Chapter 1427 Spring Offensive
Due to various reasons, the combat effectiveness and role that the Haihan cavalry can play in the Liaodong area is very limited. In addition to Harugong himself, other commanders are inconvenient to assign cavalry with limited strength to the front line to fight against the Houjin cavalry. Fight hard. Takahashi Nan's few cavalrymen did not dare to send out easily, so he gave this task to Shen Zhixiang, and the other party's performance did not disappoint him. Although they failed to annihilate Houjin Youqi, this time After the battle, I will be able to be quiet for a few days, and I won't see the Houjin Cavalry outside the camp again soon.
Before winter, Haihan had launched a feint attack led by the navy on the Linhai Plain near the Jinzhou Isthmus. However, even that offensive caused great trouble to the Jin army. Haihan ultimately failed to establish a foothold on land. A fortress-like stronghold that can be garrisoned for a long time. This time, the Jin Army had already detected the camp that Haihan had built on the seaside more than ten miles away from the Jinzhou Isthmus, so they would naturally realize what such a move meant.
Logically speaking, the Jin Army, which had a considerable proportion of cavalry, had a clear advantage in land mobility, but they got the news too late. They only mobilized troops from Jinzhou, Fuzhou, Gaizhou and other places. It just took a few days. And although the snowfall has gradually become scarce at this time, the snow in the fields has not melted away. The cavalry troops have to be active in the wild for a long time, and the large amount of fodder required by the horses will be a very troublesome problem. In order to solve this problem, the Later Jin Army had to recruit a large number of carts and pack horses from the private sector to transport the grain and grass supplies needed by the troops.
One step at a time, one step at a time. While the Hou Jin Army was still worrying about a mess of logistical problems, Haihan had already begun to send the Lushun garrison to the front line in batches, waiting for the weather to clear up to launch the offensive.
The Haihan Navy was divided into two fleets, the East and West. The East Fleet was led by Wang Tom himself, with the goal of landing on the coast of Dalian Bay; while the West Fleet was led by Morgan, and the landing point he chose was the previous The hilltop on the Bohai Sea coast that I once led the sniper team to. Morgan had already made plans after returning from his previous reconnaissance. He would use the local terrain to build a firepower position, which would be like driving a nail into the isthmus of Jinzhou, making it difficult for the Jin army to move south to attack the sea on the plain. Han camp.
March 7, sunny. The special operations battalion south of Gaoqiao left early in the morning and headed north. Shen Zhixiang's troops followed suit, and only three to four hundred logistics personnel, some accompanying soldiers and civilians, and part of the navy remained in the Shahe camp.
Takahashi Minami sat on the horse. He did not act high-spirited, but followed the black horse in front of him respectfully, keeping half a horse's distance behind so that he could hear the man on the horse at any time. instructions.
Even though Gao Qiaonan has become a senior officer commanding Haihan's ace troops today, in front of Qian Tiandun, he is still as deferential as ever. He was just released from the hard labor camp and was assigned to be a soldier under Qian Tiandun. There is no difference when serving as an orderly. Although Qian Tiandun never needed any retainers, Gao Qiaonan had always quietly placed himself in this position and tried his best to serve him.
"After fighting this battle, your promotion reward should come down."
Qian Tiandun's voice came from the front, causing Gao Qiaonan's slightly lowered eyes to immediately rise: "Has the application for the expansion of the special operations battalion been approved?"
Takahashi Minami knew that it was unlikely that he would be transferred out of the special operations battalion, and there was already no promotion here. Apart from the expansion and reorganization of the special operations battalion, there should be no other way to further improve his official position. However, he didn't care about how much his military rank and position could be improved. Whether he could continue to work under Qian Tiandun and whether he could continue to expand the special operations battalion's establishment were his biggest concerns.
"The special operations battalion will be converted into a regiment, and your military rank will be promoted to lieutenant colonel." Qian Tiandun's voice revealed a bit of pride: "This is the first regiment-level establishment in the army. From now on, your rank will be The name will also be included in the military museum.”
Although Gao Qiaonan didn't care so much about fame and fortune, after hearing Qian Tiandun's words, he knew what an honor it was for a soldier. He quickly clasped his fists and responded: "I have to thank you for your humble job today." Cultivation! ”
Qian Tiandun raised his head slightly, looked at the sky in the distance, and said unhurriedly: "You are an excellent soldier. Regardless of whether you are serving under me or not, you will eventually succeed one day. Thank me, Why don’t you thank yourself.”
