I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 93 is finally about to begin.
1937 October.

The Japanese 5th Division, led by Seishiro Itagaki, with approximately 25,000 troops, launched an attack from the east.

The Chahar Expeditionary Force, commanded by Hideki Tojo, numbered over 20,000 men and launched an attack from the northeast.

The Japanese invaders launched a two-pronged attack from the north and south, and one of them swept through the enemy lines with unstoppable momentum, causing the Jin-Sui Army to suffer repeated defeats.

On September 9, 1937, Huashaoying and Jingergou, the eastern route of the Jin-Sui Army, fell.

On September 9th, the Japanese Chahar Expeditionary Army, after capturing Zhangjiakou, captured Yanggao again.

On September 10, Yangyuan County in eastern Shanxi Province fell.

At this moment, Guangling County, the gateway to northeastern Shanxi, was already in sight.

On September 11, the Japanese Northern Route Chahar Expeditionary Army captured Tianzhen.

The defense line in Datong, northern Shanxi, has been breached.

On September 13, the Jin-Sui Army's garrison in Datong was no longer able to defend the city and abandoned it, fleeing south.

On that day, the Datong Chamber of Commerce opened the city gates to surrender, and Datong fell.

On September 14, Guangling County was captured by the vanguard of the Japanese 5th Division, the 21st Brigade led by Toshiji Miura.

A huge breach was created in the first line of defense of the Jin-Sui Army in the northeast direction.

The northeastern gateway to Shanxi is wide open.

At this point, the defense lines in northern and northeastern Shanxi had completely failed, and they could no longer form a united front.

Yan Xishan's Jin army and General Fu's Suiyuan army all retreated to the inner Great Wall defense line to set up defenses.

The entire outer Great Wall defense line was abandoned.

At this moment, Itagaki Seishiro, who had already moved into the command post on the outskirts of Guangling County, was pondering something in front of the map.

At that moment, a report came from outside the command post.

"Report, Fifth Cavalry Regiment, Regiment Commander Kobo Shigehiro requests an audience."

"Come in," Itagaki Seishiro said without looking up from his deep thought.

"Hi," Kobori responded and entered Itagaki Seishiro's command post.

Upon entering, Kobori Shigeki stood at attention and saluted again, saying, "Kobori Shigeki greets Commander-in-Chief."

"Well, come on."

"Hi"

Itagaki Seishiro looked up at the tall, middle-aged man in front of him.

Upon seeing Itagaki Seishiro look up at him, Kobori Shigeru, who is 1.65 meters tall, quickly bowed slightly and lowered his head.

This way, it wouldn't have to make Itagaki Seishiro, who is less than 1.6 meters tall, look up at it.

Itagaki Seishiro ignored Kobori Shigeaki's little tricks and instead turned his attention back to the map on the table.

Seeing that Itagaki Seishiro remained silent, Kobori Shigeshige also dared not speak, only glancing at the map on the table out of the corner of his eye.

After a while, Itagaki Seishiro straightened up and handed a newspaper to Kobori Shigeru.

He said, "Kirigori-kun, take a look at this newspaper."

Koboshi respectfully accepted the newspaper, only to discover that it was not a recent paper but rather one from April of six months ago.

When he saw the front page of this Chinese newspaper, he knew what it contained.

The headline on the front page of the newspaper was "A Clash of Farm Tools and Cavalry," written by American journalist George Smith.

Kobori Shigeru had read that newspaper at the time, and he had even studied the battle in which the farmers used the trenches they dug to trap and kill thousands of cavalrymen.

His final conclusion was that such traps were actually quite easy to break; all that was needed was to expand the search area again.

However, a larger area means that the troops will be more dispersed, and if the distance between the front and rear troops is too far, it means that the two troops may become separated.

This is a very contradictory issue, and a balance can only be found by examining the state of war at the time.

There are no fixed rules on the battlefield; everything is about improvisation.

Although Kobori Shigeru had read this newspaper more than once, now that its superior, Itagaki Seishiro, had asked him to read it again, he had to read it very carefully.

After reading the newspaper again, Kobori asked Itagaki Seishiro, "Commander, what do you mean?"

Kobori was unable to ascertain Itagaki Seishiro's intentions, so he could only ask.

Itagaki Seishiro then said, "Sit down and let's talk."

After saying that, he sat down in his chair.

"Hi"

Kojuro responded with a sound of agreement, bowed his head in greeting, and then sat down properly in the chair next to the table.

