The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 53: Perseverance and Runaway

"I don't know how the Shanxi guys in the Jinsui Army are doing. Don't tell me, even the regiment commander and brigade commander don't know. We don't have much contact and communication with Yan Xishan's troops."

"Commander, get on the map!"

As he spoke, Chen Zhen ordered the orderlies around him to bring a leather map bag, pulled out an old military map, unfolded it and spread it on an empty ammunition box, pointed at the map and said: "He Wei, Captain Fu, you guys They all came from the Whampoa Military Academy, and I am a veteran from the Heipu Military Academy. This is the map I brought from the regiment headquarters. Only regiment commanders and above can hold it. I can understand the words, but there is another line drawn above. I can’t understand the line stacking. Anyway, I only know that our division is deployed on the Great White Water line, and the friendly No. 80 [-]th Division is connected to the left. Look at the map and let’s talk.”

He Wei's face turned dark as soon as he glanced at it. The highly confidential map Chen Zhen took out had a scale of one hundred thousandth. To command operations, a precise map with a scale of at least one fifty thousand is needed to complete the measurement well. .

Operations such as deploying defenses, marching, calculating angles and slopes, and artillery shooting. Regardless of the issue of proportion, some places on the map are marked with auxiliary elements such as contours and saddles, while other places are blank and uneven. The pictures The map is really rough. Fortunately, the zero point elevation is marked on the map, so we can roughly judge the height. The mapping unit is the Ordnance Survey Bureau of SX Province. Looking at the time when the map was drawn, it’s the eighth year of the Republic of China!
I bet this crappy picture was made nearly 20 years ago!And damn, only group leaders and above can hold it, and the secret level is quite high!

He Wei thought that fighting with this kind of map was equivalent to being half-blind. In 20 years, the terrain, features and even buildings would have changed a lot. It was strange that the troops could win the war by relying on this kind of map to make defense decisions.

Although it is crudely made, the general situation can also give a glimpse of one's own overall defense situation. Of course, it is nothing more than that. Combined with Chen Zhen's statement, currently, on the left wing of Xinkou, Dabaishui Village - Dongxichang Village - Lanzhuang - The Yanzhuang line stretches 20 miles from east to west and dozens of miles from north to south is the Tenth Division's defense area, both of which are open and flat areas. The right wing of the Tenth Division's defense area is the No. 60 Eighth Division of the Shanxi-Sui Army Meng Xianji Department, and the left wing is the No. 80 Eighth Division of the Meng Xianji Department of the Shanxi-Sui Army. The No. 85 Fifth Division and the [-]th Division of the Fourth Army's Central Army Chen Tiesuo were deployed on the line of Weijiazhuang-Liuzhuang-Nanyu-Mengteng Village. This area is a highland getting higher and higher from east to west.

Judging from the picture, if He Wei were the Japanese commander, he would never attack the high ground on the left flank and the open area where the [-]th Division was stationed at the same time. He would definitely concentrate his forces and firepower to attack the [-]th Division's defense line in the open area. Only then could the Japanese army be defeated. The firepower of your own tanks and troops is maximized.

Although the Japanese infantry attacked the position of the 80th Division No. [-] today, the tanks and artillery fire were basically used in the direction of the [-]th Division.

There were no bombs dropped in the Yanzhuang position where he was located. According to He Wei's inference, it was probably because the Japanese army did not pay attention to the Yanzhuang defenders at all and were too lazy to waste artillery shells and aerial bombs here. The focus of their attack was still on the [-]th position south of Yanzhuang. The main position of the Normal University in Baishui probably wanted to easily defeat the Yanzhuang defenders under the cover of tanks, and then attack the main position of Dabaishui with strong fortifications with all its strength. However, they did not expect to be hit hard by themselves.

This is not unexplainable. Since the beginning of the war, the Japanese army has repeatedly won in the North China battlefield. The performance of the Chinese army on the battlefield is really unsatisfactory, so the Japanese army does not take the Chinese army seriously at all. It is difficult not to underestimate the enemy.Next, the Japanese army who regained consciousness will inevitably focus on pulling out Yanzhuang, concentrating their troops and firepower, and doubling the artillery fire preparations that they missed in the morning. He Wei is not afraid of holding on. He is more worried about the retreat now.

He Wei paused for a moment and said: "Regiment attachment, company commander, you see, the Japanese army spared our Yanzhuang position in the morning shelling, most likely because they underestimated the enemy. They have always been arrogant. Our Yanzhuang position, as the forward position of the entire division, can We must hold on to the stagnant Japanese army, but we must also think of a retreat. The three or four miles behind Yanzhuang to the main position of Dabaishui are all open areas. I am worried that when the Japanese come to their senses and concentrate all their strength on attacking Yanzhuang, Our stubborn defense will eventually turn into a desperate defense. Once their tanks and armored vehicles crash into the open space behind our unit, we will probably not be able to retreat, and everyone will be blocked here and unable to escape!"

Chen Zhen turned to Fu Chen and asked, "Company Commander Fu, what do you think?"

Fu Chen looked at the map, his face changed slightly, and he said: "Chen Tuanfu, Yanzhuang is surrounded by open land. Except for the open space, it is the sweet potato field. There is no place to hide. If the retreat is cut off, the brothers in Zhuangzi will not be able to return at all." Except for a few, the infantry is okay. The Japanese tanks are too difficult to deal with. In the morning, our battalion was overwhelmed by the tanks and almost a company of troops were injured or killed. Some of their tanks only had machine guns, and some had both guns and cannons. Yes, with the firepower network composed of infantry, we only have two tank defense guns in total. When we retreat, we cannot retreat and fight at the same time. If we are blocked behind us, many of the brothers in Zhuangzi will not be able to retreat."

He Wei made it very clear that you cannot defend Yanzhuang to the death. At first, he argued that he was right to defend Yanzhuang to the death, but he must not defend the position like a tomb.

Chen Zhen took a few steps, punched the ammunition box, and shouted: "Damn it, it's true, your battalion was just overrun by tanks this morning. If the little devils take a detour and block the retreat, we really have no way to survive. I When you get back, call the regiment headquarters and ask the main position of Dabaishui to send troops to prepare to meet us."

"Chen Tuanfu, not only to provide support, but also to ask other brothers in the battalion to dig communication trenches as long as they can along the direction of Dabaishui behind Yanzhuang. Once we retreat, we can retreat along the communication trenches to shorten the exposure to The distance on the open ground can reduce casualties during the retreat. It is best to cover the communication trenches with branches and door panels to hide them. If the Japanese infantry attacks during the retreat, we can still resist according to the trenches!" He Wei said.

Chen Zhen thought for a moment and patted his head. It was indeed true. Once the Japanese army came from the rear and blocked the open area, the Yanzhuang defenders would not even think about running out. They would probably have to brave the fire and bombs with their flesh and blood bodies. The rain hit the Japanese steel chariot.

"Damn it, it seems that the Japanese didn't use all their strength to attack us. If they use all their strength to bombard us and then use tanks to attack us, we really can't withstand the force. I'll call the regiment commander and inform the current situation. Leave the battle situation and prisoners to me, and build the communication trenches for retreat. I will let the brothers in Zhuangzi do it, and your company will continue to strengthen the defense!"

(End of this chapter)