Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1531 Epilogue (2)

In the blink of an eye, 8 months have passed!

During these eight months, the war situation in China had undergone a fundamental reversal. Due to the Battle of Hengyang, the Japanese army not only failed to realize their desire to open up the mainland transportation line, but even failed to keep Tanzhou which they had already captured.

Under the leadership of Commander Xue, the 9th War Zone, with the momentum of victory in the Battle of Hengyang, assembled 5 army groups and 4 infantry armies totaling about 26 troops, and counterattacked Tanzhou in early December. Although the Japanese 12th Army, which had lost most of its combat power, had two divisions from the Japanese North China Front Army as a supplement, it had less than 11 combat troops. In addition, it had completely lost air superiority, and finally had no choice but to abandon Tanzhou and retreat.

Most of Hunan Province has returned to Chinese control!

In February 1945, although it was freezing cold in northern China, under the careful planning of the Second War Zone Command, the Fourth and Fifth Armies located on the Zhongtiao Mountain defense line, totaling about 2 people, with the cooperation of the five infantry regiments of the 10th Army, marched from southern Shanxi to central Shanxi, broke through three defense lines of the Japanese North China Front Army, recovered 5 county towns, and headed straight for Yuancheng.

The 683rd Brigade, the main infantry brigade of the 5th Army located in Hebei Province, and the Southern Hebei Security Brigade once again showed their sharp fangs, gathering more than troops, launching an offensive from southern Hebei, and successively conquering Handan and Xingtai, the two most core cities in southern Hebei.

The 4th Division of the Japanese North China Front Army stationed in southern Hebei was almost defeated at the first blow. In just three days, southern Hebei was completely lost. The entire southern Hebei was completely controlled by China and completely connected with the Taihang Mountains.

However, Lieutenant General Okuma Konosuke, who had just been promoted to commander of the 4th Division, miraculously did not receive any criticism despite suffering such a great defeat.

Although this was partly due to the fact that this man was a smart man, had close contacts with many senior officials of the front army headquarters and enjoyed great support from the North China Front Army headquarters, the most important reason might be that the Japanese North China Front Army also believed that this was not a crime of war!

As early as December 1944, with the return of the Four-Line Regiment, the 12th Army, which occupied a large base in Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces, no longer concealed its strength and flexed its muscles from time to time.

It was not until then that the Japanese North China Front Army discovered with horror that the "Tuba" that they had always looked down upon had actually developed into such a behemoth in just a few years.

It was a military group with hundreds of thousands of troops. Moreover, they were an army equipped with 150-caliber heavy artillery, direct-fire guns with extremely strong barrier-breaking capabilities, and a large number of mortars of various calibers. It was definitely not the country bumpkin army equipped with only rifles and machine guns as they imagined.

After several years of humble development, the Taihang Military Factory finally ushered in its most glorious moment in this era.

Although it was impossible to disclose its production capacity at that time due to confidentiality, the declassified archives 15 years later clearly recorded that before 1945, the Taihang Military Factory already had 4800 employees.

  产能方面，各型子弹月产180万发；各式枪械10000杆；60迫600门，炮弹3万发；120口径迫击炮200门，炮弹1万发；75口径山炮30门，炮弹6000发；地雷、手榴弹、炸药包等爆炸物超过5万.

Powerful military manufacturing has given the 80th Army the greatest confidence. Now they choose to flex their muscles before this giant Japanese ship is about to sink. I am afraid it is not so much for the trembling Japanese to see, but for some other people to see.

After all, even the five-star general of the United States, the commander-in-chief of the Far East, couldn't help but open his eyes wide after seeing the strength displayed by the Chinese allies from another part of North China as shown in the newspaper.

"Damn it!" someone cursed loudly in his small living room.

"Baga!" The new commander of the Japanese North China Front Army, Sadaya Shimomura, had cold sweat on his forehead.

Not counting the more than 20 people on the other side of Zhongtiao Mountain and Taihang Mountain, the th Army Group of the Imperial Army stationed around the city alone can overwhelm them with their huge force.

Abandoning southern and eastern Shanxi and withdrawing troops to defend Yuancheng was the strategic deployment made by the Japanese North China Front Command in response to China's actions in Shanxi Province. It was also the bottom line of the Japanese North China Front. If China continued to make further advances, the 13th Division and four mixed brigades stationed in Yuancheng would fight to the death with 4 Japanese troops.

