Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 283 sets the tone, recover Taiyuan! (Subscribe)
Yangcheng, Shanxi.

A group of carpenters were gathered together on a relatively flat land in the northern suburbs.

After hearing the production requirements described by the team leader.

The group of carpenters looked at each other and whispered to each other.

"Wooden iron bird, what is this?"

"It seems like they are going to build an airplane... the kind that flies in the sky and can drop bombs."

"Are those the little devils?"

Team leader Miao Leqi cleared his throat and continued, "We don't need to do a great job. We just need to fill in the wings and fuselage. The Japanese in the sky won't be able to tell it's fake."

"Our goal is to build about ten fighter planes with iron pipes and wood, and we also need to build several wooden houses on this flat land. This work is estimated to take about 20 days in total, and the total contract amount issued by Chief Sun is 38,000 yuan."

"There are only fifty of us in total. You can calculate for yourself how much money each person can earn!"

Anyone who can be a carpenter has generally received some basic education.

Even they spent a long time thinking about it.

"More than seven hundred?"

Miao Leqi smiled slightly: "Yes, it is more than 700 yuan, more than 700 yuan per person!"

"You know, I'm paid by the army. I only make 80 yuan a month for my rank. You guys can make 700 yuan a month, but I can't even make that in a year."

Miao Leqi revealed some envy in his words.

These carpenters are all craftsmen, carefully selected from all over southeastern Shanxi.

Everyone's craftsmanship is top-notch in their area.

The reason for gathering them together was to create false targets.

In order to deceive the Japanese fighter planes.

As long as the Japanese launched a large-scale air raid.

Then they basically fell into the trap specially set by Chu Yunfei.

He only needed people in Yangcheng to set up suitable anti-aircraft artillery positions in the surrounding areas.

Then the Japanese fighter planes would basically suffer a heavy blow if they came.

This is very beneficial for the subsequent counterattack in the second war zone.

After all, the Army Aviation has far less resources than the HNA, and it cannot make up for the huge losses it suffers in a short period of time.

Yangmingbao 24 fighter planes.

Six planes in the Battle of Pinghan Road.

Eight fighters from the Battle of Dawenkou.

Eighteen aircraft were also destroyed during the attack on Taiyuan Airport.

How many fighter planes did the Japanese Moth Flying Corps deploy throughout the entire North China region?
To take a step back, even if HNA is withdrawn for strategic supplementation.

Their opponents are not just the Second War Zone. The First War Zone, the Fifth War Zone, and the Eighth War Zone are all opponents of the North China Front Army.

What's more, at this point in time, the Japanese army was still launching an offensive in the direction of the Ninth War Zone.

While the 11th Army launched an offensive against the 9th War Zone, the North China Front Army would also launch a diversionary offensive against the 5th War Zone.

Because of the above reasons, the Japanese army naturally did not have more resources to allocate to the southeastern Shanxi region.

In addition, the Tokyo headquarters was eager to find out the specific location of the Soviet land transportation lines.

Their few reconnaissance aircraft were basically assigned to the northwest region.

The battles of Ping'an Town and Taiping Town outside Shexian County are precedents.
Chu Yunfei himself knew it clearly.

The stability in southeastern Shanxi could not last more than three months.

That's why he chose a flat place outside Yangcheng.

Then they set up corresponding false targets as bait, hoping to lure and kill the Japanese air force.

Second World War Commander Headquarters.

At a meeting on formulating the direction of strategic counterattack.

Chu Yunfei remained very calm and waited for the superiors to express their opinions.

He remained silent.

He recorded the opinions of each army group commander in his notebook.

General Wei Lihuang, commander-in-chief of the Southern Route Army, advocated retaking the Nantongpu railway line, expanding the depth of defense, ensuring the smooth operation of the Li and Fen highways, and opening up direct contact with the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army in northwestern Shanxi, so as to directly establish linkage with the Eighth War Zone.

Yan Laoxi's expression was subtle, and it was obvious that he slightly supported this idea in his heart.

The commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army and deputy commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone advocated using elite troops to attack Japanese military stations and strongholds, rather than making the recovery of lost territory the main goal.

The Eighth Route Army believed that if there were not enough military forces to defend these occupied areas, then such a tug-of-war would actually have no great strategic significance. It would only consume the already limited vitality and would not truly achieve the strategic goal of consuming the Japanese army.

