sjar Chapter 1174 New Headquarters
Chapter 1174 New Headquarters
72nd Army Group Headquarters
To be honest, this headquarters has been in operation for several months now. However, this is the first time that Li Shaoyi, as the army group commander, has come to work here. When he entered the brand-new office, the people inside were also seeing their commander for the first time.
"This room faces south throughout the entire building, and all our staff are in the room next door. The rooms on both sides are connected, so you can hold military meetings at any time. We can also contact all personnel within the 72nd Army, except for those at the company commander level and above."
Wang Zihan had been staying at headquarters. He took Li Shaoyi for a walk around the area. Li Shaoyi couldn't believe that he would have such a spacious and bright command center. It was a real upgrade. He had never had such treatment before.
"Isn't what you're saying a bit unrealistic? For example, Zhang Haiguang's men are currently engaged in combat with the enemy. Are you even able to contact them?"
When Li Shaoyi heard this, he immediately shook his head, feeling that his men were becoming a bit boastful. They used to be honest and straightforward, but now they were claiming they could contact everyone above the rank of company commander. "Well then," he thought, "I'll test you right now. If you can't contact them, then I'll hold a meeting with you all to tell you to stop spouting nonsense."
Regarding certain specific matters, Wang Zihan remained silent, instead looking at a lieutenant colonel in front of him. This man was specifically responsible for liaising with the officers below him. "Since our commander-in-chief suspects this matter, then you should show it to him."
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, this humble liaison officer, Zhou Xinghua, is currently on the battlefields of southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. Most of Commander Zhang's troops are engaged in combat. We can only contact 85% of his company commanders. The rest are temporarily out of contact due to the destruction of various equipment or the deaths of communications personnel. Please understand, Commander-in-Chief."
If his own secretary had said this, Li Shaoyi might have been somewhat skeptical. But since these words came from a lieutenant colonel, it meant a completely different story. His secretary was an official, but this was within the military system.
From the day the 72nd Group Army was established, Li Shaoyi told his subordinates that the military system values honesty and reporting. If you can do something, report it. If you can't, it doesn't matter. Don't try to surprise me. Just tell the truth. After all, we all started from scratch. What can't we say?
Now that the officer has put it this way, Li Shaoyi really has to give it a try. Of course, you don't need to contact the company commander on the front line; contacting the commander of the Tiger Regiment will suffice. After all, there's no difference between there and the front line. Let's see just how capable you are.
Upon receiving Li Shaoyi's order, Li Shaoyi expected everyone in the room to be busy and to make calls to other locations for transfers. However, only two operators started working, and within minutes, the lieutenant colonel in front of Li Shaoyi arrived with headphones.
"Reporting to the commander, we have made contact with the Tiger Regiment headquarters, but we have not been able to reach Commander Wang. On the other end of the line is Chief of Staff Qiu, the chief of staff of the Tiger Regiment."
Lieutenant Colonel Wang placed the earpiece in front of Li Shaoyi. Li Shaoyi had just glanced at his watch; only 47 seconds had passed. These people were quite efficient.
"I am Li Shaoyi. Where did Wang Laohu go? Tell him to come to me immediately and give me an answer. I have something important to ask him."
Li Shaoyi took the headset, and sure enough, there was a hail of bullets on the other end. Although it was the regimental headquarters, the Tiger Regiment's headquarters was always no more than 50 meters from the front line, so the area outside was also in complete chaos.
"Reporting to the commander, this is Chief of Staff Qiu De. Our regimental commander has led the assault team up. This morning, the enemy suddenly dispatched an entire infantry regiment and two infantry battalions to surround our advance company. We haven't been able to establish contact with the advance company yet, so the regimental commander led the assault team up five minutes ago."
Chief of Staff Qiu never expected that the sudden phone call would come from headquarters thousands of miles away. And it was from the Marshal himself! If the communications personnel hadn't confirmed it several times, they would never have believed it.
"Report your battle losses."
Li Shaoyi had certainly heard of Wang Laohu; his Tiger Regiment was renowned, and there was practically nothing they couldn't accomplish. On the battlefield, as long as you gave them an order, these men would complete the mission. Zhang Hongguang had placed them at the forefront this time, hoping that the Tiger Regiment could pave the way for their advance.
Chief of Staff Qiu spent a little over a minute explaining the situation of the Tiger Regiment to Li Shaoyi. Currently, reinforcements have exceeded 40%. This means that even an elite regiment like theirs has suffered over 40% casualties.
As for the troops below, the situation is probably even more dire. However, Ma Leizi has been continuously sending planes to transport personnel there, so Zhang Haiguang's overall command of the army has not diminished. After wiping out the Ninth Division, they are currently advancing towards the Sixth Division's positions.
The losses suffered by Zhang Haiguang's army were extremely severe, but their achievements were also extremely brilliant. In addition to wiping out the Ninth Division and its auxiliary troops, they have now set their sights on the Sixth Division, which has ruined the first operational strategy of the Japanese Third Army after its formation.
Despite the Japanese's loud boasting, the reality is what it is. If you truly have the ability, then hurry up and attack, trample over us! But you lack that ability, while we have managed to wreak havoc on your Third Army. It's been a month and a half since the Third Army was formed, and you're still making no progress.
Of course, that's not entirely true. The actual area under our control was reduced by one-third compared to before, and the number of casualties was nearly 30,000. This was the largest battle since the establishment of the Third Army.
"Reporting to the commander, our regimental commander has returned."
Just as the call was about to end, Wang Laohu finally drove a tank out of the enemy's encirclement and brought back all the brothers from the advance detachment. He hadn't even had a sip of water when he heard that the commander's phone was still connected, so he quickly ran over from the tank.