Chapter Thirteen: North China

  Fakenhausen laughed for the third time, "Since we can't talk about the Southern Line, hum, don't think I couldn't guess! So please continue to talk about the Northern Line, what preparations do you think Zhongyang can take in North China under the above circumstances?"

  "General, you are brilliant! I thought that just like the general in the German army, it is reasonable to use people by valuing and utilizing their strengths, avoiding their weaknesses. Just as I said before, since there were contradictions between Yan Xishan and Fu Zuoyi, Zhongyāng supported Fu Zuoyi to control Suiyuan. Once the Japanese army attacked, Fu Zuoyi might not follow Yan Xishan to escape west or south, but instead stay in Suiyuan to resist. In this way, Yan Xishan's subordinates, Song Zheyuan's subordinates, and Han Fuju's subordinates can all be divided, which is the chairman's most skilled work!"

  "I don't care about the chairman's expertise. Mr. Song, your meaning is that once the Japanese army attacks, Zhongyiang will only put in limited reinforcements for North China, abandon most of Hebei, and conduct main defense in Shanxi, while the rest will be dispersed guerrilla warfare?"

  "General, guerrilla warfare is only a secondary aspect. China is vast, and although the enemy army is strong, it is relatively small in scale. In many places, especially mountainous areas, our army can recover and occupy them after the enemy has passed through, and gradually eliminate the enemy. Didn't you also mention 'protracted war' and '持久抗战' in your 'Suggestions', even relying on Sichuan as the last line of defense against the enemy? The main force advances and retreats, leaving some troops behind to harass and consume the enemy; the enemy is unable to withstand this!"

  "Understood! I'll go make the battle plan for Shanxi right now. At least a defensive battle in Shanxi is still necessary!"

  "The general is right! Mainly Shanxi, secondarily Suiyuan. Some preparations can be made now, while others will have to wait until the war begins. Although the general has rich experience in deployment, planning and command, his understanding of China's military is still too little, knowing oneself and knowing the enemy."

  "Having fought a hundred battles without getting tired... Please elaborate on your army's garrison in North China!"

  You actually know Sunzi's words? Indeed, you have some level! I continued to say: "Firstly, let's talk about Yan Xishan's Jin Sui Army. A few years ago, after he lost the battle with the Chairman, his troops were greatly reduced in scale and now only have 19, 33, 34, and 35 armies, a total of four army numbers, as well as the 66th, 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, and 73rd divisions, the Guard Army, Cavalry Command, Artillery Command, etc., with a total of 54 infantry regiments, 8 cavalry regiments, and 10 artillery regiments. However, their organization is relatively small, roughly equivalent to nine infantry divisions, two and a half cavalry brigades, and seven and a half artillery regiments of the Central Army. The main forces, such as the 33rd and 34th armies, are deployed within Shanxi Province; the two smaller-scale armies are actually larger than divisions, with Li Shengda's 19th army temporarily stationed in the Xu-Beng area and Fu Zuoyi's 35th army in Suiyuan, both of which have the intention of leaving Yan. The Jin Sui Army has its own large munitions factory, all located in Taiyuan and nearby areas, with relatively good equipment for the troops, and sufficient light and heavy weapons and ammunition, especially the imitation Japanese mountain cannons are particularly numerous; however, the troops are only good at defense and not good at offense, so the general needs to pay attention to this when deploying troops."

  "After listening to Mr. Song, I understand. The terrain of Shanxi is a plain surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to defend it is to guard the northern and eastern mountainous areas, build a multi-layered defense system, fight back step by step, and delay and consume the enemy's attack. I will make a good plan."

  "The Jinwei army is actually building fortifications in northern Shanxi right now. If you have time, General, you can go take a look."

  "How much more time?"

  A double meaning! "Listen to Mr. Bai Li."

  "Hahaahaha!"

  The 29th Army stationed in the Pingjin area is a mixed bag of old Northwest Army troops. Although Song Zheyuan is the army commander, he cannot make decisions alone and many things need to be discussed with several division commanders. In recent years, they have made some money by relying on the wealthy Pingjin region, purchasing some military equipment, but I'm not sure how much exactly. The 29th Army currently has four large divisions and one small cavalry division: the 37th, 38th, 132nd, 143rd, and Cavalry 9th Divisions, as well as three independent brigades and one cavalry brigade; totaling around 40 regiments, plus about one and a half regiments of old-fashioned artillery. The troop organization is larger than that of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, except for lacking heavy weapons, it's similar to a mid-level Central Army, roughly equivalent to eight and a half to nine divisions of the Central Army. Its attacking power is much stronger than that of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, but its defensive capabilities may be slightly weaker; overall, it's considered a relatively capable fighting force. However, its shortcomings include lacking large-scale logistical support, lacking heavy artillery, and limited ammunition, making it difficult to sustain a long battle without Central Army support.

  "Judging from their current deployment, the distance between them and the Chinese garrison is very close. Once they encounter something like the Northeastern Great Camp, it will be difficult to organize effective resistance, and at least the front-line troops may collapse instantly! On the other hand, although the Japanese army is powerful, its scale is too small, only strengthening the division level. If a prepared attack is launched, the Japanese army can also be broken through instantly!"

  "What the general said is absolutely right, unfortunately we can't attack first..." I was about to finish my sentence when I suddenly froze. Why can't we attack first? Didn't we attack first in the Battle of Shanghai?

