Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry.

Chapter 227 Disrupted Situation

Outside the Great Wall, the joint operations of the Seventh Route and a Half Army and the Northern Frontier Military Region were unexpected.

The two armies fought swiftly and attacked the Japanese's Qingcheng directly.

After strengthening two 2th Artillery Regiments and one S107 Mountain Artillery Regiment, the Saibei Military Region used more than one hundred cannons to let the Japanese know what firepower coverage is.

The 35th Route Army, which was leading the elite th Army in the front, looked at the Japanese positions filled with smoke and the broken parts of the Japanese that were blown away were everywhere.

I am both excited and a little worried. With such a powerful army, the strength growth in the border area really feels unfathomable.

"Youwen, we must find a way to get a batch of those rocket launchers in the border areas. For marching and fighting, this kind of highly mobile and powerful artillery is simply a powerful weapon on the grassland. If we have a regiment, we can dare to fight a head-on battle even against the Japanese's Class A division." Qiluban looked at the rockets that were whistling towards the Japanese's positions, fascinated.

In order to win a quick victory this time, the border area supported three artillery regiments to cooperate in the battle. Together with the original artillery regiment of the Saibei Military Region, there are now more than 3 107 artillery guns. When the general offensive began, more than 100 rockets were launched in succession, and the sky was full of flaming rockets!
This scene was much more powerful than the several major battles that the Seven and a Half Route Army had fought in Jin.

"Commander, I have contacted Staff Officer Ye and proposed to purchase equipment for three artillery regiments according to your instructions," said the confidential staff officer of the Seventh Route and a Half, smiling bitterly. "Staff Officer Ye said that the border areas and base areas are facing a war, and heavy weapons are in short supply in all units. They cannot be provided to our army for the time being."

"However, Staff Officer Ye also said that after conquering Qingcheng and Wumeng, we might encounter the Kwantung Army of the Japanese on the grasslands, so heavy artillery cannot be provided. They will provide a large number of 82mm mortars to our army to ensure that there is artillery support in the battalions and companies."

"Commander, the border region seems to have high hopes for us. Although we cannot obtain their heavy artillery for the time being, the border region has promised that when we encounter a heavy attack by the Japanese, they will rush to our aid at any time to ensure that we are not inferior to the Japanese in terms of artillery fire.

If this is true, my Suiyuan army of 100,000 will not be afraid of any opponent on the grassland."

"Alas, being controlled by others is never a good thing. However, being able to popularize mortars to battalions and companies is also a key to our foothold in the grassland. Mortars are the key in positional fighting. I have tried this 82mm mortar in the border area, and it is not inferior to the regular products of preserved fruits. If possible, we should buy as many as possible. Now that the territory has expanded, we are not only limited to the 35th Army, but also need to expand a group of new troops." Qiluban said helplessly.

"Order the cavalry brigade to surround the Japanese on the east and make sure they don't get away. In this decisive battle, we have an overwhelming advantage in artillery fire. We must not let any Japanese escape, so as to prevent us from encountering greater troubles in the next attack on the Wumeng." Qiluban said as he observed the situation of the Japanese positions. Now the first round of artillery fire had been completed.

The vanguard began to launch a tentative attack. Judging from the progress, the positions responsible for the Saibei Military Region and the 35th Army were advancing very smoothly, showing that the artillery bombardment had a devastating effect on the Japanese positions.

There were basically no effective Japanese troops on the battlefield.

Now most of the positions on the grassland are trenches. Under the coverage of artillery fire, even the ground has been turned over. The trenches and even the anti-artillery holes have no effect in resisting the huge power of 107mm fire.

The dense rocket artillery bombardment is on a completely different level than the 75mm mountain artillery. Now the mountain artillery regiment of the Saibei Military Region has not fired a single shot, but is ready at the front line, waiting to provide precise finishing services at any time!

If there is a large bunker that is difficult to take down, the mountain artillery will move in close to attack.

The miniaturized bunker is sufficient for the RPG rocket launchers equipped by the Saibei Military Region.

