Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 534 Eighth Route Mechanized Forces!
After a whole night of fighting, the New 26st Regiment Independent Battalion defeated the Japanese th Division.

However, because there was no force able to cut off the retreat route of the Japanese 26th Division, the 26th Division could not be completely wiped out.

Of course, if it is a war of annihilation, it will be difficult to finish it in one night.

After all, it was not more than 10,000 pigs, but more than 10,000 vicious devils.

After defeating the 26th Division, the tank battalion was pursuing the fleeing Japanese troops.

Chu Yunfei led the independent brigade to quickly recapture Heyuan County.

After the last battle in which the New 14st Regiment defeated the main force of the th Division, all the buildings in Heyuan County were blown up, leaving it an empty city with the city walls in ruins.

But it was a county town after all, and many Japanese soldiers were stationed here during the battle.

Moreover, recapture of a county town comes with a generous price tag of 500 tons of grain.

"Captain, the phone line is connected. The commander wants to speak to you."

On the city wall, Chu Yunfei looked towards Datong with disdain, and the communications staff walked over quickly.

The independent battalion fought their way all the way from Jiangjunling, and the road was littered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers. In this battle, the independent battalion did not suffer heavy casualties.

After the 26th Division Headquarters was destroyed, the Japanese army regiments were in a state of chaos. The infantry regiment wanted to call for artillery support but could not find anyone. In order to preserve its strength, the North China Front Army Command directly ordered two mountain artillery regiments to move to Datong and use small trucks to transport the mountain artillery away.

Then, the Japanese infantry regiments could only endure the bombing and were defeated in a few hours.

Chu Yunfei: "I am Chu Yunfei!"

Li Yunlong: "Captain Chu, how is the battle going on your side?"

Chu Yunfei: "Report to the regiment commander, our troops have already defeated the 26th Division and recaptured Heyuan County. The tank battalion is currently pursuing the fleeing Japanese troops."

"Your independent battalion fought well in this battle. I'll report back to headquarters and commend you."

Li Yunlong praised it and said:

"Call back the tank battalion. The 26th Division only has a few remaining troops. If the Japanese planes bomb the tank battalion, it will be a huge loss."

"The supply convoy has departed from Ping'an County and will arrive in Heyuan County around noon."

"After replenishing your ammunition, your independent battalion will immediately head towards Datong."

"Attack Datong?" Chu Yunfei's eyes lit up and his gaze was burning.

Chu Yunfei was familiar with Datong. He had attacked Datong once before. It was an important military town of the Japanese in northern Shanxi.

Moreover, when the Japanese attacked northwestern Shanxi this time, the stockpiled combat supplies must have been in Datong.

"That's right!" Li Yunlong said firmly, "I've sent the motor vehicle battalion. You go first, and I'll follow with three infantry battalions."

"Yes!"

Chu Yunfei said, "Oh, Commander, on the highway near Heyuan County, there are the remains of four 240mm heavy howitzers that were blown up by the Japanese, blocking the road."

The Type 240 heavy howitzer of the 30-s weighed more than tons, and the Japanese's small trucks could not pull it at all, so it had to be disassembled for transportation.

But even if it is disassembled for transportation, the maneuvering speed is very slow.

Last night, the independent battalion was unstoppable. The Japanese field siege heavy artillery battalion had just marched to the vicinity of Heyuan County when the Eighth Route Army caught up.

In desperation, the Japanese artillery could only blow it up, and the artillerymen all committed suicide by cutting open their stomachs.

Li Yunlong's expression lit up. "It's a small problem. Just use the steel ropes to pull the tanks aside. These are all top-quality artillery steels. When our arsenal is built, we can bring them all back and melt them down to make artillery."

Explosives can only make the cannon unusable, but cannot melt the cannon steel.

After the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal was built, there was an urgent need for steel, especially high-quality steel for making cannons and gun barrels.

The steel rails removed from the railway tracks were of poor quality. In another time and space, the Type 81 rifles manufactured by the Eighth Route Army themselves had barrels made of steel rails, and their service life was only 800 rounds of bullets, while the barrel of the Japanese Type 38 rifle had a service life of 10,000 rounds.

What made Li Yunlong even happier was that this time he destroyed eight of the Japanese Type 240 mm howitzers.

I wonder if Boss Lin will give him a howitzer larger than 200mm?

It would be great if there were a howitzer with a range of more than 200 mm. It would definitely be an excellent weapon for attacking cities and strongholds. City walls, bunkers, watchtowers, and even fortresses could be taken down with just a few dozen shots.

If dozens of cannons can't do it, then use hundreds or thousands of cannons.

