Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> chinese fourth empire

Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 694: Trading Space for Time

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    November 11, Beijing, Xinhua Palace.  The fierce fighting between China and the British and French forces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been going on for a week. This evening, Wang Yuze summoned the cabinet and military ministers to discuss the current situation.

    ¡°In the desert of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, our brave soldiers are fighting a fierce battle with the British and French coalition forces. Although we are at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, we have advantages that the British and French coalition forces do not have. The final victory must belong to us!  Next, the Chief of General Staff will introduce to you the latest battlefield situation!" Wang Yuze's words revealed a firm confidence.  China will not lose this battle with the British and French forces, and it cannot lose.  Otherwise, all previous efforts will be in vain.  Moreover, the ownership of the Middle East is even more related to China's future. China must use all means to win this war.

    After Xiong Wu, Chief of the General Staff, saluted Wang Yuze, he then said: "The battlefields between the imperial army and the British and French coalition forces are mainly in two places, one is at sea. Currently, the main force of the Imperial Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet is confronting the British and French navies in the Mandeb Strait.  Now, the waterway of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has been completely blocked, and no ship can pass here. However, the navies of both our sides are relatively restrained, and so far, they have no intention of changing this status quo!" In fact,  It's not that the Chinese navy doesn't want to change this status quo, but that it is powerless.  The British and French navies have assembled six new battleships in the north of the Mandeb Strait. All the main guns are aimed at the main channel. Once the Chinese navy's battleships enter, they will be besieged. No battleship can resist.  Similarly, the two 'Qin-class' battleships and the two 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet also blocked the main channel of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the south. Although the four battleships only have 32 305mm main guns, this  No battleship in the British and French navies could resist the intensive firepower.  Therefore, the navies of both sides have entered a stalemate across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and no one can do anything to defeat the other!

    "The other battlefield is the land battlefield in the west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Currently, the British and French forces are on the offensive, and our army is on the defensive. Especially in the Medina battlefield, the British and French forces invested 100,000 people, and we fought very hard. However,  Under the tenacious resistance of the soldiers, the British and French forces suffered heavy losses. They have suffered nearly half of their casualties so far, but they still have not been able to capture Medina. Most of the city of Medina is under the control of the imperial army. In  During the battle in Medina, the Saudi army and civilians also showed extraordinary courage. Although they were relatively weak in combat, they were very brave and dared to die with the British and French forces. Based on these factors, although the situation in Medina  It's quite critical, but if our army holds Medina, there shouldn't be much of a problem!" said Xiong Wu, Chief of General Staff.

    "Mr. Xiong, do you know how many casualties our army has suffered?" Yang Hua, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, asked.  The British and French allied forces lost nearly half, and I'm afraid the Chinese army also suffered a lot!  Although the Chinese army is stronger than the British and French forces, its strength is limited.

    "So far, the latest battle reports show that the 15th Army Division and the 8th Marine Division stationed in Medina have suffered a total of more than 8,000 casualties, of which more than 2,100 were killed and 1,800 were seriously injured.  More than a hundred people," said Xiong Wu, chief of general staff.  However, the casualties of the Kingdom's military and civilians were not included.  According to incomplete statistics, more than half of the two divisions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia suffered casualties, and the Saudi civilians in Medina suffered heavy losses.

    The battle damage was almost one to six. This ratio made everyone quite satisfied.  After all, Britain and France are one of the established powers. It is still very difficult for the Chinese army to achieve a battle loss of more than 1 to 10.

    "Master Xiong, we only have eight divisions of troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is almost one-third of the British and French coalition forces. Why can't we send more troops to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?" Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang asked.  If enough troops were sent to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the troops would not be in a bitter fight.

    "Fighting in the Middle East, due to the climate and geographical environment, we cannot send too many troops, otherwise the logistical supplies will overwhelm us. In order to maintain the eight divisions fighting on the front line, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has organized  We already have a transportation team of 300,000 people. If we send another army group, the transportation team will have to be doubled!" Chief of General Staff Xiong Wu said with a bitter smile.

    After hearing this explanation, everyone nodded in agreement.  Modern warfare is all about logistics. Especially after the Chinese army is equipped with a large number of heavy weapons, the requirements for logistics are even more serious.  If logistics cannot be ensured, no matter how many troops are dispatched, it will be fatal.

    "Then why can the British and French coalition assemble hundreds of thousands of troops in the Middle East? Don't they have a lot of logistical pressure?" Some people have also raised such questions.  The equipment of the Chinese Army and the British and French Allied Forces are similar. Since the Chinese Army is under heavy logistical pressure, the same should be true for the British and French Allied Forces!  But nowThe result now is that the British and French coalition forces have assembled almost half a million troops in the Middle East.