The border area's firepower levels are now very rich, and there is no longer the dilemma that Li Yunlong faced in the past when he treated a mortar as a treasure.

Even the Unscrupulous Cannon was not popular in North China for a few days before it was completely replaced by the RPG. It was only in the New Fourth Army and Shandong that it was still used on a large scale. Their basic industries were not built up, and mortars could not be mass-produced. Now they have to make large grenade launchers by hand.

In Qingcheng, the Japanese's outer positions were broken in one day, and several thousand Japanese and a similar number of puppet troops were eliminated on the positions.

At the same time, Northwest Shanxi and Wutai bases jointly launched the Yunzhong Campaign. In Zhangbei, the main force of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei was waiting for the Eighth Regiment of Jizhong to return from the Taihang Military Region after changing equipment.

Taihang Taiyue launched the Taiyuan Campaign.

It shocked the whole world for a while.

On the European battlefield, the Big Bear began a winter counter-offensive. The Allied forces, who had been somewhat worried about the Chinese battlefield, did not expect that the Eighth Route Army and Suiyuan had more surprises and launched an unprecedented counter-offensive in North China.

The Allied forces in the war zone didn't realize it, and the Japanese were completely confused.

How come my opponent is more excited than me when I just launched the attack?
Moreover, the opponent was obviously not pretending. Qingcheng lost its outer positions in one day, and Yunzhong lost three outer county towns overnight. The situation near Taiyuan was even worse. The Eighth Route Army captured Quanyang and Jinzhong in one fell swoop and was about to encircle Taiyuan.

Overnight, the whole Jin area was in a state of panic, and it seemed that the situation was about to be over.

The Divine Eagle Battalion in the border area began to patrol the skies over Shanxi continuously, and would immediately annihilate any Japanese reconnaissance planes or fighter planes that took off!

The radar warning networks established on the Taihang Mountains, Luliang Mountains and Wutai Mountains completely covered the airspace of the entire Shanxi area.

The Shenying Squadron can now fully rely on the border airport to cover the airspace of only 500 to 600 kilometers. Moreover, in order to shorten the arrival time at the battlefield, the base has also repaired the Lu'an Airport and Wutai Airport used by the Japanese as two auxiliary airports, leaving a large amount of fuel and ammunition that can be replenished on the spot. For the first time, the Eighth Route Army can boldly launch an attack in the daytime.

The Japanese air force would become a rat crossing the street if they entered the airspace of Shanxi. The Type 97 fighter jets, which are nearly a generation behind, are no match for the Divine Eagle Squadron. After losing several batches of fighter jets in succession, the Japanese air force has been huddled in the airport and dares not come out.

The Japanese in Gangcun had not anticipated this serious situation, and the 100,000-strong army that had assembled felt at a loss as to where to start.

There are fires everywhere now, but the biggest losses should be in Taiyuan, which is the core of Jin. After thinking with red eyes for a night, the Japanese in Gangcun made up their minds to save Taiyuan first.

He divided the 100,000-strong army into two routes, one assembled in Shimen and advanced along the Zhengtai Line, and the other assembled in Huaizhou, preparing to go west through Yanqu and enter Jin to rescue Taiyuan. At the same time, regarding the battlefield outside the Great Wall, the Japanese devils in Gangcun also coordinated with the high-level officials of the Kwantung Army and temporarily entrusted the Kwantung Army with full authority to carry out the rescue outside the Great Wall.

为了解决黄河南岸一战区侧翼威胁，岗村小鬼子命令第12军所属第27、第37、第62、110师团、第3战车师团和独立第7、第9旅团、骑兵第4旅团发起进攻，从汴梁、中牟到荥阳同时发起战役。

The Japanese in Gangcun now have to command three armies at the same time. He really has no time to be distracted by the outside world and has to hand it over to the Kwantung Army to deal with. He must concentrate on resolving the series of battles in North China.

As for the air force that was so weak that it dared not attack, the Japanese devils in Gangcun began to frantically send people to the headquarters, preparing to mobilize 50 Zero fighters to enter the North China battlefield.

