Zhili Province, Hejian Prefecture, Beiyang Army Northern Front Headquarters.
Li Jingyuan had already issued an order, promoting General Wang Shizhen, the commander of the Northern Front, to Lieutenant General of the Army, and fully responsible for the command of the Northern Front operations.
However, because this time the enemy included the Japanese, a formidable foe.
Therefore, Li Jingyuan also personally traveled from Jinan to Hejian.
Even though he was not a professional, he would not interfere with the army's command.
But his presence on the front lines as the Commander-in-Chief of the Beiyang Army was undoubtedly a great encouragement to all the Beiyang Army units.
While Beiyang Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Xu Shichang remained in Jinan, responsible for logistics and the dispatching of reinforcements.
“Commander, we have already assembled the 1st Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, 5th Infantry Division, 13th Infantry Division, 14th Infantry Division, 15th Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Division, 17th Infantry Division, and the 18th Infantry Division on the Northern Front. A total of ten infantry divisions, one hundred and eighty-five thousand men.
However, we are not at an advantage in terms of manpower.
The Japanese alone, with their six infantry divisions, have a total force exceeding one hundred and sixty thousand men.
Adding to that the Qing's Eight Banners New Army, and fifteen town garrisons, with close to two hundred thousand men.
Even without counting the rest of the Green Standard Army and militia, our forces are only half the enemy's strength!”
Lieutenant General Wang Shizhen looked solemn.
Li Jingyuan nodded: “The 3rd Infantry Division is heading north. The rest, the 19th Infantry Division, the 20th Infantry Division, the 21st Infantry Division, the 22nd Infantry Division, the 23rd Infantry Division, and the 24th Infantry Division, can reinforce the Northern Front at any time.
In addition, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 6th Infantry Division, the 8th Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division, and the 10th Infantry Division, can all head north to participate in the fighting if necessary.
If all our main combat forces participate in the fighting, our manpower will not be less than the Japanese and the Qing.
Furthermore, the four 11th Infantry Division and the 12th Infantry Division stationed on the Liaodong Peninsula can also be deployed in the battle.
Once we defeat the Qing army and the Japanese in Zhili, and eliminate their main forces.
Then, the 11th Infantry Division and the 12th Infantry Division can set out from the Liaodong Peninsula and go straight to Shengjing, cutting off the Qing's retreat to the Northeast.
I have ordered the newly formed 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade to come to your aid. It will arrive on the battlefield soon.”
The 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade, with six artillery battalions in the whole brigade, plus the logistics battalion, and other brigade-level units, totaled over nine thousand men.
Each heavy artillery battalion is equipped with 24 155mm heavy howitzers.
The entire 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade is equipped with over 144 155mm heavy howitzers.
In this era, 155mm heavy howitzers on the land battlefield are already considered very powerful field artillery.
“Yes, Commander.” Lieutenant General Wang Shizhen replied.
“According to the information we have received, the Japanese are very active along the Tianjin line. They have sent out a large number of reconnaissance units to gather information. I judge that the Japanese may launch an attack here. I have ordered the 7th Infantry Division, the 13th Infantry Division, and the 5th Infantry Division stationed in Qingxian, Dacheng, and Wen'an to strengthen their vigilance.
Here in Hejian, the 1st Infantry Division, the 14th Infantry Division, and the 15th Infantry Division are also prepared.
Once the Japanese launch an attack from Tianjin, we will immediately reinforce them!”
Lieutenant General Wang Shizhen said.
“Our troops, whether main combat forces or newly formed forces, may be inferior to the Japanese in terms of individual soldier qualities, such as physical fitness and marksmanship. The gap may even be significant. However, in terms of firepower, both in machine gun and artillery firepower, we are far superior to the Japanese.
In battle, we must take full advantage of our strengths and inflict greater damage on the Japanese.
In this way, in the upcoming battles, it is not impossible for us to defeat the Japanese.
We can even defeat the Japanese with relatively small losses!”
Li Jingyuan said.
The Beiyang Army was equipped with a large number of Maxim heavy machine guns, as well as mortars that were mass-produced by the armory at Li Jingyuan's suggestion, and 75mm field guns and 105mm light howitzers imported from the German Empire, and even 155mm heavy howitzers.
In comparison, the Japanese have a very strong fighting will, they even fight with a disregard for death.
In addition, the Japanese are very accurate with their rifles and have excellent physical stamina.
But in this era, there are very few machine guns in the Japanese army, and the number of Maxim heavy machine guns is extremely small. An infantry battalion of over a thousand men has only two Maxim heavy machine guns.
As for artillery, they mainly use copies of the Caesar Kingdom's 70mm bronze mountain guns and 70mm bronze field guns.
The former has a maximum range of 3000 meters, while the latter has a maximum range of 5000 meters.
The only advantage, perhaps, is that they are lighter and easier to maneuver.
After all, the former, with its carriage, weighs less than three hundred kilograms. While the latter weighs less than eight hundred kilograms.
These cannons are much lighter than the Beiyang Army's heavier artillery.
Heavier artillery usually means longer range and greater power.
This will give the Beiyang Army a huge advantage in firepower.