Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

However, the weapons captured in this battle were still a huge improvement for the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei troops.

"Commander, I am ready to concentrate all our artillery.

The most combat-effective force in Datong City at present is the Security Corps, which is a force formed by the former 26th Division of the Mongolian Army and the Independent Guard.

Yan Xishan placed high hopes on this unit, hoping they could stop us. However, the 26th Division of the Mongolian Army and the Independent Guard were both recruited at the last moment of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and it was impossible for them to have such strong combat effectiveness.

So my idea is to concentrate all our artillery fire, especially the American and Japanese howitzers. Just bombard the positions defended by this Security Corps. Comrade Zhang Zhongxun and his troops have already cleared the outer positions of Datong, leaving only the city itself. To capture Datong, I plan to fight a swift and decisive battle. Don't give the enemy inside any chance to react, let them experience the effects of hundreds of artillery shells. As long as we annihilate this Security Corps, the remaining troops inside Datong will either be ineffective or unwilling to fight for Yan Xishan. Forces like Ma Zhanshan's Northeastern Advance Army, if we can force them to surrender and then reorganize them, will also be a valuable source of recruits for our forces.

"Are there enough shells?"

Marshal Nie asked.

Wei Hongjun nodded.

"We actually already have a good reserve of artillery shells, and we captured quite a few this time. I've also made some preparations. I've already had Comrade Lei Jiabin contact the Northeast Military Region. Right now, the Northeast Military Region has no shortage of artillery shells. When we captured Changchun, Jilin, Shenyang, and other places, we captured hundreds of thousands, perhaps even over a million, of artillery shells. I've also sent a telegram to Commander Lin and Secretary Chen, hoping for their support. They've also promised to give us a batch of artillery shells, no less than 100,000.

This is the advantage of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region being the first to open up a base in the Northeast.

The current Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region has very close ties with the Northeast Military Region.

Many cadres who left the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region now hold important positions in the Northeast Military Region, including Chen Yun, the secretary of the Northeast Bureau, who must be grateful.

So Chen Yun and Shuai Lin both agreed to Wei Hongjun's request.

There is no shortage of ammunition in the Northeast.

Because in this time and space, the Eighth Route Army had captured the area south of Changchun and seized countless arsenals. The bullets there numbered in the tens of millions, and the shells in the hundreds of thousands. Even more impressive was the numerous arsenals in Northeast China, capable of producing their own shells. Furthermore, they could exchange large quantities of shells from the Soviet Union and North Korea.

"That's good."

Marshal Nie was very satisfied.

"Then let the troops rest and recover as soon as possible. The military district has been preparing the medicine and food the troops need, so it won't affect the troops."

After the meeting, Marshal Nie grabbed Wei Hongjun.

"What conditions did you agree to with Comrade Chen Yun and Comrade Lin Biao?"

Marshal Nie didn't believe that Chen Yun and Lin were so selfless. Because of their friendship, they gave Jin-Cha-Ji more than 13 artillery shells. Wei Hongjun smiled and said, "The Northeast Bureau hopes that our Jin-Cha-Ji Third Field Army can go to Rehe next. Comrade Bao Shen is leading the th Column in Nangdong and is a bit alone. I promised Comrade Chen Yun and Comrade Lin Biao that after I solve Datong, our Jin-Cha-Ji Third Field Army will not go south or to Hebei. Instead, we will go to Rehe and cooperate with the troops of the Nang-Re-Liaoning Military Region to solve the Kuomintang troops there. At least help the Northeast Military Region to contain two to three Kuomintang armies."

Yes, Wei Hongjun didn’t ask for anything for nothing.

Fighting in Northeast China is currently intense. Marshal Lin is currently adopting a "defend the south and attack the north" strategy against the Nationalist forces. He is constructing a defensive line in Siping to hold off Du Yuming's main forces. However, the battle will not be limited to Siping. He has also requested Deng Guo to contain the Nationalist forces in the South Manchuria Military Region.

The effect is still very good.

Du Yuming concentrated his main forces to break through the Siping defense line built by Marshal Lin, while also guarding against Deng Guo of the South Manchuria Military Region. Although Deng Guo had withdrawn from Jinzhou and Shenyang, he still had four columns under his command.

Three columns were in the Northeast and South Manchuria Military Region, and one column was in eastern Hebei to provide support.

Du Yuming was very angry.

After all, with over 13 troops across three columns, you couldn't just ignore them. Furthermore, Du Yuming recognized that the Jin-Cha-Ji region and the Northeast were connected by Rehe. Therefore, Du Yuming dispatched troops from the 52th and 53nd Armies to Rehe to attack Chengde. He also ordered the 16rd Army stationed in eastern Hebei and the 92th and nd Armies stationed in the Peking area to also advance northward into Rehe. This was intended not only to sever the connection between eastern Hebei and the Northeast, but more importantly, to directly sever the connection between Jin-Cha-Ji and the Northeast.