"Kirigori-kun, what do you think of this newspaper?" Itagaki Seishiro asked.

"Your Excellency Division Commander, your subordinates believe that the only way to avoid falling into this trap is to expand the search and surveillance area."

This prevented the farmers from digging more horse traps and trenches.

Or, one could identify these traps in advance and avoid them in time.

After hearing this, Itagaki Seishiro gently shook his head and said, "You are right, as a soldier."

But you haven't truly discovered the most crucial thing here yet.

"Oh, it is my ignorance, please enlighten me, Commander." Xiao Jue Shi Fan quickly bowed and asked for guidance.

Seishiro Itagaki was quite pleased with Kogoro's thirst for knowledge, so he nodded and said, "Kogoro-kun, do you know what it takes to build a hand-held tractor?"

Kobori thought for a moment and said, "It's steel, right? Besides steel, there's also oil?"

Seishiro Itagaki smiled and said, "You're only half right. To manufacture a hand tractor, in addition to steel, you also need rubber."

But these are not the most important things.

Most importantly, it requires skilled workers and industrial workers, as well as a certain industrial base.

Without these, they would be completely unable to produce hand tractors.

We hadn't invested enough intelligence in northern Shaanxi, which prevented us from discovering in time that an industrial base capable of producing engines had been slowly developing in that remote and impoverished area.

It's no secret that there's oil in northern Shaanxi, but it's also no secret that there aren't any large oil fields there.

Even those small oil fields, if combined with a certain industrial base, would pose a considerable threat to us.

Our intelligence agencies are now trying to find out the specifics of their industrial development.

However, the defenses there are very tight, and we won't be able to get any more information for the time being.

However, since they can produce hand tractors, they should also be able to produce some guns and ammunition.

The message came back from the intelligence department.

The company in northern Shaanxi that collaborated with the American has exported more than 2,000 hand tractors in the past six months.

The American, on the other hand, almost always used various goods as a form of exchange.

He obtained various metal ore powders at low prices from those local warlords and acquired rubber from Southeast Asia.

Through his connections and influence, he also managed to deliver these supplies to northern Shaanxi.

In this way, he could purchase those hand tractors at a very low price.

He made a fortune after sending those tractors to the United States.

Meanwhile, northern Shaanxi also obtained various raw materials urgently needed for their industrial development.

I don't care whether that American gets rich or not, but the industrial development in northern Shaanxi must be stopped. I can accept that they can make hoes to farm, but I absolutely cannot accept that they can develop industry and even manufacture engines.

Because industry is the foundation of war.

We must nip their industry in the bud before it has even developed.

However, our main objective in this campaign is Shanxi, specifically Taiyuan.

The arsenal in Taiyuan, in particular, was our primary target.

As long as we take over the arsenal in Taiyuan, we can cut off the weapons supply for the entire resistance force in Shanxi.

But I can't just stand by and watch the industries in northern Shaanxi continue to develop.

Therefore, I plan to send you with your cavalry regiment to launch a probing attack towards northern Shaanxi.

Look at how advanced their military weaponry has become.

Yesterday, General Hideki Tojo occupied Datong.

My original intention was to ask Lord Tojo Hideki to send the Prince Toku cavalry, who had been fighting alongside him, to launch a probing attack to the west.

But then I thought about it again.

Those men might be able to handle a winning battle, but if they were to fight against an army that had annihilated a cavalry brigade of Ningma, they might not be very effective.

That's why I asked you to come here.

All you need to do is leave me two hundred cavalrymen for reconnaissance.

Take the remaining eight hundred cavalrymen with you.

After you set off, go to Datong. Lord Hideki Tojo will give you command of the three thousand cavalrymen under Prince Toku.

You set off from Datong and headed west along the Ping-Sui Railway line. You don't need to worry about your rear.

The Jin-Sui Army troops guarding westward from Datong are now terrified.

They only dared to tear down a few sections of railway to stop Lord Hideki Tojo's attack on Guihua (present-day Hohhot).

Now most of them have retreated into Guihua, so you shouldn't encounter too much resistance from them on the road.

If they dare to stop you, then your chance to earn merit has arrived.

At this point, Itagaki Seishiro couldn't help but laugh smugly.

Seeing his superior smile, Kobo Shige quickly followed suit and said, "Please rest assured, Commander, the Imperial soldiers under your command are the best soldiers in the world."

