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

Chapter 78 Napalm

After the political commissar arrived at the Second Independent Regiment, Chen Ming entrusted him with matters concerning daily life.

He himself plunged headlong into the maintenance unit.

The maintenance company's base was located inside a natural cave with a very well-hidden entrance, so that even if Japanese planes flew over it, they would never be able to find it.

After the soldiers dug and expanded the cave, it became large enough to accommodate more than two hundred people working at the same time.

"How's the production of our mortar shells going lately?" Chen Ming asked He Maowei, the company commander of the maintenance company.

"Reporting to the commander, the daily output has now reached twelve rounds."

"I'm proud," said He Maowei, the company commander of the maintenance company, puffing out his chest.

Their maintenance company, consisting of over 300 soldiers and craftsmen, can now produce more than 360 mortar shells a month, with a pass rate of 90%.

It should be noted that their Yixiantian arsenal has not yet started producing mortar shells, making the Independent 2nd Regiment unique in this regard.

"Not bad, not bad." Chen Ming nodded happily.

The troops were able to produce their own mortar shells, so they no longer had to rely entirely on captured shells, which greatly relieved the logistical pressure.

"Are you having any difficulties right now? Tell me and I'll try to find a solution," Chen Ming continued to ask.

"That's true. We don't have much explosives left. We only have less than two thousand kilograms of ammonium nitrate explosives left, as well as the explosives we captured from the Japanese. We also don't have enough steel."

He Maowei listed two difficulties in one breath, both related to raw materials.

Because the Japanese discovered that the Eighth Route Army was buying up large quantities of fertilizer powder to make explosives, they immediately recalled all the fertilizer powder and could only purchase a small amount of stock from the civilians.

This is clearly not enough for the maintenance team.

Although there are still more than 2,000 kilograms of explosives, which seems like a lot, the amount of explosives required for each shell and grenade seems small.

But in reality, two thousand catties is not enough to last long.

Besides manufacturing hand grenades and artillery shells, explosives have other uses that consume large quantities of explosives.

Two thousand catties of reserves were completely depleted in two medium-sized battles.

As for the steel, the main sources were salvaged Japanese railway tracks, fragments of Japanese artillery shells, and civilian ironware, which were then melted at high temperatures and cast into projectiles.

During the Hundred Regiments Offensive, the Second Independent Regiment handed over most of the railway tracks it had dismantled, keeping very little for itself.

Therefore, these two raw material issues are now facing Chen Ming.

Chen Ming thought for a moment and said, "I'll figure out how to get explosives. As for steel, our current location is between the Zhengtai Railway and the Tongpu Railway, so we can go and sabotage the Japanese railway tracks."

"If I provide you with all the materials, how much can the production capacity be increased?" Chen Ming asked.

"Reporting to the regimental commander, as long as the raw materials are complete, all 313 soldiers of my maintenance company guarantee that we can produce 600 mortar shells in a month," He Maowei assured, patting his chest.

Thanks to the numerous badge bonuses, the repair company's craftsmen are trained very quickly; a newcomer can be trained into a qualified craftsman in just one or two months.

Once the raw material problem is solved, the production of ammunition can be increased by relying on the manual labor of so many soldiers.

“Okay, I’ll take care of the raw materials. You write a report on the mortar shell production process, and I plan to submit it to headquarters,” Chen Ming said.

"Yes."

Before the Hundred Regiments Offensive, the Eighth Route Army was severely lacking in artillery. Since they didn't have many artillery pieces, they naturally didn't value artillery shells as much.

Therefore, the production of mortar shells has not yet begun.

After the Hundred Regiments Offensive, various units captured a considerable number of artillery pieces, but lacked shells. It was then that the production of mortar shells began in 41.

This valuable experience, once reported, proved far more valuable than if it had remained hidden within the Second Independent Regiment.

Chen Ming is a Party member with strong beliefs, and he will do anything that can improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.

The same principle applies to establishing technical talent training classes to send personnel to military regions, and now it also applies to reporting experience to headquarters.

This is a battle between nations, and the power of an individual has its limits.

If you keep everything hidden, you'll become a warlord.

After learning about the production of mortar shells, Chen Ming inquired about the production of other weapons.

The maintenance company of the 2nd Independent Regiment lacks machine tools and can only rely on manual labor. At present, it cannot manufacture guns and cannons, but can only produce landmines, grenades, reloaded bullets, and mortar shells.

Of course, it's possible to make it if you really want to, but the quality is hard to guarantee, the range is less than 100 meters, and it won't be able to fire many bullets before it's scrapped.

They were usually only issued to guerrilla fighters.

"Commander, our napalm bomb has been successfully developed, but it is still in the experimental stage and has not yet started mass production," He Maowei said.

