Anticipating the Enemy and Sharpening Weapons: Choosing a Perilous Strategic Stronghold

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Chapter 61: Anticipating the Enemy, Sharpening Swords and Forging Troops, Selecting Dangerous Terrain
The reply from the Central Committee acted like a shot of adrenaline, firming the Independent Brigade's resolve to meet the formidable enemy head-on. Inside the headquarters of the Qingyang Independent Brigade, a military meeting concerning how to contend with the Nationalist Party's premier ace division was intensely underway. Although the atmosphere was serious, it lacked the oppressive heaviness of before; it was replaced by a cautious confidence and an eager, aggressive fighting spirit.
Chief of Staff Zhong Guangbang still took the lead in presenting the enemy's situation, his wooden stick tapping against the organizational chart of the enemy's 1st Division:
"Comrades, the opponent's situation is already clear. Hu Zongnan's 1st Division follows the 'two-brigade, four-regiment system,' with a total force of about 12,000 men, which is their greatest advantage. There are four infantry regiments, each with approximately 2,500 men. They are well-equipped, with rifles and machine guns configured to the standard of the National Revolutionary Army's reorganized divisions. The regimental mortar company (four to six 82mm mortars) serves as their crucial supporting firepower. The core pillar of their strength is the division-direct artillery battalion, equipped with twelve 75mm mountain guns; this is the key they rely on to flex their might."
After introducing the enemy, Zhong Guangbang shifted his tone, moving the wooden stick to the sketch representing the Independent Brigade as his voice rose a notch:
"However, comrades! Times have changed! We are no longer a beggar army! Our Independent Brigade likewise possesses the capital to clash head-on with their sharpness!"
"In terms of troop strength, following reinforcements, our brigade has over 6,000 combat personnel. Combined with the logistics support regiment and local armed forces, our mobilizable strength approaches 8,000. Although our total is still fewer than the enemy, the disparity is by no means astronomical!"
"In terms of light firepower, our brigade has long distributed light machine guns down to the squad level and heavy machine guns down to the company level, matching or even slightly surpassing the enemy!"
"In terms of supporting firepower, this is our brigade's tremendous advantage!" Zhong Guangbang's tone carried pride. "Our brigade's artillery battalion is similarly equipped with twelve 75mm field guns! Following two months of high-intensity training, while we cannot claim to hit the mark every time, conducting suppression and supporting fire on the battlefield is no longer a problem! On the artillery level, we are on par with the enemy's 1st Division! And precisely because we are more familiar with the terrain and can pre-establish positions, we might perform even better!"
"Furthermore, every battalion in our brigade is equipped with a mortar platoon, every regiment has a mortar company, and the brigade headquarters directly commands a mortar company mixed with forty 60mm and 80mm mortars. The density and response speed of our mortar fire are superior to the enemy's! Our two main regiments have a high proportion of veteran backbones, and having been tempered through two tough battles in Qingyang and Yuancheng, their combat experience and morale far exceed those of average enemy units. Even our logistics support regiment has never slackened in military training over the past two months; thrown into the fray, they will certainly not yield to ordinary Nationalist soldiers!"
"More importantly is our mobile force!" Zhong Guangbang emphasized, "Every regiment in our brigade is assigned a cavalry company, and the brigade headquarters has a direct cavalry battalion. Our total cavalry strength far exceeds the enemy's scale, which is limited to a single division-level cavalry company. This means our reconnaissance, communication, flank-encirclement, and battlefield-pursuit capabilities far surpass the enemy's!"
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Wang Lin took over the conversation, a sharp and confident smile on his face: "Comrade Guangbang put it well! To summarize: the enemy's advantages lie in their superior total troop strength and four fully equipped infantry regiments. Meanwhile, our brigade's advantages are: our artillery fire is on par with the enemy's, our mortars and automatic weapons are superior, our cavalry strength is far greater, our soldiers' combat experience and morale are higher, and—most importantly—we are fighting on our own turf!"
He walked up to the map, his gaze burning: "Therefore, our tactics can no longer be confined to purely 'luring the enemy deep and ambushing a detachment.' We have the capital to fight a more proactive, tougher battle against the enemy!"
