Chapter 1373 Battle Plan
Although Lushunkou in the south is still under the control of Haihan and failed to regain control, this is not the fault of Etenyi and Erhe - the person who failed to defend the territory was Jia La Ezhen Muteb. It was his fault that the Houjin Khanate lost Port Arthur and lost thousands of soldiers. Of course, there is no way to pursue Muteb's fault now. After all, he has died on the battlefield and can no longer bear any responsibility.
When these recent wars were reported to the superiors, Ertenyi and Erhe would naturally cooperate with each other and try their best to put the blame on Muteb. As commanders of the troops guarding the Jinzhou Isthmus, they had tried their best to repel the Haihan army's offensive and temporarily maintained the security of the Jinzhou Isthmus. Although some battle losses were inevitable in the process, in terms of the overall situation, their successful defense of the Jinzhou Isthmus meant that they had guarded the back gate of the Houjin Khanate. This must be considered a great achievement.
As for Lushunkou in the south, they do not plan to try to regain it by force for the time being. On the one hand, the Haihan Army's combat power is too strong, and they are not absolutely sure that they can drive it out of the Lushunkou area; on the other hand, they have already When winter comes, the weather will snow whenever it comes. To send a large army hundreds of miles away to attack a heavily garrisoned armed fortress in such a cold season will not only affect the combat capabilities of the troops but also the logistics and supply capabilities. , will be extremely harsh tests.
With the strength of the Jin Army stationed in this part of the Jinzhou Isthmus, the defense area is okay, but it is indeed a bit difficult for them to attack the fortress guarded by the Haihan Army. Even if the big shots above want to recapture Lushunkou as soon as possible, they will never order a large-scale offensive in this season, because doing so would be tantamount to forcing them to die. Therefore, for Etenyi and Erhe, they can still live a peaceful life for a period of time, at least before the spring of next year. The premise is that the Haihan people are not so crazy that they will continue to launch offensives even in winter.
In fact, regarding the winter offensive, senior army and navy officials stationed in Shandong have repeatedly discussed its feasibility many times, and conducted in-depth research on many issues such as tactics, supplies, transportation, and troop deployment. Until this time, Wang Tom After returning to Lushunkou with the navy, his discussion with Qian Tiandun on this issue was still not over.
"If the army can cooperate with us, then the Jin army stationed at the Jinzhou Isthmus will not be a big trouble." Wang Tom was not frustrated because of the setback in the battle at Dalian Bay. Find Qian Tiandun to continue discussing the plan to attack the Jinzhou Isthmus: "Their strength will not exceed six thousand, which is not a difficulty for us. If everything goes well, it will only take two or three days to solve the problem on the frontal battlefield." .”
On the contrary, Qian Tiandun, who had won consecutive battles in the Liaodong battlefield, was opposed to Wang Tom's idea: "Front battlefield operations require too much ammunition and materials, and the quantity we brought out this time is not enough." If you encounter more intense resistance, you will become more passive.”
"You can immediately send a telegram to Shandong and ask them to organize a fleet to send the needed ammunition and materials as soon as possible." Wang Tom had already thought of a solution: "It's only a two-day voyage from Shandong at most, and the time is It’s too late!”
Qian Tiandun still disagreed: "This is too risky. The combat plans we formulated before were all for the Lushunkou area. All the details and variables that should be taken into consideration have been taken into account, and the preparations have been done sufficiently, so the action can be So smooth. But we have not made a detailed attack plan for the Jinzhou Isthmus before. Even if you go there, it does not mean that you have collected enough information to ensure the safety of the army there. "
Everything Qian Tiandun said was reasonable. Even if Wang Tom was eager to fight, he really had nothing to refute his arguments. After being silent for a while, he said: "If we can capture the Jinzhou Isthmus in winter, then this winter We will have more time to transport the immigrants to Liaodong for resettlement. When spring comes and the Jin army begins to prepare for a counterattack, we will have already established a foothold here to fight for us in these few months. It’s not an optional condition!”
"I won't agree without a practical battle plan, so you don't need to waste any more words." Qian Tiandun's attitude is still very determined. If you want to take action, you must first come up with a feasible plan, otherwise there is no need to discuss anything else. .
