Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Please take note of Chapter 284. I'm making the following adjustments and arrangements.
Upon learning of the Japanese intelligence, Chen Ming immediately made arrangements to expedite the dismantling of the railway section from Datong to Jining.

After engaging in a decisive battle with the Japanese, Chen Ming and the General Staff's strategic plan required relying on depth of operations to gradually wear down the Japanese's morale.

If the railway is left standing, it will not increase the logistical burden on the Japanese, and the strategic depth will naturally be less effective.

The railway was dismantled, and the Japanese army's supply line, from Datong to Jining, was actually more than 200 kilometers long.

Including the route from Jining to Guige, the entire logistics line will be over 400 kilometers long.

At such a great distance, the range of attacks Chen Ming could launch against the Japanese supply lines was enormous.

Without the railway to help with transportation, how were the Japanese soldiers supposed to transport the logistical supplies for several divisions?

If the problem of transporting logistical supplies cannot be solved, the Japanese will have no choice but to fight a quick battle, and the entire campaign will not last too long.

At the same time, the Japanese also had to rescue the tank division in Baotou, so they had to speed up their attack.

Once the Japanese get anxious, the probability of them revealing a weakness increases.

This is what Chen Ming wanted.

Throughout history, in large-scale military operations where there is no absolute difference in strength between the two sides, the competition boils down to who makes more mistakes.

Throughout history, generals who employed a steady and methodical approach have won far more often than those who relied on unconventional strategies.

However, the victories of generals who employ ingenious strategies are often more legendary and thus have been passed down through the ages.

As long as we maintain our composure, the Japanese defeat will not change.

Chen Ming is doing the same thing now. He doesn't want to wipe out the invading Japanese in one battle. He just wants to fight steadily and wear down the Japanese divisions.

They were bled dry, weakened, and eventually wiped out.

Chen Ming was able to pacify the situation in Suiyuan and Chahar provinces in one battle because he continuously bled the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia in the early stages.

Ultimately, this left the troops stationed in Mongolia extremely weak, unable to withstand Chen Ming's offensive, and they directly lost a large area of ​​territory.

Inside the command headquarters in Shuoxian County.

The cadres sent from headquarters have arrived. Their purpose in coming here is only to observe and learn; they have no intention of interfering.

When it comes to the ability to fight the Japanese head-on, there are very few people more experienced than Chen Ming.

"Report: A large number of Japanese troops have been spotted moving in the Taiyuan direction, heading towards northern Shanxi."

"Report: A large number of Japanese soldiers have been transferred from Wucheng to Datong."

A series of intelligence reports were sent to Chen Ming's command post.

The General Staff quickly analyzed this intelligence, and after summarizing it, the Chief of Staff reported it to Commander Chen Ming.

"They've finally arrived. The Japanese devils can't hold back any longer and are about to show their faces."

After seeing a lot of intelligence, Chen Ming and everyone in the command center knew that the real decisive battle was about to begin.

"The Japanese troops deployed this time exceeded our expectations. In addition to two Kwantung Army divisions, two divisions were also deployed from North China."

"Although none of them were Japanese Class A divisions, they were all infantry divisions with three regiments, with a strength of between 1.2 and 1.7."

"But the four divisions of Japanese soldiers still constitute a formidable force."

The chief of staff said with a somewhat grave expression.

The Japanese army consisted of four divisions, exceeding the initial expectation of three divisions.

Such a large force puts enormous pressure on the entire base area.

He hadn't expected that, given the Japanese's current predicament, they would still have the audacity to deploy four divisions.

It's important to understand that this is now 43 years later, not the early stages of the War of Resistance against Japan.

At this time, the Japanese were fighting on multiple fronts, their forces were extremely strained, and the quality of their troops had declined significantly.

Under these circumstances, the fact that they could still mobilize so many troops suggests that the besieged tank division in Baotou has pushed the Japanese to their limits.

"Four divisions is four divisions. Do these Japanese devils still think of us as the Eighth Route Army that they used to chase after?"

"Times have changed. It's wishful thinking for the Japanese to think that a division or even a regiment can chase us around like before."

"There's no need to worry too much about that Japanese division in Taiyuan. The Hengshan Mountains provide a natural defense. It's wishful thinking for the Japanese to try and break through our defenses in the Hengshan Mountains."

"Trying to attack from both sides? Dream on!"

“Our brother units in other base areas are not to be trifled with either.”

"The division that set out from Taiyuan is only providing flank support; our brother units can hold them off."

"So what we really have to face are the two Kwantung Army divisions that started from Wucheng, plus a Japanese division in North China."

