HLnovel Chapter 563 Preparation for Battle!!
Chapter 563 Preparation for Battle!!
Sanzhangling, the Northern Expedition Command Center.
At this time, a crowd of people gathered, and when Luo Xuhui and Zhao Huang entered the command room, there were already quite a few people there.
The two looked at each other, found their seats immediately, and then sat down quietly. In this command room, solemnity could be seen on everyone's face.
Obviously, this will be the beginning of a new round of war after a short break.
"Brigade Commander, everyone is here." Zhang Shanwu worked with a staff officer to hang up a map and present it to everyone.
This map covers a large area, including Chuncheng and Bingcheng in the north, and Shengjing and Jincheng in the south.
As the map hung up, Lin Tianchen withdrew his gaze quietly. He used the visual map to check the surroundings. After all, commanders at all levels were now gathered in this command center. If the news leaked out and a heavy artillery fire came down, the command system that he had cultivated for a long time and was proud of would not collapse, but it would definitely cause the Tiger Brigade and other surrounding troops to panic.
So he needs absolute security.
After seeing everyone take their seats, Lin Tianchen turned to look at Zhang Danwu.
"Let me explain the situation to you all."
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Danwu picked up a piece of information on the table and his face became very serious.
"According to the latest intelligence from the intelligence department, four divisions have been mobilized from the northern border toward Ice City. The armored divisions in the northern border have begun to move toward Ice City, and the mechanized forces have approximately 200 tanks."
"In addition, the people within Chuncheng have begun to secretly expand outward from Chuncheng to many areas, centered around it, in addition to the southern part of the city. This is obviously preparation for a large-scale cluster operation."
As soon as Zhang Shanwu finished speaking, everyone in the command room looked much more serious. They could foresee that the next battle would be difficult, but they had not expected that a fully reorganized tank division would actually be released from the Far East and ready to participate in a head-on battle with them.
The Japanese made large-scale mobilizations, and Chuncheng avoided fighting. It was obvious that such mobilizations were intended to crush the enemy with overwhelming military force.
There seemed to be not much they could do about this. No matter how accurate the artillery fire was, street fighting was still the most difficult to fight. After all, there were too many places to hide in bunkers. Even though the Tiger Guards Brigade was invincible, casualties in street fighting ranked first.
Moreover, the Japanese obviously learned their lesson and began to dig trenches and increase shelters to protect against artillery fire. In addition, the Japanese heavy artillery began to disperse, which put considerable pressure on the heavy artillery units. Although the firepower was reduced a lot, the trouble caused was rising sharply.
Basically every commander was aware of these situations. Even Emperor Zhao, who had just arrived in the north, only knew these situations and looked very serious. Although he could foresee that it might be a large-scale battle, he never expected that the Japanese would directly dispatch an armored division and four divisions of the Kwantung Army this time.
This is obviously an ultra-large-scale troop operation. The victory or defeat of this battle is enough to affect the trend of the three northeastern provinces.
"So many tanks..." Emperor Zhao muttered to himself, with a serious look on his face. The military strength was actually not equal. The troops in the north were indeed large in number, but the Japanese had more people than them.
Zhao Huang was filled with fear of the Japanese tank group, as he had participated in the Battle of Peiping-Tianjin.
The Japanese army had three divisions and two brigades, about 100,000 people, and was supported by 200 aircraft and more than 100 tanks.
Their main force was the 29th Army, plus the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, the Northern Army, and other forces totaling more than 300,000 troops. However, they were still defeated by the Japanese.
As it stands now, the 3rd Regiment, the 714th Regiment, the 4th Regiment and several other regiments are not in Chuncheng. Excluding non-combat personnel, they have less than 50,000 people. They do not have an advantage in terms of military strength and are at an absolute disadvantage.
Although they had about twenty tanks, he really had no idea how to fight them.
The Japanese did not hide their tracks at all, and it was obvious that they wanted to fight a major battle.
Emperor Zhao thought a lot about the Japs' intentions, but still couldn't come up with a way to deal with them. Either he could attack Chuncheng, where street fighting would be absolutely difficult, or he could only wait for the mechanized troops to arrive and set up some ambushes in the process. But would the Japs be unprepared?
After all, the situation in Chuncheng is such that it is impossible for them to retreat.
In fact, not only Emperor Zhao was thinking, but everyone else was also thinking. Everyone's brows were tightly furrowed. It was Zhang Danwu who broke the dullness of this identity.
"Now that the Shengjing equipment has arrived, each regiment will send a platoon of combat personnel to form an anti-tank platoon. Contact the logistics officer, Lan Pingli. He has made plans for anti-tank weapons and some ammunition."
"At the same time, the war is not just here. The Japanese have launched large-scale attacks in East China, South China and other regions. They have even moved from Zhejiang to Jiangxi. This is roughly the situation."
Zhang Danwu briefly informed Lin Tianchen of the situation and then looked at him.
Many people have learned from the information that if they want to launch an attack on Chuncheng, they either have to attack the supporting troops or the entire army enter Chuncheng and fight the Japanese to the death. After all, they are difficult to fight in street battles, and it is difficult to defeat the Japanese even if they have tanks.
Emperor Zhao just thought about it and felt that both of these were unlikely. The Japanese reinforcements were definitely a large-scale battle force. If he could not gain an advantage on the battlefield, it would be another troublesome thing when the Japanese from the direction of Chuncheng came out.
The second option is a complete gamble, cutting off one's own retreat.
But Emperor Zhao actually preferred the former, using a large-scale battle force to fight the Japanese. This way, at least the initiative would be in their hands, and they would have more autonomy and would not have to defend Chuncheng to the death.
Although his mind was filled with countless thoughts, Emperor Zhao's gaze finally fell on a figure in front of the map. After all, the direction of the battle and how to make decisions all required Lin Tianchen's approval.
"You all heard what Chief of Staff Zhang said. However, we cannot let Chuncheng go. We must even control Chuncheng. Therefore, we can only take the initiative to attack."
"We won't engage in street fighting. The Independent Regiment will focus on the west side of the city, the 37th Division will focus on the east, and the New 2nd and New 1st Regiments will focus on the north. I will arrange for garrisoning in the south. Remember, you only need to control the breach at the city gate so that you can quickly evacuate Spring City later."
"This is the Japanese troop distribution map around each gate in the city. You must hold on until you are ordered to retreat."
Lin Tianchen looked serious and raised his hand. Zhang Danwu and other staff members immediately pulled out some related maps.
Lin Tianchen did not stop talking, but continued to make arrangements:
"I will personally command the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Tank and Armored Regiments. I will reserve two mortar battalions for the Spring City area. The attack time will be based on the bombardment."
Lin Tianchen spoke in a very serious tone.
Everyone in the command room looked thoughtful, and only at this moment did Emperor Zhao truly feel how courageous Lin Tianchen was.
Only four gates of Chuncheng were attacked in order to avoid getting involved in street fighting. The Japanese would definitely provide support, which meant that they wanted to cut off the Japanese in Chuncheng from the outside world.
The 1st, 2nd and 5th Regiments will obviously move the main battlefield outside Chuncheng.
"Perhaps you've figured it out. What I want is for you to conduct a counter-attack at the city gates. I want to cut off the coordination between the Spring City Japs and the mechanized troops... As long as you can hold the line, I've already chosen a burial site for the troops heading south."
Lin Tianchen's tone was full of confidence. As soon as these words came out, all the commanders who received the order to attack the city stood up in an instant, their faces full of determination.
"Guaranteed to complete the mission!!"
"Immediately adjust the position of your own troops and wait for the attack order."
"Yes!!!"