frightfiction Chapter 913 Ding Wei's Ambition
Chapter 913 Ding Wei's Ambition
Upon hearing this, Ding Wei exclaimed in astonishment, "Wow, Lao Li, I never expected you to have such a broad perspective. Most of us are focused on the domestic market, yet you know so much about things abroad. You've really become quite impressive."
"Your strategic vision is quite unique. Judging from the current situation, the Japanese do indeed have this intention."
"Let's take the enemy in my defense zone as an example. Just a few days ago, two elite enemy regiments were transferred, and many of the troops that came to relieve them were new recruits."
"My troops engaged in small-scale firefights with them, and their combat effectiveness and fighting spirit are far inferior to what they were before."
"If it weren't for the enemy's strong fortifications and the lack of clear orders from above, I could have taken advantage of the enemy's unstable foothold, concentrated all the main force of the column, and wiped out these thousands of enemies."
As Ding Wei spoke, his face was filled with longing; what soldier doesn't yearn to achieve great things?
If he could lead his men to annihilate an entire brigade of Japanese invaders, his name, Ding Wei, would probably resound throughout China.
Unfortunately, if it were in the field, Ding Weineng could mobilize about 15,000 troops. With the existing weapons and equipment, wiping out 5,000 Japanese soldiers would be a bit difficult, but not a big problem.
However, if the enemy defends the city to the death based on its fortifications, it would be impossible to conquer the enemy's fortified city unless several times the number of troops were concentrated.
Therefore, when there is no other way, they usually select elite troops, set up infantry companies as combat units, disperse them, and try to wear down the enemy in the field.
We don't expect huge results. Even if we only lose three or five hundred enemy soldiers a month, we have so many columns and a large number of guerrillas. The total number of enemy casualties we can kill is terrifying.
This is also why the Japanese invaders have been finding things increasingly difficult lately. The elite veterans they had accumulated over decades were gradually being depleted, while the new recruits, lacking battlefield experience, were simply useless.
After all, even small units in the field are equipped with a number of mortars, and the small detachments we select are even based on 60mm mortars as the core of our tactics.
The latest mortars produced in our base industrial zone have a range of up to two kilometers, weigh no more than forty kilograms, and can be disassembled into several parts for rapid transport.
Using a modified rickshaw, a mortar and hundreds of shells can be easily transported to any road.
The Japanese army's most common long-range weapon was the grenade launcher, and even the best one had a maximum range of only 700 meters. Our mortars were far superior.
Although an enemy infantry squad was equipped with three grenade launchers, we countered the enemy's configuration by equipping a small, elite infantry platoon with two mortars.
They were also equipped with modified bicycles, greatly enhancing their mobility, making it impossible for enemy infantry to catch up.
Even if it's just exchanging ten mortar shells for one elite enemy veteran, it's still an incredibly worthwhile deal for us.
After all, mortars and shells are already considered the most basic weapons and equipment in our industrial zone, and we can easily produce five or six hundred thousand rounds a month.
If all of them were to hit the invaders on the head, the weight of the shells alone would be enough to kill many enemies.
Actually, at the beginning, the Japanese were very excited to see that our small team was small and sent a large number of troops out of the city to pursue us.
But our squad, in addition to mortars, was also equipped with new light machine guns, and each person had an assault rifle and a Black Star pistol.
To put it bluntly, this kind of firepower would be a devastating blow to an enemy of equal numbers in the wild.
If our infantry platoon is deployed in the field and employs proper tactics, it is an easy task to annihilate a small Japanese squad. Even if we encounter a company, we can inflict heavy damage on the enemy.
After suffering several losses, the Japanese learned their lesson. During the pursuit, they refused to enter the woods no matter what, and in the end, they didn't even want to leave their positions.
With no other option, our small detachment had to take advantage of the cover of night to sneak up near the enemy's county town and bombard the enemy's fortifications with mortars.
They would attack and leave immediately, and randomly select targets, making all the Japanese troops deeply resentful of them.
After all, our mortars are too flexible. Each mortar can fire ten shells in no more than five minutes, and in the dark, it is impossible to lock on.
The enemy's only effective countermeasure was their Type 92 infantry gun, but a battalion only had a few of them. To quickly aim at our mortar positions in the dark was harder than climbing to heaven.
Faced with this situation, the Japanese could only passively endure the bombing; any soldier standing guard on the city wall was a form of torture for the enemy.
Meanwhile, our soldiers also sent men to infiltrate the county town and, using the principle that mortars can fire in a parabolic trajectory, bombard important enemy targets in the city.
A typical county town is only so big; places like enemy military camps, trading houses, and military police stations are all within range of mortars.
If even one out of five shells lands in these areas, we'll make a killing.
Finally, the enemy was also extremely troubled by our somewhat underhanded tactics. If they wanted to continue defending, they would have to engage in a war of attrition with us, requiring them to invest a large amount of resources.
Moreover, the manpower and resources consumed were considerable, causing immense strain even for the Japanese high command.
In Shanxi Province, there were some less important counties that we recaptured in this way.
Then, after paying a certain price, we can capture the key connecting cities and thus form a complete base area.
The mission that Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, and Ding Wei received this time was an extension of this tactic. As long as they could defeat the enemy's division in front of them, a large number of small base areas could be connected into one.
That way, the strength of our base will be greatly enhanced, and we can then push all the enemy to Taiyuan, preparing for the future recapture of this major city.
As long as the Japanese dare to take action in Southeast Asia, and the enemy is locked in a stalemate with the Western powers, that will be the time for our strategic counter-offensive.
Unfortunately, the Japanese still hold an advantage in overall strength compared to China.
Even though our base has a large number of arsenals and our industrial strength is steadily improving, the time is too short, and we can only gain some advantages in certain areas.
In reality, as long as we expend slightly more resources on the enemy than they gain from us, we can deter the aggressors from launching a large-scale campaign.