Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 53 The Officer Training Class Begins
"Sir, emergency call to the Second War Zone."

"After breaking through Ruyuekou, the Japanese army quickly moved south. The 2nd Independent Brigade attacked Gang County, and the 19th Army was ordered to garrison there."

Zhao Fangyuan handed the telegram to the two of them.

Gang County is the gateway to Xinkou. If the Japanese army wants to continue its invasion to the south, this place will be the first to be targeted.

Wang Feng frowned, with a bad feeling in his heart: "Wang Jingguo?"

It’s not that he looked down on his friendly forces. The troops defending Julebao when Tianzhen fell were Wang Jingguo’s 19th Army.

The slogan was shouted loudly - we swear to live and die with the position!

But only when people face a crisis, they will know whether those lofty words they said in the past are true or not.

Zhao Fangyuan hurriedly added: "Sir, Wei Lihuang is leading the 9th and 14th armies to rush to Shijiazhuang and will soon enter Shanxi to reinforce."

"I'm afraid Commander Yan has already agreed to this matter."

Wang Feng snorted coldly: "It should have been done long ago. If the main force of the Central Army could have arrived in Shanxi as soon as possible, how could our army have suffered such a large-scale defeat?"

The Battle of Pingxingguan made Itagaki Seishirō afraid to act rashly. If the friendly forces could hold on to Ruyuekou, the situation in Shanxi would definitely have been reversed.

Sergei took the telegram and glanced at it: "Our army has a total of 200,000 troops, while the Japanese have less than 60,000. As long as we build a defense line based on the terrain, the Japanese are almost certain to lose."

Two hundred thousand versus sixty thousand, the defender is still in an advantageous position, and it doesn't look like a battle that can be lost.

Zhao Fangyuan shook his head: "No, that's not the case at all."

"Our army may look mighty, but there are only a few soldiers capable of fighting on the front lines, and most of them have retreated to the rear for rest and recuperation."

"If Gangxian and Yuanping are lost, the Japanese army can completely break through Xinkou while we have not yet built a defense line."

There are currently only two troops stationed here.

The 19th Army is stationed in Gang County, and the 196th Brigade is stationed in Yuanping.

Wang Feng paced in the room: "All departments should hurry up to train new soldiers, and the troops should be ready to march at any time!"

"Fang Yuan, go and convey the order and organize all officers above the platoon level in the brigade to conduct centralized and systematic training."

"Everyone must be present!"

Then he turned around and said: "Sergei, I will leave the training of general officers to you."

Sergei puffed out his chest, his expression solemn: “Yes, sir!”

Dawn the next day.

On the open space in the school field.

The general officer training class officially started.

Due to the large number of people, we couldn't find a suitable room at the moment, so we could only deal with it temporarily in the open air.

In the entire First Temporary Brigade, there are as many as two to three hundred officers above the platoon level.

It is divided into two classes, with classes held in the morning and afternoon.

It can not only improve the effect, but also will not affect the training of new recruits.

Sergei got a small blackboard from somewhere, put it on a wooden frame, and started lecturing nonstop.

A group of officers sat on the ground below.

Some people were scratching their heads, while others were concentrating.

Most of the grassroots officers were veterans of the original 414th Regiment, and Wang Feng had once opened literacy classes for all soldiers.

After one year, the literacy rate of the entire group increased significantly.

There is no problem in coping with the class.

"Dear Davari"

"The so-called human wave assault tactics does not mean rushing in without any command"

"We must rely on our superior forces to encircle and deplete the enemy's manpower."

"The first priority is to increase the speed of reinforcement of the reserve forces and the training of new recruits. We must establish a huge manpower advantage in a short period of time."

While Sergei was speaking, Wang Feng was in the command room, observing the detailed data of each unit through the system panel.

[1st Regiment - Mountain Infantry Regiment]

[Level: Initial training
(Battle Modifier +0%)]

【Compilation: 2600/2600】

[Infantry casualties: 87]

[Damage to Armor: 2]

[Air damage: 0]

[Organization: 132] [Mountain Specialization: Travel Speed +10%, Attack +10%]

【.】

Wang Feng nodded secretly. As the flagship unit of the Temporary 1st Brigade, the 1st Regiment's data were indeed good.

