Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 457 Group Roll-In vs. Large-Scale Infiltration

After nearly nine months of implementing a full-scale offensive policy, the Kuomintang army had successfully occupied large areas of liberated areas, including central Jiangsu, northern Anhui, and southern Shandong.

In particular, major transportation routes and important towns in Langya and Shandong were successively controlled by Guo's army.

This forced the main force of the East China Field Army to gradually move towards northeastern Shandong.

On the surface, it appears that the Kuomintang army is constantly conquering cities and seizing territory, while the Kuomintang army is constantly moving north.

However, the Guo army has lost over 300,000 troops in its continuous offensives.

In comparison, the number of troops in the East China Field Army increased by 10%, with its main combat force reaching 350,000.

Moreover, as the territory they occupied increased, the supply lines of the Kuomintang army became longer and longer, and their transportation was frequently attacked by local forces.

To ensure a transport line capable of delivering 200 tons of military supplies daily, the Guo army had to use an entire corps to maintain the transportation.

As the main force of the Guo army suffered increasing losses, Chang Ruiyuan gradually felt that his troops were insufficient.

This made him determined that he had to make some changes.

After listening to various opinions, Chang Ruiyuan worked tirelessly for several days and finally decided to change from a full-scale offensive to a focused offensive.

His main targets were northern Shaanxi and Shandong.

Chang Ruiyuan knew that Taiyuan was an important ammunition production base for the G Army.

However, compared to US aid, he did not believe that Taiyuan alone would have much of an impact.

Moreover, the aircraft of the First War Zone had bombed Taiyuan many times before, and the production capacity of the G Army must have been severely damaged.

After confirming the target, Chang Ruiyuan immediately summoned Hu Shoushan, commander-in-chief of the First War Zone, and Gu Mosan, commander-in-chief of the Army.

Inside the Pengcheng Pacification Headquarters, Xue Xiaosong met Gu Mosan and Chen Chengbo, who had flown in from Nanjing.

After the plan to fight the decisive battle in southern Shandong failed, Chen Chengbo returned to Nanjing. This trip to Pengcheng was only to cooperate with Gu Mosan in his work.

"Commander Gu, Chief of Staff Chen, I think we should now consider a detailed plan for a decisive battle with the G Army."

Xue Xiaosong was still unaware of the purpose of the two men's visit. He was still reflecting on the reasons for the failure and preparing to discuss a new battle plan.

"Xiaosong, you don't need to worry about the war in Shandong," Chen Chengbo suddenly interrupted Xue Xiaosong.

"The Chairman, together with the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff, decided that in order to change the situation in Shandong, the Pengcheng and Shangdu Pacification Headquarters would be abolished and the Army Headquarters in Mosan would be moved to Zhulu to unify the command of the next battle."

Xue Xiaosong was stunned after hearing Chen Chengbo's words.

Even though he was full of grievances, he could only thank the emperor for his kindness.

"The Chairman's decision is wise, and I will obey."

Seeing Xue Xiaosong's gloomy face, Gu Mosan quickly went over to comfort him:
"This is entirely necessary for the war effort, and it's not about picking a fight with any particular person."

"Hyosong, I hope you can understand."

Gu Mosan's attempts to comfort Xue Xiaosong only made him more unhappy.

Xue Xiaosong stood up and said self-deprecatingly, "Ever since the all-out campaign to suppress the CCP last year, I have repeatedly given poor command, failing the people and the leader. I should have been dismissed long ago!"

“Xiaosong, you are mistaken!” Chen Chengbo quickly said, “This is not a dismissal, it is a promotion.”

"The Chairman is transferring you to Nanjing to serve as his chief military advisor, and he also wants to discuss anti-Gang tactics with you."

"Hehe." Xue Xiaosong chuckled dismissively. Who doesn't know who?

"It's good that I'm not leading troops into battle. Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. Now I can speak my mind."

