novelaction Chapter 259 The World's No. 1 Machine Gun Army
Chapter 259 The World's No. 1 Machine Gun Army
On this day, all the senior officers of Xu's army gathered together, and Xu Le also began to deploy the combat plan.
Army Commander Xu Le, Chief of Staff Fang Yue, Logistics Commander Zhu Xiaoping, Military Advisor and Commander of the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division Wei Li, Commander of the 176th Armored Division Liu Quanhua, Commander of the 101st Motorized Infantry Division Dai Ming, Commander of the 1st Artillery Brigade Yue Yun, and Commander of the 1st Aviation Brigade Wang Yuji.
"Now all our troops have arrived in Yunnan Province, and the farthest 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division has also arrived in Kunming and will reach the front line soon.
I have not told you my battle plan until now, but now I can tell you!
It is mainly divided into two stages. The first stage is actually very simple, that is the domestic stage. The task is to drive out all the devils that enter Yunnan Province!
The second stage is to enter Myanmar and take control of the entire Myanmar while annihilating the enemy as much as possible!
Chief of Staff Fang should have guessed my plan a long time ago, now tell me your detailed plan!"
Fang Yue scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "You can't hide anything from the young marshal. I have indeed drawn up a detailed battle plan a long time ago. We are just waiting for the young marshal to issue an order, and then all the troops can implement it according to the plan. Now let me tell you the detailed battle plan!
In fact, the first phase of the operation was very simple. There was only one road running through the entire western Yunnan, which was the well-known Burma Road. The Japanese advanced eastward along this road, and we naturally counterattacked along this road!
We face two difficulties, namely how to cross the Lancang River and the Nu River.
Especially the Lancang River. In order to slow down the enemy's offensive, the 60th Army blew up the bridge west of Shanyang. This not only slowed down the enemy's offensive, but also hindered our offensive!
However, this Shanyang section is not the main road of the Burma Road. The main road is the Gongguo Ferry 40 kilometers north of Yongping County. The water flow there is slower and the water is flatter, so a bridge was built there for vehicles to pass. As far as we know, it has not been occupied by the Japanese yet, and control of the bridge is still in the hands of the Yunnan Army.
So our troops can cross the river from there and attack Baoshan County occupied by the Japanese. As long as we take Baoshan County, we can consider crossing the Nujiang River!
The bridge over Nujiang River had been blown up, so when we faced the Lancang River and Nujiang River, our biggest difficulty was how to cross them under the Japanese artillery fire!
Of course, our artillery firepower is stronger than that of the Japanese, so the solution is very simple. We just need to suppress them with more artillery fire and create conditions for the crossing troops to pass safely!
But Marshal, in addition to artillery fire, we also need a strong coastal defense force to provide close-range fire suppression for the river crossing troops!"
Hearing this, Xu Le immediately had an idea. Isn't there a coastal defense force with powerful firepower right now?
The 60th Army had just received 500 MG42 machine guns. If they were arranged on the shore in three layers, with one machine gun placed every 3 meters in each row, they could form a one-kilometer-long firepower network.
Coupled with the firing rate of more than 1000 rounds per minute, even if the Japanese were covered in iron sheets, they would not be able to withstand the impact of machine guns.
Xu Le immediately said: "This is great, we already have such a force! Anyway, I am in charge of all military and political affairs in Yunnan Province, so I naturally have the right to adjust the troops!
Advisor Wei, I'll leave this matter to you. Reorganize the 60th Army. I want the 60th Army to become the first machine gun army in the Tang Dynasty!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone took a deep breath. They had heard of machine gun squads, machine gun platoons, machine gun companies, and machine gun battalions!
However, there was no machine gun organization above that. Even the largest machine gun formation of the Japanese was only a battalion, which had no more than 24 Type heavy machine guns.
The main reason is that machine guns consume too much ammunition, so there is no need to unify them on a large scale, and there are not so many machine guns to be distributed.
