The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 379 What's next? (Two chapters combined)

"Hey! This rain is really heavy, it looks like the sky has collapsed."

Amidst the grumbling and cursing, Lao Yu led the novice guard into the largest anti-artillery bunker on the reverse slope of the main position.

By this time, Hu Biao and the others had been waiting in the artillery shelter for quite some time.

From Hu Biao's perspective, they could see a thick curtain of rain behind Lao Yu and Shou Zheng.

The rain had so thickened their vision that they couldn't see anything even a little further away.

Although Lao Yu and his companion were wearing straw hats and straw raincoats.

However, after they took off their straw hats and raincoats, it was clear that their clothes were already soaked by the rain.

The new guard had originally planned to take out a cigarette and light it to warm his body, which was a bit chilly after his clothes got wet, but when he saw the cigarette box, it looked like it had been pulled out of the water.
The pack of cigarettes seized from a lieutenant was now completely ruined; I simply squeezed it into a ball with all my might.

The other two men's boots were covered in a thick layer of yellow mud, probably weighing several kilograms.

In short, after receiving the messenger's notification, Lao Yu and the guard walked all the way from the right flank hilltop position. It was only a mile or two, but the two of them were already in such a disheveled state.

This shows that this rain was truly heavy.

Even so, all the transmigrators gathered in this anti-artillery cave, including Lao Yu and the guard, did not show any signs of frustration on their faces; on the contrary, they were inexplicably relaxed.

The reason is simple: it is now December 4th, around 11:12 AM.

This heavy rain has been falling for almost a day and a night since it started yesterday afternoon.

Despite the torrential rain, the trenches on the hilltop have now turned into large pools of water.

The battlefield, which had long been bombed into a mess of loose soil, was also covered in incredibly soft mud, the kind that would leave your legs covered in mud if you stepped into it.

Being stationed on such a position is naturally a very difficult thing to endure.

But it also means that under such harsh conditions, the Japanese planes dared not take off at all; this alone was enough for Hu Biao and his men to overlook all the inconveniences.

Furthermore, if the Japanese infantry wanted to launch an attack in the rain, the muddy ground would severely reduce their agility and speed, and they would even slip from time to time.

Just after 4 p.m. yesterday, the unwilling Japanese launched a forced attack.

What was the result? Their advance was slow, and they often slipped after taking only a few steps. Hu Biao and his men, who were soaked in the mud, easily took them down as if hunting rabbits.

Before they could even advance to within 100 meters of the position, a company of Japanese soldiers had already suffered more than half casualties.

Seeing this, the Japanese soldiers had no choice but to retreat immediately.

And since that attack, there has been no further thought of attacking; the fighting at Gaofeng Pass has ceased and continues until now.

Considering all of the above, as long as they didn't have to continue fighting the Japanese and their brothers didn't suffer constant casualties, these inconveniences in their daily lives were nothing to Hu Biao and his men.

More importantly, this rain was somewhat magical.

According to some information that Hu Biao and his men obtained from Sickle, who brought reinforcements last night:
In the vast city of Nanning, it seems that only the area around Gaofeng Pass experienced the heaviest rainfall, while other places only saw light to moderate rain.

Therefore, the battles between the Nationalist army and the Japanese in other areas were not affected at all.

It seems that the Japanese 21st Infantry Regiment will capture Kunlun Pass by this time today; the main forces of the National Revolutionary Army, such as the Fifth Army, will also appear outside Kunlun Pass soon.

Then the two armies faced each other across this ancient pass with a history of a thousand years.

From that moment on, the Japanese no longer had as many planes, artillery, shells, or troops to launch a strong attack on Gaofeng Pass.

This means that the most difficult period for them at Gaofeng Pass has passed; and the first phase of their operations has basically come to an end for their Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

However, a crucial question arose for Hu Biao and his team: what should they do next?
Based on this, Hu Biao started blowing his whistle to call for reinforcements; even Mo Shuiyan, who had been so busy lately that he hadn't even participated in the fighting, was called to the reverse slope position.

The matter at hand is for everyone to discuss together what they should do next.
We can't just stand here as spectators, sunbathing at Gaofeng Pass...

After waiting another twenty minutes, Mo Shuiyan, who was furthest away, also arrived at the reverse slope position, covered in rain and mud.

At this point, all 17 transmigrators—Hu Biao, Annie, Mina, Xiao Cui, AT, Black Star, Uncle Bo, Mo Shuiyan, Lao Yu, Lao Ma, Xiao Henan, Warehouse Manager, Lao K, Lao San, Thug, Guard, and Lao Tai—had arrived.

After everyone settled into their seats among the empty ammunition boxes, Hu Biao got straight to the point.

Otherwise? Given the extremely limited resources, he's even struggling to get everyone a glass of water; it's better to end the meeting early and let everyone go about their own business.

"Big oaf, silent type, one-eyed dragon, have you arranged the guard and defense work on the positions?" After speaking, he first asked a very crucial question to the defense leaders on the positions.

Theoretically, having already suffered a major defeat, the Japanese would definitely not launch another attack in the heavy rain.

