GBP Chapter 175 Meeting with Commander Wei's Adjutant and the Cause of the Bloody Battle of Songsha
Chapter 175 Meeting with Commander Wei's Adjutant and the Cause of the Bloody Battle of Songsha
"Adjutant Zhao, please come in."
Xiao Qi stood at the door of the war room and gestured for someone to come in. Then, Zhao Zizhuo, dressed in a neat military uniform with his major-general's epaulettes shining, stepped in.
The war room was brightly lit, with a large sand table occupying the center. Maps and battle reports covered the surrounding walls. Zhang Chi and Tan Zhijie, newly promoted to Chief of Staff of the Anmin Army, were already waiting inside.
The two men were talking in low voices, their eyes occasionally falling on the sand table, appearing to be very confident.
Zhang Chi looked up at Zhao Zizhuo and nodded slightly: "Time is running out, we are all soldiers, so let's not waste time on greetings. Adjutant Zhao, please look here." He pointed to the sand table.
Zhao Zizhuo's gaze immediately fell on the sand table, and his heart was suddenly shocked.
"this..."
This is not an ordinary sand table. It meticulously restores the complex terrain of the border between Yunnan Province and Kachin State, with undulating mountains and crisscrossing rivers. Every inch is meticulously crafted and can be called a piece of war art.
Standing in front of the sand table, Zhao Zizhuo's mind flashed through various rumors about Zhang Chi in recent years.
You know, Zhang Chi’s reputation within the expeditionary force has not been very good recently.
Although Zhang Chi still retains the designation of the 212th Division, anyone with a discerning eye knows that he will be a local tyrant rooted in the Pegu region in the future, and may even be the White Eagle people's designated "King of Pegu."
Therefore, there have been complaints in the army for a long time, saying that Zhang Chi is taking advantage of the defeated soldiers of the expeditionary force to rise up and "set up his own camp". Now that he has his own territory, he will most likely ignore the Japanese in the country in the future and will not care about the life and death of the domestic war of resistance.
At first, Adjutant Zhao judged Zhang Chi by his own experience and thought that according to the White Party generals' consistent style of "soldiers belong to the generals", Zhang Chi would definitely live a secluded life and would not be willing to waste his precious troops on opening up the Burma Road.
But at this moment, seeing this carefully constructed sand table, Zhao Zizhuo suddenly realized that he was wrong, and those rumors were also totally wrong.
"If Commander Zhang truly didn't care about the domestic war, why would he have gone to such great lengths to construct such a detailed sand table?"
Zhao Zizhuo pondered secretly, and could not help but straighten his body and saluted Zhang Chi: "Commander Zhang is overseas, but he still cares about the interests of the motherland. I admire him deeply!"
Zhang Chi waved his hand, his tone calm but firm: "Save the compliments for the celebration banquet after our victory over the Japanese. As long as the Japanese are not eliminated, nothing else can be achieved. Adjutant Zhao, we need your cooperation. Next, we will advance east and west, and work together to eliminate the enemy from Bamao to Longling."
Zhao Zizhuo nodded and walked to the sand table: "I'd like to hear the details."
Zhang Chi smiled slightly and winked at Tan Zhijie, who immediately picked up his pointer and pointed to the west bank of the Nujiang River on the sand table.
"We can see it," he began, moving his pointer between Tengchong, Songshan, and Longling. "Tengchong, Songshan, and Longling form a pincer attack, the core of the Japanese defense area in western Yunnan. Songshan, in particular, commands a commanding position, and right next to it is the Huiren Bridge, which spans the Nu River."
"If I were the Japanese, I would definitely use Songshan as a defensive fulcrum and concentrate heavy troops there. Even if Tengchong and Longling were lost, they could rely on Songshan to launch an attack and seize the opportunity to retake their positions."
Zhao Zizhuo listened carefully and nodded slightly: "What Chief of Staff Tan said coincides with the judgment of our expeditionary force."
He pointed to the small flag representing Tengchong on the sand table and said slowly, "According to Commander Wei's plan, our army will first cross the Nujiang River and head straight for Tengchong. We will then cross the Gaoligong Mountains in the west and join up with your main force heading east from Myitkyina."
After listening to what Zhao Zizhuo said, Zhang Chi's face remained calm, but he already understood in his heart.
This strategic plan is exactly the same as in history, and it was the idea formulated by the New 1st Army and the New 6th Army stationed in Sindhu after they captured Myitkyina.
He smiled slightly and said, "In my opinion, we should send two detachments to tie down the Japanese in Longling and Songshan, while the main force concentrates all its efforts on capturing Tengchong and linking up with our army in western Yunnan. Then we can encircle the remaining two enemy bases and completely clear this area."
As he spoke, his fingers slid lightly across the sand table, marking the trajectory of the offensive in Longling, Songshan, and Tengchong. The lines traced by his fingertips matched remarkably with the top-secret battle plan in Wei Junru's drawer.
Zhao Zizhuo raised his eyebrows, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He glanced at the sand table and couldn't help but sigh, "Commander Zhang is truly extraordinary! With just a few words from me, you were able to accurately guess Commander Zhongwei's overall plan. Such insight makes you worthy of being a famous general who annihilated an entire Japanese division!"
He was genuinely amazed, but he didn't suspect the plan had been leaked. After all, only a few people knew about the draft strategy, and they were all Wei Junru's confidants, so there was no way it could have been leaked.
Zhang Chi looked calm and nodded lightly, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: history always repeats itself surprisingly, and the hidden dangers of this plan are still vivid in his mind.
The historical counteroffensive in western Yunnan paid a heavy price precisely because of this initial plan - the plan was discovered in advance by the Japanese, causing the Japanese in Longling and Songshan to be transferred to Tengchong for reinforcement, resulting in the expeditionary force's defeat in the first round of attack.
Even worse, by the time the Yunnan-West Expeditionary Force learned of the plan's leak, the 20-man frontline force had already been caught in a dilemma due to insufficient logistical supplies and a shortage of food and fodder. (The White Party's logistics are just one word: rubbish. They couldn't even fight a war on their own doorstep without food and fodder.)
"The White Party's logistical capabilities..." Zhang Chi smiled bitterly, recalling that period of war history:
In order to relieve the pressure on the front lines for supplies, the expeditionary force was forced to change its attack on Songshan to shorten the transportation route. (After taking Songshan, the supply route to the Tengchong front line would no longer have to cross Baihualing, and could instead take the old route of the Burma Road.)
As a result, the national army in the direction of Longling and Songshan switched from delaying defense to a full-scale offensive.
Unfortunately, since a large amount of ammunition had been used up in the previous attack on Tengchong, and the logistical supply lines were as thin as paper, everything became difficult.
It is difficult to transport both food and ammunition at the same time. If you transport food, you cannot transport ammunition, and if you transport ammunition, you cannot transport food.
Ultimately, the attack on Songshan was hasty and unprepared, with insufficient artillery fire and could only rely on bloody fighting.
During the "Hundred Days' Bloody Battle of Songshan," the 71st Army's New 28th Division, the New 8th Army's 82nd Division, and the Rong 1st Division took turns fighting, their blood soaking every inch of the hillside. Zhang Chi closed his eyes, seemingly able to hear the shrill cries of history, and the figures who fell in each charge.
Now, the battle situation in western Yunnan has entered a critical stage, but logistical issues are still a sword hanging over our heads.
Even if he had C-47 transport planes and some bombers, it would be impossible to meet the food and ammunition needs of the 20-strong Yunnan-Guizhou Expeditionary Force by relying solely on airdrops.