Chapter 302: The Threat from Japanese Aircraft
“As long as we can force the Japanese 11th Brigade to this high ground, no matter how powerful the Japanese 11th Brigade is, they will all fall under the artillery fire of the Vanguard Regiment!
Even if all the soldiers in the 11th Brigade of the Japanese devils grew wings, the Vanguard Regiment would be able to defeat them all!"
The boss pointed at the high ground on the map, and in his mind emerged a scene in which, after the Japanese 11th Brigade was trapped as he had imagined, the Vanguard Regiment set up artillery positions along the Dongzhang River and carried out covering fire on the high ground.
That high ground is basically located in the middle area between Song River and Dongzhang River, and is only about four kilometers away from Dongzhang River in a straight line.
Throughout the entire distance, the vanguard regiment set up artillery on the Dongzhang River and was able to easily cover all the high ground.
Moreover, because the Japanese were evacuated urgently, they certainly did not have time to carry those heavy weapons to the high ground under the impact of the river water.
Without heavy weapons, the artillery of the Vanguard Regiment did not need to worry about the enemy's counterattack and could continue to bombard the high ground from one place.
"Tell me, what do you think of my battle plan? Do you have any other opinions?"
The commander thought about it and decided that there was nothing to add, so he looked at Brigade Commander Chen and Political Commissar Wang.
I want to see if they have any opinions.
"Boss, I have a question... If we want to capture Zhangzhuang and Ping'an County within eight hours... the daytime is long and the nighttime is short.
If the Independent Regiment and the Vanguard Regiment launched an attack on the Zhangzhuang stronghold and the county seat of Ping'an County in the evening, it would be daybreak by the time they completely captured the Zhangzhuang stronghold and the county seat of Ping'an County.
By then, the vanguard group will move from Ping'an County to the upper reaches of the Dongzhang River. With such a long distance and so many heavy weapons, the target will definitely be very obvious.
What should we do when the Japanese planes come over?
The Japanese planes were fully capable of launching direct attacks from the sky on the vanguard regiment that was on the move.
Although the vanguard regiment had anti-aircraft machine guns, they were useless if the Japanese planes did not fly lower.
The Japanese were fully capable of launching an attack on the vanguard regiment's marching column from high altitude.
If the Japanese dispatched a large number of aircraft to provide support and launched an air strike on the Vanguard Regiment.
The vanguard group must either hide on the spot.
Or they could move to the upper reaches of the Dongzhang River under the bombing of Japanese planes.
However, if they hide, the vanguard group will most likely not be able to reach the upper reaches of the Dongzhang River in time.
The Japanese 11th Brigade might be able to break through the New 2nd Regiment's blockade and cross the Dongzhang River.
Once the Japanese 11th Brigade crossed the Dongzhang River and the two sides fought in the wild, if it was a direct field battle, the Vanguard Regiment would still have to face the Japanese air raids.
There are no high mountains in the northeast of Ping'an County for the Vanguard Regiment to set up anti-aircraft machine guns. It is all open areas, with few low-lying areas.
Once the Vanguard Regiment and the Japanese 11th Brigade engaged in a field battle with the Vanguard Regiment, coupled with the Japanese aircraft's air strikes.
By then, even if the 11th Japanese Brigade cannot occupy Ping'an County again, it will definitely be able to defeat the Vanguard Regiment and then retreat calmly."
"Boss, your battle plan is very good, but you didn't take the Japanese planes into consideration... This battle can't be ended in a short time. It's possible that it will last for two or three days.
But the longer the fight lasts, the more disadvantageous it will be for us, especially a battle like this involving several regiments, almost two divisions.
Moreover, this battle was not like the encirclement and annihilation of the 4th Brigade. The battlefield was large enough, covering an area of almost three counties.
The scope of all the battles this time is at most two counties, which is actually the area of a county town.
The Japanese planes don't need to fly back and forth, they just need to fly to Ping'an County.
Besides, Ping'an County is close to Hebei Province. The Japanese can not only send aircraft from the airport in Shanxi to provide support, but also from Hebei to provide support."
"This battle is not like the last one against the Japanese Fourth Brigade. We are on the passive defense and our troops have plenty of time to dig and prepare fortifications in advance.
This time we took the initiative to attack.
An active attack would not give the vanguard regiment time to dig fortifications to resist the Japanese air raids.
