Chapter 342: The Middle East Wars Rises

No one expected that the attack action decided by the 29th Army Command's military affairs meeting in mid-May was actually in a mess at the beginning. The British army learned from the intention of the army's military operation on May 14 from some channels. Unexpectedly, a raiding force was sent into the Arab territory before. With the help of the Arabs, they were buried in the day and out at night. After two days, they interspered to an important water supply point more than 70 kilometers away from their defense line, and near the Fedir Well, which was only ten kilometers away from the closest point of the military base of the Chinese Empire, which supported the structure of the three-point Chinese Empire, and launched a raid on the outside of a battalion of troops guarding the water source on the night of the 13th.

The poison gas bomb was used by the British on the battlefield for the first time. The poison gas bomb that caused them to suffer a great loss was thrown to the center of the camp by their curved artillery fire. With the uninterrupted fire harassment of the periphery and forcibly assaulted the infantry, the Galibai army caused more than 70 casualties to the infantry battalion guarding the Fediciel Well, and the water source was also polluted to a certain extent. When the cavalry camp in Galibai came out to help, the British army threw down more than ten bodies and retreated, and the commander of the cavalry regiment Ma Bufang was so angry that he was so angry that his brother, Ma Zhongying, was his battalion commander, held him tightly, so he did not let him chase him in this dark night.

Although it was later proved that the enemy did not arrange large-scale ambush, but was more like a harassment by a small army, Ma Zhongying's approach was still praised by the division headquarters. The moon was dark and the wind was high, and the enemy's action was too much like a trick to lure the enemy. Being cautious is the right choice. Although no enemy's response action was found, based on comprehensive consideration, there are still many possibilities for great losses.

At the military affairs meeting the next day, Zhang Xun was furious. As a veteran who returned from the Japanese battlefield, he was promoted to Lieutenant General on his 60th birthday last year. He is already 61 years old this year. He thought that he had lost the Indochina Peninsula War and probably retired with the rank of Lieutenant General, but he did not expect that the court gave him the opportunity to make new contributions. From his perspective, at his age, this Middle East War is probably his battle to conquer him. He also plans to be promoted to general with this battle. Whether it is to join the General Staff or the Army Department in the future, he will never have the chance to fight Da Zhang again, so he is particularly cautious in using military forces in the Middle East this time.

As a veteran, after coming here, he summoned Dong Chengzhi and Bai Chongxi, who had worked here for a long time, and asked about the local situation. Of course, he knew the importance of the water source. More than 100,000 people relied on this Fejer well and two other water sources more than 200 kilometers away. Therefore, at Bai Chongxi's suggestion, he arranged for a battalion of infantry to mix and a Arab regiment to garrison, and built a defense line dominated by trenches and barbed wire. He did not hesitate to build two fortifications, but he still suffered a loss.

His anger was not without reason. In the area north of the military base and deep from the British defense line, he laid several defense lines and checkpoints tightly. According to the map provided by the Arabs, if there were large-scale enemies on all lines, especially Westerners, infiltrated in. If there were few troops, it would not be a threat to the water source garrison troops. This was also something that he and the General Staff felt was not a problem. But the problem lies here.

The next day, he personally went to the battlefield last night. Judging from the traces at the scene, the size of the British army should be about 200 people, carrying more than 12 individual grenade launchers as heavy weapons. With the firepower of rifles and two machine guns, he also took advantage of the night to suppress the defensive vitality of the garrison battalion with firearms and the Arabs with only sabres, forming a surprise attack. Although the two 87mm guns on the fortifications and a small number of grenade launchers equipped with infantry also formed a counterattack, the first step was that the battle time was short and unexpected, and the second step was that the night did help the British, causing only one-fifth of the British casualties.

No matter what, if you lose, you have to summarize it. At the high-level meeting of the on-site headquarters that day, Zhang Xun scolded a group of senior officers and pointed out what he most doubted - there must be British spies among the Arabs, and personally made a decision to adjust the next military plan, that is, cancel the frontal battlefield advance that was originally scheduled to be launched in the past two days, and the entire army canceled the attack plan, first clearing out suspicious personnel within a depth of nearly 100 kilometers from the military base to the British defense line, and then talking about the others.

