roccoschili Chapter 201 The Chairman, shaken, begins micromanagement once again.
Chapter 201 The Chairman, shaken, begins micromanagement once again.
Regimental Commander Kamedaoka was killed in the chaos of battle, and almost no one in the entire regiment escaped.
Hundreds of kilometers away, in the operations room of the Wuhan headquarters.
The principal stood with his hands behind his back in front of the huge battle map, his face solemn.
The current battle in Wuhan is progressing very poorly.
He concentrated over 200,000 main force troops, intending to annihilate the main force of the Japanese army advancing westward along the Yangtze River in the Jiujiang and Dabie Mountains area.
They launched several counterattacks, but all of them failed.
On the contrary, a large number of troops suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat under the cover of Japanese naval guns and air fire.
On the northern slopes of the Dabie Mountains, Huainan and Lu'an fell one after another, and the main force of the Japanese army was launching a fierce attack on the line of Gushi and Fujinshan, making the defense line precarious.
Just as he was frowning and filled with anxiety, he heard Commander He's hurried yet joyful voice from behind him.
"A great victory! Chairman Chiang, a great victory!"
The principal turned around abruptly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and quickly asked, "What great victory?"
Commander He strode forward, clutching a telegram in his hand, his voice trembling with excitement.
"At the Fujin Mountain front! The 71st Army and part of the 3rd Column, employing a tactic of luring the enemy deep into their territory, successfully encircled and annihilated an entire Japanese infantry regiment, killing its commander, Kamedaoka!"
Upon hearing this, the principal was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with joy.
"The 71st Army? Good! Excellent! Yin Guo has indeed lived up to expectations, displaying the might of our Central Army at Fujinshan! Where's the telegram? Let me see it quickly!"
As he spoke, he quickly took the telegram from Commander He and brought it up to the light to read it carefully.
But the principal, who had initially been all smiles, became increasingly complicated as he looked further back.
The joy in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a hint of inexplicable worry, and his brows furrowed slightly once again.
"The main attacking force is actually the 3rd Motorized Infantry Detachment of the 3rd Column?"
He put down the telegram, looked up at Commander He, and spoke with a hint of coldness that was barely perceptible to him.
Commander He's smile faltered slightly, and he spoke with a hint of hesitation.
"That's right. Originally, the 88th Division was in charge of the main attack, but the results were not good after a morning of fighting. Later, the 3rd Motorized Infantry Detachment was sent in to take over, and they made a sweeping advance. They annihilated the Kameda Regiment in just one afternoon."
He paused for a moment, then quickly added.
"However, without our Central Army drawing the main force of the Japanese army on the front and desperately holding back Japanese reinforcements on the periphery, Li Jianghe's single force would never have been able to achieve this great victory."
The principal waved his hand, interrupting him, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"No need for further words. Immediately draft a commendation order, stating that the 71st Army, under the leadership of Song Xilian, has dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese invaders and enhanced our national prestige; therefore, this order is hereby issued to commend them!"
"What about the Third Column...?"
Commander He asked in a low voice, but before he could finish speaking, he met the principal's cold gaze.
He immediately lowered his head and hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir, I understand."
The final battle report and commendation order made no mention of the 71st Army's achievements, and made no mention of Li Jianghe and his Third Column.
The principal had two ulterior motives for doing this.
The first priority, of course, is to attribute the credit to the Central Army. The Central Army's limelight must not be stolen by Li Jianghe's local ragtag troops.
The second layer is the lingering resentment in one's heart.
Previously, he had bypassed the Fifth War Zone and directly issued a military order to Li Jianghe, ordering him to personally lead the main force to Jiujiang to participate in the counterattack against Japan along the Yangtze River.
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As a result, Li Jianghe did not give him a direct answer at all, and in the end only sent a detachment to Jiujiang.
In the principal's view, this was considered carrying out the order, but it was a perfunctory and half-hearted execution.
The greater the achievements of Li Jianghe's Third Column in the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains, the more foolish his original orders seem.
Even though this is a petty and unpleasant issue, it doesn't mean he can easily let it go.
After a moment of silence, the principal asked again.
"By the way, where is the unit Li Jianghe sent to Jiujiang now?"
Commander He quickly replied, "We are currently stationed in the vicinity of Dajin Town, and have not yet launched any substantive military operations."
The principal's gaze returned to the battle map.
"Li Jianghe doesn't want his troops to fight along the Yangtze River, so I'll make sure his troops fight here."
"Immediately issue an order for this unit to advance towards Huangmei County and participate in the frontal counter-offensive!"
"yes!"
Commander He bowed in response, but he knew exactly what was going on in his mind.
This order was essentially pushing Li Jianghe's troops into a fire pit.
At present, the Huangmei County area is covered with strong Japanese fortifications and a dense network of firepower.
Li Jianghe's troops are best known for their flanking maneuvers and mobile warfare. Sending them to charge head-on into the Japanese army's well-established and fortified positions is no different from sending them to their deaths.
Ostensibly, it's an order to fight, but in reality, it's an opportunity to suppress.
In the Wuhan headquarters, the principal was shrewd in his calculations.
When it comes time to reward those who have made contributions, he can use this as an excuse to suppress them.
Deep in the dense forests of the Dabie Mountains, the temporary command post of the Third Column was hidden in a mountain valley.
The dim light of the gas lamps illuminated the unfolded battle map.
Li Jianghe held the telegram sent by Long Wenzhang, his brows furrowing slightly.
"The Chairman is clearly pushing us into a fire pit."
Yang Ruifu stood aside, looking at the telegram, his tone full of resentment.
"Commander, what do you think we should do? Refusal to comply, or just go through the motions?"
Li Jianghe tapped the telegram lightly with his fingertips, then pondered for a moment.
"If we really follow his orders, all of Long Wenzhang's men will be wiped out in the fortifications in Huangmei."
"But if we don't comply, it will give him ammunition to criticize us, and he'll have plenty of excuses to make trouble later."
He stared at the markers for the Yangtze River waterway on the map, and within moments, an idea came to him.
We can fight a war, but we must fight it in the way we are best at.
Not only do we need to avoid this huge pitfall, but we also need to achieve real results in Jiujiang.
"Send a telegram to Long Wenzhang," Li Jianghe ordered, raising his eyes.
"Let him figure out a way to have the engineering battalion take the mines, outflank the Japanese army, and infiltrate the Yangtze River waterway to lay them."
"As long as we can blow up one Japanese warship, we'll have given our superiors an explanation."
When Long Wenzhang led his troops south this time, in addition to the tanks and artillery attached to him, he also brought a fully equipped engineering battalion.
The veterans in the camp were all skilled at laying explosives and also had the ability to deploy mines.
At this time, the Nationalist Navy had already been completely annihilated on the Yangtze River and no longer had the strength to pose a threat to the Japanese warships that were sailing on the river.
Japanese warships and transport ships sailed recklessly through the waterways, completely unaware of the threat of mines behind them.