From the aerial photos, it was clear that the Yankees didn't just sit around and do nothing when the war started. The UA Army built a line of defense centered on Duluth on the west side of Lake Superior, trying to defend the "State of Ten Thousand Lakes", Minnesota. Four divisions of the UA Army set off from this line of defense to attack China's southward troops.
Everyone in the military frowned. Logically speaking, the Army wasn't keen on amphibious warfare. It took a long time and meticulous organization to drive the vehicles onto the ships. It also took a long time and meticulous organization to drive the vehicles off the ships. Compared to this kind of trouble, marching steadily under the blue sky was more in line with the habits of the Army. At least, that was what the Army thought before they saw the lakes in the aerial photos of the State of Ten Thousand Lakes.
It was difficult to complete several complete battle plans in a month. The original plan didn't include the motorized infantry. Even though they had temporarily decided on the battle plan to cross Lake Superior, they didn't know whether to directly attack the UA's retreat route around St. Mary after the breakthrough, or to continue deeper and attack the capital of Minnesota, St. Paul. The troops had different opinions on these two battle plans.
"Our motorized infantry is good at marching. If we can't use this advantage and completely disrupt the Yankees' plan, then the motorized infantry's mobility will be wasted." Qi Rui's attitude was very clear. In this regard, the 24th Army didn't openly object.
As the opponent of the Liberation Army, the UA didn't know the specific plans of the Liberation Army, but they knew the significance of the Great Lakes to the UA. The prosperous areas of China each had their own industrial clusters. The industrial belt from the Beibu Bay to the Pearl River Delta, the industrial belt in the Yangtze River Basin, and the rapidly developing industrial belt around the Bohai Sea. Each industrial belt had its own steel industry, its own set of supporting industries, and a wide range of sales. The UA's heavy industrial enterprises and manufacturing industries were basically concentrated in the Great Lakes area.
"The coal and iron complex industrial zone of the Great Lakes produces more than 80% of the steel in the UA. Once this place is destroyed by China, the entire UA will be greatly affected," the Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, said loudly. "The Secretary of the Navy, Roosevelt, said loudly. He clenched his fists tightly and pressed them on the conference table. If it weren't for the fact that he had said it so many times, Theodore Roosevelt would probably have thought that Theodore Roosevelt was the one who had said it. Secretary Roosevelt would have pounded the table. "In order to drive the Chinese out of the United States, we must open up the passage to Lake Superior!"
The head of the US Department of War, also known as the Secretary of the Army, Robert F. Todd? Lincoln approved of Theodore. Roosevelt's proposal. However, President Lincoln's eldest son did not immediately respond to his colleague's excitement. "Sir, are you going to let the army attack Su Saint Mary alone?"
He thought of the army fighting a bloody battle. Theodore? Roosevelt had to restrain his excitement. "Your Excellency, the army must reach the capital, St. Marie, as soon as possible."
The St. Mary's River was a vital part of Lake Superior and other lakes. After the United States gained independence, the river became the boundary river between the United States and Canada. St. Mary's City was built on both sides. After the war between China and the United States, China took advantage of the winter to gather a large number of troops, and through the frozen St. Mary's River, they seized the St. Mary's River from the United States.
The strategic location here was quite important. If the United States allowed China to advance, the Great Lakes area would be easily wiped out. In the US military's counterattack plan that began in the spring, it was natural to drive China back to the border on the west side of Lake Superior. On the east side of Lake Superior, the primary goal was to recapture St. Marie.
"The effect of naval gunboats does not seem to be as effective as you think, but I still think it can make up for a lot of artillery deficiencies." Robert F. Todd? Lincoln, also known as Lincoln Junior, did not want to dampen Roosevelt's enthusiasm. After the West Coast fell into the hands of China, the US Department of Navy took a sideline stance in this war. After Mexico had solemnly expressed its "neutral" attitude, it was no longer important whether South American countries supported the United States. The US Navy no longer had any possibility of entering the Pacific Ocean. The only chance for the Navy to compete with China was in St. Marie.
The river warships had gathered on the Great Lakes, but the main attack was the Army under the control of the War Department. The Department of Navy now wanted to be loyal to the country, but they first had to get the permission of the War Department.
"The Department of Navy will do its best." When Roosevelt heard that Lincoln Junior had no intention of excluding the Department of Navy, he finally felt a lot more at ease.
Just as the two high-ranking military officers were trying to cooperate sincerely, the US soldiers were carrying out the will of their superiors under the command of the officers and launched a fierce attack on St. Marie.
In just two days, the landscape around St. Marie had changed a lot. Under the heavy artillery fire, the beautiful woods around the city were shot down to a broken tree trunk. The current defense commanders of St. Marie were the 33rd, 35th, and 37th Divisions, all of which were under the command of Lieutenant General Li Weiren.
The lieutenant general, who once became famous in Turkey and received the title of Pasha, did not think there was anything wrong with his destruction of nature. He even admired the fierce firepower of the Liberation Army. The artillery fire not only turned a large area of the woods into scorched earth, but also turned the US soldiers in the woods into irregular parts.
