The latest situation in Central China has been half a month since the end of the battle. In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed. Except for the 9th and 12th Corps, which suffered the smallest losses in the entire battle, they stayed in Yangzhou, Taizhou and other places, under the command of Chief of Staff Zuo Quan.
, relying on the danger of the Yangtze River, in addition to confronting the remnants of the Japanese Central China Front Army. The remaining 6th, 7th, and 8th field corps include hundreds of thousands of guard columns, special operations divisions, and artillery columns directly under the field army.
The army all returned to the base area for a short rest and the replenishment campaign ended successfully. The military deployment and strength comparison between the enemy and our armies in the entire Central China region can be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes compared with before the war. As the commander-in-chief of the East China Field Army
Liu Hua, the commander, must of course understand the latest situation he needs to face as soon as possible.
Within the headquarters of the East China Field Army, a huge combat conference room was tightly protected by several guards. And in this conference room, a huge combat sand table clearly displayed the entire terrain of China.
Come out. Of course, small flags of various colors also let everyone know clearly that currently within the territory of China, the Chinese army, the Japanese army, the Kuomintang army, and the local warlord Sichuan troops are
Specific troop deployment.
Although the entire war room is very large and can accommodate hundreds of people. However, due to the confidentiality of our military's military deployment, only commanders above the local corps level participated in the entire meeting.
After a quick glance at the dozen or so senior commanders in front of him who could decide the fate of the entire East China Field Army, Liu Hua, as the host of the meeting, spoke first.
"Comrades, time flies and half a month has passed. Regarding the battle half a month ago,
I am here to tell you very responsibly that our East China Field Army has achieved unexpected and huge results. This is because we directly expanded the combat goal set before the war, which was to capture the Japanese heavy artillery brigade, into total annihilation.
The Japanese army's three field divisions and one heavy artillery brigade drove the Japanese Central China Front Army out of all areas south of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province. Not only was our East China Field Army General Headquarters very satisfied with this huge victory, but even those as far away as Taiyuan
The Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee was also very satisfied and sent us a congratulatory message."
"Bah bang bang... Although the conference banquet was full, there were only less than fifteen people. However, the warm applause of these people immediately overwhelmed the entire war room and waved their hands to all the people, including political commissar Deng Xiaoping.
When all the participants looked at him with their fiery eyes, Liu Hua changed the topic and continued to speak.
"However, what I want to tell you here today is that the greatest result we achieved in this battle was not how many little Japs were annihilated or how much heavy equipment was captured. It was that through this battle, our East China Field Army changed the world in one fell swoop
The comparison of the strength of the enemy and our armies in the entire Central China region,
It has to be said that although many of the Communist military cadres who can serve as first-level commanders of the corps are from poor backgrounds. However, years of leading troops to fight have still cultivated everyone's high military literacy. Liu Hua's voice just fell,
The eyes of more than a dozen people were fixed on the combat sand table in front of them at the same time. At this moment, the faces that were very excited just now slowly revealed a thoughtful look as they deepened their thinking.
.
A few minutes later, Deng Xiaoping, the political commissar of the military and political affairs, first spoke: "Commander-in-Chief, you are right. Judging from the current situation shown on the sand table, in the entire Central China region, only from the perspective of the army, our East China Field Army has already
It has an absolute advantage.”
Seeing Liu Hua in front of him nodding in agreement, political commissar Deng Xiaoping continued to speak.
"Not only that, the entire central China region, in addition to our East China Field Army, plus the hundreds of thousands of new troops in southern Anhui. The hundreds of thousands of troops can completely defeat the Yangtze River with the existing troops and solve the problem of being trapped in the area in one fell swoop.
The remnants of the Japanese Central China Front in Nanjing and other places"
Seeing his eyes shining brightly, the political commissar who was full of confidence in the future of the East China Field Army. Liu Hua nodded silently, and then said: "The political commissar's analysis is very correct. According to the latest intelligence, the Japanese Central China Front Army, after this battle,
It has been reduced sharply from the original twelve field divisions to nine. Except for the three field divisions left in Hunan and Hubei, there are only six divisions left in the entire area south of the Yangtze River in Central China. The total strength is not
To two hundred thousand people.”
"As for our East China Field Army, after this battle, the total strength has not decreased at all, but has increased a lot. This is the data that Deputy Commander Wang just calculated before the meeting. After this battle, through the treatment of prisoners of war,
Through the reorganization and the recruitment of new soldiers, the total strength of each combat corps will rise to 50,000. In other words, the total strength of our East China Field Army will increase to 300,000 in a short period of time...