"My vision is: utilize our cavalry and interior-line mobility advantages to create local superiority in troop strength; suppress their artillery with equivalent firepower, cover their infantry with superior mortar and automatic firepower; and strike one route with concentrated force, striving to heavily damage or even annihilate an entire regiment of theirs!"
He elaborated on the new tactical concept in detail:
"Step one: forward reconnaissance, elastic defense. Utilize our cavalry advantage to conduct extensive reconnaissance and precisely grasp the detailed routes and intervals of the enemy's advancing columns. Deploy a portion of our main force combined with local armed forces to wage stubborn yet flexible resistance in the forward positions, forcing the enemy to deploy, wearing down their spirit, and determining their main attack direction and the intervals between columns."
"Step two: precise selection, rapid concentration. Once a certain enemy route (such as a regiment on their left or right flank) is identified as protruding, or has too large an interval with neighboring units, immediately concentrate our entire brigade's main force—the two main regiments, the special operations battalion, and the main force of the artillery battalion—to form an absolute superiority in troop strength and firepower as well as an overwhelming battlefield posture, delivering a thunderous blow to that enemy unit!"
"Step three: artillery duel, infantry-artillery coordination. The primary task of our artillery battalion will no longer be evasion, but moving forward to occupy pre-established positions to engage the enemy artillery battalion, striving to suppress or even destroy a portion of their guns! Simultaneously, cover the enemy infantry assembly areas and medium-to-close-range reinforcements with dense battalion-level mortar and heavy machine-gun fire. The infantry will leverage close-combat advantages to boldly interdict and fragment them!"
"Step four: cavalry breakthrough, expanding the victory. The cavalry companies of our brigade's regiments and the brigade-level cavalry will be responsible for outflanking and encircling, cutting off communications between the encircled enemy troops and subsequent reinforcements, while seizing opportunities to strike enemy command posts and artillery positions, or pursuing fiercely when the enemy routs, maximizing the victory's fruits!"
"Our goal," Wang Lin said resolutely, "is no longer to take a bite and run. Instead, we must utilize our advantages in quality and technical weaponry to form a crushing posture on the local battlefield, striving to chew up an entire infantry regiment of theirs! Breaking one of their fingers hurts them far more than swelling up their entire face! This will shock the enemy even more and achieve our strategic objectives!"
The new plan was more aggressive and better aligned with the current strength and positioning of the Independent Brigade. The cadres listened with surging emotions and shining eyes.
Li Yunlong slapped the table: "We should have done this long ago! Let's have a head-on clash with the damn ace division! Let's see whose artillery is fiercer, and whose bayonets are harder!"
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Huang Musheng also excitedly said: "Our artillery is no worse than theirs, our infantry is stronger than theirs, and our cavalry is more numerous than theirs. This battle is worth fighting!"
Political Commissar Wang Guangdao added: "We must also emphasize that even as our strength increases, we must fully utilize the mass foundation of the base area to guarantee sources of intelligence and logistical supply. This is an advantage the enemy can never match."
"Good!" Seeing that consensus had been reached, Wang Lin issued his orders: "Refine the plan according to this concept! Chief of Staff, immediately draft multiple contingency plans tailored to the enemy's different advancing routes. All units will act immediately:
Cavalry forces: acting as our eyes and vanguard, deploy at full strength and keep a tight watch on all enemy columns!
Artillery battalion: further survey pre-established artillery positions and calculate firing data. Objective: suppress enemy artillery upon first contact!
Infantry regiments: prepare well for hard and brutal battles, and strengthen joint drills for infantry-artillery and infantry-cavalry coordination.
Logistics and political departments: mobilize forces to ensure supply lines moving forward and casualty evacuation routes remain clear, maintaining high morale!"
"Comrades!" Wang Lin's gaze swept across the room, full of power, "This time, we are not seeking a risky victory in a state of inferiority, but seeking annihilation from a position of superiority! We are going to use facts to tell Chiang Kai-shek that his direct-line ace troops have no qualification whatsoever to throw their weight around in front of our people's armed forces! Execute the orders!"
The new operational plan was swiftly transmitted downward. The powerful war machine of the Independent Brigade, driven by unprecedented confidence and sharpness, began operating at high speed, pointing directly at the arrogant and self-important "Number One Division Under Heaven."
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