Chen Ming immediately revealed the Japanese army's plan.

Everyone present could see this point of view.

The Hengshan Mountains block the way from Yuanping to Ningwu.

Using the mountains as a barrier, it would be extremely difficult for a Japanese 3rd Regiment to break through.

Nowadays, apart from the independent detachment, other brother units are also developing very rapidly and their strength has greatly increased.

With the arsenal producing a steady stream of artillery, weapons, and ammunition, even weaponry and equipment were upgraded.

The Japanese three-regiment divisions had less than half the artillery firepower of a four-regiment division, and their infantry regiments lacked anti-tank weapons.

Their combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of the old Japanese soldiers.

Therefore, the Japanese division that set out from Taiyuan was only used to contain and support the enemy, and was not used as the main assault group in the campaign.

Even so, the three Japanese divisions in the direction of Wucheng alone were still a very powerful force.

If it were the Nationalist army, they wouldn't dare to easily deal with it without 200,000 troops.

Hearing Chen Ming's words, everyone felt a little more at ease.

Yes, their strength now far surpasses what it used to be.

The Japanese army's fighting strength is weakening, while theirs is increasing. Given this shift in power, they may not necessarily be outmatched.

"Alright, now that the situation is clear, let's start discussing the deployment."

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Chen Ming spoke with a smile.

As a commander of a unit, his emotions can affect the entire unit.

Sure enough, seeing Chen Ming's confidence, everyone felt more reassured.

Meanwhile, the mountain city also received news that the Japanese had amassed a large force to attack the Eighth Route Army.

The Japanese suddenly mobilized their troops this time, even sending two divisions from the Kwantung Army, which must mean they're planning something big.

At first, Shancheng was worried that the two divisions were trying to move south into Hubei and attack the common alleyways.

This is also the Battle of Western Hubei that will take place later in June.

The two Kwantung Army divisions were a formidable fighting force, a truly powerful new force.

If they were to enter western Hubei, and were to join forces with Yokoyama Isamu's 11th Army, the Japanese strength in western Hubei would be greatly enhanced.

At that time, the 41 divisions defending the Sixth War Zone, numbering over 100,000 men, may not be enough.

Reinforcements would inevitably affect other battlefields and could trigger a series of chain reactions.

We are now in a strategic stalemate, and the two Kwantung Army divisions have already developed the ability to break the fragile peace.

The battalion commander was so upset about this that he was stressed for two days. As a result, after the two divisions arrived in Beiping, they did not continue south, but instead turned around and went to Wucheng.

This is clearly an attack on the Eighth Route Army.

Now that we've reached Wucheng, the next step is Datong, which is the core base of the Eighth Route Army.

Since they weren't there to attack him, the captain's worries vanished instantly.

Instead, there is some gloating.

Two Japanese divisions went to fight the Eighth Route Army, which was exactly what he wanted to see.

In the current situation, the international anti-fascist war is seeing successive victories and a constant stream of good news.

Meanwhile, the domestic battlefield is in a stalemate. As long as we continue to hold our ground, the domestic battlefield will be able to turn the tide once other battlefields on the international front achieve victory.

Therefore, at this point, the battalion commander's mindset had changed, and he was no longer willing to continue fighting a major battle with the Japanese and deplete his own strength.

This is one of the reasons why the later Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Campaign resulted in a major defeat.

Because the main force in the Henan-Hunan-Guangxi Campaign was not his own troops, but local miscellaneous troops, such as the Guangxi Army and other recruited troops.

There is also a portion of the second-line Central Army, which does not have his direct subordinates.

His elite troops, such as the New First Army and the Fifth Army, were all transferred to the Yunnan-Burma battlefield.

This move was intended both to secure US aid and to weaken local warlords.

He just didn't expect that these local warlords would be so incompetent, suffering the most serious defeat since the start of the War of Resistance.

In just one month, Luoyang fell, and hundreds of thousands of Nationalist troops suffered a complete rout.

This crushing defeat shocked the international community and was regarded as a great disgrace by the Allies.

This indirectly led to the US believing that the mainland was incapable of defeating the Japanese army on its own at the Yalta Conference, and in order to get the Soviet army to participate in the war, it used national territory as a bargaining chip.

It can be said that he bears a great deal of responsibility for the loss of Outer Mongolia.

Although this is something that will happen next year, for him now, dealing with our party is still a higher priority than dealing with the Japanese.

In his eyes, the Japanese were nothing more than a minor ailment; our Party was the real threat to him.

He was naturally overjoyed to learn that the Japanese had amassed a large force to attack our base area.

