As the commander-in-chief, Gu Xunlei has a more comprehensive understanding of the battle than Zhang Xiaolin, and he needs to consider more issues, and he needs to take care of all aspects of the battlefield.

Throughout the working night, Gu Xunlei was paying attention to the combat operations of the two regiments of the First Cavalry Division, and he even asked several staff officers to count the losses of the two regiments. Gu Xunlei had a bottom in his heart about how powerful the combat effectiveness of the two cavalry divisions in his hands was, but he was not very sure about how powerful the armored forces of the US army were. Therefore, in the first stage of the landing operation, Gu Xunlei sent both cavalry divisions over, instead of arranging only one cavalry division to go ashore according to the original plan, while the second cavalry division followed the second group of troops ashore.

As early as when he was assigned to the Pacific Theater as the commander-in-chief of the army's combat forces, Gu Xunlei had been working hard to establish his own cavalry unit, and initially he hoped that Yan Dingyu would send him two or three regular cavalry divisions, and Yan Dingyu did consider this issue at first. But three months before the launch of the campaign, Yan Dingyu clearly told Gu Xunlei that the army would not send the main armored troops to the Australian mainland, and all the main armored forces would be put into the mainland battlefield. As a result, Gu Xunlei could only retreat to the second, if he could not reach the main cavalry division, he could only hope to get the standard equipment of the cavalry division. At least, Yan Dingyu still met Gu Xunlei's requirements at this point.

Less than three months of training time is not enough to build a powerful armored force. According to the standard training procedures of the Imperial Army, the minimum training time for an armored unit was four months, and it was in the case of a well-developed infrastructure. At that time, Gu Xunlei simply did not have enough time, not enough training facilities, and not even enough instructors. The equipment was obtained, but the problem was that the tank crews did not grow out of the ground. It is necessary to go through rigorous training and brutal combat to be able to obtain a good enough tankman.

Gu Xunlei thought of a lot of ways to recruit his old subordinates, Zhang Xiaolin, Weng Yu and others came, but the problem was that he could only arrange veterans at the commander level at the battalion commander level. Even without taking into account the problems of ordinary tankmen, the commanders of his two cavalry divisions at that time were not very good. For example, before Zhang Xiaolin came to Gu Xunlei. He had never commanded a division-level combat unit, and although Weng Yu was one of the most famous ace tank commanders in the Imperial Army, he was not a good tank commander. In other words, the two cavalry divisions in Gu Xunlei's hands are actually miscellaneous troops with the best equipment. "1st Cavalry Division" and "2nd Cavalry Division" are just internal names within the troops. But this also shows Gu Xunlei's expectations for these two cavalry units.

In the first two battles, because the U.S. military was not strong enough, and it has always been more than fighting, victory came easily, the same. The actual combat effectiveness of the troops was not tested, and it was not until the battle began that Gu Xunlei began to realize that his infantry was not as strong as he thought.

The battle between the two tank regiments of the 1st Cavalry Division in the first half of the night can be described as a mixed bag. The good news is that the quality of the US military is not very good, and it does not have the advantage of troops, does not pose much of a threat, and even the resistance is not very tenacious. It is far inferior to the Russian Army on the continental battlefield and the French Army on the Western European battlefield. The worry is. The losses of the two tank regiments were very large, and the attrition rate exceeded 50% in just a few hours of fighting, and if this were on the mainland battlefield, both tank regiments could be declared incapacitated, and the commander would have withdrawn the troops from the battle at this time. This also just reflects the actual combat effectiveness of the troops, which is what Gu Xunlei is worried about.

Gu Xunlei had long expected this, as a battle-experienced armored commander, Gu Xunlei would never believe that there would be a miracle on the battlefield. And even if there is a miracle, it is only unattainable. Therefore. At the beginning of the battle, he did not immediately throw himself into the 2nd Cavalry Division, but left Weng Yu behind. If two cavalry divisions were to be committed at the same time, the losses would have been even greater, and the end result would have been that he did not have enough reserves to extend the victory and carry out the next round of attacks. Gu Xunlei was not even in a hurry to let the 2nd Infantry Division and the 3rd Infantry Division, which served as the reserve of the campaign, immediately enter the battle. Especially after the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division launched an attack from the flank of the US army, Gu Xunlei had already revised the ultimate goal of this battle, he not only wanted to annihilate the US reinforcements from Armidale, but also to defeat Armidale, block the main force of the US army from the battlefield, and let the US army completely lose the opportunity to counterattack.