The decline of Shanxi's people's strength was related to the continuous fierce battles and repeated tug-of-war with the Japanese army.

It is precisely because of Shanxi’s terrain, resources and other related factors that it is destined to be the most brutal battlefield, just like the Ninth War Zone.

Chiang Kai-shek realized this, so he designated these two war zones as strategic counterattack zones.

From the perspective of consolidating their dominant position in Shanxi.

Yan Laoxi also hopes that he can hold on after the restoration, otherwise, the people's hearts in Shanxi will be completely consumed by repeated failures.

Yang Aiyuan's troops of the Sixth Army Group advocated not launching a strategic counterattack in the short term, waiting for all supplies to be in place and for the combat effectiveness of the new recruits to be improved. Then, in accordance with the proposal of General Wei Lihuang, commander-in-chief of the Southern Route Army, their fundamental goal was to counterattack Taiyuan.

Before that, it is recommended to adopt the ideas and thoughts of the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, focusing on small-scale continuous combat to consume the Japanese army's manpower in advance.

Only in this way can we lay the foundation for the next stage of strategy.

This idea was supported by Sun Cuiya, commander of the Eighth Army Group.

Wang Jingguo, commander of the 13th Army Group, remained silent and did not support anyone.

Let him express his own opinion, and he will say that what everyone says makes sense.
All the opinions that need to be expressed have been said.

Among all the participants in the meeting, only Deputy Chief of General Staff Chu Yunfei remained silent.

"Yun Fei, any ideas?"

Chu Yunfei nodded. He did not stand on his seat. Instead, he straightened his clothes, stood up and walked towards the battle map in front of him: "Commander, baton."

"Ah."

Chu Xichun gave up his seat.

Chu Yunfei cleared his throat and glanced at the people attending the meeting: "Commendations, Yunfei has some immature ideas."

"According to the strategic counterattack order issued by the Supreme Command and the expected goals, the Chairman also knows that with the current military strength of our Second War Zone, it is unlikely to recover Taiyuan in the short term."

"First, we need to consider the military strength comparison between the enemy and us."

"Our army currently has a total of 28,000 troops. If all reserve troops are added to the front-line combat troops, the combat force can reach 35,000, but it will take at least a month to complete the full mobilization."

"Let's take the Flying Tigers attack force as an example."

When it comes to his own troops, Chu Yunfei naturally knows them all.

"Our main combat targets are the Japanese 108th Division and the 114th Division. The enemy's full combat strength is about people."

"The main heavy weapons are the Type 75 105mm mountain cannon and the Type mm howitzer, with maximum ranges of over and respectively. Whether in terms of quantity or performance, they can suppress our artillery."

"Our army is in an offensive situation, while the Japanese army also has the terrain advantage of a defensive battle, and they also have corresponding air support, while our anti-aircraft artillery cannot accompany all troops in the field."

Yan Laoxi's brows relaxed, and he was in a good mood when talking about anti-aircraft guns.

Chu Yunfei is a man who knows how to get things done. He transported forty-eight 76mm anti-aircraft guns to the southeastern part of Shanxi.

Twelve of them were deployed in Linfen area and delivered to the combat troops of the Second War Zone to protect the security of the headquarters of the commander of the Second War Zone.

If we follow the command from the headquarters, these 48 guns actually need to be deployed in the southeastern part of Shanxi.

This meant that the only anti-aircraft weapons left at the Second War Zone Command's headquarters were some anti-aircraft machine guns that could barely make a noise.

How is this possible?

"The terrain in southeastern Shanxi is also very special, and our army's strategic counterattack direction is also very limited. I think Commander Zeng of the 35th Corps should understand this."

Zeng Wanzhong nodded and said, "The Japanese attack will be launched from the direction of Handan. We want to counterattack, and the terrain here is suitable for our troops to deploy. The 108th Division is currently focusing on defending this area, so it is almost impossible to achieve results in this direction."

Yan Laoxi tapped the table with his fingers and said, "That is not the combat area of ​​our Second War Zone. We can do some small-scale training and preparation, but we should not consider the direction of strategic counterattack."

