Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Wang Qiuyun was very curious.

This area, located between Peking and Baoding, was already the core of Japanese rule in North China. Yang Quanwu's intentions were to sweep through the counties in this area. One of Yang Quanwu's most notable achievements was his Eighth Route Army's crossing of the Yellow River with fewer than 2,000 men. However, he swept through, capturing seven counties in less than two months. His army expanded to over 7,000 men.

However, the Japanese army has more troops in these counties in Hebei.

Of course, the first division also has a lot more troops.

“3团、17团、22团、32团、33团，驻扎涞源的特务团已经悄悄进驻易县。以及三个游击支队，还有一些地方部队。”

"Commander, aren't you afraid that the Japanese will disrupt your retreat?"

Wang Qiuyun was very shocked.

Division 1 was strong, but deploying six main regiments at once was a major operation for Division 1. Adding three guerrilla detachments and local forces, the mobilized force could reach 20,000.

With so many troops sent out, what if the Japanese army were to take over from behind?

After all, the base area would be short of soldiers and generals by then. The Japanese army only needed to send a battalion to run rampant in the base area.

"The Japanese army is seriously short of mobile forces in Peking and Baoding. As long as you take away enough mobile forces, the Japanese army will not be able to withdraw troops. And even if they do withdraw them, it will depend on who of us moves faster."

"Commander, we have guerrillas in these areas too, right?"

"Ah."

Yang Quanwu nodded.

He smiled and said, "Not only are there our guerrillas, but there are also some civilian anti-Japanese armed forces. Since last year, the North China Front Army has been short of manpower and has relaxed its suppression of the civilian anti-Japanese armed forces. Therefore, many civilian anti-Japanese armed forces are still active in this area. The reason why I want to take these places with thunderous force this time is to reorganize these armed forces."

In North China, Hebei and Shandong have the largest number of civilian anti-Japanese armed forces.

Both the National Army and the Eighth Route Army were vying for them.

A single butterfly stirred up a whirlwind that shaped the entire anti-Japanese war in North China. The rise of the Eighth Column directly transformed the Chahar battlefield and influenced the development of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. It even directly impacted the situation in Suiyuan and the Yanbei region. Historically, the North China Front Army had also been short of troops, but never to the extent it is today.

As a result, the North China Front Army was unable to spare troops to encircle and suppress the civilian anti-Japanese armed forces in Hebei.

Between Peking and Baoding, in addition to the Eighth Route Army guerrillas, there were several other militias active among the people in the area of ​​anti-Japanese resistance. Yang Quanwu was particularly fond of these militias, and he had the most experience organizing them.

This time he planned to catch them all in one fell swoop and add three or four more main regiments to the first division.

"After this battle, the iron-blooded anti-Japanese detachment operating between Fangshan and Laishui will be handed over to your Eighth Column.

"Commander, this is serious."

Wei Hongjun was very excited.

This iron-blooded anti-Japanese unit began as an assassination squad formed by university students in Peking. It later evolved into an anti-Japanese force, active between Fangshan and Laishui. It consisted of only a few hundred men.

But don’t underestimate their small number, their fighting power is not weak.

They fought several successful ambushes. Of course, they mainly ambushed puppet troops, with the occasional attack on Japanese police units. Even so, they were quite impressive. After all, they had started as a group of students and then became an army.

Their most notable ambush involved a battalion of the North China Security Army led by Quan Qixieyuan, who killed over 300 puppet troops. They even attacked the convoy of Sugiyama Gen, commander of the North China Front Army, causing a sensation throughout North China. Later, the Japanese and puppet troops dispatched over 3,000 troops specifically to encircle and suppress this iron-blooded anti-Japanese force, but they were unsuccessful.

Although they only have about 400 men now, their troops are highly educated. Furthermore, they've been fighting here for over a year, so their military and political skills are very high. With a little training, they could even be expanded to form a regiment.

"A gentleman's word."

"Commander, when do we start?"

Chapter 227 Sweeping Pingnan

There was silence at the North China Front Army Headquarters.

The commander of the North China Front Army, Tada Shun, was already furious. While all the fronts under the China Expeditionary Army were advancing rapidly, the North China Front Army was the only one that was repeatedly defeated.

Not only did they suffer repeated defeats, but they were also humiliated by the Eighth Route Army.

The previous actions of the Eighth Column in Zhangjiakou had already caused major changes in Suiyuan, Jidong, Rehe, and Yanbei. Moreover, these changes were not conducive to the direction of the Japanese army.

