Chapter Sixteen: The Lingering Garden

  Temporary 'bivouac' base of Army Officer School.

  "Brother, this is our newly revised campaign plan draft for the offensive operation. Please help me review it."

  Looking at the draft of battle preparations and deployment, 87th, 88th Divisions, Dúlì Brigade, 36th Division, Artillery Regiment 10, familiar numbers flashed before my eyes. I recalled the distant memories of the initial attack in the Battle of Shanghai, one by one correcting and reversing the mistakes that led to failure in the draft. Finally, I relaxed my eyebrows.

  "Brother Wen Bai is indeed brilliant!"

  "Please elaborate, younger brother."

  "Me?" Looking around at the military school's Jingying, they all had an attitude that if I didn't speak up, they wouldn't let me out the door. All I could say was: "This draft is a big improvement over the previous one. First of all, in terms of deployment, it has changed from seeking quantity to seeking quality. I think you're trying to get all the cannons online, aren't you?"

  "Hahaha! Anyway, the heavy artillery basically has no chance of going on stage in a field battle. We've contacted the brothers from the Heavy Artillery Regiment and they're eager to have the opportunity to go into battle!"

  "I think we can be more focused, after all, the Japanese army only has a few thousand lightly equipped troops, and apart from the mountain artillery battalions of each division, we don't need to deploy howitzers at all."

  "Brother Xian, aren't you thinking of transferring the heavy artillery to the Northern Line?"

  "No, the Shanxi Army has many big cannons, known as the 'ten-team cannon', and doesn't need zhōngyāng's artillery support at all; while in Hebei, with its flat terrain, troops will be constantly on the move over a large area, which also isn't suitable for heavy artillery deployment. We can't just send our limited heavy artillery to that place for nothing. Anyway, you've already applied for the heavy artillery needed for the Shanghai battle, my point is to hide the 15th division's heavy howitzer first and use it in the second phase to attack the Japanese landing forces."

  "Understood! When we attacked the concession area in the first phase, we deliberately did not use the 15-inch howitzer, paralyzing the Japanese army. In fact, we hid these heavy artillery pieces on the north wing and waited for the main force of the Japanese army to land from the Yangtze River before launching a covering strike on the beachhead!"

  "Right! But it should be after landing. Because the Japanese army will definitely land during the day, even if we hide our artillery safely before the battle and open fire, it's hard to escape; more importantly, the Japanese army has fewer troops at the beginning of the landing, and the troop density will only increase in the afternoon or evening!"

  "So how can we prevent the Japanese army from approaching our artillery positions after landing? We cannot deploy a large number of troops to defend in front, which is equivalent to telling the Japanese army that we are there?"

  "The enemy has a powerful fleet, our main force defending the beachhead is suicidal, absolutely not to be taken, only a small detachment can be deployed to hold them off for a while, and then we can set up a large-scale minefield behind, using landmines to temporarily suppress the enemy at the beachhead, until nightfall..."

  "No wonder they all say Zi An has a lot of ideas!"

  "Don't brag on my behalf! Haha!" We continued discussing: "Attacking the concession, we only used one battalion of 100 cannons from the 10th artillery regiment; Wenbai brother, how many 88 cannons did you get from the fortress group?"

  "There are only 4, originally prepared to be deployed in Haizhou, the remaining 16 88 guns of the army have all been deployed in the Yangtze River fortresses; however, Air Force Director Zhou promised me to do his best, at least to bring over 4, maybe 8."

  "Two battalions of heavy artillery fired straight ahead, it's almost done. I see that the enemy's strongholds are only three to five places along the border."

  "For dealing with secondary strongpoints, we have already made plans for each unit to form a bomb assault team, using explosive packs produced by the Jinling Factory for blasting."

  "Was it originally an application for armored troops?"

  Recalling the early days of the War of Resistance, the armored troops' futile sacrifices on the streets of Shanghai and Nanjing, "If we really want to use them, they still have some effect, but the plains are the most suitable battlefield for armored forces. We should prioritize the overall situation!"

  "Yes, we'd better give up using chariots, North China needs them more."

  "What's next is how to deal with the Rihand fleet on the Huangpu River."

  "This matter doesn't need to be discussed, it's top secret!" Zhang Zhizhong interjected. "The backup plan is for each division to cover and push the aforementioned howitzers onto the riverbank and day vessels; there are also air force bombers taking off to launch a heavy bombing raid."

  The main measures are classified as top secret? Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and the atmosphere became awkward.

  "Zi'an, you're quite imaginative, can you think of some ideas for us on how to conduct urban defense?" Zhang Zhizhong changed the subject.

  "Urban warfare?" I thought for a moment and said: "The key is in breaking the house!"

  "Demolish the house?"

  "It refers to breaking into houses, not destroying them! The most undesirable way of urban warfare is to fight along roads, because you are completely exposed to the enemy's line of sight and within their expectations. No matter how many troops we have, they can't be deployed, no matter how strong our firepower is, it can't be deployed either, and there is no cover at all. Forcing a street-by-street advance will inevitably lead to heavy losses, and the lost personnel and equipment will become obstacles for subsequent troops. Attacking along streets is absolutely unacceptable! Urban assault warfare can only be done by moving to the front and rear of the enemy and adopting the tactic of breaking into houses. If there are alleys, use them; if not, break through houses to advance towards the enemy. At most, make a horizontal dash across the street. Weapons should mainly use box cannons, submachine guns, and light machine guns for cover. In addition, there are hand grenades, anti-tank hand grenades, and explosive packs. Not only can they directly eliminate the enemy, but also break into houses. Finally, don't forget to prepare the essential crowbar for opening doors, haha!"

