Chapter 968: Heavy rain in summer

The frontier command post of the First North Army was already two o'clock in the morning. The Yalu River was affected by the hot flash climate in summer and was in a pouring rain. The curtain at the gate was lifted up, and Xu Yongchang walked in with a raincoat. Although it was raining outside, the moisture inside the house was more uncomfortable than outside. He took off his raincoat, gave it to the guards beside him to hang it, and wiped the water stains on his face with his hands.

"It's raining like God was stabbed into a hole. Oh, the raincoat sent by the Logistics Department... Tsk tsk, the smell of rubber is so strong that it can't stand the smell of blood on the battlefield." Xu Yongchang complained a few times, then asked the guard where Cai E was, and was told that Cai E was in a study room in an underground bunker.

Xu Yongchang took his adjutant downstairs to the ground, and after some notification, he met Cai E in the study.

Cai E was putting some documents on the edge of the stove, and the heavy moisture almost penetrated all the paper. This stove was added recently. With the operation of the mountain wolf, the crack in the Japanese mountain defense line, the security of the frontier command post is getting higher and higher, so he doesn't care that the rising smoke will be exposed. The stove is specially used to dispel the moisture from underground bunkers, otherwise not only can't stand the documents, but even people, telegraph machines, etc.

"Commander-in-Chief, aren't you hot here?" As soon as he entered the study, Xu Yongchang kept fanning with his hat. Although he had not yet entered the Fujitian, the ignition stove in the summer was really not a comfortable thing.

"It's been almost three days since the heavy rain, so there's nothing I can do about it." Cai E sat on a small stool, wearing only a small vest on his upper body, and the scars left on his chest during surgery were very obvious.

"It's the fourth day." Xu Yongchang reminded.

"Oh, I've forgotten that it's already early morning!" Cai E said in a daze.

It’s better to withdraw the frontier command post. The same is true for Commander-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief, to command in Fengtian. Now the telegram and telephone lines have been laid long ago, and communication is completely fine." Xu Yongchang sighed and said.

"This is not a communication problem, but a timely grasp of the ever-changing changes in the battlefield. Only in this way can we make the fastest tactical adjustments. By the way, you said that you would report the progress of the front line. Tell me, have you hit the mountainous area?" Cai E asked with his head up.

"I disappoint you because there were heavy rains, airships and planes in the past few days, and even artillery troops were affected. The 25th Brigade and the 15th** Regiment were trapped on the hill and it was difficult to launch an attack in the heavy rain. As of today, the South Bank front line only had the terrain area controlled by the 22nd day." Xu Yongchang said helplessly. He knew that the weather was inevitable. Not only did he make no progress on the side for the past four consecutive days, but the Japanese army could not move at all. Both sides could only hide in their respective trenches and stalemate.

"I fought tough battles for several days a while ago. The 37th and 34th Divisions had occupied a mountain and cleared all positions of the 16th Division in the west. The soldiers were also exhausted. It was a good thing to let them have a good rest in the past few days. However, the last air force reconnaissance five days ago seemed to find that the Japanese army began to withdraw from the east and planned to set up a new defense line in the ancient city of Xinyizhou. It seemed that they knew that the mountainous areas would not be able to be defended for long." Cai E said slowly.

"Almost all the main forces of our 37th Division have crossed the river. Since the operation of the Mountain Wolf, the gap we opened in the west has become larger and larger, and the Japanese have no way to block this hole. Now we have occupied the mountaintops, where mortars, heavy machine guns and small-caliber cannons can suppress the Japanese's positions in the east from a high point. They should indeed see that this mountainous area cannot be defended." Xu Yongchang nodded and said.

"The battle in Xinyizhou urban area is quite beneficial to us, but we must first seize the river port in the east to ensure that the logistics and transportation line can quickly support the front line. The 22nd Brigade basically does not expect it. In the past two months, their losses have been too serious and they have tried their best. We always keep this number and cannot let it be lost. The operation to seize the river port will be launched by the South Bank troops from the land surface, and maybe they can seize several Japanese speedboats and torpedo boats." Cai E said.

"What the Commander-in-Chief said is that our division headquarters will come up with a specific combat plan as soon as possible and launch an attack immediately when the rain stops." Xu Yongchang said seriously.

"Very good. In addition, how are our division's casualties currently? Not only is it raining recently, but the number of soldiers in the rear is limited, so some loopholes may appear in the supplementary soldiers. From now on, we must minimize the large-scale casualties as much as possible." Cai E said, while standing up from a small stool, sorting out the documents drying on the edge of the stove, and carefully putting them on the bookshelf next to it.

Starting with the Mountain Wolf Operation, the South Bank Operations Force launched three general attacks. The first general attack controlled all the positions to the west of the "Wolf Point" and pushed the overall front to the top of the hillside for about 500 meters. Although the second general attack operation launched in early July was strongly blocked by Japanese reinforcements and even a counterattack battle was fought, the existing position was finally defended and consolidated after five days of fierce battle.

