Chapter 164: The Threat from the Japanese Navy (Subscription Requested!) ）

Hearing this, Lao Jiang's face suddenly became gloomy, and he asked in a deep voice: "Ci Xiu, do you mean that the 100,000 troops in the Ninth War Zone can't resist the attack of the Japanese army of 20,000?" ”

Chen Cheng was not sincerely frightened by Lao Jiang's questioning, but said unhurriedly: "Commission, yesterday Zhang Fakui, commander of the Second Corps, sent an analysis report on the situation in Jiujiang. In this report, he listed the following unfavorable factors: First, our troops destroyed the lines of communication too early, and the positions were not completed in advance. Check the roads near Jiujiang, such as Jiuxing, Jiurui, Ruichang to Yangxin, Ruichang to De'an, Yongxiu to Ruoxi, and the northern section of the Nanxun Railway, which have been completely destroyed in advance, and the fortifications near Jiujiang have not been constructed in advance. ”

"This time, it was decided to hold on in the short term, although the Jiujiang army was barely concentrated, and the transportation was difficult, and the transportation of construction materials could not be carried out, and the position could not be consolidated immediately. At the time of the inspection, only one-third of the field fortifications were carried out, so they could not be held for a long time. ”

"Secondly, the transportation is poor and the facilities of the military station are lacking. The Jiujiang military station was very unprepared in advance, and no one was in charge of it temporarily, so that the front-line troops were trapped in aircraft bombing during the day, and at night they were working on one side and transporting rice at the other, and the troops were tired and on guard and it was difficult to be thorough. Therefore, after the enemy landed in Gutang, Jiuxing Road could not be used. There were nearly 100,000 troops in the vicinity of Jiujiang, but the Jiujiang-Mahuiling trail was the rear contact line, so the supply of food and ammunition and the delivery of wounded soldiers could not be carried out. The soldiers responded to the battle with their bellies, the wounded soldiers groaned and left, and the fighting spirit suddenly became depressed. ”

"Military discipline is bad, and people are fleeing. When the various units were concentrated near Jiujiang, due to transportation difficulties, it was suddenly difficult to increase the number of troops in full during the war, and they fired guns along the way to search for supplies, and those who did not do so were raped and plundered. The village where the army marched was in ruins. ”

"Smack!"

Lao Jiang slapped the table, and then said loudly: "These are all excuses, the 100,000 army can't resist the attack of the 20,000 tired Japanese troops, it's really a shame." No matter what method you use in the Ninth War Zone, you must hold Jiujiang! You should know that Jiujiang is the gateway to Wuhan. As soon as Jiujiang was lost, Wuhan was completely exposed to the blade of the Japanese army, and the possibility of holding it was very small! ”

Chen Cheng said in a deep voice: "Commission, we must send reinforcements to the generals, otherwise I am very worried that they will not be able to support them even today!" ”

"Has the war been corrupted to this point?" Lao Jiang asked bitterly.

"Commission, now it is not only that the situation is unfavorable to our army, but more importantly, there is a lack of self-confidence among the middle and senior generals of our army, and many middle and lower-level cadres are unable to control their subordinates. Whenever there is a big war, there are many excuses for too many recruits, too wide a defense area, insufficient weapons, and weak combat effectiveness, and the belief in victory is shaken. Affects the morale of the warriors. Thanks to the fact that the middle- and lower-level cadres were not able to grasp the situation and their spirits were sluggish, most of them broke up every time they were attacked by enemy planes, and there were even those who did not see the enemy defeat the army. Chen Cheng said.

"Then what did you say about sending that force to reinforce Jiujiang?" Old Jiang asked in a deep voice.

At this time, Ma Zheng, who had not spoken, suddenly got up and said: "Chairman of the Committee, Chief Chen, since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, most of our Eighth Route Army has been fighting behind enemy lines, but there are not many examples of confrontation with devils head-on, so the Party Central Committee decided to send our troops south to support the Wuhan battlefield. Therefore, I think that our unit can be used as a force to support Jiujiang, and I hope that Chief Chen will consider it. ”

Chen Cheng naturally did not dare to make his own decisions on such a question. Immediately said: "Take a seat and look"

However, without waiting for Lao Jiang to speak, Xue Yue, who is currently the commander of the First Corps of the Ninth War Zone, got up and said: "Bench, I think this matter is inappropriate!" ”

"What is Boling's opinion, why is it inappropriate for the Seventh Division to reinforce Jiujiang?" Old Jiang asked in a deep voice.

