boyutpedia Chapter 1007 Landmines
Chapter 1007 Landmines
Pujiang War Zone Command
"News from all over the place has been compiled. The Japanese have planted at least 10,000 mines in the Pujiang battle zone, significantly delaying our advance. I've also studied their movements. They're probably trying to trap us with these mines, using this time to increase their forces. The Military Control Commission has already received word that approximately four divisions are on their way."
Commander Zhang of the former Songhu War Zone has now become Chief of Staff Zhang of the Pujiang War Zone. He is now explaining the situation in Pujiang to everyone.
"These devils reacted very quickly. Under Commander Li's orders, our troops charged very quickly. But to be frank, our troops were all inexperienced. After occupying that piece of land, we actually forgot to continue the attack, leaving the devils with five or six hours. It was during these five or six hours that these bastards actually planted so many mines."
Commander Sun of the 88th Division said somewhat depressedly that they had suffered heavy losses in the early stages of the war and had now recruited a lot of new soldiers. Although their combat effectiveness had not recovered to the original level, compared with the friendly forces on the battlefield, they were still a powerful force.
"Who says it's not? Yesterday I wanted my men to give it a try, but we lost more than a dozen men and didn't make any progress. You don't know how densely the Japanese buried their mines. Some mines were just lying there in plain sight. We lacked the tools to clear mines before, let alone now."
Commander Zhao of the 17th Division could be said to have made the most aggressive charge yesterday. The entire division of 8,500 officers and soldiers wiped out a total of 1,400 Japanese devils yesterday, breaking the record since the Anti-Japanese War.
"It's not just a matter of tools. Our units are seriously short of engineers. It's not easy to remove all these mines."
Chief of Staff Zhang shook his head. If it was a mine-clearing tool, Li Shaoyi should be able to solve it, but the problem was that we had trained too few engineers before. Take the various troops of the National Government as an example. There were simply not so many types of troops, nor the budget. How could you train them?
"Captain Li, what do you think?"
Everyone discussed for a long time but didn't come up with what they wanted to discuss, so Commander Song of the 36th Division asked Li Shaoyi what he thought. After all, you are the commander-in-chief of the Pujiang War Zone. Even if we discuss until tomorrow morning, we still have to wait for your decision.
"Large-scale armed mine clearance is unrealistic. The Japanese are hiding in the dark. They know the mines in the minefield better than we do. Our engineers just approached and were immediately attacked by their secret sentries. Brigade Commander Guo's men also cleared mines yesterday, but apart from losing a dozen engineers, they didn't gain anything. So no matter if we have all the engineers or all the tools, this route is a dead end."
After hearing what Li Shaoyi said, everyone sighed. These devils were defeated by us, but when they were retreating, they actually found so many mines, which hit our seven-inch defense.
"But don't lose heart, everyone. I've already asked Jinling about this, and I'm planning to transfer the 2nd Artillery Division of the 72nd Army here. I'll use my heavy artillery to clear the minefields..."
Li Shaoyi's few brief words brought smiles to the faces of everyone present, and artillery fire washed the ground...
What a bold statement! At least none of the Central Army officers could say it. Just bombarding the minefield with heavy artillery, how many shells would be needed? Their logistics alone couldn't sustain it, but Li Shaoyi's two artillery divisions could muster over 800 large-caliber artillery pieces. Even if the Japanese had buried enough mines, we could just bombard them for two more days.
"That's fantastic, but we need to move fast. I heard Japan is planning another massive increase in troops, this time adding five divisions at once. Together with their previous troops in Pujiang, the total number will be close to 300,000."
After hearing Chief of Staff Zhang's words, the smiles on everyone's faces froze. 300,000 Japanese troops, what a terrifying number for them. If the 72nd Army hadn't arrived, we would have had to deploy at least five times the Japanese army. That's a full 1.5 million people. Regardless of whether we win or lose, it would be a major blow to our entire country.
"Everyone, take advantage of these two days and have the brothers quickly reply to the dispatch of troops and the transportation of wounded. It will take at most 48 hours. After 48 hours, the Japanese army should not have arrived in full force. We will give them another wave of artillery rain."
Li Shaoyi proudly stated that the railway running from the north to the south was essentially occupied by the 72nd Army, and all other civilian industries had come to a halt. After all, defending Pujiang was the most important priority for the entire nation. Furthermore, the Pujiang battlefield had already achieved initial success, and no one dared to offend Li Shaoyi at this time.
What's more, the entire country is celebrating this event. If your small mistake caused the troops on the Pujiang battlefield to be insufficiently replenished, wouldn't you be a sinner for the entire country? Even the elders in your family would probably beat you.
Unlike Li Shaoyi, the Japanese headquarters was in a much more difficult situation. All personnel had crawled out of their underground bunkers and transferred to a heavy cruiser, which was 50 kilometers away from the shore of the Pujiang River.
These people were really scared. The Japanese dug an underground bunker in Pujiang. During Li Shaoyi's last bombardment, 30% of the people were suffocated to death inside. You can imagine how powerful the bombardment was, so these high-ranking Japanese officers were afraid that they would make mistakes.
The excuse was to protect the command line of the Pujiang battlefield, so the transfer from Pujiang land was necessary.
Although Admiral Matsui had stated that he would not evacuate, he was still a son of a bitch, and he would stay here even if the shells came. So after his subordinates had given him a few token persuasions, he followed the headquarters to the warship, much to the ridicule of many in the navy.
In the eyes of the Japanese Navy, we only had less than 1 marines before, but we were able to fight effectively in Pujiang against the three German-equipped divisions of the National Government. Now your army of more than 20 has been driven back to the seaside, and you are relying on mines to stabilize the front line. I really don't know what to say about you. If the empire relies on your army, it will be a disgrace.