The father of the sword is Kong Jie

Chapter 1134 Autumn Offensive ([-])

...The autumn offensive that was finally launched, according to the initial discussion results of Kong Jie and other generals, the Eighth Route Army's combat method should be like the original guerrilla warfare and mobile warfare, with characteristics that the Japanese army could not control.

Therefore, the biggest gimmick of the autumn formula is the siege of Taiyuan City.

But the actual combat mode does not entirely revolve around Taiyuan City.

Instead, we need to lead the little Japanese by the nose and mobilize all the Japanese troops in North China and even Central and Eastern China, so that the Japanese occupied areas will fall into chaos and take the opportunity to strengthen each base area.

Open up the connections between various base areas and further strengthen the army.

Therefore, the Luliang Mountain Base was originally preparing to attack the Taiyuan City troops. Due to changes in the battle plan, the number one main brigade, the 358th Brigade, was dropped to the direction of Datong. They were prepared to wait for the main force of the Japanese 26th Division to come out for reinforcements after the siege of Taiyuan began. Datong and its surrounding counties completely destroyed the production base established by the Japanese in Datong.

After the main brigade and several main regiments of the attached military region were transferred, most of the original ten reinforced regiments of the first echelon responsible for the offensive were transferred.

Now the pressure is on Commander Wang of the 359th Brigade from Yan'an.

All his troops were dispatched, including several main regiments sent by the Yan'an Left Behind Corps, a dozen ordinary regiments from the Luliang Military Region, and the newly formed 35nd Division, the main force of the 32th Army, which Lao Fu came to assist.

In order to withstand the pressure and carry out operations according to the plan, we can only carry out offensive and defensive drills on the Guizicheng West Fortress Group day and night, and strive to run the troops well.

Commander Wang sent the 359th Brigade to the first echelon, and Commander Yuan of the newly formed 32nd Division also sent the division's most elite special agent team to join. After continuous discussions, the group of people formulated a combat plan.

The first echelon consists of the 359th Brigade, the newly formed 32nd Division Special Agent Regiment, and the remaining two main regiments of the 358th Brigade.

The main regiment of the newly formed 32nd Division and the main regiment of the Yan'an Left Behind Corps serve as the second echelon.

The remaining dozen ordinary regiments in the Luliang Mountain Military Region serve as the third echelon.

The special forces directly under the military region, the mechanized infantry regiment, the second combat engineer regiment, the model regiment, the teaching regiment and other units serve as reserve teams.

The artillery support firepower is handled by the directly subordinate [-]nd Heavy Artillery Brigade - the first artillery group originally planned was transferred to the direction of Datong.

At the pre-war meeting, Commander Wang said: "The Japs are as familiar with this mountainous area as we are, so in addition to hard training, we also have to do a good job in camouflage and construction of fortifications. The construction of fake fortifications should be done according to the habits of the Japs, and strive to Cheat more shells.

At the same time, the heavy artillery troops of the military region and the artillery troops of each regiment must cooperate closely, conduct unified command, divide areas, and do a good job in communication.

Each unit must also cooperate with a mountain warfare training team and a ground-air liaison team to give full play to our advantages. This time, in addition to the support of heavy artillery units, the front-line troops also have air reinforcements. Everyone must be familiar with this new combat mode. . "

Commander Yuan of the new 32nd Division said: "Our troops are temporarily adjusted to the first echelon. To reduce the burden on the soldiers, we can organize everyone to see our heavy artillery troops and become familiar with the power of these artillery. It is best We can contact the air force of the Air Force and train each other's liaison understanding."

Within the headquarters, everyone agreed very much with this idea and immediately organized a practical drill to show the combat backbones of each unit the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery fire.

They even watched an aviation team come out to harass the Japanese airport at night.

In this way, although the 35th Route Army, which initially cooperates with the Eighth Route Army, may still have problems, it can at least eliminate the doubts of the soldiers and make the troops confident.