Lieutenant General Li Weiren's headquarters was located in St. Marie Fortress. The 33rd Division was stationed in the original St. Marie City of the US, and the 35th Division and 37th Division were on the side that belonged to China. It was not very useful to gather too many troops in the fortress. After smashing the attack of the US army, the troops quickly hid in the bunkers of the fortress without Lieutenant General Li Weiren's order. The artillery units of the US Army also cooperated and began to fire fiercely after the Liberation Army entered the safe bunkers.
The headquarters was a reinforced concrete building. Even if the US artillery directly hit it, it would not move, not to mention the building was more than two meters underground. The electric lights shone brightly in the room, which reminded Li Weiren Pasha of the days in Turkey. At that time, the headquarters could only use candles for illumination. In order to prevent the oxygen content in the air from being too low, the use of candles had to be very careful. Now there was no such problem. The power lines were underground, and diesel generators were also distributed in several places. There was no need to worry about lighting and power supply.
Even so, as an industrial country, the US could still make a pretty good artillery attack. Even underground, the vibration caused by the shells plowing through the broken surface of St. Marie Fortress could be felt. The hanging electric lights swayed slightly, proving the great power of the 155-caliber shells.
The lieutenant general quietly looked at the defensive map of the fortress. This fortified city was supported by many underground tunnels made of reinforced concrete or wood. In addition to a large number of tunnels, there were also a large number of pipelines. Lieutenant General Li Weiren calmed down and tried to better combine these.
The young soldiers around him were not as calm as the lieutenant general, even though they had gradually become accustomed to shells exploding three or four meters above their heads. The movement of the restless guys somewhat disturbed Lieutenant General Li Weiren's work. He raised his head and looked at the crowd. Seeing their uneasy expressions, Lieutenant General Li Weiren stood up.
Seeing the defense commander stand up, all the comrades in the headquarters looked at Li Weiren. Everyone heard Li Weiren say with a smile, "Comrades, when I entered Pleven Fortress 12 years ago, I never thought that I would stay in Pleven Fortress for nearly 20 months. He had been circling around the small Stronghold for almost 20 months. Do you all know how I managed to survive? "
This question was very effective in arousing the interest of the comrades. Everyone knew of Li Weiren's legendary experience in Pleven Fortress. They only stayed in St. Marie Fortress for two days and felt that the world was about to collapse. This lieutenant general had been besieged for 20 months. How did Li Weiren manage to survive?
"The way to survive is very simple. If you feel uneasy, go to each tunnel to inspect. On one hand, you know where you are fighting, and on the other hand, you can learn more about these facilities. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will always be victorious. Not to mention the enemy outside, we have to understand our own position first. "Li Weiren imparted his own experience. Seeing that the comrades in the headquarters didn't understand, Li Weiren said, "Today, let's familiarize ourselves with the environment around the headquarters."
Without waiting for the guys in the headquarters to agree or object, Li Weiren left the standby personnel and led the rest of the headquarters personnel to patrol the underground bunkers around the headquarters. Except for a few observation posts, the troops returned to the underground bunkers. An army of more than 30,000 people was in the bunkers. Even after months of hard work, the tunnels were still very crowded. The officers didn't want to squeeze out with everyone else.
However, Li Weiren didn't care at all. Under the light of the electric lights, he calmly walked past groups of officers and soldiers standing or sitting against the tunnels. When the comrades saw the commander pass by with a kind expression, they all stood up and saluted Li Weiren. Li Weiren also waved to everyone. When he met a comrade who tried to shake hands with him, he also shook hands with them and said a few words of condolence.
His attention was no longer on the enemy's shelling, who knew when it would stop, and he saw that the commander was so calm. The officers behind Li Weiren were nervous at first, but as they walked, they couldn't help but relax. They didn't even notice the gradual thinning of the American shelling.
The decrease in the intensity of the UA artillery's shelling was not because they were ready for another wave of attack, nor was it because they were lenient. The artillery from China's position rained down near the UA artillery position, and some of the artillery directly flew into the UA artillery position.
The Americans used 155-caliber artillery to bombard China's position, and China also used 150-caliber artillery and even 200-caliber artillery. They bombarded the UA side. The UA artillery position was the target of special attention for China's artillery.
Captain Li Shaokang sat in the two-seat reconnaissance plane and looked at the results of the shelling with binoculars. After he finished looking at the landing point of the artillery, he raised his head, confirmed the Chinese characters and numbers on the buttons, and pulled up the "forward", "left", and "30" buttons. After confirming again, he pressed the OK button, and finally pressed the "send" button.
Accurately sending a message on an aircraft was a difficult task, so the technical department developed this new type of transmitter. All the content of the message was preset, and only a simple operation was needed to send a signal. With this device, Li Shaokang could focus on observation instead of sending a message. For Li Shaokang, who was not proficient in sending messages, this was the perfect equipment.
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