Chapter 292: Who Takes The Lead
Two days later, Wutai County, Shanxi Militia Headquarters.
The smoke shrouding Taiyuan finally dispersed temporarily, but the clouds of war grew even thicker, pressing down so heavily that people could hardly breathe.
The saturation bombing of the Japanese positions on the outskirts of Taiyuan lasted a full two days and two nights.
In these frenzied forty-eight hours, all combat-ready aircraft from the Shanxi Militia Air Squadron took to the skies, over a hundred bombers and attack aircraft like tireless steel eagles taking turns in relentless assault, nearly six thousand tons of various aerial bombs and incendiaries pouring down like rain onto the Japanese meticulously constructed defensive positions.
This was absolute destruction from the sky that the Japanese had never experienced since the start of the invasion of China.
The effect of such high-intensity sustained bombing was also devastating.
According to preliminary aerial reconnaissance assessments, over fifty percent of the Japanese outer trenches were collapsed or filled in, and seventy percent of the permanent and semi-permanent bunkers and pillboxes were directly destroyed.
As for personnel casualties, although exact numbers were not yet available, from the intelligence returned by reconnaissance aircraft, the ambulance sirens in all major hospitals in Taiyuan City had not stopped for these two days, all wards were overflowing, and even the corridors were filled with moaning wounded soldiers.
The air strikes were just the appetizer; what truly decided victory or defeat was ultimately the ground forces’ thunderous strike. And for this strike, they had prepared an immensely heavy “big gift” for the Japanese.
After two days of integration and working side by side, a preliminary tacit understanding had formed between them.
At that moment, a young intelligence staff officer hurried to the sand table holding a document leather pouch.
With a “snap,” he stood at attention and saluted, his voice resounding as he said.
“Report to Commander Su, Commander Bai, Brigade Commander Chen! These are the photos taken by the flight reconnaissance squadron during the latest aerial reconnaissance of the Japanese positions two hours ago; they have been developed!”
With that, he opened the document pouch and took out dozens of ten-inch black-and-white photos, placing them neatly on a table cleared beside the sand table.
Su Yaoyang picked up one first; the photo’s perspective was extremely high, clearly showing a segment of Japanese position bombed to resemble the lunar surface.
The originally neat trenches were shattered into fragments, huge craters connected to each other, and the once sturdy bunkers reduced to broken walls and rubble.
“Well done.”
A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of Su Yaoyang’s mouth as he handed the photo to Brigade Commander Chen beside him. “It seems our pilots have not let us down.
After these five or six thousand tons of bombs, Xiao Zhuang Yinan is probably jumping with heartache right now, right?”
Bai Chongxi also picked up a few and examined them carefully, his finger lightly tapping a destroyed artillery position: “This artillery position here has been completely destroyed, and the flanking machine gun positions and two bunkers have all been blown up.
Attacking from this direction, our casualties can be minimized.”
Brigade Commander Chen took the photo, his heart surging even more.
Looking at those fire points leveled to the ground in the photo, and thinking of his own troops who had just been re-equipped with brand-new Japanese gear and were raring to go, a powerful confidence welled up in him.
He nodded heavily: “With such air support, plus the courage of our 386th Brigade soldiers, I am confident we can take the outer positions of Taiyuan in three to four days.”
That confident bold statement made the atmosphere in the headquarters even more heated.
He slammed the photo onto the table, hands on hips, and continued boldly from where he left off:
“Since all preparations are in place, leave the main assault task to our brigade! We guarantee to tear open the outer defenses of Taiyuan within three days!”
“Wait…”
Just as the words fell and he was about to receive praise from Su Yaoyang and Bai Chongxi, Su Yaoyang suddenly spoke up, interrupting him.
Su Yaoyang’s brows furrowed slightly, his gaze sharpening as he stared at Brigade Commander Chen and asked:
“Commander Chen, if I heard correctly, it sounds like… you want your brigade to be the main assault force for this general offensive?”
Stunned for a moment, he then said matter-of-factly: “Of course! Otherwise, why would we have come hundreds of miles over mountains, just to watch the show?”
He had always been a man clear on grudges and favors, repaying kindness without fail.
In his view, their 386th Brigade had just arrived in Wutai County, unfamiliar with the place and people, and Su Yaoyang without a word had re-equipped the entire brigade from rifles and machine guns to radios and walkie-talkies, fully stocked, and even promised unlimited ammunition—take as much as they needed.
With people handling things so openly and generously, if their Eighth Route Army still skimped and saved in the key battle, hanging back to pick up scraps, would they still be real men? It would be a disgrace if word got out.
