"St. Paul and Minneapolis have a population of about 300,000 to 500,000. If we continue fighting like this, are we going to kill them all?"
"What happens after these people escape? Are we going to let them continue to organize resistance in Minneapolis? "
"We've captured a lot of ships at the port. These ships will be very useful for our future battles. Even if we have to make way, we have to drive these ships away first. "
"Are you kidding me? If there are no ships, are those Americans going to float on the water and run across the Mississippi River?"
The General Staff Department finally felt a little livelier. Of course, the price of this liveliness was that the conversations were getting more and more meaningless. After listening to his comrades, Qi Rui was very dissatisfied with what he had said just now. He immediately interrupted the discussion. "Since the port has been sealed, we might as well defend the port first and monitor the other areas along the river. Leave space for the enemy. "
As soon as the acting Chief of Staff finished speaking, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhu Jiyun raised a question. "If we slow down the speed of the battle, will it affect the end of the battle?"
The General Staff Department immediately quieted down. The battle had been going smoothly so far. Sealing the enemy's port meant that they would be able to surround St. Paul in six hours. This was not a failure, but an overachievement. Because of this, everyone could still joke around. However, the duration of the battle was not a joke. It was the most important problem in everyone's hearts.
Fighting behind the enemy's back was not a frontal battle. If they could not win a frontal battle today, they could fight it tomorrow. If they did not have enough troops, they could ask for help from a higher-level command. Fighting behind the enemy's back to seize a strategic location was like a one-time deal. If it succeeded, it would naturally change the strategic situation immediately, and the entire battlefield would be refreshed. If the battle failed, the penetrating troops would immediately face the situation of annihilation.
"We don't have enough information right now. There's no need to strengthen the offensive," Qi Rui answered almost instinctively. After saying that, he felt a little guilty.
Qi Rui insisted on the battle plan. The Deputy Chief of Staff said, "In our plan, this battle will last for three days. If we fight like this, can we take St. Paul and Minneapolis in three days?"
"Deputy Chief of Staff, it's to take down St. Paul or St. Paul and Minneapolis within three days," Qi Rui corrected the Deputy Chief of Staff coldly. Although taking down St. Paul and Minneapolis was one of the goals of the battle plan, the difference between one goal and all the goals was like heaven and earth.
"I don't think the difference is big. If there's only Minneapolis left, are we going to wait for the enemy to attack us from there? Do we really have the manpower to defend this river? "Deputy Chief of Staff Zhu Jiyun insisted on his opinion.
"Just follow the battle plan," Qi Rui said straightforwardly. Sometimes, arguing wouldn't solve any problems.
Since acting Chief of Staff Qi Rui had brought out the battle plan, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhu Jiyun could only remain silent for the time being. Qi Rui immediately raised another question. "Who will be in charge of the landing area between the First Division and the Third Division?"
In the face of the headquarters' inquiry, Ma Xiaoming, the commander of the First Division, immediately expressed his refusal to take over the landing area over the phone. "Our troops should focus on fighting. Once we want to control the Mississippi River, we'll put our troops out for too long. Let's take on more combat missions. Let the Second Division do this job. "
The Second Division's attitude was actually similar to that of the First Division. "Our mission is to annihilate the enemy in St. Paul. Since the Third Division's mission is to build a bridge over the river and contain Minneapolis, let the Second Division be in charge of controlling the river. Let the Third Division be in charge of controlling the Mississippi River. We've captured so many ships, it's just enough for the Third Division to sail them away. "
Qian Duoduo, the Chief of Staff of the Third Division, was silent for a moment after receiving the inquiry from the headquarters. "Asking us to block the Mississippi River isn't like encircling the Third Division and leaving one out. It's like closing the door and beating the dog. Moreover, we're deploying thousands of people on such a long front. Won't the distribution of troops be insufficient? "
Since the Third Division's General Staff Department thought so, Qi Rui naturally hoped that the Third Division would take on such a task. The Chief of Staff was the one who made the battle plan, and the execution of the battle plan was naturally the Chief of Staff's responsibility. However, the adjustment of the battle plan was not decided by the Chief of Staff alone. As the head of the military, the commander of the army naturally had to participate in the battle plan beforehand. The commander of the army was in charge of military orders, and the orders naturally had to be signed by the commander of the army.
The Liberation Army was under the military commission system. The three main cadres in the military commission included the political commissar, the commander of the army, and the chief of staff. If the core concept of the Party leading the army was adhered to, the political commissar's position was above the commander of the army and the chief of staff. Of course, the political commissar's right to speak on such purely military issues was limited. At this time, the political commissar was only one of the members of the military commission.
The commander of the army, Zheng Minglun, ordered the deployment adjustment. The Third Division would send people to take over the ships and be responsible for establishing surveillance points on both sides of the Mississippi River. After giving the order, political commissar Hu Dakui took some time to call Zheng Minglun out. The two of them lit a cigarette, and Hu Dakui said in a low voice, "Old Zheng, I don't think it's that easy to deal with St. Paul and Minneapolis in three days."
