In the former enemy headquarters in Taizhou, Chief of Staff Zuo Quan was standing in front of the sand table with a serious face, thinking about the military comparison between the enemy and our armies in the entire Central China region and even across the country. At this moment, a combat staff officer,
Wearing an excited smile, he quickly rushed into the war room. Before Chief of Staff Zuo Quan could ask a question, the combat staff reported impatiently.
"Chief of Staff, Commander Chen reported a victory telegram. After half an hour of artillery battle. Under the joint attack of the artillery column and the artillery unit of the Ninth Corps, the Japanese army reinforced Zhenjiang's Yangtze River Defense Fleet, with a total of five destroyers, and none of them slipped through the net.
, all were buried at the bottom of the river. Our artillery column and all participating troops, except for the consumption of a lot of artillery shells, did not suffer any loss of personnel or equipment..."
"With zero casualties, all five destroyers of the Japanese Jiang Defense Fleet were wiped out. This Chen Guangrong, his fighting skills are getting better and better. He fought well... Quickly, forward the contents of the telegram to the Field Army Headquarters and report it to the Commander-in-Chief and the Political Commissar.
Waiting for someone to report the victory... If nothing else, the current commander-in-chief and political commissar are also paying attention to our battle situation all the time..." After a long sigh of relief, Zuo Quan, the staff officer, with an excited expression,
He ordered decisively.
"Yes, Chief of Staff..."
As the combat staff officer left, he saw Chief of Staff Zuo Quan in front of him. After a brief surprise, he once again fell into deep thought facing the combat sandbox in front of him. The ninth officer who had been staying at the headquarters and acting as deputy to Zuo Quan
Wang Shangfa, the chief of staff of the Corps, immediately realized something after carefully reading the telegram brought by the combat staff. Then, he asked the chief of staff in front of him with a puzzled look on his face.
"Chief of Staff, judging from the telegram, after annihilating the Japanese Jiang Defense Fleet, the most important obstacle that blocked our East China Field Army from launching a cross-river campaign has been completely cleared by our army. You see, our next step..."
"Haha, Staff Officer Wang, you really have a keen eye. Indeed, I am considering this issue now." Chief of Staff Zuo Quan nodded noncommittally, and cast a look of appreciation at Chief of Staff Wang Shangfa in front of him. Then.
, continued to ask.
"Chief of Staff Wang, the battle to completely annihilate the Japanese Jiang Defense Fleet was a final and decisive victory beyond imagination. Tell me, after the battle, how was the morale of the various combat units in the face of such a huge victory?"
"The momentum is like a rainbow..." Chief of Staff Wang Shangfa replied affirmatively.
"This is the telegram just sent by Commander Wang. The entire process of annihilating the Japanese Jiang Defense Fleet was almost seen in the eyes of all the commanders and fighters in the forward position. They saw the Japanese army's arrogant and mighty destroyers, under the attack of our artillery force.
, did not even have a chance to counterattack, and only persisted for less than half an hour before they were all buried at the bottom of the river. It can be said that the morale of the troops has been raised to the extreme. According to Commander Wang’s report, since the end of the battle, in his hands
We have received countless requests for battle from various combat units, requesting our East China Field Army to take advantage of the victory to launch a cross-river campaign, fight across the Yangtze River, occupy the important town of Zhenjiang, and give the Japanese army another wake-up call..."
"What else?" Chief of Staff Zuo Quan continued to ask.
"According to the latest intelligence sent by our army's observation posts deployed in forward positions and reconnaissance personnel hidden on the opposite bank, the Japanese army's river defense positions and tidal flat positions on the opposite bank were also greatly affected by the violent shelling. In addition,
The Japanese Jiang Defense Fleet that came up to give them hope was annihilated by our troops in front of their eyes. The Japanese and puppet troops in the entire forward position have fallen into a state of chaos where everyone is in danger."
"What's more important is the report of the telegraph operator in our telecommunications department who specializes in listening to Japanese military radio signals. Since the Japanese Jiang Defense Fleet was annihilated by our army, the frequency of Japanese radio signal transmission has not only increased several times. Moreover, these frequencies are not as normal as usual.
In comparison, it has also become chaotic. It is obvious that the Japanese command system has also fallen into panic due to the news that the Jiangfang Fleet was completely wiped out by our army."
Seeing Chief of Staff Zuo Quan in front of him, he nodded noncommittally to his answer. Chief of Staff Wang Shangfa decisively expressed his thoughts: "To sum up, Chief of Staff, I think now is the time.
Our army launched a cross-river campaign and crossed the Yangtze River, giving us the best chance to recapture Zhenjiang from the little devils..."
"Well, let me think about it..." As soon as Chief of Staff Wang Shangfa finished speaking, Zuo Quan's eyes once again fell on the sand table in front of him. Then, he fell into deep contemplation.
