Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 571: Plenty of ammunition!
Time flies, and three months have passed since the Battle of Nomonhan.

It was late November 1939.

During these three months, the domestic and international situations have undergone significant changes. On the European continent, Germany's blitzkrieg against Poland allowed the world to witness the power of blitzkrieg for the first time, and the international situation became turbulent.

At home, the Japanese army assembled a large number of manpower troops in central China and attacked Changsha.

As the situation in North China changed rapidly, the offense and defense changed. The Japanese were anxious to eliminate the National Army troops and then withdraw the main force of the Central China Front Army to attack the Eighth Route Army.

After the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese keenly discovered that they were unable to attack anymore, so they became a little anxious.

Because once the Eighth Route Army gains momentum in North China, it will not only threaten the North China Front Army, but also the Kwantung Army and the Central China Front Army.

However, the more anxious the Japanese are, the more likely problems will arise.

The Japanese army's first attack on Changsha lasted for several months and suffered more than 20,000 casualties.

However, the Battle of Changsha has not yet ended, and the two sides are still fighting.

During these three months, Li Yunlong was not idle. In addition to paying attention to the domestic and international situation, he was also busy training troops, building bases, developing production, and constructing fortifications.

It is worth mentioning that after the last battle in Northwest Shanxi, Boss Lin increased the number of bullets that soldiers could use in training.

The training quota of 120 bullets per soldier per month has been increased to 200 bullets per month.

This means that every soldier in the new regiment, whether veteran or new, can fire 200 rounds of training ammunition every month.

Zhang Wanhe returned to the regimental headquarters from the arsenal with a beaming smile on his face. "In the past three months, the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal has produced a total of 200 million rounds of ammunition and reloaded 800 million rounds. Our regiment's ammunition reserves have reached 5000 million rounds."

Each soldier fires 200 rounds of training ammunition every month, which are delivered by plane sent by Boss Lin.

now,

Now the expansion of the new regiment to more than 10,000 people has been completed, and the lightly wounded soldiers have returned to their respective units.

The New 5st Regiment had a force of 2 in northwest Shanxi alone, plus more than 7 troops in the two columns of the Jinzhong base area, the total strength reached more than , which was truly a strong force.

With a force of more than 7 soldiers, if each soldier fires 200 rounds of training ammunition per month, 1 million rounds of ammunition will be consumed every month.

A fired bullet cannot be retrieved, but the cartridge case can be recovered and fully utilized to reload bullets. Zhang Wanhe is an expert at reloading bullets.

"Not bad." Li Yunlong was staring at the map when his eyes lit up and he looked up and asked, "How the hell did you do that?"

In the past, during the Red Army period and in the early days of the Eighth Route Army, the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army used this method to "manufacture" bullets.

However, the difference is that at that time our army only had black powder, and the gunpowder was insufficient, so the reloaded bullets had poor power and accuracy. But then again, anything that can draw out pus is a good plaster. Even with the reloaded bullets at that time, our army only had dozens of bullets per person when we were richest, and only a few bullets per person when we were poorest.

With a chuckle, Zhang Wanhe said, "I've had all the troops recycle their spent shells back to the arsenal. We've prioritized assembling the bullet and smokeless powder production lines. Once the copper supply is sufficient, we'll begin refining the copper to produce bullets. All the skilled workers will be working in two shifts to reload the bullets."

"Not bad." Li Yunlong nodded in approval. "How's the quality of the reloaded bullets?"

In just two or three months, the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal achieved such results.

It was a real good decision to recruit that bastard Zhang Wanhe to the Northwest Shanxi Military Region.

Zhang Wanhe said, "They have smokeless powder and reloaded bullets from recycled shells. Although they are slightly inferior to the original bullets provided by Boss Lin, they are much better than the bullets produced by the Taiyuan Arsenal, and even better than the Japanese bullets."

"The equipment provided by Boss Lin is so advanced that it not only improves production quality but also greatly increases production efficiency."

There was joy in Zhang Wanhe's tone.

He joined the Red Army at the same time as Li Yunlong, and knew very well the hard life our army had lived in the past.

Although we are rich now, we cannot waste money. Every piece of good steel must be used on the blade.

"You came here, did you encounter any difficulties?" Li Yunlong asked.

"That's right." Zhang Wanhe nodded. "There are two difficulties that need to be resolved by the regiment headquarters."

"What's the matter?" Li Yunlong asked with a change of expression.

He knew Zhang Wanhe's abilities, so he solved the problems he could solve himself. He would only ask the regiment headquarters to solve the problems he could not solve.

Zhang Wanhe said bitterly, "Among Yan Laoxi's technical workers, there are enemy spies."

"Someone sabotaged it?"

Li Yunlong asked with a gloomy expression.

"Two bullet-producing machines were sabotaged, but no one was caught red-handed."

Zhang Wanhe clenched his fists. Those two machine tools were like the chickens that laid eggs in his home. Now that the chickens had been killed, he wished he could tear the other party into pieces.

"It seems that the spies have not been completely eliminated." Li Yunlong's eyes were cold.