"Really? Take me to see it." Chen Ming's eyes lit up as he spoke.

They had previously seized a lot of Japanese oil, most of which they handed over, and the remainder was used as fuel for power generation.

Chen Ming suddenly had a brilliant idea: could he use this gasoline to develop napalm bombs?

Surprisingly, the soldiers in the maintenance company actually managed to develop napalm bombs based on the ideas provided by Chen Ming.

Following He Maowei to the place where napalm bombs were stored, Chen Ming saw three napalm bombs neatly arranged.

"Commander, we couldn't find the solidifying agent you mentioned for this napalm bomb, so we came up with a solution: we used castor oil instead."

"We also used our fertilizer powder (ammonium nitrate) to create this napalm bomb."

"It hasn't been tested yet, so we don't know how powerful it is."

He Maowei began to speak.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go try it now," Chen Ming said immediately.

"Yes."

They gathered a few soldiers, brought over an 81mm mortar that was compatible with the napalm bomb, and went to an open space.

After the mortar was properly adjusted, Chen Ming gave the order to test fire.

"Ready, fire!"

At a command, the artillery fired the napalm bomb.

As the shells exploded in the distance, the area where they blasted was immediately engulfed in flames, with flying flames everywhere.

The explosive power of this napalm bomb exceeded Chen Ming's expectations.

"Wow, I didn't expect it to be so powerful," Chen Ming exclaimed in surprise.

After the napalm bomb exploded, the resulting flames adhered directly to the rocks and tree trunks, allowing it to burn on the rocks.

It burned for a full ten minutes!
If this were to fall into the hands of the Japanese soldiers, wouldn't there be many familiar faces?
The key point is that the deterrent effect of napalm bombs is unmatched by ordinary mortar shells, which can greatly intimidate the Japanese and break through their psychological defenses.

"Isn't this a bit inhumane?" Chen Ming thought to himself.

But when dealing with enemies like the Japanese devils who aren't even human, why bother with inhumanity?

"Not bad, not bad. Have the soldiers build more; I'll need them in a while," Chen Ming said. "Yes, sir."

He Maowei was also very happy. Their maintenance company had produced such powerful shells, making it much easier to fight the Japanese.

Although the soldiers in the maintenance company were unable to participate in combat due to injuries, they were still able to contribute in other ways.

After inspecting the maintenance company, Chen Ming returned to the regimental headquarters and began to think about the next steps.

The officers of the Jin-Sui Army would arrive at headquarters some time later, as would the Japanese Yamamoto Special Forces and the observation group.

Once the Japanese observation group arrives, all the attention of the nearby Japanese troops will be focused on the group, which will be the perfect opportunity for Chen Ming to cause trouble.

The training of the fourth recruit battalion is almost over, and it's time to put their results to the test in actual combat.

Inside the regimental headquarters, Chen Ming looked at a map, pondering how to proceed with the next battle.

The garrison of the Second Independent Regiment is now located between the Zhengtai Railway and the Tongpu Railway.

It borders Meng County to the south and Wutai Mountain to the north. To the west, across the Tongpu Railway, lies Ping'an County.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Ming decided to attack Meng County.

Meng County has a superior geographical location, surrounded by mountains on all sides. However, this also makes it more difficult for the Japanese to provide reinforcements if Meng County is attacked.

In other areas, such as railways, the Japanese had strengthened their defenses not long after their supply lines were attacked, making them very difficult to attack.

Just as one should pick the softest persimmon to squeeze, Chen Ming's goal was to effectively eliminate the Japanese army's manpower.

After making his decision, Chen Ming gathered all the commanders and soldiers in his regiment to discuss how to fight.

"Commander, I think we can send small units to operate around Meng County, strike at the enemy's logistics units, cut off the Japanese troops' supply lines in Meng County, and use guerrilla tactics to sever the Japanese troops' connection with Yangquan."

Political Commissar Zhang Zhengze began to speak.

As expected of an outstanding graduate of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, his understanding of guerrilla warfare is profound.

This is a highly feasible tactic, and there are actual examples of its use in later guerrilla warfare.

By sabotaging transportation routes and attacking logistical nodes, the Japanese army's logistical pressure was increased, forcing them to abandon the county town due to supply collapse.

This is a characteristic of people's war.

"That's good. The political commissar's suggestion is very constructive. What about the other comrades? Do you have any suggestions? Feel free to speak up," Chen Ming encouraged the political commissar after he agreed with the suggestion.

"Commander, I think we can attack the strongholds around Meng County, force the Japanese troops in Meng County to come out, besiege the strongholds and attack the reinforcements, and after eliminating the main force of the Japanese army in Meng County, we can take the county town," said Deputy Commander Wang Dafei.