A few minutes later, a sharp look flashed across the corner of Chief of Staff Zuo Quan's mouth. Then, he gave a decisive order to Chief of Staff Wang Shangfa in front of him.
"Chief of Staff Wang, immediately notify the two commanders Wang Ping and Chen Guangrong to rush to the former enemy headquarters as soon as possible. Hurry..."
With the arrival of the two generals Wang Ping and Chen Guangrong, Chief of Staff Zuo Quan, without any hesitation, went straight to the point and stated the specific reason for convening the emergency meeting: "Commander Wang, Commander Chen. Before discussing the next issues,
I want to ask you a question first: do your troops still have the ability to continue fighting? Especially Commander Chen, your artillery column and the ammunition carried by the troops can still support the consumption of a protracted war..."
As soon as Zuo Quan finished speaking, Commander Chen Guangrong, who had a keen eye, realized something. He said confidently: "Chief of Staff, please rest assured that this time, we have brought enough artillery shells. The battle just now only consumed us."
To one-tenth of the artillery shell reserves. I can’t guarantee anything else, but what I can be sure of is that the remaining artillery shell reserves of my artillery column can supply at least a week’s combat needs..."
"Okay, where is Commander Wang?" Zuo Quan turned around and continued to ask.
"Chief of Staff, in the battle just now, the two armies assembled by our Ninth Corps, except for some artillery, almost did not participate in the battle. Therefore, the ammunition reserves in our hands are enough to sustain a long battle..." Wang Ping affirmed
replied.
"Okay, in that case, I will make it clear to you. I decided to change the original battle plan and launch a cross-river battle in advance. Taking advantage of the favorable opportunity when the Japanese river defense fleet was annihilated and the Japanese army on the other side was in panic, I assembled the Ninth Corps
The two main forces broke through the Japanese river defense positions in front of them in one fell swoop, occupied Zhenjiang, and gave the main force of the East China Field Army a strong crossing point on the other side of the Yangtze River..." After receiving affirmative answers from the two people, Zuo Quan spoke directly without hesitation.
said.
For a moment, the two people's faces immediately showed different colors. Chen Guangrong, who had been following Liu Hua for a long time, heard that there was another battle to fight, and it was after the Battle of Crossing the River. One face, immediately
He had a look of eagerness and determination. On the other side, the steady Commander Wang Ping had a very cautious look of worry on his face.
"Commander Wang, if you have any questions about this decision, you can raise them directly..." Seeing the expression on Wang Ping's face, Chief of Staff Zuo Quan said.
"No doubts, just a little worried. After all, we have less than two armies in our hands, and the total strength of the Japanese troops on the other side of the bank is an entire division. Without any advantage in strength,
Next, wouldn’t it be too reckless to suddenly launch a cross-river campaign... In addition, after several days of preparation, although the number of ferries in our hands has increased. However, all the ferries combined can only cross the river in one go.
Three regiments, less than 5,000 troops... With 5,000 troops without any heavy weapons, can we occupy the beachhead and hold it, waiting for reinforcements from the main force..." Looking at the combat sandbox in front of us.
, Wang Ping quickly expressed his worries...
In response to Wang Ping's series of rhetorical questions, Zuo Quan nodded in agreement. Then, he said a situation that no one knew: "Commander Wang, you don't have to worry about the troop strength. I can guarantee that as long as the cross-river battle is completely completed last year,
Within three days, at least one regiment of troops will come to reinforce you. In addition, more than 3,000 special operations members of the special operations division have spent this month using various means to survive the current situation.
Yangtze River. In the Zhenjiang area directly opposite us, there is about a special force group gathered. At that time, from the rear of the Japanese army, we will cooperate with you to launch a cross-river operation and occupy the beachhead."
"Another question is whether a force of 5,000 people can break through the Japanese beachhead with the help of small weapons and hold the breach. This question depends on our Commander Chen..."
Seeing the gaze of Chief of Staff Zuo Quan, Chen Guangrong immediately understood and said: "Commander Wang can rest assured about the issue of artillery support. The hundreds of large-caliber artillery belonging to our artillery column are not just for nothing. When the time comes,
I will equip each infantry battalion with a radio and an artillery staff officer. As long as the infantry brothers need it, the artillery support of my artillery column will be on call and will not take more than a minute..."
"In this case, Chief of Staff, I, Wang Ping, promise to complete the mission..." At this point, Wang Ping no longer hesitated and promised confidently.
"Okay, then it's decided. I'll give you an hour to prepare. After an hour, the artillery column will assemble all the artillery and launch a half-hour saturation bombardment on the Japanese tidal flats and river defense positions on the other side, completely destroying the Japanese tidal flats.
And the Jiang defense position..." Chief of Staff Zuo Quan nodded with satisfaction. Then, facing the combat sandbox in front of him, he gave a serious order.