Of course, another reason was that Du Yuming encountered difficulties in Siping.

This is not the Siping Defense Battle in history.

Marshal Lin led five columns south to defend Siping. Unlike the chaotic Siping defense in history, where many troops had just arrived in Northeast China and were still unorganized, the Northeast Field Army in this time and space had already begun organizing its field forces at the end of the War of Resistance. Therefore, after entering Northeast China and forming columns, they were able to adapt quickly. Their weapons and equipment were all Japanese-style.

The troops have no shortage of artillery, light and heavy machine guns.

Du Yuming's several assaults on the Siping defenses were unsuccessful. So Du Yuming decided to move back from Rehe. He'd first capture Chengde, then Chifeng, following the same route the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region had taken into the Northeast.

From Chifeng through Tongliao, go straight to Changchun.

Of course, this was only Du Yuming's current plan. However, the Northeast Bureau quickly learned of Du Yuming's plan. With the Northeast Field Army troops currently on the front lines, allowing elite units like the 13th and 52nd Armies of the Nationalist Army to move back to Changchun would undermine the overall strategy.

That's why Marshal Lin and Comrade Chen Yun agreed to Wei Hongjun's request.

They hoped that Wei's Red Army would capture Datong as soon as possible, and then lead the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Third Field Army into Rehe to help the Northeast Military Region contain the Nationalist troops in Rehe.

"Going to Rehe?"

Marshal Nie looked at the map and nodded.

He said: "If we can annihilate some Nationalist troops in Rehe, we can support the Northeast and Hebei. Let's take Datong first."

Chapter 675: Taking Datong

1946 9 Month 6 Day.

The Battle of Datong lasted for nearly two months.

After resting, the various units began arriving in Datong one after another. Of course, some units that had suffered heavy casualties, such as the First Brigade, needed further rest and recuperation. They needed new recruits, weapons, ammunition, and supplies. Guo Tianmin also sent three brigades to attack Datong this time.

Wei Hongjun nominated Zhang Zhongxun as the commander-in-chief of the siege, Guo Tianmin as the deputy commander-in-chief of the siege, Zhang Pinghua as the political commissar, Guo Daosheng as the deputy political commissar, and Yao Zhe as the chief of staff.

The Wei Hongjun had completed its mission and annihilated Fu Zuoyi's troops. It can be said that after annihilating more than 80,000 of Fu Zuoyi's troops in one battle, the Wei Hongjun's momentum in Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei can be said to be at its peak.

Even in the entire People's Liberation Army, Wei Hongjun has a great reputation.

In this case, Wei Hongjun cannot eat alone at this time.

Now that the battle has been fought and Datong has been captured, Wei Hongjun wants to give other generals and other troops the opportunity to make meritorious service.

Especially Zhang Zhongxun and the Jinsui troops.

After the Battle of Datong broke out, he simply commanded his troops to clear the area around Datong. Although he also led troops to attack Datong for the next twenty days, from an overall strategic perspective, his role was essentially a minor one, which was extremely embarrassing. This was not just his situation; the situation of the Jinsui troops was even more so.

The real tough and major battles were fought by the Jin-Cha-Ji troops and the Jin-Cha-Ji Third Field Army. The Jin-Suiyuan troops did not fight any major or tough battles. Otherwise, if the 358th Brigade had not performed well in the rear, blocking the retreat of Fu Zuoyi's 10th Temporary Division and the newly formed th Cavalry Division.

Then the Shanxi-Suiyuan troops were indeed very embarrassed.

This was not conducive to the unity of the two armies. Besides, the Eighth Column had some old troops left in the Jinsui Military Region. When Yang Dezhi led the First and Second Training Brigades to the Northeast, he did not take all of their troops with him.

When they left, they left three regiments to continue defending Yan'an.

Among them were the 35th Regiment, a former unit of the 2th Column, the nd Regiment from the Independent Regiment, and one regiment from the st Training Brigade. These three regiments remained in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and formed a new Training Brigade, now directly under the command of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region. Song Zhiyuan served as the brigade commander.

Although Wei Hongjun believed in Mr. He's character.

But everyone has the spirit of playing cards.

If the Wei Red Army truly disregarded the Jinsui troops during the Datong Campaign, allowing them to continue playing a supporting role, including Zhang Zhongxun, and all the credit went to the Jin-Cha-Ji Army, then the Jinsui troops would undoubtedly feel resentful. This would be detrimental to the 2nd and 35th Regiments, both of which originated from the Jin-Cha region. If the Teaching Brigade clashed with other Jinsui troops within the Jinsui Military Region, it would be detrimental to everyone involved.

Besides, Zhang Zhongxun is Wei Hongjun’s old leader after all.

He is currently in a slump due to last year's battle. Wei Hongjun should give him a chance.

That is why Wei Hongjun proposed that Zhang Zhongxun be the commander-in-chief of the siege.

There's not much to say about this attack.

