The War of Resistance: My Expedition, My Country

Chapter 189: The Aftermath of the Battle of Salisk

Yang Hong was unable to introduce Peng's background to MacArthur, as MacArthur was a well-known FG member. If he knew Peng's background, this guy might use his connections to encourage the United States to make some restrictive clauses.

Yang Hong smiled and said, "General MacArthur, just like you can be my leader. The Third Expeditionary Army is fighting in the Soviet Union, so we need people who are acceptable to both sides. At least, this General Peng is a wise leader, just like you. We are in the Pacific, and they are in the Soviet Union, fighting against the common enemy of mankind - fascism!"

MacArthur's adjutant, who already had information on Peng, whispered something in MacArthur's ear. MacArthur nodded, looked at Yang Hong with a strange gaze, and scratched his head with his right hand. Yang Hong knew that MacArthur had a bad habit: he was very confident and always doubted the abilities of others and everything. Even the Pacific Theater's Commander-in-Chief, Chester William Nimitz, sometimes complained that MacArthur was a stubborn donkey.

The conversation between the two suddenly fell silent. The American and Australian military generals present clearly felt that there was a misunderstanding between MacArthur and Yang Hong on some point. Everyone stopped their respective topics and paid vague attention to the changes in the two.

As commander of the Western Pacific, MacArthur clearly didn't want to be embarrassed in front of his subordinates. Furthermore, Young and his First Army had become the absolute backbone of MacArthur's command. He highly recognized Young's abilities and showed great concern for him and several of his generals. He didn't want to create a rift between him and his subordinates because of his own opinions.

MacArthur smiled to himself and took the initiative to break the deadlock. He said to Yang and the others, "I know this Peng should have been R. I believe that the reform of the state system completed by the two parties of the Flower Party will contribute to the stability of the Far East. Our only enemy now is fascism."

MacArthur took the initiative to stand up, raised his glass, and said to everyone: "Children, come, let us celebrate the achievements of the Chinese Expeditionary Force. Oh, and pay tribute to General Peng and General Huang!"

When MacArthur mentioned General Peng, he felt a faint pang in his heart, as if the two had a lot in common. Yang Hong also took the initiative to clink glasses with MacArthur and offered some compliments. Yang Hong thought to himself, "Peng was your Waterloo in another time and space. It's best if we don't meet in this time and space."

The gathering of high-ranking officials from the Western Pacific Theater ended abruptly. After MacArthur and his group left, he received detailed intelligence on the senior officers of the Third Expeditionary Force from his aide-de-camp. His expression darkened as he examined it. "These Chinese are growing too fast. I wonder what Washington is thinking. After we defeat Japan, I'm afraid we'll have to face a new enemy!"

MacArthur would never tolerate the presence of new people. He whispered to his adjutant, "Powers, remember, the next step should be carried out by our own people, especially the battle against FLB. Yang and his Chinese army must not be involved!"

Similarly, after Yang Hong, Cai Yong, and other senior commanders of the First Army returned to their base, Yang immediately convened a small meeting with several key personnel. Yang stated that the First Army might face a period of near-misses, but this presented an opportunity. He ordered each unit to mobilize elite troops to form assault teams. He sought to leverage his strong relationships with the US Navy to secure their assistance in deploying these teams to the YDNXY Islands. Yang planned to establish these teams as resistance guerrillas within the islands, particularly recruiting a large number of ethnic Chinese and overseas Chinese to prepare for the future.

The Battle of Salsk was only part of this series of battles. Peng and Huang destroyed the main force of the German 1st Tank Army here. In the direction of Rostov, the German army quickly gathered the 4th Panzer Army, commanded by General Hermann Hoth, and decided to fight another decisive battle with the Chinese and Soviet armies here.

The German General Staff was clearly aware of the Chinese and Soviet forces' intentions to operate on the southern front, but they were unable to convince the Führer. Consequently, they split the main forces of Army Group South into two, converging them at Stalingrad. This complex encirclement, counter-encirclement, and counter-encirclement of the 6th and 8th Armies, as well as the 11th, 17th, and parts of the 1st Tank Army, were involved. On the Rostov front, the main force consisted of four corps of the 4th Panzer Army. Their orders were to defend Rostov and prevent the Chinese and Soviet forces from breaking through. If Rostov fell, the Chinese and Soviet forces could advance westward onto the Ukrainian plains. To the north, they could attack Milerovo, circumventing the eastern flank of the Stalingrad front and encircling the main forces of Army Group South in that area.

At this moment, due to the capture of Salsk, the German army's southern artery has been cut off, and now it mainly relies on the railway lines to the north and west. If Rostov is lost and the enemy attacks Milerovo in a roundabout way, the German heavy troops in this area will be in a very embarrassing situation.

Marshal von Bock rushed back from Wolfsburg overnight and held an in-depth discussion with Friedrich Paulus. Both agreed that it was unrealistic to annihilate the main Chinese and Soviet forces at Stalingrad. Paulus even suggested that the Chinese forces at Stalingrad were probably just a detachment, with the real main force at Rostov. He suggested that the German army should quickly break through Kotelnikovo, rapidly advance south along the railway line, recapture Salsk by force, cut off the Chinese and Soviet forces' retreat from Rostov, and engage in a decisive battle with the main Chinese and Soviet forces in this area.

Marshal Paulus agreed with the German General Staff, but doing so would directly weaken the forces on the Stalingrad front, forcing the Führer's plan to annihilate the Central and Soviet forces there to be abandoned. A victory would be easy, but a stalemate, resulting in the loss of Army Group South, was a situation Marshal von Bock well understood.

The two men eventually reached a compromise plan: the main force of the 6th Army would advance southward to seize Kotelnikovo as soon as possible. This would give the Germans the initiative, allowing them to attack the Central and Soviet forces attacking Rostov to the south, or to penetrate eastward and join forces with the 11th and 17th Armies to encircle the Central and Soviet forces on the Stalingrad front. Army Group South could adjust its position according to the situation.

Von Bock immediately ordered the 4th Panzer Corps of the German 40th Army in the Volgodonsk direction to defeat the current enemy by December 12 and attack Kotelnikovo from the west. The German army had already understood clearly that the Soviet infantry army was feinting at Volgodonsk. The powerful armored cluster of the 31th Panzer Corps was fully capable of defeating the current enemy and launching an attack on Kotelnikovo!