Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

Chapter 164 The second stage of the Hundred Regiment War!

 September 14, Wuxiang County.

Since Yoshio Shinozuka suffered a big loss in the first stage of the Hundred Regiment War, in order to prevent similar things from happening again, the old devil began to assemble the troops of the First Army to prepare for a counterattack.

Considering the security issues of the headquarters, the deputy commander-in-chief ordered the station to be moved to the depths of the southeastern Shanxi base area.

While the comrades of the three main forces are still celebrating the victory in the previous stage, the staff at the headquarters are already considering how to deploy to pursue victory in the next stage.

 In fact, the deputy commander-in-chief did not want to attack again so early. Firstly, the troops had not yet rested and recuperated, and secondly, the new weapons had not yet been fully installed in the troops.

What's more, Huang He specially sent a greeting some time ago, explaining that there will be a batch of artillery equipment after the 28th.

However, Tada Shun and Shinozuka Yoshio are not fools. After suffering the loss of dispersed troops, the North China Front has begun to integrate existing resources.

If time continues to drag on, the enemy's lost troops in the first stage will have to be replaced, and there is a high probability that there will be no chance to expand the results.

 These days, the deputy commander-in-chief and deputy general staff officer have hardly had a good rest. Together they have repeatedly analyzed the current situation and distribution of the enemy and ourselves.

Based on the dynamics of the Japs in Jin and Hebei provinces, the two of them believe that the current local forces should continue to monitor the enemy's actions and continue to carry out small-scale road destruction when conditions permit.

  It is not necessary to focus on the railways, as long as it is the enemy's transportation network, you can attack it.

 The main forces of the three military regions must familiarize themselves with new weapons while resting, and carefully sum up experience and lessons. Strive to improve the deficiencies in the first stage and prepare for the second stage of battle.

In the battle conference room of the headquarters, the military map still hung under the wooden plaque that wiped out the Japanese aggressors and returned our mountains and rivers, but the original map around the Zhengtai Line was replaced by the topographic map of Jin and Hebei provinces.

The deputy commander stood in front of the map with his hands behind his back. He stared at the enemy-occupied area and fell into deep thought. No one could guess what the man in front of him was planning.

"Our first phase of the attack plan was successful, and the mission of Zhengtai Road was basically completed. Next, we need to broaden our horizons and launch battles on both sides based on the railway."

“The focus of the operation should be on the enemy strongholds that go deep into the base area. Since Yoshio Shinozuka dares to send troops deep into our hinterland, let’s not be polite!”

“Let the three main forces reduce the enemy-occupied area as much as possible! Further expand the results.”

As soon as these words came out, all the staff officers in the combat conference room nodded in agreement.

 The previous battle was very successful. Not only did the whole country call to congratulate, but even the rear area asked whether such a battle could be organized once or twice.

Everyone brainstormed and expressed their opinions, and soon a prototype of the second phase of combat opportunities was formed.

 The deputy general staff officer walked to the military map. He pointed at the eye-catching enemy logos and said:

"These strongholds inserted by the enemy into our anti-Japanese base areas are like wedges and pose a great threat to the base areas. We should resolutely remove them!"

 The deputy commander-in-chief showed a very satisfied smile when he saw the targets chosen by the opponent.

The tacit understanding between the two of them, who have been partners for many years, can be seen at a glance. Their eyes are unanimously focused on Yushe and Liao County in the Taihang region.

Although in the first stage, the 386th Brigade destroyed many enemy strongholds on the Shota Line, Tada Shun's cage policy was not so easy to break.

The entire southeastern Shanxi base area is still not completely connected, and the north and south sides are cut off by Yushe and Liao County occupied by the Japanese.

And these two counties also threaten the security of the headquarters to some extent.

Yushe is more than 40 kilometers due north of Wuxiang County, and Liao County is more than 50 kilometers northeast of the headquarters. From the military map, the three points perfectly form a triangle.

 At present, Shinozuka Yoshio does not have enough available troops, and the First Army has not yet carried out a sweep in this direction. But once the Japanese take their breath and launch a new round of revenge, it will definitely have an impact on the headquarters.

And the geographical location of these two counties is very important to both the enemy and ourselves.

Starting from Liao County, follow the highway all the way north, passing through Heshun and Pingding, you can go directly to Yangquan, an important town in Jin Province.

Yushe in the west is located in the middle of the Baijin Railway that runs through southeastern Shanxi. The Japs from here can threaten Jincheng when going south, and the Japs from Taiyuan can also directly go south to support.

 Cooperating with railways and highways, the Japanese used these two counties to divide the base area in southeastern Shanxi into three parts. It was really a thorn in the side of the deputy commander-in-chief.

