Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1475: Debate (Part )

The two men, who had basically reached an agreement, saluted again in front of Sun Mingjin's tomb. Fang Xianjue, in a good mood, decided to go to the attack and defense training base that Tang Dao had been operating for half a year.

Many people knew about that base, but all the generals in the war zone knew that Tang Dao had offended that person, and unless it was absolutely necessary, the Four-Line Regiment was destined to carry the dust bucket until the end of the war. Although they were all very sad in their hearts, in order to avoid suspicion, only a few generals such as General Guo, Deputy Commander of the 27th Army, and Major General Xie Jinyuan, who were very close to Tang Dao, came to visit. Fang Xianjue, whose military headquarters was in Hengyang, had never come to see it once.

Thinking about the future cooperation with the powerful army of the Four-Line Regiment and his current status as a sinecure counselor of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, Fang Xianjue naturally no longer had his previous concerns.

However, before leaving, he sent guards to inform Zhao and Sun who were waiting for him at the foot of the mountain, saying that he would stay with his close friends in the tomb for two days, and asked them not to wait any longer and to return to Hengyang City on their own.

After arranging everything, Fang Xianjue, in a good mood, let Tang Shanhe sit on his shoulders and walked down the mountain with Tang Dao and his wife. He listened to Tang Shanhe telling him stories in his baby voice and burst into laughter from time to time.

Although young lives are delicate, watching them grow strong and mature will always make us involuntarily have expectations for the future.

Especially in these war-torn times, this thing called hope is even more precious.

This may be the happiest day for the famous tiger general of the 12th War Zone since his close friend died in battle last December.

But this fierce general in the army might not have expected that the surprises given to him by the colonel of the engineering corps were far from over.

Sitting in Tang Dao's assault jeep, which many division commanders were not equipped with, Fang Xianjue arrived at the legendary attack and defense training base.

When the jeep was still 1000 meters away from the base, Fang Xianjue couldn't help but gasp when he looked over with his naked eyes.

This is not a training ground at all; it is clearly a carefully constructed military fortress!

The fortress has no walls, and countless houses built of loess are clearly visible inside. It is precisely because of these houses that people cannot see how many fortresses and fortifications are deployed inside. The outside of the fortress is covered with deep trenches and barbed wire, especially several artificial hills that are 90 to meters high. Facing the attacking side, they are all cut into cliffs of nearly degrees, which looks terrifying.

"What is this..." Fang Xianjue asked subconsciously as he looked at the military fortress which was obviously different from what he had imagined.

"Hehe, this is a terrain replica of a corner of HY City. It is a defensive fortification design made by our regiment's political director Ye Chenghuan and chief of staff Leng Feng after nearly ten field attack and defense drills!" Tang Dao chuckled.

"It seems that you, Captain Tang, started making preparations last year! Your sense of the battlefield is really the second best I have ever seen in my life. Only Mr. Baili is better than you." Fang Xianjue's eyes flashed with amazement.

What amazed him was obviously not how tight the fortifications were before him, but the fact that Tang Dao had actually started preparing for the Battle of Hengyang a year in advance. Their foresight on the battlefield was so strong that even he was not fully alert until the Japanese North China Front suddenly launched a surprise attack on the First War Zone in February.

"Commander Fang, you are too kind. I can't say I have any battlefield sense, but being prepared for danger in times of peace is a characteristic of the Chinese nation. My regiment is stationed in Hengyang. If a war breaks out, the urban area of ​​Hengyang will be the central battlefield. Naturally, I can only order my regiment to replicate the terrain in Hengyang and make corresponding defensive fortifications and defense drills. The more sweat we get in training, the less blood we shed in war," Tang Dao said modestly.

"More sweat in training, less blood in battle. If I can really return to the 10th Army, I will definitely convey your philosophy, Captain Tang, to the entire army." Fang Xianjue strode towards the civil engineering fortifications.

