Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 73: Five Battalions and Six Companies, 358th Brigade Asks for Battle at Niangzi Pass! (Subscribe!)

At this time, in the conference room.

Commanders at all levels of the 358th Brigade gathered together.

And Qian Zhaoyou, who changed into the uniform of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

At this time, he was not Major Staff Officer Qian Zhaoyou.

It was Qian Zhaoyou, the newly appointed commander of the Fifth Infantry Battalion.

Before the meeting began, Chu Yunfei walked over to Qian Zhaoyou and took the initiative to introduce him to everyone: "Many of you have met before. Qian Zhaoyou, a fifth-term graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, is my old classmate and the current commander of the Fifth Infantry Battalion. Everyone, please welcome our new brother."

Qian Zhaoyou stood up and saluted everyone.

Chu Yunfei doesn't like red tape, and he hates wasting time talking in circles.

After returning to his seat.

Chief of Staff Fang Ligong stood in front of everyone and read out the commendations that had been finalized.

"Captain of the First Battalion."

"Commander of the Second Battalion..."

"The commander of the Third Battalion, Luo Weiguo, is awarded one thousand dollars and a sixth-class Cloud Banner Medal."

"Cavalry Company Captain Ma Ying was promoted to the rank of major."

"Zhang Fugui, deputy commander of the first battalion, was promoted to lieutenant and awarded 500 silver dollars."

"Bian Fucheng, the commander of the first company of the first battalion, was promoted to the rank of captain, awarded 1,000 silver dollars, and awarded a first-class medal."

"Wu Dabao, the commander of the third company of the second battalion, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and awarded 500 silver dollars."

"Platoon Leader of Mountain Artillery Battalion"

"Heavy Mortar Company Captain Song Ming was promoted to the rank of major and awarded three hundred dollars."

Chief of Staff Fang Ligong closed the folder in his hand.

Qian Zhaoyou, who was sitting not far away, looked at everyone with a burning gaze, full of envy in his eyes.

Award medals for meritorious service and promotions and rewards.

Command troops to defend the country.

This is what a man should do.

Chu Yunfei smiled and looked at everyone: "Did you all hear it?"

"Now that you've heard it, do you have any thoughts?"

Qian Bojun's eyes were bright and he looked much more energetic.

After this battle, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served as deputy commander of the 358th Regiment.

Only one step away from the position of group leader.

Although it is a deputy position, everyone knows it.

As Chu Yunfei's direct descendant and good brother.

Being the deputy head of a group is not a so-called promotion in name only and a demotion in reality.

Qian Bojun also served as the first battalion commander.

Received commendations, medals, and a lot of money.

This is the treatment of direct descendants!

"This chairman is quite clear about rewards and punishments. After waiting for so long, there is finally news."

Although Zhuo Tianyu did not achieve any merit or receive any commendation, he was still quite excited because two platoon leaders of the Fourth Battalion were promoted to captain.

"Is there clear rewards and punishments?"

Wu Ziqiang smiled and said meaningfully: "If you follow the right people, you can reward and punish them clearly."

Qian Bojun also echoed: "Follow the right person and take the right path."

"If it weren't for the promotion and appreciation of the superiors, how could the brothers be where they are today?"

Chu Yunfei frowned slightly and reminded, "Don't talk about this."

"Tell me about the current reorganization of the various departments."

“The first battalion has been reorganized.

It currently has sixteen infantry companies under its jurisdiction.

And I split the mortar reinforcement company into three mortar companies.

Each mortar company is equipped with twelve 60mm mortars.

In this way, it is more flexible to use without affecting firepower.

Except for non-combat personnel such as logistics, baggage, health, and communications.

The number of combatants in our First Battalion has now reached over 2,300, returning to pre-war levels."

Not bad!

Chu Yunfei was very satisfied with this.

He nodded and turned to look at Wu Ziqiang beside him: "Captain Wu, what about you?"

"Currently, the Second Battalion is still undergoing some adjustments to its personnel structure. It now has six infantry companies and one heavy rifle company under its command."

