Open an aircraft carrier to fight against Japan

The reason why Cao Zheng fought like this was also inspired by Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan once pointed out at a combat experience exchange meeting against the Qing army: Compared with the Japanese and Russian troops we fought against, the Qing army showed some new characteristics. That is: Although the number of troops is large, there are mixed dragons and snakes inside, including elites and idiots!

This is because the military officers of the Qing court did not understand that modern wars depend on the quality of the army to win, and they thought that a large number of people can win a battle, so many of their troops have the practice of recruiting militia. Even women and children were brought in to make up the number. In this way, although the Qing army looks huge, only the elite can fight. If we destroy the elite, the rest will be easy to deal with.

Cao Zheng decided to fight the elite first, and then began to look for the elite of the enemy in front of him. Whether a unit is elite can be seen from the camping situation and the construction of the defensive position. Cao Zheng quickly discovered the enemy on the opposite side. An army is different. They rely on favorable terrain to establish a defensive position, and the entire formation is watertight. Unlike other troops, the commanding heights are left unguarded.

Cao Zheng wanted to know the details of this army, so he sent scouts to the defense area of ​​other battalions to catch tongues, and soon captured an officer, Cao Zheng then asked: "Which army is stationed in Songbai Town opposite us? What's the serial number?"

The officer who was caught replied: "They are Wu Dayong's apex, named Yunbaoying!"

Cao Zheng frowned and asked, "Cloud Leopard? Why is it called such a name?"

The officer replied: "I heard that Wu Dayong has been to the southwest border and fought against the French. The southwest border is full of jungles. Wu Dayong said that the most powerful animal in the jungle is the clouded leopard, so he called this battalion 'clouded leopards'." camp'."

Cao Zheng thought for a while and smiled, "We don't have a jungle here, so the Cloud Leopard Camp should be renamed."

The officer smiled and said: "You don't know, the reason why this army is called Yunbao Battalion is because many people in it have participated in the battle with the French. Wu Dayong once participated in the battle at Zhennanguan. Zhong led his subordinates to kill hundreds of Frenchmen, and his subordinates at that time were this Clouded Leopard Battalion, and they still used the original name after they arrived in Hangzhou.”

Cao Zheng said: "Since there are many veterans who participated in the Sino-French War, it seems that this Clouded Leopard Battalion is really elite. How about their equipment and training?"

The officer replied: "Of course the equipment is the best. For example, guns, we are all rifles, they have twelve Maxim machine guns; and bullets, we have enough bullets, ten rounds per person, theirs The bullets are not counted, so shoot casually; training is of course the hardest, we run five miles, they run ten miles, we aim for one hour, they aim for two hours."

Cao Zheng asked, "Then what's the name of their commander?"

The officer said: "The commander's name is Wu Dameng, and he is Wu Dayong's younger brother! This Wu Dameng is different from his elder brother. Wu Dayong is brave but not resourceful, but Wu Dameng is rough and meticulous, and usually has some strategies."

Cao Zheng nodded, called one of his subordinates and said, "Take this officer down. I'm done asking. If he wants to go home and pay him some travel expenses, let him go home."

His subordinates took the officers down, and Cao Zheng called Gu Hong, the brigade commander of the 25th brigade, and said: "The enemy we face is called the Yunbao Battalion, and they are the elite of the Qing army. I decided to fight this army first. Let your brigade be the main attack, how about it, are you sure?"

Gu Hong smiled and said: "No problem, give me a day, and I promise to take down this army."

Cao Zheng smiled and said: "One day is too long, I only give you three hours, you go to scout quickly, doesn't your brigade have a tank battalion? Don't be reluctant to use tanks in battle, I don't want to lose too much .”

Gu Hong smiled embarrassedly, and said: "I understand, let's go to investigate now." Gu Hong turned around and went out, led the troops to the front of the Qing army's position, climbed a high slope, and was stunned when he looked around. The army dug four anti-tank trenches and three trenches, and no one could be seen in the trenches!

Gu Hong turned around and asked the reconnaissance company commander: "What's going on? Where are the enemies?"

The reconnaissance company commander said: "Brigade commander, please wait a moment, I will demonstrate it to you." After finishing speaking, the reconnaissance company commander took out a flare gun from his satchel, fired a shot into the sky, and instantly a red The ball of light exploded brightly in the sky. At this time, a lot of people rushed out of the trenches of the Qing army and looked in the direction of Lin Yuan’s troops. After a while, seeing no one charging, these people disappeared into the trenches again. inside.

Gu Hong asked in surprise: "Did these people dig holes in the side wall of the trench?"

The reconnaissance company commander said: "Yes, all the holes are dug on the side close to us. It is difficult for us to see. These holes must be for defense against shelling."

Gu Hong nodded, and took another look at the trenches. He found that there were continuous forests on both sides of the trenches, which made it difficult for large troops to move. Digging holes on the side of the trench to avoid the shells, it seems to be an elite army."

Gu Hong asked the reconnaissance company commander: "Did the enemy lay mines?"

The reconnaissance company commander said: "No, the grass and trees on the ground are intact, and there are no traces of landmines."

Gu Hong then asked: "Then where is the firepower point? Is the reconnaissance done?"

The reconnaissance company commander said: "During our reconnaissance, we did not find their firepower."

Gu Hong said: "Didn't they say they have twelve Maxim heavy machine guns? Why didn't they find it?"

The reconnaissance company commander shook his head helplessly, and said: "It has been two days since we started confronting them, and we haven't found their heavy machine guns in these two days. After our research and discussion, we feel that the information is wrong. .”

Gu Hong nodded and said: "The equipment of the Qing army is low. There are no accessories for the Maxim machine gun. Maybe the machine gun is broken and cannot be repaired, so they didn't bring it out. Okay, let's go back."

After returning, Gu Hong called a meeting of all the troops and said: "I just scouted the Qing army's position. There are four trenches and three trenches in the Qing army's position. The defense can be said to be very complete. If we attack like this, we will attack at ten o'clock in the morning." At one point, the artillery units used artillery shells to raid the enemy's positions, focusing on attacking their second and third trenches. The Qing army here was unprepared, and our artillery shells can kill and deter the enemy."

"At 11:30 in the morning, the tank troops were dispatched. The tank troops had to face the enemy's trench. We reconnaissance carefully. The enemy's trench was three meters wide and four meters deep. Our tanks absolutely could not go directly, so We used the bulldozer tanks of the engineering troops, put sandbags on the bulldozer buckets of the tanks, drove to the edge of the ditch, put the sandbags directly in the ditch, filled the ditch, and the tanks behind rushed over. After the tanks rushed over, The infantry followed, and we took control of the first trench first, and then went deeper."

After Gu Hong's meeting, all the troops went back to prepare. At eleven o'clock in the morning, three green flares rose into the sky, and the 25th Brigade immediately launched a general attack, and the shells rained down on the Qing army's positions.