Hearing that the division commander Tang Qiuli wanted to give a special commendation to one person in front of so many people, the officers' ears were pricked up, this was the first time in the world, since the formation of the independent division, there has not been a thing, and there are not many times when the division commander praises people in person, not to mention that at the meeting of thousands of people, the officers are from various field regiments, who don't want to get this honor, and return to the old unit, it is a matter of face.

The officers were itching in their hearts, and they all hoped that the person the division commander would commend was himself, not only to win glory for his own corps, but also to make his troops famous, Tang Qiuli smiled and looked at the officers who were a little commotion and eager to try, and he was very happy in his heart, and the officers who could cherish the honor were qualified soldiers.

He said: "The person I want to pay special commendation to is Colonel Zhou Yushan, deputy director of the logistics department of the independent division and director of the logistics department of the Hainan Island Combat Corps. Tang Qiuli warmly greeted Zhou Yushan to come to the stage.

Zhou Yushan was a little dizzy, the division commander's commendation was too unexpected, it stands to reason that the one who gets the commendation should be the commander of the front-line combat unit, and he is engaged in logistics, what combat exploits can he have?

Zhou Yushan, who was standing on the stage, looked at the more than 1,000 officers in the audience, with envious eyes, and suddenly blushed, Tang Qiuli walked up to him and said: "I want to commend you, Colonel Zhou Yushan, for your outstanding performance in this large-scale operation of the troops entering Hainan Island, you all know that more than 300,000 troops, long-distance transportation, cross-sea transfer, and the difficulty of logistics support can be imagined. ”

The logistics department of the Corps, under the leadership of Minister Zhou Yushan, successfully completed the task of troop mobilization in only six days, once again showing the excellent combat effectiveness of the logistics department. It is very commendable to be able to do this, and I would like to announce an order to promote Colonel Zhou Yushan to the rank of major general of the army. ”

Wow. The whole audience was shaken, in the independent division troops, it is more difficult to be promoted to the rank of first rank than to ascend to the sky, and it is impossible to be promoted to the rank of general, especially the rank of general, unless they have made great contributions or have made outstanding contributions. Since the formation of the unit, Zhou Yushan is the first officer to be promoted to the rank of major general, and moreover, it was announced by the division commander himself, and he is also a logistics officer, so everyone has no other ideas except envy.

Thunderous applause. almost broke through the roof, and in the face of the sudden honor and promotion, Zhou Yushan didn't know what to say. There was no warning in advance, which made him a little uncomfortable with this sudden change, Zhou Yushan looked at the audience, all the officers who gave a standing ovation, solemnly saluted the military salutes, and then, looking at Tang Qiuli, his lips trembled and said: "Division commander, thanks to my love, I just did what I should do." The division commander praised him so much, Yushan didn't dare to be ashamed! ”

Tang Qiuli laughed and said, "Yushan, you deserve it" Then, he said loudly to the officers in the audience: "Major General Zhou Yushan is your role model." Do your job well, you have the opportunity to be promoted, the duty of a soldier is to obey orders, I look forward to you, your troops, in this special battle of Hainan Island, there are outstanding examples! ”

After the meeting was dismissed, the officers were still discussing this major event that caused a sensation in the entire independent division, and the officers who were familiar with Zhou Yushan shouted for Zhou Yushan to treat him, Tang Qiuli was very satisfied with the effect of this meeting, which was tantamount to a pre-war mobilization, which effortlessly instigated the feelings of the officers.

Zhou Yushan, as a logistics officer, was the first to be promoted to the rank of major general, and the impact brought by it was not only these, the logistics department, in the eyes of the officers of the front-line combat units, has always been a cold yamen, and the daily trivial things are annoying enough, and they can't make combat merits, and the commanders of the front-line combat units are transferred to the logistics department, and they all think that they are being assigned and sit on the cold bench.

Taking Liu Hongzhang, commander of the First Brigade of the Corps directly under him, as an example, in order to punish him, division commander Tang Qiuli was first demoted and transferred to the side to serve as an operational staff officer, and then transferred to the logistics department to help Logistics Minister Zhang Quan.

After the meeting was dismissed, Tang Qiuli gave the following order to Le Yiqin, commander of the Southern Flight Group of the Independent Division's Air Force, "Le Yiqin, your unit will dispatch no less than four fighter regiments and two bomber regiments to cooperate with the progress of this ironclad siege campaign. ”

The second order was given to cover the landing of the independent division of marines on Hainan Island, and the gunboat brigade and the armed civilian ship brigade issued the following order: "The only task of your unit at this stage is to monitor all the ports on Hainan Island and the passages to the sea, day and night, block all the passages that may leave the island, and once the Japanese troops are found to be trying to flee, they are immediately expected to be annihilated."