  Since I didn't continue, Falkenhausen continued: "If your army can't attack first, I think we can reduce the number of troops on the front line to minimize losses at the beginning of the enemy's attack. But we can't give up Peiping? Maybe we can make a plan, leave a small force on the front line to hold them back, and then counterattack and destroy them after the enemy launches an attack."

  "General, these are strategies for the Chairman to consider, let's continue."

  "Alright, next is General Han from Shandong."

  "Yes, the majority of Han Fuju's troops stationed in Shandong are also Feng's original Northwestern Army. However, unlike the 29th Army, this unit defected to the Chairman en masse under General Han's command and is essentially a private army controlled by Han alone. The equipment, scale, combat strength, and even combat style of this unit are slightly weaker than those of the 29th Army, but there are many similarities between the two units. The six divisions under its jurisdiction, including the 6th, 12th, 20th, 22nd, 29th, and 74th Divisions, have a total of about 30 regiments and approximately one regiment of old-fashioned artillery; roughly equivalent to 6-6.5 divisions of the Central Army. However, with only current equipment and ammunition, lacking industrial support and heavy weapons, it would be difficult to sustain a long battle without supplies from the Central Army."

  The above three routes are the main forces in North China, and during wartime, they will receive reinforcements of 10-15 divisions from Zhongyāng, most of which are secondary troops. General, you need to formulate a plan that can only be implemented with this scale, and also take care of the interests of all parties, so that the plan can be passed.

  Of course, personally I hope the general can persuade the chairman to at least deploy some elite troops in North China. I think that at the very least we can give the Japanese vanguard a severe blow in the initial stages of combat!

  "Persuade the committee chair? I'm afraid you're far better at it than me!"

  "If you're willing to help, I'll give it a shot!"

  "Haha!"

  "I turned the pages of Dr. Franke's book and read: 'Therefore, we must not lightly give up a single inch of our territory; only by following the precedents set in Shanghai and other places in 1921 and 1922 can we induce the Powers with interests in the Yangtze Valley to take an active attitude. If China does not show at the very beginning her determination to fight for her existence with all her might, the Powers will certainly not intervene."

  "This passage is what the general said, and then General again said: 'The first division uses two divisions stationed in Northeast China, in coordination with the puppet army to occupy Hebei Province, destroy the Zhengzhou railway junction; The second division starts from Korea and Japan, with a force of about three divisions to occupy Shandong and Lianyungang, destroy the railway junction in Xuzhou, and then occupy it; The third division advances along the Yangtze River with four to five divisions, attacks Nanjing, and then attacks Wuhan along the Yangtze River.' I personally think that although the general correctly estimated the route of the Japanese army's attack, he underestimated the scale of the Japanese army's attack, especially the scale of the northern line attack. If it were really only this level of investment, our army's victory would be certain! Unfortunately, this is a full-scale war, and the Japanese army's investment in both the southern and northern lines may be around 10 divisions or even more!"

  Falkenhausen anxiously said: "The Southern Line, due to the main force deployment, can still cope with about 10 divisions of Japanese troops, but what about the Northern Line? 5-6 divisions are already the limit!"

  I forced a smile: "If we add the Chairman's command on top of that, the Southern Line will also be in trouble!"

  Von Falkhausen also laughed: "I said you didn't look like a soldier! Especially not like the Chairman's soldier!"

  I continued to smile bitterly: "From the historical trend of the Japanese army, it is clear that the lower ranks will overthrow the upper ranks! Therefore, the most likely possibility for a future 'new incident' in North China is not a well-prepared war triggered by the Japanese government or the Japanese Army Ministry, but rather a local conflict stirred up privately by mid-to-low-level Japanese military officers! Of course, if they benefit from the conflict, the Japanese military and even the government will 'add investment'!"

  "It seems you have an extremely deep understanding of the Japanese book!"

  "I dare not, for much of what I say has been 'wholesale' from Mr. Bai Li."

  "Hahaha!"

  "If that's the case, your army wants to break through the enemy's two-pronged attack, the only way out is to defeat each of the enemy troops that are thrown into battle one by one in the process of the enemy gradually deploying onto the battlefield! Only then will there be enough remaining strength to deal with the enemy's main force!"

  "In that case, the timing of the plan becomes extremely important! I implore General Falkenhausen to consider China's plans!" I stood up and bowed to Falkenhausen.

  Falkenhausen also stood up and extended his hand: "Mr. Song, it is my good fortune to be able to serve the revival of ancient China!"

  I hastily stretched out and grasped Franckenhausen's hand.

  "Let's go, we'll go to General Yang Jie's place, he has simulation equipment and staff, let's have a showdown on the map!"

  What's wrong with you? Are you looking for a beating? I quickly pushed back: "General, I still have some self-awareness, spare me?"

  "Hahaha! I laughed more this afternoon than in the entire previous month!"

  "General, please go and compete with General Yang Jie! I'll just observe from below."

  "This still has to wait until I come up with a plan, for now, I'm going back to strive, goodbye!"

  I escorted General Falkenhausen and his entourage to the side gate of the government office building under the watchful eyes of everyone, when he suddenly said to me: "Mr. Song, let's consider ourselves acquainted from now on, may I address you by your first name in the future?"

  "It's an honor!"

  "You can also call me by my name!"

  "I don't dare, General! You will always be my respected predecessor!"