Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Wang Renliang had led troops in battles before, so he certainly understood the current situation. It was not a retreat, but a rout.

Chapter 221: Surprise Attack on Jining

"How many people are around Jining now?"

"The 26th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Japanese Army has approximately 1800 men. There are also four cavalry divisions, the nd, th, th, and th Mongolian Cavalry Divisions, totaling approximately men. There are also several other garrisons, but the total number is around . Apart from these units, there are no organized troops around Jining."

"Really no more?"

"Yes."

Suiyuan.

Headquarters of the 35th Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

The battle in Zhangjiakou affected the entire Shanxi province, and the same was true for Suiyuan. Because Suiyuan was also under the jurisdiction of the Mongolian Army, Zhangjiakou was anxious and transferred the 26th Regiment of the 11th Division and the rd Mongolian Cavalry Division from Suiyuan, which immediately caused the Japanese troops in Suiyuan to be seriously understaffed.

Of course, the Japanese troops in Suiyuan were already short of manpower.

Over the past year or so, the Japanese army has suffered repeated defeats in Suiyuan. In particular, during the Suiyuan Campaign last year, the Japanese 26th Division was severely hit by the 35th Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and was almost completely wiped out.

Fu Zuoyi is a nationally renowned anti-Japanese general.

Even before the July 2700 Incident, he had won the "Bailingmiao Victory" in Suiyuan. His successes thereafter only grew, with last year's "Suiyuan Victory" being particularly notable. Over 3000 Japanese soldiers were killed, over 26 wounded, and two commanders of the th Division were killed. He also collaborated with the Eighth Route Army to annihilate three divisions of the puppet Mongolian cavalry.

After World War I, the whole country knew that there was a person named Fu Zuoyi in Suiyuan.

Only two months had passed, and neither the Japanese nor the puppet Mongolian army had enough time to recruit new soldiers. As a result, the Japanese and puppet Mongolian armies in Suiyuan were already short of soldiers and major generals. This time, the Mongolian army transferred troops, directly causing the Japanese army in Suiyuan to be extremely short of manpower.

"Is this all that's left of the Pseudo-Mongolian Cavalry Division?"

"Yes. Over the past year, the puppet Mongolian Cavalry Division has suffered heavy casualties from our troops and the Eighth Route Army. The First Cavalry Division was severely damaged by our troops at the beginning of last year, and just as it was recovering, it was completely wiped out by our troops at the end of the year. Although the designation has not been cancelled, it is actually just an empty shell, with no personnel at all. After being severely damaged by us last year, the puppet Mongolian Cavalry Fifth Division was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army's Daqingshan Detachment on the retreat, and even their division commander Yi Heng'e was killed by the Eighth Route Army. The puppet Mongolian Cavalry Sixth Division was severely damaged by the Eighth Route Army in the Chadong area last year, and its designation was cancelled and incorporated into the puppet Mongolian Cavalry Seventh Division. However, the puppet Mongolian Cavalry Seventh Division was ambushed by the Eighth Route Army last year, suffering more than half of its casualties, and has not yet recovered."

The 35th Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, with a little energy, went to "bully" the puppet Mongolian Cavalry Division. After all, compared to the Japanese army, the puppet Mongolian Cavalry Division was easier to fight. It was not just the 35th Army that was like this, the Eighth Route Army was also like this.

The Eighth Route Army lacked weapons and ammunition and was not at an advantage against the 26th Division.

Therefore, whenever there was an opportunity, they would attack the Puppet Mongolian Cavalry Division to obtain weapons and ammunition. Even the cavalry units currently owned by the 35th Army and the Eighth Route Army, most of their war horses were snatched from the Puppet Mongolian Cavalry Division.

The 35th Army and the Eighth Route Army reduced the number of the puppet Mongolian cavalry divisions by half.

The rest generally seem to have numbers, but many troops are just empty shells.

On one occasion, a reinforced company of less than 35 men from the th Army inflicted heavy casualties on an entire Mongolian Cavalry Division. This made the Japanese army extremely dissatisfied with the Mongolian Cavalry Division. If the Japanese army had not been truly short of troops, they would have disbanded the Mongolian Cavalry Division long ago.

"Commander, let's fight."

Those around Fu Zuoyi were all experienced generals who had followed him for many years.

When fighting the Japanese, we never retreated.

The rapid reduction of Japanese troops in Suiyuan is an opportunity for the 35th Army. Before, the 35th Army was not afraid of fighting the Japanese one-on-one, not to mention that it has an advantage in terms of manpower now.

Yan Xishan's approach to Fu Zuoyi was both defensive and effective. It's fair to say that Yan Xishan would be wary of and suppress capable generals once they became powerful. Historically, Shang Zhen and Fu Zuoyi's departures from Yan Xishan were both motivated by this.

Yan Xishan was really afraid of Fu Zuoyi.

