Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 365: Local specialties worth an entire artillery brigade!

early morning.

Taiyuan.

Japanese First Army Headquarters.

"General."

Yamamoto Ikki is reporting to Shinozuka Yoshio:

"It has been confirmed that Li Yunlong, leading half of the main force of the Jinzhong base, fled... to northwest Shanxi. Contact with the Locust Army's intelligence organization in northwest Shanxi has been lost, and the location of their regimental headquarters is still under investigation."

Yamamoto originally wanted to report the word "escape", but felt that the word was not appropriate, so he quickly changed it.

After all, Li Yunlong led his troops all the way from Jinzhong to northwest Shanxi.

Instead, they were chased all the way to northwest Shanxi by the Japanese First Army.

When Yoshio Shinozuka heard Yamamoto mention Li Yunlong, he felt a subconscious pain in his head.

However, when he heard that Li Yunlong was only leading half of the main force to northwest Shanxi, Shinozuka Yoshio's expression changed slightly.

"So, Li Yunlong only has a force of over 10,000 soldiers?"

Yamamoto nodded. "Yes, General. According to the intelligence from the 14th Division, Li Yunlong is leading only a little over troops heading north!"

Yamamoto was also shocked. Li Yunlong led a force of more than 10,000 people and actually captured eight county towns that were heavily defended by the Japanese army and were easy to defend but difficult to attack. And it was all done within a month!

Shinozuka Yoshio narrowed his eyes and exhaled, "It seems I overestimated Li Yunlong. This man wants both the Jinzhong base and the northwestern Shanxi base. With the limited forces he has, how dare he have his cake and eat it too?"

Yamamoto thought that the combat effectiveness of Li Yunlong's troops was comparable to that of an infantry brigade of the 5th Division of the Steel Army.

The total combat effectiveness of Li Yunlong's Jinzhong and Northwestern Shanxi troops combined should be similar to that of the entire Fifth Division.

Yamamoto didn't figure out why Li Yunlong wanted to divide his troops?

However, Yamamoto knew that it would be a big mistake for Yoshio Shinozuka to look down on Li Yunlong and his troops.

It’s not the quantity of soldiers that matters, but the quality!
Li Yunlong's troops were not large in number, but they had everything they needed. In addition to airplanes, they had machine guns, tanks, anti-aircraft guns, mortars and heavy artillery. Their firepower was extremely strong, the individual soldiers were strong, the morale of the soldiers was high, the various arms cooperated skillfully, and the tactical command was top-notch.

In a head-on combat situation, even a strong unit like the 20th Division was no match for Li Yunlong's troops.

Perhaps only the Fifth Division of the Steel Army or the Sixth Division with its brutal and fierce fighting style can compete with it.

However, Yamamoto didn't point this out. He didn't want to dampen Shinozuka Yoshio's enthusiasm, so he suggested in a deep voice, "General, Li Yunlong has arrived in northwest Shanxi with his troops. We should seize this opportunity while they're still struggling to gain a foothold. We should gather our forces and attack them quickly. Even if we can't completely annihilate them, we must inflict severe damage on them, making it difficult for them to recover."

"That makes sense!" Shinozuka Yoshio nodded in agreement. Li Yunlong had assembled a main force of more than 20,000 people in Jinzhong within less than a year, with combat effectiveness comparable to that of the Japanese field division. It was still unknown how large a force he could gather after arriving in northwestern Shanxi.

"Wait for the arrival of the Mixed Guards Brigade and the Security Division!"

Shinozuka Yoshio narrowed his eyes, and murderous intent filled his eyes behind his round-framed glasses:
"The North China Front Command is about to launch an attack on the Jinzhong base. Our First Army cannot sit idle either. We must assemble our main forces and simultaneously launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army in northwestern Shanxi. This time, the Locust Army will kill two birds with one stone and wipe out Li Yunlong's two bases in one fell swoop."

Then, Shinozuka Yoshio looked at Yamamoto Ikki and said, "Yamamoto-kun, I'll leave the battle plan for my First Army's attack on northwest Shanxi to you. Mutaguchi... is not trustworthy."

"Hi." Yamamoto's expression was as determined as if he was about to join the party. He lowered his head and said, "Yamamoto will definitely live up to the general's expectations."

……

General Ridge.

