Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

At the beginning of the Zhengtai Road raid, the 8th Column did not move. This was not a decision made by the 8th Column itself. It was decided at a military district meeting.

And the Eight Verticals can only be like this.

The enemies of the Eighth Column are still too powerful.

Four independent mixed brigades, plus the garrison, totaled over 25,000 troops. Adding the puppet troops, the Japanese and puppet troops surrounding the 8th Column's base numbered nearly 40,000. This put immense pressure on the 8th Column.

Facing so many Japanese and puppet troops, it was not a good idea to take the initiative. Only by starting the Zhengtai Road raid at the headquarters and transferring some troops would the pressure on the 8th Column's subsequent operations be reduced.

Wei Hongjun concluded: "Comrades, I want to emphasize one point again. This battle is an astonishingly large-scale campaign launched by our Eighth Route Army behind enemy lines. The headquarters meant that the 120th Division, the 129th Division, and the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region would dispatch 22 to 25 regiments. However, when the order reached our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the Military Region had already decided to mobilize 15 infantry regiments, plus two cavalry regiments and one artillery regiment, for a total of 18 regiments. In addition to the troops mobilized by these military regions, other military sub-regional troops also had to participate in the attack on the Ping-Han Road, the Tong-Pu Road, and important highways. In this case, each Every military sub-district will have to mobilize troops to participate, and if all of them are added up, it's estimated to be no less than ten regiments, or even more. Because in addition to the six regiments from the First Division that attacked the Zhengtai Road, there are seven main force regiments in the base area, as well as tens of thousands of local troops. Add to that the dozen or so regiments from the Yizhong Military Region, and if all of them participate, that would easily be twenty regiments. That's almost forty regiments. If our Eighth Column and the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Advance Army also participate, that would be over twenty regiments. You can do the math yourself, how many troops will our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region mobilize by then? At least sixty regiments will participate."

Originally, no one had that feeling.

But everyone was shocked by Wei Hongjun's analysis.

I didn't expect the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region to be able to mobilize so many troops to fight. There are a full sixty regiments, and if you include local troops, there may be more.

By this calculation, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei troops will have to dispatch more than 10 troops to fight this time.

It was truly an unprecedented battle.

In the past, each military sub-district fought independently during the anti-mopping-up campaign, so they only saw their own small area. Now, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region is taking the initiative, and with so many troops, the shock it brings is completely different.

In just a few years, Jin Cha Yi was able to have a combat force of 100,000.

"This is just our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. The 120th and 129th Divisions also have dozens of regiments. The 129th Division, in particular, is developing smoothly in the Taihang and Taiyue Mountains and has a large number of troops. I estimate that it will be no problem to mobilize to regiments. Do you see this? This battle will be the largest-scale campaign against Japan since the founding of our Eighth Route Army."

"Since its establishment, the Eighth Route Army has always been fearless of difficulties and sacrifices. We have seen all kinds of difficult situations and fought all kinds of tough and fierce battles. In two years, we defeated four Japanese major generals and brigade commanders. This is first-class in the Eighth Route Army. Now that the Eighth Route Army headquarters is about to launch such a large-scale battle, can our Eighth Route Army fall behind? Of course not. Not only that, we must also show the power of our Eighth Route Army. I hope that all units can make all preparations to deal the greatest blow to the Japanese invaders."

"Make sure to complete the mission."

Everyone's blood boiled.

The rise of the 11th Column is legendary in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and even in the Eighth Route Army system. The 12th Column truly relied on its combat record to force its way into the th and th Military Sub-districts.

This time, with all the units of the Eighth Route Army participating in the battle, the Eighth Column certainly cannot fall behind.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

In fact, the current Wei Hongjun is very confident. This is because compared to history, the overall strength of the Eighth Route Army is much stronger. Not to mention anything else, just the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, if the Ji-Re-Liaoning Advance Army and the Ji-Central Military Region are added together, they can send out 100 regiments to fight in the Hundred Regiments Campaign.

The same is true for the 129th Division.

Historically, the 129th Division encountered numerous problems while reorganizing other anti-Japanese forces. In the Ji'nan Military Region, there were even instances of reorganized troops rebelling. However, with the implementation of the new military reorganization campaign within the Eighth Route Army, the 129th Division's capabilities in this area rapidly improved.

Those newly reorganized troops became complete Eighth Route Army troops within two or three months.

Moreover, the raids suffered by the 129th Division were much lighter than in history.

The Japanese 129th Independent Mixed Brigade, which historically had been involved in sweeping operations against the 129th Division, is currently stationed in Gubeikou, while the 35th Independent Mixed Brigade has been incorporated directly into the Mongolian Garrison. Even the th Division, which historically frequently participated in sweeping operations against the th Division, is currently stationed in Peking.

Because of what?

The rise of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region tied down a large number of Japanese and puppet troops. The rise of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region tied down tens of thousands more Japanese troops than in history. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region tied down a large number of Japanese and puppet troops, and the most direct impact on the other Eighth Route Army military regions was a rapid reduction in the number of mopping-up operations.

The 129th Division is a unit with extremely fierce combat effectiveness.