    "Britain and France are further away from the Middle East. For example, France, starting from the port in southern France, only needs to cross the Mediterranean. Egypt is a British colony, and they can get a lot of help. And the distance from the empire to the Middle East is as high as  Thousands of miles away, it is even more difficult. In addition, the battlefields of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are now mainly concentrated in the western region of the Kingdom, which is close to the Red Sea. The entire Red Sea is under the control of the British and French navies. Their logistical supply lines are much closer than ours.  Much more." Chief of General Staff Xiong Wu replied.

    "The reason why the British and French navies preemptively blocked the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and prevented us from entering was to shorten their logistics supply lines. However, the navy currently does not have the ability to break through the blockade of the British and French navies and enter the Red Sea area!" Zhang Cheng, the Minister of Navy, looked a little unhappy.  nature.  Although the Navy has not been established for a long time, it has already achieved countless great victories.  The Imperial Navy has also become a world-class navy.  But I didn't expect that this time I would be fooled by the British and French navies.

    "So, how should we face the current situation?" Wang Yuze spoke.  He doesn¡¯t value the process, he values ??the results!

    "Your Majesty, the current war in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is very unfavorable to us. Although the attack of the British and French coalition forces was resisted by us, in general, their superiority in military strength and logistics allowed them to increase their troops and attack us unscrupulously.  Launch an attack, if this continues, even if we can persist, we will pay a heavy price!" Xiong Wu said.

    Wang Yuze nodded and signaled Xiong Wu to continue.

    ¡°After discussion, the General Staff decided to abandon the western region of the Kingdom and move the battlefield to the central region of the Kingdom. In this way, our logistics supply line will be shortened, while the logistics supply line of the British and French coalition forces will be lengthened. The British and French coalition forces¡¯  The troops are huge, and once the logistics supply line is extended, it will put great pressure on them. As long as we continue to persist, we can drag them to death even if they are delayed!" said Xiong Wu, chief of general staff.

    "Is this considered trading space for time?" Wang Yuze said.  In the later Anti-Japanese War, wasn't this what the Kuomintang army did in the face of Japan's attack?  Although the Japanese army won a huge victory in the early stage, as the front was stretched and the troops were dispersed, didn't they also fail in the end?

    "That's what it means! We use a temporary retreat to get rid of the current disadvantageous position and buy time for counterattack!" Xiong Wu said.

    "Then let's act according to the plan of the General Staff! However, the General Staff will also start planning a counterattack. This war cannot be delayed for too long. It would be great if it could be ended before the end of the year.  !" Wang Yuze said.  The current empire is developing rapidly. The outbreak of war will have an impact on the empire's economy to a greater or lesser extent. If the war can be ended before the end of the year, then it will not have an excessive impact on China.

    "Yes, Your Majesty, the General Staff is already planning a counterattack. If it goes well, it will be implemented at the end of the month!" said Chief of General Staff Xiong Wu.  In the plan of the General Staff, in order to carry out a counterattack and completely defeat the British and French coalition forces, it was first necessary to severely damage the British and French navies, gain control of the Red Sea and even the eastern Mediterranean, and then encircle and annihilate the British and French coalition forces assembled in the Middle East.  If successful, Britain and France would no longer have the strength to continue fighting and would have to admit China's entry into the Middle East.

    Next, the Chinese General Staff issued a retreat order to the troops stationed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  The Chinese troops gathered in the northwest of the Kingdom will retreat eastward to the Hail area, and the Chinese troops in the Medina area will retreat to Buraidah in the Qassim area.  The Chinese troops stationed in Mecca in the south will retreat towards Riyadh, shifting the battlefield from the western region of the Kingdom to the central region of the Kingdom.  In this way, the front line of the British and French coalition forces will be stretched, and their logistics supply lines will become extremely fragile. At that time, it will be time for the Chinese army to counterattack.

    On November 12, the fierce fighting in Medina continued. However, the British and French forces, which had suffered heavy losses, were no longer able to launch a large-scale battle. Their siege of Medina also became full of loopholes.  The Chinese army and the army of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are no longer weaker than the British and French coalition forces in terms of strength. If it were not to avoid casualties, they could launch a large-scale counterattack against the British and French coalition forces and drive them out of Medina.  However, this will result in greater casualties.  If you continue to hold on, you can take advantage of the well-built fortifications and kill as much as possible the effective forces of the British and French allied forces!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report