allonlinenovel Chapter 1175 Straight to the Front Lines
Chapter 1175 Straight to the Front Lines
"Hey Wang Laohu, you've disobeyed my orders. I told you before that no officer above battalion level is allowed to lead a suicide squad into the battle. What's going on with you? Are you ignoring my words?"
Li Shaoyi feigned anger, saying, "Although regulations are regulations, things on the battlefield are unpredictable, and you can't possibly know everything that happens on the battlefield. Moreover, the impact of a military commander charging to the front lines on the entire army is unimaginable." Li Shaoyi was also a veteran of the battlefield, and naturally knew what Wang Laohu's presence on the front lines meant for the entire Tiger Regiment—a combat effectiveness increase of at least 120%.
"Reporting to the Commander, how could I possibly disregard your words? I simply couldn't help myself just now. Moreover, the situation is far from optimistic; the Japanese have us surrounded. We can't just sit here and wait to die. According to our division commander's orders, our entire regiment should create an opening. I was just thinking about where to create an opening so we could lead our whole division out and, incidentally, poke two holes in the Japanese Third Army."
Hearing Wang Laohu's nonchalant voice, Li Shaoyi knew they weren't intimidated by the situation. This was quite normal; these guys were the most senior members of the 72nd Group Army, and they'd seen far more dangerous situations before, given that the 72nd Group Army used to be a makeshift operation.
But when we encountered a formidable enemy, we showed no intention of retreating. Now we have tanks, artillery, and airplanes; it would be truly unbelievable if we were intimidated by them.
"I won't go into the specific battle plan. Please tell all the soldiers of the 4th Division who participated in the battle that you have brought glory to the 72nd Group Army and brought safety to tens of millions of people in southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. All personnel will receive a two-month pay raise."
Li Shaoyi also knew that time was money for Wang Laohu, and we didn't have time to waste arguing with them. We should let them hurry up and formulate a battle plan to thwart the Japanese Third Army's plans, so we wouldn't waste too much time.
Wang Laohu hung up the phone with a smile. The troops in the war zone already received double pay, and now with an extra two months' salary, it was equivalent to four months' salary. At the standard rate of eight silver dollars a month for an ordinary soldier, that was thirty-two silver dollars.
It's true that the brothers are fighting for the country, but their families also need to be supported. 32 silver dollars is definitely not a small amount for ordinary people. In some impoverished areas, that money would be enough for us to build a house and get married.
When Wang Laohu hung up the phone, he still remembered what Li Shaoyi had said: as long as the brothers joined the 72nd Army, the task of helping them get married and settle down would fall on the 72nd Army. In the past, we couldn't afford to support our families, but now we not only have to be able to support them, but we also have to make our families more comfortable than others.
Of course, Wang Laohu didn't have time to think about that anymore. When he was telling Li Shaoyi about it earlier, it sounded easy, but when it came to actually doing it, it wasn't so simple.
After the Japanese 9th Division was almost completely wiped out, the 6th and 3rd Divisions immediately rushed in. The losses of the 9th Division also gave these two divisions time to prepare, so they wouldn't have to face Zhang Haiguang's infantry divisions in a panic.
Of course, Zhang Haiguang's side wasn't without reinforcements either. The rear passage had been cleared, and they were no longer an isolated force. Two regiments from the 2nd Division of the 4th Army had already charged forward, carrying a large amount of weapons and ammunition.
Of course, this wasn't the most important thing; rather, it was the successful construction of the first field airfield in northern Jiangsu. Although it was bombed by the Japanese every day, its mission wasn't to provide cover for combat operations, but rather to transfer wounded and sick soldiers from various places and quickly transport them back to the rear by plane.
The 72nd Army Group has always attached great importance to the resettlement of wounded and sick soldiers. Although we have set up field hospitals, many seriously wounded soldiers who have undergone surgery cannot be recuperated nearby, mainly because the conditions are not suitable. In addition, our combat troops can almost travel 100 li a day, so these wounded and sick soldiers cannot simply follow us around. We transport them back to the rear by plane, where there are special sanatoriums.
However, the lack of a field hospital at the front had been a persistent problem for them. Now, they had finally found a suitable location on the North Jiangsu Plain, and after some initial clearing, Aunt Rongke could quickly transport the men back, putting their minds at ease. Otherwise, the number of seriously wounded soldiers gathered here would have exceeded 1000, placing immense pressure on the medical personnel at the front.
On the one hand, the newly built sanatorium in the rear is not used by many people, and most of the facilities are idle. Moreover, many people are so bored they're practically boiling over.
On the other hand, there isn't enough medical staff on the front lines, and many are already exhausted from working. Some people are getting less than five hours of sleep a day. They could manage for two or three days, but they've been going on for over a month now, and many can even fall asleep standing up.
Zhang Haiguang had personally inspected some medical points and believed that the most important thing now was to establish field airfields and then transport all these people to the rear. This is not to say that we are shirking responsibility, but rather that we should take responsibility where it is due.
The sanatoriums in the rear were specifically for these seriously wounded soldiers, offering delicious food and meticulous care. Now, most of the wards are empty, a waste of resources. Frontline medical personnel are mostly trained for emergency battlefield rescue, so they are less experienced in treating the seriously wounded. Using airplanes to transport the seriously wounded back is a win-win situation.
The Japanese had no idea what this field airfield was all about. After it was built, they assumed the 72nd Army would be landing a large number of fighter planes there, so they dropped a lot of bombs on it every day.
To be honest, after we discovered this, every day at dawn, large numbers of planes would take off. When the Japanese planes arrived, we would all go straight to the air-raid shelter and wait. The Japanese could bomb this field airfield as much as they wanted, provided they had enough bombs…