However, in Hebei Province, facing the fierce attack launched by the 4th Army and the South Hebei Guard Brigade, the Japanese North China Front Army could only watch helplessly as the th Division quickly retreated.

Although the Japanese troops stationed in eastern and northern Hebei continued to receive requests for help from friendly forces in southern Hebei, they did not dare to step out of the city gate.

There was no need for reconnaissance. Even a fool would know that the main force of the 80th Army might be waiting for them on the side of the road, and then eat them all up one by one without even spitting out a bone.

The idea that an infantry battalion could fight against a Chinese infantry division has long been a thing of the past. After the Battle of Zishan, the Japanese North China Front Army had a clear comparison of the strength of the two armies.

Putting aside the top-notch ace infantry regiments like the 4th Regiment, even if we talk about the main infantry brigade in the 80th Army, they would have to use at least a division-level force of equivalent strength to fight against it. If they fought against its three main infantry divisions, it would be a field army-level battle.

Even if it is the kind of inferior local armed forces, because the other side is equipped with a sufficient number of light machine guns and rifles starting from the Type 38 rifle, at least one infantry squadron must be dispatched.

To put it bluntly, in the countless encounters over the past few years, the Japanese army did not dare to step out of the city gate unless they deployed an infantry battalion plus a security battalion for support.

The nearby Japanese troops did not dare to provide support, and the entire Japanese divisions hundreds of miles away were still lining up to set off. The 4th Division was defeated, running 300 miles in three days and completely losing southern Hebei.

The Chinese side did not intend to pursue the remaining enemies and kill them all. The regular army quickly entered the city, comforted the citizens, and liquidated the surrendered elements in the city. It was no longer like before, when even after conquering the county town, they would only move all the Japanese supplies and leave. It was obvious that they were going to stay there permanently.

It doesn't matter what that person is thinking. What matters is that the 80th Army has shown its muscles to the people of China. After lying dormant for several years, they can now single-handedly conquer the North China Plain and save the people in the enemy-occupied areas from danger.

The US ambassador to China sent a congratulatory message to the top leaders of the 80th Army Group for the recovery of southern Hebei, congratulating them on their outstanding contributions to the war to eliminate fascism.

This is a true congratulation, but also a warning to some people.

As the Allied forces landed in Normandy, the Russian Bear Country invaded the border of the German Empire from the east. The German Empire was already on the decline and was not far from defeat. Now the main opponent of the Allied forces was only Japan. In order to end the war as soon as possible and reduce losses, the US top leaders would not care about someone's anger. The enemy of my enemy is my ally. Over the years, the 80th Army has also received a lot of arms support from the Americans.

That person is naturally a smart man. He knows that the 80th Army dared to flex its muscles at this critical juncture, which naturally grasped the minds of the US top leaders. Those blue eyes would not consider the future of the Chinese people, but only themselves.

The deliberately exposed biceps of the 80th Army Group have quietly changed the minds of the Russians, who have been vigorously supporting China to relieve their own pressure in the north.

The Japanese Army Headquarters was greatly shocked, but at this time they could no longer take care of the Chinese war zone. The Allied forces had already occupied Guam and were about to launch the Battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945, with their troops heading directly for Okinawa Island, which was closest to the Japanese mainland.

The Japanese may not know that the extremely bloody Battle of Iwo Jima would eventually make the US top leaders determined to use the Fat Man bomb to eliminate Japan's will to resist.

Tragically, Japan will become the first nation on the planet to enjoy the fat bomb!

However, during this operation of the Guard Brigade, the Independent Regiment, which is its top trump card, remained silent.

The independent regiment, which was reorganized from the Four-Line Regiment, did not rush to expand its organization during the months of rest and recuperation after returning to Dakouzidong Town. Instead, it trained new recruits in battalion and company units and had no intention of fighting any external battles.

Perhaps only the senior officials of the South Hebei Guard Brigade knew that the independent regiment could transform into a powerful army with more than 9000 people at any time.

Because, the new recruits who were being trained were 1943 people selected from tens of thousands of young people who volunteered to join the army in the bases of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and other provinces in 5000. They had been trained for more than a year, and most of them had even participated in small battles. It was more like training than training, and they were to quickly integrate with the independent regiment in these few months. Tang Dao's injury improved a lot after returning to Dakouzidong Town for a month, and he was able to move freely, but perhaps because of the head injury, he was still recovering.

