Political Commissar Xiang was a little tempted by Chu Xiong's plan. He was more willing to go to northern Jiangsu than to northern Anhui, but he did not show it. Instead, he asked the question he was most concerned about:
"To go to northern Jiangsu, you not only have to break through the Japanese blockade, but also pass through the defense area of the Japanese 114th Division. It is difficult to do it with the current strength of the military."
Chu Xiong had already considered this. To convince Political Commissar Xiang who was still hesitant, he had to come up with something. Just relying on words would not do. What the New Fourth Army lacked most was the heavy firepower to tear through the Japanese blockade.
Chu Xiong took over what Political Commissar Xiang said and said:
"Political Commissar Xiang, the top priority is to break through the Japanese blockade. As long as we jump over it, the military headquarters will get rid of the predicament of being surrounded on all sides and enter the vast Huaixi area;
Although there are a large number of Japs in Huaixi, there is also a lot of room for movement. The main force of Japs is concentrated in big cities like Luzhou, and there are almost no Japs in towns and villages.
After we broke out of the Japanese blockade, we surrounded Chungu County with a force and fished out the Japanese in Wucheng. The main force ambushed the Japanese, encircled the points for reinforcements, and first ate the main Japanese in Wucheng;
In this way, we can choose a suitable place to cross the river. When we break out, we can travel lightly and throw away all the unnecessary things. As long as we move fast enough, we can cross the river before the Japanese invaders arrive from other places.
After crossing the river, the sea and sky will be brighter. Jie Shi ordered the three detachments from northern Jiangsu to go south to support us. Then the Japanese will worry about whether we will attack their Luzhou! "
Political Commissar Xiang and Commander Ye looked at each other and saw the enthusiasm on each other's faces. They were already attracted...
Chief of Staff Zhou asked bluntly:
"What to do with the blockade? The military doesn't have much heavy firepower."
Chu Xiong said very domineeringly:
"Chief of Staff Zhou, the reason why I didn't mention the Japanese blockade is because I didn't take them seriously at all!
If I attack one point with 12 107mm heavy artillery shells and tear a big hole in the blockade, are you still worried that you can't get through the blockade? "
"Twelve 107mm heavy artillery shells? There is no joke in the army!"
No wonder Political Commissar Xiang was so excited. This was equivalent to a mass shooting by a heavy artillery regiment. If there was such fierce fire support, the Japanese blockade would really be no longer a problem.
Chu Xiong continued to release explosive information and said in a nonchalant tone:
"Political Commissar Xiang, I brought more than this heavy firepower, a full 48 heavy artillery shells, and the rest were used for reinforcements;
It can shoot the remaining 36 heavy artillery shells at the Japanese from three kilometers away and within three minutes. If the operation is done well, there will be only a few people left in a regiment in the field.
Of course, I will not waste my fortune until I finish them all. I will keep some of the warships to be used to deal with the Japanese when crossing the river;
If they encounter a Japanese gunboat coming over, one shell will be enough to send them to the river to feed the bastards! "
This is not Chuxiong's bragging. Later generations of Afghan guerrillas used 107mm rocket launchers to sink the modern frigates of the Empire on which the sun never sets. The Japanese's small gunboats for river defense are really not enough.
"48 heavy artillery shells? Can it even sink a warship? Has a range of more than three kilometers?"
Political Commissar Xiang confirmed again.
Chu Xiong nodded cautiously.
They looked at each other and finally made up their minds. Political Commissar Xiang punched the table and said loudly:
"Done!"
"Done!"
The military headquarters and directly affiliated teams have about 9,000 troops available for combat. To break through the blockade, the most lacking thing is heavy firepower.
Once you break through the blockade, you will indeed have many more options;
As long as you cross the river, even if you don't go to northern Jiangsu for the time being, you can still persist in the vast countryside of Huaixi.