"Yes!" Chu Yunfei hung up the phone with a burning look in his eyes.

Chu Yunfei looked at Fang Ligong and said, "Chief of Staff, gather all the troops outside the city. I need to make a pre-war mobilization. Pay attention to air defense."

"Yes, Captain!" Fang Ligong straightened his body and hurried forward to give orders.

When leaving, Fang Ligong had a smile on his face.

When he was in the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, Chu Yunfei was just like officers from other countries, arrogant and conceited, looking down on everyone except Yan Laoxi and Principal Chang.

However, it was only after joining the Eighth Route Army that I understood what true equality between officers and soldiers meant, and I began to work towards that end.

Soon, the supply convoy arranged by Zhao Gang arrived at Heyuan County.

After a night of fierce fighting last night, the independent battalion regained its combat effectiveness after a morning of rest.

And this time, they went to Datong by large trucks, and all of the more than 700 large trucks of the New st Regiment's Motor Battalion were dispatched.

Heyuan County.

Looking at the huge number of at least a thousand trucks, Chu Yunfei, Fang Ligong and the soldiers of the independent battalion widened their eyes.

"This is already a mechanized force."

Fang Ligong pushed his glasses to hide his inner shock.

"Mechanized troops are our goal. The entire New 1st Regiment has not yet been fully mechanized, but it can be considered semi-mechanized."

Li Yunlong got out of the jeep and walked over quickly. He led three infantry battalions and an air defense battalion and arrived at Heyuan County to assemble earlier than planned.

Chu Yunfei, Fang Ligong, Sun Ming and others quickly raised their hands and saluted Li Yunlong respectfully.

"In the future, our new regiment will become a truly mechanized force."

Li Yunlong added another sentence.

"A true mechanized force..."

Chu Yunfei's eyes were burning.

In the entire combat sequence of the National Army, there was only one mechanized unit, the 200th Division, commanded by Du Yuming. It had two tank regiments, one infantry regiment, one motor vehicle regiment and one artillery regiment under its command, and was equipped with a large number of heavy equipment such as T-26 light tanks and CV-33 machine gun tanks provided by the Soviet Union.

With a chuckle, Li Yunlong said:

"Although our entire New 1st Regiment has not yet fully realized mechanization."

"But the troops assembled in Heyuan County, your independent battalion, plus the three infantry battalions, one tank battalion, one anti-aircraft battalion, and three artillery battalions directly under the regiment headquarters, have already become a fully mechanized force."

"Next, let's show the devils of the North China Front Army the true strength of the Eighth Route Army's mechanized forces."

Li Yunlong, who had been smiling just now, suddenly became stern with murderous intent in his eyes.

In this battle, the Japanese did not cause much killing in northwestern Shanxi.

However, while the main force of the Japanese army was gathering in northwest Shanxi, in order to ensure the smooth flow of transportation routes, they carried out mopping-up and clearing operations on both sides of railways and highways such as Zhengtai Road, Tongpu Road and Pingsui Road, directly carrying out the "Three Alls" campaign, killing many civilians and guerrillas.

"Can the logistics keep up?"

Chu Yunfei asked with a worried look.

The 200th Division of the National Army participated in the Battle of Taierzhuang and the Battle of Lanfeng. Although it showed its prowess, it also exposed the shortcomings of mechanized troops in logistics and command, and highlighted the huge challenges faced by the Chinese army in mechanized warfare.

In terms of command, with Li Yunlong personally commanding the front line, there was no major problem.

However, once the Datong war broke out, the logistics supply line became a bit long. Once the Japanese sent planes to bomb the logistics supply line, it would be troublesome.

"Don't worry." Li Yunlong said with a chuckle, "Don't forget, I, Old Li, have a powerful relationship with people. If I don't have the right tools, I wouldn't dare to take on this porcelain job."

Before leaving, he had already applied to Boss Lin.

When necessary, Boss Lin will provide wartime airdrop supplies.

"Send my order and the whole army sets off!"

Li Yunlong gave the order in a cold tone.

At this time, the soldiers of the independent battalion had also boarded the large truck, their bullet bags were bulging, and each soldier had at least five melon grenades. After Chu Yunfei's pre-war mobilization, their morale was unprecedentedly high.

Afterwards, more than a thousand large trucks of the Eighth Route Army, carrying the main force and a large amount of combat supplies, headed towards Datong at an average speed of 20 kilometers per hour.

Because they were marching in broad daylight, not long after they set off, the Japanese reconnaissance planes in the sky discovered the mighty Eighth Route Army mechanized troops on the ground.

(End of this chapter)