plumnovel Chapter 185 The Japanese Invaders' Preparations: 120 Warships Participate
Chapter 185 The Japanese Invaders' Preparations: 120 Warships Participate
Commander Li and Commander Bai stood side by side, their gazes fixed on Li Jianghe, their faces filled with undisguised satisfaction and their eyes brimming with genuine pride.
Commander Li smoothed out the wrinkles in his sleeve, secretly praising him: "Kid, you're really something. You managed to smooth things over perfectly and say such resounding words. No wonder I've chosen you!"
No one knew that Li Jianghe's resounding words were not just a motivational speech to boost the morale of the generals, but also set the core operational strategy for the defense of Wuhan—no city should be held to the death; the best strategy at present was to use space to buy time and continuously wear down and tie down the Japanese army's manpower.
In terms of specific tactical arrangements, it is even more important to be prepared for both possibilities:
First, we must mobilize elite troops and rely on the defensive fortifications around Wuhan to defend the city and engage in a direct battle with the Japanese army, delaying their advance as much as possible.
Second, we made advance plans and prepared for the relocation of factories, schools, and residents in Wuhan at any time, transferring important industrial equipment, educational resources, and ordinary people to safe areas in the rear.
This is something that Shanghai, Nanjing, and Taiyuan all failed to do very well.
Before the city fell, the authorities were only concerned with defending the front and did not take any precautions to protect important equipment and personnel. As a result, a large number of factories and precision equipment either fell into the hands of the Japanese army or were destroyed by the merciless war, which is regrettable.
Countless scientific researchers and skilled workers also tragically lost their lives in the smoke of battle, without receiving the protection they deserved. This is an enormous loss that the nation and its people can hardly make up for.
Just like the Taiyuan Arsenal, a large-scale and well-equipped important weapons manufacturing base in the north, after the city fell, 80 percent of its equipment fell into the hands of the Japanese army.
These devices were brutally dismantled by the Japanese army and transported all the way to Northeast China. After being reassembled, they became weapons manufacturing plants for the Japanese army, producing bullets and weapons day and night, which they then used against our own people.
This painful lesson is etched in our minds and must never be repeated in Wuhan.
Li Jianghe was also involved in the formulation of the subsequent specific battle plan, but at this time, he didn't have much room to play a role.
Once the basic operational strategy is clear, subsequent tactical arrangements can be adjusted randomly based on the Japanese troop deployment and battlefield movements.
Meanwhile, inside the Japanese army's Wuhan operations command post, the atmosphere was one of arrogant confidence. Commander Hata Shunroku sat upright in a leather chair, casually toying with a silver, engraved lighter in his hand, its metal casing gleaming coldly under the light.
"Smack!"
A crisp scraping sound filled the room, and a flame suddenly shot out. He bent down, lit a Fuji cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled a swirling smoke ring. He looked up at the Chief of the General Staff opposite him and asked in a calm tone:
"How are the naval preparations going?"
Opposite him stood Chief of the General Staff, Kawabe Torashiro, a short, stocky man with broad shoulders and sharp, eagle-like triangular eyes. He was standing with his back bowed, and upon hearing this, immediately replied in a deep voice:
"Three naval flotillas have been assembled and prepared. According to previous air and ground reconnaissance by the intelligence department, the depth and width of the main channel of the Yangtze River from Nanjing to Wuhan are sufficient for these destroyers to navigate smoothly."
In addition, there are more than 120 other ships of various types participating in the battle, which will provide sufficient and continuous naval gunfire support for the ground advance of our army.
Hata Shunroku insisted on choosing the tactic of advancing along the river for three main reasons.
First, the Yangtze River is an excellent natural waterway in Central China, with a calm current, allowing for the rapid transport of supplies to frontline troops and solving many of the inconveniences of land transport. (This is followed by an unrelated sentence: "Let reading always be one chapter faster.")
Secondly, the large-caliber naval guns of the navy can be fully utilized to provide continuous fire support for the army's frontal advance and suppress the ground defense firepower of the National Revolutionary Army.
Third, due to the breach of the dike at Huayuankou, a large area of the Yellow River flooded along the Longhai Railway, making the roads muddy and impassable, which indeed made it difficult to launch large-scale military operations.
"What about the air force?"
Hata Shunroku took another drag of his cigarette, the butt burning out a long ash, which he casually flicked into the ashtray before continuing to ask.
A smug smile appeared on Kawabe Torashiro's face, his tone tinged with pride:
"A total of 350 aircraft of various types will participate in the Wuhan operation, including bombers, fighters and reconnaissance aircraft."
Meanwhile, headquarters also made a clear commitment that at least two more air regiments would be dispatched to support operations in Wuhan to ensure air superiority.
"It seems that those idiots at headquarters have finally realized the importance of the Wuhan operation and have stopped hindering our army's actions at every turn."
Kawabe Torashiro quickly chimed in, echoing his words:
"Not only that, His Majesty the Emperor also strongly supports this operation and has clearly stated that tens of tons of gold from the domestic reserves will be used specifically to support the material consumption of this operation in Wuhan."
"Good! Good! Good!"
Hata Shunroku exclaimed "Good!" three times in a row, his eyes gleaming with unwavering determination. He declared confidently, "I believe that if this operation succeeds and we capture Wuhan, the Nationalist government will inevitably lose all courage to resist and choose to surrender!"
After saying that, he looked up at the huge military map hanging on the wall, his gaze sweeping over Wuhan and the entire waterway of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, as if this land and these waters were already in the pocket of their Imperial Japanese Army.
Unlike Hata Shunroku, Kawabe Torashiro was not optimistic. His brows furrowed slightly, and another possibility suddenly occurred to him. After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked:
"Commander, what if they refuse to surrender?"
Hata Shunroku was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then his expression darkened, a ruthless killing intent flashing in his eyes, and he said in a deep voice:
"Not surrender? Then keep fighting, keep killing! Kill everyone in China who dares to resist, and then there'll be no need for them to surrender!"
Upon hearing this, Kawabe Torashiro simply smiled and nodded, offering no verbal response.
Because he secretly pondered to himself, China has a population of 400 million. Even if only 100 million choose to resist to the end, how long would it take the Imperial Japanese Army to kill them all? This thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before he immediately suppressed it.
However, when he looked at the map again, at the densely marked Japanese unit numbers, and thought about the massive force that had been mobilized, a little more confidence arose in his heart.
"By the way, Commander, there is an enemy force that requires special vigilance."
Kawabe Torashiro seemed to suddenly remember something, and quickly took out a telegram from his briefcase, strode forward and handed it over. "This is an urgent telegram from Nishio Juzo, saying that when our army advances, we must be careful to guard against this enemy armored force."
"Li Jianghe's third column?"
Hata Shunroku took the telegram, glanced at the unit number on it, and his face instantly turned cold. His tone was filled with anger. "I've heard of this unit. In Japan, this person's name is quite well-known."
Our 10th Division, 20th Division, and 1st Mixed Brigade were almost completely annihilated by this enemy force. It was an utter disgrace to our Imperial Japanese Army!