Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 553 He Didn't Leave, I Won
"To cover Jincheng's flank?"

"A flanking maneuver against the G army?"

"Commander Ma's idea is very good."

The commanders of the 91st and 120th Armies looked somewhat disdainful after receiving the order.

They were the Central Army, and although they were also stationed in the Hexi Corridor, they were nominally under the command of the Northwest Military and Political Commander.

But none of the officers or soldiers in these units paid any attention to Ma Zixiang.

They didn't acknowledge themselves as Ma Zixiang's subordinates at all; they only recognized Liu Ren, the deputy head of the government office.

"Has what Commander Liu said been conveyed to all departments?"

"I already said that."

"If we can't hold Nanjing and Shanghai, then Jincheng is even less likely to be defended."

"Jincheng is indefensible. If Ma Zixiang wants to defend it, let them defend it themselves. It has nothing to do with the Central Army."

"After capturing Jincheng, the G army will inevitably move south to Sichuan and conquer the southwest. It is unlikely that they will penetrate deep into the desolate Hexi Corridor, let alone rush to advance into Xinjiang, which is thousands of miles away in the Gobi Desert."

"Once the battle reaches Jincheng, the war in the Northwest will come to an end."

"It's not impossible that we're hiding deep in the Hexi Corridor and waiting for the outbreak of World War III."

"Besides, Ma Zixiang has always looked down on our Central Army. His influence in the Northwest is growing, but what good does that do for the Central Army?"

"It would be a good thing for us to use the power of the G army to eliminate them."

"That's right, that's right, let Ma Zixiang and G Army fight it out. No matter who wins, it won't hurt us."

However, although the Central Army was determined not to help Ma Zixiang, it still had to carry out the nominal orders.

Several troops quickly moved to the Jingyuan area.

However, they did not focus on building fortifications, but were prepared to retreat at any time.

Ma Zixiang was well aware that she could not command the Central Army.

Even when Hu Shoushan had previously stated in Guangzhou that he would fully support the Qingma campaign, he didn't quite believe it.

During the Guanzhong Campaign, the two armies fought in the same area, but no coordination was achieved.

Once Jincheng is attacked, how could Hu Shoushan, who is far away in the Qinling Mountains, possibly come to the rescue?

Moreover, the G army's attack on Jincheng was exactly what Hu Shoushan wanted.

He could use this respite to gather his remaining forces so he could continue his retreat.

But Ma Zixiang still decided to take a gamble and hold Jincheng.

As for the reason, it is also very simple.

Once Jincheng is lost, Xining will also be indefensible, and then his entire territory will be gone.

Even if XJ can be removed, he will be killed by Chang Ruiyuan.

This is a method that Chang Ruiyuan is most skilled at.

Just as Ma Zixiang was making all the preparations, the Second Division, along with the Field Army and the 2nd and 19th Corps, arrived at the outskirts of Jincheng.

At the same time, the 1st Army Corps also crossed the Tao River and headed straight for Linxia, ​​preparing to outflank and cut off the Qingma's retreat route to XJ.

"Old Chen, what did the commander say at the meeting? When are we going to fight?"

"The information is a bit vague right now." Chen Chengxing gulped down several bowls of cold water.

The weather is so hot right now; Chen Chengxing was covered in sweat just on the way back from the field.

"According to frontline reconnaissance, a large number of troops are moving westward, but supplies are also being continuously transported into Jincheng."

Luo Ping asked with some doubt, "What is Ma Zixiang trying to do, with both a westward retreat and transporting supplies? Is she going to defend or retreat?"

If they were to retreat, there would be no need to continuously transport supplies to Jincheng; if they were to defend, why would the troops retreat westward?
"Yoshi's decision is to launch a probing attack," Chen Chengxing said.

Whether the Qingma Army retreats or defends, the outcome will be clear once the battle begins.

If the main force of the Qingma army has already retreated, then take Jincheng as soon as possible, and then pursue and annihilate the enemy forces.

If a probing attack is met with fierce resistance, it means that the Qingma are determined to defend Jincheng to the death, so there is no need to rush.

Where should we attack?

“Majia Mountain,” Chen Chengxing pointed to the map.

Majiashan is a gourd-shaped mountain ridge composed of two highlands, one to the north and one to the south.

The western slope is gentler and extends all the way to Jinlin Highway, while the eastern side is mostly rocky cliffs.

Majia Mountain not only guards the highway, but is also the main position closest to the Yellow River Iron Bridge. If Majia Mountain can be captured, artillery can be set up to fire directly at the Yellow River Iron Bridge.

After confirming the target, Chen Chengxing assigned the feint attack mission to the 21st Detachment.

“Xu Wu, I’ve seen it from the front lines. The Qingma Army’s fortifications are solid, and the terrain is also favorable for defense.”

"The Qingma bandit army is not weak in combat. We must conduct thorough reconnaissance before attacking and make full use of our army's firepower advantage."

"We don't lack artillery shells now. If we can use artillery, we shouldn't let the soldiers do the demolition."

"The artillery support team will deploy observation groups to the front lines so that the attacking forces can call in howitzer support at any time."

"yes!".
The next day, after the 21st detachment reached its designated position, it first conducted fire reconnaissance, and the howitzer regiment also carried out artillery fire.

The 2nd and 19th Corps also each dispatched a force to attack the other two hilltops. The main position of Majiashan was cut into cliffs five to ten meters high, with reinforced concrete bunkers built on the cliffs. The Ma Clique army also dug three trenches five meters deep outside.

Faced with the heavily fortified Majiashan, Xu Wu did not send a large force forward, but instead used platoon and squad-level troops to probe the enemy lines.