Wang Tom sighed, called the orderly in, and asked him to hang up the Liaodong map. After the orderly hung up the map and went out, Wang Tom stood up and walked to the front of the map, raised his hand and pointed to the location of the Jinzhou Isthmus and said: "The target area is about a hundred miles away from our position, and the sea voyage is only more than thirty nautical miles. If we advance by sea and land, , forming a land and sea pincer attack on the area, the Hou Jin Army will definitely have to shrink its defense. Your special operations battalion plus my troops, plus the cavalry company, will have at least more than two thousand combat troops to deal with the Hou Jin Army's strength of only five or six thousand. Jin Jun, do you think you still have any concerns? Even if they have some strongholds such as fortresses and cities in the area, it won't be very difficult to take them down, right? You have to plan a land and sea attack. This is me. Battle plan! ”
"Your battle plan simply takes into account the one-sided situation of the battle. Then let me ask you, what if our offensive does not go so smoothly? What if there is bad weather, Houjin increases troops, or there is chaos in Shandong and the army needs to go back to stabilize it. There are many emergencies like this, but as long as one happens in Renzhong, this combat plan may be completely ruined. What's more, the Hou Jin Army is not a soft persimmon, and it may not be as easy to defeat them as imagined. " Qian Tiandun tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said: "Let me remind you that the Hou Jin army currently deployed in the direction of the Jinzhou Peninsula is not an elite force in the army. If Hou Jin feels that The war here is tense. If we send a few troops to reinforce, we will be in big trouble.”
"No matter how many people come, we can still hit him!" Wang Tom knew that what Qian Tiandun said was reasonable, but in his heart he just didn't want to give up this quick and decisive battle plan: "As long as the throat of the Jinzhou Isthmus is stuck, the wild boar will It’s useless even if Pi sends an army of 100,000 or 80,000 people!”
"We are not fully prepared. Even if our throat is stuck, we will not be able to use our strength, and our opponents will break free." Qian Tiandun has been in the army for many years, so naturally he will not be easily instigated by such passionate-sounding remarks, and still remains calm. Sentiment: "Our original plan was to launch the offensive after the beginning of spring, because we wanted a sure result. If we follow your method, then why don't we set the offensive time in autumn from the beginning?"
"I didn't expect that the Hou Jin army here would be so incompetent!" Wang Tom sighed: "Before we came here, we expected to capture Lushunkou within ten days, but how long did it actually take? We defeated it in one day. Cleared! Considering the actual combat effectiveness of the Hou Jin Army, I think there is really no need to wait for another winter. IMHO, this winter may be a breathing space for the enemy. They have to adjust their troop deployment at home. But they are much smaller than us. Giving them too much buffer time is making it more difficult for us. Moreover, they should not have expected that we would kill another enemy so quickly after withdrawing our troops!"
"Winter has come. None of our troops have experience fighting in high latitudes in winter. This risk is not worth taking." Qian Tiandun still refused to let go: "Don't forget how the Germans fell to nature in World War II. "We are not Germans, and Houjin can't compare with the Soviet Union. Your comparison is inappropriate!" Wang Tom shook his head and said: "Besides, this place cannot be called a high latitude, and it is far from the real Northeast. It’s a long way to go!”
While the two were talking, Haru Gong also came back. Qian Tiandun immediately pulled him to his side, explained what Wang Tom meant, and then asked for his opinion.
Harugong glared and said, "What about my cavalry? There will be no fodder in the snow field for the next two games. Are the war horses going to fight by chewing tree bark? Isn't it right? It's not too late to wait until spring begins!" ”
The objective conditions that Harugong considered were time. His cavalry battalion must rely on war horses to function, and the cavalry is very dependent on food and grass supplies. Long-distance mobile combat in the wild in winter is by no means easy for war horses. Completed tasks. This is definitely an unacceptable risk for Harugong, who cherishes his horse as much as his life.
