Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Because of this, he didn't want the 18th Regiment to be unable to participate in the siege. It felt unfair to think that the 18th Regiment could only do the task of cutting off traffic.

Of course, there are still battles to be fought.

In fact, the 18th Regiment was the first to fight in the Battle of Xuanhua. Even before the siege of Xuanhua began, the 18th Regiment had already fought a battle. After Xuanhua requested assistance from the Mongolian Army, the Mongolian Army, despite having few troops, still sent reinforcements to support Xuanhua.

There are quite a few people.

Two infantry squadrons and one machine gun squadron, totaling over 18 men, were dispatched. The machine gun squadron carried eight heavy machine guns and two infantry cannons, providing considerable firepower. Facing such reinforcements, the th Regiment was on high alert.

Fortunately, the troops dug trenches.

Guo Lin was fully prepared for a tough fight. After all, there were over 400 of them, and they were well-armed. Although he wasn't afraid of them, it wasn't going to be easy.

Unfortunately, after the battle began, the 18th Regiment immediately felt that something was wrong with the Japanese troops in front of them. The 18th Regiment had been at the forefront of the battle against the Japanese army for many years and had a sufficient understanding of the Japanese army's combat effectiveness. The Japanese army's infantry tactics were still very good.

But the Japanese army before them obviously did not have the strong combat capability of the previous Japanese army.

After several charges were repelled, the 18th Regiment's offensive capabilities were very poor, aside from using infantry artillery and heavy machine guns to suppress the 18th Regiment's firepower. These charges were also inexplicable, lacking the same effective offensive tactics as before. The coordination between infantry artillery, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and infantry attacks was extremely poor. The th Regiment managed to repel the Japanese charge without much effort.

Guo Lin was a little confused.

In order to confirm his idea, Guo Lin began to use the heavy weapons of the 18th Regiment. He pulled out the mortar and bombarded the Japanese position twice.

Unexpectedly, after just two simple bombardments, the Japanese army chose to retreat.

This time Guo Lin was sure.

This Japanese force wasn't the old one; it was likely a newly formed unit. It had been rumored that Zhangjiakou was surrounded by the Eighth Column, cutting off access to the city and preventing the Second Independent Mixed Brigade from recruiting new soldiers. Zhangjiakou was a city of over a hundred thousand people, and the Japanese army was left with only about a thousand men. A thousand men simply couldn't hold such a large city.

But the Eighth Column is becoming increasingly powerful.

The Eighth Column's troops surrounding Zhangjiakou already numbered tens of thousands. Even though the Eighth Route Army's weapons and equipment were poor and lacked heavy equipment, if so many of them were truly determined and laid siege to Zhangjiakou from all sides, the Japanese army would truly be unable to hold Zhangjiakou.

It’s because Zhangjiakou is too big.

Besides, the troops stationed in Mongolia have been fighting with the 8th Column for many years, and they are still not confident about the combat effectiveness of the 8th Column.

Therefore, the troops stationed in Mongolia had no choice but to use local materials.

Because Zhangjiakou was the central city of Chahar, there were many Japanese expatriates there. Some worked as farmers, some engaged in business, some served the Japanese army, and some worked in factories. If you count all men, women, and children, the number of Japanese expatriates around Zhangjiakou, including those in the surrounding counties, is around 40,000. However, many of these were members of the Japanese colonization group, working the land around Zhangjiakou. As the 8th Column captured the towns and villages surrounding Zhangjiakou, a large number of Japanese expatriates became prisoners of the 8th Column. In places like Xuanhua, there were over 3,000 Japanese expatriates in the city and surrounding villages.

Later, many Japanese expatriates were afraid of the Eighth Route Army, so they fled to Zhangjiakou.

There are currently about 20,000 Japanese expatriates in Zhangjiakou, including men, women, old and young, as well as a large number of young and middle-aged people, numbering several thousand. Of course, many of these young and middle-aged people have other jobs, but for the Mongolian troops, these young and middle-aged people can also be used.

Anyway, what Zhangjiakou lacks the least is weapons and ammunition.