Even if the Vanguard Regiment successfully trapped the Japanese 11th Brigade on the high ground, once the Vanguard Regiment pushed out all its artillery, the Japanese Air Force would immediately blow up all of the Vanguard Regiment's artillery.
No matter how the vanguard regiment arranged the artillery positions, there was always a range, right next to the Dongzhang River.
Ten kilometers is a long way on land, but from the sky, it is just a small distance. The Japanese planes can cross this distance in just a few minutes.
A few minutes is not enough time for the gunners to build the artillery position."
Brigade Commander Chen listened to the commander's battle plan and put forward his own views.
If the Japanese only had the army, then the boss's battle plan would be perfect, but the problem is that the Japanese not only have the army, but also the air force.
The Eighth Route Army just didn’t have an air force.
Without air superiority, the Eighth Route Army would have suffered a great loss if it had assembled a large force in broad daylight to engage in a head-on battle in the field with the Japanese.
"Yes, sir, if we want to defeat the 11th Brigade of the Japanese, we have to delay the attack until night.
Or the Vanguard Regiment and the Independent Regiment could capture the county seat of Ping'an County at a faster speed, and then rush to the Dongzhang River in advance under the cover of night, and then build defensive positions, do a good job of camouflage, and hide all the artillery.
All the troops dispersed.
The vanguard regiment had a large number of grenade launchers and mortars.
Able to block the Japanese 11th Brigade with a large number of grenade launchers and mortars.
As long as we can hold on until night, the plan will go smoothly.
However, asking the Vanguard Regiment to maintain high-intensity combat for a whole day...even if the Vanguard Regiment's fighters have top-notch physical fitness, they cannot sustain long-term high-intensity combat.
Moreover, it is also a question whether the Vanguard Regiment's ammunition reserves can last a whole day... Unless we withdraw the 772nd Regiment and station it in Ping'an County for defense, while the New 1st Regiment retreats to narrow the defense line.
Move the independent regiment to the vicinity of the vanguard regiment, and take turns with the vanguard regiment. The soldiers of the two regiments take turns to rest, and adopt a rotation method. In this way, they can hold out for such a long time. "
Political Commissar Wang put forward his own suggestions based on the boss's opinion. Brigade Commander Chen shook his head after listening to the suggestions put forward by Political Commissar Wang.
“The 772nd and 771st Regiments cannot be moved. They also suffered losses in the last battle and they still need to prepare for the war. They cannot be easily mobilized.
These two regiments are the last mobile forces of our Taihang Military Region. I use them to deal with emergencies and they cannot be easily mobilized. "
Brigade Commander Chen decisively rejected Political Commissar Wang's suggestion to transfer the 772nd Regiment to garrison in Ping'an County.
Originally, the commander of this battle had mobilized two regiments of troops from the Yi Zhong Military Region, which had already led to the expansion of the war.
They transferred another regiment of troops from the Taihang Military Region. With so many troops, the Japanese are not blind.
If the Eighth Route Army increases its troops, the Japanese will also increase their troops.
By then, both sides will send reinforcements together, and all the troops will gather in Ping'an County or Shuiquan, and a major battle will start directly. This will not be a good thing for the Eighth Route Army.
To the north of Shuiquan is the Wutaishan Military Region of the 115th Division, and to the east is also the Yi Zhong Military Region of the 115th Division.
Then to the south is the Taihang Military Region of the 129th Division.
These three military regions can be said to be the three most powerful military regions of the Eighth Route Army at present.
If a large-scale battle is launched around Shuiquan, then these three military regions will inevitably have to mobilize troops to Shuiquan.
If the scale of the battle expands by then, it will not be good for the Eighth Route Army.
Although the boss said that he wanted to fight a large-scale battle with the Japanese in one place to attract the Japanese's main attention.
But it is definitely not a large-scale battle like this one at Shuiquan without any preparation.
There is a railway line (Shengtai Line) controlled by the Japanese on the Shuiquan side, and the Japanese can easily transport a large number of troops to Shuiquan.
Moreover, the east, south and north directions of Shuiquan are all open areas, which are extremely suitable for the Japanese motorized and mule-horse troops to fight, and also for the Japanese aircraft to fight.
On the other hand, the Eighth Route Army was at a complete disadvantage in engaging in large-scale field battles with the Japanese in such an open area.