But to his surprise, his decision was just spoken out, which aroused opposition from the General Staff and some senior officers. Feng Yuxiang raised different opinions on behalf of the General Staff. He believed that the preparations for military offensives were already done, and whether the British army knew or not, a tough battle would be inevitable. If he attacked Jordan in the future, the work of clearing out this deep suspicious personnel at this stage was in vain, and it would be despaired after such a small setback, which was not conducive to maintaining the morale of the troops and not to leave a strong impression on the Arabs. He insisted that the combat plan was not suitable for the combat plan.

Cancellation, as long as a slight adjustment, you can do the confidentiality work first. As for the work of eliminating British scouts, it can be handed over to Bai Chongxi and the representatives of the Arab royal family to carry out secretly. Judging from the current situation, the one who betrays the intelligence must be the Arabs. The size of nearly 300 British elite troops was interspersed with 60 or 70 kilometers. It is impossible to complete without the Arab support. Therefore, there are traces to follow. Bai Chongxi has a lot of time to do intelligence work here. It is better to leave this matter to him. The military forces continue to prepare for the offensive matter, and it is better to do it separately than just stop like this.

Feng Yuxiang's military rank is a major general and the third person in real power here. After he responded like this, Zhang Xun's face was a little uneasy. He finally suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice: "If the spy is rashly attacked before he can eliminate it, wouldn't it be a joke to use the lives of the military soldiers as a joke? The so-called foreign warriors must first be settled. The Arab traitors are not found out first. How can we march, how to attack, when to attack, and where to attack, wouldn't it be on the British's table? Brother Huanzhang, are you joking? You guys who are newly mentioned must be more considerate of the military soldiers in the war, otherwise who will work hard for you?"

After the two senior commanders got into this, the people below were a little at a loss. In addition, the newly defeated battlefield made the atmosphere a little nervous for a moment. Feng Yuxiang was still younger and had far inferior qualifications. Although he insisted that his opinion was right, he still bowed slightly to Zhang Xun, who was trying his best to control his anger, and said, "Yuxiang's words are a bit unreasonable. Zhang Shuai, you should not be surprised. But Yuxiang still has many considerations in military affairs. For example, if we come to Arabia thousands of miles away, if we are beaten up by a stick, it is difficult to do the work in the future, so we should take this Arab inner ghost.

In terms of things, they are not stupid people. What are they doing now? It seems that the British are not at a disadvantage yet? Once the color we give them is here, there is no need to spend special effort to deal with the Arabs. Besides, Yuxiang still suggests that Major Bai supervising the Arabs to handle it. He has been active here for a while, and I believe it will be effective soon. The general said that our entire army will take back and do it specifically. Yuxiang believes that there is no need for that. It is still the previous purpose, and it should be established as soon as possible. The general also had the same purpose at the military affairs meeting a few days ago."

He was so soft, and with the leadership of the army's education, Li Liejun, who was considered an old man from Jiangxi with Zhang Xun, also took the opportunity to turn around and said: "Sometimes the younger generation's speeches are a little bit rushing, and the Grandmaster is just a little more tolerant, but what Huanzhang said is somewhat reasonable. Grandmaster, do you think you should adjust the combat plan and do a good job of confidentiality - this, I will take the lead with Major Bai and the others to do it. The key point is to what Grandmaster said first - establishing authority."

Zhang Xun was a straightforward person, a loyal and righteous person, and he was a lifelong troop. He had a big temper but didn't hold much grudge. Seeing his fellow villager Li Liejun in the middle, he smiled and passed. He just smiled and said with a wry smile: "Now it is the world of you young people. How many generals and officials in your thirties have been fought in this battle? I'm old, hey, I'm a little cautious. Since you're right, let's go back to the headquarters to discuss and discuss!" After that, he stepped on his horse and shouted his personal soldiers to go to Nan Juechen.

Unlike the younger generation, Zhang Xun still likes to ride horses, but the young officers under his command are different. They board their own cars one by one and slowly travel south with Zhang Xun's Ma Chen.

On-site defense has been moving in accordance with the previous agreement. According to the subordinates of the office, a new machine gun battalion was added to enter, and the water pollution problem was also isolated. The military doctors of the Military Medical Department were busy treating the wounded, and everything returned to the state before the war, but they had significantly strengthened their defense.