Qian Tiandun looked at Tom Wang and shrugged to express that this was not my intention alone. Wang Tom sighed, knowing that this matter was probably over. The three of them were the commanders of the Northern Expedition to the Liaodong Peninsula. Now among the three votes, he was the only one to vote for the continuation of the war. This must be based on the rule of the minority obeying the majority. Doesn’t match. Moreover, it is indeed difficult to make a big fuss on land based on the strength of the navy alone. The Marine Corps' previous combat experience in Dalian Bay has fully proved this.
Qian Tiandun and Harugong had the same opinion, that is, to complete the construction of various infrastructures at Lushun Fort and Lushun Port as soon as possible, and then leave part of the troops to garrison in Lushun, while the others would go south and return to Shandong and other places to wait for the next year. Make plans.
Although they did not bring many accompanying soldiers and civilians to fight north this time, as long as the war is suspended, all military personnel can be immediately transformed into labor forces to participate in infrastructure projects. The main infrastructure projects at the two strongholds are the winter housing and heating facilities for the garrison, as well as the large amounts of fuel that need to be used in the long winter.
These things were all made from local materials in Lushun. Under the command, the soldiers cut down a large number of surrounding mountain forests to make building materials and fuel. This measure also creates a safe zone with a wider field of vision for the garrison. It is almost impossible for the enemy to sneak nearby and lurk quietly.
Gao Qiaonan and most of the special operations battalion he led will stay at Fort Lushun, accompanying the Marine Corps stationed at Lushun Port. For these two elite troops, most of whose soldiers are from the south, the winter in the Liaodong Peninsula is not so easy, so they all have heating equipment installed in their residences.
Keeping these two elite troops in Liaodong is also to allow them to understand and adapt to the weather conditions and natural environment in the Northeast as thoroughly as possible, and to prepare for the military operations that will be carried out in the Northeast in the coming year and even the next few years. But before that, these military elites must first serve as construction workers for a period of time and personally transform the living environment here. Fortunately, the soldiers all knew that they would be stationed in this place for a relatively long period of time, so they did not have much resistance to this non-professional work arrangement. They honestly followed the instructions and built various buildings in Lushun. Basic living facilities.
During this period, the troops going north had also been in contact with Shandong. Chen Yixin and Morgan were responsible for the defense and security affairs of the controlled area. Tian Yeyou, who originally commanded the operation of the mine, had expired and took a boat south a few days ago. Returned. At present, civil affairs and production affairs are jointly managed by Chen Yixin and Hao Wanqing. Fortunately, Haihan's control area in Dengzhou is less than one county. The main production activities are at the Fushan Copper Mine. Tian Yeyou had already arranged the production matters properly before leaving, and there were not many problems. Affairs require their constant involvement.
However, this situation of insufficient management personnel will soon be improved. The passenger ship on which the cadre team heading north to aid the construction has passed Zhoushan, Zhejiang, and will arrive in Shandong soon. At that time, a group of naturalized cadres from cities and counties in Hainan Island will come to Shandong to take over corresponding civil affairs affairs. Some of them may be assigned to Liaodong after the spring to contribute to Haihan's first colony in the Northeast.
The Ming garrison in Dengzhou Prefecture seemed to have calmed down a lot after being repeatedly intimidated by the Haihan Army. There has been no action since the fleet heading north left. Although Liao Jie and Chen Zhongsheng disagreed, they were surprisingly unanimous at this time, which was to let the garrison guard Dengzhou City and not go anywhere. In this way, unless Haihan raises his troops to attack Dengzhou, there should be no opportunity left for Haihan to carry out a sneak attack.
It's just that the officials in Dengzhou City didn't know that the main force of Haihan's army had already left Shandong Province and went up to the Liaodong Peninsula. They huddled in Dengzhou City and shivered, which was just a joke to Haihan. Today, the total number of Haihan troops stationed in Zhifu Island and Fushan County is less than one battalion. It can be said that this is the period when Haihan's garrison strength is the weakest after Haihan occupied this area. It's a pity that the Dengzhou Ming Army didn't know the inside story, otherwise they would have taken advantage of this opportunity to fight hard. Although it would be impossible to wipe out Haihan's local influence, it would at least create a lot of trouble for Haihan.
(End of chapter)