The composition of technical personnel in Yan Laoxi's Arsenal is very complex. Most of them are Yan Laoxi's people. Yan Laoxi pays them and they work for Yan Laoxi.

But there were also some undercover personnel from various parties, including people from the Military Control Commission, the Central Control Commission, the Eighth Route Army, and Japanese spies.

However, after these people came to northwest Shanxi, a wave of spies from the Kuomintang and the Japanese were eliminated, but it seems that they have not been completely eliminated at the moment.

"Can you find this person by process of elimination?"

Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes.

"No, there were quite a few technicians who entered the machine room that day and had access to the two machine tools." Zhang Wanhe shook his head. "I used seduction to lure this person in, but he didn't fall for it."

"It seems that he is not an ordinary spy." Li Yunlong's eyes narrowed slightly.

Li Yunlong immediately said, "I will have the intelligence department investigate this matter. I will immediately ask Boss Lin to replace the two damaged machine tools so as not to affect the production of bullets."

Not only tanks, light and heavy machine guns and rifles can be exchanged for new ones from Boss Lin, but also the machine tools and equipment on the arsenal production line.

"Okay." Zhang Wanhe nodded. "Cracking sunflower seeds and finding a stink bug is such bad luck."

"Is there another difficulty?" Li Yunlong looked at Zhang Wanhe and asked.

"The Shanxi Northwest Arsenal is seriously understaffed," Zhang Wanhe said. "With the assembly of the gun and ammunition factory, bomb factory, artillery shell factory, smokeless powder factory, acid factory, and sugar factory, as well as the expansion of the cement plant and steel plant, I need a large number of people."

Li Yunlong asked: "Just tell me, how many people do you have now, and how many more do you need?"

Zhang Wanhe replied, "Combining the 500 people I transferred from the Huangyadong Arsenal, the 2800 people from Yan Laoxi, and the 500 people from the original cement plant and steel plant, I now have about 4000 people. I need about 2000 more, preferably experienced technical workers and engineers."

At present, the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal can barely operate with 4000 people, but for the sake of production and future development, the more talents in this area, the better.

"If I had skilled workers and engineers, would I still be hiding them?" Li Yunlong said angrily. "If you want skilled workers and engineers, you'll have to train them yourself. This month, over 300 new intellectuals arrived from Yan'an. I'll hand them all over to you. As for skilled workers, you'll have to recruit them from the masses."

"But you have to promise me that the arsenal's monthly output and reloading capacity will be no less than 1500 million rounds of ammunition in the future."

"The output of other items such as guns, grenades and artillery shells must not be lower than the originally expected standards." Although the Japanese bombed Beitongpu Road and Pingsui West Road every now and then, the New 1st Regiment built a Baoping Highway between Baotou and Ping'an County, which was specially used to transport the ores needed by various arsenals using large trucks.

As for the Wuyuan area, Fu Zuoyi initially took a tough stance and did not want to give up Wuyuan County.

However, when Zhang Dabiao led his troops to arrive and saw the powerful cavalry and tank forces of the Eighth Route Army, Fu Zuoyi had no choice but to lead the main force of the Sui Army to retreat in shame.

However, Li Yunlong suspected that Fu Zuoyi's toughness was just a show for Principal Chang.

"Yes." Zhang Wanhe nodded and quickly left the regiment headquarters. Now that the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal is about to go into full production and the production lines are fully open, he is so busy all day that he only sleeps four or five hours a day, and even has to squeeze out time to eat and drink.

"At this rate of production at the arsenal, we'll be able to attack Taiyuan next spring."

Li Yunlong stared at the location of Taiyuan on the map with a fierce look in his eyes.

With a monthly production of 1500 million rounds of bullets, that means 6000 million rounds of bullets in four months. After four months, the new regiment’s bullet reserves will reach 1 million rounds!

Some of the artillery shells used in training will be kept privately, and the arsenal will produce its own artillery shells. The new regiment's artillery shell reserves will exceed 100 million rounds.

As for grenades, there are more than 100 million of them, which means there is plenty of ammunition!

"1 million rounds of ammunition, 100 million artillery shells, and 100 million grenades. Shouldn't that be enough to attack Taiyuan?"

Captain Li's expression was filled with murderous intent.

In terms of cavalry, the New 1st Regiment has also made great progress since the Battle of Baotou.

The bodies of more than 1000 killed military horses were pulled back to the base by large trucks.

More than 2000 military horses were seized, and Boss Lin offered 4000 military horses. Together with the original 4000 military horses of the New 1st Regiment, the cavalry of the New 2st Regiment exceeded . Li Yunlong directly expanded the nd Cavalry Column, with Ma Renxing as the column commander.

Less than two months after Ma Renxing was appointed as the captain of the 4th Infantry Column of the New st Regiment by the headquarters, he was transferred to northwest Shanxi by Li Yunlong to serve as the captain of the cavalry column and return to his old job.

The captain of the 4th Infantry Column was Cheng Shifa. During the reorganization, he was appointed as the commander of the main force of the 386th Brigade. He had outstanding qualifications and command.