"Commission, after all, the Duqi Division is a guest from afar, and it is a little inappropriate to let Commander Ma's troops go up in the first battle. It's just about to be used on the blade. Besides, as far as I know, Commander Ma's troops are particularly good at long-distance raids, so I think that this battle should be supported by my First Corps, and fight with the devils in Jiujiang. Xue Yue said loudly.

Hearing this, Lao Jiang frowned and said, "Resignation." How about you? ”

Chen Cheng also felt that it was really inappropriate to use Ma Zheng's department in the first battle, no matter what, after all, Ma Zheng's department was a force in Yan'an, and special attention should be paid to using it, if there was any accident, it would be really difficult to explain if there was no suitable reason.

Immediately said: "Commission, it is not recommended to let the Duqi Division reinforce Jiujiang!" ”

As he spoke, Chen Cheng walked to the wall where the map was hung, pointed to the huge military map hanging on the wall of the conference room, and said: "Now the deployment of our army is like this: in the area on the south bank of the Yangtze River, our Ninth War Zone is stationed on the west bank of Poyang Lake with the First Corps!" The Second Corps organized defense on the front line from Xingzi, Jiujiang to Wharf Town, Jiangxi. The enemy in front of the 1st and 2nd Corps was the main force of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army, which attacked along the south bank of the Yangtze River and confronted the two corps of our army on the south bank of the Yangtze River. ”

"Geographically, the First Corps is the closest to Jiujiang and can reach Jiujiang in the shortest possible time. And if Daqingshan reinforces Jiujiang, it will have to travel hundreds of miles, which is really hard to do, and it is too late in time! ”

Lao Jiang thought for a while and said: "Since Boling and Ci Xiu have agreed to the First Corps to reinforce Jiujiang, then transfer two divisions from the First Corps to Jiujiang!" ”

"Yes!"

"As for the Duqi Division, it will be temporarily incorporated into the troops directly under the Wuhan Garrison Command, and rushed to Ruichang west of Jiujiang with the three divisions directly under the Theater Command to garrison, if Jiujiang is lost, it will become the first line to block the Japanese army!" Lao Jiang said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

"Is there anything else you have to say?" Chen Cheng, who presided over the meeting, asked again.

Xue Yue got up again and said: "Sir, I don't have to worry about the war on the land side now, after all, our army has gathered nearly a million troops in Wuhan, and it is impossible for the Japanese army to attack Wuhan for a while. However, the waterway side is not slackening, and I wonder how our army should deal with the Japanese ships? ”

Xue Yue is a famous general in the Ninth War Zone, although Xue Yue does not say how much confidence he has in the defense of Wuhan, he is not pessimistic. As early as before the war, he had made a deduction and was confident that with the millions of troops deployed by the Nationalist Government on the outskirts of Wuhan, he was fully capable of resisting the Japanese attack.

However, the waterway aspect is very difficult, and the Chinese navy can no longer be called an independent branch of the armed forces, and the vitality of the Chinese navy has not recovered since the Sino-Japanese War. After the start of the war, the Chinese navy in Jiangyin was almost completely wiped out, until now there are only a few dozen large and small ships left in the navy of the Nationalist Government, and the total displacement is less than tens of thousands of tons.

However, the Japanese navy of the same period had a total displacement of several hundred thousand tons, and there were four strategic weapons such as aircraft carriers alone, and the battleships were even more incomparable to China. In addition, the Japanese Navy's aviation unit is also extremely powerful, with a large number of Type 96 carrier-based aircraft, and its performance is far more advanced than the old **** fighter equipped by the Nationalist Government.

As a result, China's navy could only be reduced to inland waterway vessels, and at the beginning of the war, China lost all its coastal cities, and China did not even have a seaport where its navy could live and stop sailing, and all the sea control rights were completely lost. As a result, although China still has a navy, it has no maritime frontier that can be defended, which is really extremely sad.

Therefore, the current Chinese navy is not a level of opponent compared to the Japanese navy, and Wuhan, a city with developed water and land transportation, its inland waterway shipping is also extremely convenient, which not only facilitates the transportation of China's anti-Japanese war materials, but also leaves an opportunity for the Japanese army to take advantage of.

Xue Yue and some far-sighted senior Kuomintang generals were extremely worried that the Japanese navy would go all the way up the Yangtze River, and that it would not only be the Wuhan crisis, but even Chongqing, the capital of the current Nationalist government, would be directly threatened by the Japanese army. And in fact, the Japanese did just that, whether it was the Madang Campaign, the Hukou Campaign, or the ongoing Jiujiang Campaign, the Japanese Navy could be seen, and the main force of its Third Fleet was now anchored on the Jiujiang Yangtze River. (To be continued.) )