The troops stationed in Mongolia were worried that the Eighth Route Army would attack Zhangjiakou, so they gathered some of the young and strong men among these overseas Chinese and armed them. More than 1500 people were equipped.

Unfortunately, these Japanese expatriates were just ordinary people. After picking up the gun, their performance was not much better than that of the Chinese recruits. They were indeed more educated than the Chinese people, and because their living standards were much better, their physical fitness was also better.

But that's all.

Many of them have been in Zhangjiakou for several years.

Compared to their difficult life in Japan, life in Zhangjiakou was much better. Including those Japanese farmers who came to Zhangjiakou to seize the land of Chinese people and then cultivated the land themselves.

Eating homegrown food is no better than starving in Japan. Historically, when Japanese expatriates evacuated Zhangjiakou, many Japanese women refused to leave. Some even jumped off trains to stay. This was because Japan was very poor and life was extremely difficult. Life in Zhangjiakou was no match for them.

Even if you farm in China, your living standards are better than in Japan.

After living in China for several years, the Japanese people had long since lost their desire for war. The colonization groups, in particular, were brutal when they first seized farmland from Chinese people. They were even armed and needed no protection or support from the Japanese army to drive out Chinese people and seize their land. However, after spending some time in China, they had long forgotten the training they had received.

Now they have all become genuine farmers.

This is like the 120th Brigade of the 359th Division, a formidable main force that fought effectively in the early stages of the War of Resistance. However, after a few years of farming in Nanniwan, its combat effectiveness declined significantly. In the early days of the Liberation War, not only were the soldiers of the 359th Brigade unfit for combat, but many of its commanders had nearly forgotten how to fight.

This is the case with the Japanese expatriate armed forces today.

They didn't want to fight, nor did they have the spirit of hard work and perseverance they once had, let alone the willingness to face death head-on. The people in the base areas were mostly illiterate, and because they ate poorly, their physical fitness was also poor. But the Chinese people, living in poverty, were truly able to endure hardships and work hard. Furthermore, the Eighth Route Army base areas were frequently raided by the Japanese army, and the hatred between the people in the base areas and the Japanese army was deep-seated.

The people in such bases can all become qualified soldiers with a little training.

Unfortunately, many Japanese expatriates no longer had this spirit. Although the troops stationed in Mongolia had no choice but to arm these expatriates, their combat effectiveness was really poor.

The 18th Regiment had only one battalion, but it was able to handle the Japanese attack with ease. On the contrary, the Japanese army was defeated by the 18th Regiment in several attacks. The 18th Regiment dug trenches and hid in them. They waited for the Japanese army to approach, and then suddenly opened fire.

The 18th Regiment was the main force of the column, with strong combat effectiveness, good psychological quality, and not too bad weapons and equipment. Therefore, the sudden shooting at close range was very effective.

This style of fighting gave even the main force of the Japanese army a headache.

What’s more, it’s just this mob.

After several charges and more than a hundred casualties, they no longer dared to charge.

If the 18th Regiment hadn't been under orders, Guo Lin would have been eager to charge forward and completely eliminate this Japanese force. From the start of the battle, the two sides faced off for a full day and night. The Japanese didn't attack, and the 18th Regiment didn't care. Strangely, both sides maintained a certain calm.

At this time, the Japanese troops withdrawing from the west gate of Xuanhua arrived at the position of the 18th Regiment.

Although Guo Lin was full of complaints in his heart, he carried out the column's orders to the letter.

Trenches were dug on both sides.

While blocking the reinforcements from Zhangjiakou, they also stopped the Japanese troops fleeing Xuanhua. The Japanese troops evacuating Xuanhua numbered less than 400, of which 300 were Xuanhua’s own armed expatriates. Like the reinforcements sent by Zhangjiakou, their combat effectiveness was very poor.

Several attacks on the 18th Regiment's position were unsuccessful.

The 18th Regiment here is really in a situation where one man can block a thousand.