He wanted to see how capable Tang Dao's Four-Line Regiment was at deploying fortifications for urban defense warfare. Although he had only studied under Mr. Baili for a few months, he was well versed in the key to positional defense, "10% guns and % fortifications." The th Army also attached great importance to the construction of various fortifications in its daily training.

For example, his young chief of staff, Sun Minyu, was a graduate of architecture and had considerable insights into the construction of field fortifications. Although he was a little arrogant due to his youth, Fang Xian definitely admired and valued him very much.

"Come, tell me your opinion on the defense of Hengyang City first, for example, where will the main attack direction of the Japanese army be." Fang Xianjue did not ask low-level questions like "the focus of the defense of this military fortress that simulates part of the terrain of Hengyang City is not inside but outside", but asked Tang Dao about his judgment on the main attack direction of the Japanese army.

Although this simulated military fortress has actually exposed Tang Dao's intentions, he still wants to hear Tang Dao's analysis.

"Hengyang is a tiny city, but despite its small size, its strategic location is extremely important. The Xiang River, Zheng River, and Lei River pass through the city. In modern times, Wu Sangui proclaimed himself emperor in Hengyang, and Zeng Guofan trained his troops in Hengyang. They all saw the strategic value of Hengyang as the center of Hunan Province and the key point of the Xiang River waterway.

This geographical environment is quite similar to that of Xuzhou. Both are small in scale but very important in location. Xuzhou is the intersection of the Jinpu and Longhai railways, while Hengyang is the intersection of the Yuehan and Hunan-Guangxi railways.

Moreover, the most similar point between the two cities is that there are no high mountains around them, which is what is often mentioned in military books as a "four-sided place", which means being attacked from all sides. "Tang Dao obviously did not travel around Hengyang for nothing in the past six months, and he had already understood Hengyang's strategic position and the surrounding terrain.

After he finished speaking in one breath, he seemed to know everything like the back of his hand. Fang Xianjue nodded frequently, and he admired the young army colonel in front of him who was less than 30 years old.

As the saying goes, never fight a battle without preparation. Tang Dao had done all the preparations in advance. No wonder he led the Four-Line Regiment on the battlefield for so many years without ever being defeated.

This is related to the military literacy and equipment of the officers and soldiers of the Four-Line Regiment. More importantly, it requires that the commander Tang Dao has sufficient foresight and made extremely detailed preparations.

With a wave of his Tang sword, Shi Dakuan, who was serving as the driver of the two men, hurriedly took out the map of Hengyang from his bag and spread it in front of the two men.

This map is really big. Not only does it have detailed place names and street names, it even shows the height and length of the mountains around Hengyang, the width of the rivers, and even a stream. It is simply a miniature sand table.

"This is the painting that Jiayue and his surveying team spent five months drawing. There is only one such painting for the whole of China." Tang Dao said to Councillor Fang, whose eyes were shining with enthusiasm.

Fang Xianjue felt a little depressed. This feeling of being able to see the overall situation almost while sitting in the command post is simply the dream of all commanders. You are just enviing me, aren't you?

"However, if Commander Fang can be reinstated and can apply for my Four-Line Regiment to participate in the battle of Hengyang, then this map will be hung in your operations room, Commander Fang." Tang Dao pursed his lips and continued.

  "Remember in the future, you can't breathe too loudly when giving gifts. No wonder you are still a small regiment commander." After being teased by Tang Dao, the usually serious General Fang couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Haha! Commander Fang's teachings, Tang Dao will definitely remember them in his heart." Tang Dao laughed and pointed at the map. "Since there are four sides that can be attacked, which side will the Japanese choose as the main attack direction?

The undisputed point is the east of the city! Hengyang is bordered by the Xiangjiang River to the east. This section of the river is wide, deep and turbulent. Moreover, we have several airports in Liuzhou and other places at this time. We have air supremacy. It is unlikely that the Japanese army will force a crossing of the Xiangjiang River with bombs dropped on their heads.

