Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 68: North China Battle Group Ready to Go
Wang Feng nodded. He had started to plan this since he acquired the Second Field Hospital.

There are about 500 students in the first phase, and they only learn emergency response methods. The educational requirement is not high, and any soldier with a smart mind can do the job.

As soon as Lang Shaohua left, Zhao Fangyuan came running over.

"Sir!"

"Captain Chu is outside asking for a meeting!"

Wang Feng raised his eyebrows slightly: "Captain Chu?"

"358th Regiment Leader Chu Yunfei?"

Zhao Fangyuan responded.

Wang Feng hurriedly said: "Quick, please come in!"

He still had a very good impression of Chu Yunfei, who was considered an excellent general in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army who was capable of fighting tough battles. If the 358th Regiment had not been willing to be crippled in order to tie down the main force of the Japanese army in the Pingxingguan Battle, the st Brigade might not have fought so smoothly.

When retreating from Lingqiu, the 414th Regiment was about to face reorganization and was short of soldiers and major generals.

If Chu Yunfei had not sent out the Lingqiu Militia, the reorganization would have been difficult.

Thinking of this, Wang Feng stood up and went out to greet him in person.

The weather in Shanxi had turned cooler in October. Health is the capital of revolution, so Wang Feng paid more attention to this and put on a coat before going out.

As soon as he went out, he saw Chu Yunfei walking towards him with a smile, followed by Qian Bojun and Fang Ligong.

"Brother Wang, I hope you are well!"

"Thank goodness, I heard that you, my brother, happened to be stationed here, so I came here specially to visit you!"

Wang Feng took a few steps forward and said, "We brothers haven't had enough of the last battle at Pingxing Pass."

"I really don't know when we can fight side by side again!"

Wang Feng saw clearly the combat effectiveness of the 358th Regiment and Chu Yunfei's command ability.

If the 358th Regiment had been present in the battle of Nanhuaihua, it would have been able to annihilate the two infantry regiments there.

Chu Yunfei smiled and said jokingly, "Since we last met, Brother Wang has risen to prominence. I can no longer be your friend today."

"From now on, you must address me as Commander Wang!"

This is true.

No one could have imagined that in less than two months, someone could jump two levels.

This situation is extremely rare in the entire world military history.

It just so happens that every promotion has a good reason, and other than his lack of experience, no one can find any fault with him.

Chu Yunfei looked at Wang Feng in front of him. He was wearing a straight and powerful military uniform, with two triangular stars on his collar shining, and a coat on his back, which faintly revealed the temperament of being able to plan and win battles thousands of miles away.

Wang Feng waved his hand: "Being a company commander or a regiment commander is the same as being for the purpose of fighting the war and saving the country. There is no difference. It's cold outside, let's talk inside."

inside the house.

Wang Feng hung up his coat and sat on the mahogany chair.

Chu Yunfei sat opposite the desk, with Fang Ligong and Qian Bojun standing behind him.

The two men looked reserved, standing there motionless, their eyes fixed straight ahead without daring to wander anywhere else.

Wang Feng called the guards and said, "Go make a pot of tea. We have guests coming today."

Chu Yunfei hurriedly said, "You are too polite, Commander Wang. Yunfei came here today mainly to ask about the battle situation at Lady Pass."

Just now outside the house, the two of them were calling each other brothers, that was a private relationship.

He is a man of principles, and he clearly distinguishes between public and private.

Now we have entered the command room. On the wall hangs a blue sky, white sun, and a portrait of Mr. Sun.

Since what we are discussing is official business, we naturally have to separate the issues into separate matters and use the most radical terms.

Wang Feng frowned: "My wife's pass?"

"Could it be."

Chu Yunfei smiled and said, "An hour ago, the Sixth Army's General Staff called and ordered our 358th Regiment to travel day and night and reach the Niangzi Pass front within five days."

Wang Feng frowned even more tightly.

The 358th Regiment is also going to Niangzi Pass?
In his eyes, being sent by Yan Laoxi to support the Niangziguan front at this critical juncture was no different from going to Siberia to dig potatoes.

The 358th Regiment can be considered an elite unit. Now Yan Laoxi is short of soldiers and major generals, so Chu Yunfei, who is able to fight tough battles, is highly valued by him.

It shouldn't be
Chu Yunfei was puzzled: "What's wrong with asking this?"

Wang Feng shook his head: "It doesn't matter, the situation at Niangzi Pass is not optimistic."

"The nationalist troops stationed here are all from Shaanxi or Sichuan. They are seriously short of weapons and equipment, and the national defense fortifications they have repaired are weak and at best are just face-saving projects and are not up to the task."

Chu Yunfei's face froze when he heard this.

As a colonel regiment commander, his sources of information were relatively scarce, and much of his information came from public information within the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

All we know is that a large number of national defense fortifications were built along the Niangzi Pass line, but only the relevant people know their specific quality.

Chu Yunfei sighed: "How can we defend Shanxi if we act this way?"

Wang Feng smiled but said nothing.

This is nothing. What the Kuomintang did later was even more outrageous than it is now.

Shutting down the radio station and quietly retreating before a battle has become commonplace.

Chu Yunfei was so disappointed that he sighed a few times, clasped his hands together and bowed slightly: "Commander Wang, the situation is urgent with the enemy at hand. I will go down to prepare for war first."

Wang Feng nodded slightly.

Looking at Chu Yunfei's departing back, I couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

Three days later.

The North China Battle Group was officially deployed in Jinzhong.