"While the Shandong battlefield was indeed a defeat, what about the other battlefields? The Northeast? The Northwest? The Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan region? What about those? Didn't they also result in losses of soldiers and generals?"

"Xiaosong, be careful what you say!" Chen Chengbo urged.

I know you're upset about being dismissed, but you can't take the blame to the General Staff.

Some things should not be said or heard; even if you hear them, they are not a good thing.

Xue Xiaosong, who had been reminded, realized that he had said the wrong thing and immediately stopped.

After that, Xue Xiaosong didn't say anything more. He turned around and left the meeting room to pack his things and make room for Gu Mosan.

On the other hand, the main force of the East China Field Army moved north to the Zibo River area for rest and reorganization, and the Shandong battlefield experienced a period of calm.

When the Shandong and Central China troops were merged previously, many things were not done in detail due to the tight schedule.

Therefore, under the instructions of the Central Committee, the East China Field Army seized the time to carry out unified training.

At the same time, local governments at all levels are also actively cooperating with Huaye, with more than 2 million registered laborers out of a total population of 20 million in Shandong.

These laborers will be divided into four or five groups to travel with the troops, ensuring a standard of one and a half laborers per soldier during wartime.

The people of central Shandong even put forward the slogan "sacrifice their homes to support the front," and the common people would rather eat dried sweet potatoes than not send grain to the troops.

In just a few days, more than 70 million catties of grain were transported from the Bohai and Binhai districts.

While the East China Field Army was resting and preparing for battle, Hu Shoushan had already led an army of 250,000 into Yan'an.

Although Hu Shoushan only captured an empty city and was subsequently led by the nose, it still aroused righteous indignation throughout the East China Field Army.

On the other hand, although Guo Jun only captured an empty city, he didn't think too much about it. Gu Mo San even held a celebration banquet in Pengcheng.

"I heard that Commander-in-Chief Hu set off all the fireworks in Xi'an to celebrate the victory," Gu Mosan said with a smile.

"I think Pengcheng should also make preparations early and prepare more fireworks and firecrackers so we can have a night of revelry!" The staff officer next to him immediately stood at attention and said, "Please rest assured, Commander-in-Chief Gu, I will arrange it right away and make sure the fireworks and firecrackers last from dusk till dawn!"

"it is good!"

"As the two fists of the Chairman, the western route has already won, and we cannot fall behind."

"Now that all units are ready, I have decided that we will launch a full-scale attack first thing tomorrow morning!"

In order to annihilate the Lu Zhong G Army in one fell swoop, Gu Mosan divided all his troops into three mobile regiments.

The First Army Corps assembled in the Langya, Yancheng, and Haizhou area, under the command of Tang Keqin. After opening up the highway from Langya to Yanzhou, it attacked Mengyin.

The Second Army Corps assembled in the Gongqiu and Zhongdu area, under the command of Wang Youping. After opening up the Jinpu Railway, it attacked towards Yingmu and Pingyang.

The Third Army Corps, commanded by Ou Yuchen, assembled in the Zoucheng and Tengxian areas of Yanzhou. After opening up the highway from Langya to Yanzhou, it cooperated with the First Army Corps to attack towards Pingyang and Mengyin.

Wang Yaowen's Second Pacification Zone troops, while defending major cities, coordinated with the actions of the three army corps.

Each of the three corps, with the three elite troops of the Guo Army at its core, and in conjunction with its own troops and miscellaneous troops, began a mighty advance.

(The red line is the Jinpu Railway)
Inside the field headquarters, everyone looked at the advancing formation of the Guo army and felt a bit of a headache.

"The current situation is very serious. The enemy's formation is tight, and we cannot make full use of our advantages in mobile warfare."

"If this continues, we'll probably become even more passive."

The enemy has now opened up the Jinpu Railway and the highway from Langya to Yanzhou, and three army corps have formed an arc-shaped encirclement of the East China Field Army.