The Second Independent Regiment's specialty was ambushes, especially besieging enemy strongholds and attacking reinforcements.

Wang Dafei's suggestion was exactly what the Second Independent Regiment excelled at, and it was also highly feasible.

"That's right. This way, we can not only seize the weapons and ammunition in the stronghold, but also weaken the Japanese in Meng County's control over the surrounding areas, making them blind and deaf, and turning Meng County into an isolated city."

Chen Ming praised.

Wang Dafei has grown up; he was once just a passionate squad member, but now he is a qualified regimental-level cadre.

Other officers and soldiers also spoke enthusiastically, offering their own suggestions or supplementing the suggestions of the political commissar and deputy regimental commander.

There were also those who couldn't wait to volunteer for the mission.

After the meeting, Chen Ming finalized the battle plan.

He decided to take a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, he would send out small detachments of troops, along with local armed forces such as guerrillas, to attack the Japanese army's logistics line in Meng County.

On the other hand, elite troops were dispatched to attack small strongholds around Meng County, weakening the Japanese control.

After clearing out the surrounding strongholds and rendering the Japanese soldiers deaf and blind, we will send troops to lure the Japanese soldiers out of the county town and eliminate them in the open field.

Anyway, in Meng County and the surrounding areas, the Japanese army, consisting of a company in the county town and a squad in the rural strongholds, had a total strength of no more than four or five hundred men. Even with the puppet troops, the total strength was no more than 1,200 men.

To be honest, this small force isn't even enough to feed the Second Independent Regiment.

With the current personnel and firepower configuration of the Independent 2nd Regiment, plus Chen Ming's three-dimensional combat map, they could easily take on an entire Japanese regiment.

However, what the Eighth Route Army needs now is development. While a direct confrontation with a regiment would yield great results, it would also result in significant casualties for the Eighth Route Army.

Because the Japanese regiments, in addition to their own combat capabilities, could also call in air support and Japanese support from other directions.

After all, we were fighting behind enemy lines, surrounded by enemies everywhere. If we couldn't eliminate the enemy quickly, we were likely to be entangled by the Japanese and suffer even greater casualties.

This does not conform to the strategic policy of preserving strength while eliminating as much of the enemy's manpower as possible.

By gradually eroding the enemy's strongholds and logistics units, the goal of eliminating the enemy's manpower can be achieved with minimal casualties.

It can also obtain supplies, weapons, ammunition and other materials to replenish itself, so as to achieve the goal of becoming stronger and faster in the fight.

In later generations, the Hundred Regiments Offensive was criticized for having more merits than demerits. It was argued that the offensive exposed the enemy's strength while consuming a large amount of weapons and ammunition, with the spoils not matching the losses.

The various units were immediately plunged into a situation of ammunition shortage for a period of time.

Chen Ming would definitely not do a business that loses money.

Small groups of troops engaging in guerrilla warfare do not need to be reported.

Reports are generally required for attacks on important enemy targets, such as county towns, railway hubs, and Japanese command posts. Only in such cases is it necessary for higher-level command to assess the risks.

Furthermore, the mobilization of troops at the battalion level or above also requires reporting.

After the regimental headquarters issued the order, the troops began to move out.

The main task involved rotating troops from three main battalions, with four battalions of new recruits leading them to attack Japanese strongholds.

The troops that weren't assigned to their assigned tasks were dispersed to harass Japanese transportation lines and disrupt Japanese logistics and supplies.

Changchi Town, located 15 li outside Meng County.

There was a small squad of 56 Japanese soldiers stationed here, along with more than 100 puppet troops.

"Brother Luo, we've found out everything. There's only one small squad of Japanese soldiers in town, along with more than a hundred traitors."

"We recently plundered the villagers' grain, and now the grain is all concentrated in the town, ready to be transported to the county seat."

Xiao Tian, ​​the company commander of the first company of the fourth battalion, spoke to Luo Jian, the company commander of the second company of the first battalion.

“Hmm, over 160 enemies, that’s enough for the two of us to eat,” Luo Jian said.

This time, he led a platoon of soldiers and a company from the fourth battalion, totaling more than two hundred soldiers, to ambush the Japanese in Changchi Town.

He was full of confidence for this trip. Considering that there were quite a few enemy troops in Changchi Town, the regiment specially deployed a Type 92 infantry gun to assist them in attacking the Japanese fortifications in Changchi Town.

"Brother Luo, how should we fight?" Xiao Tianyin asked.

The Fourth Battalion was a recruit battalion, and its experience was not as extensive as that of Luo Jian, the company commander of the main force battalion.

In this operation, Luo Jian was the main commander, while the Fourth Battalion followed along to learn from his experience.

(End of this chapter)