Quartermasters can also fight the devils

Chief of Staff Zhao Dong saw that everyone fell silent after hearing about the combat mission, so he said: "The troops have just been replenished, and many soldiers are still in training. In addition, Hongcheng is divided into two by the Ganjiang River. I have discussed with Commander Huang about the troops guarding the urban area. One division of troops will defend the urban area east of the Ganjiang River, and the other troops will defend the area west of the Ganjiang River to prevent the Japanese army from bypassing. Therefore, I called everyone here to see who is willing to hold on to Hongcheng and complete this difficult task."

After hearing what Chief of Staff Zhao Dong said, several division-level commanders looked at each other. No matter who they looked at it, the mission of guarding Hongcheng on the east bank of the Ganjiang River was a matter of life and death. The key point was that it didn't matter if they died, but if their troops failed to defend Hongcheng and caused the collapse of the entire battle situation, then they would be blamed for their own death. The responsibility was too heavy.

Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also did not speak. At this moment, they could not appoint generals unless it was absolutely necessary. You know, in this kind of desperate battle, the willpower and confidence of the commander of the army will be very crucial. The commander of the army must have confidence in the combat effectiveness of his troops.

Zhang Wenwu thought about it and found that the more he thought about it, the more he felt that only his new 100th Division could take on this job. The new 210th Division and the new 211th Division had basically exhausted themselves in the previous battle of Taierzhuang. Although they are now fully staffed, the troops are almost entirely made up of newly recruited officers and soldiers, while his own new 100th Division is almost entirely made up of officers and soldiers transferred from various units and veterans who had previously participated in the battle of Taierzhuang. In terms of combat power, the current new 100th Division is definitely the number one in the new 100nd Army. As for who is the most suitable to defend Hongcheng, it can only be his own new th Division.

"Report to the Army Commander and Chief of Staff, the new 100th Division is willing to hold the Hongcheng urban area on the east side of the Ganjiang River." Zhang Wenwu stood up and said loudly to Army Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong.

This made the commanders of the other two divisions feel embarrassed. As the big brothers, they should have been the ones to take on this kind of work, but they did not have much confidence in their own troops. They were moved and admired Zhang Wenwu for standing up to take on such an extremely difficult task at this time.

Commander Huang is very happy now. According to his previous idea, he was going to let Zhang Wenwu's new 100th Division complete this difficult task. After all, Zhang Wenwu's performance in Taierzhuang was obvious to all, and the strength of Zhang Wenwu's current troops was also the strongest one in his new nd Army.

Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also looked at Zhang Wenwu with satisfaction, and then said, "Okay, if the new 100th Division comes to defend the Hongcheng urban area on the east bank of the Ganjiang River, then we can rest assured. Wenwu, you and Ouyang Heng should draw up a battle plan as soon as possible, and feel free to ask for our assistance wherever it is needed."

After the meeting was over, Zhang Wenwu walked out of the military headquarters and looked at Ouyang Heng beside him apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Ouyang, I took on this tough job without discussing it with you. Now I have to ask you to accompany me on this adventure again."

Zhang Wenwu felt that he was a bit impulsive in this matter. After all, he took more than 100 brothers of his new th Division to Hongcheng, a place of life and death, to take risks without any hesitation. He felt a little sorry for everyone and thought that he should have discussed it with Ouyang Heng before making a decision.

Ouyang Heng looked at Zhang Wenwu with a smile and said, "Division Commander, what you said is not right. You are giving our new 100th Division a huge credit. Besides, we all joined the army to fight the Japanese. Now that such a good opportunity is in front of us, it is reasonable for our new 100th Division to take it. You made the right decision. I support your decision."

Zhang Wenwu was touched to see that Ouyang Heng did not blame him but comforted him instead. So he thought for a moment and brought the topic back to the mission: "Brother Ouyang, what do you think our division should do next to complete the mission given to us by Commander Xue? As for Commander Xue's request that we hold out for at least seven days, I think according to past practice, we should be prepared to hold out for ten to fifteen days."

When Ouyang Heng saw Zhang Wenwu talking about the next defense mission, he thought for a moment and said, "Division Commander, we are not familiar with Hongcheng yet. I think we can do this. After returning, I will take all the staff of the division headquarters to map out the urban area of ​​Hongcheng, and then take a look at every place on the spot. My initial idea is to let the Japanese army into the city to fight street battles, so that the Japanese artillery and aircraft will not be able to play any power. In this way, I think with the current combat power of our new 100th Division, we should be able to hold on to Hongcheng for half a month."

Zhang Wenwu felt that what Ouyang Heng said was right. He first had to figure out every street and house in Hongcheng. In addition, he thought that all the people in Hongcheng should be moved out of the city. If a war broke out, it would also avoid unnecessary casualties among the people. He wanted to turn Hongcheng into a large urban fortress to consume the Japanese army's strength to the maximum extent.

