Chapter 292 They must have a way!
"Does that require your explanation? Don't I know that the faster you hit, the more benefits you will get?"
After listening to what Brigade Commander Chen said, the boss immediately understood what Brigade Commander Chen meant.
It's simply that they believe the independent regiment can capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold very quickly.
The battle may even be over within four or five hours.
If the independent regiment can really end the battle in such a short time, then all the factors they just discussed will not be important.
If the independent regiment can end the battle within four or five hours, the worst result will be the failure to capture Ping'an County. At that time, the four regiments will still have enough combat effectiveness to defend the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
In this case, although you won’t make anything, you will definitely not lose money.
"I also know that if the independent regiment can finish the battle within four or five hours, then there will be no problem with this battle plan. Even if we can't make any money, Li Yunlong and his men will definitely not lose money.
However, this kind of business that does not break even seems to be a loss-making one to Li Yunlong and his team. Moreover, if it can only achieve this level, it is absolutely impossible for Li Yunlong and his team to take such a big risk to attack Ping'an County.
In my opinion, only if we take down the Zhangzhuang stronghold within two or three hours, can Li Yunlong and his men gain enough benefits. Only with enough benefits can Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming decide to attack Ping'an County."
“The question is, how can we take down the Zhangzhuang stronghold in two or three hours?!
Even if the Vanguard Regiment and the Independent Regiment were gathered together and without considering any factors, and the Independent Regiment and the Vanguard Regiment were allowed to attack the Zhangzhuang stronghold at will, it would still take four or five hours!
The area of the Zhangzhuang stronghold is so large that a battalion of troops can be deployed to attack at one time, and a company of troops can only charge at the limit.
If there are more, it won’t be an offensive, but a suicide mission.”
The boss knocked on the table angrily. He could never have imagined that this was what Brigade Commander Chen meant.
They actually expected the independent regiment to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold within four or five hours, or even three or four hours.
If the independent regiment had heavy artillery, or if the headquarters' heavy artillery regiment was here, then the independent regiment would really have a chance to chew down the hard bone of Zhangzhuang stronghold in such a short time.
But the problem is that the independent regiment has no heavy artillery at all, and the headquarters heavy artillery regiment is not here.
Moreover, due to the terrain of the Zhangzhuang stronghold and the defense line built by the Japanese, neither fire nor water attacks were effective.
We can only use conventional attack methods, there is no room for shortcuts.
In other words, the independent regiment's attack on the Zhangzhuang stronghold was exactly the kind of siege battle described in textbooks.
Neither side has any way to take shortcuts and can only compete in ammunition reserves and consumption.
Whichever side runs out of ammunition first loses.
Although the ammunition reserves of the independent regiment and the vanguard regiment are definitely more than those of the Japanese devils in the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
However, the defending side consumes less supplies than the attacking side.
Moreover, competing in consumption is actually just delaying time, which means using time to slowly grind away.
At other times, the thing the Eighth Route Army had the most was time. They had plenty of time to slowly waste time with the Japanese.
Because in the past, the Eighth Route Army mostly focused on defense and supplemented it with offense, and they even rarely took the initiative to launch an attack.
The essence of defense is to delay time, so the Eighth Route Army is naturally willing to slowly waste time with the Japanese and then delay time.
But things are different now. The Eighth Route Army is now the attacking party, and as the attacking party, what matters is a quick victory.
In war, if there is no quick victory, once the time is dragged on, not to mention how much consumption will increase, the various variables caused by the extension of time alone can make the attacking side suffer a lot.
The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. This is not just talk.
Especially when Li Yunlong and his men attacked Ping'an County.
If the time dragged on too long, and something went wrong with the New 2nd Regiment, they would not be able to stop the Japanese 11th Brigade, or they might not be able to stop them long enough.
Then the initial investment of the Vanguard Regiment, the Independent Regiment and other troops, the resources consumed, and the sacrificed soldiers would all be wasted.
If Li Yunlong and the independent regiment could really capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold within four or five hours, or even within three or four hours.
So in such a short period of time, the independent regiment’s supplies consumption would definitely not be much, at most half.
Moreover, the soldiers still retain a lot of physical strength, spirit and so on.