As soon as the Japanese pressure eased slightly, they were like tigers unleashed from their cages. Their forces expanded at an astonishing rate. Historically, during the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the 129th Division had 46 regiments participating. Now, if the 129th Division were to draw troops, it would easily have over regiments available.

There are also 120 divisions.

Because the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region attracted the 26th Division, the 120th Division was able to develop unbridled in northwestern Shanxi and Suiyuan. In order to expand its forces, the 120th Division also expanded to the Central Hebei Military Region and also to southern Hebei.

Although the development speed is the slowest, we can still produce twenty or thirty groups.

The Eighth Route Army was much stronger than it had been in history, but the North China Front Army was much weaker than it had been in history. Several Japanese troops around Jinchayi had suffered heavy losses. And these were not just ordinary heavy losses; many units had suffered devastating disasters, with entire units being wiped out.

Although new recruits were added and officers were dispatched, combat effectiveness continued to decline.

The situation on both sides is one gaining while the other loses.

The Eighth Route Army became much stronger, and the Japanese army's combat effectiveness declined a lot.

Of course, Wei Hongjun had sufficient confidence because the Eighth Route Army had made extensive preparations for the Hundred Regiments Campaign. For example, the mortars were modified to use both indirect and direct fire, which was supported by headquarters. Both the 120th and 129th Divisions sent personnel to learn how to modify and use them.

This is the secret weapon of the Eighth Route Army.

Prepared to be used in this raid.

Not only that, the Wei Hongjun had been stockpiling various supplies and ammunition for a while. Besides the Wei Hongjun, the entire Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region had increased its weapons and ammunition reserves several times over compared to historical levels. Furthermore, after the donations from overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia came to the Eighth Route Army, the Eighth Route Army's supplies were much better than they had been in the past.

As the saying goes, having food in hand brings peace of mind, and this is exactly what the Wei Hongjun feels right now. Not to mention the raids, even for the subsequent counter-sweeping operations, the Eighth Column has enough ammunition.

Chapter 327 Hundred Regiments Battle

In July 1940, the entire Eighth Route Army in North China was silent.

The calm before the storm.

Because the Eighth Route Army in North China is planning a big move.

All military regions and sub-districts were assembling their forces. Given the massive scale of the Eighth Route Army's movement, and the sheer number of troops involved, it was impossible to completely conceal it from the Japanese and puppet forces' intelligence systems. Yet, despite the Eighth Route Army's massive movement, the North China Front Army surprisingly showed little reaction. They continued to follow their plan, constructing various strongholds and bunkers within the Eighth Route Army base areas.

After more than half a year of practice in 1940, Tada Shun became increasingly convinced that his "Dragon Prison Strategy" was the most effective way to deal with the Eighth Route Army.

After suffering several crushing defeats in 1939, the Japanese and puppet forces gained the upper hand in their 1940 clashes with the Eighth Route Army in North China. The Eighth Route Army had few solutions to the Japanese and puppet forces' existing bunker-laying tactics. This realization made Tada Shun increasingly excited.

It was as if he saw himself completely annihilating the Eighth Route Army in North China.

So now he is very stubborn and concentrates on continuing to build the fort.

He wanted to completely lock down the Eighth Route Army.

The information about the Eighth Route Army's concentrated forces had clearly been passed on to the Japanese army, but neither the North China Front Army nor the 1st Army, 12th Army, or the Mongolian Army paid much attention to it.

Even for the Japanese army, they were eager to fight face to face with the main force of the Eighth Route Army.

However, after years of fighting the Eighth Route Army, the Japanese army had become familiar with their tactics. To expand their bases, the Eighth Route Army would first occupy rural areas where the Japanese and puppet troops had weak control, and then establish bases in those areas.

Normally, combat is conducted on a small scale.

Even the main force of the Eighth Route Army was usually divided into several small units to fight against the small units of the Japanese and puppet troops. Only when the Japanese and puppet troops launched large-scale sweeps would the main force of the Eighth Route Army gather to conduct counter-sweeps.

Because they had fought against the Eighth Route Army for several years, the Japanese and puppet troops were familiar with it. Therefore, they did not believe, or did not expect, that the Eighth Route Army would actually concentrate so many troops to launch a large-scale, proactive offensive.

So even though they got the intelligence, they didn't take it seriously.

Tada Shun doesn't care even more.

He was now completely convinced of his "cage policy." He didn't believe the Eighth Route Army's Hebei-Central troops could break through his fortification network. He even half expected the Eighth Route Army to gather its main force and attack the blockhouses and fortifications he had built. He truly expected the Eighth Route Army to suffer a bloody defeat on his side of the fortification network.

Therefore, they did not care about the intelligence about the Eighth Route Army's troop assembly.

On August 1940, 8, the headquarters issued combat orders to various units.

The Hundred Regiments Campaign officially began.

After the order was issued, the first unit to take action was the 129th Brigade of the 386th Division. This operation was focused on the attack on the Zhengtai Road, with the 129th Division as the core. Of the three divisions of the Eighth Route Army, the 120th Division was responsible for defending Yan'an. Furthermore, due to its development in the impoverished Jinsui region, its expansion was the slowest. Because the Jinsui region was sparsely populated and poorly fertile, the 120th Division had to recruit soldiers from central and southern Hebei when expanding its forces.