In the east of the city, our defenders only need one or two battalions of troops to guard along the river bank, lay mines in the middle of the river, and set up about 8 37mm anti-tank guns on the shore. Once the Japanese army is really stupid enough to attack, the 37mm anti-tank guns with permanent fortifications or the Japanese 70mm infantry guns will teach them a lesson!

Even if they really succeeded in forcing a crossing, the river bank is flat and there is no shelter. We have deployed heavy artillery positions in the city and used pre-set artillery units to cover the Japanese troops landing on the river bank with artillery fire. No matter how many come, we can make them come up standing up and leave lying down.

This place can be used as a place to lure the enemy!"

"That's a good idea!" Fang Xianjue looked at the map of Hengyang City and nodded without comment.

He had specially rode around on horseback to observe the terrain in the east of the city when he first stationed in Hengyang, and his conclusion was roughly the same. Unless the Japanese were crazy, they would not choose this place as the main attack site.

"The north of the city is a possibility. If the Japanese army attacks Hengyang, it must be because Tanzhou has already been lost. The Japanese army will come from that direction, and their spearhead will naturally go straight to the north city." Tang Dao pointed his hand towards the north of Hengyang City.

"Oh?" This time Fang Xianjue didn't even nod, but just raised his eyebrows slightly.

Fang Xianjue had fought against the Japanese army for many years and was extremely familiar with their tactics. Although the Japanese army always liked to brag about how tough they were, they rarely used central breakthrough tactics in actual combat. When they fought encirclement battles, they often deployed a large number of troops and heavy firepower to attack the front battlefield in order to attract the attention of the opponent, while the real decisive attacks were mostly launched from the two wings.

In addition, since the previous two Tanzhou battles, the Changheng Highway had been destroyed to prevent the Japanese army from coming from Tanzhou. It was difficult for the Japanese army to transport heavy artillery and tanks along this road. There was also the Zhengshui River in the north of the city. Although the Zhengshui River was not as wide as the Xiangjiang River, it was also one of the three Xiangjiang Rivers and was not easy to swim across.

From the perspective of terrain and tactics, the north of the city is not a good place for the Japanese army to deploy troops. Fang Xianjue personally does not agree that the Japanese army will launch the main attack from the north of the city.

"There is steaming water in the north of the city. The Japanese with their short legs will drown if they fall into it. I guess Yokoyama Isamu is not that stupid. The main attack areas can only be in the west and south of the city." When Tang Dao saw Fang Xianjue's expression, he didn't know what he was thinking, but he changed the subject and pointed his finger at the west and south cities.

Fang Xianjue looked calm, but he really hoped that Tang Dao would express some different opinions.

The issue of city defense was debated several times at the 10th Army's internal high-level military meetings. The commanders of various divisions and brigades had different opinions on whether the Japanese army should attack from the west or south city, and the debate was quite intense.

The terrain on the west side of Hengyang City is completely different from that on the north side, with Daximen as the boundary. From Daximen to the north to the Zhengshui River in the north of the city, the terrain is open and flat, with fish ponds everywhere, while from Daximen to the south to the Xiangjiang River, the terrain is undulating and endless, and the mountainous direction is parallel to the east-west Xianggui Railway.

Zhou Qingxiang, commander of the 10rd Division of the 3th Army, believed that the terrain in the northwest of the city was open and flat, which was conducive to the movement of Japanese mechanized troops and could fully utilize their firepower advantage. The Japanese army was very likely to choose the northwest to attack. His reason for opposing the south of the city as the main attack direction of the Japanese army was very simple. It was a feint attack from the beginning and would cause heavy casualties to the infantry.

This view once dominated the generals within the 10th Army, and even Chief of Staff Sun Minok was persuaded by it.

Fang Xianjue disagreed with this view. He believed that the mountains south of the city were indeed difficult to attack, but they were also not conducive to the defense of the city.

