Draw the sword and cure the fear of insufficient firepower

"Is it really so?" Lin Tian asked.

He had been away from Division 1 for nearly twenty days, and during that time he had not paid attention to any important military intelligence.

He only knew that when he was still in the First Division, Okamura Neiji had arrived in Nanjing.

At the beginning, Lin Tian guessed that General Okamura Yasuji would take some action on the southern battlefield.

I didn't expect that they would start so soon.

"As things stand, the two armies of the Japanese, under the cover of a large number of aircraft and led by armored units, have penetrated more than 100 kilometers into the two lakes area."

"The Central Army's vanguard suffered heavy losses, and three divisions were completely wiped out by the Japanese. They are now retreating across the board and starting to shrink their defense lines."

The chief used a pencil and ruler to mark on the map and explained to Lin Tian in detail the battlefield situation in the south over the past few days.

Xue Boling, Lin Tian knew this person. He annihilated more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers in the Changsha Battle and created the Tianlu tactics, which defeated the Japanese army.

I didn't expect that they would be defeated so quickly this time. Are they luring the enemy deeper into our territory?

"Commander, is the Central Army trying to lure the enemy in? They have retreated more than 100 kilometers in a few days. At this rate, the Japanese will soon be able to fully occupy the two lakes."

"By then, Okamura Yasuji will be stationed in Chongqing, and the Central Army will have to move the capital again?"

Lin Tian said with a frown.

Xue Boling had great military talent and was a senior general of the older generation of the Central Army.

During the Long March, we walked 25,000 miles, and Xue Boling led his troops to chase us for 23,000 miles.

They are very resilient, and this defeat might have been intentional.

"Lin Tian, ​​you are overthinking this time. This is not his strategy of luring the enemy deep into our territory, but a real defeat."

"Originally, the Central Army wanted to set up a big trap for the Japanese to hide in, but before the troops on both wings had even moved halfway, the troops luring the enemy head-on had already suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat, which directly led to this great defeat."

"Ningji Okamura was beaten badly by you, Lin Tian, ​​in Taiyuan. He is holding his breath this time."

"Moreover, the Japs' tactics this time are different from the past, and are quite similar to the German blitzkrieg."

"According to intelligence from the front, on the first day of the Japanese attack, they sent more than 200 fighter planes and more than 400 tanks and armored vehicles, and mobilized seven heavy artillery brigades and one heavy artillery division."

"The Central Army will have difficulty withstanding this kind of firepower. I'm afraid only your division will be able to fight."

The leader said a lot this time and analyzed the reasons for the Central Army's defeat.

Moreover, the Japanese launched a surprise attack and the Central Army was caught off guard.

"Blitzkrieg? How did the Japs learn to adapt? Aren't they usually bombarding with artillery first and then charging with infantry? How did they get it this time?" Lin Tian said with a smile.

The Japanese's previous tactics were indeed somewhat rigid.

Its tactics were far less advanced than those of the West at the same time.

This is just bullying China with backward weapons and equipment. If it were on the European battlefield, the Russians would have defeated them in just one month.

"You don't know, but the Japanese headquarters recently received an important figure from the mainland. His name is Miyakawa Hatoyama. As soon as he arrived in China, he was appointed as the deputy chief of staff of the Japanese invading army in China."

"This person is a returnee from Germany, and he has participated in several large-scale battles with the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. He is very good at blitzkrieg."

"Okamura Neiji is using Miyagawa Hatoyama this time because he is impressed by his blitzkrieg philosophy and experience."

"In fact, we have also seen that the Japanese blitzkrieg is very effective."

The chief continued to say that this intelligence was just sent back by a comrade in the organization who was lurking in the high-level ranks of the Japanese army at the risk of his life, and it was of great strategic value.

The chief has arranged to send this information to the Central Army.

The Central Army still used the old method to deal with the Japanese. This time, when the Japanese tactics changed, the Central Army was at a loss and suffered a great defeat.

This information will make them re-examine the Japs this time.

……

Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ninth War Zone of the Central Army.

Xue Boling looked at the map and fell into deep thought.

This time the Japanese offensive was so fierce that their vanguard troops pushed forward all the way, relying on their strong air superiority and the tank troops on the ground, and they charged forward as if they were in an empty land.

In order to advance quickly, the Japanese even used poison gas bombs on a large scale.

The 100,000-strong Central Army on the front line was completely defeated in less than two days.

There were heavy casualties.

"Report to the commander, the Japanese are about to break through the second line of defense. The 42nd and 53rd Armies request to retreat!" Chief of Staff Wu Yizi said with a sad expression.

"Retreat? No, tell them to hold on and wait for help! If the regiment commander dies, the brigade commander will take over. If the brigade commander dies, the division commander will take over. If the division commander also dies, the two army commanders will take over. If all the men are dead, I, Xue Boling, will fill in personally. Tell them that if they retreat a step, they will be subject to military law!" Xue Boling immediately refused when he heard it.

He was not unaware of the brutality of the fighting on the front lines, but the troops kept retreating, and it was unclear when the retreat would end.

"Commander Xue...the troops have suffered heavy casualties and are almost wiped out..." Wu Yizi said with a slight change of expression.

"boom!"

"Let the reserve 43rd Army take over. Also send a telegram to the encircling troops on the left and right to speed up their march. Cut off the enemy's rear at all costs and attack us from behind!" Xue Boling slammed his fist on the table, saying reluctantly.

"Yes!" Wu Yizi hurriedly gave the order.

After giving the order, Wu Yizi returned to the commander-in-chief's office. He still had to deal with the battle situation together with Commander Xue.

"Brother Yizhi, as the saying goes, a merciful army cannot be commanded. It's not that I, Xue Boling, would stand by and watch someone die without helping. The reserve force only has three armies, and one of them was sent out right after the battle began. The Japanese are coming with great force this time, and their tactics are different from any previous ones..."

"Although the two troops transferred by the General Command are nominally under the jurisdiction and command of my Ninth War Zone, in fact, Tang is the General Command's favorite disciple, arrogant and unruly, and does not listen to my command at all. The 17th Army is a Sichuan army with outdated armaments, backward weapons, low combat effectiveness, and corrupt military discipline."

"It is difficult to stop the enemy's offensive this time with only the 400,000-plus troops of the Ninth War Zone."

Xue Boling looked at the Japanese offensive line that Wu Yizi had just drawn on the map, and thought of the bloody battles fought by the young men from both lakes in the past few days, and his heart was filled with sadness.

"Haha, this is the general commander's usual style. He is afraid that you will not fight well, and he is also afraid that you will fight too well. The 20th Corps was slow to arrive in place during the Battle of Xuzhou and did not execute Commander Li's orders. Now it is the same in the Ninth War Zone!"

"Humph, anyway, he has the support of the general manager, who dares to do anything to him?"

"Moreover, according to the reports from below, wherever the 20th Corps passed, there was chaos and devastation. The people said it was even more brutal than the Japanese raids. Such a unit is simply the scum of the national army!"

Chief of Staff Wu Yizi said angrily.