In the original drama, Yamamoto attacked Zhaojiayu and fled to Ping'an County from here.

Chu Yunfei led the main force of the 358th Regiment to ambush the special forces team here.

This is also where Yamamoto was careless and lost his ancestors.

The terrain here is dangerous, easy to defend but difficult to attack.

After Zhang Dabiao scouted the terrain, he ordered a battalion of troops to build tunnels and concrete fortifications here.

Soldiers were busy wielding hoes and shovels, and many local residents came to help. Xiuqin, director of the Zhaojiayu Women's Association, led the women in making breakfast for the soldiers and local residents.

People said that Li Yunlong was a strong man who could climb walls and run on rooftops, walk on water, and use two machine guns with both hands at the same time. The Japanese put a reward of 500,000 oceans on Li Yunlong's head.

While eating breakfast, Xiuqin curiously asked the soldiers what Captain Li looked like and what kind of person he was.

buzzing-

At this moment, the roar of airplane engines and propellers was heard in the sky.

Obviously, the Japanese reconnaissance plane had discovered that the Eighth Route Army was building fortifications here and wanted to come over for a closer look.

"Devil plane!"

"Prepare for air defense!"

Seeing the Japanese planes approaching, the anti-aircraft company commander shouted loudly.

The soldiers of the defense company immediately put down their bowls, entered the air defense position, operated the 20mm machine gun, pointed the muzzle at the direction of the Japanese planes in the sky, and fired at the enemy planes under the order of the air defense company commander.

Under the dense anti-aircraft firepower, the two Japanese reconnaissance planes circled twice and quickly left.

"What a stupid little devil!"

Although the regimental commander ordered each company of the air defense battalion to fire live ammunition when encountering Japanese planes, this would accumulate practical combat and defense experience for the soldiers.

But after consuming a wave of ammunition, they didn't even touch the Japanese plane, which still made the anti-aircraft company commander and soldiers curse.

……

Ping'an County.

The new regiment headquarters.

Boss Lin took the local specialties and left without even having breakfast, leaving Captain Li and Political Commissar Zhao still in a daze.

"Old Li...did I hear correctly?"

"Brother Lin just said he would give us a heavy artillery regiment and an anti-aircraft regiment?"

Zhao Gang's eyes widened, obviously still in shock and unable to recover.

"Hahaha, Lao Zhao, you heard it right, Brother Lin wants to give us a 152mm howitzer regiment and an air defense regiment!"

Li Yunlong couldn't stop laughing.

After receiving Li Yunlong's affirmative answer, Zhao Gang's mouth almost stretched to his ears.

He didn't expect that a local specialty he brought from Yan'an would make Boss Lin so excited that he directly gave him the equipment of an artillery brigade of the New 1st Regiment.

Including 36 152mm howitzers, 72 40 anti-aircraft guns, as well as jeeps, a large number of artillery shells, large trucks, and training instructors!
In order to strengthen defense and control, Li Yunlong mentioned to Boss Lin that a larger caliber anti-aircraft gun was needed.

Here it comes.

Moreover, Boss Lin said that these 40 anti-aircraft guns are all twin-mounted and quad-mounted, with great firepower!
It is also very effective for attacking Japanese infantry, tanks and fortifications!
With the large trucks provided by Boss Lin, the mobility of these anti-aircraft guns is not a problem, and the supply of ammunition is not a problem either. As long as they can shoot down a plane in battle, they can get reimbursement for their weapons and ammunition.

Li Yunlong's eyes were clear and bright, and he really wanted to receive this batch of anti-aircraft guns as soon as possible.

Although the Japanese had stopped bombing the bases in northwest Shanxi and central Shanxi, their reconnaissance planes often appeared. These planes were very alert and did not dare to conduct low-altitude reconnaissance. They basically carried out reconnaissance activities at an altitude of 3,000 meters. When they saw any military facilities of the Eighth Route Army, they would immediately call for bombers and fighter planes to come and bomb them, causing casualties among the Eighth Route Army and civilians.

The movement of troops and the construction of defensive positions were restricted, and the 20mm machine gun's range was still a bit low.

With the new anti-aircraft guns, we might be able to shoot down the Japanese reconnaissance planes if we encounter them again.

　Local specialty - a thank-you letter from the chief.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)