day on the battlefield? Or have you just woken up from a dream? Can you rely on others when you're fighting? Haven't you figured this out by the time you arrived at the Battle of Pujiang? The only people you can rely on are your own brothers. You expect others to hold the west for you? Are you kidding me?"
Zhang Haiguang said irritably, "Although the Fifth War Zone has its share of tough guys, the problem is we don't have many around us. And because of the telegram already sent, even now that we're inside the encirclement, we haven't seen anyone from the Fifth War Zone send us a telegram to inquire about anything."
"Commander, shall we move closer to the main force now?"
Chief of Staff Wang is clearly a professionally trained officer. He had only served as a regimental commander before and had never commanded a division-level operation. His appointment as chief of staff this time was temporary.
"It's impossible to get close to the main force now. If we head north, the six divisions in front of us will follow closely. If we leave our backs to them, that will be the beginning of our casualties. By the time we rejoin the main force, we don't know how many of our men will be left. So we must take them by surprise to achieve victory."
After Zhang Haiguang finished speaking, not only was the chief of staff dumbfounded, but everyone in the operations command room fell silent. We're surrounded by the enemy! Six or seven divisions are eyeing us menacingly, their forces outnumbering us several times over. We're practically begging to escape, and you, sir, are still thinking about how to achieve victory?
When Zhang Haiguang looked up, he saw everyone's surprised expressions. He didn't blame his men; after all, most of them were young men who had just graduated from military academy and had never encountered such dangers on the battlefield. But he, Zhang Haiguang, was different. There were far more dangerous things on the grasslands, but he had overcome them all. He had seen all kinds of storms and waves, and he wanted to broaden the horizons of these young men.
"Listen up, everyone. Quickly assemble our troops. By 3 p.m. today, all troops must be concentrated within a 5-kilometer radius of me. At 5 p.m. today, our entire division will launch an attack on the 9th Division to the south."
After some research, Zhang Haiguang finally focused his attention on the Ninth Division. This was mainly because the road to the Ninth Division was mostly flat and did not involve water towns. If they went to other places, the water systems in Jiangnan alone could trap all of their mechanized troops.
A full-scale attack on the Ninth Division?
Some people present rubbed their ears hard, wondering if they had misheard. Even if we retreat now, we still have a chance; at most, we'd lose one or two regiments, and we could still get back to the main force of the Fourth Army. But if we continue south, wiping out the Ninth Division should be possible, but then we'd truly be surrounded.
"Division Commander, should we contact the Army Commander and the others to see what their plans are? If we continue south, the distance between us and the main force will increase. When the Japanese are in our middle, we will truly be an isolated force."
Lei Bing, the brigade commander of the First Brigade, said with some concern that although he had come from the north with Zhang Haiguang, Zhang Haiguang's bold fighting style still made him feel a little scared.
"Why are you getting more and more timid, kid? Have you forgotten the days when you only had 17 cavalrymen charging against more than 300 men? Compared to that time, we seem to be in a much better position now. Why are you telling the corps commander this? As long as you charge south and wipe out the Ninth Division, and at the same time we can establish a foothold in the area, do you think the corps commander will abandon you?"
Zhang Haiguang grinned, revealing a mouthful of bright white teeth. This guy's specialty was manipulating his superiors. Anyway, I'm already there; I can hold out for a few more days. If the brothers back home can't provide support, then that's definitely your problem.
Moreover, in Zhang Haiguang's view, this was also the most important way to destroy the Third Army.
If we were to engage in a protracted war with the Japanese, with each side stabbing and shooting, who knows how long it would take? Moreover, the situation would be too unpredictable, and we might very well take the wrong path, leaving us with no idea how to rectify the situation.
Therefore, taking this opportunity to wipe out their Ninth Division would be a sure way for the Japanese to go crazy and leave Zhang Haiguang there, which would significantly reduce the number of Japanese troops in front of the Fourth Army. Given Ma Leizi's methods, he would definitely order most of his troops to move south, clearing a retreat route for Zhang Haiguang. At the same time, the air force's transport planes would be busy, transporting all sorts of supplies to Zhang Haiguang at any cost.
Zhang Haiguang dared to fight so boldly because of the formidable combat power of the Fourth Army. Furthermore, he had seen nearly 200 transport planes in the provincial capital. With these 200 transport planes, there was no need to worry about us being an isolated force. As long as we found an open space on the battlefield, our planes could continuously drop supplies. Did they really think we could starve?
Li Shaoyi once said, "We don't know what it's like in other units. But in our 72nd Army's camp, if you're allowed to go hungry, your superiors will be in big trouble. From your squad leader to the division commander, everyone will have to write a self-criticism, asking how they treat their soldiers, letting them go hungry..."