Tang Dao even resigned from his military post as the head of the independent regiment and was replaced by Leng Feng. Even the director of the South Hebei Administrative Office was still held by Wang Gongyu, who had already resigned and been transferred back to the mountain city. He stayed in Dakouzidong Town every day. When he was free, he either went to drink with old comrades, or ran around the mountains with Hammer and Guaiguai, carrying his eldest son Tang Shanhe on his back. He seldom participated in military and political affairs.

This is actually what some people want to see. Now that the 80th Army has grown stronger, if Tang Dao appears on the battlefield with his independent regiment in full force, it may be like the last straw that breaks the camel's back, causing someone to have a stress reaction, which is not what Tang Dao wants to see.

Tang Dao completely relaxed himself during these few months. He knew very well that the war was only half a year away, and the Independent Regiment could use this time to train veterans and new recruits and adapt them to various new equipment.

  The infantry equipment is still basically the same: assault rifles imitating the 12.7mm submachine gun, squad machine guns using the "lawn mower", company-level heavy machine guns using 60mm heavy machine guns, anti-armor weapons mainly using anti-tank rifles, and squad mortars are still mm;

But the artillery has been updated, and the black and clumsy 150-caliber mortar has been completely abandoned, and replaced with an imitation of the Type 64 120mm mortar.

The range of this mortar is almost as good as that of a 75mm mountain artillery, with an effective range of more than 5000 meters, which can generally meet actual combat needs. The shells are very suitable for killing personnel. For standing unprotected enemy troops, the killing radius of a 120mm shell is as high as 35 meters. The artillery has a maximum firing rate of 15 rounds per minute, which can effectively form fire coverage, conduct tactical bombardments, and carry out covering strikes on group targets.

At the same time, the gun has a certain ability to attack tough targets, because the shell contains more than 1 kilogram of explosives, which can effectively destroy the enemy's field fortifications.

In addition, the weight of the entire gun was reduced to 174 kilograms. After being disassembled into three parts, each part weighs less than 60 kilograms on average, greatly reducing the burden on the artillery.

Considering that the artillery battalions are now basically all powered by mules and horses, an artillery squad of 15 people can carry 90 artillery shells independently. A heavy mortar company of 12 artillery squads can independently complete two rounds of fire coverage on the enemy without any logistics. This efficiency is at least twice that of the previous 150 mortars.

The mountain artillery company was also completely eliminated and replaced by two "Storm" rocket artillery companies, each equipped with 9 rocket launchers with 9 rounds of continuous fire.

The nine rocket launchers have proven their ferocious firepower in actual combat during the Battle of Hengyang. If two rocket launcher companies with 9 rocket launchers concentrated their fire, without the protection of complete fortifications, almost no infantry would survive.

All people could only see that the Four-Line Beast, the ferocious beast that the Japanese feared, retreated into its nest to lick its wounds after the battle, but they did not know that this beast, which had returned from its recovery, would become even more terrifying.

  For many years to come, he deeply regretted letting the Sihang Regiment return to North China, which led to the Taihang Independent Detachment that appeared on the battlefield one year after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan and was invincible. Even the famous 74th Division was terrified at the mention of it!

Of course, the most unlucky person was not that person. When two battalions of the 8th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division of the United States were wiped out in the Battle of the Ice Field, the major general of the 1st Cavalry Division who had once served as Patton's chief of staff realized who their opponent was.

It was an infantry division formed based on the 3rd Regiment of the Taihang Independent Detachment and the 3rd Battalion of the former Sihang Regiment. When it first arrived at Yunshan, it directly broke the wrist of the st Cavalry Division, the leader of the five ace divisions of the US Army.

When Li Jiujin, the supreme commander of the battle, heard the name of his opponent on the battlefield, he said: "He is the ace, and I am the king of kings, the ace that can defeat that damn ace!"

In this battle, the two sides fought one division against another. China's most powerful light infantry division used its mountain advantage to fight against the US heavy armored division. At the cost of 1500 casualties, it annihilated 2300 enemies, directly silencing the US five-star general.

The Chinese not only appeared on the ice field, but also arrived as an ace force.