The Eighth Route Army had no terrain advantage, and as for speed, how could it possibly compete with the Japanese trucks, motorcycles, trains, mules, horses, and cavalry?
Once the troops of the three major military regions of the Eighth Route Army are all pinned down in Shuiquan, the Japanese will definitely not mind mobilizing heavy troops to surround the entire area.
Compared with being able to destroy the main forces of the three major military regions of the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese would definitely choose to give up those small counties that are not very important at the first opportunity, and would definitely be willing to withdraw all the troops from those places to besiege the main forces of the three major military regions.
By then, as long as the troops of the three major Eighth Route Army military regions of Wutai Mountain, Taihang Mountain and Yi Zhong can be defeated, it will be useless even if the Eighth Route Army troops in other regions take over the county town.
Without sufficient troops, the Eighth Route Army would not be able to defend those counties, and the Japanese could then easily capture them.
The boss understood this, so he chose to transfer two regiments of troops from the Yi Zhong Military Region to attack Gucheng County.
Mobilizing two regiments of troops is already the limit, and we absolutely cannot continue to increase the troops.
Moreover, if two regiments are transferred from the Yi Zhong Military Region, the pressure on the Yi Zhong Military Region will increase significantly.
The boss listened to the suggestions made by Brigade Commander Chen and Political Commissar Wang, although neither of them directly objected.
But the implication was very clear, that is, he did not agree with the battle plan proposed by the boss.
The boss understood the concerns and problems in the two people's minds.
However, the boss's initial suggestion to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 11th Brigade was originally prepared as an unexpected plan.
It would be best if we could completely wipe out the Japanese 11th Brigade. If there is no chance, then letting the Japanese 11th Brigade go is not an impossible task.
The main purpose of this battle was to capture Ping'an County, not to completely wipe out the Japanese 11th Brigade.
Now that we have taken Ping'an County, no matter how we attack, Ping'an County will be like meat in the pot and can be eaten at any time.
As for the Japanese 11th Brigade, the commander simply adopted the mentality of fighting if there was a chance, and forgetting it if there was no chance.
After seeing some suggestions put forward by Brigade Commander Chen and Political Commissar Wang, the boss rethought it and spoke again.
"The Japanese planes are indeed a big problem... But look at this place, Longfeng Mountain."
The boss looked at the map and pointed to a high mountain in the northwest of Ping'an County and said to Brigade Commander Chen and Political Commissar Wang.
"The Japanese built an airport in Taiyuan. If they want to send planes from Taiyuan to support Ping'an County, they must fly from Sanjianling in the northwest of Ping'an County.
Longfeng Mountain is the highest mountain in the Sanjianling branch of the Taihang Mountains, and is located right in the middle.
But next to Sanjianling is the depression of this mountain range, namely Da Nangou. If the Japanese reinforcements coming from Jinzhong do not go through Taiyuan and take the train to Shuiquan,
Then we must go through Da Nangou.
The New 1st Regiment will definitely set up defensive positions in Danangou. The Japanese planes are not restricted by the terrain. From the map, if the Japanese planes want to reach Ping'an County from Taiyuan as quickly as possible, the best way is to pass through Danangou.
Right next to Da Nangou is Longfeng Mountain. If I remember correctly, Longfeng Mountain are two mountains.
The Da Nangou is right in the middle of the two mountains. At that time, the New 1st Regiment can set up anti-aircraft machine gun positions on the tops of the two mountains.
If the Japanese planes want to pass through these two mountains, the anti-aircraft machine guns deployed on the mountains can deal with them effectively.
If I had known about your plans earlier, I would have brought a few anti-aircraft guns from the headquarters in the Shangdang Military Region and deployed them on Longfeng Mountain.
At that time, the anti-aircraft guns will be able to directly block the airspace in this area, and the Japanese planes will have to take a detour.
The most we can do now is to transfer a batch of anti-aircraft machine guns from the Vanguard Regiment to the New First Regiment... The New First Regiment seems to be equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns, right?"
"Well, there is a company of anti-aircraft machine guns, twelve... Damn it, I don't know when Ding Wei gathered all the anti-aircraft machine guns for this company. If I hadn't specifically counted the weapons and equipment of their four regiments this time, I wouldn't have known that the New 1st Regiment had twelve anti-aircraft machine guns. I don't know where Xiao Qin got so many anti-aircraft machine guns."
(End of this chapter)