Infantry guns, anti-tank guns, mountain guns, and other direct-fire weapons were all pushed to the front line. As soon as any firing point was exposed, it was immediately subjected to concentrated fire.

Ma Jixiang, who was stationed at the front line, felt a bit of a headache looking at the 21st Detachment that was clearing the way with artillery fire.

Lu Dingwen put down his binoculars, turned his head and said, "Officer, Chen Chengxing's troops before attacking the Majiashan position should not be underestimated."

"Although they are the slowest, I feel they pose the greatest threat."

On the other two positions, although the G army launched a more aggressive offensive, it also suffered heavy casualties, and the fierce offensive could not be sustained for long.

The Second Division, which attacked Majiashan, was completely different. Although they were slow, they were like hammering nails.

One after another, the bullets came crashing down, and the troops on the position had no power to resist.

Moreover, although the opposing G army only deployed small units, their combat strength was by no means weak.

If we ignore it, we'll lose the position; if we do, we'll expose our firing positions.

Moreover, even with artillery battalion support, the effect is minimal when facing small groups of troops.

"Have the 100th Division move its light machine guns forward, use them for counterattacks, and avoid easily exposing heavy machine gun positions," Ma Jixiang ordered.
"Isn't there an M2 heavy machine gun in the permanent fortifications on the hill? Let them provide fire support to the front line."

The M2 heavy machine gun has an effective range of 1,800 meters and a maximum range of 2,500 meters, which is sufficient to support the front-line positions.

With the addition of their own mortars, each regiment had no problem holding off small groups of G troops.

Because of the desperate counterattack by the 82nd Army, the First Field Army's various units failed to formally break through the first line of defense throughout the entire day's attack.

However, this result relieved the commander of the field office.

The fact that the Qingma Army is resisting so fiercely indicates that their main forces are still present.

The fact that the enemy did not retreat was the best news for the First Field Army.

Upon confirming that Ma Zixiang intended to defend Jincheng to the death, Ye Si immediately ordered a halt to the attack and instead ordered a few days of rest in place.

The main force had traveled hundreds of miles and was still very tired.

Seeing that the First Field Army had stopped attacking, Ma Jixiang assumed that the G Army had been defeated and immediately called Ma Zixiang excitedly.

"Father, the G army has been defeated! They've been battered and bruised at my feet!"

"This battle proves that the fate of Jincheng and even the entire Northwest is firmly in our hands."

"G Army really lost?" Ma Zixiang didn't expect the victory to come so suddenly.

"Yes! That's right!" Ma Jixiang leaned back in her chair, propped her legs up on the table, and said confidently:
“Father, I’ve said it before: the land, people, livestock, even the stones and sand in the Northwest all belong to the Ma family.”

"The horses of Qinghai will never change, not even in ten thousand years!"

"The G army is always cunning, Jixiang, don't let your guard down, beware of a G army surprise attack."

"Don't worry, Dad. What I'm most worried about right now is that *** has run away. If he doesn't escape, I'll catch him alive and show him to you."

"Right now, my biggest problem is what to do with these 100,000-plus prisoners of war from the G army."

Hearing Ma Jixiang's boasting getting increasingly exaggerated, Ma Zixiang immediately reminded him, "Jixiang, this victory is only the first one; we must not let our guard down."

"*** is cunning and ruthless; the real battle is yet to come."

"Don't worry, Father," Ma Jixiang said nonchalantly.

"The G army outside Jincheng only has a temporary numerical advantage over us."

"But as long as you act in the name of the Northwest Military and Political Commander, and with the prestige of the initial victory, you can win over the Ningxia Corps and the Central Army's Longnan Corps to come and cooperate in the battle as soon as possible."

"We have a total of nine armies."

"What about the G army? They only have seven armies, and two of them are still flanking our rear and cannot participate in the attack. We will have the advantage in numbers."

"Let Hu Shoushan send aircraft to support us and cut off the G army's rear supply lines. In addition, Jincheng is easy to defend and difficult to attack. We will definitely win!"

After Ma Jixiang's analysis, it seems that the Ma Family Army has a huge advantage in terms of the number of unit numbers alone.

Ma Zixiang was also excited upon hearing this: "I will immediately urge Ma Sanyuan to send troops to Jincheng as soon as possible to achieve a decisive victory!"

After a brief conversation, Ma Jixiang hung up the phone.

At this moment, Lu Dingwen walked in: "Officer, all the generals have arrived at the conference room."

"Let's go." Ma Jixiang stood up and strode out.

They walked with incredible speed and agility, covering a thousand miles in a day.

Standing in front of the map, Ma Zixiang said confidently, "The G army suffered a setback in the first battle and heavy casualties. Although our regimental commander Zheng Wanliang was shot and killed, the total number of casualties among our officers and soldiers was only a little over a thousand."

"From the perspective of the entire war zone, in the Battle of Jincheng, we deployed 9 corps, while the G Army only deployed 7 corps, so we had a numerical advantage."

"This time, Director Ma is going to a meeting at the Central Committee and will meet with Ma Sanyuan. This will have a positive effect on the Ningxia Production and Construction Corps moving closer to us."

"At the same time, we will ask the Central Committee to send aircraft to lead the battle. If necessary, the 5th Cavalry Corps can also be airlifted from Xinjiang to Jincheng to participate in the battle."

"We can absolutely engage the G army in a decisive battle right outside Jincheng!"
Just as Ma Jixiang was pointing out the landscape on the map, Ma Zixiang also urged Ma Sanyuan to send troops.

Ma Sanyuan had no belief that Ma Zixiang could defeat the G army, so he replied with only four words in the telegram: "Send troops immediately."

As for the troops, there was absolutely no movement.

(End of this chapter)