The 115th Division grew the fastest due to its several divisions. The 115th Division formed the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the Ji-Lu-Yu Military Region, the Shandong Military Region, and later served as the rd Division of the New Fourth Army.

However, the constant division of troops also affected the combat effectiveness of the 115th Division.

In contrast, the 129th Division was primarily focused on developing troops in the Taihang Mountains, Taiyue Mountains, and southern Hebei. This is why the 129th Division was the most effective during the War of Resistance.

This time, the attack on Zhengtai Road was started by the 386th Regiment of the 16th Brigade.

The target is Lujiazhuang Station.

Lujiazhuang Station was a strategically located Japanese stronghold on the Zhengtai Road. Located approximately 15 kilometers east of Yuci, it was a village of over 50 households. East of the village lay the railway station, where a Japanese squadron was stationed. The Japanese had built several bunkers, trenches, and barbed wire.

In addition to a squadron of Japanese troops, there is also a battalion of the North China Security Army.

The Japanese army was still very proud.

Unfortunately, the Japanese army attached great importance to the fort, but failed to stop the 16th Regiment.

The 16th Regiment, formerly the New 386st Regiment of the 386th Brigade, originated from the Ji'nan troops. It had been established for two years and had fought on the battlefield with the 386th Brigade, becoming the main force of the th Brigade.

The 16th Regiment used mortars to fire horizontally and destroyed the seven forts built by the Japanese army here in less than half an hour.

The fortress, which had originally made the Japanese army very satisfied, was completely destroyed by the 16th Regiment in just a few strokes.

The Japanese army was completely dumbfounded.

The 16th Regiment was a large regiment, with over 16 men. A squadron of Japanese troops stationed there tried several times to break out but were beaten back by the 16th Regiment. The th Regiment trapped the Japanese troops inside the station and used newly captured incendiary bombs to inflict heavy damage.

After nearly three hours of fighting, the 16th Regiment completely occupied Lujiazhuang, wiped out this group of Japanese troops, and captured most of the puppet troops.

Within a few hours, a squadron of Japanese troops holding the fort was wiped out.

The fight was clean and efficient.

In the past, unless the Eighth Route Army had heavy weapons, they rarely attacked a stronghold guarded by a squadron. This was because if they tried to capture such a stronghold, especially with so many bunkers, even a single mistake could cripple a main regiment.

Even if the Eighth Route Army troops were attacking a bunker with only a small Japanese squad, they would not be careless.

But this time it was really easy.

The 16th Regiment wiped out a Japanese squadron and a puppet army battalion, with only about 120 casualties. It was an easy and exciting fight.

After three hours of fighting, more than 80 Type 220 rifles, more than Hanyang rifles, and a large amount of ammunition were seized.

This was the first battle of the Zhengtai Road raid.

Show the power of the Eighth Route Army.

Then the 129th Division began to attack Zhengtai Road across the board.

Although the headquarters ordered the 129th Division to have 8 regiments, the 129th Division was now strong and powerful. When the battle broke out, 10 main regiments were dispatched immediately.

The same is true in Jin-Cha-Ji.

The first shots fired from the Jin-Cha-Ji side were fired by the 5th Regiment of the Fourth Division. The 5th Regiment sent troops to infiltrate Niangziguan Village, quickly annihilating the puppet troops within, and then captured Niangziguan Station. Niangziguan Station should not have been so easily captured, but the Japanese army had no idea that the Eighth Route Army would dare to attack Niangziguan Station. The Japanese troops at Niangziguan were completely unprepared and were caught off guard by the 5th Regiment of the Fourth Division. After capturing Niangziguan, the main force of the 5th Regiment covered the engineers, extensively damaging enemy fortifications and blowing up the railway bridge, before voluntarily withdrawing from Niangziguan.

Next, the right column consisting of the 4th, 5th and 19th Regiments began to attack Mohe Beach in the heart of Niangzi Pass.

There were many Japanese bunkers on the Mohe Beach side, or the entire Niangziguan side, with more than a thousand Japanese troops stationed there. The Japanese were caught off guard by the Eighth Route Army and for a while they didn't know what was going on.

The Japanese army was still very cautious.

Because they had fought against the Eighth Route Army of Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei for many years, they knew that the Eighth Route Army would not easily attack Japanese strongholds and forts. For the Eighth Route Army troops lacking heavy weapons, such an attack would cause too many casualties.

But now the Eighth Route Army suddenly assembled troops to attack their stronghold, which they really couldn't understand. It was precisely because of the Eighth Route Army's uncharacteristic choice that the Japanese and puppet troops in Mohe Beach chose to hold on and wait for reinforcements. Let's first see what the Eighth Route Army was going to do.

The Japanese and puppet troops originally thought their choice was a sure thing, as they could rely on the fort they had built to resist the Eighth Route Army's attack. Besides, there was already a battalion of Japanese troops stationed here, not to mention the puppet troops.

Unfortunately, the Japanese and puppet troops were completely wrong.