Now, just because of a word from our young marshal, the first machine gun army in the Tang Dynasty, or even in the world, is about to appear.
500 MG42 machine guns. Everyone present here knows the power of this gun. If a machine gun army were to produce one, would there be any intact corpses under the firepower net of that thing?
Gudong....
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but swallow.
It’s so scary!
Wei Li also nodded and said, "No problem. Our troops are fully mechanized. Facing the terrain of Yunnan Province, we cannot maneuver in many places! This machine gun army just makes up for our shortcomings. One person can run with a machine gun. As long as a person can reach a place, we can build a firepower network!
However, the logistical pressure of this machine gun is extremely high. If we want to achieve a strong enough firepower network, the ammunition transportation cannot stop at any time. We have to think of a solution!"
Zhu Xiaoping said at this time: "I will take care of this. I will let the Nanqiao Transport Team use trucks to transport the goods to places where roads are accessible. I can mobilize mules and horses from the surrounding areas for transportation in places where roads are not accessible. If that doesn't work, I can also recruit able-bodied men for manpower transportation!
In this regard, the people of Yunnan Province are very active, and this force can be fully utilized! "
Xu Le immediately made the decision: "The matter regarding the 60th Machine Gun Army has been roughly decided. Staff Officer Fang, please tell us about the rest!"
Fang Yue also continued: "This is the first time that our Xu family army has experienced a river crossing operation. In order to minimize losses, we must combine land and air, infantry, artillery and tanks. This is a coordinated operation involving all arms.
Brigade Commander Wang, the Japanese have the air supremacy over western Yunnan and Burma. If the Army wants to fight, it must seize this air supremacy. Now it is up to your Air Force!"
"No problem. After the meeting, I will formulate a detailed combat plan and submit it to the military!"
Wang Yuqi answered confidently. Strictly speaking, this was also the first joint operation of the Air Force, and it was also the time to prove himself as the brigade commander.
"Then the next step is the artillery. I emphasize that before crossing the river, we must at least provide intensive fire coverage to the enemy's positions along the coast. We must bombard them for at least a day!"
Xu Le interrupted and said, "There is not enough space to deploy all three of our divisions, so we gathered the artillery regiments of the three divisions together. There are nearly 3 large-caliber heavy artillery pieces, which are enough for the advance troops to cross the river. As long as our troops cross, it will be much easier for the follow-up troops to cross the river!"
"That's right!" Fang Yue continued, "So the first crossing force has a very heavy task, and will face the most fierce attacks from the Japanese. So I plan to give this task to the 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment, whose infantry fighting vehicles are the best choice!"
Liu Quanhua responded: "This mission naturally belongs to our 176th Division, but I have a question. Our tanks weigh more than 30 tons. Even if we pass through the bridge at Gongguo Ferry one by one, I'm afraid the bridge won't be able to bear it for long!
It is impossible to force a crossing through the water, unless we find a shallow place!"
"That's not a problem. The people who know these two rivers best are naturally the locals of Yunnan Province. I've found a guide, so it won't be a problem to find a place with shallow waters! If my guess is correct, the location of Gongguo Bridge is the shallowest nearby, otherwise the bridge wouldn't be built there!"
At this time, Wei Li spoke again: "Young Marshal, regarding the 60th Army, I think it is necessary to incorporate it into our command. Myanmar's terrain is also relatively complex. Only the central area is plain, and more than two-thirds of the area is mountainous, just like Yunnan Province. Our future operations cannot be separated from the 60th Army!"
Xu Le only had the authority to mobilize the Yunnan Army, but it was still very difficult for him to incorporate the 60th Army under his own command.
In fact, after hearing about the combat experience of the 60th Army, Xu Le already had the idea of incorporating it into the army!
After hesitating for a while, Xu Le said carefully: "It is indeed necessary, Advisor Wei, this matter still has to fall on you. But don't be too demanding, it would be bad if there is any rift with Yunnan Province! But we can bribe them, just use our existing equipment to tell them!"