sjar Chapter 1063 It's Time to Fight
Chapter 1063 It's Time to Fight
"Alright, alright, enough with the small talk. I called you all here today for a serious matter. The Pujiang battlefield has been peaceful for too long. We can't let the Japanese have it so easy, so I have a new tactic that I need your cooperation with..."
Even if Li Shaoyi hadn't brought it up, the commanders present had already thought about it. After all, hundreds of thousands of troops were stationed at the Pujiang battlefield. Even if they did nothing all day, the amount of food, drink, and sanitation alone would be considerable.
We couldn't stand it, and neither could the Japanese, but the Japanese had their reasons for waiting. They were waiting for the northern army. Although the possibility of them moving south had become increasingly slim after being blocked by the 72nd Army, they still wanted to wait and see.
We can't cooperate too much at this time. If we do nothing, we'll suffer a huge loss when we fight the Japanese again in the future.
Li Shaoyi studied the tactics for several days and came up with his own strategy, preparing to coordinate with the various elite British troops.
"Just tell us how to fight, sir. We've been well-fed these past few days. In just these few days, we've been like manure-producing machines, eating tens of thousands of cans of food in one meal. We never even dared to dream of this before. It's time to teach the Japanese a lesson."
Commander Sun of the 88th Division swung his arm; he'd gained some weight in the last couple of days. Breakfast was steamed buns and porridge, lunch was steamed buns and canned meat, and occasionally a can of fruit in the afternoon. Dinner was similar to lunch. Although it wasn't quite as good as what the 72nd Army had, he'd never eaten like this in his life. Even the landlords back home had never had such a meal, let alone them.
Furthermore, the logistics department hadn't been idle during this time either, replacing all the guns and artillery that had been damaged. The reserves of all kinds of brand-new supplies had also reached an all-time high, making it arguably the strongest point in the entire army's combat power. If they were idle at this point, even if Commander Li didn't say anything, they would feel ashamed of the canned meat they were eating.
"That's good. My strategy for this operation is simple. The Japanese haven't occupied much territory, but their total number of troops is considerable. According to my intelligence, they number at least 250,000. Although some troops have already been shipped north, we still have to face a massive Japanese army. Therefore, the essence of this operation lies in killing the Japanese army's manpower. I plan to divide my troops into small squads, with fifty men in each squad. Thirty of them will be my men, and twenty will be your men..."
"To kill the enemy's manpower, not to judge success or failure by the gain or loss of a single city or place," was a phrase Li Shaoyi often said.
Some people didn't understand this principle in the past, but after spending so much time on the battlefield, they know Li Shaoyi's most basic tactics and have even seen the benefits of this tactic, namely, that the Japanese losses have increased dramatically.
Individually, one or two thousand people may not seem like much to the Japanese, but if they attack more than a dozen places a day, the total loss could amount to tens of thousands of people. This tactic may not be very effective in the short term, but in the long term it will hinder various large-scale events in Japan.
Li Shaoyi's small squad strategy involved fifty soldiers being assigned to one captain and two deputy captains.
It has two armored vehicles, three jeeps, and three trucks.
Of these fifty soldiers, there were eight drivers, ten submachine gunners, ten heavy machine gunners, five light machine gunners, and the rest were armed with semi-automatic rifles, two 60mm mortars, and forty iron fists.
The reason for using twenty local Central Army soldiers is that when we are fighting deep into enemy territory, we may not be familiar with the terrain, so we need the help of locals.
Looking at the Nationalist army in Pujiang as a whole, apart from these elite Central Army units, the other troops were far inferior to the 72nd Army in terms of combat effectiveness. In particular, they were not proficient in using many weapons and equipment, and even if they were given a large number of weapons, their combat effectiveness would not improve.
The Central Army generally received training on similar weapons and equipment. Although their proficiency was slightly lacking, they still had some impression of them.
In the course of fighting, learning while fighting can quickly accumulate combat experience and narrow the gap between the two sides.
"Commander Li, you've really gone all out. This small squad of fifty men is almost equivalent to the firepower of our original infantry battalion in a mixed army. It's not even comparable to an entire infantry regiment. How many squads are you planning to deploy in total?"
Division Commander Sun swallowed hard. They really are rich and powerful. We knew the 72nd Army was formidable before, but now it seems we haven't fully grasped their strength. Their capabilities are far beyond what we imagined.
"Tomorrow, we plan to send forty units to launch a full-scale assault across the entire Pujiang front. Your task is to select enough soldiers familiar with the terrain, and these soldiers must be absolutely elite."
No matter what plan is implemented, it must be supported by sufficient data. Li Shaoyi will never blindly invest too much. These forty small teams only have more than two thousand people. Let's see how they do tomorrow.
"If there are forty small teams, each with twenty people, then we will only have eight hundred people. Our training brigade will take care of all of them."
General Gui immediately stepped forward. This guy was the commander of the Training Corps. Wasn't it just eight hundred men? Their Training Corps hadn't suffered too many losses yet, enough to take care of all these men.
"Don't give me that. Your training corps is officially established, but do you think we're all just pampered kids? You want to take all 800 people? Do you think these are 800 ordinary soldiers? Don't think we don't understand your little schemes. After hanging out with these guys from the 72nd Army for a while, you'll be a junior officer when you come back."
Division Commander Sun was immediately dissatisfied. Others might be afraid of your Training Corps, but we are also one of the elite German-equipped units. There's nothing to be afraid of. The difference in strength between our two armies is not that great.
"Stop it. I don't care how you argue or how you divide it. I want to see the roster of these 800 people in one hour."
Li Shaoyi slammed his hand on the table and immediately left with his men. "Even if you guys wrestle here to decide the winner, it has nothing to do with me. You're all from the Central Army. I'll leave the pie here, and you can divide it yourselves. I won't interfere too much, lest someone say it affects the unity of the Central Army..."