"Commander Yan is right. We will be at a great disadvantage in a decisive battle with the Japanese army on the plains. We must command a strategic defensive position in the direction of Handan."

Chu Yunfei then waved his baton and pointed to the middle section of the Zhengtai Railway: "According to our reconnaissance, the Japanese army has basically given up maintaining the Shouyang and Yangquan sections of the Zhengtai Railway."

General Wei Lihuang was startled and immediately asked, "What does this mean?"

“The Japanese army seems to have decided to hold on to the area around Shouyang in order to achieve the strategic goal of consolidating the city of Taiyuan.

The line from Yangquan to Niangzi Pass.

The Japanese army stationed a large number of troops, and it is roughly estimated that there were at least two Japanese regiments of combat forces.

I believe that the mineral resources in the areas surrounding Yangquan are strategic resources that the Japanese army cannot give up.

Under the circumstance that it is impossible to fully defend the Zhengtai Railway line.

Shanxi's First Army will have to make corresponding trade-offs."

"So, they gave up the section from Yangquan to Shouyang and gathered their already limited military forces to ensure that they could continue to plunder Yangquan's resources." General Wei Lihuang gave a brief summary.

Chu Yunfei nodded: "That's what happened, our army..."

General Wei Lihuang signaled Chu Yunfei with his eyes, as if conveying some information to him.

Chu Yunfei closed his mouth tacitly.

General Wei Lihuang stood up and said, "The abnormal behavior of the Japanese army on Zhengtai Road actually exposed the current predicament of insufficient Japanese troops. In the continuous wars, although the National Revolutionary Army of our National Government suffered heavy casualties, the Japanese army did the same."

Chu Yunfei was afraid that Wei Lihuang was attending the meeting with a mission.

He quickly spoke out: "I agree with Commander Wei's idea and suggest that the ultimate goal of this strategic counterattack be to recover Taiyuan City."

Chu Xichun added in a tacit understanding: "Since Commander Wei and Yun Fei both believe that this strategic counterattack has the potential to recover Taiyuan, then we should take the recovery of Taiyuan as a strategic goal."

"That's right. Recovering Taiyuan is the hope of the people of Shanxi, and it is also my hope... If we can return to Taiyuan City, it will be a great help for the whole nation to continue the war of resistance, and for the military and civilians of Shanxi."

Old Yan looked at Yun Fei expectantly.

He naturally knew that Chu Yunfei did not set the counterattack on the Taiyuan area as an established strategic goal.

Otherwise, he would never interrupt Wei Lihuang, and would never describe it as the final goal.

Wei Lihuang had already achieved his goal, and he just looked at Chu Yunfei again, his eyes full of admiration.

Counterattack Taiyuan. This was the content of the secret telegram from the attendant's office.

Regardless of whether the Second War Zone really wants to counterattack Taiyuan.

In Wei Lihuang's opinion.

The result of this meeting must set the basic tone for the counterattack on Taiyuan, which is just a high-profile name.

As for whether they can take it down, and whether they will really target Taiyuan.

That's not his concern.

His 14th Army Group does not actually have very strong combat effectiveness at this stage.

It can be considered as speeding up the reorganization of the troops under his command.

According to the original plan, the Ninth Army needs to be directly under the Second War Zone.

But now, since the Second War Zone was classified as the Strategic Counterattack Zone.

The order was cancelled and the Ninth Army would be directly under his command.

In fact, it essentially means that Chiang Kai-shek still hopes that he will stay in the Second War Zone to check and balance Yan Xi Jinping.

"Commanders, we just talked about the Zhengtai Railway Line. Obviously, the Japanese army, relying on the mountainous terrain and heavily guarded, will find it difficult for our army to conquer it. It is even very likely that we will not be able to achieve our combat objectives even at a huge cost."

“Therefore, our combat target should not be the heavy Japanese troops on the Zhengtai Railway, but should focus on attacking the Japanese troops along the Tongpu Railway and the main Japanese forces along the Fenli Highway.”

"The advance into northwestern Shanxi with the presence of our main force will inevitably pose a great threat to the Japanese army."

Chu Yunfei slowly explained his thoughts.

"Before that, our army also needs to formulate relevant combat plans and try every possible way to destroy the Japanese fighter planes to reduce the direct impact of the bombing on our army."

