Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 171: The Defeated Soldiers Are Fragrant

It is said that food and fodder must be sent before troops move. Modern warfare relies more on logistics, so supply is a major problem that restricts the speed of the Japanese army's advance.

Due to the poor road conditions on the Chinese battlefield,

Motor vehicles often had difficulty passing through, so military draft horses pulling vehicles and artillery became an important means for the Japanese Army to transport supplies and weapons.

The Japanese Army divisions were divided into draft horse divisions and pack horse divisions. The draft horse divisions were equipped with field guns and heavy howitzers, which required more draft horses to tow.

The packhorse divisions were equipped with mountain artillery and light infantry artillery, which only needed to be carried by packhorses.

During the invasion of China, the Japanese Army mobilized a total of 170 million military horses, of which about 20% were used as riding horses, 30% as draft horses, and 50% as pack horses.

In the Battle of Shanghai alone, 30 Japanese troops used more than 9 horses, and the daily consumption of these horses alone was an astronomical figure;
The Japanese field divisions would carry some baggage when fighting, which could normally meet their needs for 20 days to one month. After that, they would have to be transported from the rear.

It is about 300 kilometers from Shanghai to Jinling, which can be reached within one day by rail or road. The carrying capacity of the road is limited, so the Japanese army took the railroad. The current option is the Beijing (Jinling)-Shanghai Railway, which is 307 kilometers long.

Yue Qianli was targeting the Beijing-Shanghai Road. Shooting down a few transport trucks on the highway would not satisfy his appetite, nor would it affect the Japanese.

To kill a snake, you must hit it at its weakest point. The railway is now the weakest point of several divisions on the Nanjing front line of the East China Expeditionary Army. Before doing big business, you naturally have to know yourself and your enemy.

The task of "knowing the enemy" was given to the reconnaissance brigade, and "knowing oneself" was even simpler. As soon as the three-day deadline arrived, Yue Qianli could not wait to call a meeting of several brigade leaders;
On the one hand, he was figuring out his own strength, and on the other hand, he was deploying a battle plan. Several battalions were gathering up the defeated soldiers outside. Yue Qianli was full of infinite expectations for the outcome, and he said straight to the point:
"When a man has been away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes. In these three days, everyone's backs have become much thicker. When Lao Liao came in, he almost walked sideways.

Tell me about it, so I can have an idea. "

According to the battle sequence, the first team leader Li Jie (deputy regiment) reported first:

"The First Detachment currently has 4276 personnel, 22 artillery pieces of various types, and more than 3200 long and short guns. Many bastards have even thrown away their guns. Ammunition is still sufficient, but time is a bit tight. If we give them a few more days, we can collect a lot.

By the way, there is a battalion commander among this group of people who claims to be your old classmate who studied abroad. His last name is Zhao. He was seriously injured and is now receiving treatment. It should not be a problem for him to survive.

His battalion structure is relatively intact. It is said that he was injured while staying behind to block the enemy's retreat for the Tax Police Corps. This guy is very good at leading troops. His personnel and equipment are all in good condition. "

When Yue Qianli heard the surname Zhao, he roughly guessed who it was. His youth camp was in need of a battalion commander, and Zhao had studied abroad, so he was the most suitable candidate.

As for whether he was willing to compromise, Yue Qianli didn't consider it at all, and it was not his turn to negotiate the price.

Yue Qianli nodded to show that he understood, and motioned for the others to continue. Finally, it was Liao Jianping's turn, who was almost walking sideways. He couldn't wait to say:
"The Second Detachment now has 5152 men and more than 3 guns. I found a mountain artillery battalion with 12 imported cannons, all of which were foreign-made, and many of the shell boxes were unopened.
Fortunately, they were not so bad as to throw them on the official road and hide them in the woods. A captain of a defeated company told me that there were hundreds of boxes of shells alone. "

Deng Zhuxiu laughed and joked:
"No wonder Old Liao is so arrogant, it turns out he has made a fortune. When our Third Brigade is short of shells, you have to support us." Seeing Deng Zhuxiu beating up his local tyrant, Liao Jianping, who had made a fortune, was generous for once and said proudly:
"No problem. If you need anything, just let me know. We're brothers, no problem."

After a few jokes, Deng Zhuxiu began to talk about the regular battalion. The third detachment also increased to more than 3800 people, with 27 artillery pieces and 3 guns.

"The supplementary detachment currently has 4229 personnel, 19 artillery pieces of various types, more than 3 long and short guns, and enough ammunition to fight a medium-sized battle."

Now it was Yue Qianli's turn to be grinning from ear to ear. The four detachments alone had nearly 4 people. If the various directly affiliated battalions, youth battalions, and baggage teams were added, the total force would exceed 2. It was time to flex their muscles to the Japanese.

"Brothers, the Japanese army is attacking the outskirts of Nanjing City. Several divisions are attacking from three sides, and they are planning to destroy China.

The Japanese had an army of over 100,000 and tens of thousands of horses, and most of their supplies relied on the Beijing-Shanghai Railway. According to intelligence provided by the reconnaissance brigade, CC and the Blue Shirts Society, the nearest supply transit station for the Japanese army was at Kunshan Station!

Most of the supplies that the Japanese had transferred from Shanghai Nanxiang Railway Station were in Kunshan, with food and ammunition piled up like mountains;
The daily expenses of my guerrilla column (regiment level) of 2 brothers and thousands of horses were quite high, so I decided to attack Kunshan.

Not only do we want to cut off the Japanese army's railway supply lines, but we also want to make a lot of money and use the war to support the war."

After hearing this, everyone was excited and was ready to go. What excited them most now was food and ammunition. Each of them had three to four thousand men under their command, and the pressure of food and ammunition was huge.

The Japanese army of more than 100,000 people could not rely on looting. Just eating food would take more than 100,000 kilograms of food a day, not to mention the ammunition consumption. Looting a county would not be enough to feed them for several days.

The same goes for the guerrilla column. They need more than ten tons of food a day, and the transport vehicles used to fight the Japanese cannot meet the demand. Only material assembly points like Kunshan can satisfy the appetite of the guerrilla column.

Liao Jianping immediately shouted:
"Captain, just tell me how to fight. Now the army has expanded to more than 2 people. The food we had before was only enough to last for 10 days, and that was based on the premise of being frugal."

Everyone echoed and looked at Yue Qianli with expectation. All the way from Songhu, not only were they not consumed by the Japanese, but they grew more than ten times stronger. Who wouldn't like such a chief?
Yue Qianli is now the soul of the guerrilla column. Liao Jianping and others have long been his diehard supporters. If anyone wants to touch him now, he will definitely fight to the death. He has become a small military leader.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Yue Qianli stopped keeping everyone in suspense and continued:
"Brothers, according to intelligence, the defenders of Kunshan only have an incomplete regiment of 2 people, belonging to the 16th Infantry Division;

There was also a garrison battalion of more than 500 people in the city. The Japanese were worried about the loss of Kunshan, so they withdrew the crippled Katagiri Regiment for a temporary rest, and after replenishment, they continued to participate in the battle to capture Nanjing.

That is to say, the garrison is about 2500 people. If they are used to defend the city, we, the temporarily gathered defeated soldiers, may not be able to defeat them with 2 people.
The defeated soldiers are suitable for fighting in favorable battles. Only after they win a few battles will they become cohesive, so I decided to lure these devils out and then deal with them. "

Then Yue Qianli repeated his ideas. The others nodded repeatedly, flattered him and said, "Great, great, great!"
Although Lao Yue enjoyed it, he still warned:
"Don't ever say that again!"

(End of this chapter)