Chapter 1631 The troops are divided into three groups
The troops attacking Manila were divided into three assembly points to set off, which was also a rare move in the history of the Haihan War. Since Haihan has always followed the route of elite troops, he does not have any advantage in terms of military strength. Therefore, in past battles, the participating troops were often gathered in one place and then deployed to the combat location to perform tasks. The advantage of this is that it makes it easier for the commander to control the overall situation and mobilize elite troops in the shortest possible time to respond to changes in the battle situation. At the same time, it is also easier to arrange baggage transportation and logistical support.
Of course, this tactic is not without its shortcomings. For example, if the enemy detects the assembly point, it is possible to take the initiative to launch an attack before Haihan's troops are fully in place, or the position of the assembly point can be used to deduce Haihan's strength. Attack target and approximate launch time.
However, the special tactics adopted by Haihan this time were not due to these reasons, but because the elite troops deployed by Haihan in overseas bases were too far away from the mainland. The soldiers went directly to Manila Bay from the current Kaohsiung Port and Cam Ranh Port. Compared with returning to Sanya first and then setting off together, it saves several days of flight, which is undoubtedly of great benefit to the participating troops in maintaining good combat status. Especially for the northern troops that have completed their assembly at Kaohsiung Port, their voyage to Sanya is almost the same as the voyage from Sanya to Manila, and the direct voyage from Kaohsiung Port to Manila is even much closer than back to Sanya.
After careful weighing and planning, the Ministry of National Defense finally decided on a plan to assemble and set off separately by region to save the physical fitness and unnecessary expenses of the participating troops, and at the same time to try out the execution effect of this new method of warfare.
Even for the Haihan Army, which already has rich experience in overseas combat, the deployment and deployment of participating troops spanning thousands of miles is still a huge challenge. This is not only a matter of whether the command system of the Ministry of National Defense can achieve simultaneous actions in the three places, but also the possible impact of various temporary situations. For example, bad sea conditions suddenly occur in a certain sea area, and fleets passing through that area must detour. , then it will be difficult to completely synchronize the voyage with the other two fleets, and the time difference in arriving at the destination may change from hours to days. At this time, it is time to wait until all the troops have arrived before launching the offensive according to the original plan. It would be a test of the commander's ability to take action immediately.
Once the troops from the three places cannot arrive at their destinations simultaneously, subsequent combat plans will definitely be greatly affected. How to deal with this possible situation has also become a touchstone to test the planning capabilities of the Ministry of National Defense.
The Executive Committee is not without objections to this risky battle plan. Several Executive Committee members believe that this is too risky. Once any of the three-way troops are delayed or something goes wrong on the way, It is very likely that it will affect the overall strategic implementation, leading to the early termination of the operation.
However, the Ministry of National Defense ultimately insisted on using this plan. The reason was that it took into account the actual situation of the Haihan border defense. It mobilized so many elite troops from various border areas at once to participate in this operation, which was equivalent to relocating many important border defense areas. The defense has been weakened a lot. The sooner the operation is ended and the participating troops are transferred back to their bases, the more safety factors in these places can return to normal levels.
December 29, Cam Ranh Bay Military Port Terminal on the east coast of Indochina, 700 kilometers south of Sanya. Roger led the South China Sea Special Warfare Group he founded and just arrived here in a dusty journey. According to the orders of the Ministry of National Defense, they assembled at the military port base and were on standby. In addition to his elite team, an artillery company specially transferred back from Ambrosia Island has also arrived here.
This artillery company is mainly responsible for the local coastal defense fortifications on Ambuna Island. However, as Ambuna Island attracts more and more capital from various countries, the security of this place does not need to be protected by military means. , whoever dares to take advantage of this place is going against the South China Sea Commercial Alliance, which includes the Ming Dynasty, Haihan, Annan, the Netherlands, Portugal and many other regional powers. Even the Spaniards who have the courage to attack Sanya do not dare to do so. Such an outrageous thing would happen. Therefore, during this operation, the Ministry of National Defense decisively mobilized the artillery units stationed on the island and asked them to join the South Fleet to coordinate with Roger's troops.
