At present, the huge number of tanks and trucks on the battlefield in northern Jin are all tigers drinking oil. Although the amount of oil seized in Guisui is quite large, under this huge consumption, the inventory is declining very quickly. Moreover, the average daily consumption also exceeded Chen Hanzhang's original judgment.

The huge consumption of oil every day, in the words of the boss, does not need to go to the warehouse to see it every day, but only looking at the report of the loss has a heart-pounding feeling. And with the southward push of the front, the daily fuel consumption is still increasing.

Under the increasing consumption, the oil that had been the main oil supply task in the northern Shanxi battlefield was now very little left in Guisui. When Yang Jicai moved to Taiyuan City, half of the seized fuel and aviation fuel were transferred to northern Shaanxi as reserves. The actual number of those transferred to the battlefield in northern Jin is not very large.

And most critically, the amount of diesel fuel required for the T three or four tanks in it was small. Only 100 pokes were seized in Guisui, and no diesel fuel was seized in Taiyuan. Although the amount of fuel seized there was large, it was gasoline and jet fuel. The fuel required for this tank itself depends on the transportation of the rear.

There is still some gasoline in reserve, but it will not last long. There are only 150 pokes of diesel fuel in reserve, which is not even enough to meet the needs of the troops for a day. The original method of partially solving the problem by fighting and fighting and capturing guò is now difficult to work. And the much-needed aviation fuel, delivered from the rear, has now dropped by half of what it used to be.

Most of the transport force is now used to transport more needed food. Even then, the food needs were barely met. At present, in order to ensure the supply of the battlefield in the north of Jin, the headquarters has reached the point where it will not hesitate to pay any price. Coupled with ammunition and the additional volume of fuel transportation, Chen Hanzhang is still very clear about the pressure on the logistics department.

Although he didn't know how much oil the headquarters had in reserve before the war, Chen Hanzhang knew that he was afraid that the headquarters must be running out of money now. Otherwise, No. 1 will not call, in order to ensure the supply of ammunition, fuel and food on the battlefield in northern Shanxi. The headquarters has gradually begun to lighten its combat intensity in the northeastern battlefield, and has turned from offensive to defensive in most of the battlefield.

In addition to the operations around Siping Street, even in Dongmanchuria, combat operations have been stopped on all fronts. All the troops in the East Manchurian battlefield were transferred to a defensive posture. In addition to the siege of Zhangjiakou, the offensive of the advance army in Chanan also began to gradually weaken in other directions.

What kind of troops are the newly replenished 10th Divisions being replenished this time? Two battalions of the Headquarters Guard Regiment, the guard units of the various training bases of its own armored corps, the guard units of the artillery and aviation training bases, plus the only mobile engineering corps in the hands of the headquarters now.

This shows that the living forces in the hands of the headquarters are now basically exhausted, and there is no way to replenish the troops. Otherwise, the headquarters would not have switched from offensive to defensive in the northeastern battlefield without achieving its intended operational objectives. Shift most of the fronts to the defensive.

Judging from the current situation on the entire battlefield, it is time to speed up the course of the battle and put the end of the campaign on the agenda. But Chen Hanzhang also knew that if the Japanese army was not completely hurt, they would not give up the idea of counterattacking northern Jinbei in a short period of time, and the battlefield in northern Jinbei would not be stable for a day.

Since this is the case, then Sui Changqing's horizontal insertion of a lever to launch a counterattack on the main force of the 21st Division in Yingxian County is not necessarily a bad thing, although it has caused a certain passivity to himself in the overall layout. As long as the two divisions that served as the main attack were defeated, the Japanese army's counterattack operation this time would be completely collapsed.

Especially in the middle of the Jinbei battlefield, as long as the 21st Division was defeated, it was equivalent to the connection between the two flanks of the Japanese army had been cut off. Therefore, Chen Hanzhang did not intend to attack Sui Changqing without authorization and pursue any responsibility. On the contrary, according to the progress of the battle, he increased some of his troops.

Under the circumstance that Yi Liangpin could not draw troops, he transferred the most urgently needed tank troops from the northeastern Jin battlefield in Du Kaishan, so that he could completely solve the enemy army in front of Yingxian in the shortest possible time. On the front line of Mayi and Zhangzhuang, the progress of the war was also accelerated.

Chen Hanzhang had already made up his mind to completely defeat the two Japanese divisions before the arrival of the 15th Japanese Division and subsequent reinforcements. That is, to deter the follow-up troops of the Japanese army, and at the same time to speed up the process of the campaign and prepare for the end of the battle.

Although he also knew very well that this would bring some trouble to the anti-sweeping and operations in the two major regions of Taihang and Jinsui. In particular, the inability to contain the 15th Division will bring considerable pressure to the operations in the Taihang and Jinsui regions. However, in the current situation where logistics and troops are somewhat unsustainable, he believes that it is more appropriate to defeat these two divisions and regiments to end the battle.

After making all the deployment adjustments, Chen Hanzhang drafted a telegram to the headquarters. He made a detailed report on his determination and consideration. In particular, the idea and intention of terminating the battle, as well as the possible consequences, Chen Hanzhang reported in great detail.

After receiving Chen Hanzhang's telegram, Yang Zhen did not reply immediately. Instead, after repeated deliberations, the impact that these two Japanese divisions and regiments may have on the war situation will be dealt with first. Especially after ending the Northern Jin War ahead of schedule, which would bring danger to other directions in the Shanxi battlefield, Yang Zhen finally approved Chen Hanzhang's construction.

