The procession in khaki uniforms marched along the official road, and the people along the way automatically avoided the army, hiding on both sides of the road and looking nervously curiously.

Dressed in an earthy yellow military uniform, with an unknown wide belt tied diagonally on his chest, and an earthy yellow backpack on his back. The rifle was inserted horizontally into the holster strap sewn into the backpack. The infantrymen were dressed simply and brightly, and their movements were equally brisk. Some civilians also noticed that the soldiers wore half-high-waisted leather boots instead of straw sandals or cloth shoes, nor Chinese liberation shoes, which were not cheap. Not to mention this military uniform, just a pair of leather boots is already worth a lot.

The troops were in a continuous procession, and the cavalry galloped past the ranks from time to time, passing the latest orders. There were also four soldiers carrying machine guns, and tall and strong pack horses dragging artillery guns or flatbed carts equipped with large pneumatic tires, which were piled high with ammunition and other supplies.

The people looked at the endless procession and couldn't help but whisper, "Where are they going?" ”

"It's supposed to be going to White River City, right?" The local people were quick to make a judgment.

White River Castle is located on the official road, and the tragic Battle of White River Estuary broke out more than ten years ago. The Meiji army and the alliance of the Ou-Etsu domain won all seven battles here, and finally established the basis for victory in the Aizu War. The local people are not mistaken, the purpose of the Hokkaido Army is Shirakawa Castle. Ignore the rest of the region and occupy White River City. Attracting Meiji government forces to attack Shirakawa Castle was a campaign design.

The Hokkaido Army did not believe that it had the strength to completely solve the whole of Japan, and the population of the people under the control of the Meiji government was more than 35 million, which was six times the size of the Hokkaido region. With one against six, this ratio is too disparity. Not to mention that the government and the emperor's banner are still in power.

If Tohoku is recaptured first, the population of Hokkaido will increase to about 12 million. The population under the Meiji government's control was between 28 million and 30 million. The balance of power between the two sides can change dramatically. The best option at the moment is to hold on to a territory that has always had no trust in the Meiji government and wait for the next chance at war.

Based on these considerations, it is very inefficient to seize Tohoku Japan one place at a time. The most effective option is to directly seize the transportation hub and defeat the Meiji government forces here. If the Meiji government army comes to fight, it is naturally the best, and if the Meiji government army does not come to fight, this gap period is just right for the Hokkaido army to complete the Tohoku regional strategy.

"Will this strategy work?" Qi Rui and other members of the military observation group also relied on walking, and of course observers should be sent in large-scale wars, and accumulating experience did not necessarily have to rely on the corpses and blood of their own troops. At this time, the war had not begun, and there was no way to evaluate the specific tactics, so the observers could only evaluate the known battle arrangements.

"This is also the strategy used in the domestic liberation war. Occupy one place, secure one, and then continue to attack the enemy. Li Shaokang said with some hesitation. None of these young men had participated in a civil war, and all their war experience was based on the idea of foreign wars in the Republic of China. In foreign wars, China took the initiative to attack the side, completely annihilating the weak European colonial armies, and then taking full control of the former colonies in Europe.

"If we fight, it will definitely be several fleets heading straight for Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Kure Harbor. Smash the Japanese naval bases and wipe out the fleet. The blockade of Japan was determined, and then a decisive battle with the main Japanese forces was sought. With such a flat sweep from place to place, no number of troops is enough. Hu Xingzhi simply put aside Japan and only talked about the Chinese strategy of imaginary enemy Japan as a whole.

"That's right, it's like making a plan to attack the United States, a few hundred thousand troops alone are not enough. Unless we go and kill everything, we have to worry about the attacks of the American locals. If we want to solve the problem of the United States, we must have a population of 40 or 50 million, and the troops must capture one place, clear one place, and quickly organize an armed reclamation regiment to take over these areas. To carry out a war of annihilation against a country with a population of tens of millions, it is necessary to have a population above them as a foundation. Zhou Shun immediately came to the spirit. The Mission knew nothing about Japan and was completely unable to discern the entire strategy from a simple march and equipment. When it comes to strategy, we can only consider the strategy of war against the United States, which has been studied and prepared for a long time.

The young people nodded again and again, and Qi Rui said: "Although there are so many people, I am really a little uneasy walking on this road. ”

This somewhat cowardly remark did not arouse ridicule, but the young officers felt that they were related. A completely strange country, a completely strange land, a completely strange language. God knows what will happen in the next second. If you are fighting on the inside of your own country, you will not have this problem, every inch of land is your own territory, and even if you suffer a setback, you can feel at ease if you break up and carry out sports warfare. On the soil of our own country, everyone has a bottom line. On the territory of a foreign country, there is a hostility that unswells the soldiers. Even if they didn't have to go to war, the young soldiers who watched the war felt deeply uneasy.

The Meiji Army did not expect the Hokkaido Army to move so quickly, and the police station in Shirakawa Castle surrendered under heavy siege after only three shots.