,
"The total strength of the Japanese Central China Front Army is less than 200,000, while our East China Field Army has reached an astonishing 300,000. In terms of strength alone, we have an absolute advantage. Of course, in addition to the advantage in strength, there are also
There is a certain advantage in firepower..."
"After this battle, all the artillery captured by our East China Field Army on the battlefield can be organized into eleven artillery regiments after unified reorganization. Except for one field artillery regiment left for each corps, the artillery columns directly under our field army have been
It has six heavy artillery regiments under its jurisdiction, and the number of artillery pieces with a caliber of more than 100 mm has reached nearly a hundred. However, our opponent, the Central China Front Army, has only two independent artillery regiments in addition to the artillery regiments directly under each division.
The strength and size of the field heavy artillery regiment's artillery is just two-thirds of ours. Therefore, in terms of firepower, our East China Field Army also has an absolute advantage." Liu Hua pointed to the combat sandbox in front of him with a look on his face.
Said movingly.
Liu Hua's words, it can be said, made everyone's faces show a look of sudden realization.
Immediately afterwards, excited expressions appeared on everyone's faces for the first time. However, the face of Deputy Commander-in-Chief Wang Zhen, who was standing next to Liu Hua, unexpectedly showed a hint of excitement.
There was a look of doubt. Then, he spoke.
"Commander-in-Chief, since our East China Field Army has an absolute advantage in terms of strength and firepower, then when can we cross the Yangtze River, recapture the city of Nanjing from the little devils, and wash away the shame of our Chinese nation?
In the huge conference room, Wang Zhen's words were like a bombshell, shocking everyone. Just as his words fell, the eyes of dozens of commanders were all focused on Liu Hua.
Waiting for Commander-in-Chief Liu Hua's answer.
Seeing everyone's gaze, Liu Hua smiled and then explained.
"Comrades, in the explanation just now, I just let everyone see the advantages our East China Field Army currently occupies compared to the Central China Front Army. However, I did not let everyone see the disadvantages of our army. As Deputy Commander Wang said,
With these two advantages, we are fully capable of taking back Nanjing City. However, have you ever thought of a question? What is the first problem we need to solve if we want to conquer Nanjing City?"
"The ferry chief ordered that if we want to recapture the city of Nanjing, we must first cross the Yangtze River.
In order for the troops to cross the Yangtze River, which is known to be naturally dangerous, a large number of ferries must be available... Political Commissar Deng Xiaoping said.
"The political commissar is right, the ferry is indeed the first thing we need to solve. However, I believe that with our current strength, solving the ferry is not too difficult."
"So, I think the first thing we need to solve is not the ferry, but the Japanese cruise fleet left in the Yangtze River lane..."
"Look, if you want to cross the Yangtze River, depending on the speed of the ferry, it will take at least half an hour. In other words, our ferry will have half an hour to be exposed to the muzzle of the enemy warship's gun.
By then, I can say with absolute certainty that our ferry will become the best target for enemy naval guns."
"Of course, this is only one reason. There is another important reason, which is the enemy's air power. You can imagine that during the process of crossing the river, there would be nearly a hundred combat aircraft, continuously strafing and dropping bombs above everyone's heads.
How many people can we have in our army to cross the dangerous Yangtze River?"
For a moment, as Liu Hua's words fell, everyone's faces showed a heavy look. Because, in everyone's mind, the image of our army under the combination of enemy warships and aircraft during the process of crossing the river appeared.
The scene of massacre under attack... Six minutes later, Deputy Commander Wang Zhen was the first to speak, with a look of unwillingness: "Commander-in-Chief, do we really have no chance to cross the Yangtze River and regain the city of Nanjing?"
"At least not possible in a short period of time." Liu Hua replied affirmatively.
"Because, we need to solve these two huge obstacles in a short period of time. As long as these two obstacles are solved, the cross-river battle will be a common occurrence for my powerful East China Field Army.
"Judging from the current situation, the first thing we have to solve is the Japanese navy fleet left in Nanjing." As he spoke, a sneer appeared on the corner of Liu Hua's mouth. Seeing the expression on Liu Hua's face in front of him,
Wang Zhen, who had a full understanding of Liu Hua, knew that the commander-in-chief of the front line must have thought of something to deal with the little devil. So, a pair of eyes immediately looked at Liu Hua in front of him, waiting for Liu Hua's next trace.