Since ancient times, the biggest taboo in defending a city is to dodge. For the attacking party, once they seize the commanding heights outside the city, they are equivalent to seizing the initiative in attacking the city. Therefore, from ancient times to the present, the emphasis of attacking a city is "guarding the dangerous place instead of the city wall, and occupying the mountain first when attacking the city". The Taiping Army was well aware of this. When defending a city, they usually defended the high ground outside the city instead of defending the city. When attacking a city, they first seized the high ground outside the city and launched an attack on the city from a high position.

The Japanese army was quite confident in their artillery strike capability and mountain warfare ability, so when they attacked a city, most of them would first seize the commanding heights and then bombard the city with cannons from a high position. This is why in the three battles of Tanzhou, the Japanese army attacked Yuelu Mountain with heavy troops, and General Xue simply set up his theater headquarters in Yuelu Mountain.

That mountain range is actually the lifeline of Tanzhou. Once Yuelu Mountain is lost, Tanzhou City cannot be defended.

“Commander Fang, let’s not talk about how great a threat the commanding heights pose to the city, nor how the mountains to the south of the city are not conducive to attacking one side, but once the attack is successful, we can quickly control the entire Hengyang and quickly end the battle.

Just to talk about the principle of quick victory that the Japanese army always advocated, if they mainly attacked the west of the city, even if they succeeded, would they still have to attack the south of the city? Why, when attacking from the outside, it is an upward attack, and attacking from the inside can make the mountain shorter? Instead of taking the trouble to attack the west of the city and then the south of the city, it is better to bite the bullet and capture the most difficult part of the city first.

In addition, Hengyang Airport, Yuehan Railway and Hunan-Guangxi Railway are the three most strategically valuable military facilities in Hengyang. Among them, Hengyang Airport and Yuehan Railway are located outside Hengyang City, with basically no strategic location to defend. Once the war starts, they will be lost. The Hunan-Guangxi Railway is different. This railway is close to the south of the city, connecting the HY urban area on one end and the southwest rear on the other. Reinforcements and supplies must come from this line. It can even be said that this is the lifeline of Hengyang. If the Japanese army takes the south of the city as the main attack direction, they can cut off the Hunan-Guangxi Railway and cut off all connections between Hengyang and the southwest rear, becoming an isolated army.

Therefore, I can be sure that the south of the city will become the most fiercely contested battlefield after the war begins." Tang Dao pointed his finger at the mountains south of Hengyang City and said with great confidence.

The reason why Tang Dao dared to build a simulated training ground based on the terrain around the south of Hengyang City half a year in advance was precisely because this judgment was made by the tiger general in time and space himself at a military meeting at the end of May, and the Japanese army did just that.

This time, he simply moved the time point forward by one month.

If Hengyang had an extra month, it would be enough for him to make a lot of preparations in advance, as long as Fang Xianjue could be completely convinced by him.

Even though the transfer order from the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs had already been issued and Fang Xianjue would fly to the Shancheng Military and Political Affairs Department to report in two days, Tang Dao knew that except for the transferred commander of the 10th Division who was no longer under his control, the commanders of the 190th Reserve Division, Ge Youcai, and the 10rd Division, Zhou Qingxiang, were both his trusted generals, and the 3th Army was still firmly under his control.

It's like Tang Dao had no worries even if he left the Four Lines Regiment for more than half a year. From the chief of staff to the commanders of several main battalions, they were all comrades who had fought with him on the battlefield for several years. Even if the Military and Political Department sent a regimental commander, not to mention that military orders could not leave the regiment, it was very likely that the person would not live long and would die in an accident.

In this chaotic world, if you want to survive, you have to stick together. Without brothers who have risked their lives to help each other, who can guarantee that they can live to see tomorrow's sunrise? This is true for everyone, from that person to an ordinary soldier.

"If that day comes, the south of the city will belong to your Four-Line Regiment and the 10th Reserve Division." Fang Xianjue looked at Tang Dao deeply and made a promise. "Come on, take me to see the fortifications designed by your regiment."

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PS: The update is a little late again today, mainly because I had to check the terrain and various information around Hengyang, which was very difficult.