"The total combat force is around 1,000, slightly more than before."

Seeing Chu Yunfei's gaze, Luo Weiguo immediately stood up and said, "Report to the commander, the third battalion has six infantry companies, one heavy rifle company, and one support platoon. They are mainly equipped with 60mm mortars and grenade launchers."

The 60mm mortars were handed over to them by Chu Yunfei as a supplement.

The grenade launcher was captured from the battle of Zhuanshui Village.

The quality of the soldiers in the Third Battalion is slightly lower than before, but the firepower has been greatly improved.

Chu Yunfei was also clear about the situation of the Fourth Battalion.

There are three or four big cats and small cats.

In the battle of Ru Yuekou, the Fourth Battalion suffered heavy casualties.

Having left some foundation, it has not been able to recover so far.

Zhuo Tianyu was also the only battalion commander who did not receive any commendation in this battle.
Fortunately, this group of new recruits had experienced the baptism of war.

The progress is very fast, but there is still some shortcomings in shooting.

Unfortunately, there is no time to train them now.

"The new recruits from the New Recruit Supplementary Battalion will be incorporated into the Fourth Battalion, and Zhuo Tianyu, the former commander of the New Recruit Supplementary Battalion, will serve as the commander of the Fourth Battalion."

"Yes, thank you for your cultivation, Commander!" Chu Yunfei waved his hand: "How are the cadres and recruits of the Second and Third Regiments doing?"

"According to previous arrangements, the battalion commander has been demoted to deputy battalion commander, and the company commander has been demoted to deputy company commander, depending on their performance in the future."

Chu Yunfei nodded and continued, "We must communicate this matter clearly and explain the rules of our 358th Brigade. If they don't want to stay, that's fine. I, Chu Yunfei, will personally apply for a transfer order for them."

"Yes, sir."

"Now that we've talked about the awards, it's time to talk about serious matters!"

At Chu Yunfei's signal, Fang Ligong stood in front of everyone holding a baton.

"According to the latest intelligence from the Second War Zone, the right wing position of Xuehua Mountain has been breached by the Japanese army. In order to ensure the stability of the Xuehua position and buy enough time for Sun Lianzhong's troops, we have adopted an active defensive strategic posture."

"We will attack instead of defend, and launch an attack on the enemy's flanks. At present, the 102nd Regiment on the left wing is feinting an attack on Jingxing County, and the 98th Regiment on the right wing is assaulting Liujiagou and Changshengkou occupied by the Japanese army."

"In the middle, it is the enemy reinforcements near the obstruction south of Snowflake Mountain."

Fang Ligong paused for a moment and looked at everyone.

"This move is really brilliant. By turning passivity into initiative, we can seize the initiative on the battlefield firmly in our hands."

"Yes, Commander Zhao's command ability is still good."

"People who are skilled in art are bold."

“Really good!”

Qian Zhaoyou frowned as he listened to everyone's praise for Division Commander Zhao Shoushan. He said, "If you command like this, then who will guard the Xuehua Mountain position? You know, this is the only commanding height in the surrounding area."

"Once the Snow Mountain position is lost, the entire defense line will collapse."

The views he expressed were completely opposite to those of everyone else.

"If the Japanese invaders didn't notice that the position was empty, this move would not be a big problem. But if the Japanese invaders detected Zhao's intentions and thoughts in advance and lost the Xuehua Mountain position, there would be no chance of a comeback in this battle."

Luo Weiguo was puzzled. He immediately said, "With so many troops to counterattack, the Japanese invaders must be worried. How can they attack when their rear is unstable?"

Fang Ligong nodded, and then told all the information he had at the moment:
"The Japanese attacking force was actually not that large."

"According to intelligence, the enemy's attacking Japanese unit is the 39th Infantry Brigade of the th Division of the Japanese Army.

The commander was Major General Yoshito Takagi, but his specific information is unknown.

It has two infantry regiments under its command, namely the 77th Infantry Regiment and the 78th Infantry Regiment.

The names and resumes of the respective commanders are unknown, and the organization is presumed to be a regular division field infantry regiment.