On the second day after the end of the military meeting, the units of the independent division, in accordance with their arrangements, began a large-scale operation surrounded by an iron wall, and more than 400,000 soldiers formed an impermeable blockade line on a front, stretching several hundred kilometers from Lingao in the west to Qionghai in the east, rolling towards the southern part of Hainan Island.

The density of troops is unprecedented in the history of the Indochina Peninsula, and the thickness of the blockade line from north to south and the depth of the campaign have reached more than 30 kilometers, not to mention 36,000 or 7,000 Japanese troops, even if it is a mouse, do not intend to slip through, after the attack begins, the troops will advance steadily in accordance with the battle plan, and the speed of advance will only be a few tens of kilometers per day.

Before the sun rose high, the troops began to act, and before night fell, the troops began to camp and rest, this way of fighting, in the eyes of the generals of the independent division who are accustomed to artillery fire, bullets flying like rain, and killing sounds, are very puzzled and unaccustomed, dispatching more than 400,000 troops, and the battle is so dull, it is a war, it is similar to playing in the mountains and rivers, and I don't know what the division commander is planning?

Isn't it just more than 30,000 little devils, the troops go up, and they will clean up in a few hours, why waste so much energy, more than 400,000 people, one person can drown more than 30,000 little devils, this battle is boring, especially the commanders of Han Tie's Marine Corps, they are even more aggrieved.

The Marines were unfavorably deployed, and in the first battle on Hainan Island, all the brigades were holding back their strength, and moreover, they were full of confidence, with more than 80,000 troops, not to mention the strength of more than 30,000 little devils, not to mention the strength of the troops, and there was a firepower advantage of more than several times, and there were fighters and bombers of the air force in the sky to cooperate, and it was a piece of cake to eat this little devil.

After more than three years of training, the Marine Corps has become a sharpened blade, and it is the unanimous idea of all officers and men to win the first battle and to display the prestige and fame of the Marine Corps, and moreover, they have done the same, but after the battle began, this was not the case, and the new tactics adopted by the Japanese army made the Marine Corps, which was accustomed to fighting in large corps, extremely uncomfortable.

After fighting with the Japanese army for many days, although he was able to grasp the initiative on the battlefield, from Han Tie to the brigade commanders below, there was an indescribable uncomfortable feeling, the rhythm of the battle was sluggish, and it was extremely unsmooth.

In particular, the deaths that were disproportionate to the results of the battle, and the casualties of the Japanese army, almost reached one to one, such a result, so that the Marine Corps officers and Han Tie, who were bent on playing prestige, how could they accept it, and now, at last, there is a chance to win back a game, but the division commander's style of play makes the officers of the Marine Corps feel uncomfortable.

If you continue to fight like this, even if you surround the little devils, and finally annihilate them all, how much meat can you get in the mouths of the marines? Several brigade commanders muttered together, found the commander Han Tie, and asked him to report everyone's thoughts to the division commander, so that the six brigades of the Marine Corps could break away from the large army, go forward to attack and advance, and serve as the vanguard of the entire army.

Han Tie's heart is more anxious than several brigade commanders, the marines are in their own hands, and the first battle is shameless, although it is not a losing battle, but in Han Tie's heart, it is even more uncomfortable than defeating the battle, more than 80,000 troops pulled up, in the small Hainan Island, not only did not complete the task of destroying more than 30,000 Japanese troops, but was entangled by the little devils and couldn't do it.

The casualties of the troops, also far beyond their own expectations, this battle was fought, it was a depression, after the division commander's point, Han Tie had a feeling of being opened, for how to solve the trouble caused by the new tactics of the Japanese army, there is a new idea, if the battle is fought again, he is absolutely confident, in the shortest time, the most neat way, a shame, a beautiful turnaround.

He very much hoped that his Marine Corps would be able to take up this attack mission alone, not only for his own face, but also for the honor of this unit with glorious traditions, but he knew the temper of the division commander and also understood the "true" practical intention of the division commander in using so many troops to encircle and suppress more than 30,000 Japanese troops.

Therefore, although he very much hoped that the Marine Corps would undertake the attack mission alone, he did not have the courage to ask the division commander to change the established tactics, and he felt uncomfortable as if he was scratching a cat, and several brigade commanders under him came, Han Tie was secretly happy in his heart, but on the surface he said, "This is the unified deployment of more than 400,000 troops, we just need to obey the order, and we can't interfere with the normal command of the division commander, and is there any discipline?" Yes! ”

Several brigade commanders looked at each other, and they wilted at that time, and the commander said so, it seems that there is no play, Han Tie smiled secretly in his heart, and then said the following words.

(To be continued.)