The Japanese army is currently really in a situation where everyone is in a specific position.

If any one of them were to be moved, a defensive loophole would appear somewhere. If the Japanese army showed any weakness in its control, these anti-Japanese forces would emerge from behind enemy lines to seize territory. To stabilize the situation in Chahar, the 26th Regiment of the 11th Division had just been deployed to reinforce Zhangjiakou. Unexpectedly, Fu Zuoyi took advantage of this opportunity and launched the 35th Army in the brilliant Jining Campaign, completely annihilating the 26th Regiment of the 12th Division.

As soon as Fu Zuoyi moved, the entire Suiyuan moved.

As Fu Zuoyi attacked the Japanese, the Daqingshan Detachment also deployed an infantry regiment and three cavalry regiments to cooperate with Fu Zuoyi in annihilating four puppet Mongolian cavalry divisions. Furthermore, the deteriorating situation in Suiyuan further strained the Japanese and puppet forces. To suppress Fu Zuoyi's forces and the 120th Division's Daqingshan Detachment, the main force of the 26th Division and the th Independent Mixed Brigade entered Suiyuan.

The troops stationed in Mongolia were so short of manpower that the North China Front Army had no way to deal with it.

This chaotic situation lasted for more than twenty days. Finally, it calmed down, and Tada Shun thought he had time to recruit new soldiers and receive the four newly reorganized divisions.

I didn’t expect that the Eighth Column didn’t rest.

They turned around and gathered two regiments, and started causing trouble in Wanping and Fangshan areas.

Zhangjiakou was important, but no matter how important it was, it couldn't compare to Beiping. Beiping was the political, economic, and military center of the Japanese North China Front. They couldn't lose anything else, but they couldn't lose Beiping. And Wanping was Beiping's western gate.

The July 7 Incident took place in Wanping.

In fact, if you look closely, Wanping is Beiping.

Therefore, the North China Front Army could only hastily mobilize mobile forces in the surrounding areas. All the Japanese and puppet troops that could be mobilized in the Peking and Baoding areas were transferred there just to stabilize the situation in Wanping and Fangshan.

Unfortunately, they guessed the beginning but not the end.

At present, the total number of Japanese troops in Beijing, Baoding, Shijiazhuang, and other county towns and important transportation lines in Hebei Province is less than 20,000.

The Japanese army had more troops in major cities like Beijing, Baoding, and Shijiazhuang, as well as along important transportation routes, while the number of Japanese troops in county towns was much smaller.

As Japanese forces began to concentrate in Wanping and Fangshan, even the already undermanned counties mobilized some troops. Suddenly, the dormant First Division erupted. Commander Yang Quanwu personally arrived at the front lines to direct the operation. Mobilizing six main regiments and three guerrilla detachments, they coordinated with local forces and began sweeping across the major counties.

It can't be stopped at all.

The Japanese army already had few troops in these counties. This time, to stabilize the situation in Wanping and Fangshan, they drew troops from these counties. Therefore, any county with 400 or 500 men was considered a significant force, and they were considered important counties in Hebei. Most counties had at most a squadron of Japanese soldiers, supplemented by puppet troops.

The main force of the First Division has a very distinctive style.

When they retreated, they were faster than anyone else, unconcerned with their pots and pans. To put it bluntly, even the troops of the First Division fled faster than the other Eighth Route Army units. However, when it came time to attack, these troops were unrivaled in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region in terms of their offensive capabilities. This time, that was the case.

The six main regiments launched an attack, conquering a city almost every three to five days.

Furthermore, the First Division's bold attack also ignited a wave of anti-Japanese sentiment in the area. Those civilian anti-Japanese armed forces usually only fought against puppet troops and rarely engaged in direct confrontation with the Japanese. But now that the First Division's troops had launched an all-out attack, these forces began to become active.

These civilian anti-Japanese armed forces are numerous and their weapons and equipment are not bad.

Fight with Division One.

Many units had even contacted the First Division, expressing their willingness to be reorganized by the Eighth Route Army. This was because, apart from the Eighth Route Army, there were no other units in this area. Any armed force that refused to become traitors would either be wiped out by the Japanese or reorganized by the Eighth Route Army.

Obviously they are very supportive of the first division.

Within half a month, the First Division captured five county towns in Hebei and annihilated more than 2300 Japanese and puppet troops.

Of course, compared to the sheer number of enemies destroyed, Division One's other gains were truly astonishing. Eight civilian armed groups agreed to be reorganized by Division One, adding over ten thousand troops to its ranks. Even excluding the elderly, the sick, and those unwilling to join the Eighth Route Army, the remaining young and strong would still number five to six thousand, enough to easily form two regiments.