Bai Chongxi was soon sent out to contact the officials sent by the Arab side and headed north, but the 50-man mixed troops did not go smoothly. The portable radio station broke down less than half an hour after leaving. This made him feel disappointed and he was also a little worried. However, the task that should be done is still to be done. According to his judgment, this attack is likely to be the result of the indigenous people in the Arab territory covering the British army. Judging from the information he obtained from the Arab officials, it is still mainly composed of Wahabiye Muslims, and the British cannot get their help. The only possibility is the result of the herders of the Abdul tribe in the north or the horse team as guides.

Starting from this aspect, the investigation did not make any gains. At least they found a large number of canned foods about twenty kilometers north, and some cigarette butts that were obviously made in Britain. After ordering their subordinates to search, they caught an Arab. After a brief interrogation, they found that he was from the Abdul tribe in the north, but insisted that he was lost here.

Seeing that nothing was asked, the Arab liaison officer came to ask Bai Chongxi what to do. His meaning seemed to be to put him to death. Anyway, the people in the Abdul family were not good things, they were all enemies.

Bai Chongxi thought for a while, but ordered the Arab prisoner named Said to be temporarily detained, and immediately sent two personal soldiers to ride back to report. Regardless of the Arab liaison officer's puzzled gaze, he paced to pick up a canned shell and study it, and said, "How many of us are there?"

His follower stood at attention in a conditioned reflexive manner and replied: "If you go back to the commander, except for Dazhuang and Liuzhu, we have already returned, and we have 48 people."

But seeing Bai Chongxi frowned and pondered, he looked at his personal soldiers and said, "Maybe they are not far away, and that Sayed is probably sent by them." Then he turned around and said, "You are right. The tribes here are unlikely to help them, so it is not easy for them to come, and it is also not easy for them to go. With the sudden appearance of Sayed, I have a good reason to ask you to go back first, and it is probably unsafe here."

Who knew that the liaison officer Hussein was not a coward, and his thirties were covered with beards. After hearing the translator's words, he became angry and said, "Where did we come from? Yesterday we had more than thirty brothers who died at their hands. How could we drive me away if we take revenge?" As he said that, he pulled out the scimitar from his waist and slashed hard in the air and said, "Where are they! I'll chop their heads now!"

"Haha--" Bai Chongxi was stunned for a moment and then smiled, stroked his chin and said, "It's wrong for me to do this. If you want to take revenge, let's avenge together, but it's not now. Now I have to find them first." He turned his head and passed on the order, "Let that Said be released! Find a way to 'tell him' we are going back!"

Looking at Hussein's puzzled look, he explained: "Ninety-nine percent of this person are British lackeys. If the dog makes a contribution, he will definitely go back to find his master to get his bones, so I let my people follow him." He frowned and looked at the cloudless sky and sighed, secretly thinking that it would be enough to call the Air Force now.

Indeed, if there is an air force in the sky, it is easy to find the enemy in this not easy to hide terrain. At present, Bai Chongxi could think of the only way to capture the British army that had no time to retreat was to follow the Arab guide who was suspected of being the scout of the British army. Moreover, he could not order his subordinates to follow up on blatant tracking, because after all, the enemy's firepower and number of people were far above his own small army. Therefore, he could only hope that the false news of the retreat of the Arabs could successfully gain the confidence of the British army.

Because he had only suspected that the British troops were close enough so far, he ordered the two personal soldiers to send back the information to the rear large troops, which could only discover the enemy situation and report the situation and analysis back to the two battalions stationed at the water source. According to his estimate, unless the cavalry troops of the Galibai camp arrived more than 30 kilometers away from this place, according to the current situation, they could only hold the opponent first.

Fortunately, the information sent back by the personal soldiers should be able to get the attention of the rear troops and be prepared to attack. If the cavalry troops arrive at full speed, they will definitely be able to arrive in more than half an hour. The only thing to do now is to determine the exact existence of the enemy.

After ordering the small army to be alert and ready to rest on the spot for a temporary rest, he anxiously waited for the news brought back by the people who were following him.

It was more than 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and it was the hottest time of the day. Bai Chongxi raised his shoulder and rubbed the sweat on his cheek with the shoulder of the short-sleeved military uniform. He took a sip of water with a refreshing sip of water. A cool feeling surged into his heart. Suddenly, a thought jumped in his heart.

That's right. In the past few days, this British army has been hiding out at night. Otherwise, they would not have been able to avoid the intelligence network that has been set up in this area with the help of the Arabs. Moreover, they had just fought an assault the night before, and the weather is so hot now. In the end, they are at the most exhausted and difficult time. This is probably the reason why they have to send an Arab guide to investigate the situation on the periphery. In the end, if they are lucky, they should be sleeping now.