At about ten o'clock, he moved another infantry regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division to the left flank of the 1st Infantry Division's defensive line, near the three-way junction of the road, and made the infantry regiment steadily assault in the direction of Armidale. In addition, the divisional artillery battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division was also sent over to support the infantry attack. Then, he asked Weng Yu to bring back the tank units deployed near the bridge leading to Tamworth, and all of them were concentrated behind the front of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division. By twelve o'clock, Gu Xunlei had basically understood the situation on the battlefield, and he arranged for an infantry regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division to support the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, while another infantry regiment was sent to assist the 2nd Cavalry Division in the battle.

At this point, the three divisions that were originally serving as reserves were sent to the front of the front, and the 1st Infantry Division became the new reserve. Gu Xunlei concentrated the forces of one cavalry division and two infantry divisions on the east and south sides of the battlefield, and now he needed to wait for an opportunity, and the signal for this opportunity to arrive was that Zhang Xiaolin's armored forces cut off the passage of the American army to Armidale.

When Gu Xunlei received the news that Zhang Xiaolin was leading the tank troops to the north, he immediately put the Second Cavalry Division into battle, replacing the First Cavalry Division and a regiment of infantry to attack in coordination. In addition, the infantry regiments advancing along the road line also increased the pace of the attack, and the infantry regiments attacking from the south took over from the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, allowing the tanks of the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division to concentrate as new reserves.

This was also the beginning of the general offensive. At this time, the strength of the three divisions of the American army attacking to the southwest had actually been completely blocked between Volka and Armidale. Both ends of the road line have been blocked, and nearly 300 tanks of the 2nd Cavalry, 2nd Infantry Division, and 3rd Infantry Division, as well as nearly 20,000 infantry, are gradually compressing the American defenses. Tighten the noose around the neck of the U.S. troops, preparing to completely wipe out the U.S. troops.

At that time, the most critical location on the battlefield was the blocking position on Zhang Xiaolin's side. The U.S. troops, which were under heavy pressure, could only retreat to Armidale, and whether they could completely annihilate the vanguard of the U.S. army depended on whether Zhang Xiaolin's cavalry regiment could hold the blocking position. Gu Xunlei did not overestimate the combat effectiveness of Zhang Xiaolin's cavalry regiment, and before the general attack was launched, he asked the infantry regiment on the right flank of the First Cavalry Division's defense line to go north at full speed to support Zhang Xiaolin. But the problem is that this infantry regiment can only arrive at about five o'clock in the morning at the earliest. When the time comes, will Zhang Xiaolin still be able to hold their positions?

It can be said that at this time of the battle, except for the losses of the First Cavalry Division, which exceeded Gu Xunlei's estimate, Gu Xunlei was very satisfied with all other aspects, and the vanguard of the US army had been defeated. At least 200 U.S. tanks were destroyed, nearly 10,000 U.S. troops were annihilated, and more than 4,000 U.S. troops were captured. The U.S. forces were fleeing, and with the reserves thrown into battle, before dawn. Gu Xunlei can win, and this is also the first time he has won a field battle on the Australian battlefield. But it was at this time that a new piece of information arrived, and it was from a night reconnaissance plane deployed in Port Macquarie.

The main U.S. army supporting Bradley had already set out from Glen Innis after dark, and was rushing to Armidale at full speed, which was expected to arrive before dawn. This American reinforcement had at least one tank division, and five to eight infantry divisions, which was even larger than Gu Xunlei had expected.

