Chapter 208 The Rotten Garrison

There is a reason why the Army Morale Wizard was so excited. Although the border area was in a semi-blocked state, it was not affected in terms of intelligence acquisition.

Thanks to the excellent intelligence network, the boss knew the outstanding performance of aviation rockets in the Nomonhan Campaign.

Before the birth of rockets, aerial bombs and machine guns were the main weapons used by aircraft for ground attacks.

Of these two weapons, machine guns are more accurate but too weak. Unless they are special ground-attack models, they cannot effectively kill solid targets.

Although aerial bombs are powerful enough, they are difficult to aim and have low efficiency.

Even if some aircraft can use dive bombing to improve accuracy, this bombing method has high requirements for aircraft performance and driving skills, and it is difficult to popularize on a large scale.

In the battle with Xiaori, the North mounted aviation rockets under the wings of the I-15 and I-16 fighters.

Not only did they achieve good results in the air, they blew up many enemy aircraft, and they also stunned the devils on the ground.

After the war, the Kwantung Army specially collected the wreckage of their own fighter planes and tanks. The amazing destructive power made them think that the north had developed an aircraft gun with a caliber of more than 40 mm.

Now Huang He led the Border Weapons Experimental Research Bureau to advance the fine tradition of our army to launch aviation rockets by more than ten years.

With such advanced weapons in our air force, everyone was naturally happy from the bottom of their hearts.

"Xiao Huang, I remember you just said that our 41-1 aviation rocket has no name yet, right?"

"Why not call it Red Sun? The birth of the red sun, on the one hand, indicates that it is walking out of the night and heading towards dawn, and on the other hand, it indicates that it will bring a devastating blow to the enemy like the scorching sun in the sky!"

As soon as the name Red Sun came out, it was immediately widely recognized by everyone present, and it also saved a lot of brain cells for a certain naming waste.

In the end, the desperate war fox, the army morale wizard and Huang He jointly decided to officially determine the name of the 41-1 aviation rocket.

In the following period of time, all students completed the assessment items.

In addition to the first four, 287 comrades passed the test, with a pass rate of an astonishing 97%.

Although the number of pilots is more, the number of fighters is insufficient. Huang He is almost worried to death now. He made a decision in his heart and went to the Military Industry Bureau to recruit people after the meeting.

It must be done before the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign begins, so that every soldier has his own car.

After the assessment, it was the group photo session. Because there were too many pilots, everyone was divided into six groups to take group photos.

Desperate War Fox and Army Morale Wizard sat in the front, followed by the director, Principal Chang and Huang He, and finally the students who were standing or stepping on stools.

"Comrades! The sky above the motherland! It's up to you!"

"Persist in the war of resistance to the end! Die for the country! It's a great honor!" ×291

The outstanding graduates of the first Border Aviation School are about to go to the battlefield.

·····

The time came to May 5th. Early this morning, the director came to the Border Weapons Experimental Research Bureau with a communicator.

As soon as the car stopped, he jumped directly from the co-pilot seat. After briefly explaining a few words to the comrade on duty at the door, he rushed into the door carrying a radio on his back.

When he arrived at the door of the office, the director kicked the door open with a bit of commando momentum.

"I really admire you! Look at your broken place, I can't contact you no matter what important things happen!"

"I carried the radio to you, and also transferred a correspondent to send telegrams when there is something in the future! If I run to you again, I will be a dog. People who don't know me will think I am your deputy."

Looking at the other party's panting appearance, Huang He quickly got up and poured a glass of water. He didn't say anything, just stood aside and waited silently.

As expected, he took a short break. The director immediately started talking about today's business. He took out a piece of paper and a map from his pocket and said:

"This is a telegram sent by the ideological crusaders this morning. The pressure in the southwestern capital is a bit high. Today, they formally asked for help from our Eighth Route Army."

"But this tone is really disgusting. The whole telegram looks very unlucky."

"If the troops were not strong enough now, I would be the first to oppose sending troops!"

Having known the director for so long, it was the first time that Huang He saw him scolding people. He picked up the telegram on the table and read it carefully. After a while, he frowned and squeezed out the word "川".

The other party still used those old tricks, standing on the righteousness and asking for reinforcements from their own side.

It can be said that there is no progress at all. It is nothing more than depleting your strength if you send troops, and using the power of public opinion to discredit you if you don't send troops.