When Chu Xiong saw that the two big guys had made up their minds, a big stone fell in his heart, and he continued to suggest:
"Political commissar, once you make a decision, you must travel lightly and throw away the jars and jars that need to be thrown away. The lessons of Xiangjiang must be learned. Talents come first;
The speed must be fast. Wucheng has the most Japs in the surrounding area. After knocking out the Japs in Wucheng through encirclement and reinforcements, it will also take time to mobilize the Japs from other places!
You can completely defeat the Japanese with a time lag, and then the main force can cross the river before the Japanese react, and you will be safe. "
The political commissar looked at the others and asked:
"Implement this plan, do you have any objections?"
Members of the military branch expressed no objections. This plan was also in line with the art of war of "taking the enemy by surprise and attacking him unprepared";
The Japanese were still waiting to see the Chinese people fighting against their own people, but the New Fourth Army headquarters suddenly broke out from the front of the Japanese, completely catching them off guard.
After the plan was determined, all that was left was to discuss the details of cooperation. The soldiers were quick, Chu Xiong was responsible for tearing the hole, and the New Fourth Army sent a vanguard group to expand the hole. The time was set at five o'clock in the morning the next day.
In order to save time, Chuxiong used the New Fourth Army's radio station to directly send electricity to the action team, asking them to rush to the blockade immediately and stand by.
The New Fourth Army first sent a regiment to move closer to the blockade and be ready for an assault before five o'clock in the morning.
Other troops were ready to leave before dark. They quietly left their bases before dark and moved toward the blockade. After the gap was opened, they jumped outside the blockade and lurked.
This time the political commissar was no longer hesitant and showed his extraordinary ability to organize and mobilize;
In addition to weapons and ammunition, necessary food, medicine, and daily necessities, all inconvenient pots and jars were thrown away, and all troops moved forward lightly.
The military headquarters itself was already ready to retreat, so it did not appear chaotic. It was just hiding all the large medical equipment, printing presses, etc. that were inconvenient to carry.
The preparations were completed before dark, and the stubborn soldiers and Japanese soldiers did not react at all. They all thought that the New Fourth Army headquarters would move north along the route designated by the commander, and they were sharpening their knives!
The Japanese were waiting to see the joke. Of course, normal vigilance would still be in place. They simply did not believe that the New Fourth Army would choose their direction to break out.
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the troops directly under the military headquarters began to evacuate as planned, with their heads and horses wrapped in hooves, quietly moving towards the Japanese blockade line.
At 4:50 in the morning, the old regiment of the New Fourth Army set out to take position. The old regiment was responsible for the assault mission and was personally commanded by the commander of the first regiment;
They were waiting for the Eighth Route Army action team to clear the Japanese fortifications and open a path to victory for the breakout troops.
Commander Fu took out his pocket watch and checked the time. There were still ten minutes left. The old regiment was already ready for the expected sound of the cannon.
Three kilometers opposite him, Zhou Dapao was making final adjustments to Wei Shenpao;
The order given to him by the brigade commander was to use 12 rounds of artillery shells to tear open the Japanese defense line. These artillery shells were carried by them from more than 800 kilometers away, and each one was extremely precious.
He had previously conducted reconnaissance on the Japanese defense line and selected the Baihu Town stronghold as the assault target;
The Baihu Town stronghold is the largest stronghold in the surrounding area for more than ten miles. It consists of 1 main battery building, 2 auxiliary battery buildings, 4 small bunkers, and a large number of barbed wire fences and trenches.
The turrets are built with three layers of blue bricks, with gaps in the middle to protect them from heavy machine gun fire;
There are half a squadron of more than 110 Japanese soldiers and a battalion of puppet troops, equipped with a large number of light and heavy machine guns, and are very powerful.
Without heavy artillery, relying on the firepower of the New Fourth Army, it would be difficult for the two regiments to break through in a short period of time;
As time passed, reinforcements from the Japanese county town came. This is why the New Fourth Army never considered breaking through the Japanese blockade.
05:29, breakout enters 1 minute to count...