At this time, there was also an episode in the mobilization of troops.

Take the soldiers of the 359th Brigade Main Attack Regiment as an example. When they arrived in Luliang Mountain, their equipment was changed. For the first time, the army was equipped with all light and heavy machine guns and mortars. There were even many grenade launchers, blowguns, and recoilless rifles. , flamethrower, shotgun, submachine gun, anti-aircraft machine gun, heavy mortar, obstacle-clearing explosive barrel launcher.

There were even heavy artillery and aviation units that could be called upon. It was almost dizzying to see, and the bullets and grenades were taken with great effort.

The soldiers from the Munitions Department regretted: "It's a pity that the Veyron rocket launcher has been transferred to Datong, otherwise you would still be able to see the big fireworks!"

This shocked some of the leaders of the 359th Brigade and opened their mouths from ear to ear.

Directly: "Did you rob the little devil's war arsenal?"

Eventually training began, although the initial training was riddled with bugs.

For example, during night training, the flamethrower team did not cooperate well and even burned friendly troops!
Of course, it was not real fire, but dyed water sprayed for use as a military exercise. But if this was really on the battlefield, such poor coordination would really cause accidental damage.

In addition, the engineers failed to break through the obstacles in time, causing the attacking troops to suffer "heavy losses" from being blown up by the minefield.

Some infantrymen charged too hard and even forgot to call for artillery or air reinforcements, resulting in unnecessary casualties.

There is also the newly formed 32nd Division, which originally did not trust the long-range artillery units. In particular, the Second Heavy Artillery Brigade was composed of the former artillery units of the Central Army from the prisoner-of-war camps rescued in the Luliang Mountain area.

They knew that during the Battle of Songhu, the National Army's heavy artillery units could not even hear a single sound, and no one knew where the shells had hit.

Therefore, during training, the coordination with ground artillery was not very good. The coordinates were reported incorrectly and almost blew up our own troops. The missiles we fired were training bombs, but shrapnel still flew out, even blowing up the people at the forward artillery observation post of the 32nd Division. hurt.

That painful cry could be heard all over the mountain!

But the generals knew very well that only by honing a tacit understanding in advance during pre-war military exercises and actually going to the battlefield can casualties be avoided.

It's okay to sweat a little and bleed a little during training. It's better than dying on the battlefield.

That is to say, this condition is now available. When the situation is relatively stable, military exercises of this scale can even be conducted before military operations are launched.

There are all kinds of training equipment and firearms for practice.

This has never been possible before!
Therefore, in the initial run-in, although there were many problems, the soldiers of each unit were extremely enthusiastic and actively trained and tempered.

In the end, it was gradually confirmed on the battlefield how important pre-war military simulation exercises are.

After training with each other and developing a tacit understanding, and adjusting their mentality, the troops were absolutely prepared and confident. After officially entering the battle, the overall combat effectiveness and momentum they displayed were completely different.

After the autumn offensive was officially launched, all parties of the Eighth Route Army prepared troops to attack Taiyuan and besiege Taiyuan City.

Taiyuan was in emergency all night, and the old soldier Yoshio Iwasatsu who was in charge of the headquarters couldn't sit still at all.He never expected that the Eighth Route Thunder offensive would come so suddenly.

Just a few days ago, he received news that the Eighth Route Army's base areas were calm. It seemed that they were still resting and recuperating, and both sides were still in a temporary ceasefire!

Who knew the battle would break out so suddenly.

The Eighth Route Army launched a surprise attack that night, adopting their best night fighting offensive.

The defending Japanese army was in a mess. They were completely confused about the distribution of the Eighth Route Army's assembly areas and forward forces. They could only blindly bombard some assembly areas deliberately exposed by the Eighth Route Army, wasting a lot of artillery shells, and were then counterattacked by the Eighth Route Army's long-range cannon units. The loss is not small.