Gao Qiaonan didn't dare to answer this question. He didn't think he was really as powerful as Qian Tiandun said. He only knew that if he hadn't met Qian Tiandun, he might have died somewhere in Shengli Port eight years ago. On the construction site. Even if it takes him a lifetime to repay this kindness, it is not an exaggeration, and that is exactly what he plans to do. Of course, the most important thing at the moment is to resolve the battle of Golden State, and this battle must be fought beautifully, otherwise wouldn't it be a failure to receive the upcoming reward?
But Qian Tiandun was not thinking about the spring offensive. The necessary parts of the combat plan had been decided, and the remaining uncertain parts depended on the commanders' on-the-spot responses. But he was convinced that the victory in this battle would definitely belong to Haihan. In order to achieve the strategic goal of entering Liaodong, Haihan had been preparing for several years. This time he mobilized an army to attack the Jinzhou Isthmus like a lion fighting a rabbit, which was also because of the victory. Both the Fort and the Ministry of National Defense cannot afford to lose anything. They would rather spend more effort to win this battle steadily.
Since the spring offensive is a sure thing, Qian Tiandun naturally won't worry about it anymore. What he is thinking about now is what will happen after the war. This unit under his command was created by him when he was stationed in Black Earth Port. Over the years, it has fought all the way from the South China Sea to the Yellow Sea. It has never been defeated on the battlefield. Its establishment has been expanded again and again. It can be said to be the most glorious unit in the army. But Qian Tiandun knew that his army had obvious flaws, that is, it was difficult to adapt to the northern environment.
Although the special operations battalion had been stationed in Shandong for more than a year before this, the epidemic still appeared in the army immediately after entering Liaodong. Qian Tiandun understood that this was not due to negligence of medical staff in the military, but because there were too many soldiers from the south in the special operations camp and it was difficult for them to adapt to the climate in the Northeast. Officers including Takahashi Minami had raised this issue with him more than once. However, with the military order in hand, the special operations battalion could only complete the tasks assigned by the Ministry of National Defense before making other plans. Recruiting soldiers from the Northeast to complete the exchange is undoubtedly the most effective solution, but the problem is that the number of immigrants from the Northeast is inherently limited, and the soldiers recruited among them cannot live alone, and have to be divided among other units, so they can really enter The Northeastern recruits in the special operations camp are just a drop in the bucket, and there is no way to change the birthplace ratio of the population in the special operations camp in the short term.
Since this method didn't work, Qian Tiandun considered the next best thing and transferred his troops to areas with better adaptability, such as the low latitudes in the south. Of course, he had seen the internal reference of the Ministry of National Defense and knew the inside story of the Spanish fleet's sneak attack on Sanya last year. Although Haihan did not seem to pursue Spain's bold actions afterwards, the matter would not be settled hastily. When the Ministry of National Defense becomes free, this revenge will definitely be avenged. Qian Tiandun hoped that he could hand over the affairs in Liaodong to other troops in time, and then strive to get the task of leading his troops south to attack the Spanish colonies.
Of course, before that, the special operations battalion must first complete the process of expansion and upgrading. According to Qian Tiandun's own estimation, after the special operations battalion is upgraded to an independent regiment, at least two to three battalions will be added, and it is expected to have its own artillery, cavalry and even surface ship units. If calculated based on the current strength of the special operations battalion, the strength of the independent regiment after upgrading will be at least 4,000. This is of course not a standard regiment-level troop configuration, but it is just because the combat establishment of the special operations battalion has always been seriously overstaffed. It is euphemistically called "strengthened". The establishment of the same level is at least 40 to 50% more than that of ordinary troops. In terms of military strength, after upgrading to a regiment, this "strengthened" organization will only become more severe, and the gap between military strength and ordinary troops will be even greater.
If the strength and configuration of troops can meet Qian Tiandun's expectations, then the upgraded force will be able to stand alone on the battlefield in the Far East and will be able to fight against any opponent in the region. Especially those armed forces that still use cold weapons, even if they have ten or twenty times the strength, it will be difficult to defeat Qian Tiandun's troops on the frontal battlefield. This is indeed an excellent opportunity for Qian Tiandun who aims to conquer all directions.