"No one can stop your soldiers from advancing, no matter what your command is given."

Itagaki Seishiro accepted all of Kobori Shige's flattery without question.

After all, everyone loves to hear nice words.

After nodding slightly, Itagaki Seishiro continued, "This time, you don't need to fight the most difficult battles."

Your mission is to probe the military strength of the Shaanxi region.

But if you can break into northern Shaanxi, that would be even better.

Even if you can't break through, it would be helpful if you could find a copper mine in the Daqingshan Mountains in northern Shaanxi.

Our empire has an unlimited demand for copper resources.

However, if the enemy you encounter is too powerful, then you shouldn't force it.

"As long as you complete the task I asked you to complete—to probe the enemy's military strength—that will be fine."

"Please rest assured, Commander, your subordinates will certainly complete your mission." Kogoro Shigeaki stood up at attention and said respectfully.

"Okay, then go and prepare. I'll have reconnaissance planes scout ahead for you along the way."

However, you should be careful when crossing the Yinshan Mountains along the Ping-Sui Railway.

That section of the road is narrow and mountainous, making it very easy for enemies to ambush you, so you can't rely entirely on aerial reconnaissance.

Be careful.

After finishing speaking, Itagaki Seishiro pointed to the newspaper on the table with his finger.

"Yes, sir. Please rest assured, Division Commander, I will be careful and cautious along the way," Kobo Shigeshi bowed again in response.

"Alright, then you should prepare to set off now. I think by the time you arrive in Baotou, Lord Tojo Hideki should already be able to take Guihua."

"Yes, sir. Your men will depart now. Please await our good news, Commander."

After saying this, Kobori gave Itagaki Seishiro a military salute and then turned and left.

Just as Kobo Shigeshi was leading his cavalry regiment at full speed from Guangling toward Datong.

Commander Chen and his men have already crossed Guihua and are about to enter Yinshan.

While they were on their way, they received a telegram from headquarters informing them that the situation in northeastern Shanxi was unstable and that they should proceed with caution.

We must be especially careful to guard against Japanese planes.

If you encounter enemy reconnaissance aircraft, either don't expose your air defense capabilities.

If we're going to take action, we absolutely must shoot down their planes.

The longer you keep your air defense capabilities a secret, the better.

When Commander Chen and his men passed through Guihua, they received another call from headquarters informing them that Datong had fallen.

Tell them to be careful again, lest they fall into the Japanese encirclement.

Just like when they were in Baotou, Commander Chen and his men didn't get close to Baotou.

They did not approach Guihua this time either.

If their troops were to enter Guihua, the Japanese would know their whereabouts in less than an hour.

Commander Chen didn't know how many Japanese spies were in Guihua City, but he knew that the number was definitely not small.

So this time, he bypassed Guisui City and plunged headlong into the Yinshan Mountains that separated Guisui and Datong.

The Yinshan Mountains, which stretch between Guihua and Datong, run northeast to southwest, extending over 1,200 kilometers east to west and 80 to 240 kilometers north to south.

This mountain range is mainly composed of low hills and mountains, with occasional steep mountains.

The relative altitude is approximately 50 to 350 meters.

"Reporting to the commander, the sentries ahead have spotted a Japanese reconnaissance plane."

The operator who had been following Regiment Commander Chen put the earpiece of the walkie-talkie down and reported to Regiment Commander Chen.

Upon hearing the news of the reconnaissance plane, Commander Chen did not panic; instead, a look of joy appeared on his face.

The fact that he could see the Japanese planes meant only one thing: he was already very close to the Japanese.

"Pass down the order: take precautions against air raids and take cover."

"Yes, sir!" the messenger replied, then picked up the radio and called down to the various battalions, informing them that a Japanese reconnaissance plane had been spotted and ordering everyone to take cover for air defense.

Currently, because the number of 10-kilometer wireless radios is still very small, even the main reinforced regiment led by Commander Chen is only equipped with battalion-level radios.

It's not that they weren't important, but rather that by the time they set off, less than twenty units had been produced in total.

Commander Chen was assigned eight of them.

That's like giving him half; that shows he's valued enough.

At this moment, Political Commissar Liu said to Regiment Commander Chen, who was wearing camouflage and looking up at the sky, "We've been preparing for so long, we can finally begin."

Commander Chen nodded and said, "Yes, it's finally starting."

(End of this chapter)