After returning to the division headquarters, Ouyang Heng gathered all the staff members and led them to start surveying and recording Manhongcheng. Zhang Wenwu took the three regiment commanders to inspect along the city wall.

After two days of busy surveys, Ouyang Heng compiled a detailed topographic map of Hongcheng city. Zhang Wenwu compared it with the 1927 map of Hongcheng city issued by the army. Zhang Wenwu curled his lips when he saw it. Fortunately, Ouyang Heng led people to draw a new map. If they were to fight according to the map issued by the army, there might really be problems, because many streets and houses on this map have become unrecognizable.

"Division Commander, based on the field observations over the past two days, I have strengthened my idea that we should let the Japanese army into the city to fight. Outside Hongcheng is an open area, which is very unfavorable for our army to conduct defensive operations. The city walls will not play a big role in the face of Japanese artillery and aircraft. I plan to deal with the Japanese army in the streets and houses in Hongcheng. We must give full play to our home advantage. Like the Battle of Taierzhuang, we can send out death squads to continuously harass the Japanese rear and achieve the goal of delaying the Japanese army." Ouyang Heng looked at the map and introduced his ideas to Zhang Wenwu.

Zhang Wenwu nodded. In the past two days, he took the regiment commander of the army to visit Hongcheng. There was no terrain outside Hongcheng that was conducive to defense. If they wanted to defend Hongcheng, they could only do as Ouyang Heng said and let the Japanese army into the city to fight. So, the two began to discuss how to improve this combat plan.

That evening, Zhang Wenwu and Ouyang Heng came to the military headquarters with the complete combat plan and introduced and explained the plan to Commander Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong.

After listening to Zhang Wenwu and Ouyang Heng's battle plan, General Huang and Chief of Staff Zhao Dong fell silent. After a long while, General Huang spoke up, "Wenwu, your battle plan is feasible, but you proposed to move all the people in Hongcheng out of the city, which is more troublesome."

Commander Huang very much agreed with the new 100th Division's combat strategy. He had also personally visited the terrain of Hongcheng. If they wanted to complete the task assigned to them by Commander Xue, they could only rely on the buildings in the city to gradually resist and consume the Japanese attacks. However, if Zhang Wenwu asked to relocate all the people in the city, that would be a big deal and the pressure they would face would be enormous.

Although some of the people in Hongcheng have already migrated to other cities, there are still about 200,000 people in the city who are unable to abandon their homes. If all of them are forcibly driven out of the city, those literati and celebrities will criticize their own troops in the newspapers.

"Commander, Chief of Staff, all the civilians in the city must be evacuated. If we want to complete the tasks assigned by the war zone and Commander Xue, we must build Hongcheng into a temporary city fortress so that the Japanese army can only slowly and continuously consume their strength to gnaw at this fortress. Only in this way can we accomplish the strategic goal of holding on to Hongcheng. If the civilians are all in the city, our officers and soldiers will not be able to fight the Japanese army to the death, and some of the tactics in our plan will not be able to be implemented. The civilians will also suffer heavy casualties in this battle. We can't let this happen." Zhang Wenwu also knew that this matter was a big deal, but he had to do it, even if he was scolded by those literati and celebrities in the newspapers.

Commander Huang also stood up from his seat. He looked at the map hanging in the office and pondered for a long time. Then he turned to Zhang Wenwu and said, "Wenwu, I now appoint you as the deputy commander of the Hongcheng garrison. You will be responsible for all operations in the urban area of ​​Hongcheng. Just follow your plan. I will bear the blame for you."

When Zhang Wenwu saw that Commander Huang agreed to his battle plan and evacuation plan, he immediately stood at attention and assured, "Please rest assured, sirs, I will lead the troops to live and die with Hongcheng, and complete the defense mission of Hongcheng to the death."

Chief of Staff Zhao Dong also patted Zhang Wenwu on the shoulder. He said nothing. He understood that the new 22nd Army would be under tremendous pressure from now on, and it could not be comforted by just a few words.

Commander Huang immediately called the commanders of the other two divisions and asked them to come to the military headquarters for a meeting. He needed to explain the battle plan to them.

When coming out of the conference room, Zhang Wenwu's new 100th Division had two more battalions of combat troops. These were troops temporarily transferred from the new 210th Division and the new 211th Division to strengthen the new 100th Division.

At noon the next day, Zhang Wenwu began to exercise his rights as deputy commander of the security forces. He invited officials from the Hongcheng Municipal Government to the restaurant. He needed the city government to assist him in relocating all the people in the city, as this project was enormous.