When Wang Xuexin went to the map, Chen Songyong immediately understood. He found the locations of Biyuan and Lingye airports on the map and marked them with thumbtacks... This is the most basic skill of a staff officer. If Wang Xuexin needed it, Chen Songyong could still check the information.
Immediately give all the known information about these two airports.
Only in this way can the staff save time for the commander. There are many things that they do not even need the commander’s order. They consciously know what to do and should be prepared in advance.
Wang Xuexin looked at the locations of the two airports. As expected, the straight-line distance from Wanxian Airport to Wanxian Airport was just over 300 kilometers.
More than three hundred kilometers, which is just outside the combat radius of Hawk 81, no more, no less, just a little beyond.
It's obvious why this is the case.
First of all, the Japanese can save fuel as much as possible, and they are as close as possible to Yuncheng.
Secondly, this also has the flavor of tempting the Eighth Route Army... It is more than 300 kilometers away, but the Eighth Route Army can still hit it, especially rocket-propelled fighters.
Rocket fighters are different from fighter jets. Rocket fighters are almost impossible to fight with the enemy. They just fly to the destination, launch rockets, and then fly back.
Therefore, it does not need to reserve fuel for "combat". Strictly speaking, the combat radius should be 500 kilometers.
The problem is...
These fighters used for ground attacks require air superiority protection. If the Hawker 81 performs such a mission, it will fly more than 300 kilometers away. It only needs a few circles with the "Zero Fight" to have enough fuel to fly back.
Should the Eighth Route Army fight or not?
Just fight, basically there is no return.
Don't fight, the fat is right in front of you, and you need some concentration to control it.
Moreover, the two airports are located on both sides of Wanxian Airport, one above the other, forming a pincer attack, which virtually puts a lot of pressure on Wang Xuexin... When Wang Xuexin attacks any enemy airport, his retreat is likely to be taken off by another airport.
"Zero War" cut off...
So the Japanese could advance, attack, retreat or defend. This arrangement gave them a geographical advantage. Although the two airports only had two "zero combat" squadrons, they were unable to overwhelm the hundreds of Hawker 81s at the county airport.
While Wang Xuexin was thinking about the map, Zhang Zongping took another telegram and reported: "Battalion Commander, the intelligence has just come out, the Japanese are gathering heavy artillery troops in Nanjing, and they are probably moving them towards Yuncheng!"
Zhang Zongping is a newly transferred staff officer. He was assigned by the chief from the staff at the headquarters in order to have more, faster and smoother contact with the headquarters.
Of course this is just one of them.
Before Wang Xuexin left, the chief of staff also made a statement: "Comrade Wang Xuexin, Comrade Zhang Zongping has been working at the headquarters for three years. He is very familiar with the commanders of each department. If coordination or support from other units is needed, Comrade Zhang Zongping can do it."
Communicating first and then reporting through the headquarters can save a lot of time! Do you understand?”
"Understood!" Wang Xuexin responded.
Wang Xuexin indeed understood that Zhang Zongping had a certain power to kill first and then report later, which made up for his lack of power as a "battalion commander"... This also showed that the headquarters attached great importance to the defense of Yuncheng, and they were worried that if the battle broke out
In an emergency, what should we do if Yuncheng needs reinforcements but cannot contact the headquarters? What should we do if the radio station is broken? Or what should we do if the information is interrupted by enemy interference?
How will Wang Xuexin direct and coordinate?
You must know that fighter opportunities are fleeting. When Wang Xuexin sends people to the headquarters to ask for instructions and then returns to report and issue orders, I am afraid that the day lilies will be cold.
Gushan
This is also a helpless choice made by the Eighth Route Army because its communication equipment is not advanced and comprehensive enough.
Chen Songyong continued: "Batalion Commander, the Japanese are moving faster than we thought!"
Wang Xuexin nodded. The Japanese were too confident in themselves and did not take the stubborn army seriously. They thought that after taking Zhengzhou, the battle situation on the southern line of the Yellow River would be stable, and then it would be unstoppable, so at the same time, they Deploy an attack on Yuncheng.
There is a saying that "tactical victory cannot make up for strategic failure."
All the Japanese have done is to strategically shift the point of attack to Yuncheng. Once their strategy fails, all these arrangements will be disrupted and will lose their meaning...
For example, the battle on the southern line of the Yellow River cannot be stabilized, and the Japanese have no conditions to shift their strategic focus to Yuncheng. So can they still launch a war of attrition against Yuncheng?
Wang Xuexin asked: "How are the negotiations with the stubborn army going?"
"It went very smoothly!" Zhang Zongping replied: "The chief of staff went to discuss it in person. As predicted by the battalion commander, the stubborn army no longer has the same resistance and indifferent attitude toward cooperation as before!"
This is of course. When there is a benefit, the face of the stubborn army becomes faster than anyone else. At this time, they need the Eighth Route Army to cooperate with them. If they refuse, is it a mistake?
What Wang Xuexin didn't know was that Okamura Neji also noticed something was wrong at this time.
Okamura Neji was originally confident.
Although after he took office, Tokyo was not even satisfied with his performance, especially after losing so many advanced fighters in the Battle of Kolinkou, and even the navy expressed dissatisfaction with Okamura Neiji.
Yamamoto Isoroku commented on Kolinkou's failure like this: "This is the result of handing over the 'Zero War' to the Army. When we used it to beat the shit out of Eagle Sauce, they actually lost to the Eighth Route Army?"
Although the actual situation was not as unbearable as Yamamoto said, and even the main opponent was not the Eighth Route Army but the Hawk-chan pilots, Okamura Neji still lost in the end, and he lost completely.
Therefore, when Okamura Neiji once again requested a "zero battle" with a large group to suppress the enemy, he was immediately reprimanded by Tokyo: "We can only assign you two squadrons at most! If you can't win anymore, go to Tokyo." Come explain it to us!”
Only two squadrons!
Okamura Neji looked solemn, but he still felt there was no problem.
Because this time, his plan mainly relied not on aircraft, but on artillery.
Okamura Neji stared at Yuncheng and said to himself: "Let us fight to the death here. I am tired of playing hide and seek with you!"
At this moment, Yoshio Shinozuka hurried forward with a telegram and reported: "Your Excellency, General, we have received information that the Eighth Route Army is negotiating with the stubborn army!"
"What?" Okamura Neji looked at Shinozuka Yoshio in shock.
His strategy in China has always been to "gather one group to fight another". He will not attack the Eighth Route Army and the stubborn army at the same time unless it is absolutely necessary. What he is worried about is the cooperation between the two armies.
But now...
Okamura Neji's eyelids twitched. He had an ominous feeling that the plan might not go as smoothly as he imagined.