  Seeing the military school students' shocked faces, I finally had a bit of that 'time-traveling master' feeling, haha!

  "The Hongkou concession mainly consists of one or two-story mixed concrete and wooden houses, except for the lowest part which may be relatively solid, the rest are not able to withstand bullet penetration, this is something everyone should pay attention to. I have observed that the Japanese army has always been arrogant, and there are many Japanese civilians in the concession who cannot retreat easily. Although the Japanese army only has 3,000 to 5,000 troops, they will not immediately retreat to a few strongholds, but will first launch a defense on the front line, and then withdraw when they can no longer hold out."

  "Zi An's meaning is that our army first breaks through several mouths, inserts and cuts into the enemy's rear?"

  "It depends on whether our army is launching a surprise attack or a strong assault."

  "Yes, if we launch a surprise attack on the enemy, our elite troops can infiltrate deep into the enemy's rear and break through their defense lines in an instant, leaving most of the enemy forces isolated on the periphery, which would be beneficial for our army to capture the heavily fortified core positions. However, if we launch a frontal assault, the infiltration tactic would not be effective, and might even result in unnecessary losses for our elite troops."

  Watching them heatedly discussing how to launch a surprise attack, I sighed in my heart. With Old Chiang's great hesitation, is there still any opportunity for a battle surprise attack? Dream on!

  "Wait until they finish, I continued to say: "If we launch a strong attack, I think we can take advantage of the enemy's arrogance and deploy most of their troops in one line. We can use light artillery and heavy machine guns to organize firepower and launch a covering strike on the enemy's temporary front-line position at the first opportunity, causing significant casualties among the enemy combat personnel and bringing great benefits to our later operations. Then, it will be the turn of our lightly equipped troops to advance through alleys and break into houses. As for the reinforced concrete buildings, we'll see the power of our 100mm and 88mm heavy artillery!"

  "I just don't know whether the Japanese army will defend the core fortifications with its elite naval special landing forces or use sailors and reservists to defend solid fortifications to exert their combat effectiveness?"

  I thought carefully, but I really can't recall the specific deployment of the Japanese army. All I can say is: "This I also cannot judge, all I can say is that no matter how the Japanese army deploys, before reinforcements arrive, they only have this many troops, these few strongholds, and it's not difficult to take them down one by one."

  "This 'broken house' tactic is indeed very clever, but aren't most of the people living in those houses at Hongkou Chinese citizens?"

  "Citizen? Can those who still live in the concession at this time be considered citizens?"

  "What kind of citizen? Potential Han traitor!"

  "I think they're all Chinese!"

  There were also in the Republic of China! Such a familiar feeling! Watching them argue fiercely, I dodge.

  "Wait, younger brother!"

  Zhang Zhizhong followed closely behind and asked, "General Wen Bai, is there anything else?"

  "What we talked about last night is still on my mind. I'm really worried, it's too big! If you trust me, can't you just tell me?"

  Even Zhang Zhizhong, who was usually cautious, wouldn't leak secrets, "Alright, go ahead!"

  Arrived at the general's office, closed door, no dog can be released.

  "Does the general know how the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought sank that year?"

  "Was it during World War I? It seems like Italian Navy divers transported torpedoes underwater to sink ships. I'm not too familiar with naval matters."

  "The general is right! In the absence of direct heavy artillery and unsuitable for air bombing, the most suitable way to deal with the enemy's armored ships on the Huangpu River is mines; but since the enemy ship does not move, it is equivalent to being in a harbor, we can only imitate the Italians, using divers to push special mines close, and then deploy the mine directly next to the enemy ship and detonate it. I can only say that before I returned home, I had already made relevant preparations for the equipment, plus what I manufactured at Xiangshan, is enough to give the enemy a fatal blow."

  "Is personnel prepared?"

  "Also prepared, is patriotic overseas Chinese, professional diver."

  "I'll be eagerly waiting!"

  Penglai

  The beauty is still there, although the hunting attire and figure are more suitable for the grassland or forest.

  "Wild goose."

  Yan Yun smiled as she looked back: "I'm waiting for you to call me 'Yan Yun' one more time."

  "Really?"

  "Can we go now?"

  "Isn't this beautiful scenery worth lingering over? Maybe it can't be seen again?" I gazed at the emerald green clear water of Qingfeng Pool.

  "Why? Because of war?"

  "Right."

  "We can't beat Japan, right?"

  "Yes, as long as Japan doesn't make a big mistake, we will definitely lose the country. However, I still believe that Japan will inevitably make many big mistakes, allowing us to survive the hardships of war and ultimately move towards revival."

  "Sister is also working hard for this? How did you manage to move her? She has been refusing to tell me."

  "Lan sister is doing something even more absurd than us, it may take ten years of struggle, and it's even more likely to end up with nothing; but if successful, it will bring a brilliant future to our storm-trodden motherland. Let's go!" I said, holding Cloud Geese's arm, "Let's take another walk around the 'yard', and then we'll go say goodbye to General Zhang and his men, and head to Shanghai!"