gnovel Chapter 215 The main force of the column departs; Commander Li is also going all out.
Chapter 215 The main force of the column departs; Commander Li is also going all out.
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"Even if he were willing, would Commander Chen of the Ninth War Zone agree? Not to mention the principal is also keeping him in check."
Upon hearing this, Li Jianghe smiled calmly, leaned back in his chair, picked up the enamel mug on the table, and took a sip of hot water.
"The fact that the National Revolutionary Army was riddled with factions and that there were many conflicts between the Central Army and the local armies are undeniable facts."
"But what if it's a battle to encircle and annihilate two of the Japanese army's main Class A divisions, and the odds of victory are extremely high?"
"Then their attitude will become incredibly positive. Don't forget that the Battle of Taierzhuang was won in this way."
"They'd most likely refuse to offer help when things are really tough. But they'd be eager to add to someone's success or reap the rewards."
Yang Ruifu took a deep breath, looked at the battle route on the map, and tried to digest this extremely audacious plan.
The order was quickly transmitted to the troops at the Gushi front via radio.
That night, the tank battalion at the Gushi front immediately dispatched several elite reconnaissance squads.
The soldiers mounted their three-wheeled motorcycles and boarded the Type 221 light armored reconnaissance vehicle, the roar of the engines breaking the silence of the night.
They sped along the banks of the Shi River toward the area north of Gushi to carry out a reconnaissance mission.
Not long after, the reconnaissance results were transmitted back to the Third Column Command via telegram.
Just as Li Jianghe had predicted, the Japanese army focused its defense efforts entirely on the main battle line between Gushi and Fujinshan.
Along the Shihe River north of Gushi, the Japanese army did not deploy any defensive positions at all, leaving the area virtually undefended.
Li Jianghe held the urgent telegram from the front lines in Gushi between his fingers and slowly spoke.
"Sure enough, the Japanese army's attention has now been completely drawn to the Gushi and Fujinshan line."
"Their defenses in the north have been completely neglected and left entirely unattended."
Before he finished speaking, he leaned forward and tapped his fingertips heavily on the Shi River basin north of Gushi on the map.
"This is it. Order the troops to set off tonight and force their way across the Shi River from here."
At this moment, the Japanese troops on the northern slopes of the Dabie Mountains were focused on the main battlefields of Gushi and Fujinshan.
Li Jianghe's troops moved northward, minimizing the risk of being discovered by the Japanese army.
More importantly, the Japanese army's already limited aerial reconnaissance capabilities were all drawn into the Dabie Mountains by Wang Dayong's Third Motorized Infantry Detachment.
No one would have imagined that their real target would be Huainan in the north.
As night deepened, the dense forests of the Dabie Mountains were completely shrouded in an intense, inky blackness.
The mountain wind, carrying the sound of pine trees, swept across the rugged terrain, the dull thud of tracks grinding over gravel mostly swallowed up by the dense foliage.
Li Jianghe's vanguard troops, under the cover of night, were silently rushing towards the banks of the Shi River at full speed.
Their target this time was Huainan, the heart of the Japanese army's logistics.
This was the core of logistics and supply that the Japanese 10th and 6th Divisions relied on together, and the lifeline of tens of thousands of Japanese troops on the front lines.
Ammunition, food, fuel, and medicine were piled up like small mountains in the warehouses, maintaining the operation of the entire front line.
At this time, in the Japanese front-line command post, Nishio Juzo's attention was still firmly fixed on the Fujin Mountain and Gushi line.
He stood in front of the map with his hands behind his back, his gray eyebrows furrowed, and he kept tapping the Dabie Mountains marker with his baton.
He repeatedly ordered the air force to increase aerial reconnaissance over the Dabie Mountains.
At all costs, we must track down the Third Motorized Infantry Detachment and completely destroy this infiltration force that is giving him so much trouble.
But it was midsummer, and the trees in the Dabie Mountains were tall and dense, their branches and leaves blocking out the sun.
Tanks and armored vehicles were hidden in the dense forest, and Japanese reconnaissance planes flew overhead without detecting a trace of them.
He could never have imagined that Li Jianghe's real target was Huainan, which was behind him.
Hundreds of miles away, the atmosphere was equally oppressive at the Fifth War Zone Command Headquarters.
The air was thick with the smell of tobacco, the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, and the fan was whirring but couldn't dispel the heat in the room.
Commander Li covered his mouth and coughed softly twice, his face showing the fatigue and haggardness of staying up all night for days.
He pointed to the route marked by Li Jianghe on the map, turned to look at Commander Bai beside him, and slowly began to speak.
"Jiang He has devised a very ambitious battle plan, which is extremely risky, but if it succeeds, the battle situation on the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains can be completely broken."
Upon hearing this, Commander Bai immediately leaned over, picked up the telegram on the table, and began to read it carefully, word by word.
After a long pause, he put down the telegram, his brows furrowing slightly, his tone grave.
"The risks are indeed considerable, but if the attack on Huainan succeeds, the entire war situation will be turned around."
"But our troop strength on the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains is really stretched thin."
"The 71st Army in the direction of Fujinshan alone was held up by two elite Japanese divisions and could not spare any troops."
Ultimately, the only mobile force that the Fifth Theater Command can currently deploy in the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains is the Second Army Group.
In addition to General Zhang Zizhong's army and Li Jianghe's third column, that's all.
As for Hu Zongnan's troops in Xinyang, they also belonged to the Fifth War Zone, but Commander Li couldn't move them.
Commander Li paced slowly around the room with his hands behind his back, his steps heavy. He finally stopped and spoke in a deep voice.
"Jiang He had already thought of this. That's why he told me on the phone that we need to borrow troops."
"Borrow troops? From whom?" Commander Bai was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and looked up.
"I see. You're not thinking of targeting Hu Zongnan's troops, are you?"
Commander Li nodded, his gaze falling on the location of Xinyang on the map, his tone tinged with helplessness.
"That's right, using his troops. How feasible do you think that is?"
In fact, from the perspective of war zone division, Hu Zongnan's troops were originally under the command of the Fifth War Zone.
However, this unit was the most elite of the Central Army's elite forces, just like the Tang Enbo Group in Taierzhuang back then.
The only person who could truly command this force was the principal.
Commander Bai pondered for a long time, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, before finally speaking slowly.
"Yes. As long as we form an encirclement on the front, Jianghe's Third Column can cut off the Japanese invaders' retreat."
With just one sentence, he accurately grasped the Central Army's thoughts—they never acted until they saw a clear benefit.
Upon hearing this, Commander Li nodded heavily, a resolute glint in his eyes.
"We'll handle this. I'll personally communicate with the Chairman; we'll go to great lengths to support him."
"If this succeeds, the defensive pressure on the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains will be greatly reduced."
At this moment, Commander Li was already overwhelmed by the ongoing battle.
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