He wished the two sides would fight to the bitter end, resulting in mutual destruction, so that he could reap the benefits.

Of course, in his heart, he also hoped that the Eighth Route Army would be beaten even more badly.

So he began to publicly express his support, offering symbolic gestures of encouragement.

A telegram was issued to commend the Eighth Route Army for its brave resistance against Japan, but no actual military support was provided.

At the same time, a secret telegram was sent to the surrounding Nationalist Army troops, instructing them to strictly guard their defense zones and not to launch any attacks without authorization, in order to cut off any possible retreat routes or support channels for the Eighth Route Army.

This move was intended to allow the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese to fight each other, letting them wear each other down.

Suiyuan Army.

When the commander of the Suiyuan Army received intelligence that the Japanese had amassed a large force to attack the Independent Detachment,

His heart was filled with complex emotions.

Out of a sense of national duty, he hoped that the Independent Detachment could hold its ground and resist the Japanese attack.

However, out of personal desire, he hoped that the Independent Detachment would be unable to withstand the Japanese offensive and would be forced to retreat into the mountains.

This would give him the opportunity to reclaim Suiyuan, take over Baotou, and regain territory and resources.

He was nominally the highest-ranking official in Suiyuan, but now Suiyuan had fallen into the hands of the Eighth Route Army. Where was he, the commander of Suiyuan, supposed to be?

However, the independent detachment was powerful and strong.

In the first battle, a large number of Japanese soldiers were wiped out and a large amount of land was occupied, and he didn't even have time to react.

They even surrounded an entire Japanese tank division in Baotou.

As a commander who had fought in the Baotou area for a long time, he was very clear about the strength of the Japanese forces in the Baotou area.

The original Baotou area was home to a Japanese cavalry group, which he couldn't defeat at that time.

Later, after being reorganized into an armored force, its strength became even greater, and he was no longer able to defeat it.

However, this powerful armored force was forced to remain trapped in Baotou City by the Independent Detachment and could only be relieved by external rescue.

Even if they hold Baotou to the death, the Independent Detachment still has the ability to threaten the elite armored divisions inside.

At the end of last year, they even caused a major disturbance, resulting in heavy losses for the Japanese tank division in Baotou.

Such strength shocked him immensely.

He couldn't understand how a regional unit could have grown to its current size.

Therefore, his psychology is complex.

Regarding the Japanese's intentions this time, he chose to follow orders to a limited extent, neither helping the Japanese nor the Eighth Route Army.

In addition to domestic reactions, international reactions to this matter have also varied.

The US military learned of this news, but did not pay much attention to it.

After all, their current focus is not on the North China battlefield, but rather on the Pacific theater and the progress of the Allied forces.

At most, we pay attention to the situation on the Yunnan-Burma battlefield.

The Soviet army paid close attention to this.

After all, a large amount of weaponry, equipment, and supplies were provided as support. Now, we are finally seeing the results.

The fact that two divisions of the Kwantung Army were tied down at once meant that the Kwantung Army had made internal reorganizations and was unlikely to launch an attack in the short term.

Then they could draw more troops from the Far Eastern Army to join the counter-offensive on the western front.

Following the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet army launched a large-scale counter-offensive and successfully recaptured Kharkiv on February 15.

This action marked the Soviet army's immediate transition to a strategic counter-offensive phase following its victory in the campaign.

In this situation, the more troops the better.

Once the pressure in the Far East is further reduced, more troops can be transferred to the western front to expand the gains of the counter-offensive there.

Therefore, the Soviet Far East forces were overjoyed and secretly sent a telegram of support.

They also secretly promised to provide intelligence support.

If the independent detachment can withstand this offensive, we will increase our material support.

At the same time, it strengthened the defensive posture in the Far East, deterring the Kwantung Army through its military presence and preventing them from sending more troops into the interior.

After all, we've invested a lot of resources to support this force; how can we let it be crippled in a single battle?
As long as the independent detachment exists, it can continuously contain the Japanese Kwantung Army, preventing them from threatening the Soviet interests in the Far East.

Since it's just a military exercise and there won't actually be any fighting, why wouldn't the Soviet army be willing to do it?
Chen Ming no longer cares about the reactions, whether domestic or international.

Now all his energy is focused on the upcoming major battle.

With the advice and analysis of the officers at the command headquarters, Chen Ming finalized the strategic deployment.

Having made up his mind, Chen Ming addressed the chief of staff with a strong and resonant voice:

"Chief of Staff, please take note: I've made the following deployment adjustments:"

(End of this chapter)