Arguably. This is the biggest variable on the entire battlefield. In order to annihilate the encircled American troops before dawn, Gu Xunlei had to invest all his forces. But he still wasn't completely sure. If the U.S. forces cannot be annihilated before dawn, and U.S. reinforcements arrive at daybreak, then the surrounded U.S. forces are likely to escape. In addition, Bradley must have received the news that the reinforcements would arrive after dawn, so he would not be in a hurry to break through, but would defend on the spot, strive to block Gu Xunlei's main force, let the reinforcements reach Armidale smoothly, and then take advantage of the opportunity that the main forces of the Tang Imperial Army are concentrated in the west and south of the battlefield. Let reinforcements quickly attack the weak southern flank of the Tang Imperial Army, and the final result could be completely reversed.

What to do? Gu Xunlei only thought for a few minutes. It is clear that the most important thing he should do now is to defeat Armidale, attack Armidale in advance, and at least block the reinforcements of the American army here, so as to buy time for the main force to annihilate the vanguard of the American army. Moreover, after dawn, the bombers of the fleet will arrive, and as long as the battle can be dragged out until noon, then the American forces will be completely defeated. At that time, the only tank unit that could quickly advance towards Armidale was Zhang Xiaolin's tank unit.

Gu Xunlei was also a little annoyed, the strength of Zhang Xiaolin's cavalry regiment was quite limited, and now he was not clear about the situation in Armidale, and he didn't know how many guards the U.S. Army had left in Armidale, maybe even the capture of Armidale was a problem, how to block the main force of the U.S. Army? In desperation, Gu Xunlei could only gamble. After he sent a new order to Zhang Xiaolin, he also made new adjustments.

The 1st Infantry Division immediately arranged for troops to replace the two motorized infantry battalions left by the 1st Cavalry Division on the east side of the battlefield. In addition, the 2nd Cavalry Division accelerated its assault and tried to break through the American positions before dawn and reach Armidale. The 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions were responsible for encircling the U.S. forces, allowing the 2nd and 1st Cavalry Divisions to concentrate on the main forces of the U.S. forces that were about to arrive. The 1st Cavalry Division abandoned its original position and quickly advanced to the blocking position of the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, striving to reach before dawn.

After completing this series of deployments, Gu Xunlei had no other troops to mobilize. Of course, he did not forget about another powerful support force, the 1st Task Force, which was replenishing ammunition in the open sea.

At about two o'clock in the morning, Gu Xunlei contacted the first task force, and Tan Renhao immediately sent him a telegram that the first task force would return to the battlefield before dawn, and immediately arrange the first round of bombing to ensure that there were at least 150 bombers in the first round of bombers, and this batch of bombers could arrive at the battlefield at about eight o'clock at the earliest. He did not let the bombers of the First Task Force support the battle to encircle and annihilate the US troops, but asked the First Task Force to bomb the main force of the US forces on the Armidale side, and used the opportunity of the First Cavalry Division to block the US troops, and try to destroy the armored combat vehicles and transport vehicles of the US troops, so as to slow down the advance of the US troops.

Subsequently, Gu Xunlei also got in touch with the Marine Corps, but this time the reply he got was not very good. The five Marine Divisions in Yuan Ye's hands were already fighting hard with the enemy on the battlefield, and the second batch of landing troops could only arrive in the early morning of the 26th at the earliest, and it was already quite good to be able to enter the battle on the 27th, and now the Marine Corps could not send reinforcements to him at all. Of course, Yuan Ye did not completely disappoint Gu Xunlei, he promised that Gu Xunlei would be provided with enough combat materials, and the new ammunition would be delivered after dawn, so that Gu Xunlei would not have to worry about ammunition and could use artillery to his heart's content.

The relevant deployment adjustments were carried out quickly, and Gu Xunlei was only fortunate that his artillery was self-propelled artillery, which could accompany the armored forces in battle, and the advance speed was fast. Therefore, he concentrated all these artillery pieces and arranged for several infantry battalions to work in tandem with them, and all the artillery units followed behind the 2nd Cavalry Division, so as to be able to provide timely and rapid fire support to the front-line combat units. The only problem is that Armidale is dozens of kilometers away, and no kind of artillery can hit Armidale, that is to say, Zhang Xiaolin can only rely on his own little strength to block the American army in Armidale!

After completing these deployments, Gu Xunlei also set off with his guard battalion, and now except for his guard battalion, the other troops have been put into battle, and whether they can win depends on whether those participating troops can hold out to the end!