Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Xu Luomin continued, "Our Eighth Column is very far away from the Zhengtai Road, and has basically no connection with the Pinghan Road and Tongpu Road. Therefore, the military district's attack on the Zhengtai Road has little to do with our Eighth Column, and our Eighth Column will not participate. But this does not mean that our Eighth Column will not participate in the battle. On the contrary, our Eighth Column has a heavy task. The military district's task for the Eighth Column is to attack the Pingsui Road and completely paralyze it. We cannot allow the Japanese army to transport troops and supplies into Datong through the Pingsui Road, which would affect the 120th Division's attack on the Tongpu Road. At the same time, our Eighth Column must cooperate with the Fifth Division to attack the Lingqiu to Daixian highway. In the past six months, the Japanese army has established six strongholds and eighteen bunkers on this 26-mile highway. A battalion of the Japanese th Division, plus a guard regiment of the puppet army, are all in the strongholds on this highway."

Many people attending the meeting are very familiar with the Lingqiu to Daixian highway.

Because this is the place where the 115th Division won the Pingxingguan victory. Many people attending the meeting were from the 115th Division and participated in the Pingxingguan battle. In order to compress the Eighth Route Army base, the Japanese army set up a large number of bunkers on this important road.

Because there are many strongholds and bunkers, they can reinforce each other at any time.

The Fifth Division sent the 19th Regiment to participate in the attack on the Zhengtai Road, and also sent troops to support the 120th Division in the attack on the Tongpu Road, which was a huge pressure in itself. But they also had to attack the Lingqiu to Daixian road.

As a result, the Fifth District was seriously understaffed.

Therefore, Deng Guo asked the military region to withdraw some troops from the Eighth Column to support the operations of the Fifth Division.

The military district agreed to Deng Guo’s request.

The five districts were established hastily and there are still many problems in many aspects.

The Fifth District is a poor and sparsely populated area, so the reason why the First District has been developing towards western Hebei is because the development space in the Yanbei region is limited.

Not only was the area sparsely populated and poorly fertile, but it was also too close to the Tongpu Road. It was frequently raided by Japanese forces from Taiyuan and Datong. In normal times, Datong and Taiyuan would dispatch one or two battalions to raid the Yanbei region, making development in the region extremely difficult. Previously, Yang Quanwu used supplies from western Hebei to support the troops operating in Yanbei.

However, the current District 5 does not have such conditions, so its development has been hindered.

The Fifth District has a heavy task this time, so the military district asked the Eighth Column to provide some troops to the Fifth District.

"Regarding our cooperation with the Fifth Division in attacking the Lingqiu to Daixian highway, the Column has decided to form a Southward Advance Detachment consisting of the Column Guard Regiment, the New Third Regiment, the Teaching Battalion, and a student regiment from the Cha'nan Cadre School. Comrade Zheng Weishan will serve as the commander and political commissar of the Southward Advance Detachment, responsible for coordinating with the Fifth Division in combat."

Wang Qiuyun interrupted.

This time, the Eighth Column dispatched four regiments to support the Fifth Division's operations.

Although it is not the main force of the column, it is still a force of more than 5,000 people.

"Comrade Zheng Weishan, in this raid, we must pay attention to limiting casualties.

Wei Hongjun glanced at Zheng Weishan.

"Yes."

Zheng Weishan was very happy.

After more than four months in the 8th Column, I have gradually begun to integrate into the 8th Column.

The cadres of the Eighth Column had grown accustomed to Zheng Weishan's presence. He was also very busy, as deputy commander, he had to attend to the column's work. As principal of the Chanan Cadre School, he was also responsible for the training of the teaching brigade and new recruits. Yet, he still found time every day to lecture students at the Chanan Cadre School, and occasionally to give lectures at the teaching brigade. His lectures were well-received.

Now the column gave him the opportunity to lead his troops into battle.

Although he is not a main player and is only helping out in the fifth division, this is a good start for Zheng Weishan.

"Commander, Political Commissar, the task of destroying the Ping-Sui Road is now assigned to our Chadong Detachment. The Japanese army has been pressing hard on our Longyanchi base area. Relying on the Ping-Sui Road strongholds, they have been clearing out villages and civilians along the route, forbidding any movement along the Ping-Sui Road. In this way, they have been squeezing our base area and restricting the activities of our Chadong Detachment. We have long hoped to win a destroying battle."

Zhang Dahu, commander of the Chadong detachment, spoke.

Since the establishment of the Chadong Detachment, the Longyanchi base had not suffered any major raids. However, this did not mean that the Japanese army would allow the Chadong Detachment to develop freely. Over the past year, the Japanese army has concentrated more and more troops to block the Pingsui Road.

Then, they slowly began to establish strongholds based on the Pingsui Road.

Don't rush, just keep building strongholds and constructing forts. It seems like a stupid method, but it has a great impact on the base.