At that time, even if some unexpected situation occurred on the side of the New Second Regiment, the Independent Regiment would be able to take over again. At worst, it would take turns with the Vanguard Regiment to cover the retreat, retreat to the Zhangzhuang stronghold, and then defend the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
However, if the Independent Regiment fought for too long and consumed too much energy, there would be no way they would be able to take over the sniping duties when problems arose in the New Second Regiment, and then alternately cover the retreat with the Vanguard Regiment.
It was a big problem to let the independent regiment support the vanguard regiment and attack Ping'an County together with the vanguard regiment. Even preparing to support the retreating vanguard regiment was difficult.
If there are no troops capable of providing alternating cover to help cover the retreat, the Vanguard Regiment will definitely be chased by the Japanese 11th Brigade.
Moreover, the vanguard regiment had been attacking the city for so long that the combat effectiveness of the troops must have dropped to a very poor level.
Under such circumstances, it was a good thing for the Vanguard Regiment to be able to successfully retreat when facing the double pursuit of the Japanese in Ping'an County and the Japanese 11th Brigade.
The greater possibility is that the Vanguard Regiment will be trapped by the defenders in Ping'an County and unable to retreat, and then the Japanese 11th Brigade will take the opportunity to go around and directly surround the Vanguard Regiment.
By then, not only the New Second Regiment would be wiped out by the Japanese, but even the Vanguard Regiment would be wiped out as well.
The vanguard regiment was completely wiped out, which was equivalent to the Taihang Military Region having its right hand cut off when it had just started.
I can't recover even if I want to.
The New 1st Regiment would also face the danger of being attacked from both sides because the vanguard regiment in the rear could not hold out, so it had to abandon the Xiaocaozhuang stronghold and withdraw to Fu'an County. After the 11th Brigade of the Japanese came, it was impossible for them to drive away the attacking troops of the Eighth Route Army and then turn back to Shuiquan.
In all likelihood, they would organize troops to launch an attack on the Zhangzhuang stronghold, or even on the county seat of Fu'an County.
Although the Zhangzhuang stronghold was strong and difficult to attack, Li Yunlong led the independent regiment to fight the Zhangzhuang stronghold for such a long time. How strong could the remaining fortifications of the Zhangzhuang stronghold be?
What's more, after fighting for so long at Zhangzhuang stronghold, how much ammunition would the independent regiment have left to defend Zhangzhuang stronghold?
To put it simply, if the Independent Regiment took too long to attack the Zhangzhuang stronghold, the best outcome for the Eighth Route Army would be to hold on to Fu'an County after losing the New Second Regiment, the Pioneer Regiment, the Independent Regiment, and the New First Regiment.
By the same token, if the Independent Regiment could quickly eliminate the Zhangzhuang stronghold, then whether it was joining forces with the Vanguard Regiment to attack Ping'an County or supporting the New Second Regiment in blocking the Japanese 11th Brigade, it would be able to gain considerable benefits.
At least, after the Independent Regiment returned the artillery pieces to the Vanguard Regiment, with the combat effectiveness of the Vanguard Regiment and those artillery pieces, it would not be a big problem to capture the county seat of Ping'an County within two hours.
If the Vanguard Regiment could wipe out the remaining enemy forces in Ping'an County within an hour, then the Vanguard Regiment could take advantage of the time when the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment were blocking the Japanese 11th Brigade to quickly repair the defensive fortifications in Ping'an County.
The New 1st Regiment did not need to continue the blocking attack and could completely hold the Xiaocaozhuang stronghold.
After the Vanguard Regiment repairs the stronghold in Ping'an County, there will be no problem whether they go out of the city to fight a field battle with the Japanese 11th Brigade, or defend Ping'an County together with the Independent Regiment and the New 2nd Regiment.
Faced with the Vanguard Regiment and the Independent Regiment whose combat effectiveness losses were minimal, it was not so easy for the Japanese 11th Brigade to retake the county seat of Ping'an County from the Vanguard Regiment and the Independent Regiment.
If the Japanese 11th Brigade did not leave, the Vanguard Regiment and the Independent Regiment could attack from both sides, let the New 2nd Regiment block the retreat route of the Japanese 11th Brigade, and then hold on to the Japanese 11th Brigade.
By then, the Japanese at Shuiquan will be in trouble.