If you can eradicate the two large enemy strongholds in Yushe and Liao County, it will simply be a matter of one fell swoop and the entire army will recover.

After the Japanese lose these two important strategic transportation fulcrums, the cage policy in this area will be completely shattered. At that time, Yoshio Shinozuka and Jun Tada will have to consider how to protect the First Army.

 After allocating the action plan of the 129th Division, everyone in the combat conference room began to study the situation of other military regions.

The problems faced by the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area are similar to those in southeastern Shanxi. Even after taking into account the enemy's strength, the living conditions of the comrades there are even worse.

 The deputy commander kept twisting his belt and finally decided on the target of the attack.

“This old devil, Tada Shun, is really changing the soup without changing the medicine! In other words, our motherland is vast, otherwise he would have tried his best to find four counties with such similar geographical locations.”

“Come and see, this is really a serious problem for our Eighth Route Army!”

  The situation is similar because Laiyuan is located in the west of central Hebei Province and adjacent to Shanxi Province, while Lingqiu is located in the northeast of Jin Province and adjacent to Hebei Province.

These two counties are connected by a Lailing Highway, which is right in the middle of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. Isn't this situation the same as in southeastern Shanxi?

Moreover, the headquarters of the Japanese North China Front Army is in Bei P, and the headquarters of the Mongolian Army is in Zhangjiakou.

 Once Xiaori uses these two counties as a springboard to attack the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area at any cost, the comrades will most likely not be able to hold it.

On the other hand, the Japanese can sit back and relax. After all, the Lailing Highway is only 50 kilometers long. The relatively flat roads made it easy for the Japanese motorized troops or cavalry to support each other.

The enemy has always regarded these two counties as important towns and important strategic nodes for dividing and destroying the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area.

Comrades in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region did not sit still and wait for death.

Last autumn, "Guerrilla Warfare Master" Norihide Abe led the Second Independent Mixed Brigade to launch a large-scale attack on Laiyuan, but he was attacked head-on by Commander Yang of the 1st Division.

 In the end, this flower of the locust army died on the Loess Ridge.

 The Japs knew that this important position was naturally unwilling to give up.

The North China Front Army quickly reorganized the Second Independent Mixed Brigade, cooperated with the 26th Division to completely occupy Laiyuan and Lingqiu, and established multiple strongholds nearby. After the first stage of the Hundred Regiment War, a lot of manpower was lost due to the Japanese. As long as you are optimistic about the mobile troops stationed in Mongolia, you have a great chance of pulling out these two nails!

　　——————

 September 15th, the new second regiment was stationed.

Our commander Li Da has just returned from the division headquarters. As soon as he entered his room, Zhao Gang and three battalion commanders walked in behind him.

As a basic regiment, the New Second Regiment’s presence in the first stage of the Hundred Regiment War was simply incredible.

 Not only did they complete the task of paving the way, but they also supported the main 772 regiment in completing the attack mission. They even made a long-distance attack to assist the 385th Brigade in breaking through Yangquan County.

What's more, Zhuzi also killed Shotarō Katayama with one shot during the operation. Even the brigade commander and division commander couldn't help but praise the new second regiment for such an achievement.

 It is difficult to change from luxury to frugality. After everyone has done so many great things, their mentality has changed somewhat.

Although it is also important to destroy the Japs' transportation network, everyone hopes that this time they can follow some powerful people from the brigade to fight the Japs with real swords and guns.

This is not blind confidence, but the confidence brought to them by the soaring strength of the New Second Regiment.

Facing the burning gazes of the four people, Lao Li picked up the big bowl and took a sip of water. Seeing the other party's showy appearance, Zhao Gang was angered by Li Yunlong's pretentiousness!

“Drink, drink, drink! You know how to drink! Are you a buffalo? Tell me quickly! How are the combat tasks assigned this time!”

The majesty of his political commissar made Commander Li shrink back. He put down the big bowl in his hand and hurriedly told everything that the division headquarters had told him.

“Our division’s goal this time is to recapture Yushe and Liao County, and to launch a major operation in the Liaoyu area! In addition, we are also destroying the northern section of Baijin Road.”

“This time our brigade commander is responsible for commanding the main force of the brigade and the two regiments of the decisive column. The attack targets are Yushe County and several strongholds on the Yuliao line.”

 After hearing the tasks of the division headquarters and brigade headquarters, everyone in the room was very excited. After all, after waiting for more than half a month, I finally received the order from my superiors.

 Compared with the first phase, the overall combat scope of this operation is smaller and the targets are fewer. Zhang Dabiao, who was outspoken and heartfelt, was afraid that there would be no fight, so he blurted out:

“Commander! What is the mission of our new second regiment? The division commander and brigade commander have been praising us for a long time, so they can’t give us the work of the local army again, can they?”

