mesbooks Chapter 141: Wargame Simulation and Zhang Chi's Crossing the River with Eagle Sauce
Chapter 141: Wargame Simulation and Zhang Chi's Crossing the River with Eagle Sauce
Early in the morning, officers of all ranks who had rushed back to Xinwangping Base a day in advance gathered in the war situation room.
"Captain Xiong, it's not easy to march your heavy self-propelled artillery on tracks, right? Do you want to join my fast column on the march?" Captain Hao Yi of the fast column teased the 'mountain cannon' with a sly grin on his face. "My fast column has set up a special support battalion. If your 155 self-propelled artillery breaks down, don't go to Old Kang in the logistics department. I'll fix it for you!"
"Fuck you, stop calling me by my name and call me Guoshanpao, okay?" The artillery column captain Guoshanpao looked uncomfortable. Ever since he was in the newspaper last time, his nickname 'Xiong Minjing' has spread throughout the army.
This name was given by his parents, and he should have cherished it. However, he was a big, strong man with a loud voice, so Guoshanpao didn't like the somewhat weak name "Xiong Minjing" from the bottom of his heart, and always used the nickname to address others.
It just so happened that his real name was dug out by reporters last time, and people like Hao Yi started to make fun of him by using his name every day.
"If I send my 155mm self-propelled artillery shell to you for repair, I'll change its name to Hao." The mountain gunner roared fiercely in his loud voice, "If you, Old Hao, promise me that you won't mention my name again, the next time it's my artillery column's turn to support you in battle, I'll help you fire half a base number of 155mm shells!"
"Okay, it's determined at first sight." Hao Yi smiled, revealing his big teeth.
Several other officers, having heard the loud roar of the mountain artillery, also came forward, ready to ask for half a base number of 155mm artillery support.
Although Zhang Chi's independent air force can use 1000-pound (453kg) heavy bombs for air support, those planes all belong to the Air Force. If the Army wants support, they have to go through several procedures. The delay is so great that the benefits are lost.
(Later, the White Eagles were the first to develop an air-ground joint command system. In the movies, the person carrying a radio to call in an airstrike was usually an Air Force liaison officer. They were responsible for following the army and using their professional knowledge to help the army call in planes for bombing. After all, the army soldiers didn't know how to describe the location, the direction of approach, the position of friendly forces, and whether the attack route was clear.)
(The more advanced CI3 joint automatic command system was also first proposed by White Eagle)
For army officers like Hao Yi, Qi Quan, and Bai Minghui, the only support they could get with a phone call was the 155mm automatic rifles deployed by the mountain artillerymen. Especially since they were tracked, they could move positions and enter combat positions faster than towed artillery, making their support more timely.
Except for Hao Yi who has the M8 75mm self-propelled artillery, Qi Quan and Bai Minghui's infantry and columns only have slow-reacting towed 75 and 105 artillery. How can they not be jealous?
(Due to the existence of anti-artillery radar, towed artillery has been basically eliminated. 155mm artillery is now mounted on trucks, promoting the idea of quick attack and quick retreat)
"Commander Zhang is here!" The guard who was calling out the name at the door tapped his heels and shouted loudly. The noisy combat room immediately became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Zhang Chi, wearing a major general's uniform, strode in. He glanced around and sat down directly in the main seat.
Although his current military rank is only major general and his nominal position is only the commander of the 212th Division, after this round of military expansion, the four columns and directly affiliated troops under him together have a main force of 50,000 people in the field army.
If all the armed soldiers from local militia, agricultural reclamation corps, construction corps, logistics departments, etc. are counted, the number of armored people is nearly 8.
Although due to the massive expansion of the army, there are many new recruits in each unit and the combat effectiveness has declined compared to the 212th Division which was composed entirely of veterans, Zhang Chi is still on par with the White Eagle in terms of equipment and logistics.
As the leader of such a powerful army, Zhang Chi naturally exudes a sense of momentum in every move he makes.
"Okay, sit down." Zhang Chi pressed his hands down, and the many officers who were standing at attention and saluting relaxed and hurriedly sat down.
"Everyone, take a look at the terrain." Chief of Staff Tan Zhijie picked up his pointer and walked over to the large sand table placed in front of the map. Without further ado, he gestured, "Myitkyina, as a major city north of Pegu, is surrounded by flat plains, without any large mountains."
