Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Marshal Nie said, "Send a telegram to Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun, telling them to persevere and expand their victories. Turn Chahar and Peking upside down and expand the anti-Japanese base area. Cooperate with other units in the military region to successfully complete the tasks assigned to us in Jin-Cha-Ji by Yan'an and headquarters."

Marshal Nie immediately sent a telegram to the 8th Column.

The Eighth Column was required not to be satisfied with the current results, but to make persistent efforts and expand the achievements.

"Expand the victory?"

Wang Qiuyun nodded.

He said: "Now we have to expand the results of the battle. One is to capture Huailai, and the other is to move the Pingbei detachment.

"There are about 1500 Japanese soldiers in Huailai County."

Wei Hongjun shook his head.

Huailai was home to the headquarters of the 1500nd Independent Mixed Brigade, commanded by Hitomi Yoichi. Therefore, in addition to the st Independent Battalion, Huailai also had several special forces, totaling approximately Japanese troops. Taking Huailai would be difficult. A direct attack would likely cripple several main regiments.

"Then what do you mean?"

"We can capture other counties where the Japanese have fewer troops. The Japanese have fewer troops in places like Chongli and Zhangbei, as well as Tianzhen, Yanggao, and Xining counties in the Ninggao Town base area. Some counties have only two or three hundred Japanese and puppet troops combined. We'll capture those. We're 'surrounding the cities from the countryside,' and taking those cities will help us raise a lot of supplies for the troops. As for Huailai, we can take our time."

"Right."

Wang Qiuyun nodded.

He said: "Then I will order the troops to focus on conquering those counties where the Japanese army has few troops.

In fact, with the current strength of the Eighth Column, it is not necessarily impossible to capture Huailai.

But it is very likely to cause too many casualties.

It's not cost-effective.

Although the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness has been greatly enhanced and its troops have increased significantly, battles with heavy casualties must still be avoided.

Wang Qiuyun continued, "Old Wei, I think we should take advantage of the current weakness of the troops stationed in Mongolia and actively expand our forces and prepare for war. The Japanese army suffered such a heavy loss from our Eighth Route Army this time, they will definitely retaliate against us frantically."

"That's right. The Japanese army has always been unwilling to suffer any loss. If they suffer a loss, they will definitely choose to retaliate. We should make some preparations.

Let me share my thoughts. We must now resolutely annihilate the Japanese army. Only by continuously destroying their vital forces can we achieve victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan. However, we should strengthen the political offensive against the puppet troops to persuade them to abandon their dark side and join the light. The military district reported on the results of the first phase of the battle, including a considerable number of prisoners and defectors. It can be seen that a considerable number of the puppet troops are not truly committed traitors. The more puppet troops defect and surrender, the stronger our strength will be and the weaker the Japanese army will be. Of course, in addition to the political offensive against the puppet troops, I plan to expand propaganda in the newly occupied areas, recruit new soldiers, and create two new regiments. This two-pronged approach will expand the army."

The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression had already lasted for three years.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were also familiar with the habits of the Japanese army.

The Eighth Route Army's sudden and large-scale action during the Hundred Regiments Campaign caught the Japanese army off guard and caused heavy casualties. The Japanese army would definitely not let this end and would definitely retaliate against the Eighth Route Army.

We must be prepared for this.

After listening to Wei Hongjun's words, Wang Qiuyun smiled and said, "Old Wei, you always think so comprehensively, and you've considered everything. This time, we've launched attacks all over North China, and the Eighth Route Army's reputation has spread far and wide. More aspiring young people will join our Eighth Route Army. I'll leave this matter to you."

"do not worry."

"I'm going to the Pingbei Detachment. The military district wants us to expand our victory and cause some big trouble. I think the most suitable place is Wanping. We have some insiders in the North China Security Army, and we should make some moves."

"You be careful."

"Ah."

The military district ordered the 8th Column to expand its victory, so Wang Qiuyun took field artillery and infantry artillery to Wanping.

Wei Hongjun continued to stay in the base area.

Wei Hongjun had three main tasks. One was to maintain reserves during the war. He couldn't use up all the reserves just because a major battle was underway. Furthermore, it was September, the harvest season.

Wei Hongjun wanted to organize local governments and lead the people to rush to harvest.

The opportunity is good now.