However, as long as Sayed fails to return after the deadline, or goes back to pass on the news that the small force has already chased, those people will definitely raise their vigilance and make every effort to guard against the right-end pursuit that our army may launch. Then, before the large force arrives, it is the best time for his own small force to consume the enemy's energy.

Of course, the difficulty is self-evident. For the British army, once they find out that they have been found by the Chinese army, they must do their best to get rid of the pursuers and escape as quickly as possible. If you think about it from another perspective, they did not choose to escape immediately without regard to the full speed of exposing their target. Perhaps they still have the next task to do.

After calculating this, Bai Chongxi made up his mind and once the information in front of him informed the British army, he would hold them back no matter what.

After about half an hour, the scout came back immediately with a gunshot-stricken arm, and a bloody mouth oozed out of his face. He was obviously scratched by something, and his face fell off pale and said intermittently: "Big...Big Force. Foot..."

"Drink a little water and say slowly, military doctor! Bandage him and prepare to send him back!" Bai Chongxi's heart tightened and he thought silently that he might have caught a big fish.

The situation did not deviate from his imagination. The scout gradually recovered his strength after drinking half of the water bag and said what he saw in one breath. It was about three kilometers away from this. From a distance, there were a total of thousands of British troops with a total of thousands of people! And he was also discovered by British sentries and shot and hit his left arm.

This new situation completely overturned Bai Chongxi's plan. After ordering the communications troops to report to the water source and Galibai immediately and request reinforcements, he quickly corrected his plan. He decided to use his small army of less than fifty people as a scout! Only in this way can we create conditions for the large troops rushing behind to fight an annihilation battle.

So he divided his subordinates into nine groups. In addition to the two communication soldiers who left and one wounded, he had a total of forty-five people, five of them each appointed the group leader and made his mobilization speech, explaining to his subordinates the danger of their current situation, and assigning tasks - no matter what, hold the British troops of more than a thousand people for an hour!

Without a radio station, he also agreed on a mechanism for contact and attendance for each group. The nine groups of people slowly dispersed and moved carefully to the north.

According to Bai Chongxi's estimate, the British army is probably preparing to leave now. They found the scout but did not pursue it. They were obviously afraid that the large army came from China, but Said should soon inform the British army of the real situation, so they should also prepare to come to the south with a very small possibility. Therefore, in the mobilization speech, Bai Chongxi said something that might be necessary to wear a horse.

But fortunately, the situation he was most worried about did not happen. The British army was indeed preparing to leave. A large number of people began to leave north. The sandstorm that could be seen from afar was enough to prove that there were large troops here. When Bai Chongxi and the others arrived, they found that the British army had even discarded heavy weapons such as machine guns, and were obviously preparing to escape at full speed.

There were also many horses in the British army. Judging from the size of the dust head, it might even make all the cavalry. The previous scouts seemed to have forgotten to mention this point. Based on the battle situation last night, it was obvious that this cavalry should be the mobile unit responsible for the response, and a small number of infantry may be the infantry who was responsible for harassment last night.

Bai Chongxi looked at his watch. Nearly half an hour had passed. The current situation was to race against time. The British cavalry regiment and an infantryman in a reinforced company were retreating at full speed. Calculated the time, the Galibai camp should have just received the news at this moment that the two cavalry brigades had begun to assemble. According to the speed of advancement and retreat between the two sides, if his troops did not harass him, it was very likely that the British army would have evacuated safely when the cavalry arrived.

Time no longer allowed him to wait, so he looked at the tail of the British army about five hundred meters away in front and hesitated to lift his pistol.

"Sir, you--" the soldier next to him looked at him in surprise. The effective range of the pistol was at such a long distance, and there was almost no room for any effect.

"Pick up the gun! Listen to my order!" Bai Chongxi turned his head and ordered: "Save them for me!"

"It's too dangerous, sir!" said the soldier stubbornly: "They have cavalry, we'll be done with just one charge!"

Bai Chongxi sighed sadly. Could it be that he just watched these British people run away? They were mainly cavalrymen and soon they could not catch up with them. It was even possible that their cavalry arrived and fell into some traps of the other side’s subordinates!
Chapter completed!