The Chadong Detachment has been thinking about how to break this situation.

Now that the headquarters is going to carry out such a large-scale raid, the Chadong Detachment certainly cannot lag behind.

"Comrade Zhang Dahu, Comrade Xia Houwen, the column's order to the Chadong Detachment is to focus on destroying Kangzhuang Station. Not only must Kangzhuang be captured, but all surrounding strongholds and forts must also be destroyed, including railroad tracks and sleepers. Mobilize all local troops and militia, as well as the people of the base area, to participate. Once a station is captured, everything surrounding it must be dismantled.

"Make sure to complete the mission."

Why did the column specifically point out Kangzhuang?

The Japanese army attached great importance to Kangzhuang. Consequently, they established seventeen strongholds and over eighty garrisons within a twenty-mile radius surrounding the Kangzhuang train station. There were approximately two thousand Japanese troops alone, and around four thousand puppet troops, for a total of over six thousand Japanese and puppet troops. Along the Pingsui Railway, the Japanese army established large-scale garrisons at key train stations at regular intervals. The garrisons near Kangzhuang Station housed the largest number of Japanese and puppet troops.

Chapter 326 Combat Order 3

Xu Luomin continued his orders, "The 34th, 35th, 40th, and New nd Regiments of the Pingbei Detachment, along with all local forces in Changwanshan, will participate in destroying strongholds and bunkers within Wanping County. Destroy all bunkers built by the Japanese along the highway within Wanping County."

"Ensure the mission is complete."

Xiao Yongshi accepted the order.

The leaders of the other 34th, 35th, 40th and New nd Regiments all accepted the order.

The Pingbei Detachment is now strong in both men and horses.

There are nearly 10,000 main forces that can be mobilized.

Wang Qiuyun interjected, "The Japanese forces in the Changwanshan base area are numerous. The 39th and 39th Independent Mixed Brigade are both located here. Therefore, the Column has decided that the th Regiment will participate in the operations to eliminate Japanese strongholds and relocate forts in the Changwanshan base area. Comrades Guo Changyi and Li Chaoyang, the th Regiment will be temporarily assigned to the Pingbei Detachment during this period and will be under its command."

"Yes."

Among the current bases of the Eighth Column, the Changwanshan base ranks first in terms of the largest number of enemies.

Because the Changwanshan base was located near Peking, the North China Front Army attached great importance to its campaign against it. Besides the 15th and 16th Independent Mixed Brigade, the Japanese also had a large number of North China Security Forces, local security corps, and security corps.

Among the Eighth Column's bases, apart from the Pingsui Road, the Changwanshan base had the most strongholds and forts.

Therefore, the Changwanshan base has a heavy task this time.

In the Wanping area, the Japanese army set up strongholds in almost all the towns and villages they occupied. The entire county currently has about 12 large strongholds, each of which has a squadron of Japanese soldiers and puppet troops.

In order to protect these strongholds, the Japanese army built switching bunkers around the strongholds and used switching bunkers to connect the strongholds together.

Not to mention Wanping County, there were about 2000 Japanese troops in these outposts alone. Together with the Fourth and Fifth Armies of the North China Security Army, there were more than 6000 puppet troops.

The situation in Changping is no exception.

The pressure on the Changwanshan base can be seen.

The Japanese built so many strongholds and bunkers that when something happened, the Japanese didn't need to come out from the county town. The Japanese in the surrounding strongholds and bunkers could provide support nearby. This way, the Japanese army could mobilize troops at any time to pursue the Eighth Route Army.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were worried that they were not strong enough relying solely on the Pingbei Detachment and the New Second Regiment.

So the 39th Regiment was also sent out.

This means the Pingbei Detachment now has five regiments, with over 10,000 main force members. Although they are still at a disadvantage against the two independent mixed brigades of the Japanese army, concentrating their forces and launching a sudden attack will undoubtedly yield significant results.

Besides, when the 129th Division and the troops of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region attacked the Zhengtai Road, all the Japanese troops in North China would be shaken. In addition, the troops of Hebei Central and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region attacked the Pinghan Road.

These two independent mixed brigades may not be able to continue to stay in Changping and Wanping.

Because compared to Pinghan Road and Zhengtai Road, Changping and Wanping are really nothing.

After Wang Qiuyun finished speaking, Xu Luomin continued to announce the battle plan.

He said, "Comrade Gao Wei, Comrade Han Hao, Comrade Lu Weisheng, you also need to concentrate your forces to destroy the Pingsui Road strongholds and Diaobao that pass through your base area. Completely cut off the connection between Zhangjiakou and Datong."

"Make sure to complete the mission."

The Hundred Regiments Campaign was aimed at tearing apart the network of bunkers built by the Japanese army.

The Japanese army's bunker network relied on the Pinghan Railway, Zhengtai Railway, Pingsui Railway, and Tongpu Railway. Most of the Japanese army bunkers were located along these four railways. Then there were important highways.