Then, with the capture of five county towns, the population of the First Division's base suddenly increased by over a million. Since the First Division's entry, there has been an endless stream of people signing up for military service. This is especially true for students in this area, with hundreds signing up in a single day.

But if the First Division was happy, how could the North China Front Army be happy?

My head is going to explode.

Tada Shun was very angry, but there was nothing he could do.

"Commander, the 33rd Regiment of the Eighth Route Army has entered Ba County."

"idiot."

Tada Shun couldn't help but throw the cup in his hand.

Said: "Where is the 109th Division?"

"We are suppressing bandits in eastern Hebei."

"Return him. We must not allow the Eighth Route Army to reach Langfang and Tianjin. This will allow them to directly connect with the Eighth Route Army in Jidong and Jizhong. The entire situation will be out of control. Leave the affairs of Jidong to the 110th Division, the Manchurian National Defense Army."

Tada Shun did not like the 109th Division.

Because during the military operations to encircle and suppress the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region last year, the 109th Division did not perform well. Instead, it was ambushed several times by the First Division troops, and suffered more than 109 casualties within a month. The 109th Division's defense area was full of civilian anti-Japanese armed forces. For more than a year, the 109th Division failed to resolve these anti-Japanese armed forces. It can be said that among the current North China Front Army, except for the Mongolian Garrison, the 110th Division performed the worst. Even the 109th Division, which was formed later, had better combat effectiveness than the 109th Division. The combat effectiveness of the 106th Division was just as poor as that of the th Division, which disgraced itself in the Battle of Wuhan.

But now he had no troops, so he could only mobilize the 109th Division to protect Langfang and Tianjin. Tsutada Shun was very troubled when he looked at the troops in his hands.

The Eighth Route Army was causing such unrest in Hebei, yet they were unable to send any troops to suppress them. The headquarters also met the North China Front Army's request for reinforcements. They planned to add the 35th, 36th, 37th, and 41st Divisions, for a total of four divisions.

The problem now is that, with the exception of the 35th Division, the 36th, 37th, and 41st Divisions are all in Japan. They have only just been reorganized and have not yet arrived in China. It will take another two or three months for these divisions to arrive in China and be incorporated into the North China Front Army.

"Send power to headquarters. We need the 35th Division. Send the 35th Division north quickly to stabilize the situation in Hebei."

The 35th Division was formed by expanding the Japanese Army's 35th Division's th Regiment as its core unit.

The troops were currently in Wuhan. The 35th Division, having suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Wuhan, was preparing to return home. The 35th Division had just been formed and was, admittedly, still incomplete in many respects. But Tada Shun was impatient; the situation in Hebei was pressing. There was no time to wait for the th Division to be fully prepared and ready to fight.

"Commander, the 35th Division was originally going to Henan."

"Hebei is more important now."

Tada Shun really can't wait any longer.

The situation in Hebei was deteriorating rapidly. As the First Division rampaged through southern Beijing, a series of dire consequences ensued, including the resurgence of the Eighth Route Army in both central and eastern Hebei.

And the three main regiments of the damn Yire Advance Army entered Rehe and Jidong, which also put a lot of pressure on the North China Front Army.

"Once the 36th Division arrives, send it to Henan."

"Yes."

"Pass on my order: withdraw your forces. Abandon some unimportant strongholds, but protect our cities and transportation routes.

"Yes."

Chapter 228 Sweet Trouble

There were beacons everywhere in Hebei.

Especially around Peking. Xiao Yongshi, deputy commander of the 34th Column and commander of the newly established Pingbei Detachment, was personally responsible for the battles of the 35th and th Regiments. The Pingbei Detachment attacked towns and villages in Wanping and Fangshan in order to attract the surrounding Japanese troops.

So we still have to fight a few fierce battles.

Xiao Yongshi's mission was to cooperate with the First Division while also minimizing losses. Of course, his goal was to use this opportunity to train the 34th and 35th Regiments.

It looks simple, but it is not simple.

Compared with the Pingbei Detachment, the troops of the First Division were rampant between Peking and Baoding, and no troops could stop them.

Not only did they capture cities and territories, but they also captured five county towns. While fighting, they also raised a banner and began recruiting soldiers from all over the country. Of course, they also destroyed the Han Hao regime in towns and villages and built anti-Japanese bases.

The North China puppet government has very complete puppet government departments in Hebei.