In the past, the Japanese were constantly injured in front of the Chinese ace troops, and he thought it was the Japanese's fault. Now he realizes that it was not because the Japanese were so weak, but because the ace troops were too strong.

But there are more than just this ace troops that responded to the call to defend the country and went to the ice field. The Chinese army, which has fought its way out of the war for 20 years, may not rank first in the world in terms of equipment, but in terms of combat experience, it can really be ranked in the top three. The so-called ace troops are too numerous to count with both hands and feet.

  Midsummer in August!

On a summer night, the sky is full of stars, Tang Dao looks up at the sky with a smile on his face!

"Dad, what are you laughing at?" Tang Shanhe gently shook his father's fingers.

"Shanhe, because I saw your uncles, aunts and uncles who died on the battlefield smiling at me." Tang Dao bent down and picked up Tang Shanhe, pointing at the twinkling stars in the sky.

"You have to promise me that no matter how old you are, no matter how far you go, you will never forget the uncles and aunts who died in this war!"

"Tang Shanhe promises to my parents in the name of the Tang family's ancestors that when I grow up, get married and have sons, I will bring them here to report to them." Tang Shanhe raised his hand formally in his father's arms and made the promise.

"Okay!" Tang Dao kissed his son's little face hard.

"By the way, Dad, I seemed to hear Aunt Erya say yesterday that Aunt Laura is coming here. My younger brothers and sisters in kindergarten haven't eaten the chocolates that Aunt Laura often sends me. Can you ask Aunt Laura to bring more?" Tang Shanhe was a little embarrassed to see his father so happy and made his request.

Tang Dao's face stiffened slightly, and his eyes glanced at Tan Tai Ming Yue, who was sitting aside to rest and was pregnant with a big belly.

In the corner of his eye, he saw his wife with a half-smile on her face.

"Didn't Laura come here specifically to bring the old man and mother here? She heard that you were pregnant again, and mother said she must come to take care of you, otherwise she would feel guilty. You know, without Laura's help, Shanhe's grandparents would not be able to leave Sichuan Province." Tang Datuanzu, who was backstabbed by his beloved son, hurriedly explained.

Who made him be injured for more than half a year? Since he chose to stay at home, he was idle anyway. With the joint efforts of the couple, he finally had another baby. The baby is due in a month.

This time it must be a girl. Mr. Tang has even given her a name, Tang Jibei.

"I didn't say anything, why are you so excited? Just continue to stay here and look at the stars and the moon!" Tan Tai Ming Yue rolled her eyes at her husband who felt inexplicably guilty, stretched out her hand and stood up with the help of the Tang sword.

She smiled at Tang Shanhe who was still thinking about the delicious chocolate and said, "Shanhe, Mom is tired and is going home. Your grandparents will be here in a few days. They must have brought you lots of food."

"Hmm!" Tang Shanhe's mouth saliva flowed involuntarily from the corners.

It was not until he was quite far away that he remembered that his father had not caught up yet, so he quickly turned around and shouted, "Dad, come and help mom and sister!"

"Hey, here it comes, here it comes! Wife, be careful, be careful!" Tang Dao ran very fast, carefully holding his wife's arm.

  Hammer and Guaiguai, who were following behind, immediately wagged their tails!

I don't know if this is what the boss meant, but it looks very similar. Let's help him wag his tail and give him some cheers!

  End!

PS: The book is finally finished. I wrote for a long time today and was a little reluctant to put it down, but I finally typed out the three words "The End".

There are many parts in this book that Fengyue thinks are very well written, but there are also many regrets. Perhaps the story is like life, not so perfect. Thank you for all the support from book friends over the past three and a half years. Without your genuine subscriptions and rewards, Fengyue would not be able to complete this story of nearly 600 million words. Fengyue will strive to do better in the next book and correct some problems that everyone has criticized.

In short, it’s time to say goodbye to this book. In the next 10 days, Fengyue will update a few chapters and write some short stories about the characters in the book.

The new book is expected to start writing after the National Day. It is basically confirmed to be about military wars. It will include some famous military scenes such as the Anti-Japanese War and the Ice War. As for how to write it, I will keep it a secret. This can be regarded as another breakthrough of Fengyue in the military field. Under ideal conditions, it will be launched on Qidian Chinese website in mid-to-late November. I hope book lovers will like and support it!