The bloody battle in the South Pacific is now in full swing. The Air Force is the cornerstone of operations in the South Pacific. Almost all of the main fighter planes of the Japanese are concentrated there. It is enough to leave second-rate or even third-rate fighter planes on the battlefield in China. The most elite air force has been dealing with the Flying Tigers.

Unexpectedly, in addition to the Flying Tigers, another tough opponent, the Divine Eagle Squadron, emerged in North China.

In comparison, the P51D Mustang fighter of the Condor Squadron is more powerful than the P-40C fighter of the Flying Tigers. Except for the Zero fighter, the Japanese can't find any other fighter that can compete with this fighter.

Ren Zhong was also closely following the progress of the battle.

According to the strategic ideas he copied from the main world, the impact of this battle will be very great.

The real winner is the loser.

Unexpectedly, after a fierce internal discussion, the core of the border region made the final decision, "Fight, and strike with one blow to avoid a hundred blows. This time we have the ability to take over Jin, so let's take it. Even though it may be a half-cooked meal, we still have to eat it bite by bite!"

That is why this battle can be carried out resolutely.

Although some people disagreed with the prediction of Operation Ren Zhong No. 1, believing that the preserved fruits would not be so vulnerable and would still have combat effectiveness in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the chief had a deep insight and believed that after the departure of Commander Wei, the First War Zone had fallen into a situation of fighting each other, and the disunited troops had not received much strong repair and replenishment. Facing the elite attack of the Japanese, the situation would be very ugly.

As expected, after the three Japanese armies acted separately, the 12th Army of the Japanese army was unstoppable and quickly broke through the defense line of the First War Zone. The defenders of Bianliang, Zhongmu and Xingyang were defeated, allowing the Japanese army to gain a foothold. The Japanese army concentrated their elite forces westward, successively captured Yanshi and other places and approached Luoyi.

On the northern front, the Japanese troops attacking along the Zhengtai Line were faced with endless attacks almost every day after entering Shanxi. Although there was no frontal support on the Taihang side, the railway had been torn down long ago, and the Japanese troops had to advance on foot. The mortars of the Eighth Route Army, which were densely distributed in the mountains and forests on the main roads, attacked the Japanese marching troops almost all the time.

This attack caused the Japanese to lose hundreds of people every day!

This forced the Japanese to send out troops to encircle and suppress the enemy, but if they spread out at the squadron or small team level, they would soon be wiped out. Only the Japanese at the battalion level could survive until the arrival of reinforcements.

As a result, the Japanese troops on the northern front had to deal with attacks almost every day and it was impossible for them to move forward on a large scale.

Relatively speaking, the Japanese on the central line advanced the fastest. Along the south bank of the Yellow River which they occupied, the army reached Jiyuan within a day. However, their good luck ended there. After entering the mountainous area, the Japanese on the central line also began to encounter a large number of guerrilla mortar long-range sneak attacks.

The army on the central line was forced into an endless game of desperate chase. Five Type C regiments and more than 5 guerrillas of various types, carrying a large number of mortars and conducting guerrilla warfare in company and platoon units, could launch the attack from a hilltop 3000 kilometers away from the main force of the Japanese. Such a long-range attack made it impossible for the Japanese to launch an effective counterattack in the mountainous area.

Within two weeks of the launch of the entire Jindi Campaign, the Japanese successively lost more than a dozen key cities around Qingcheng, Wumeng, Yunzhong, Zhangbei and Taiyuan.

Now nearly 100,000 troops have surrounded Taiyuan, while the two rescue armies of the Japanese devils in Gangcun are still struggling forward in the mountains from the Zhengtai Line and Wangwu Mountain to Yuanqu. Every step forward costs dozens or even hundreds of Japanese lives.

Compared with the disastrous defeat in the war zone on the south bank of the Yellow River, the development of the war situation basically confirmed Ren Zhong's earlier deductions and arguments.

The preserved fruits are vulnerable, but the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi is capable of resisting the attacks of the Japanese invaders.

This war situation began to slide into an unpredictable new historical evolution process.

The third update, quite enough, thank you all for your tolerance for last night’s chapter.

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(End of this chapter)