"It's even more difficult for us to run here in two days," Zheng Minglun said in a light tone as he smoked his cigarette.
"I know it's not easy, but you can't just not say anything, right?" Hu Dakui still gave some advice.
"What we know, the young people actually all know. If we have to say that we're better than them, it's because we've seen more, so it's not a big deal. If that's the case, why are we making a fuss now? "Zheng Minglun's tone was still light.
Hu Dakui was immediately unhappy. He frowned. "According to what you said, we're here to watch the battle?"
"Then what do you think we should have said just now? If you think the mission can't be completed in three days, then can you come up with a plan to complete it in two days? "Zheng Minglun was still as calm as ever.
"We still have to let these kids know that time is of the essence!" Hu Dakui's tone was quite unhappy.
"Don't be anxious." Zheng Minglun could hear Hu Dakui's attitude, so he comforted him.
"How can I not be anxious? But look at these kids' calm attitude, I'm very worried. "Hu Dakui obviously didn't fall for it. He simply said what was on his mind.
"Just talk about Qi Rui. I think this kid is actually more anxious than us. That's why he's pretending to be calm and unhurried. These kids are still young. "Zheng Minglun even revealed a smile when talking about the young people's performance.
"What's the use of pretending to be calm? If pretending can make the battle better? Then let's see who can pretend better! "Hu Dakui disagreed with Zheng Minglun's view.
"Political Commissar, I still have the same words. What we know, those young people definitely know too. If they make any obvious mistakes, of course, we have to stop them. But before they make any mistakes, we will just watch from the side. This war is completely different from the previous wars. Even a young man like Qi Rui knows that he has a lot of shortcomings in the basic infantry command. We old guys have to know that we may not know more than them. "Zheng Minglun obviously wanted to persuade Hu Dakui to understand the current situation. But after he finished speaking, he saw that Hu Dakui's attitude not only did not calm down, but also showed signs of being more agitated. Zheng Minglun threw the cigarette butt and stamped it out with his foot. Then he said to Hu Dakui, "Political Commissar, my attitude is very simple. As the chief military officer, I request that you don't speak easily on military issues. The current battle was not as simple as setting up the cannons and firing the cannons to force the enemy to surrender. So we have to be more cautious. "
When Hu Dakui heard that Zheng Minglun had the intention of depriving him of the right to speak on military matters, he immediately became more agitated. However, Hu Dakui was a person who had experienced war, after all. Looking at Zheng Minglun's calm expression, he thought for a while and said, "I will wait until tomorrow afternoon at most. In my opinion, the situation of this battle is quite different from the original battle plan. "After that, Hu Dakui threw away the cigarette butt and strode toward the headquarters.
Zheng Minglun did not follow him back. He lit another cigarette for himself. There was indeed a huge gap between the current battle situation and the original battle plan. The Americans did not expect the Liberation Army to be able to run so fast and so far. Now, the Americans were stunned. Logically speaking, it was a good thing for the enemy to be stunned. But it was a good thing for the field army. In urban warfare, the enemy often did a lot of things that were beyond the imagination of the Liberation Army after being stunned. From the perspective of "mobilizing the enemy," the surprise attack was not successful.
But Zheng Minglun and Hu Dakui had different ideas. He did not think that a temporary change in the battle plan would achieve a better result. War was a thing of rapid change, so Vézé had repeatedly said, "In modern war, in a situation where weapons, equipment, and tactics have been determined, the requirement for a commander is mental firmness."
Before the war, Zheng Minglun had attended some high-level meetings. If it weren't for the emergence of motorized infantry, the original battle plan to destroy the United States would have been a bloody battle of 20 million troops that would take more than five years. After the emergence of this young unit, the intensity of war mobilization rapidly decreased. In the optimistic view of some of the upper echelons of the North American theater of operations, the number of mobilized troops was reduced from the original 20 million to 10 million. The mobilization of 10 million was no longer to form a new unit, but mainly to supplement the troops.
Zheng Minglun did not mean to look down on political cadres like Hu Dakui, but Zheng Minglun felt that this war had indeed exceeded the traditional war concept of the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army had never experienced a war of such high intensity and intensity as this war. The 600,000 troops at the front line of the Great Lakes had to face a situation that was completely different from the past. The political cadres of the Liberation Army were not people who did not know how to fight, but the change this time was so big that even the chief military officer began to be unable to keep up with the situation. If the political cadres could not adjust their ideas, they would probably be even more out of touch with the war.
"It's still better to be a teacher of benevolence and righteousness," Zheng Minglun could not help but say to himself. The cruelty and bloodshed of this war far exceeded that of any war Zheng Minglun had seen before. Of course, the Liberation Army was not a Bodhisattva whose hands were not stained with blood, but even when executing prisoners of war on a large scale, the troops could still believe in their own justice.
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