sjar Chapter 1215 The Japanese Advance Westward
Chapter 1215 The Japanese Advance Westward
Hankou Military and Political Department
Liu Xiaoshan had just attended the latest military conference. According to Li Shaoyi, the Battle of Hankou had already begun. The Japanese were slowly approaching Hankou from various directions. Although the various armies were fighting quite well, in the end, this capital region of nine provinces could not be held.
Before the battle even began, Liu Xiaoshan had contacted Li Shaoyi by phone. He pointed out some shortcomings at the time. For example, although the number of troops was considerable, most were veterans who had just returned from the front lines and had only recently begun their rest. Their weaponry and training time were generally inadequate. Although the Japanese had also suffered losses, their overall strength was far superior.
On the air force front, the losses at the Battle of Huangpu were already severe. Although some aircraft have been withdrawn, the force was nearly depleted in the early stages of the war. Without the Russian air force aiding China, they probably wouldn't be able to hold out any longer. Fortunately, the 72nd Army provided emergency assistance with 120 aircraft, which stabilized the situation in the airspace. However, the collapse of the ground forces was unstoppable.
During the meeting just now, everyone decided to expedite the evacuation of key departments from Hankou to Chongqing. This serves as a wake-up call for all those in charge; Hankou is likely indefensible, and we must retreat quickly. If we don't leave now, we may never be able to.
The 72nd Army Group currently has two artillery regiments, two infantry regiments, and one armored regiment in the Hankou war zone. None of these units have been deployed to the front lines. Liu Xiaoshan's idea was to pair them with the Central Army, with one of their infantry divisions paired with one of their regiments, which would be more effective on the battlefield. Unfortunately, the higher-ups wouldn't allow it.
Liu Xiaoshan understood the higher-ups' intentions. These troops were the strongest fighting force at their disposal, and they shouldn't be deployed to the war unless absolutely necessary. They were to remain and hold the area around Hankou until the Japanese arrived, then cover the retreat of various government agencies. Some people in the Ministry of Military Affairs had even informed Liu Xiaoshan that the 72nd Army might retreat to the mountain city.
Upon hearing the news, Liu Xiaoshan showed no joy whatsoever. His brothers had come from the rear with great difficulty to fight the Japanese, not to protect the city for them. Besides, if they weren't annihilating the Japanese in mobile warfare and instead stayed on the outskirts of the city, the morale of these brothers would drop. Yesterday, when he went to the tank regiment, there was a chorus of complaints.
Currently, the 72nd Group Army has a total of 19 tank regiments. Apart from their tank regiment which is on the front line, most of the other troops are in the rear for reorganization. They were all watching them gain merit, but ended up as bodyguards with swords.
This made our brothers lose face throughout the entire army. They simply didn't have the capability to reach the front lines; we were just waiting at the gates, unable to get there without orders from above. The two air regiments were different. They sent hundreds of planes, and after destroying many times more Japanese aircraft, both regiments suffered losses exceeding 30%. Those were truly heroic units; compared to them, we were nothing.
Liu Xiaoshan had discussed this issue with the Ministry of Military Affairs several times. If they could be deployed to the battlefield, he couldn't guarantee more than half a battalion of Japanese soldiers a day; that was practically guaranteed. Coupled with a full-strength infantry division of the Central Army, they would be absolute heroes on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the high-ranking officials who had experienced the failure in Jiangnan did not think that way; they needed to leave themselves enough room to retreat. Of course, some people from the Ministry of Industry also told Liu Xiaoshan that all of the more than 1900 factories in Hankou were to begin to relocate, and some of these factories involved industries that were currently very weak. If there wasn't a strong army watching over them, it was estimated that those who were carrying out the relocation would run away.
At this point, Liu Xiaoshan was speechless. In short, there were various reasons from above, so we'll just listen for now. If an attack were to actually occur, we would indeed need an army like this.
When Xu Mao returned to the 72nd Army's office in Wuhan, he found the place already in a flurry of activity. Papers were scattered everywhere, and several oil drums converted into incinerators in the courtyard were now filled with all sorts of documents. These things didn't need to be taken away, but they all had to be burned under the inspection of the three-person team.
According to the old rules of the 72nd Group Army, when doing this kind of thing, three people must work together and supervise each other. No one can leave the sight of the other two. Although we are all veterans of the 72nd Group Army, if you don't have anything else to do, it's better to abide by these rules. Otherwise, if something happens, you will be among the first to be investigated.
"Stop throwing more into the bucket, just pile them up here and pour gasoline on them."
Deputy Director Wu saw two more truckloads of documents being brought in from nearby departments. They were to be destroyed here, as their departments were retiring today and had entrusted the 72nd Group Army with the destruction of all their documents. There was no time to burn them one barrel at a time, so they simply piled them all up and burned them all.
"Old Wu, some things in the warehouse are no longer of much use. There are plenty of things in the warehouses over in the mountain city. Before we retreat, we should distribute everything in the warehouses to the surrounding troops."
Liu Xiaoshan knew that the warehouse still contained enough weapons and ammunition to equip a regiment, especially a large quantity of bullets and grenades, which were urgently needed on the battlefield. But why hadn't they been brought out before? It was because the relationship between them and the central government was unclear. If another confrontation broke out, these weapons might be used against them. So they could only be brought out at the last minute. They could only blame themselves.
"This morning I requested 5 rounds of ammunition and 50 boxes of grenades, and sent them all to the 17th Division. Today, we also received 5 transport planes from the rear, carrying a large number of light machine guns and ammunition, which were distributed to them at the airport. The war is so intense that many units are running out of ammunition."
Deputy Director Wu said with a bitter face, "But this is the reality now."