But now this trick is indeed a strategy of killing two birds with one stone. After the north signed a neutrality treaty with Xiaorizi, the border area was also affected.

After thinking for a while, Huang He patted the director on the shoulder and said comfortingly:

"Forget it, don't bother with them. We are fighting the Japanese not for those parasites, but for the suffering people."

"And the troops themselves also have the idea of ​​attacking the First Army of the North China Front Army. In a sense, supporting the other side can be regarded as an unexpected help."

"Although this ally may not be powerful, it can play a certain role. And as far as I know, there are several good troops in Zhongtiao Mountain."

After hearing Huang He's words, the director nodded helplessly. After receiving the request for assistance, the border area put forward several requirements and directly ordered the First Air Division to make pre-war preparations.

Now that support is a foregone conclusion, these military workers can only continue production and wait for the outcome of the war.

·····

After the director left, Huang He opened the map he had just brought. This map shows the enemy dynamics collected by the intelligence department in recent months.

Zhongtiao Mountain is located in the southwest of Shanxi Province, stretching across the north bank of the Yellow River. The territory is full of gullies and mountains.

It runs from northeast to southwest, with high in the east and low in the west. It is a strategic location in North China with Taihang, Luliang and Taiyue Mountains as a horn.

This mountain range is flanked by the Fenhe River Valley on one side and the Yellow River on the other. It can be said to be a natural barrier for Shanxi, Henan and Shaanxi provinces, and has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

For the Chinese army, relying on Zhongtiao Mountain to advance can disturb the enemy and contain the strength of the North China Front Army. Retreating can rely on the danger to defend and actively defend.

With such a good geographical location, the Zhongtiao Mountain Battle should be stable. But Huang He is pessimistic about the defenders of Guosu.

The first reason is that this so-called Eastern Maginot is actually just a facade, and its real defense capability is not even one percent of the original one.

Except for some simple trenches and traffic trenches dug on the front line and some fortresses built, other areas can be said to have only done surface work.

Those important military locations such as traffic arteries, passes, command posts, military supply lines, and the Yellow River ferry basically lack defensive fortifications and troop deployment.

Military advisers came to the site for inspection and laughed in anger. They still wanted to touch the Maginot Line with such a level.

Although the Maginot Line was bypassed again, the ground contains machine gun fortifications and artillery fortifications made of armored reinforced concrete, and even a 420mm mortar can withstand two bullets.

Underground are command posts, food storage rooms, ammunition depots, first aid stations, power stations, filter ventilation rooms, etc.

The entire defense line has a total of about 5,800 permanent fortifications of various purposes, with a density of 15 per kilometer of front. There are also passages connecting the fortifications, and even traffic can pass.

The Zhongtiao Mountain is not dug and not protected from artillery, so the only way to fight the devils is to rely on the soldiers.

The second point is naturally the temporary change of commander, which is a taboo in military strategy.

The original supreme commander of the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line was the Tiger General among the Five Tiger Generals. He had been defending well from the beginning of the garrison in 1938 to March this year, and repelled the enemy's thirteen attacks.

However, because he repeatedly refused to execute the orders of the bald man, he was semi-under house arrest when he went to the southwest capital to report on his work some time ago. The person who replaced him was the Chief of Staff of the Military Commission.

It would be fine if he was replaced by someone who could fight, but he ended up with a mother-in-law.

Not to mention that this guy has not fought any big battles so far, it is disgusting to put on the attitude of fighting on two fronts on the first day of taking office. He has no ability to fight back against bandits and drive away the enemy, and he doesn't even want to be proud.

The third reason is that the micro-manipulation master came online and directly drained the defenders.

Originally, the defense line of Zhongtiao Mountain was jointly responsible by the preserved fruit troops and the Eighth Route Army. Both are indispensable, and the inside and the outside complement each other.

One side held the enemy's main force in the front, while the other side fought guerrilla warfare in the enemy-occupied area to cut off supplies. In this process, the two sides must have exchanges and communication.

But since 1939, the master of micro-manipulation has been constantly withdrawing the main forces on the original defense line on the grounds that the devils have not made any achievements in Zhongtiao Mountain in recent years.

The most typical example is the Fourth Army, and several main forces have been transferred to the south of the Yellow River. This is the main force of the defense line, which is simply cutting off one arm.