So, he had unhesitatingly volunteered to tackle the hardest bone outside Taiyuan City.
But he never imagined that his sincere and determined proposal would be doused with a bucket of cold water by Su Yaoyang the moment it was voiced.
Su Yaoyang’s expression turned unusually serious; he shook his head, directly rejecting the proposal.
“Brigade Commander Chen, forgive my bluntness.”
Su Yaoyang looked at the stunned face and said firmly: “I believe having your brigade take the main assault now is not a good idea. You… hear me out first…”
His eyebrows were already raised, his face showing puzzlement and a hint of being slighted, as if he was about to argue immediately; Su Yaoyang quickly raised his hand in a calming gesture and spoke first:
“I’m saying this not because I doubt your brigade’s combat power, nor do I look down on the soldiers of the 386th Brigade.
Quite the opposite—precisely because I value them, I cannot agree.
There are two reasons for this…”
Meeting Brigade Commander Chen’s somewhat displeased gaze, Su Yaoyang remained calm, extending two fingers and explaining unhurriedly:
“First, in our originally formulated battle plan, the main assault force selection, attack direction, assault timing, even precise firing data for every artillery position, have all been through countless staff simulations and wargames; the relevant troops have conducted several live exercises for this.
The entire plan is like a precision clock, every gear fitting perfectly.
Suddenly replacing the main assault force now would mean scrapping the whole plan and starting over, disrupting our operational rhythm and doing no good for ultimately capturing Taiyuan.”
He paused, giving Brigade Commander Chen time to digest the first reason, then his tone grew serious.
“Second, and most importantly.”
Su Yaoyang’s gaze swept over the Japanese remnant positions marked in red on the sand table. “Although our aircraft destroyed most of the Japanese outer defenses, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse.
Those surviving pillboxes, crossfire points, and anti-tank teams hidden in the ruins will still inflict considerable casualties on the main assault force.
Simply using infantry to gnaw at this hard bone will come at a high cost.”
He looked at Brigade Commander Chen and said candidly.
“So, for the first wave main assault, we’ve prepared two armored regiments and two infantry regiments.
They will use the tanks’ heavy armor and powerful firepower as the spearhead to forcibly tear open the Japanese lines, opening the way for follow-up forces.”
At this point, he changed tack, his tone carrying a hint of apology but his attitude resolute.
“If we rashly swap your brigade in for the main assault, to say something that might offend you, though your brigade has strong combat will and rich experience, frankly, you lack experience in infantry-tank coordination with large-scale armor clusters and infantry-artillery coordination under corps-level artillery support.
On the ever-changing battlefield, if you cooperate rashly with our armor, any coordination mistake would greatly increase the risk of friendly fire. I don’t want our tank guns to accidentally hit our own allies.
What do you say, Commander Chen?”
Su Yaoyang’s words were reasoned and evidence-based, pointing out objective tactical difficulties while fully considering the 386th Brigade’s actual situation; direct yet sincere.
The originally displeased Brigade Commander Chen, after hearing this explanation, saw his anger gradually fade and began to ponder.
He was not one who couldn’t listen to reason; the “infantry-tank coordination” and “infantry-artillery coordination” Su Yaoyang mentioned were indeed the Eighth Route Army’s biggest current shortcomings.
Sending infantry accustomed to guerrilla tactics and flanking maneuvers to coordinate with a steel torrent of tanks for a frontal assault—the risks were clearer to him as a veteran than anyone.
For a moment, he fell silent.
The headquarters quieted, with only the faint ticking of the telegraph.
Bai Chongxi, at the side, then spoke slowly in his Guangxi-accented Mandarin, smoothing things over: “Brigade Commander Chen, Mingxi is absolutely right.
War is not a dinner party, nor is it about personal feelings.
Good steel must be used on the blade. Let the militia’s armor chew the hard bone; once they breach the Japanese line, your 386th Brigade’s elite troops charge through the gap, encircle and divide, expand the gains—that’s the steadiest way with minimal casualties.”
“Regiment Commander Su, Commander Bai is right; it was my oversight.”
Brigade Commander Chen gave a wry smile: “I was only thinking of fighting to my heart’s content and overlooked the actual situation.
How about this: the Japanese outer forces are substantial, a full division; relying on just your two armored regiments and two infantry regiments is a bit thin.
I’ll send two more regiments to assist; they’ll coordinate with you. What do you think?”
“Sounds good!” Su Yaoyang and Bai Chongxi exchanged a glance and agreed readily.