Three infantry battalions, one fire support company, and one grenade launcher company.

With the help of Zhang Hu's "First Climber" medal, the group's organization is very impressive.

Don’t underestimate these 10 unremarkable points.

The base points for an ordinary infantry regiment are only 100 points.

But according to his observations in recent days, in the battle sequence of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, very few infantry regiments could reach the qualified baseline.

The organization level of most friendly forces is around 70 to 80 points.

The recovery efficiency is extremely slow.

Once a force is defeated at the beginning of a war, it will be difficult to recover its combat effectiveness.

In the following battles, they can only become a paddling force.

If you fight with friendly forces like this, you will end up fighting alone if you are not careful.

Wang Feng was very helpless about this and could only jokingly call it a "one-time friendly support card."

Looking at the data floating on the system panel, Wang Feng raised his eyebrows slightly: "Is the effect so fast?"

The data fluctuations of Group One and Group Two are relatively stable.

The training speed bonus and reinforcement rate are both increasing steadily.

On the contrary, for the three groups, if the growth data is made into a line graph, it will be found that the rising line is rising rapidly like a rocket.

"It seems that Kong Zhiyong does have some talent in this area."

Wang Feng raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and stood in front of the window, casting an admiring look at the officers of the Third Regiment in the crowd.

The First Regiment is a strong army with a high degree of organization and resolute execution of orders. It is a unit that can fight tough battles and dares to fight to the death.

He can be called an all-rounder in the temporary brigade.

The Second Regiment, influenced by its commander Liu Zhijian, performed adeptly in the defensive battle.

Originally, when Wang Feng had only two regiments under his command, the two troops, one attacking and one defending, worked in an orderly manner with one on the front and one on the side.

Now the three groups are gradually coming to the fore.

Perhaps because all the officers in the regiment were from the reserve force, the increase in the [reinforcement rate] was particularly obvious.

Once there is a flaw in the front line of the Temporary 1st Brigade, the 3rd Regiment can complete the firefighting mission in a short time.

Japanese military headquarters.

Itagaki Seishirō leaned back in the chair, his eyes slightly closed as he concentrated on his spiritual cultivation.

The Japanese army suffered more than 7,000 casualties in the Battle of Pingxingguan, which was the first devastating defeat they suffered since the full-scale war.

Logically speaking, Itagaki Seishirō cannot escape blame.

But things are impermanent.

Sometimes, if you want to achieve a career advancement, you don’t necessarily need to be outstanding yourself, as long as your colleagues are capable enough.

After the Pingxingguan Battle, Hideki Tojo was transferred back to his homeland to be appointed as Vice Minister of the Army Ministry.

The temporary command of the Kwantung Army's Chahar Expeditionary Corps finally fell into the hands of Itagaki Seishirō as he wished.

Staff Officer Tomoyuki Nishimura was standing nearby, reporting on the progress of the battle.

"General, the Jinsui Army troops guarding Gang County have a weaker fighting spirit than the enemy in Yuanping. They may serve as a breakthrough point in this battle!"

Itagaki Seishirō snorted, "The Jinsui Army in front of us is nothing to be afraid of. We should prioritize breaking through Gang County."

"The supply line is the top priority. We must strengthen the protection of logistical equipment."

As the saying goes, one learns from one's mistakes.

After the Pingxingguan Campaign, the 115th Division deployed its main forces behind the Japanese army and carried out continuous harassment operations.

They successively attacked Lingqiu, Weixian, Hunyuan and other places.

The frequent small-scale battles have already made Itagaki Seishirō feel the pain.

The Japanese military worked hard for decades to invade China, but completely ignored the role of guerrilla warfare.

The Japanese army, which had no combat experience, was confused for a while.

Nishimura Liwen bowed and said, "Hai!"

(End of this chapter)