Although the quality of soldiers in the north was good, Qian Tiandun had already made up his mind to apply to return to the south after the war, and the sooner the better, so that he could recruit enough soldiers in a short time to expand the army. The only thing that made Qian Tiandun a little uncertain was that it was too far away from Sanya, and the news could only be transmitted by telegram, so he didn't know whether the Executive Committee or the Ministry of National Defense had any other arrangements for him. If conditions permit, Qian Tiandun plans to return to Sanya after the spring offensive to communicate his ideas with the executive committee in order to gain the understanding and support of those in power.
While Qian Tiandun's and Shen Zhixiang's troops broke camp and headed north, there was a Haihan fleet on each side of the Liaodong Peninsula near the east and west coasts, plowing through the waves. Although it is clear that Houjin's maritime armed forces are running low and are not enough to pose a threat to the Haihan navy, there are still more than 20 combat ships in the two fleets, and the flagships are all of Haihan's current tonnage. The largest Majesty-class battleship, used to escort naval vessels is really a bit overqualified.
However, what the Ministry of National Defense wants is this effect. After all, Haihan currently has only one battlefield in Liaodong in the vast sea area north of the Qiongzhou Strait. If he wants to train his troops in actual combat, he can only go here. The purpose of sending the two majestic-class warships originally stationed in Zhejiang is to make these sailors and sailors who have not been active for a long time move around and not forget how to fight.
Under the protection of the armed fleet, several troop transport ships arrived at the predetermined coastal area without any hindrance. At this time, no trace of the Houjin Army was even found near the shore.
Cutting into Dalian Bay, Wang Tom's troops successfully landed at the predetermined location. The Marine Corps soldiers set foot on the land of the Jinzhou Isthmus without firing a shot, and then the Jin Army's defense line was only a few miles away. remote. It was obvious that the opponent's patrol arrangements were unreasonable and left obvious security holes near the coastline. Of course, this may also be because the previous feint attack adopted an amphibious landing operation. In the end, Haihan took the initiative to withdraw his troops. The opponent probably believed that Haihan would not repeat the previous failed method again, so the monitoring of the Dalian Bay coast was It was obviously not strict enough, so that effective interception and strike measures were not implemented during the landing stage of the Haihan Army.
But the last time the navy launched a feint attack on the coast of Dalian Bay, it naturally wanted to retreat after getting an advantage. But this time it came back, it was serious. The Marine Corps and the Army troops that landed in Dalian Bay alone were There are as many as a thousand people. At this time, the special operations battalion and the Pidao Army, which were marching north by land, had also marched to the nearby area, and were only six or seven miles away from the landing point.
The fleet traveling from the Bohai Sea to the Golden State Isthmus was commanded by Morgan. His mission was to occupy the commanding heights on the coast and establish a forward position on it. However, according to the previous on-site reconnaissance, there is a Houjin stronghold at the foot of the northern mountain of this highland, so it will not be easy to seize control of this place.
Because this Houjin stronghold was too close to the coast, the arrival of the Haihan fleet could not be hidden from the eyes of the Houjin army. But seeing such a huge fleet coming right before their eyes, the Houjin Army, which only had a few hundred troops stationed here, couldn't help but panic. The officer leading the team sent cavalry back to warn, and at the same time organized people and horses to prepare to resist the Haihan army's landing intention with bows and arrows.
However, the Hou Jin army's bows and arrows had a limited range, and they had to come to the coast to ensure that their arrows could reach the ship. Some clever soldiers also found some cotton cloth, soaked it in oil and wrapped it around the arrowheads, planning to launch a fire attack on these enemy ships.
However, the Haihan Navy had no intention of leaving room for them to perform. When they were still about 200 meters away from the coast, the leading warships took the lead in displaying their broadside guns, and then aimed at the rear Jin army formation on the shore. It was a round of bombardment. The bombardment from sea to land was not very accurate, and the target was small, so this round of bombardment actually did not hit a few people at all. But the Hou Jin Army immediately blew up their nest. They were not afraid of fighting face to face with the enemy, but being bombarded by the roaring artillery from a long distance and unable to fight back was a situation they were extremely unwilling to face. The horses under the cavalry were frightened to the point of neighing, and many turned around and ran away.
(End of chapter)