"The Japanese army is just stronger than the colonial army. At least they know that it is time to determine the lines of communication and establish a base of supplies. Not idle at all. "After fighting Ceylon, Qi Rui's evaluation of the Japanese army is quite positive. Ceylon also had a lot of British colonial troops, and when the British troops were killed, they didn't know what they were supposed to do. In addition to being caught, it is to sit back and wait for death. Compared with the colonial troops, the performance of the Japanese army was at least sufficiently subjective.

In this civil war, the Hokkaido Army had the initiative to take the initiative, and the Meiji Army felt very sad. They thought that Sendai's telegram requesting the annexation of Hokkaido was just the beginning of a revolving effort to create political turmoil and give the Hokkaido Army an opportunity to intervene. And the development of the situation is not like this at all. As soon as the Sendai telegram arrived, the Hokkaido Army was dispatched. As the Hokkaido Army moved south, the areas in the northeast that had originally belonged to the Ougotsu Domain Alliance telegraphed to Tokyo that they had been administratively assigned to Hokkaido. The civil war broke out so quickly that Tokyo simply did not have time for a full-scale mobilization.

"Niigata is in a hurry. At this time, when the aid of Niigata is prompt! ”

"It's better to send troops to capture Nagaoka first."

"Do the traitors really only plan to retake the Northeast?"

"I would like to ask His Majesty the Emperor to inform the whole of Japan that the traitors in Hokkaido are plotting rebellion! The world is condemned! ”

No matter how much they quarreled, the Meiji government had to face a problem, and at this time the Hokkaido Army's front was less than 150 kilometers in a straight line from Tokyo. Unable to react immediately, it is not a joke that the rebels are advancing by land and sea to encircle Tokyo.

Six days after the White River Estuary fell into the hands of the Hokkaido Army, the war finally began again at this crucial site.

"Finally saw the legendary horizontal team attack!" I was excited, but I didn't want to show my timidity. When you were on the march, you could say that you were in a foreign country, and you didn't dare to mention this question when you really got to the battlefield. Although they didn't quite understand why, these young soldiers who were selected could feel the difference between the two. Going to the battlefield to mention fear of death is something that must not be allowed. So this uneasiness turned into a different kind of excitement.

The officers in their forties, who had extensive experience in land warfare, only laughed at the young man's performance. Everyone has experienced this state of mind, shouting that they are not afraid, but in fact, they are afraid to death in their hearts. A lot of words and exaggerated expressions are all human nature. Moreover, from the shouting of the young people, it can also be proved that they have carefully observed, and the Liberation Army itself has not engaged in a horizontal attack for many years.

The Meiji Army's army tactics appeared to have made limited progress, starting with a sparse artillery bombardment, and as soon as the shelling stopped, the infantry began to advance in a horizontal formation against the Hokkaido Army positions at the mouth of the Shirakawa River. As an observer group, there is no room for such tactics. The development of infantry tactics of the Liberation Army has already passed the level of marching in columns and spreading out horizontally. Now begin to follow the instructions of the Governor of Weze, and fully enter the mode of a three-person battle team. With the same strength, the Liberation Army was already able to launch a three-sided siege on the enemy attacking in a horizontal formation.

The battle of machine guns continued for several minutes, and the Meiji army fled back to the place of departure with hundreds of killed and wounded combat troops. The first wave of tentative attacks ended as simply.

The impetuousness of the anxiety before the battle began, and the officers who had participated in the actual battle began to talk in low voices. "Human life is not human! If we change our troops, a regiment dares to do this, and the regiment commander is only afraid that he will have to get rid of it, right? Anyway, I'm looking for a line of attack. Hu Xingzhi is not an exclamation, but a kind of incomprehension.

If it is a column attack, the commander is a little more like, and he should consider attacking by the side of the road. If it were a three-man attack team, the soldiers would move quickly from one point to another with the cover of their comrades. Whether it's a column attack, or a three-person team mode. Suppressive weapons fire violently when the enemy fires, striking at the enemy's exposed firing points.

The horizontal team attacked, and it was silly to follow the easy road to face the rain of bullets. The queue in front of them made it completely impossible for the rear to hit the enemy's fire points, which created a situation of death. A force of 100 men was enough for the Liberation Army to hold a front of about 500 meters, or launch a powerful attack on a width of at least 500 meters. The current approach of the Japanese Army is no longer tragic, but SB.

"I used to think that the horizontal team attack was very magnificent, but now I think I can't do such a stupid thing." Li Shaokang said with some fear. Pure imagination can be wild, and even beauty can be derived. Surreal, but it can teach people a cold lesson. The lessons on the battlefield are paid for with lives, and the price is too high and too high.

These people had long forgotten about the higher-ranking officers, and although they felt that their voices were low, they could hear clearly by the senior officers who were watching leisurely and complacently. The reason why these young and promising soldiers are brought to visit is to let them see the strengths and weaknesses of others in this opportunity, and then improve themselves. The level of these young soldiers is not the most important, but their ability to naturally reflect on their actions is the most important part in the eyes of the examiner.