Roger was able to escape from Sing Tao with his troops. On the one hand, he benefited from the victory over the Johor coalition forces on Sing Tao last May, which made neighboring countries dare not easily challenge the Haihan garrison on Sing Tao; on the other hand, On the other hand, Tan Juren, who was assigned to Singdao by the Executive Committee as the Chief Administrative Officer, and Han Zhengshan, a naturalized cadre who served as the Sheriff, are already on track to preside over local civil affairs and public security work, and there is no need for troops to maintain local security. Only when social order exists, Roger can leave with confidence and boldness.
The person who greeted Roger at the Cam Ranh Bay base was Feng Annan. Since the end of the Annan Civil War, he had spent most of his time here in Annan. After the first phase of the Cam Ranh Bay military port project was completed, the Ministry of National Defense appointed him as the commander of the Cam Ranh Bay base. An entire fleet was originally stationed here in Cam Ranh Bay. Later, after the Haihan Army stationed on Star Island, half of the fleet was assigned to garrison on Star Island. In the past year or so, the fleet stationed in Cam Ranh Bay has successively added four "exploration" class warships and the same number of comprehensive supply ships, allowing the fleet here to still maintain a strong combat lineup.
In fact, according to the deployment of the Ministry of National Defense, all the areas occupied by Haihan south of Cam Ranh Bay are supplied with weapons and military supplies from this base. When reinforcements are needed, troops are first mobilized from Cam Ranh Bay. Therefore, in addition to being the main station of the Navy's South China Sea Fleet, it is also a huge material supply center. All the military supplies of the Southern Route Army have been gradually transported to Cam Ranh Bay in recent months, and then loaded on ships here, waiting to set off with the combat troops to their destinations.
Roger didn't relax just because there was someone here to arrange supplies. After he met Feng Anan, he didn't even bother to eat the Feng Banquet. He first offered to go and see the supplies for this operation. So Feng Annan personally took him to a warehouse near the military port and showed him the combat supplies shipped from Sanya last month.
"This pile of boxes is for the repeating rifles you requested. There are fifty boxes here, with four guns in each box, a total of two hundred boxes. The small wooden box next to it is for bullets, with three hundred and fifty rounds in each box, a total of two hundred boxes. There are also grenades and landmines. There are 300 grenades and 50 landmines. The explosives are distributed according to the professional assessment level of the engineer platoon of your special operations brigade during the last military exercise. There are 50 kilograms in total and 40 mines are allocated. Detonators." Feng Annan introduced the number of these supplies to Roger as he led the way through the warehouse: "The boxes here are filled with clothes, shoes and socks, various medicines, hemostatic bandages, and the pile in front of them. The black boxes contain military rations. According to your request, there is no inventory. They are all produced after August this year.”
The quartermaster will count these supplies according to the list. Roger does not need to do the counting himself. He only needs to confirm that these items are in place and there are no major quality problems. For Roger, as long as there are enough supplies, he can go anywhere in the world. Even if there are thousands of defenders in Manila City, he will not feel any fear. In his opinion, the defenders are just a bunch of chickens and dogs. Whether it is weapons or tactics, they are far behind his own side. He only relies on How many days can the high walls of the fortified city be defended?
Roger had nothing to criticize about the supplies provided by the Ministry of Defense this time. Although the supply of guns and ammunition seemed small, it was already extra care given by the Ministry of Defense. Compared with the amount of ammunition he can apply for on weekdays, the supplies granted to him this time are already very generous.
"How long will it take to load these supplies? Is one day enough?" Roger asked. Feng Annan said: "We can start loading the ship after you have verified and calculated clearly. The most important thing we are short of here is labor. In my opinion, as long as we use more manpower, it will not take a day at all. Half a day should be enough."
"I'm now worried about whether the people in the staff have calculated the amount of supplies correctly. I heard that after this battle, there may be no follow-up supplies. We will have to rely on what we have now to last until the end of the war." Roger's eyes were fixed all the time. He murmured in a low voice as he saw the mountains of supplies in front of him.