However, Yang Zhen demanded that after settling these two divisions, Mu Changqiu's headquarters deployed in Laoxian County immediately went west to join the battlefield in the northwest of Shanxi. Speed up the settlement of the left detachment to prevent the Japanese army from turning around and entering the battlefield in the northwest of Jin when there is no hope of recovering northern Jin.

and ordered Chen Hanzhang to find a way to mobilize the forces that could be mobilized. Speed up the rehabilitation of Datong Airport, as well as widening and lengthening. It's too late to convert it into a concrete runway. However, in terms of take-off conditions, it is necessary to meet the conditions for the take-off and landing of heavy bombers as much as possible. At the same time, the vigilance and air defense work at the Datong airfield will be strengthened to prepare for the take-off and landing of bombers.

After drafting the order to Chen Hanzhang, Yang Zhen personally asked for the Air Force Headquarters. Order all of its B-17 heavy bombers now stationed in Ximan to be ready to strike at any time. Except for the aviation units supporting the operation in the Taihang area, the rest of the bombers and attack planes temporarily all use large-yield bombs and napalm.

After sending the telegram to Chen Hanzhang, Yang Zhen walked to the map and looked at the situation of the enemy and me in the Northeast Battlefield, and was silent for a long time before saying to Guo Bingxun beside him: "Old Guo, you said that in the Northeast Battlefield, should we have changed to a full-line defensive posture now?" ”

In response to Yang Zhen's question, Guo Bingxun pondered slightly and said: "If according to our current material reserves and the replenishment of soldiers, we should not only be in the northeast, but also on the whole front. But in the current situation, no one can stop the offensive. In the Northeast Battlefield, even if you grit your teeth, you must persevere. ”

"No. 1, our remaining oil reserves, according to the current daily consumption, can last for half a month at most. Since the launch of this campaign, we have received a total of 2,000 tons of fuel aid. And these 2,000 tons of fuel are basically a drop in the bucket for our current consumption. ”

"What's more, since the start of the war, we have received foreign fuel supplements, mainly in aviation gasoline. Most of the rest is diesel. The gasoline that is really needed for vehicles and gasoline engines and tanks basically relies on our pre-war reserves. ”

"In the Northeast Battlefield, because there are enough railway lines as the backbone transportation force, the intensity of automobile use is far from comparable to that of the Western Front. The amount of fuel consumed at the moment is generally not too large. In addition to the largest consumption of fuel in the northern Jin battlefield, most of the rest is consumed in the transportation of supplies to the northern Jin battlefield. ”

"From northern Shanxi to Tongliao, these hundreds of kilometers of supply lines are constantly devouring our fuel reserves like a bottomless pit. In addition, the road conditions are bad, and the muddy roads in Dakaihua in the spring some time ago have increased our fuel consumption. Either we will receive a lot of assistance in a short period of time, or we will now have to abandon mechanized equipment such as cars and tanks. ”

"In addition, since the launch of the campaign, the troops have been fighting continuously for nearly two months, and they have not received any rest and replenishment in between. Not counting the huge casualty figures, the front-line combat units are also extremely tired. Moreover, our army no longer has a fully equipped division in various battlefields. Not counting the troops that have been withdrawn and reorganized, the front-line combat units are generally only 70 percent, or even half of the troops are only 50 percent. ”

"And this is not counting the consumption of ammunition, as well as the number of losses in other equipment. Stocks of artillery shells, especially for heavy artillery, are already running out. Several tank shells, with the exception of the British-made forty-millimeter shells, the rest of the shell reserves have bottomed out. In particular, there is a lack of 45 mm, 76 mm, and 50 mm high-explosive grenades. ”

"The Japanese army has very few tanks and armor on the battlefield. Our tanks were mainly against the infantry of the Japanese army, as well as various fortification groups. Without high-explosive grenades, our tanks can only resort to the tactics of crushing and ramming. Or use a vehicle-mounted machine gun to destroy the enemy. ”

"Now we are faced with the shape that the reason why we ended the battle last year is very likely to repeat the same thing this year. From this point of view, we are now at a point where we have no choice but to turn to the defensive on all fronts. However, the current battle situation requires us to take our last breath and never let go. ”

"In the Northeast Theater, as long as the fighting on other fronts continues, our offensive will not only not be slowed down, but even strengthened. If we move to the defense in advance, then the Japanese base camp is likely to draw reinforcements from the Northeast Theater to reinforce the North China Theater. In that case, the battle between the battlefields of Chanan and Jinbei is likely to drag on indefinitely. ”

"And once the war in northern Jin and southern Chanan drags on, it will be a real disaster for us. Needless to say, in the next month, our supply lines on the Western Front will have to collapse completely. In the case that the base area in Kannai is no longer able to afford the supply of our army, or it is simply unable to afford the supply of our army. Once the supply line is completely collapsed, our army will collapse without a fight on the battlefield in northern Shanxi. ”

"There are no guns, we can use bayonets. But without food, our troops, let alone fighting and marching, will be completely starved even if they are hungry. The collapse of the most critical battlefield in northern Jin will cause a series of chain reactions, and even all the achievements of our army on the Western Front may be in vain. It will even implicate the Advance Army and the Jinsui Military Region, as well as other base areas in North China. ”

"For the Japanese army, the importance of South Manchuria was far greater than that of Northern Jin. As long as our army still maintains the momentum of the offensive in the northeast battlefield, and the Japanese army, which has also reached the limit of its strength at present, will find it difficult to draw too many troops to reinforce the North China battlefield while it is still necessary to ensure South Manchuria, so that we can avoid the risk of prolonging the war on the western front. ”