In fact, the real reason is very simple. It is nothing more than the tacit cooperation with the Eighth Route Army, frequent exchanges between the two sides, and the closely connected transportation lines can directly reach the base.

But it is obvious that this level of micro-management is not the limit. In the next two years, the defenders changed their defenses continuously.

All the main forces of the Second Army, the Fifth Army, the 14th Army, and the 17th and 76th Armies of the 36th Army have all left.

In other words, the troops that had been conscientiously defending Zhongtiao Mountain for three years were all replaced, from the highest commander of the war zone to the front-line combat officers and soldiers.

Although two armies and some miscellaneous troops totaling 200,000 people were put together, even a military blind person knew that the defense force of the Eastern Maginot Line was not as strong as before.

These new troops who were replaced not only had poor equipment, insufficient training and low combat effectiveness, but they had not even figured out the terrain.

Even if they changed to a genuine Maginot Line, it would probably be pierced by the Japanese due to internal problems.

According to intelligence, since April, the Japanese have been increasing their troops while transporting river crossing equipment to the south every day, and it seems that they are going to cross the Yellow River in Fengling.

Logically speaking, a normal commander must send a large number of troops to conduct reconnaissance to see what the enemy's motives are, so as to make corresponding defensive strategies.

But the Chief of Staff of the Military Commission was good. He gave three plans at a whim.

The first plan was to retreat the main force to the south bank of the Yellow River and directly consolidate the river defense.

Although retreating without a fight would be criticized by the people across the country. But at least it was to preserve strength and harm allies for their own benefit, which was in line with their style of doing things.

The second plan was to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and attack first to break its offensive.

This is the choice of a true man. If we can cooperate with the current Eighth Route Army and Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, there is a high probability that we can eat up six divisions of the Japanese and win a great victory.

Although it is difficult, it is not impossible to try.

The third option is to adopt mobile tactics, change the inner line to the outer line, and rely on the terrain to block the enemy step by step.

This is a good way to play. It is a tactic that the tiger general has used for three years. Although the current defenders are not very good, they are at least capable of fighting.

But the result, according to intelligence. The defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain did not choose any of them. They directly spread their troops evenly on the entire defense line and set up a long snake formation inherited from their ancestors.

The defense line is a full three hundred miles. In the absence of roads, horses, and air superiority, such a deployment is clearly a passive posture of being beaten.

Moreover, the deployment of troops is too unreasonable. The eastern section of the defense line is deep and wide. Even if it is attacked by surprise, it can use space to exchange time, and the pressure on the defending troops is relatively small.

The situation in the western section is just the opposite. The depth there is narrow. Once the war starts, it will be a decisive battle. In the past, the Fourth Army with the strongest combat effectiveness was here.

In theory, the troops that can fight hard battles should be deployed in the western section, but the Chief of Staff of the Military Commission placed the most passive troops in the most critical position of the defense line.

Moreover, as a time traveler from the future, Huang He knew a situation that even the border areas did not know, that is, the defenders of Zhongtiao Mountain were already in a state of panic because of the problem of military supplies.

The various troops were short of food and war materials, especially the Fifth Army in the western section, which was facing a famine throughout the army.

The grain collection ability of the preserved fruit was not very good in itself, not to mention that the direct line had to be replenished first, and the miscellaneous army was not human compared to the central army.

The few grains had to be transported by the defenders themselves to the various ferry crossings of the Yellow River.

The farthest front position was a full 100 miles away from the ferry crossing, and it was very likely to be attacked by the devils on the way.

So the defenders started directly. They not only sold weapons and ammunition, which were not many, but also started a lollipop business in the barracks.

In order to survive, the commander of the Fifth Army could only watch the business grow bigger and bigger, and the military discipline became worse and worse.

A good barracks was made so smoky and dirty that it looked like a market. Many people who came to do business were traitors, and even the Japanese spies in the later period could enter and exit freely.

As a result, Xiao Rizi was very clear about the deployment of the Fifth Army, and knew the locations of the headquarters, communication center, hospital and arsenal.

Once the war started, the command system of the defenders would most likely collapse. The enemy's special high-tech department responsible for espionage activities was dumbfounded, and had never seen such an easy task.

Huang He pinched his eyebrows and then hung the map on the wall. In such a terrible environment, now we can only see how the deputy commander-in-chief can turn the tide.

This situation is really speechless.