Therefore, the organization of the 35th Army was strictly regulated. Earlier, the 35th Army was called an army, but in fact, Fu Zuoyi only had one division, totaling only 35 men. It was not until the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was defeated and Fu Zuoyi returned to Suiyuan with the 35th Army, that he had only six regiments. Even after arriving in Suiyuan, Yan Xishan still controlled the organization of the 35th Army and did not allow Fu Zuoyi to expand the army, even though the emperor was far away. However, every policy has its own countermeasures. Fu Zuoyi was no fool and naturally had his own way to deal with it.

That is to maintain troops in Suiyuan under a different designation.

At present, Fu Zuoyi can mobilize nearly 30,000 troops in Suiyuan. Even if some of the weaker ones are excluded, he can still mobilize 20,000 troops to fight.

"Yes, Commander. We'll make a long raid and reach Jining in four days at most. We'll cleanly and efficiently eliminate the Japanese 12th Regiment and then annihilate the puppet Mongolian Cavalry Division. By then, there will be no organized Japanese troops left in Suiyuan, only a few puppet troops."

"Ah."

Fu Zuoyi nodded.

Now or never.

Such a good opportunity should not be wasted. Fu Zuoyi was a decisive man and would not procrastinate. So he said, "Go and inform the Eighth Route Army across the river and invite them to join us."

"Commander, Commander Yan just sent us an order. He wants us to keep our distance from the Eighth Route Army."

The 35th Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army bore striking resemblance to the Eighth Route Army in its combat style, including its base construction. The 35th Army's officers and soldiers' style and military discipline were largely modeled after the Eighth Route Army. Even Fu Zuoyi, intent on emulating the Eighth Route Army, established a Political Work Committee to conduct political propaganda for his own officers and soldiers. The committee was headed by members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invited by Zuoyi from Yan'an. This led to confusion among the Japanese army, who sometimes couldn't understand whether the 35th Army was a Nationalist or an Eighth Route Army.

So he was given the nickname "Seven Roads and a Half".

Yan Xishan was also very wary of Fu Zuoyi getting too close to the Eighth Route Army.

He sent several telegrams to reprimand Fu Zuoyi.

Fu Zuoyi waved his hand and said, "Now we are cooperating to resist Japan, mainly fighting the Japanese. The Eighth Route Army on the other side of the river can at least help us deal with two or three puppet Mongolian cavalry divisions, which can greatly relieve our pressure."

"But the Eighth Route Army is too cunning. Look at last year's battle. They put up a few thousand men to bluff, and people really thought they had that many. But it turned out to be a deliberate attempt by their own local forces to confuse them.

Their main force was lying in ambush on the roadside, successively ambushing the Japanese logistics troops and the retreating puppet Mongolian cavalry division, and it is unknown how much benefit they gained.

"The more they are, the better it is for us. We have everything. Now listen to my orders."

Since the decision had been made, Fu Zuoyi did not delay.

He said, "The 211th Brigade, the 218th Brigade, the New Army st Division, the New Army nd Division, the New Cavalry st Division, and the New Cavalry nd Division will follow me into battle. Now go back and prepare for battle. The troops will set out in six hours with seven days' worth of rations."

"Yes."

"Notify the Eighth Route Army on the other side of the river and invite them to join us. Ask them to send someone to discuss cooperation with me."

1939 3 Month 2 Day.

Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army raided Jining.

The 35th Army of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was not equipped with the best weapons and equipment among the Nationalist troops, but its combat effectiveness was absolutely first-rate. After three days and three nights of raiding, it was still able to quickly engage in battle without any impact on its combat effectiveness.

This is the combat effectiveness of the 35th Army.

And this is the 35th Army's specialty.

The fight was clean and efficient.

After more than ten hours of fighting, the Japanese 12th Regiment and some special forces of the 26th Division in Jining were completely wiped out. Then, in cooperation with the Eighth Route Army, they attacked 1900 men of the puppet Mongolian cavalry division and captured about 1300 of them, almost completely wiping out the four puppet Mongolian cavalry divisions.

This battle shocked the whole country.

It far exceeded the 8th Column's capture of Xiahuayuan.

The Japanese Imperial Headquarters received the news and rebuked the North China Front Army. The Japanese could not accept Jining falling into Fu Zuoyi's hands. It could be said that after this battle, the entire Suiyuan region fell into Fu Zuoyi's hands, as there were no organized Japanese troops in Suiyuan after the Battle of Jining. Zhangjiakou is 350 miles east of Jining, and Datong is 250 miles south. If Fu Zuoyi had established his stronghold in Jining, neither Zhangjiakou nor Datong would have been secure.

As a result, the North China Front Army had no choice but to send the 26th Independent Mixed Brigade heading north and the remnants of the th Division in Datong to jointly counterattack Jining and recapture Jining.

Chapter 222: Conquering Xuanhua

Once the Eighth Column moves, the entire North China will be affected.

Suiyuan, Chahar, Shanxi, Pingbei and Jidong were all in chaos.

Fighting is becoming more and more intense everywhere.

On the contrary, the fighting on the side of the 16th, 18th, and Independent Regiments was not fierce at all. Since entering Xiahuayuan, Wei Hongjun's main task has been to evacuate personnel and supplies.

