Beiyang 1917

() This is not counting the rush to transport fuel for armored vehicles, mortar shells, light and heavy machine gun bullets, rifle bullets, grenades, military rations, medical rescue equipment, medicines and various other materials, including supplementary weapons and equipment, reserve sources of troops, auxiliary civilian labor, etc. The logistics and transportation resources occupied... This is not counting the road and wagon resources occupied by the Volga Federation in the three states of Kursk Voronezh and Tsaritsyn and the transportation of industrial and agricultural materials...

"Look... Chief of Staff Tanaka, the size of the Ukrainian Campaign and the Southwest Front is close to the transportation limit of the coalition's logistics support. If we continue to invest a large amount of troops, if the logistics cannot be guaranteed, the troops will starve on the plains of Ukraine. By then On the contrary, the gain outweighs the loss..." Wang Geng spread his hands, with a face full of approval for your volunteering, but limited by the objective conditions, he could only show helplessness, which made Tanaka Yoshiichi choke, and said no for a while. speak up... . .

"Sasaki... What did the West Route Army Fujii and Ishihara say in the telegram?" Wang Geng asked the deputy chief of staff of the war room who was standing silently in front of the battle map. Sasaki stood at attention when he heard the words, and replied, "Report to the commander-in-chief, The head of the Fujii Division suggested that all the main forces of the West Route Army should be transferred eastward, leaving Rilisk and Suja to the 8th Federal Infantry Division for defense, and the rest of the main force should join Kharkov. For this reason, the Front Army Command should be directly led... Otherwise If not, then continue to maintain the original battle plan!"

"What about Lieutenant General Daba's opinion?" Wang Geng continued to ask, Sasaki paused, and said hesitantly, "Lieutenant General Daba suggested that the establishment of the West Route Army should be retained, and the head of the West Route Army Division Commander Fujii can lead the West Route Army headquarters to sit in Relisk. , Chief of Staff Ishihara is based in Suja, and only transferred the 2nd Chinese Armored Regiment, the 7th and 7th Divisions of the Japanese Cavalry, and the 9th and [-]th Divisions of the Federal Infantry to Kharkov. Of course, command The power can be handed over to General Utsunomiya!" . .

Tanaka was the first to shout when he heard the words, "What nonsense is Daba talking about? Of course Fujii and Ishihara are unwilling to hand over their main force, the 7th Division, to someone else's command. The Kharkov group of the coalition forces was brought down under the direct command of General Utsunomiya and Hata Shunroku!"

Jiang Hongyu and Jiang Fangzhen both shrugged their shoulders when they heard the words. It is obvious that there is no need to continue to entangle this issue. Concentrating the main force in the direction of Kharkov is the most popular style of play. The difference lies in what kind of strategic goals to achieve after concentrating the main force ?Just simply defending Kharkov is obviously not enough?So, use a fierce offensive to attack Yekaterinoslav, and then draw the main force of the German army out before withdrawing all the way back to Kharkov to defend?

If this is the case, it will be a stalemate in Kharkov at most. This is the limit that the Southwest Front Army and Utsunomiya Taro can do without reinforcements. The only variable is that the East Route Army's attack can weaken and contain the opponent's flank. Just how many troops... Can the commander-in-chief of the coalition accept such a goal of the Ukrainian campaign?

The eyes of everyone in the conference room were focused on Wang Geng. The commander-in-chief of the coalition forces snuffed out the cigar butts in his hand, stood up and walked to the big battle map. Turn around and say to everyone,

"I decided to adjust the goals of the first phase of the Ukrainian campaign, cancel the establishment of the Southwest Front Army's West Route Army and the Center Route Army, and merge these two armies into the Kharkov Group of the Ukrainian Campaign of the Allied Forces. Regiment, Oba Jiro's Japanese 7rd Division, China's Duli Armored 3st and 1nd Regiments, and the two federal armies of Kursk and Voronieri. Unified command!"

As he spoke, Wang Geng picked up a red and blue pencil, and drew circles at Rilisk and Suja, where the two campaigns originally planned by the West Route Army were to start, and said, "After the main force of the West Route Army is transferred to the east, these two places will be handed over to The 8th Federal Infantry Division of the Kursk Army is on guard... One infantry brigade is enough for each place... The Ukrainians attack and we resolutely fight back. If the main force of the German army comes, then we will retreat all the way to Kursk for defense..."

Wang Geng didn't think that the German army would ignore Yekaterinoslav, who was attacking by the coalition forces, and instead boldly attacked Kursk. I have a new plan...

This is not over yet, Wang Geng continued, "The Southwest Front Army needs to strengthen its firepower equipment. I plan to dismantle the existing establishment of the Seventh Division and the Third Division and form a Japanese mixed brigade to provide every day of the Southwest Front Army. This infantry brigade strengthens a field artillery wing, and all the artillery is replaced with Dodge one and a half ton military trucks to tow the artillery, and the saved personnel are added to the infantry brigade, and the horses are added to the cavalry wing and logistics wing!"

The bold idea of ​​the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces made the meeting room fall into silence for a moment. Jiang Fangzhen and Jiang Hongyu were planning to form a mixed brigade, which is good, but where does the field artillery unit come from?Could it be that the field artillery unit of Yoshiichi Tanaka's First Army was drawn out?Can this guy agree? The factions and hills of the Japanese army are no less than those of Beiyang. Obviously, Tanaka and Utsunomiya are their own masters and can't urinate in the same pot... If you do this... Can Tanaka agree?

Thinking this way in his heart, Jiang Fangzhen asked, "Commander-in-Chief, during the first phase of the Kharkov battle, the Chinese armored regiment also lacked sufficient artillery support. Too weak... If the Japanese brigade is formed into a mixed brigade, then should the Chinese armored regiment also strengthen its long-range firepower?"

Jiang Hongyu frowned and said bitterly, "Commander-in-Chief, where did the artillery and artillery for the Southwest Front Army come from? Could it be transferred from other troops? Artillery is the heart and soul of each army, and it is slow to train. No one wants to smoke anyone!"

Sure enough, Tanaka Yoshiichi stood up and objected with a blushing face at this moment, "Commander-in-Chief, each division of the Japanese Army has its own inheritance. What should we do at this level? And where will the artillery wing for the brigade come from? Can’t the artillery from the First Army be transferred to the Third Army? I can’t agree to this anyway!”

What's wrong with this?General Tanaka, just now you were in a hurry to bring the Japanese First Army to join the Ukrainian campaign to show off your skills. Now you have really put your troops into battle. Why, who is the co-author of the Japanese First Army? Banner and Ma Huizhong, except Can others not command him?Or do you have a prejudice against Admiral Utsunomiya Taro? ! "