However, when advancing deeper into enemy territory, Gu Mosan learned from the past experience of splitting up his forces for advance, which made him vulnerable to being divided and annihilated by the G army.

The strict orders for all units to closely converge, strengthen communication, proceed steadily and gradually, ensured that the Guo army's front line did not reveal a single flaw.

"We shouldn't rush things; the enemy is even more anxious than we are," the commander said, looking at the map.

"Chang Ruiyuan's strategy of focusing on offensive attacks is to achieve quick results, while his tactics of rolling forward as a group are conservative."

"The strategic desire for quick results and the tactical conservatism have created an irreconcilable contradiction."

"As long as we closely monitor the enemy's changes, we must disperse and maneuver the enemy, and create and seek opportunities for battle."

"Commander, Qiu Feng is now face to face with my Nth Column. This Fifth Army is very arrogant. Should we attack Chang Ruiyuan's elite army first?"

The commander shook his head: "In the Yimeng Mountains, we will eventually have to fight a powerful enemy, but the first battle against the Fifth Army still needs to be considered."

The commander stood up and walked to the map: "Look, everyone, the eastern end of the enemy's arc-shaped encirclement of me is Langya, which is relatively exposed."

"There are slight gaps in the configuration of the divisions in Tang Keqin's army group, and there are also slight gaps between them and the army groups of Wang Youping and Ou Yuchen."

"I think our first target should be Tang Keqin's First Army Corps."

Upon hearing the leader's analysis, everyone immediately fell into deep thought.

The commander didn't stop there, and continued, "I plan to form an assault corps with the strength of three columns and secretly advance south to the Yancheng area behind Linyi."

"With five main columns, advance southward as opportunities arise, assemble in the southeast of Mengyin and northwest of Langya, and coordinate with the assault corps to form a pincer movement against Tang Keqin's corps from the north and south."

"Then wait for the opportunity to annihilate the enemy's 83rd or even 74th Division, or annihilate Hu Ziqi's reorganized 11th Division in the Sixian direction."

"If the battle is completed, the battlefield will immediately change in our favor."

"What are your opinions?" the leader asked after sitting down again.

"No." Everyone shook their heads.

Large-scale troop infiltration is currently the optimal solution.

"Alright, if that's the case, then it's settled!" The leader made the decision.

With the order issued, each column began to carry out its operations according to the plan.

The troops heading south followed orders, hiding during the day and moving at night, carrying their own rations, and not disturbing the local people.

The East China Field Army's operation was supposed to be quite covert, but just three days into the operation, the 74th Reorganized Division, the vanguard of the First Army Corps, discovered the anomaly.

"Such a large-scale movement suggests that the G Army has ambitious strategic plans." Looking at the map, Zhang Zhonglin immediately deduced the East China Field Army's intentions.

“Several columns of the G Army have passed through our flanks, completely disregarding us. I think we should strike first and wipe out one of their columns before they can establish a firm foothold!” Li Yunliang suggested.

"No, we absolutely cannot go deep into enemy territory alone!" Wei Zhenwen immediately interjected to stop them.

This time, the main force adopted a tactic of close-packing and rolling forward in groups. Anyone who is rash and reckless will become the second Li Xianzhou.

"Yunliang, don't be impatient, it's not time yet." Zhang Zhonglin was very calm this time: "Report the situation to Commander Tang."

"Yes!"

Wei Zhenwen picked up the phone next to him and called Tang Keqin.

Upon receiving the report from the reorganized 74th Division, Tang Keqin's reaction was not unexpected by Zhang Zhonglin.

"Very good, Commander Zhang handled it properly. This operation by the G Army was purely reconnaissance in nature."

"Don't be fooled by unclear intentions."

Tang Keqin's decision to remain in place was precisely what allowed the various columns of the East China Field Army to encircle him from the north and south.

However, just as things were developing in a positive direction, Gu Mosan sent a telegram to Tang Keqin.

(End of this chapter)