"If the goal is to destroy the Japanese fighter planes, then it would obviously be relatively easier to launch an attack on the airport from the ground. After all, there are no fighter planes in the war zone that can be mobilized to take off and fight." Sun Cuiya slowly stated a fact.

"After Wuhan, our aviation units were almost completely destroyed. Even after reorganization, there were less than 230 fighter planes left. Most of these fighter planes were deployed to fight over the Ninth War Zone, which was also the main attack direction of the Japanese army."

The best way to destroy Japanese fighter planes is naturally to prevent them from taking off.

After more than a month, Taiyuan Airport has basically completed its repairs and can be used as scheduled.

And according to previous reconnaissance reports.

The Japanese army also began to use the Fenyang field airport, which was showing a trend of transforming it into a permanent airport.

Under this circumstance, plus airports in Hebei and other places.

It would be difficult to have another chance to replicate the previous airport raid.

"Assuming that the relevant combat operations are successful, we will then enter the first phase of the ground offensive."

"I suggest that the main offensive direction be set in the direction of Fenli Highway, with one army advancing into the northwest of Shanxi to put enough pressure on the Japanese invaders, while our army will advance into the Wutai area with a main force to launch an attack on the Beitongpu Railway Line."

Yan Laoxi came back to his senses and said, "This doesn't seem to be much different from the previous tactics. Yunfei, if the Japanese army does not attack the southeastern Shanxi region, they have enough troops to attack your rear and then form an encirclement."

"Commander Yan, don't worry. When our army takes the initiative to launch an offensive, the initiative on the battlefield will be in our hands. Compared with the Japanese army, the Beitongpu Railway has become the de facto lifeline of the Japanese army."

"Compared to attacking southeastern Shanxi, they must attach more importance to the Beitongpu railway line, otherwise they will never be able to gain a foothold in Shanxi."

In the previous battle, Chu Yunfei's troops deliberately attacked a section of the Japanese railway line.

And a large amount of explosives were buried to blow up the foundation.

This allowed us to infer the Japanese army's repair time and capabilities.

three weeks.

During these three weeks, the Japanese army's supply situation will inevitably be greatly affected.

It is precisely because of this that similar raids need to be carried out continuously and for a long time.

The main force of the 120th Division has leapt into the Daqingshan area.

The active combat troops in northwestern Shanxi are basically unable to maintain their existence as before.

The combat effectiveness also declined a lot, so naturally we could not expect the Eighth Route Army to carry out continuous raids.

It is precisely because of this that there is an urgent need for a force to take on the tasks previously undertaken by the Eighth Route Army.

This is also the purpose of the existence of Shanxi Army Officers School.

This force.

It can't be the combat troops under Chu Yunfei.

Old Yan would not allow, nor could he split up Chu Yunfei's troops.

Then the corresponding candidates can only be selected from the Jin army system.

Wang Jingguo and Fu Zuoyi had a very close relationship, so Yang Aiyuen needed to help him stabilize the situation in southwestern Shanxi.

After all the choices, there is actually only one choice.

That was the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Army Group, Sun Chu and Sun Cuiya.

Yan Laoxi trusted him and was not that close to Fu Zuoyi.

Sun Cuiya naturally knew what was going on, and immediately stood up and said, "Our Eighth Army can take on this important task."

Yan Laoxi nodded with satisfaction, and then continued: "When it comes to guerrilla warfare, the Eighteenth Army is an expert. Before launching combat operations, you, the Eighth Army, should learn from the brother troops."

The commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army immediately stated: "We warmly welcome this."

"The Beitongpu Railway is the lifeline of the Japanese army. Our army can also seize the opportunity to annihilate a large number of Japanese troops and lay the foundation for our army to recover Taiyuan."

Chu Yunfei said slowly.

It is clear.

Chu Yunfei also did not advocate launching a war against Taiyuan.

The city of Taiyuan was high and dangerous. When the Japanese army attacked, there were less than 10,000 people in the city belonging to Fu Zuoyi.

The Japanese army still needs to bombard indiscriminately.

If Fu Zuoyi really intended to use his entire army to defend Taiyuan City.

The Japanese were also unable to capture Taiyuan City in a short period of time.

The fortress city is not just talk. The troops in the second war zone today can be defeated even if they are completely wiped out.

