Although the soldiers said nothing, Wang Xuexin knew that many soldiers thought the troops were about to retreat.
This does not mean that the soldiers are not brave, nor does it mean that the soldiers have deserted their minds, but that the Eighth Route Army has been using the terrain to fight guerrillas against the Japanese for so many years.
The key to fighting guerrillas is to "don't care about the gains and losses of a city or a place" and "shoot a gun to change a place."
This is determined by the equipment of the Eighth Route Army, and also by the overall situation of the Eighth Route Army dealing with the enemy behind enemy lines. From this perspective, the Japanese have already assembled superior forces on the front, so withdrawing into the mountainous area is the best choice.
Therefore, many veterans have packed their bags and are waiting for the regimental commander's order to retreat.
Seeing this, Wang Xuexin was a little worried. This battle was different from the past. If Zhaojiayu could not hold it, the Eighth Route Army would be completely blocked by the Japanese like in history. At that time, the Eighth Route Army would be in its most difficult period again...
In one year, the Eighth Route Army was reduced from 400,000 to more than 300,000, a loss of nearly 100,000 people.
On the other hand, if the superiors want the independent regiment to hold on in Zhaojiayu but the soldiers are accustomed to prepare for a retreat or have a mentality of retreat... this battle will be difficult to fight.
Fortunately, Li Yunlong also realized this, and he immediately summoned several battalion commanders to hold a short meeting.
Li Yunlong yelled at several battalion commanders fiercely: "I found out that some people were packing up their things. What happened? Were we frightened by the Japanese planes and tanks? You all have to make it clear when you go back. I, Li Yunlong, can't do this today."
Stay here and see what the Japanese can do to us! If anyone gets scared, I will be the first to practice marksmanship on him!"
The commanders of each battalion responded "yes" and conveyed the idea of perseverance when they returned.
Zhao Gang nodded secretly after listening to Li Yunlong's order.
Although Li Yunlong's words are unreasonable, and whether to defend or withdraw should be based on the commander's orders rather than his pleasure, doing so is correct in terms of psychology and morale.
There is a saying that "the heart is like a wild horse, it is easy to let go but hard to take back", which means that it is easier for a person to stay tense all the time, but it is difficult to take it back once you relax.
Fighting is actually similar.
If we had known from the beginning that we had to hold on to Zhaojiayu and had given up the thought of "retreating", the psychological burden of fighting would have been less.
But if you always think about "why the retreat order hasn't come yet" and "it's time to retreat now", then fighting a war will be miserable.
Li Yunlong's order is to keep the soldiers in the first mental state.
If the superiors really give the order to retreat, they will still have to retreat. The soldiers will no longer be half-hearted when fighting.
Thinking about this, Zhao Gang did not hesitate, and immediately ordered the instructors to do ideological work, and asked the instructors to explain to the soldiers the importance of Zhaojiayu's geographical location and be prepared to stick to it.
In fact, the headquarters is also discussing the issue of whether to defend or withdraw.
This issue did not need to be discussed before, Zhaojiayu must defend it.
However, a Japanese regiment of more than 2,000 people appeared in front of Zhaojiayu, equipped with an unknown number of tanks, artillery, and aircraft for coordination. This required careful consideration.
The chief of staff who had just answered the phone reported: "Chief, we just got the news that the Japanese came up with a field division. It should be a B-level division transferred from the front line. Its equipment is much better than that of the mixed brigade, and its combat effectiveness is much better."
Much stronger!”
The staff members said one after another:
"It's time to retreat."
"As long as we retreat into the mountainous area, Japanese aircraft and tanks will be useless!"
"The field divisions, their equipment relies too much on road mobility. There are no roads in the mountainous areas. What will they do?"
…
The chief frowned and remained silent.
The chief of staff, who knew the commander well, immediately knew that the commander did not want to withdraw, so he asked: "Chief, can you hold on?"
The leader replied without thinking: "We have to try! In the past, there was no counter-slope fortification and there was no hope of holding it. In order to preserve our strength, we had to deal with the enemy and fight guerrillas. Now the situation is different. First, there is hope of holding it, and the independent regiment cannot
Did they just hold on to the enemy's attack by one large group and then eat it? Secondly, what the enemy wants is to take down Zhaojiayu and complete the blockade and siege of us. If the enemy realizes their strategic intention, we will lose this battle!"
The chief of staff nodded in agreement.
The chief's analysis is very reasonable. The strategic intentions of the Japanese in this battle are obviously different from those in the past.
In the past, the Japanese came to sweep and search for the main force of the Eighth Route Army. If they couldn't find it, they burned, killed, looted, and retreated. Under this situation, it didn't make much sense for the Eighth Route Army to defend one city and one area. At the same time, it couldn't fulfill the Japanese's wish to use the main force to fight with them.
decisive battle.
Now, the Japs are trying to blockade the Eighth Route Army and cut off the connection between the Eighth Route Army and the people in the guerrilla zones. At this time, if the "enemy advances and we retreat" is still the same as before, it will allow the Japs to achieve their strategic goals and let them go to the next step.
.
After thinking about it, the chief of staff said worriedly: "If Zhaojiayu is to be defended, then other positions must also be defended, but it will become a full-scale war!"
The chief of staff was right.
On the surface, this is a matter of guarding Zhaojiayu.
But if you want to defend Zhaojiayu, don't you have to defend Chenjiazhai next to it?
Once Chenjiazhai is lost, Zhaojiayu's flanks will be exposed to the Japanese, and then they will be surrounded by the Japanese.
By the same token, to defend Chenjiazhai, does one have to defend Xujiacun to the north...
Then one village after another came, and in the end it was the entire line of defense that had to be defended.
The leader thought about it for a while, then pointed to the map and said: "The problem with the Japanese is that they spread their troops too far. They used a hundred thousand troops to launch a 'grid' encirclement (fish scale encirclement) in the guerrilla zone, and used three divisions to encircle them."
The regiment's more than 60,000 troops launched an attack on my base area, you are opening your mouth too wide!"
After a pause, the leader continued: "If we only had the anti-slope fortifications in the base area, it might be difficult to withstand the Japanese attack. But now we have also built tunnel fortifications in the guerrilla areas in time, saving the lives of a large number of guerrillas and civilians.
Strength. We can put
The two are combined to fight against the Japanese... The guerrilla zone can use tunnel fortifications, hide in the tunnels during the day to preserve strength, and come out at night to harass the enemy and destroy the roads. In the base area, use reverse slope fortifications to fight a war of attrition with the Japanese to see who can hold on.
To the end!"
The chief of staff couldn't help but feel more confident when he heard that. He nodded repeatedly and said: "The chief is right. I almost forgot about the tunnel battle. I always thought about whether the front could withstand the Japanese attack, so I never thought of combining the two. The Japanese
The supplies must be transported to the base area through the guerrilla zones, and the roads along the way are under attack by our guerrillas. In addition, with so many Japanese troops fighting at the same time, a lot of supplies will be needed. As long as we persist for a while, we will definitely see