 After hearing this question, Li Yunlong originally wanted to answer it directly. But he had been teased by Huang He a lot recently, so he had an idea to do something fancy.

Lao Li pretended to be aggrieved, just like a little daughter-in-law, and hesitantly said to the four people in the room:

“The division commander said that although our new second regiment’s combat effectiveness is good, its strength is too small. After participating in the first phase, the actual combat experience is enough.”

“In order to preserve our strength, it’s not our group’s responsibility to attack Yushe County?”

As soon as these words came out, the political commissar and battalion commanders showed surprised expressions.

As the only regiment-level unit of the 386th Brigade with siege experience, the four of them never expected that the candidates for the main attack this time would not include the New Second Regiment.

 Zhang Dabiao asked tentatively: "Did the brigade commander ask us to be the reserve team?"

If you don't get the main attack mission, the reserve team is actually not bad.

 As far as the first phase of the operation is concerned, basically all the reserve forces went to the front line. After all, the Hundred Regiments War was an unprecedented battle, and unexpected enemies appeared in many places.

 In the expectant gazes of the four people, Captain Li still shook his head and denied his battalion commander's speculation.

This coquettish look made Zhao Gang get angry and angry. He frowned and abandoned the elegance of a scholar, and slapped the table heavily.

“Li Yunlong, what’s the matter with you! You’ve been training this and yelling at others in the regiment all day long, and you’ve only gotten into trouble after a long time! It’s you who went to the division headquarters for a meeting! Why don’t you argue with the division commander?”

“Did the 772nd Regiment compete with you for the main attack again? It’s really a waste of time to save Cheng Shifa! White-eyed wolf! Don’t know how to be humble! Did we do a good job in the first stage?”

"While others are attacking county towns and strongholds, our New Second Regiment is going to seize the railway line! Are you, Li Yunlong, stupid because of your studies? Why don't you dare to fight with the brigade commander and division commander! Why are you cowardly?"

It's not that Zhao Gang wanted to disobey his superiors' orders. As a political commissar in the regiment, no one had a firmer belief than him, so he would naturally obey his superiors' orders absolutely.

The reason why he shouted this was entirely because he wanted to take advantage of the new second regiment and use its existing siege experience to reduce the damage to the main force of the 386th Brigade.

However, Zhao Gang's appearance really calmed everyone present. Thinking of his political commissar's past tactics, Li Yunlong simply had shivers down his spine.

　　"Okay, okay! I won't make trouble with you anymore. Division commanders and brigade commanders are not fools. How can they not know that things should be put to their best use and people's talents should be fully utilized?"

"Our regiment will be divided into two parts this time. Lao Zhao, you will lead the first and second battalions to assist in the siege, and I will lead the third battalion to destroy Taiyuan Airport!"

"Isn't this a bad mission? Hehe, blind man Cheng will never be able to ride on my head in this life!"

 In fact, the idea of ​​attacking Taiyuan Airport was also proposed by Li Yunlong.

Once Yushe is attacked, Taiyuan in the north will definitely not remain indifferent. Yoshio Shinozuka will definitely send reinforcements to support this important town.

The division headquarters has deployed multiple blocking troops along the route. Even if the First Army has mobilized some of its troops, it will definitely fall into the same embarrassing situation as in the last war.

At that time, his optimal solution must be to dispatch Army Aviation! As long as the Japanese can lose their air superiority, our 386th Brigade's attack will be unstoppable!

Moreover, the defensive force near Taiyuan will definitely be very weak at that time. Even if the airport cannot be blown up, the old devil Yoshio Shinozuka will not dare to add reinforcements unscrupulously.

"What's the point of attacking the county town? There is a large group of Japanese soldiers in Yushe. When the brigade headquarters is surrounded by thousands of people, it will be the same as catching a bastard."

“It’s different with the Japanese planes. That’s one less aircraft to fight! Our troops currently don’t have air defense capabilities. I’m doing this for the overall good.”

“Comrade Zhao Gang, your ideological consciousness is not high yet and needs to be strengthened.”

Although Li Yunlong pretended to be a coward again, he did not deny that what he said was very reasonable.

Unless Yoshio Shinozuka abandons Zhongtiao Mountain or the Mongolian troops arrive in time, Yushe and Liao County will definitely not be able to hold on. Rather than just joining in the fun, it would be better to do something more meaningful with the troops.

Zhao Gang said with some lingering fear when he thought of the crazy behavior of his regiment leader in shooting with Japanese fighter jets last time:

 “Be safe in everything! Don’t mess around!”

Come, come, ask for everything!

 (End of this chapter)