Before the war, Brigadier Zhang said: "A night attack catches the Japanese off guard. When they want to organize a counterattack during the day, we call the air force from the Taihang area to bomb the hell. After the air reinforcements are completed, the second echelon takes over the attack. Don’t give the devils time to breathe!”

The plan for air supremacy formulated before the war was to first bomb the poorly defended Japanese airports in the distance, use Taiyuan to attract Japanese aircraft from nearby airports, and then use wheel tactics to destroy the nearest Japanese flying groups.

At this time, the Japs' flying team flying from farther away would use wheel battles to deal with them. Even if a fighter formation composed of the most powerful ace pilots was beaten by wheel battles at the home ground of the Eighth Route Army, there would always be times when they would be caught neglecting and getting tired.

P38 Lightning fighter jets serve as the main force, supported by five fighter jets, one at mid-altitude, one at high altitude, and a squadron of Zhongkui fighter jets for high-altitude security.

The engine of the Lawu fighter jet was changed, the protection was strengthened, and anti-corrosion treatment was performed. The cooling system of the P38 fighter jet is improved, allowing the two engines to be cooled independently and improving protection.

As Kong Jie said before the war: "According to our preparations, this time even if the Japanese's most advanced Zero fighter comes, we will not be afraid of him. Lawu specializes in dogfighting with the Zero at medium and low altitudes, and has better maneuverability than them."

Then the cannon drum drums were replaced with ammunition chains, and there were also newly introduced mosquito bombers, some of which were equipped with airborne radars. With the limited input of the Japanese flying force, it was a head-to-head encounter, and we may not be in vain! "

As for the 35th Route Army, Commander Fu is now becoming more of a bastard and determined to fight against the Eighth Route Army.

Before the war, he also went to the Luliang Mountain training ground for pre-war mobilization.

He held a flag in his hand and said to the combat troops with great righteousness: "Back then, as the commander of Taiyuan City Defense, I lost Taiyuan City with my own hands. I am ashamed of the country and the nation. This military flag is the reason why I quit Taiyuan City. It was brought out during the siege of Taiyuan. Whoever planted this flag on the gate tower of Taiyuan City, I, Fu, will not only give him credit, but also pour wine for you brave men at the celebration banquet."

The participating troops immediately shouted: Destroy the Japanese invaders and recover Taiyuan!

After the chaos in the oil fields in western Inner Mongolia ended.

The northward detachment of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, the 35th Army in the Baotou area, the Daqingshan base in the Houhe area, and the Yanbei detachment outside Zhangjiakou gradually established a foothold, driving the Mongolian troops to Datong, Zhangjiakou and eastern Mongolia.

The territory of the troops stationed in Mongolia has shrunk significantly.

Datong's 26th Division, Zhangjiakou's Southern Chariot Brigade and the independent Second Mixed Brigade defending the city, as well as the troops directly under the military headquarters, as well as the Xitian Cavalry Group in eastern Mongolia, were all severely damaged and could not leave the city. The Eighth Route Army refused to fight despite its provocations.

After Okabe took office, he was very dissatisfied when he learned that the troops stationed in Mongolia were so dwindled.

He did not give priority to replenishing soldiers, heavy weapons, and supplies. Instead, he parachuted in a group of officers and replenished some bombers and fighter units, and asked them to organize flying teams, cavalry units, and armored units to take turns to conduct raids and harass the Eighth Route Army base areas within their jurisdiction.

In the communication, Okabe told the Mongolian Army Headquarters, "In Shanxi, Shandong, and Hebei areas, the air force's attacks are very effective. You should also learn from it and organize the air force to make irregular raids on the Eighth Route Army and 35th Army base areas, and Those nomadic tribes who betrayed the imperial army.