Wei Hongjun actually brought all the artillery he had. Because he didn't have enough gunners, Wei Hongjun directly brought in a large number of artillery cadets from the North China Military and Political University. The artillery academy at the North China Military and Political University also brought in a large number of Japanese artillery officers to give lectures.

Indeed, a lot of artillery cadets were trained.

This time, Wei Hongjun brought them all over to let them apply what they learned in actual combat.

A total of 22 howitzers were deployed.

Other mountain guns, field guns, infantry guns, and heavy mortars were deployed in formation, totaling 360 pieces. This doesn't even include the Japanese light mortars or the 60mm cannons used by the Nationalist troops. If all these pieces were included, the scale would be even more astonishing.

"Boom boom boom"

After the siege broke out, the artillery focused its bombardment on the Security Corps.

The shells whizzed away.

Of course, this only applies to the Jinsui Army and the Third Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army. Guo Tianmin led three brigades in an attack on Datong from the south, also deploying over 50 artillery pieces. While the majority were infantry artillery, the number was still significant. In total, the PLA deployed over 400 artillery pieces in the Datong attack.

As these cannons fired, they instantly shattered the Datong city walls and then exploded on the security corps' defensive positions. Now, when the People's Liberation Army attacked a city like Datong, they didn't take the city walls seriously. How could the city walls withstand the bombardment of hundreds of cannons?

Therefore, the defense position of the Security Corps is not mainly based on the city wall.

They built a dense network of open and hidden bunkers, and built various trenches in the hills. Although the combat effectiveness of these Japanese soldiers of the Security Corps was not as good as that of the earlier Japanese troops, they still had basic tactical qualities.

The trenches were dug very well.

Unfortunately, no matter how well the trenches were dug or the defensive positions were built, they still suffered heavy casualties in the face of such artillery fire. The concentration of so many artillery pieces at once, especially howitzers, field artillery, and heavy mortars, had an astonishingly powerful shelling.

The Security Corps was originally the 26th Division and the Independent Guard Corps. Many of their officers and soldiers had joined the army at the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and many had never actually fought in a war. Even if they had, they had never experienced an artillery bombardment of this scale. Suddenly, they were confronted by so many artillery pieces firing at them, and they immediately panicked.

The new recruits' fear of artillery is most obvious at this time. Even though they have been in the army for several years, they have never fought in a war, so they are still new recruits.

Many people really wanted to cry.

Many of them actually wanted to return to China, but Yan Xishan had reached an agreement with the Japanese generals stationed in Mongolia and the First Army. All of these generals, as long as they reached the rank of general, were listed as war criminals and required postwar trials. Those high-ranking Japanese generals were tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Those lower-ranking Japanese generals were tried by China's own military tribunals. Many of them might have wanted their weapons. Yan Xishan made a deal with them, protecting them from the military tribunals. Those Japanese generals who escaped the military tribunals sold their lives to Yan Xishan.

But the officers and soldiers at the grassroots level have different ideas.

The war was over, and those people wanted to go home and didn't want to stay in China and continue fighting. They were all forcibly conscripted by Japan before the war. So before Japan surrendered, they had no will to fight.

But now they are forced to stay in China and continue to fight, so of course they are unwilling to risk their lives. Now they are facing PLA artillery fire, and it is so fierce that deserters have begun to appear in the positions.

They were afraid of cannons, the sound of cannons, and even more so the power of the shells.

But when some people tried to escape and left the trenches, the casualties were even more serious.

Originally, the trenches were the best protection for them.

But in a panic, they all wanted to flee. As a result, casualties increased. However, once they saw someone running away, others followed them and fled. This time, Wei Hongjun was really well-off, so after discussing with Zhang Zhongxun, the artillery unit bombarded for more than an hour.

The city wall of Datong was completely destroyed.

In less than half an hour, the Datong city wall had been torn open in several places, the largest of which was over 20 meters long. It can be said that the Datong city wall had completely lost its function.

The same goes for those fortifications.

The artillery fire extended, completely decimating the Datong troops' defensive positions. The security corps' defensive positions were particularly targeted. As soon as the artillery fire ended, the various units began their offensive.

The only combat-capable troops in Datong City are the Security Corps and Ma Zhanshan's Northeast Advance Army.

Among them, the Security Corps has a large number of people.

Therefore, the troops arranged by Zhang Zhongxun focused on attacking the Security Corps.

The 7th and 24th Brigades, which had withdrawn from the Jining front, participated in the attack on this side. Zhang Zhongxun originally thought that this battle would take some time.

But the real situation surprised everyone.

Everyone had initially assumed the Security Corps' combat effectiveness was strong. However, the 7th Brigade launched an offensive and, in less than two hours, penetrated the Security Corps' defenses. After an hour of shelling, the entire Security Corps' defensive positions were completely exposed. Furthermore, the morale of the Security Corps' officers and soldiers was completely shattered, leaving them with no courage to continue.

So after the 7th Brigade attacked, they were able to break in very easily.

The 7th Brigade itself was shocked.