Supply is the weakest link in Haihan's cross-sea operation plan. Sanya and Cam Ranh Bay are both about 1,300 kilometers away from Manila Bay. Kaohsiung Port is a little closer, but the distance is more than 1,000 kilometers. Maintaining such a long maritime supply line during combat is a great test for the shipping department and the military. Therefore, the Ministry of National Defense has been prepared from the beginning for extreme situations, that is, it will be unable to transport sufficient combat materials to the local area in time for replenishment. The requirements of the Ministry of National Defense for the troops participating in the war are to make a decisive decision and to defeat the Spaniards quickly, and try to use the supplies they brought with them when they went on the expedition.
But if the progress during the battle is not so smooth, the supplies may affect the final outcome of the war. Even General Haihan, who is confident in the combat effectiveness of his own troops, cannot help but still have doubts about the arrangements of the Ministry of National Defense, fearing that this one-shot deal will encounter unpredictable emergencies.
Feng Annan seemed very optimistic about this point: "The Ministry of National Defense has been planning this for more than a year. I heard that the people in the staff department are doing deductions every day when they have nothing to do, to confirm that our army can survive without secondary resupply. I can defeat the Spaniards with just one move. I wonder if Lao Yan can destroy his own brand?”
"Of course I trust Lao Yan." Roger expressed his stance quickly. If what he just said reached Yan Chujie, it might be regarded as a complaint, so it was better to speak clearly.
"Okay, while there are still a few days before departure, I will arrange all the programs for you. The conditions on Xingdao are difficult, so you can enjoy eating meat like this these two days!" Feng Annan squeezed towards Roger. She winked and signaled him to take the time to enjoy it.
At the same time, elite troops returning from the north are also arriving at Kaohsiung Port in Taiwan, which is more than 1,200 kilometers away from Sanya. However, compared to the expertise of Cam Ranh Bay, Kaohsiung Port, a mainly civilian port, is obviously not that proficient in combat readiness. There was a slight chaos when the supplies provided to various armies were stored in the port warehouse, so that each arm The quartermaster of the army had to go to the warehouse in person to conduct a second count.
Wang Tom, Qian Tiandun, and Harugong were all in Kaohsiung at this time. This was the first time that so many senior generals had gathered here since Haihan captured this place. For the military, Kaohsiung Port's deficiencies in preparation work were too unprofessional. For this reason, the current person in charge of Kaohsiung Port, Li Dou, had to apologize to the military generals.
The military general with the best personal relationship with Li Dou was probably Chen Yixin, who also participated in the crossing operation. However, Chen Yixin did not go south with the army this time. Since he knew the situation in the north better, the Ministry of National Defense ordered him to be transferred from Shandong to Liaodong. , served as a field commander locally to supplement the command vacancy left by Wang Tom and others after they went south. Although the troops commanded by Chen Yixin are far inferior in strength, winter has already entered the Northeast region at this time. Both sides are unwilling to start another large-scale battle in this snowy environment, so they are currently in a tacit understanding. During the truce period, Chen Yixin faced little external pressure.
Kaohsiung Port has been put into use for more than two years, and nearly 30,000 acres of grain fields and plantations have been developed around the port, and nearly 20 villages and four towns have been established. The local indigenous people in the nearby mountainous areas also began to gradually accept the goodwill released by Haihan, and established a relatively primitive and simple trade relationship with Haihan using mountain goods. Haihan merchants used food, tea, salt and other daily necessities to exchange animal skins, medicinal materials, mountain delicacies and other local specialties with the indigenous residents.
Some mountain people with more enlightened ideas have even begun to leave the mountainous area and enter the Haihan controlled area to work hard in exchange for rewards. Li Dou proudly introduced to the generals that many indigenous students had been enrolled in local schools to learn Chinese characters together with Han children. Although the families of these indigenous students often cannot afford full tuition, Li Dou allows them to use local products to mortgage their tuition fees in exchange for the opportunity to receive education.
"This kind of measure can only be used in relatively mild tribes, right? Are there no troublemakers here?" Harugong asked curiously.
"Yes! But that was in the past. The disobedient tribes have basically been wiped out and split up, or they have been rushed directly to the east coast." Li Dou said nonchalantly: "Those who can stay near our control area , are basically moderate tribes and are willing to engage in cultural exchanges and trade with us.”
(End of chapter)