While Su Yaqin and the other three were secretly thinking about how to persuade Uncle Wan to follow the truck convoy to visit the troops they wanted, Zhou Wen had already led most of the first and second detachments from Huangdu.
It turned out that after Zhou Wen and the others shot down four Japanese bombers, the Japanese army became very angry and stepped up their offensive on the front line the next day.
Although the 19th Route Army still has a temporary advantage in terms of strength, as a defender, it faces the threat of the Japanese army from Zhabei, Jiangwan, Zhanghuabang, Yunzaobang to Baoshan and Wusong Forts, with a defense width of dozens of kilometers. , the strength of more than 30,000 troops in three divisions seems a bit weak.
In addition, the headquarters also received news that the Japanese Ninth Division is about to reinforce Shanghai. You must know that the Japanese Ninth Division is Japan's permanent division. Its combat effectiveness and firepower configuration are stronger than the current mixed 24th Brigade and the Marine Corps. There are many more, and it is unknown where the Ninth Division will land and in which direction it will attack. The Japanese Ninth Division has become the Damorysk sword hanging over the head of the 19th Route Army. For this reason The 19th Route Army headquarters also held a special military meeting to discuss and study the next tactical deployment.
Zhou Wen, as the only representative of the Central Army so far, and who had just made achievements, was invited by the headquarters to observe this meeting.
Zhou Wen actually knew that the arrival date of the Japanese Ninth Division was still a few days away, that is, February 16. It was a bit of a coincidence that more than 30,000 soldiers of the Fifth Army from Nanjing to reinforce Shanghai would also arrive at the same time. By the end of the day, the Chinese army still maintained a certain advantage over the Japanese army in terms of number of troops.
The Japanese army had to wait until March when reinforcements from the Japanese 11th Division and 14th Division arrived to form a military advantage over China and turn it into a strategic advantage. By then, the total strength of the Japanese army alone would reach more than 90,000. Far more than China's 70,000-strong defense force.
It can be seen from this that the Japanese army has an absolute advantage in both the navy and aviation. On the frontal front of the Songhu battlefield, which is dozens of kilometers wide, and at the same time holds the initiative on the battlefield, it is actually weaker than them in terms of equipment and individual soldier quality. The Chinese army has been fighting fiercely for more than a month and has not made any progress. The Chinese army has even continued to carry out counterattacks on some local battlefields, resulting in the loss of troops and generals, and examples of fleeing in panic.
These all illustrate several issues worth summarizing and thinking about. One is that although the Japanese army is arrogant and powerful, it has not participated in large-scale wars for decades since the Russo-Japanese War. For the grassroots officers and soldiers of the Japanese army, The battlefield experience is not even as good as that of China's 19th Route Army, which has experienced hundreds of battles. From tactical command to coordinated operations of various arms, it is lackluster.
The other, of course, is that our heroic Chinese anti-Japanese soldiers fought tenaciously. The officers and soldiers were united and shared the same hatred of the enemy. They used their flesh and blood to block the indiscriminate bombardment of Japanese aircraft and artillery, and built a steel Great Wall along the Songhu line to prevent the Japanese army from crossing. A step forward.
The third is that the Chinese army has proper tactical command and a high degree of unity in strategic thinking, especially Commander-in-Chief Chiang and Commander Cai of the 19th Route Army. Both of them are battle-experienced commanders. The entire defense line is basically deployed watertight, allowing the Japanese army to There is no opportunity to take advantage of it.
The most critical reason is that the principal in Nanjing did not interfere indiscriminately, allowing the frontline commanders to give full play to their talents of responding to the situation and flexibly commanding.
Zhou Wen knew that five years later, during the Battle of Songhu involving millions of people between China and Japan, the principal sitting in the rear took over the frontline command from the beginning. Commanders at all levels could basically only obey his orders, and sometimes even his Orders are issued directly to the division and brigade levels, resulting in low command efficiency for frontline commanders and difficulty in adapting to changes and preparing for rainy days.
The Battle of Songhu, originally initiated by the Chinese army, was strategically successful. It used the flames of war in Shanghai to divert the pressure from North and Central China. From the perspective of the progress of the Anti-Japanese War, this strategic intention was also realized.
However, the use of tactics was very different from the 128 Songhu Anti-Japanese War. The command was rigid, the mobilization of troops was slow, the troops were not concentrated enough, and it became a fueling tactic. There was a lack of predictability and targeted deployment of the direction of the war.
When the Japanese troops landed at Hangzhou Bend and encircled the flanks of the Chinese army, the principal was at a loss. He even hoped for mediation from the League of Nations and was reluctant to make a decision to withdraw troops. It was not until four days later, when the entire front line collapsed and the entire army was annihilated, that he Only then did he order the troops fighting in Shanghai to withdraw in full.
Missing the opportunity to retreat and issuing a hasty order, ultimately resulted in the collapse of the army and a huge cost of unnecessary casualties.
In the history of later generations, the principal was evaluated as a master in strategy and a scumbag in tactics. Even the later Chief of Staff of the Allied China Theater, General Stilwell of the United States, once ridiculed his tactical command level at best. Can command a regiment.
But at present, it is impossible for Zhou Wen to tell what he knows, and in such a high-level military meeting, it is not his turn as a colonel to speak nonsense.
The meeting finally decided that a brigade of the 60th Division of the 19th Route Army would be deployed from Zhenru to the front line of Baoshan and Wusong Fort to the north of Yunzaobang to prevent the Japanese from attacking Wusong Fort.
And all the 61st Division and 78th Division were deployed on the current front line from Zhabei to Yunzhaobing to strengthen defense and prepare for the battle.
But this brings about a problem. The reserve force in the command headquarters only has one brigade of the 60th Division in Zhenru. From the perspective of the route, it can only take care of the Zhabei and Jiangwan lines in time, and it will be beyond the reach of any further. .
The rear areas of Zhanghuabang and Yunzaobang appear to be insufficient in depth. If the first-line positions are breached, they lack the troops to quickly defend and counterattack.
This is the disadvantage of being on the defensive side. You don’t know from which direction the enemy will launch an attack on a front that is dozens of kilometers wide. You can only deploy defensive forces along the entire defense line and keep a certain number of troops in hand. The reserve force is prepared to deal with emergencies, which leads to the over-dispersion of troops.
Before reinforcements from the Fifth Army of the Central Army arrived, the troop deployment of the Nineteenth Route Army was a bit stretched.
At this time, General Chiang was in a bit of a dilemma. It was originally the best way to send Zhou Wen's newly accomplished troops to Yunzaobang as a reserve team, but considering that this unit was the advance guard of the Central Army, Troops, if a fierce battle occurs and the losses are too great, it will be difficult to account for them, which will directly affect the subsequent cooperation with the Fifth Army.
Another thing is that although Zhou Wen and the others shot down four Japanese aircraft at one time, their combat effectiveness on the real battlefield has not yet been proven. If they are just a bunch of scumbags... it will shake the entire Yunzaobang defense line.