Of course, we also had to guard against Japanese aircraft bombing.

After Xiahuayuan was captured, the North China Front Army was extremely anxious and frequently dispatched aircraft to bomb Xiahuayuan. At times, over twenty aircraft were deployed at once. However, with the fighting raging elsewhere, their air forces were no longer able to focus on these operations. Fu Zuoyi's capture of Jining was particularly devastating to the North China Front Army. It could be said that Fu Zuoyi's capture of Jining sent shockwaves throughout the North China Front Army, and the North China Front Army began hastily deploying troops to recapture Jining.

Unfortunately, as soon as the North China Front Army moves, it will immediately give others an opportunity.

After the 26th Regiment of the 13th Division and the 120th Independent Mixed Brigade in Datong counterattacked Jining, troops from the st Division again advanced into East Datong. Also on the Tongpu Road side, troops from the st Division, the nd Division, and the th Division all became active.

Because the 26th Division previously had to manage Tongpu Road. But now that the 12th Regiment was completely wiped out, the 11th and 13th Regiments needed to counterattack Jining, resulting in a shortage of troops in Datong. This created a loophole on the Tongpu Road side.

The Eighth Route Army was a force that "shone brightly with a little sunshine." As long as the Japanese forces weakened behind enemy lines, the Eighth Route Army would actively develop.

There is also the Jidong area.

Although the Ji-Re-Liao Advancing Army was plagued by internal conflicts, the arrival of its main force in eastern Hebei was a huge boost to the anti-Japanese resistance there. The anti-Japanese situation there instantly became more active. Within a few days, the North China Front Army received numerous telegrams requesting assistance. As a result, the Japanese bombing of Xiahuayuan rapidly decreased.

But even so, Wei Hongjun still had red eyes from staying up all night to sort out the supplies in the garden and evacuate the people there.

I couldn't sleep for several days and nights.

After all, there were too many things to consider. It wasn't summer yet, so we could just evacuate. At night, we could just find a place to camp.

It's freezing cold right now. If you don't have any protection, you could freeze to death sleeping in the mountains at night. Furthermore, cooking and boiling water along the way are no easy feats. If you light a fire carelessly, you could signal Japanese aircraft, a surefire way to death.

These must be considered.

Fortunately, there is a Japanese barracks here, and traitors are everywhere.

We seized a lot of cotton-padded clothes, trousers, quilts, and other items. When we searched the homes of traitors, we also found a lot of valuables. We also had to carry a lot of food for the journey. Preparing all this was no easy task.

Wei Hongjun's voice became hoarse.

Fortunately, the Japanese army had few troops around Zhangjiakou, which gave the independent regiment enough time to evacuate calmly.

It took a full five days for all the people in Xiahuayuan to evacuate. Even the first group of evacuees had already entered the Eighth Route Army base. In the past few days, people from surrounding towns and villages had even rushed in to sign up for the army.

Wei Hongjun was very enthusiastic about these people and wanted as many as he could get.

No time to identify.

"Old Wei, when I want to evacuate, please help the 18th Regiment capture Xuanhua.

"Xuanhua?"

"Ah."

Wei Hongjun was among the last group to evacuate.

Including the main force of the independent regiment, they also chose to evacuate last.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were both very happy because this operation was a complete success. They actually captured Xiahuayuan and plundered all its supplies.

The supplies in Xiahuayuan were not only what the two independent battalions of the Japanese army needed, but also included supplies for the mining area guard team and the Xiahuayuan police team. After all, Xiahuayuan was the most important coal mining base in the Zhangjiakou area, and there was a wealth of various things.

There are hundreds of trucks of various types.

Few of the Eighth Route Army soldiers knew how to drive, but many of the workers in Xiahuayuan knew how to drive, including some transport soldiers among the captured Nationalist soldiers who also knew how to drive.

These cars were a valuable asset for transporting supplies. Although the Eighth Route Army was short on gasoline, they didn't care if they could still drive. They'd just get the supplies there first. However, there were still too few cars, so most supplies were pulled by horses, oxen, and even oxen. Many supplies were even carried directly on small carts.

When the troops evacuated Xiahuayuan and were not far from Xuanhua, Wang Qiuyun suddenly discussed with Wei Hongjun.

"Capture Xuanhua? Are you sure?"

"There was only one squadron of Japanese soldiers in Xuanhua, and later another squadron was sent from Zhuolu, so there were only two squadrons in total. The 18th Regiment has been fighting the Japanese army for the past few days, and we have fully understood the Japanese army's strength and defense in Xuanhua. Although the Japanese army said there were two squadrons, there are actually less than 200 Japanese soldiers in Xuanhua city. This time we seized so many artillery pieces from Xiahuayuan, and we can use them on the Japanese troops in Xuanhua. We can resolve the battle and capture Xuanhua in a few hours. Xuanhua is an important city in Chahar, and there are probably a lot of valuables in the city. This time we dispatched a force of 10,000 people, but we didn't fight a real battle."

"Ah."