But what if the Japanese soldiers have a sudden lapse in judgment? If they manage to launch a surprise attack, wouldn't I be unjustly killed?

Fortunately, these three are all veterans and wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

Immediately, phrases like "Don't worry," "It's all arranged," and "I'm just afraid the Japanese won't come" came one after another from the mouths of Black Star, Old Ma, and Old Yu.

He nodded, expressing his approval that 'you did a good job'.

Hu Biao continued, recounting some of the ideas he and Annie had discussed privately the previous night:
"Based on the current battle situation, apart from the changes at Gaofeng Pass, the course of the war is not much different from that in history."

Therefore, it is foreseeable that the Japanese will capture Kunlun Pass today.

On the 8th, Principal Bald decided to launch a counter-offensive; Commander Bai ordered all the surrounding Nationalist troops to launch an operation to recapture Kunlun Pass and Nanning City.

At that time, bigwigs such as Chen Xiuzhi, Li Jishen, and Zhang Fakui will come to Guangxi Province to personally supervise the battle.

Unfortunately, by the time the battle officially began, it was already dawn on December 18th; it took half a month in total, and finally the Fifth Army captured Kunlun Pass on January 3rd.

Throughout the operation, they inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese 21st Brigade and killed Major General Masao Nakamura, achieving a remarkable victory.

Unfortunately, the entire operation dragged on for too long, giving the Japanese more time to react.

In addition, the Fifth Army, the most powerful unit in the National Revolutionary Army, suffered heavy casualties. The First Honorary Division and the 200th Division were forced to withdraw from subsequent operations, resulting in a severe reduction in their combat effectiveness.

On January 12, the Fifth Army completely withdrew from the battle and was taken over by the 36th Army. The battle was essentially over.

On February 26, Zhang Fakui, commander of the Fourth War Zone, ordered a complete halt to the offensive. Nanning City was ultimately not recaptured, and this largest overseas supply route remained unbroken.

Therefore, I hope everyone will speak up and see if we can change this outcome and open up this path.

Even if the Japanese still occupy French Annam by the end of September next year, completely cutting off this route, at least tens of thousands of tons of supplies can still be brought in during the more than half a year.

For China at that time, these tens of thousands of tons of supplies were extremely important.

In fact, after resisting the industrialized Japanese for more than two years, China, an agricultural country, had reached an extreme shortage of various supplies, especially military supplies.

Let alone tens of thousands of tons, even a few thousand tons would be extremely important, allowing our brothers to kill more Japanese devils and improving the lives of the people.

Such a simple truth is easy for everyone to understand.

After listening to Hu Biao's explanation, everyone couldn't help but fall into deep thought with solemn expressions.

After a while, Black Star spoke first: "The next step is of course to prepare to participate in the battle of Kunlun Pass and make a decisive move at the crucial moment."

As for things further ahead, let's leave that aside. If Kunlun Pass falls prematurely, the battle situation will definitely change drastically; how to proceed will depend on the actual battle situation at that time, in order to make an accurate plan.

Everyone agreed with this statement.

Hu Biao pressed further, asking, "Next, the Japanese will probably only leave one unit to monitor us and won't launch a full-scale attack anymore. In that case, we'll have at least half a month to rest and regroup."

Do you have any suggestions for me during this time?

Suggestions? Black Star does have some, and they're quite good:

"Let's recruit and train more soldiers! No matter what we plan to do in the future, we still need a force that obeys our commands and is capable of fighting."

We figured we had to develop the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment into a reinforced regiment to be barely sufficient for our needs.

While we're at it, we'll also give the brothers some intensive training. In the previous defensive battles, some of the brothers only knew how to fire their guns, so they were used to fill the defensive lines.

They didn't even know basic tactical maneuvers; their deaths were so unjust and heartbreaking to watch. What a tragedy!

Black Star's words opened up a floodgate of conversation. After reflecting on the combat effectiveness of the past few days and some of the troublesome situations he had encountered, Old Ma quickly offered his suggestions:

"I think the equipment of the troops also needs to be properly reorganized and allocated."

For example, which battalion uses Japanese weapons and which uses Chinese weapons; even if the quantity of French and British weapons is limited and not enough for a battalion, it is best to unify them all and let a company use them.

Otherwise, a single platoon often has several different calibers of rifles, making ammunition replenishment a nightmare.

As for some equipment, like the lousy French-made Chausha light machine gun, which was completely useless, Old Ma never mentioned it.

The main reason was that he knew that even the worst weapon was better than being empty-handed.

The problem of the brothers' diverse array of weapons had caused them all considerable trouble in previous battles, and it certainly wasn't just a headache for Old Ma.

Old Yu quickly chimed in:
"That's right! I've encountered this more than once. At a crucial moment in the battle, a brother with a Hanyang rifle ran out of bullets and shouted to the brothers around him for more bullets."

They handed over a 6.5mm bullet, which was completely useless.

In addition to improving marksmanship and tactical skills during training, the brothers should also strengthen their coordination in attack operations.