It has three main mountain regiments and nine main battalions, each regiment has 3,500 people.

The main front-line forces alone reached 10,500 people.

The strength is extraordinary.

Four artillery battalions.

The mortar battalion is equipped with twenty-four light mortars.

The main models are the Japanese-made Type 90 mm mortar and the Jin-made mortar.

The infantry artillery battalion originally had only two Type 92 infantry guns. After the battle of Nanhuaihua Village, four more were seized.

There are six doors in total.

The next is the mountain artillery battalion and the heavy artillery battalion. Since these two types of artillery are relatively precious, the Japanese army does not equip them in large quantities. At present, they still maintain the original number.

The changes in combat troops are not obvious. As a combat group, they must have extremely strong comprehensive combat capabilities and be able to cope with various complex environments.

Therefore, Wang Feng put a lot of effort into supporting the troops.

The original logistics company was reorganized into a battalion-level unit, and a motor vehicle company was added to this organization.

There were a total of six transport trucks, all of which were captured from the Japanese army.

The most eye-catching change this time is the field hospital. In addition to more than 300 medical staff, it is also equipped with two companies of soldiers, two trucks and several mule and horse carts.

In addition, there is a maintenance company and an engineering company.

Wang Feng had been secretly planning about the maintenance company for a long time.

The North China Battle Group had no mechanized troops, and the only thing it had connected with machinery was probably the eight captured Japanese trucks.

There is nothing to repair, and there is no need to set up a separate maintenance unit.

But that was in the past, things are different now.

It is foreseeable that Yan Laoxi will make things difficult for the North China Battle Group in the future, so there is no need to count on the military equipment supplies being delivered on time.

As for Wei Lihuang, he wanted to help but couldn't, and could only worry.

Before having the ability to produce weapons on their own, they had to rely on captured weapons to maintain military supplies.

The importance of the military maintenance company is revealed.

Directly repair the captured damaged weapons, which is convenient and reliable.

The small arsenal in Xiajiashan Village has trained a number of skilled technical workers. Although they are not good at research and development, they are very good at repairing firearms.

Long before the troops arrived at Xinkou Town, Wang Feng sent a telegram to Zhu Xiangwen, mentioning this matter.

In wartime, having a professional engineering company can bring many benefits.

All in all, the total number of soldiers in the North China Battle Group has reached about 13,000.

There are only a little over 10,000 combat troops, and the rest are considered logistics troops.

On the train platform.

Wang Feng was wearing a coat and soldiers were walking past him.

"Hello, sir!"

"Hello, sir!"

Every soldier who passed by saluted and greeted them.

Wang Fengdu responded one by one.

The war situation on the front line is urgent and changes every day.

There was still some room for maneuver a few days ago, but in the blink of an eye, Huang Shaohong's troops were about to be wiped out, and Yan Laoxi also felt a sense of urgency.

The newly formed North China Battle Group was sent directly to the Niangziguan battlefield by military train.

Beside the train, the soldiers were shouting.

"I've lived for more than 20 years, but this is my first time riding a train!"

"Brother Liu, do you think I'm standing at attention?"

"What? Are you going to get married?"

"Hehe, I think it's my first time riding a train, so I should wear something nice."

"Don't push, don't push, you will be able to get up sooner or later!"

"."

Zhao Fangyuan walked to his side and said, "Sir, everyone in the regiment has boarded the vehicle."

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Wang Feng unconsciously wrapped his coat tightly: "Where is the heavy artillery battalion?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "I just talked to the crew and our howitzers can be put on the vehicle."

“But I guess I have to catch the next one.”

Wang Feng nodded: "Okay."

The four 105mm Type howitzers did not play any role in the battle of Nanhuaihua Village.

In the absence of air superiority, the sky was the Japanese's home turf. Large-caliber heavy artillery was difficult to move quickly and looked no different from sitting ducks from the sky.

It didn’t work before, and it will be hard to have a chance to play in the future.

But Wang Feng still decided to carry it with the team.

Cannon is the god of war!

From a bird's-eye view, the Japanese army's weaknesses were nowhere to be seen.

He needs to mobilize absolute superior firepower in a short period of time, and large-caliber heavy artillery is an indispensable part.

Zhao Fangyuan persuaded from the side: "Sir, it's cold outside, let's get in the car first."

Wang Feng responded, turned around and walked into the special carriage.

The fighting situation on the Xinkou front was tense. Although the two sides had entered a confrontation phase, battles of varying sizes still occurred every day.

Both sides suffered heavy losses.

Almost two to three thousand men were lost every day, which was equivalent to the strength of a full-strength regiment.

Trains are needed to transport wounded soldiers, weapons and ammunition, and the supply is in short supply.

There were not many carriages that could be allocated to the North China Battle Group, so they could only be transported to the Niangziguan front in two shifts.

The first shift transported a regiment, along with all the support troops.

There is also a mountain artillery battalion.

The second shift transported all remaining troops.

Wang Fenggang sat down in the carriage.

Zhao Fangyuan approached: "Sir, a telegram from the top!"

"Tang Enbo's troops, the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army are rushing to the Niangziguan front to cooperate with the North China Battle Group to resist the Japanese army."

Wang Feng snorted coldly.

Now that's good, Niangzi Pass is Shanxi's territory, and in the end it is just a Shanxi unit of the North China Battle Group.

The Shaanxi Army, Sichuan Army, Central Army, and the Eighth Route Army were mixed here.

(End of this chapter)