June 22, 1941.
News of Japanese troop movements was transmitted from various hidden radio stations in eastern Vietnam to the National League for Democracy's intelligence department.
"Beep beep beep beep beep beep—!"
At this moment, all of the dozens of radio stations in the intelligence department are in operation.
"Chief, news has come from our comrades on the covert front: the 5th Division has advanced westward." A young communications officer handed a newly translated telegram to Nguyen Thi Mai, the head of the intelligence department.
Nguyen Thi Mai took the telegram, quickly glanced at it, and frowned.
"Chief, the 55th Division has departed from Hanoi and is heading north along Thai Nguyen Province..." Another telegram was delivered.
"Chief, the Gallic Rooster Hanoi-Tokyo Division is moving southwest."
"Chief, the Hans 121st Infantry Division is moving southwest."
"Chief, the 53rd Brigade is heading north."
…………
In less than half an hour, the telegrams piled up like a mountain!
Each telegram represents a combat objective!
Every telegram foreshadowed a fierce battle!
This could even lead to annihilation; failure would have unimaginable consequences!
Nguyen Thi Mai took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, listen up! Send any new intelligence to the operations room immediately."
"yes!"
The telegraph operators all responded in unison.
Nguyen Thi Mai took a stack of intelligence reports into the operations room.
Inside the operations room, high-ranking officers from the Army and Air Force, along with Lin Feng, Chen Sanyuan, and others, were gathered to discuss operational matters.
Before them lay a huge sand table, on which were marked the positions of the various units of the Sakura Kingdom, the Hans, and the Gallic Rooster.
Nguyen Thi Mai entered the room, picked up the telegram, and reported the latest developments of each enemy army.
Soon, the situation on the sand table became clear, and the whole situation became unpredictable.
“Yamashita Tomoyuki isn’t stupid. His three-pronged attack may seem clumsy, but it’s actually a deadly move.”
Zhang Xiaowu shook his head and said, "First of all, the 5th Division and the 72nd Division are both elite units, and they are equipped with a lot of anti-tank weapons. They are good at fighting tough battles and fierce battles."
"Yamashita Tomoyuki has placed these two divisions in the front, along with the 4th Tank Division, definitely to tie down our main force."
"Then the 55th Division, the 49th Brigade, and the 53rd Brigade on the right flank, and the Hans Gallic Rooster Army in Laos on the left flank, flanked us from both sides and formed a pincer movement against our base in Lai Chau."
"This would force us to deploy our main force on the front lines while also sending reinforcements, putting us in a predicament of being attacked from three sides."
"Hmm." Zhu Shixiong nodded. "I thought the Japanese would concentrate their superior forces to send their own people to their deaths, just like before. I didn't expect the Japanese to now use the strategy of 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao'."
Upon hearing this, Army Chief of Staff Li Zhenhua frowned. "Commander Zhu, I think Yamashita Tomoyuki is just putting up a smokescreen for us."
"Oh?" Zhu Shixiong was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
“Commander Zhu, think about it. This is Indochina. Every civilian is an intelligence agent for us. Yamashita Tomoyuki must know this too.”
"His high-profile troop mobilization will not only attract our attention, but also allow our intelligence agents to obtain information, thereby exposing his identity."
After a pause, Li Zhenhua continued, "Therefore, Yamashita Tomoyuki's actions were entirely a feint, a deliberate attempt to create mystery."
"That makes sense."
The generals in the operations room nodded in agreement, finding the analysis to be very reasonable.
"Commander Zhang, the enemy is coming on strong. You are the army commander. How do you think we should fight this battle?" Zheng Hailin asked.
Zheng Hailin is 36 years old this year. He has served as the deputy battalion commander of the 7th Battalion of the Independent Regiment and the deputy division commander of the 7th Division of the North China Field Army. He is now the deputy commander of the Air Force and can be considered a veritable bigwig in the Air Force.
Zhang Xiaowu stroked his chin and said, "The Japanese are dividing their forces into three routes, so we'll also divide into three routes, with our main force against their main force, and directly defeat the troops that Yamashita Tomoyuki has positioned in the front."
"Once Yamashita Tomoyuki's main force is defeated, the outflanked enemy will definitely come to his aid."
"What if we don't go back to help?" Li Zhenhua reminded him.
"If they don't come back to reinforce, then we will continue to divide our forces, one to attack Hanoi and take their rear, and the other to head north to encircle them."
"That's one way."
Li Zhenhua and the others nodded in agreement, all acknowledging Zhang Xiaowu's plan.
To paraphrase the Commander-in-Chief, when faced with abundant food and plentiful supplies, any conspiracy or trickery is nothing but a paper tiger.
Zhang Xiaowu did not rush to issue battle orders, but instead turned his gaze to Lin Feng, who had remained silent, and asked with a smile, "Commander-in-Chief, what do you think?"
"Too much trouble."
Lin Feng shook his head.
What's the meaning?
Is that even a problem?
Zhang Xiaowu, Li Zhenhua, and the others' expressions changed drastically. Lin Feng actually said it was too troublesome?
Concentrate superior forces to attack the front, then outflank and encircle, annihilating them one by one.
That's very simple.
Is there an even faster way?
Lin Feng lit a cigarette and smoked it calmly. After a long while, he waved his hand and said, "Come here."
Everyone quickly gathered around.
Lin Feng tossed away his cigarette and said meaningfully, "We're not back in the North China Field Army anymore."
“In the past, Comrade Zhang Xiaowu’s suggestion was excellent. We could have done it. After all, our mechanization level was relatively high, and our weapons and equipment were enough to overwhelm the Japanese army on the front lines. We were not afraid of them playing tricks.”
"But don't forget, things are different now."
Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads.
It's different now?
What's different?
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