The 5th Army suffered heavy casualties during the long battle at Kunlun Pass, mainly because the Japanese had built numerous fortifications on the high ground near Kunlun Pass, especially on Jieshou Mountain.

If we can take it down beforehand, it will definitely change the course of the battle significantly.

After hearing this, Hu Biao looked at Mina and Mo Shuiyan and asked, "Is everything alright on your end?"

Although Hu Biao's question was somewhat absurd, both of them clearly understood what this damned bastard was asking.

The question asked Mina was whether the deal with Yu Hanyong and his group could continue, and whether they could obtain enough weapons and ammunition.

After all, to raise an army, you have to fully arm them, and training them in marksmanship also consumes a lot of ammunition, so this point is quite crucial.

The questions asked of Mo Shuiyan were how many rocket launchers had been produced and what the status of ammunition production was.

This is especially important, as this thing could be a powerful weapon for attacking Kunlun Pass in the future.

Upon hearing this, Mo Shuiyan answered first, saying with great confidence, "Absolutely no problem. Give me another ten days, and I can manufacture two models, a total of 72 rocket launchers."

The reason there are two models is because the seamless steel pipes we bring are available in 60 mm and 80 mm sizes.

So two models were made. One model was made with 60mm steel pipes and fired 90mm over-caliber ammunition. A total of 56 units were made.

The second type was made of 80mm steel tubing and fired 107mm over-caliber ammunition; only 16 units were produced. Each unit could be equipped with at least three to four rockets.

Upon hearing this, the warehouse manager asked the crucial question: "What about its range and power?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Mo Shuiyan spoke fluently and without hesitation.
"In terms of ammunition, it is not equipped with a small rocket engine and relies entirely on gunpowder for propulsion. In addition, the quality of the gunpowder is also slightly inferior, and the maximum range is only about 150 meters."

However, each one was equipped with an optical sight brought by Uncle Bo, and the trajectory of the bullet within 80 meters was relatively stable.

As for power? The Type 1 is about the same as the Bazooka, while the Type 2 is slightly more lethal; anyway, it's a piece of cake to take down Japanese medium tanks and some small bunkers.

After finishing the above topics, Mo Shuiyan thought of something else and then complained somewhat resentfully:
"Actually, I wanted to use those 80mm seamless steel pipes to make some recoilless guns. These things have a longer range and higher accuracy."

Unfortunately, these steel pipes were cut before they were brought over because they were originally intended for making mortars.

The length is insufficient; it's barely enough for a rocket launcher, but too short for a recoilless rifle. If the two are welded together, the strength at the weld point is completely insufficient.

Furthermore, in order to obtain enough cast iron to forge ammunition casings, we're likely to squander almost all the iron resources available in the nearby villages.

Compared to Mo Shuiyan's various complaints, Hu Biao and the others were quite satisfied with the above results.

It makes sense. Carrying explosives to blow up Japanese tanks and bunkers is a completely different story in terms of difficulty and casualties compared to carrying a rocket launcher.

We should be grateful that it's even useful; what more could we ask for?
As for the losses suffered by the villagers? They are not that difficult to resolve.

After a moment of silence, Old Ma suggested, "Why don't we have my sister-in-law ask Yu Hanyong and his group for a little more legal tender and silver dollars in the subsequent transactions?"

It doesn't matter if they refuse to accept it now.

Before we leave, let's leave the money with Sickle, so that our Party comrades can distribute some to the villagers according to the list."

It should be noted that there are now about a dozen comrades from the Nanning Special Branch of our Party in the troops of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment stationed at Gaofeng Pass.

So far, they have all held positions as junior officers.

This arrangement can be seen as being based on the idea of ​​killing two birds with one stone.

On the one hand, these comrades from the Nanning Special Branch possess not only fervent passion but also the courage and sentiment to sacrifice their families for the country.

However, they are basically novices when it comes to military experience, especially in modern warfare.

How can our Party develop better in Guangxi Province without military experience?

So, taking advantage of this opportunity, Hu Biao and his team planned to strengthen their capabilities and train a group of personnel with military skills and experience.

On the other hand, there is the most crucial point.

During their last journey, due to Yan Xishan's influence, these people were unable to stay in northwestern Shanxi to continue their development. So, in order to avoid direct conflict with the Guangxi clique this time, they probably won't be able to stay in Guangxi province either.

But this independent regiment in northern Jiangsu, which we had worked so hard to build up, couldn't just be disbanded like this.

If we keep it, it might come in handy during some future time travel.

For example, during the later stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, in the neighboring Hunan province, where Hu Biao was sent to a labor camp, a series of major battles took place. If conditions permitted, this unit could be mobilized.

After all, the distance between the two places is not too far, so there is some room for maneuver.

So how can we preserve it? The only way is to do what happened in Northwest Shanxi: when they left, we should hand it over to our Party personnel for management.

The best outcome would be one where something can be preserved and used in the future.

Even if they aren't needed, the brothers can still have a good future by following our Party. Our Party will gain another capable force, so it's not a loss...

(End of this chapter)