The Japanese army had been reducing its forces, causing the Eighth Route Army's base to expand. Areas previously under Japanese rule were now under the Eighth Route Army's control. Wei Hongjun naturally took advantage of this opportunity to help the base increase its food reserves.

Because as 1942 approaches, the Eighth Route Army's life will become increasingly difficult.

In order to survive 1942, the Wei Hongjun army also had to be prepared. The more reserves they had, the more confident they were. So while the Eighth Column was fighting, the Wei Hongjun organized the local government in the rear and organized the people who stayed in the base area to harvest.

Because so many young men had gone off to fight, and many others had gone to help, many elderly, weak, and women remained in the base area. By this time, everyone, regardless of gender or age, had to be mobilized.

The second thing is to develop party members in the new base area.

Wei Hongjun's recruitment of new members was not blind. As the Eighth Route Army developed behind enemy lines, underground party organizations continued to expand. So even though these areas were previously under Japanese control, they all had Eighth Route Army underground party activities.

The underground party in Chahar, in particular, had many branches. From the Central Committee to North China, and then to the military regions and the Eighth Column, each had its own underground party system. Therefore, Wei Hongjun recruited new members based on the underground party's intelligence.

Although the area was under the control of the Eighth Column, Wei Hongjun ordered the Eighth Column's Political Department to forbid all underground members from carrying out activities openly, except for those who had already been exposed. They were required to remain hidden because no one knew if the area would be taken over by the Japanese army again. If all the underground members were exposed, how could they continue to work? They needed to continue to hide.

The last thing to do is to form a new regiment.

The last new recruits model was relatively successful.

The new recruits are trained in a regimental mode, and then assigned a commander to form a new regiment. Because the training is carried out in a regimental mode, the new recruits are together from the beginning of training.

Furthermore, under the leadership of three successive deputy commanders, Xiao Yongshi, Xu Luomin, and Zheng Weishan, the 8th Column had developed a comprehensive system for training new recruits. Wei Hongjun even had a command system specifically designed for training new recruits.

Their task is to train new recruits.

This time, Wei Hongjun once again formed two new regiments. This was mainly because the Hundred Regiments Campaign had inspired more and more young people to join the Eighth Route Army. Wei Hongjun selected a group of them and formed two new regiments.

Although there are specific people responsible for these things.

But as the political commissar of the 8th Column and secretary of the Chanan Special Committee, Wei Hongjun was responsible for handling all matters.

So it's very busy.

Of course, there is another reason why Wei Hongjun is in charge of the headquarters. When the headquarters leaders such as Wang Qiuyun and Xu Luomin are away, Wei Hongjun, the political commissar, has to stay in the headquarters to handle the daily work of the headquarters.

"Commander, with so many guns, aren't you afraid of problems?"

Xiao Yongshi was shocked when he saw the cannons brought by Wang Qiuyun.

These are all the column’s treasures.

Under normal circumstances, the column would not pull out these treasures at all, because there are field guns inside, which are large-caliber heavy artillery.

These were captured when the column ambushed the Japanese Army's 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade.

In addition to heavy artillery, there are also a large number of infantry guns.

Because of the shortage of artillery shells, these good things will not be pulled out in normal battles.

"Old Xiao, the military district has received an order. The military district will launch two campaigns next. One is the Yinghun Campaign, and the other is the Lailing Campaign. The Yinghun Campaign is against the 26th Regiment of the 11th Division, and the Lailing Campaign is against the 35st Regiment of the 221th Division."

A large Japanese force gathered on Zhengtai Road.

Some units also began to attack the Eighth Route Army base, using the strategy of "encircling Wei to save Zhao". The most aggressive of these was the 26th Regiment of the 11th Division, which, after setting out from Datong, successively captured Yingxian and Hunyuan. Another was the 35st Regiment of the 221th Division, which marched southward and directly attacked Laiyuan and Lingqiu.

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region is currently in the midst of a killing spree.

How could we allow the Japanese army to come to the base and act so arrogantly?

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region decided to give the Japanese a serious fight. Therefore, it decided to launch two campaigns to annihilate two Japanese regiments. To launch these two campaigns, the military region decided to deploy ten main force regiments to participate.

The Hundred Regiments Campaign officially ended the Zhengtai Road raid and entered a new stage.