The combined Japanese forces from Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua numbered over 18, a significant number. Furthermore, these two groups of Japanese troops were effectively pincer attacks on the 18th Regiment from both the east and west. Unfortunately, the combat effectiveness of both groups was too low, posing no threat to the 18th Regiment's positions. The Xuanhua Japanese forces were trapped by the 16th Regiment, followed by the 26th and th Regiments. Colonel-in-Chief of the th Independent Battalion, Mitō Seiji, watched his troops surrounded, despairing.

He thought that he could not protect Xuanhua.

But I didn't expect to lose Xuanhua so quickly. The battle had only lasted about two hours, and yet I had actually lost Xuanhua. Was it because my side was too weak, or was it because the Eighth Route Army was too strong?

Seeing the Eighth Route Army's bravery, Wei Teng Shengci knew that the attack on Xuanhua was just the beginning. With so many troops from the Eighth Column, where would they go next? If Xuanhua was lost, could Zhangjiakou be saved? What if Zhangjiakou was also lost?

Chahar completely became the territory of the 8th Column, and the Pingsui Road completely belonged to the Eighth Route Army.

Suddenly, Wei Tengshengci began to doubt whether the Great Japanese Empire's holy war could succeed. When they had invaded China, they had held absolute faith in the Empire's holy war. But now, Wei Tengshengci began to lose faith.

Just as people were enthusiastic about jihad back then, they are now so desperate about it. It can be said that they are becoming increasingly desperate.

Chapter 404 Chaos

After the troops entered the city, Zhang Zihua was fully responsible for encircling and suppressing the Japanese troops fleeing from the west gate, and Zheng Weishan led the 25th Regiment to clear out the scattered Japanese and puppet troops in the city.

Commander Nie did not follow the troops into the city. Except for Commander Nie, the other leaders from the military sub-district were all at the headquarters outside the city.

Wang Qiuyun and Xu Luomin reported more details to the commander and other military sub-district leaders, including the artillery unit's tests before the battle.

Commander Nie and the leaders of the various military sub-districts all attached great importance to the experience gained from this siege. If the experience gained from this siege could be applied to attacking Japanese strongholds, it would be a valid strategy.

This is why everyone pays attention to it.

Compared with attacking cities, other Eighth Route Army troops had to fight more against Japanese strongholds.

Commander Nie listened to the report and discussed the lessons learned from this battle with his commanders. Commander Nie attached greater importance to this siege than ever before. Although the 8th Column employed considerable firepower, primarily artillery, many Eighth Route Army units lacked this advantage, this siege was still a highly successful attempt. The new tactic of using infantry artillery, in particular, proved extremely useful to the Eighth Route Army.

This is like the Eighth Route Army's frequent use of close combat and night combat, which is summarized based on the Eighth Route Army's current training and weapons conditions, and is the most suitable tactic for the Eighth Route Army to use at this stage.

The same applies to artillery tactics. Some powerful military regions, like the Eighth Route Army, were not short of artillery. For example, the First Division of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region possessed dozens of infantry guns. However, these were rarely used in peacetime combat. The main reasons were a shortage of ammunition and the poor skill of the gunners. So how could these shortcomings be overcome? They certainly couldn't use artillery like the Japanese and Nationalist armies, because the Eighth Route Army's artillery units were in a completely different situation.

The 8th Column is now using the "bayonet on cannon" tactic, which is a new way of fighting based on the current situation of the Eighth Route Army.

It can be said that every time our army introduces a new tactic, it follows this pattern. Frontline troops, based on their own circumstances, develop tactics, which are then summarized by commanders and rolled out to all our units. As each unit implements the new tactic, it refines it, ultimately becoming a widely used tactic within our army.

This is what Nie Shuai is doing now.

We need to summarize the experience of the Eighth Column and then see how to apply it to other units.

At this time, Wei Hongjun did not stay at the headquarters. As the column's political commissar, he entered Xuanhua with the column's deputy commander Li Shiping and the column's political director Han Weiguo to begin taking over the county. Xuanhua was no ordinary county; it was far more important than any county previously controlled by the Eighth Column, many times more so. This was because Xuanhua was an industrial city in Chahar and had many factories. These factories were crucial to the Eighth Route Army.

However, not long after entering the city, Wei Hongjun saw a chaotic scene: many people gathered in front of a house, constantly pushing forward to get in.