It is not certain that we can capture the city of Taiyuan.

In this situation, it is better to cut off the Japanese supply lines than to launch a strong attack.

Forced the Japanese army to voluntarily abandon Taiyuan.

With the Zhengtai Railway Line having been abandoned, the Beitongpu Railway Line has actually become the only logistics supply line for the Shanxi First Army (the highway supply line also overlaps by about 60% of its kilometers). Once threatened, the Japanese army will inevitably change its troop deployment and withdraw troops to provide support.

The truth is simple, and everyone understands it.

But how to attack, where will the weapons, ammunition and well-trained soldiers come from?

It is the biggest problem at the moment.

The combat effectiveness of the Sixth Army meant that they were already unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility at this time.

The main combat area of ​​the 14th Army was the Taiyue Mountain area.

Yan Laoxi was worried about the Central Army and strictly restricted their scope of activities.

As for the southeastern part of Shanxi.

Naturally, Chu Yunfei would not welcome the central army to move in.

Plus how many troops the Southern Army currently has.

"As for the specific combat deployment and the combat troops that will undertake the corresponding offensive missions, we need to learn more about the specific situation of each unit."

Chu Yunfei stopped there: "Everyone, these are my opinions."

Old Yan raised his hands and applauded.

For a moment, led by him, there was thunderous applause.

Is Chu Yunfei's level higher than that of General Wei Lihuang and Commander-in-Chief Zhu of the Eastern Route Army?
Not really.

It’s just that his identity enables him to take into account the interests of two, three, or even multiple parties.

Although there were not many people attending the meeting, there were less than twenty people in total.

But who here dares to say that they don’t have their own interests and little thoughts?
Although General Wei Lihuang was willing to carry out Chang Kaishen's secret telegram, he also did not agree to counterattack Taiyuan now.

So this is why Chu Yunfei spent so long thinking about his thoughts.

The reason why General Wei Lihuang remained silent.

Are all the combat operations directly related to the counterattack on Taiyuan?
Obviously not.

It even included the so-called idealized outcome of cutting off the Japanese army's only logistical supply line.

In fact, the goal was only to further consume the Japanese army's occupation costs.

Consume their strategic resources and manpower.

How to consume?
Naturally, it is the lives of middle and lower-level officers and soldiers. This is what war is like.

Everyone knows it.

For the nation and the country, there is no other way.

What a senior commander can do.

There is one and only one way.

That is to provide better weapons and equipment and better logistical support to the officers and soldiers under his command to the greatest extent possible.

As Chu Yunfei sat back in his seat.

Everyone then introduced the current situation of their respective troops.

The Sixth Army currently has a total combat strength of 15,000 people, with the strength of three divisions. Its weapons and equipment are in relatively good condition, but it is relatively short of ammunition and grenades. However, it has two artillery regiments with a total of 48 mountain artillery pieces, and its heavy weapons have relatively fierce firepower.

The Eighth Army currently has only 6,000 combat troops and three divisions, and is extremely short of weapons and equipment.

The Thirteenth Army currently has 8,000 combat troops, with two armies and three divisions.
Southern Army: If broken down, it has a total of nine infantry divisions, but the actual combat strength is only 75 people. However, it has three mountain artillery battalions, equipped with mm mountain cannons, and there are still several thousand artillery shells, which is quite sufficient.

This is the combat strength of the 35th Corps under Zeng Wanzhong after it was transferred to the command of the Southern Route Army.
The Eastern Army, even including Wu Shimin's 69th Army, had a total combat strength of only 12,000 men.
The main force of the 129th Division and the main force of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army.

As for the guerrilla detachment and the basic regiment that is not included in the organization.

In such combat operations, they will not actually be counted because they do not have basic conventional combat capabilities.

Li Yunlong's troops were just such a group.
Seeing all eyes looking at me.

Chu Yunfei slowly said, "At present, our combat strength is the same as what I said before, but if the Japanese army launches a full-scale attack on the southeastern Shanxi region, with sufficient weapons and equipment, there are still 50,000 combat troops that can be mobilized in the southeastern Shanxi region. These people have been exposed to basic tactics and physical training, and can adapt to lower-intensity positional warfare. They can also be added to the field troops as reserve forces."

(End of this chapter)