After hearing about the situation at the military district, Xiao Yongshi couldn't help but ask, "Isn't the military district taking too big a swing? After all, there are two regiments, totaling more than 5,000 people. If we were to engage in mobile warfare against them, ten regiments wouldn't be a problem. But in a head-on confrontation, even with ten regiments, even if we win, we'll suffer heavy losses."

The reason why the Hundred Regiments Campaign achieved such great results was mainly because it caught the Japanese army off guard.

The Japanese army was already short of troops in North China.

Because the Central China Front Army was engaged in the war, five independent battalions were withdrawn southward, further depleting the Zhengtai Road. Of course, the greater problem was that the Japanese, with their already insufficient forces, had built too many strongholds and redoubts, resulting in a severely dispersed force.

This gave the Eighth Route Army an opportunity to defeat them one by one.

The 8th Column's modified mortars were extremely useful for attacking bunkers. The Eighth Route Army, however, was short on mortar shells. If they had sufficient mortar shells, with so many troops deployed, they would have likely taken out over a thousand bunkers by now.

Unfortunately, the Eighth Route Army was short on mortar shells, so even though they had this powerful weapon, they couldn't use it casually. They only used mortars against difficult-to-break bunkers. Otherwise, they relied on explosive packs.

In this way, after the Hundred Regiments Campaign began, the Eighth Route Army had destroyed nearly 600 bunkers.

The Hundred Regiments Campaign was actually a loophole. It does not mean that the Eighth Route Army was stronger than the Japanese army or had a higher combat effectiveness than the Japanese army.

At most, the Japanese army was caught off guard and was temporarily at a disadvantage.

Now the Japanese troops are approaching.

Should we confront two Japanese regiments head-on at this time?

The ten main regiments were indeed formidable, totaling over 20,000 men. If they were to ambush, they wouldn't be afraid of the Japanese regiment. However, in a head-on confrontation, even if they won, the casualties would be staggering.

"The military region has its own considerations."

Wang Qiuyun also did not understand the military district's decision.

However, since the military district has decided to launch such a campaign, it must have its own ideas.

"Speaking of these two battles, the Left Column launched the Yinghun Campaign, commanded by Commander Deng of the Fifth Division. The Central Column launched the Lailing Campaign, commanded by our Commander Yang. Both of them are experienced generals and will not fight blindly.

Wang Qiuyun did not understand the military district's decision, but she had great trust in Commander Yang and Commander Deng.

These two people are famous generals who have fought in many battles.

Xiao Yongshi nodded. He was also a member of the Red 26st Division, an independent regiment. The abilities of his two veteran leaders were unquestionable. Furthermore, the 11th Regiment of the 35th Division and the 221st Regiment of the th Division had penetrated deep into the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. It would be unreasonable not to teach them a lesson.

Chapter 338: Battle of Wanshan

"No matter what's going on over there."

Wang Qiuyun approached the map and said, "The pressure on the military region is probably enormous. The Japanese have concentrated so many troops, tens of thousands of them, and they will definitely not give up. The pressure on our side is small now, so we must inflict more damage on the Japanese to relieve the pressure on the military region. Therefore, the column has decided to launch a decisive battle in Wanping to threaten Peking and slow down the North China Front Army."

"Are you going to attack Wanping County?"

"Correct."

Wang Qiuyun nodded and said, "After discussing with the rest of the column, I decided to concentrate the Pingbei Detachment to eliminate all strongholds and bunkers around Wanping. Then, we will concentrate our forces to attack the city and capture Wanping County. The column has named this the Wanshan Campaign."

"Battle of Wanshan."

Xiao Yongshi kept talking about the "Battle of Wanshan".

Only then did I understand why Wang Qiuyun brought so many cannons.

Wang Qiuyun is planning to do big things in Wanping.

In ordinary battles, this type of cannon would not be deployed because it was too clumsy and would not be useful when troops were on the move.

Xiao Yongshi thought for a moment, then pointed at the map and said, "Commander, the Japanese currently have five strongholds around Wanping County. Each stronghold has a Japanese squadron stationed there, with Imperial Army troops assisting. These Japanese troops are from the 78th Independent Battalion of the th Independent Mixed Brigade."

Currently within Wanping County are the 79th Independent Battalion of the 80th Independent Mixed Brigade and the th Regiment of the th Army of the North China Security Army. The th Independent Battalion is located near the border of Wanping and Fangshan.