As for the third general offensive, the longest-lasting and the largest battle at present, it was a defensive counterattack directly ordered by the Army Command when the Japanese army launched an active attack. Almost three regiments of troops were deployed to counterattack at the same time, and gunfire, cannons, and shouts of killing were everywhere in the mountains and fields. The entire battle lasted for nine days, with positions lost and gained again and again, and repeated fierce battles. Finally, with the continuous increase of the main force of the 37th Division, the Japanese offensive was completely crushed. The vanguard pulled out the position stronghold of about 400 meters across the cross section of the top of the Japanese mountain. Since then, the 16th Division of the Japanese army has completely entered a defensive state.

Although these three general offensives have completed the tasks as a whole, high-intensity fierce fighting and frequent hand-to-hand combat with extremely high casualties have caused the 37th Division's new forces to be greatly reduced. Even during this period, even the Army Command was unable to count the specific casualties. The battlefield hospitals on the North Bank were already full. In mid-July, three battlefield rescue bases were added in a row, mobilizing many civilian doctors to participate in medical assistance work. There were still many injured soldiers waiting for treatment.

The recruit battalions and recruitment offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Chengde and Fengtian have exhausted their strength, and almost most of the reserve troops have been transferred to the front line in the past two months. If we need to continue to maintain our troops on the front line in a short period of time, the Presidential Office will order the level of *** and mobilization orders to recruit retired soldiers and militias to participate in the war. However, it is obvious that China is not yet ready for this.

"According to the sorting yesterday afternoon, our 37th Division currently has only one approximate vacancies, and there are about 4,000 vacancies. The 34th Division is not clear, so it is probably better than our 37th Division. I will contact the 34th Division headquarters later and ask them to send the casualties statistics here." Xu Yongchang said.

The vacancies are counted according to the company-level units, and the number of people not in the combat units may be missing, killed, injured, or deserters. The specific situation can only be waited for further investigation and verification, but it will take a long time to complete the report.

"Our 37th Division has a total of 28,000 people, but now there is a shortage of 4,000 people. This shortage is quite large." Cai E sighed slowly, his face slightly worried.

"Maybe we can increase the recruitment of supplementary soldiers." Xu Yongchang said with suggestion.

"The recruits are all recruits. Replenishing new recruits too quickly will only make the combat effectiveness of our 37th Division weaker and weaker. As I said just now, we must control the casualties as much as possible and not allow our camp to change blood too frequently. We can rest and consolidate the areas we have taken. Tomorrow I will go back to Fengtian to attend the founding meeting of the Head of State to see if the head of state has new arrangements, and then make a plan for the next combat." Cai E said.

"I understand." Xu Yongchang nodded and responded.

Afterwards, Cai E and Xu Yongchang left the study, which was too hot. When they came to the lobby of the command post, Cai E habitually asked the communications office about the situation of the 38th Division. After Wu Peifu personally led the 38th Division from Yanbian, he waited for a full month before receiving a telecommunications report.

This telegram was sent from Qingjin Port near the *** Sea. It was July 7th. Wu Peifu reported that the 38th Division had occupied most of the northeastern part of North Korea. However, considering that Qingjin Port is a sea-side area, it is very likely to be bombarded by the *** Navy. Therefore, he only stopped at Qingjin Port and then advanced towards Huishan.

Then on July 10, he received a second telegram. Wu Peifu said that he had occupied Huining, Maoshan and Baiyan and was preparing to launch a fierce attack from Baiyan to the back of Huishan. This was the last telegram in the past half month, and he has not received any information about the 38th Division so far.

"Commander-in-Chief, there is no news from the 38th Division?" Xu Yongchang asked in surprise. Although Wu Peifu is the chief of staff of the North First Army, if the Army Command cannot grasp the whereabouts of the troops, then he, the chief of staff, is also a dereliction of duty. The entire 38th Division went deep into the enemy's abdomen and had no news for so many days. How should the headquarters coordinate the tactical adjustments in details?

"Yes, I was annoyed by this a few days ago. At least the 38th Division had to find a fixed division headquarters to keep communication open. Since they had occupied Huining and Maoshan, both places could have fixed command posts. I really don't know what Wu Ziyu was doing!" Cai E said with some depression.

After a while, the communications office sent someone to answer Cai E's words, saying that he still could not contact the 38th Division.

Cai E was silent for a while, then said with a gloomy face: "Send a telegram to Fengtian, and after the weather gets better, they will send an airship to northeastern North Korea and find the location of the 38th Division."

The communication soldier quickly wrote it down in his notepad and replied: "Yes!"

Xu Yongchang sighed, thought for a while, and said to Cai E: "Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff, Su-Su-Secretary General Wu is the most strategic-knowing general in Beiyang. With Chief of Staff Wu, there should be no mistake this time. The terrain from Yanbian to North Korea is mostly rugged mountain roads, with inconvenient traffic, and communications should not be much better. The 38th Division has a large organization of tens of thousands of people at least, so there will definitely be no mistakes!"

Cai E said with a cold face: "This is not a mistake, a mistake, it is a discipline issue. Wu Ziyu led the army everywhere, so that the headquarters did not know the location at all. How should the logistics supply be provided? How to coordinate in the overall situation? This is the most basic truth of the marching. I hope Wu Ziyu can solve all these problems and then fight a surprise attack in Huishan to show me!"
Chapter completed!