There were some soldiers from the 25th Regiment blocking them in front.

But it doesn't seem to work very well.

"Commissar, we found a Japanese warehouse over there.

It's full of cloth, including a considerable amount of cotton. We just sent a squad to take over the warehouse, and these civilians got the news from somewhere. Knowing there was a Japanese warehouse here, they swarmed over. We tried to stop them from entering, but there were too many people, so it was useless.

Wei Hongjun frowned.

The choice of Xuanhua for this attack was motivated not only by its position as the eastern gateway to Zhangjiakou and its importance as an industrial city in Chahar, but also by another crucial reason. Xuanhua had supplies needed for the base, including weapons and ammunition for the Eighth Route Army. Zhangjiakou, the central city of Chahar, was also the headquarters of the Mongolian Garrison. The Mongolian Garrison comprised the 26th Division, the nd Independent Mixed Brigade, the th Independent Mixed Brigade, a cavalry group, and garrison troops, totaling nearly men. Add to that the tens of thousands of puppet troops, puppet guards, and puppet police, and the total number of Japanese and puppet troops in Mongolia reached to at its peak. However, with the need to oversee major cities like Zhangjiakou and Datong, manage the vast territories of Chahar and Suiyuan, and defend the crucial Pingsui Railway, they were understaffed. To supply so many troops, the Mongolian Garrison maintained to military depots in Zhangjiakou alone.

The main logistical supplies of the Mongolian army are in Zhangjiakou. In this respect, Datong cannot compare with Zhangjiakou.

Furthermore, the Kwantung Army was previously quite confident in Zhangjiakou, or rather, in the Japanese rule in Chahar. They never imagined that the Eighth Route Army would one day threaten Zhangjiakou or even occupy the entire Chahar region. Therefore, they defined Zhangjiakou as one of the Japanese rear supply centers for their war against the Soviet Union and Mongolia.

The Japanese army had many such supply centers.

Zhangjiakou is just the most insignificant place among them. Not to mention the Northeast, even in North China, cities like Beijing, Taiyuan, and Shijiazhuang are far behind. But even compared to these big cities, Zhangjiakou's material reserves are still astonishing.

Zhangjiakou had always been a transit city for Beijing to use the Pingsui Road to replenish supplies to the Japanese troops in Shanxi and Suiyuan. Therefore, a large amount of supplies were also stored here.

The combination of these factors resulted in more than 100 military warehouses in Zhangjiakou. Because of the large amount of supplies in Zhangjiakou, the Japanese army also established some military warehouses in the counties around Zhangjiakou when the Pingsui Road was still open.

The two county towns are mainly responsible for taking over the extra military warehouses in Zhangjiakou.

One is Wanquan County and the other is Xuanhua County.

This is mainly because these two county towns are just a stone's throw away from Zhangjiakou and can almost be said to be the gateway to Zhangjiakou.

After the Eighth Column completely cut off the Ping-Sui Railway last year, all the supplies from Zhangjiakou could not be transported out and are currently stored in Zhangjiakou. There are more than one or two Japanese warehouses in Xuanhua. This time, the Eighth Column also set its sights on Xuanhua's supplies.

But now someone is coming to rob the Japanese army’s supplies in Xuanhua?

If the current situation cannot be stopped, what should be done with the warehouses that are discovered in the future?

So Wei Hongjun immediately said, "Push in and separate the people."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun is no longer the company-level cadre he used to be.

As the political commissar of the 8th Column, he was already a high-ranking officer in the Eighth Route Army. Wei Hongjun entered the city to take over, accompanied by a full platoon of security personnel. Since Xuanhua had just been captured, the city was still in chaos. The safety of Wei Hongjun and his men had to be guaranteed.

They quickly stepped forward and separated the people.

Of course these people are not satisfied.

They had received word that the warehouse was completely filled with cloth. Just looking at the size of the warehouse, everyone could imagine how much cloth was inside. Cloth was so precious these days. If they could snatch just one piece of cloth, that family would have enough clothes for a year.

So they kept asking the troops in front to make way.

The noise is getting bigger and bigger.