Bright Sword Military System

Chapter 1605 Transport Line

The last influence is Fengtian.

The loss of HLD means that the connection between Fengtian and the North China Front Army has been completely cut off. If the devil wants to get reinforcements from the North China Front Army, he must break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line.

But this is almost impossible.

This is not only because of the particularity of traffic inside and outside the customs. Even if the North China Front Army can leave the customs and organize a large force to attack the Eighth Route Army's defense line, the Eighth Route Army has air supremacy. The Eighth Route Army... How can the devil break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line?

This is equivalent to going back to the trench warfare of World War I.

In theory, trench warfare is outdated, and the theory of trench warfare is no longer practical.

However, the reason why trench warfare is "outdated" and "impractical" is entirely due to the rapid development of fighter planes, tanks, and artillery. They cooperate with each other to easily tear through the enemy's defense line and march deep into the enemy at high speed.

But if these aspects are completely suppressed, the devils can only use the sea of ​​​​people to charge towards the Eighth Route Army's defense line... The result is the trench warfare of World War I.

However, World War I used bloody facts to prove that in the era of machine guns and artillery, trenches cannot be broken by a sea of ​​people, as long as the enemy has enough bullets and shells!

This has nothing to do with the quality of the soldiers, because all the Eighth Route Army needs to do is to hide in the trenches and shoot. In this case, the difference between recruits and veterans is not very big, and recruits can be tempered by veterans.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army used elite troops to attack the devils, and then used recruits to follow all the way to the rear to build trenches to strengthen the defense line.

The Eighth Route Army was even well-stocked in terms of supplies.

On the one hand, this is from the materials captured by the devils, and on the other hand, it is the local people's welcome and support for the Eighth Route Army... This is one of the benefits of the Eighth Route Army's return to the Northeast. Although the people in the Northeast are not rich, they help the Eighth Route Army transport supplies or build Work is still possible.

Therefore, within a few days, the Eighth Route Army's defense lines were everywhere in the west of Fengtian from Nulu'erhu Mountain to the HLD seaside, and there were not only one defense line, but some important transportation hubs were blocked by several defense lines. Organize the militia to actively join the defense line.

As a result, the reinforcements to the west of Fengtian were cut off, leaving only the reinforcements of the Kwantung Army in the east.

Lieutenant General Shizue Sasaki was stationed in Fengtian. He immediately asked Umezu Yoshijiro for help after hearing that HLD had fallen:
"Your Excellency, General!" Sasaki Shizue said in the telegram: "I have reason to believe that the Eighth Route Army will adopt the tactics of 'encircling but not attacking' to attack Fengtian. If Fengtian does not have enough supplies and is surrounded, I am afraid it will be dangerous!"

In fact, there is more than just "danger". At this time, Lieutenant General Sasaki has almost seen Fengtian fall.

Originally, Lieutenant General Sasaki was still very confident in defending Fengtian. The four divisions had nearly 10 people, and according to intelligence, the total strength of the Eighth Route Army was only 10.

If calculated by the ratio of offense to defense, the Eighth Route Army would have to have at least twice as many troops as the Imperial Army to defeat Fengtian, and this does not even count the difference between the quality of the Eighth Route Army and the imperial soldiers.

So, why did the Eighth Route Army attack Fengtian?

Ridiculous!

Prior to this, Sasaki Shizue said to his subordinates more than once:
"My lords, this is a battle of our prestige. Whether we can become the glory of the empire depends on this battle!"

"This is a great gift from the Eighth Route Army. Don't disappoint the Eighth Route Army!"

……

In the eyes of Sasaki Jingjiang, the Eighth Route Army's attack on Fengtian is tantamount to death. Don't they know that Fengtian has two arsenals of the empire, and there are almost endless bullets and shells here?

However, after the Eighth Route Army captured HLD, Sasaki Jingjiang immediately understood what the Eighth Route Army was going to do: "The first step is to cut off the connection between our army and the North China Front Army, and the second step is to encircle Fengtian. They don't even need to attack the city, they just need to wait." We are in chaos!"

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General!" the staff officer asked, "But we have an arsenal..."

"Is the arsenal useful?" Sasaki Shizue asked back: "Can the arsenal produce food?"

Sasaki Shizue understood very clearly that the focus now is not bullets or shells, but food.

Once Fengtian is completely surrounded and the transportation lines are blocked, it will not be long before they will face the dilemma of lack of food.

This is not to say that the imperial soldiers would starve to death, nor did the Eighth Route Army intend to starve the imperial army to death.

But what would be the reaction of the people who lacked food?
If they realized that they were going to starve to death, would they just sit there and wait?
You must know that there are more than 100 million people in Fengtian, and there are more than [-] people in the city alone. If there is a "rebellion", will the imperial army be able to withstand it?

Especially the Eighth Route Army outside the city!
At that time, it will not be the 10 imperial army against the 10 Eighth Route Army, but the 10 imperial army against the 100 Eighth Route Army plus more than [-] million Fengtian civilians!
Sasaki Shizue could almost see the moment of "internal and external troubles" in Fengtian City.

(Note: Judging from the data released by the Puppet Manchukuo, the population of Fengtian City in 1940 was more than 113.5 million people)
At this time, Sasaki Shizue was in a hurry, and he hurriedly asked Umezu Yoshijiro for help: "Please, General, please ensure the grain transportation line of Mukden!"

Seeing this request, Umezu Yoshijiro replied without hesitation: "Sasaki-kun, what we are facing is an army of millions of bears, and what you are facing is only one hundred and eighth route army, but you still need me to transport food to you Isn't it you who transport food to our army?"

Umezu Yoshijiro's words are also correct. Logically, food should be transported from the inside to the outside border.

The reason is that the interior can only produce food and have reserves, but the border is only for warfare. Only the fortress has no space for food production and no people can exploit it.

But the problem is... Now in Fengtian, the large tracts of land outside the city that it produces have been thrown into the Eighth Route Army camp along with the people like a prairie fire. The businessmen, landlords, etc. in Fengtian City enjoy their enjoyment outside the city. Supply, although there are reserves, but the point is not this.

The point is that ordinary people have no reserves, and if ordinary people are trapped without food from outside the city for a few weeks, they are likely to run out of food.

However, it is impossible for the imperial army and landlords to distribute the stored grain to the people.

What will happen if this continues?
The more Sasaki Shizue thought about it, the more frightened he became. For the first time, he discovered that war was not just about fighting, but more importantly, management and operation.

But it seemed too late for him to realize this now.

The Eighth Route Army really did what he thought, they did not directly attack Fengtian, but occupied first...more precisely, they liberated the small towns around Fengtian, especially controlling the transportation lines outside Fengtian.

(End of this chapter)