"It has a highway in each of the east, south, west, and north, and a railway in the southwest. The Irrawaddy River, which originates from the Nmai Kha River and the Mali Kha River in our territory and runs through the north and south of Pegu (this river flows directly south to its estuary into the Andaman Sea, I promise to include a map if possible), also passes through Myitkyina. It's a first-class transportation hub with excellent connections in all directions."
"That's right. Myitkyina connects to Yunnan Province in the west and Yunnan Province in the east. It has railways and inland rivers, making it a strategic location. We've called you here to conduct war games and figure out how to capture Myitkyina. If we capture Myitkyina, the Japanese troops stationed in Xinpingyang and other places will be forced to retreat due to the disruption of their logistics, leaving all of northern Pegu to us."
At this point, Tan Zhijie's expression darkened. Logistics for areas like Pegu North depended entirely on the Myitkyina West and North roads. A major reason for the expeditionary force's initial retreat was that the supply hub of Myitkyina had been captured by the Japanese, leaving the 10-man army without any supplies. (John's people were largely to blame for this.)
When Tan Zhijie mentioned the key words "extending in all directions" and "a must-fight for military strategists", Zhang Chi, who was sitting in the main seat, remained calm on the surface, but in his heart he had already started to hallucinate that "Pengcheng (an ancient name) has been the site of more than 50 large-scale battles throughout the dynasties, with twists and turns..."
Like Pengcheng, Myitkyina City has no strategic location to defend and is a transportation hub. As a result, the two puppet army divisions, one independent brigade, the 56th Division Headquarters and the 114th Regiment, totaling more than 40,000 defenders currently stationed in Pengcheng can only defend on the plains. They are bombed by the independent air force every day and their morale is extremely low.
Therefore, the focus of this war game simulation is on how to quickly capture the city and cut off the Japanese reinforcements from other directions.
The first round of wargaming quickly began on the sand table. Qi Quan, a student from the military training program, played the role of the 212th Division, while Chief of Staff Tan Zhijie played the Fuso defenders. Zhang Chi led the other staff officers as referees, while numerous other officers observed and learned.
Qi Quan's fighting style was standard and steady. He deployed heavy artillery, tanks, planes, and speedboats on the battlefield and engaged in a positional battle head-on with the Japanese defenders. He quickly defeated the Japanese on the plains with his superior firepower and small-scale armored assaults.
In the end, it only took Qi Quan three days to break through the three lines of defense arranged by Tan Zhijie on the periphery. After sending a part of his troops to block the Japanese reinforcements, he easily entered the city of Myitkyina.
Generally speaking, a siege ends the moment the attacking force enters the city on a large scale. Although urban meat grinder battles like the Pavlov Building have occurred outside the Eastern Front, they are rare. Therefore, the referee team directly ruled that Qi Quan won.
However, since it was a frontal attack, the referee team finally determined that about 10,000 puppet troops and more than 10,000 devils successfully evacuated and fled to the south.
Then the column commanders and the commanders of each regiment took turns to form teams and go into battle, either playing the role of the 212th Division or the Japanese defenders, and experimenting with various fighting methods.
Zhang Guangjun's Japanese fighting style caught Zhang Chi's attention, and he ordered all Japanese troops north of Pegu to retreat in a big way, with one group retreating to the Wenduo area north of Mandalay, and setting up a defense line along the many east-west rivers. (The major rivers in north of Pegu all run north-south, meaning Zhang Chi didn't need to build bridges across the rivers when attacking south.)
This riverside defense line is indeed a big problem for Zhangchi's troops equipped with many tracked vehicles. The M22 light tank weighing several tons may be able to cross the river through a temporary pontoon bridge, but big guys like the 30-ton Sherman M4 and 155 self-propelled artillery cannot pass.
If heavy equipment wants to cross the bridge, a steel structure temporary bridge must be built.
"Fortunately, I can cross the river with the help of Eagle Sauce." As a time traveler, Zhang Chi knows exactly what to do if asked to cross the river in an emergency.
He just learned how the White Eagle in Changjin Lake escaped.
"Zhang Guangsong, remember to ask James to contact White Eagle in China to produce a batch of M2 bridge components and have them airlifted here as soon as possible. Remember to expedite the production of these components. I can pay extra." Looking at the people who were arguing about how to attack across the river, Zhang Chi said calmly to the secretary beside him.
Although Zhang Chi didn't think the Japanese would really retreat in a big step, in order to prepare for the liberation of Mandalay, he decided to start by airdropping pontoon bridges and other things.