If the Japanese Shuiquan dares to continue sending troops to support the 11th Brigade, then the Wutaishan Military Region will be able to take advantage of the opportunity when Shuiquan sends troops to deal a severe blow to Shuiquan and Luyang.
It is not impossible to occupy Shuiquan and Luyang.
If Shuiquan and Luyang do not send troops to support the 11th Brigade, the remaining troops will defend Shuiquan and Luyang.
Then when the 11th Brigade’s supplies are exhausted, the 11th Brigade will be completely wiped out!
The Japanese's 11th Brigade came out to provide support, and support requires speed. If they want to speed up, they cannot carry a large amount of supplies.
So after the Vanguard Regiment, the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment had caught up with the Japanese 11th Brigade, the Vanguard Regiment and the Independent Regiment were responsible for encircling the Japanese 11th Brigade.
The New 2nd Regiment was responsible for cutting off the supply lines of the Japanese 11th Brigade.
Then the Japanese 11th Brigade would be trapped to death by the Vanguard Regiment and the Independent Regiment.
Of course, this is the best result. If the Japanese 11th Brigade tried their best to organize its troops to break out, then with the number of people in the Japanese 11th Brigade, they would be able to break out many people before all the supplies were consumed.
However, if the above situations really occur, the Vanguard Regiment, the Independent Regiment, the New First Regiment, and the New Second Regiment will definitely be able to make a fortune.
However, in order to achieve this level, the independent regiment must first capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold within three or four hours.
We cannot take over the Zhangzhuang stronghold at any cost.
We must capture Zhangzhuang stronghold at all costs. Even if we can capture it quickly, what good will it be if the troops suffer heavy losses?
It's basically no different from just hitting it slowly.
After all, relying on Li Yunlong to quickly capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold means hoping that the losses of the independent regiment can be reduced as much as possible, and then a lot of forces will be needed to support the vanguard regiment or the new second regiment.
If the Independent Regiment takes over the Zhangzhuang stronghold at all costs and suffers heavy losses, where will the strength be to support the Vanguard Regiment or the New Second Regiment?
Brigade Commander Chen listened to what the boss said, nodded, and then looked at the boss calmly.
“So I think that Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming must have some way to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold within three or four hours, or even within two hours!
And it’s not just possible, it’s certain!
They definitely have a way to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold in a very short time!
Boss, I know what I said is a bit far-fetched.
But forgive me for being frank, I can only think of two guys, Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming, who have the ability to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold in a very short time.
Otherwise, they would have no reason at all to attack Ping'an County!
Since Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming made this decision and persuaded cadres including Ding Wei, Kong Jie, Zhao Gang, Zhong Zhicheng, Zhangye, Xing Zhiguo and others, it means that Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming are absolutely sure that they can capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold in a very short time.
Without even practicing, the two knew they could capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold in a very short time!
Otherwise, no matter how brave these two guys were, they would never take such a big risk to attack the county seat of Ping'an County.
Especially Ding Wei has a long-term vision, even if Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming did not notice other things.
But Ding Wei would definitely notice it and remind Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming.
Although Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming both have bad tempers and bad personalities, one of them is a little rascal.
But these are just some minor flaws in them.
Both of them have a broad view of the overall situation. It is impossible for them to ignore the overall situation and act on their own will.
But the problem is, I just can't figure out how Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming could take over Zhangzhuang in such a short time."
Brigade Commander Chen first explained his views, and after praising Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming in a roundabout way, he covered his forehead with his hand and said to the boss with a headache.
Brigade Commander Chen really couldn't imagine what methods Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming had to capture the Zhangzhuang stronghold in such a short time.
"Boss, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but I made a small sand table to simulate the attack and defense of Zhangzhuang stronghold.
One of my combat staff officers served as the Japanese commander in the Zhangzhuang stronghold.
Then I will be the leader of the independent regiment.
But no matter what I tried, I couldn't finish the battle within three or four hours.
The fastest time I fought lasted five hours, and that was when I took advantage of the command mistakes made by my combat staff.
Then they captured the Zhangzhuang stronghold in five hours, but the independent regiment had suffered more than half its casualties.
Most of the troops' supplies have been consumed."
(End of this chapter)