At the same time, armored detachments and cavalry detachments were secretly organized to go out of the city to raid the Eighth Route Army. If they couldn't defeat the large forces of the Eighth Route Army, why don't you grab some things and come back and kill a few civilians? Isn't that what you can do? "

Okabe had given such an order, and the commander of the Mongolian Army had to carry it out no matter how unwilling he was. The air force sneak attack organized at the beginning was somewhat effective, but as the Eighth Route Army strengthened its alert and strengthened its mobile air defense force, it no longer worked.

So the Japanese resorted to the armored detachment trick again. As a result, the Eighth Route Army had been waiting for the Japanese outside the city for a long time. After destroying several elite armored squadrons, the Japanese commander was so angry that he cursed Okabe for being stupid. He clearly wanted to leave the city and die.

In the end, they could only send cavalry units with small targets and good mobility. But before they set off, the Eighth Route Army's air guerrilla tactics began to be implemented. These troops had just assembled at the station and were preparing for a night sneak attack. The secret sentry contacted the air force to throw incendiary bombs, and the station was completely occupied. It's burned out.

Those war horses ran everywhere overnight.

Since then, the three axes of the Mongolian army have been used up. Although the results are not very good, they have fooled the old Japanese Okabe.

Staff Chen of the 35th Army, who rushed back to Baotou to command the troops and prepared to go south, held a secret meeting with the senior officials of the 35th Army, the person in charge of the Daqingshan base area, the person in charge of the Northward Detachment, Lao Song of the Yanbei Detachment, and the person in charge of the Inner Mongolia Guerrilla Corps.

Staff Officer Chen of the 35th Army said: "The Japs in Zhangjiakou are afraid of you, so they probably don't dare to attack. We have to find a way to trick them away.

Let me simply send the 101st Division and the 31rd Cavalry Division to the Hohe direction to defend against the Japanese cavalry group in the eastern Mongolia area; the main force of the new [-]st Division and the [-]th Cavalry Division will pass through Guisui and head south to the Zhangjiakou area; the remaining temporary divisions will stay behind. Become a reserve team in Guisui area.

The plan is that the first batch of main troops will go to Taiyuan to participate in the war; the second batch of troops will go to Zhangjiakou to contain the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia; and the third batch of troops will go to Houhe area to garrison.

Except for the rapid movement of the first batch of troops to Taiyuan, the troops that went south could not rush their actions and marched slowly along the way. Anti-Japanese meetings were held wherever they went to organize these young people from various tribes who had been persecuted by Japanese air raids to join the army for revenge. Unified into the guerrilla corps.

We were training while marching, just to tell the Japanese spies that we were here, but for a feint attack. We had been walking for a week, but we didn't even cover a few miles. It was so slow.

In particular, the elite Fourth Cavalry Division was reorganized into an armored force with the armored units left in the Baotou area of ​​the Eighth Route Army.

This time armored troops and cavalry were dispatched and marched separately, ostensibly only cavalry.

The purpose is to wait until the main forces of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and the 386th Brigade attack the Baoding area, and when the Japanese troops in Zhangjiakou go south to relieve the siege, we will directly penetrate Zhangjiakou! "

This is the first large-scale joint operation between the 35th Army and the Eighth Route Army.

Commander Fu even said that after the battle was fought, each soldier would receive an extra year of military pay. Therefore, morale was extremely high, and the soldiers expressed their intention to be the first to rush into the headquarters of the Mongolian Army.

The Northward Detachment assisted Brigadier Zhang in attacking Datong.

Lao Song of the Yanbei detachment said that they were responsible for setting up pockets in the base area and were waiting for the main force of the Japanese to move south to surround them. When Staff Officer Chen and his party attacked quickly, they would not only capture Zhangjiakou, but also eat all the main force going south.

Everyone discussed it for a day, and after assigning the task, they all expressed their full cooperation to complete the task.

"Comrades, I'll see you all at the Mongolian Army Headquarters in Zhangjiakou. I'll treat you all to a drink!" The heroic words echoed in the headquarters.

(End of this chapter)