At the same time, Ma Renxing's Ji Zhong Cavalry Regiment was also transferred to the 2nd Cavalry Column. Together with the four newly expanded cavalry battalions, the total strength of the 4nd Cavalry Column was about 2 cavalry, plus the logistics troops, it was a full cavalry division.

The four newly expanded cavalry battalions are basically Mongolian cavalry newly recruited in Wuyuan and Baotou areas. Each of them has superb riding skills and has a deep hatred for the Japanese.

Moreover, Boss Lin also provided the latest saber for the cavalry unit of the new regiment - it looked the same as the Xuefeng Sword, but was forged with higher smelting technology and steel. However, the Xuefeng Sword had not yet been released at that time, so Lin Feng named it the Bayi Cavalry Sword. This cavalry sword was specifically designed to counter the Japanese Type 32 Cavalry Sword.

After secretly taking stock of the weapons and equipment, ammunition reserves and troop size of the new regiment, Li Yunlong finally made up his mind.

Next year when spring comes and flowers bloom, it will be time to attack Taiyuan.

The locations of the oil fields in Baotou and Wuyuan areas have been basically determined, and we are just waiting to attack Taiyuan to eliminate the Japanese generals and officers and earn equipment and technology for oil extraction.

By then, the first batch of 300 flight trainees will have almost graduated.

……

Beiping.

North China Front Army Headquarters.

"Commander," Major General Kasahara Yukio walked quickly into the headquarters and reported, "We have received a secret letter from General Doiyuan."

At the headquarters, Tada Shunzheng looked at the blockade line being built by the Japanese army on the map with an expressionless face.

"Dogi Kenji?"

Hearing what Yukio Kasahara said, Tada Shun frowned slightly.

He didn't have much in common with Kenji Doi, so why would the other party write to him?

"open to take a look."

At Tada Shun's suggestion, Kasahara Yukio opened the envelope and began to read.

He was delighted at first, then frowned:
"Commander, General Doiyuan has written to say that a high-ranking agent from his Mei Agency, codenamed Pangolin, is lurking within the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal. Due to his exceptional skills, he has been appointed a workshop leader within the arsenal."

"At present, the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal has been established, and its monthly production of bullets has reached over 10 million rounds. In addition, the production of artillery shells, guns, and artillery is also not low."

"What?! Monthly production of over 10 million rounds of ammunition?"

Tada Shun's expression first lit up with joy, and then he was suddenly startled.

The Eighth Route Army's monthly bullet production has exceeded the ammunition reserves of a Japanese division. How could Tada Shun not be alarmed?

This means that the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal produced more than 100 million bullets annually.

This does not include the Huangyadong Arsenal in southeastern Shanxi.

"We must find a way to destroy the Eighth Route Army's factory in Northwest Shanxi." Tada Shun's face was solemn.

The Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Arsenal was established just two or three months ago, but it has reached such a scale. After one or two years, its output must have increased several times?
By then, the Eighth Route Army might launch a counterattack against the North China Front Army.

Kasahara Yukio said, "General Doi-maru provided Pangolin's contact information, which allowed Pangolin to provide a map of the Eighth Route Army's arsenals in Northwest Shanxi, as well as the status of their anti-aircraft firepower."

Tada Shun had long been planning to bomb the Northwest Shanxi Arsenal, but the Eighth Route Army's anti-aircraft firepower was strong and all the factory buildings were made of concrete.

Indiscriminate bombing will inevitably have a very poor effect. Not only will it waste strategic materials such as aerial bombs and fuel, but there is also the risk of the aircraft being shot down.

Therefore, Tada Shun did not send the air force to carry out bombing operations immediately.

Li Yunlong placed the arsenal there, obviously not afraid of the bombing by the Japanese Air Force.

If there was intelligence, it would be different. We could specifically bomb the Eighth Route Army's production lines and ammunition depots, greatly improving the efficiency of the bombing.

"Yoshi."

Tada Shun nodded:
"Let Colonel Yamamoto Ikki, the First Army's Deputy Chief of Staff, be in charge of liaising with Pangolin."

Although Yamamoto failed to succeed in beheading Zhukov in the Battle of Nomonhan, he killed Zhukov's staff in one fell swoop, which was also a significant contribution.

However, Yamamoto Ikki had bad luck. The 23rd Division was completely wiped out and the Japanese 6th Army suffered heavy losses. Yamamoto Ikki was not a member of the Kwantung Army, so he did not receive any commendation.

However, Tada Shun gave him credit for his achievement and allowed him to conduct special forces training experiments in some main divisions of the North China Front Army.

In addition, Yamamoto Ikki made a great contribution by proposing the cage plan, so Tada Shun planned to promote Yamamoto Ikki.

If the bombing of the northwestern Shanxi arsenal was successful, Tada Shun was prepared to promote Yamamoto Ikki to the rank of major general.

"Hi."

Major General Yukio Kasahara suddenly lowered his head.

(End of this chapter)