When they attacked, they were supported by a large number of field and mountain artillery, but the exact number is not yet known.

Seeing everyone was silent, Wu Ziqiang said, "A brigade...is not that easy to deal with."

"We have fought against the Japanese before, and we all know their combat effectiveness. As far as I know, the combat effectiveness of the Zhao Division is not strong..."

Zhao Shoushan and his 17th Division.

He originally belonged to the Shaanxi Army and served under General Yang Hucheng.

In terms of combat effectiveness, it can only be considered second-rate.

First, there are not enough soldiers and it is difficult to support the army alone.

Second, the equipment is poor and the tactics are backward.

After eight days of bloody fighting with the Japanese invaders, more than half of the 9,000-man army had suffered casualties.

The Japanese casualties were only a few hundred.

"Although Xuehua Mountain is not very high, only about 400 meters above sea level, it is indeed the most important commanding height around Jingxing City."

Qian Zhaoyou had just arrived at the 358th Brigade and was eager to show off: "The strategic location of Xuehua Mountain is very important. It is located at the intersection of the two roads from Jingxing to Guguan and Jingxing to Niangziguan. The Zhengtai Railway passes under it. Controlling Jingxing can lock these three traffic arteries. The strategic location is very important. Such a command is really too risky."

"No need to speculate. In my opinion, if this is the way they fought, then the Snow Mountain position would have most likely been lost by now. But at the same time, it is impossible that the attack would not have achieved any results."

Chu Yunfei believes: "This is like an equal exchange. The Japanese army's rear is empty. The Zhao Division's surprise attack has achieved results, but the loss of the Xuehua Mountain position will make it difficult to organize the defense line here unless they can recapture the Xuehua Mountain Heights."

"If that's the case, we can retreat to the Snow Mountain position and defend the Faluk Ridge..."

Chu Yunfei was well-versed in war history and vaguely remembered that Xuehua Mountain was lost.

My vague memory is that the regiment commander was afraid of fighting.

After the battle started, he secretly escaped.

This led to the loss of Snow Mountain to the Japanese, otherwise, according to Zhao Shoushan's arrangement.

There is a high probability that we can win a small victory.

Everyone discussed the front-line deployment situation for a while.

Finally, a conclusion was reached: To defend Jingxing, we must control Xuehua Mountain.

And Xuehua Mountain is a small mountain.

It is impossible to withstand the continuous attacks of the Japanese invaders.

To win this battle, we must resist the Japanese attack.

Annihilate the enemy at Jiuguan.

Then find ways to rely on favorable terrain to consume and delay the Japanese offensive.

The best strategy is to kill as many of their manpower as possible and force them to give up the breakthrough from the Niangzi Pass area.

As for slogans like "Go out of Jin and counterattack".

The officers knew it well and were unwilling to even shout slogans.

Since even Yan Laoxi never mentioned anything, there was no need for them to do such superficial work.

The defensive posture, relying on the favorable terrain of the mountainous area, could not be defended by fortifications.

Once entering the plains, they engaged in field battles with the Japanese army.

Flying overhead were Japanese planes, strafing and bombing.

On the ground, the Japanese army's tanks, armored vehicles and artillery were bombarding fiercely.

Marching depends on your legs.

The Japanese army was mechanized and motorized, with rapid mobility by rail...it's a bit hopeless just thinking about it.

"Sir, if we want to win this battle, we have to annihilate the enemy at the old pass before we have a chance to mediate with them."

"Otherwise, it will be like a thorn in the side. It will be very difficult for our army's defenders at Niangzi Pass to even concentrate on fighting the enemy, and naturally it will be impossible to hold the defense line."

Chu Yunfei nodded: "Yes, this time my 358th Brigade is heading east to fight, and originally planned to garrison the Yangquan front line."

"I am going to explain to Commander Yan the battle plan of my 358th Brigade to annihilate the enemy at Jiuguan to save the country from danger."

This chapter is an additional update for 9.3 and a normal update for 9.4

The same old saying, code to death!
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(End of this chapter)