So to put it bluntly, the Hundred Regiments Campaign was a war of sabotage on railways and highways.

The main goal is Zhengtai Road.

If it had not been named the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the original name of this battle would have been the Zhengtai Road Raid. The base of the Eighth Column directly bordered the Pingsui Road, so the most important task assigned to the Eighth Column by the military district was to raid the Pingsui Road.

One is the section from Peking to Huailai, and the other is the section from Zhangjiakou to Datong.

This was the main target of the Eighth Column's raid.

"Comrade Feng Mulin."

"arrive."

"Chabei Detachment, please don't be hasty and quietly gather your troops first.

As long as the headquarters launches a raid on the Zhengtai Road, coupled with the attacks of other units of our 8th Column, when the troops stationed in Mongolia are insufficient, they will definitely draw troops from the Chabei area. As long as the Japanese troops in the Chabei area are transferred away, the Chabei Detachment will attack from all sides to expand the Zhangchonggu base.

The main focus was to annihilate the effective forces of the Japanese and puppet troops.

"Yes."

"Finally, there's the Chanan Detachment. The column's plan is that once the Chadong, Pingbei, and Chaxi Detachments are mobilized, the Japanese Second and Ninth Independent Mixed Brigade will undoubtedly split up. Once these two independent mixed brigades split up, they'll attack and destroy all of the Japanese strongholds and bunkers in the Xuanzhuohuai base area. In particular, all of the Japanese strongholds and bunkers established in the Huailai Sanggong area must be eliminated.

The Sanggong area is our largest grain base in Huailai, and we cannot let the Japanese army control it. We must completely drive the Japanese and puppet troops into the county town and several important strongholds and restore the entire Xuanhuai base.

"Make sure to complete the mission."

Zhang Zihua's status in the 8th Column's army and in the party was higher than Xu Luomin's.

But now Xu Luomin represents the 8th Column Headquarters.

So Zhang Zihua knows his limits very well.

After Xu Luomin roughly formulated the plan for the raid, Wang Qiuyun said, "From now on, the 25th Regiment will be officially incorporated into the Chanan Detachment. Also, for the duration of this operation, the 37th and 38th Regiments will be under the command of the Chanan Detachment."

The Xuanzhuohuai base was the most important base of the Eighth Column.

Therefore, they suffered the most from the Japanese raids and suppression. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun hoped that the Chanan Detachment could sweep the Japanese troops in this area and once again inflict heavy damage on the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade and the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade.

The Japanese army's manpower is also limited.

Veterans are even more limited.

As the Japanese army's casualties on the Chinese battlefield increased, the Japanese army's subsequent manpower would become increasingly scarce. Therefore, for the Eighth Route Army, killing as many Japanese troops as possible was the key to laying the foundation for victory.

"Also, the column plans to temporarily distribute the artillery of the column's directly affiliated artillery regiment to various units. Of course, if the situation of some units does not allow it, they will take more mortars and flat-fire cannons."

"However, our troops should not move first, but wait for the order from the column. We must wait for the 120th Division, the 129th Division and the military region to move first. Waiting for them to attack the Zhengtai Road and the Pinghan Road will inevitably cause a rebound from the Japanese army. However, the North China Front Army is short of troops, and can only mobilize troops everywhere to quell the situation on the Zhengtai Road and the Pinghan Road. We must keep the Japanese army moving. In particular, the th Independent Mixed Brigade and the th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army in the Changwanshan base must be mobilized. Only in this way can we have the opportunity to deal a greater blow to them. Only when the Japanese troops are dispersed can we defeat them one by one. So comrades, after you go back, don't make a big fuss. Gather your troops quietly and wait for the order from the column.

It’s not that the Eighth Column is not brave, nor is it that the Eighth Column is afraid to fight.

But this is how war should be fought.

We must take advantage of the Japanese army's weaknesses.

What is the biggest weakness of the Japanese army now?

The problem was a severe shortage of mobile forces. The North China Front Army was already short on manpower, and now it had to build so many strongholds and redoubts. All of these strongholds and redoubts required garrisoning by the Japanese and puppet troops.

Don’t underestimate the fact that there are not many Japanese and puppet troops stationed in a bunker.

But now, throughout North China, especially the 129th Division and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, there are more than 2000 bunkers. With so many bunkers, each with to people, it would require more than to Japanese and puppet troops.

The result was that the Japanese and puppet troops were further dispersed and the mobile forces were further strained.

The more the Japanese army's mobile forces are insufficient, the more they should be mobilized. Let them tire themselves out, constantly fighting fires. The Eighth Route Army excels at mobile warfare. Offensive battles aren't their strong suit; mobile warfare is. Forcing the Japanese army to tire themselves out due to the Eighth Route Army's offensive is the best strategy. This back-and-forth movement of the Japanese and puppet troops will tire them out, creating opportunities for combat.