freenovelworld Chapter 469 God helps me
Chapter 469 God helps me
When the top government official finished speaking, Commander Bai stood up at the right time and signaled his adjutant to draw open the curtain on the wall. A standard and very clear military map of southern Guangxi appeared in front of everyone. The commanders of various troops participating in the meeting also immediately concentrated their attention and prepared to listen to Commander Bai's combat ideas and the combat tasks of their respective troops.
"Ladies and gentlemen, according to the instructions from the highest level of the government, we have mobilized five armies totaling 150,000 people to participate in this battle. The purpose of the entire battle is to recapture Nanning and eliminate the invading Japanese Fifth Division. The entire battle is divided into the first step of attacking Kunlun Pass and Gaofengao, and the second step of recapture Nanning." Commander Bai took the baton handed over by the adjutant and began to introduce the map.
"In order to achieve the above battle objectives, the Fourth War Zone Command has formulated the following battle plan: Appoint the commander of the 38th Army, Xu Tingyao, as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Route Army, which will be under the command of the Fifth Army and the New 22nd Army. Your mission is to capture Kunlun Pass. This route is the main attack direction of this battle."
"Appoint Tsai Ting-kai, commander-in-chief of the 26th Army Group, as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army, which will command two divisions of the 46th Army and the Third Advance Detachment. Your unit's mission is to attack the rear of the Japanese army on both sides of the Yongqin Road and destroy its transportation and supply lines."
"Appoint Xia Wei, commander-in-chief of the 16th Army Group, as the commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army. Command three divisions of the 31st Army and one division of the 46th Army as the blocking force. Your mission is to prevent the Japanese troops from the Nanning direction from reinforcing Kunlun Pass near Shitang."
When Commander Bai proudly announced the battle plan, everyone in the conference room fell into thought. To be fair, there was nothing wrong with Commander Bai's arrangement. The government's Fifth Army and the New 22nd Army, which had the strongest combat effectiveness and equipment, were to take the main attack, while the weaker Sixteenth Army of the Guangxi clique was to be in charge of blocking missions. It was reasonable no matter how you looked at it.
Even though everyone could see that Commander Bai's battle plan was more or less intended to preserve the strength of the Guangxi clique, no one had much to say about it.
After all, the equipment and personnel of the 16th Army are only enough for blocking battles. Even if you want the 16th Army to launch an offensive, their actual strength does not allow it. This kind of difficult task of frontal attack must be done by finding a strong combat-effective force. The government's Fifth Army and the New 22nd Army are definitely the best candidates.
The government's Fifth Army is the first mechanized army in China. It has the 200th Division, the newly formed 22nd Division and the Honorary 1st Division under its command. Most of the troops in each unit are recovered soldiers from various units. They are people who have actually been on the battlefield and fought against the Japanese army. Their combat effectiveness is very strong.
In addition, the Fifth Army is also equipped with more than 26 Soviet-made T-150 tanks, German-made "Haus" armored vehicles, more than American-made Ford trucks, and more than motorcycles. The army's heavy artillery regiment has mm howitzers, and each division is equipped with a large number of mountain artillery and field artillery. Such weapons and equipment and the quality of the troops are second to none in the Chinese army.
As for the New 22nd Army, there is no need to say much. Although its weapons and equipment are not as luxurious as those of the Fifth Army, the New 22nd Army has never suffered a single defeat in any battle it has participated in. More than a dozen senior Japanese officers were killed or captured by this unit alone. Its combat effectiveness is needless to say. In addition, with the equipment seized from various battles with the Japanese army, this unit fully deserves the title of the main attack force.
After introducing the combat plan and the tasks of each unit, Commander Bai was confident that our chances of winning this battle were very high. He demanded that each unit must effectively carry out the combat tasks assigned by the theater command and reiterated the issue of battlefield discipline in the name of the highest level of government.
After Commander Bai introduced the combat plan and mission, Commander Du of the Fifth Army and Commander Huang of the new 22nd Army looked at each other, both complaining in their hearts. This combat mission was not an easy one. The Japanese army should have built and improved defensive fortifications on Kunlun Pass by now. If they just rushed in like this, it was unknown how heavy the casualties of the troops would be.
But both of them also knew that there would be no mercy in this battle. The fact that the highest level of government personally attended the combat meeting showed how much importance they attached to this battle. Moreover, the issue of battlefield discipline had been repeatedly emphasized at the meeting. At this time, they must not challenge the authority of the big guys.
Now he could only think carefully about how to fight the subsequent formal attack so as to reduce the casualties of the troops. And he had to take Kunlun Pass, otherwise military law would not recognize anyone.
At the end of the meeting, Commander Bai required that all troops must arrive at the designated location by December 15th. Due to confidentiality reasons, the final attack time will be based on the actual telegram notification sent by the Fourth War Zone.
All of a sudden, the Chinese army began a large-scale assembly. In order to confuse the Japanese army, Commander Bai reported his plan to the highest level of the government. Then, Commander Bai secretly sent representatives to Hong Kong Island to hold secret talks with representatives of the 21st Army of the Japanese Army to discuss the issue of "Gui Clique Independence".
The mobilization and assembly of the Chinese troops was also reported immediately by traitors who were bribed by the Japanese intelligence department. Lieutenant General Imamura Hitoshi, commander of the 5th Division and the highest commander of the Japanese Yongqin Corps, believed that the information was misleading.
Because the commander of the 21st Army, Lieutenant General Ando Rikichi, had sent him a secret telegram, telling him that the bigwigs of the Guangxi clique had begun sending people to contact the Empire of Japan, and asked him to remain restrained on the front line and not to irritate the bigwigs of the Guangxi clique at this critical moment. He must cooperate with the headquarters' strategic work and incite the bigwigs of the Guangxi clique to rebel.
Therefore, Lieutenant General Imamura Hitoshi, commander of the Fifth Division, ignored this information, thinking that it was just a show for the top leaders of the Chinese government.
When it was December 15th, all the troops participating in the Fourth War Zone of China had arrived at the designated assembly point as ordered. Commander Bai was relieved to see that the government's direct troops obeyed the orders so well. So, Commander Bai issued the first counterattack order in the name of the Guilin Camp, and the counterattack was launched on December 18th.
On December 15, the same day that General Paik issued the No. 1 Counterattack Order to the troops participating in the Fourth War Zone of China, the highest commander of the Japanese Yongqin Corps, Lieutenant General Imamura Hitoshi, ordered the commander of the 9th Brigade, Major General Ichikawa Genshichi, to lead thousands of Japanese troops to attack Longzhou and Zhennanguan on the border between China and Vietnam in the south.
(Thanks to the gift support from Wei Guogong who loves beef jerky, Li Ruofei who likes deciduous trees, and Wu Wen Xi Dong 11! Thank you all for your support and encouragement~!)