Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

In less than two months, the Eighth Column had already seen the return of five thousand lightly wounded soldiers, and the main force had been fully restored. Furthermore, in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the local forces, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun decided not to allow all of these wounded soldiers to return to the main force.

Instead, the two men drew a large number of grassroots commanders and veterans from among these lightly wounded soldiers and transferred them to the local forces. The original local forces supplemented the main forces, and now many of the local forces of the Eighth Column are new recruits.

Many of them are even new recruits who need to start from scratch by learning how to shoot.

Training these new recruits required grassroots commanders and veterans. Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun, veterans of the Central Soviet Area's counter-encirclement and suppression campaigns and the Long March, understood better than anyone the dire consequences of placing all new recruits in one unit.

A unit composed mostly of new recruits can easily collapse when faced with setbacks. For example, during the Long March, the Central Red Army's Eighth Corps, which was urgently expanded, boasted a force of over 10,000 soldiers, but in reality, most of them were new recruits. As a result, they were unable to fight and collapsed during the Battle of Xiangjiang.

So during wars, new recruits must mingle among veterans.

As long as the proportion of veterans is high, they can lead the new recruits to improve. Therefore, local troops should be equipped with a large number of veterans so that they can form combat effectiveness as soon as possible.

As its strength recovered, the Eighth Column became increasingly active in the guerrilla zone.

At this time, both the main force and the local forces were operating in small units. This allowed the main force and local forces to adapt to the battlefield as quickly as possible. Unless the Japanese and puppet troops were hiding in the city, as long as the Japanese and puppet troops came out to move, the guerrilla zone would not be safe at all.

Especially Wanping and Fangshan.

Cai Debao is truly a rare warrior.

Since the establishment of the Pingbei Guerrilla Detachment, his troops have been elusive here, beating the Japanese and puppet troops to the ground. Currently, the Wanping and Fangshan areas are sparsely populated by Japanese troops, who are mostly stationed in the puppet army. The Pingbei Guerrilla Detachment is truly adept at fighting the puppet army.

What's even more remarkable is that Cai Debao, despite his quick temper, wasn't some clueless, reckless man. On the contrary, Cai Debao not only excelled at employing various tactics in battle, but also did a remarkable job in political work. His work on the united front was particularly impressive.

Whether it was contacting local landlords, some local traitors, or interacting with puppet troops, Cai Debao had a way to unite them.

The wrist is very flexible.

Many of the puppet troops in Wanping and Fangshan areas had private contacts with the Pingbei Guerrilla Detachment. When there was any intelligence, they would inform the Pingbei Guerrilla Detachment. As well as many local maintenance association presidents, many of them became "two-faced people" after Cai Debao did some work.

Nominally he was the chairman of the maintenance association appointed by the Japanese, but he actually worked for the Eighth Route Army.

Of course, Cai Debao was not only good at the United Front, but also a master at mobilizing the people. Whenever he conquered a place, he would immediately hold a public trial. He used the opportunity of the public trial to execute those traitors who had committed many crimes and at the same time promote anti-Japanese resistance.

The effect is very good.

He is clearly a cadre with a very quick temper, but he is very careful when doing mass work.

As a result, within a short period of time, Cai Debao's guerrilla detachment had grown to 1400 men, effectively doubling its strength. While the Pingbei Guerrilla Detachment's name might sound like a ragtag guerrilla unit, its true combat effectiveness rivaled that of the main force. This was due to its strong foundation. It consisted of the special forces company Cai Debao brought from eastern Hebei, veterans returning from injury, and the Changwanshan County Brigade.

There is no shortage of cadres or veterans.

Under the leadership of Cai Debao, the combat effectiveness has increased sharply.

Even Wei Hongjun was shocked by his story. Historically, he had a very unhappy life in eastern Hebei. Eventually, unable to bear the criticism and punishment for marrying a landlord's daughter, he defected to the Japanese and became a widely hated traitor. For a veteran Red Army soldier and revolutionary who had participated in the Long March, his fate was quite tragic.

Wei Hongjun only knew that he was an outstanding general.

I hope to give him a chance and avoid the same outcome as in history. And he is indeed a good fighter, so I asked Yang Quanwu for him.

Cai Debao was unexpectedly even more remarkable than I'd imagined. He truly was a cadre with both civil and military prowess, a stellar combination of military and political expertise. In terms of mass work and united front work, he'd arguably be ranked among the top three cadres in the Eighth Column. He was clearly a military commander, but he performed this work better than many political cadres.

It's really outstanding.

And as the 34th and 35th Regiments were training, they also began to send troops to fight in the guerrilla zone. As a result, there were gunshots every day in Changwan Mountain.

"Your Excellency, Commander, the Empire and the Soviet Union have signed an armistice agreement."

"Ah."

Tada Shun looked listless.

The dispute between going north and south is actually a dispute between the army and the navy.

While Japan is an industrial nation, it's relatively weak among the world's industrial nations. Its economic and industrial strength are limited. As always, accumulating wealth takes time.

The world's major industrial nations, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, Germany, France, and Italy, have all been great powers for many years. Their industrial accumulation is very strong. Even the often-derided Tsarist Russia, although it was known as an agricultural country in its early years, still had a strong industrial strength. This can be seen from the steel production during the Tsarist era. Although looked down upon by many great powers, the industrial strength of Tsarist Russia was indeed not weak.

After years of development, the Soviet Union's industrial strength has become even stronger. And Germany, which was defeated in World War I, although it lost the war, still has a strong foundation.

Let’s look at China again.

From the Opium War to the present century of decline, with so much silver and gold flowing out, China has managed to hold on to this day. This is because China has accumulated a wealth of wealth over thousands of years of history. Japan, on the other hand, only had a limited time to truly develop.

There is a serious lack of wealth accumulation.

After the July 7 Incident, Japan's gold reserves were depleted by more than half within a year of fighting. By now, Japan's gold reserves were at their lowest point, and Japan's finances were already overwhelmed.

The navy took up most of the military pay.

The army needed more soldiers to fight the war, but Japan's finances could no longer support a large-scale war. This became a major contradiction. Therefore, the army hoped to obtain more funds by expanding the war.

As a result, the Soviet and Japanese armies have been in a state of tension for the past two years.

The previous year, the Soviet and Japanese armies had engaged in the Zhanggufeng Incident. Starting in May of this year, Soviet and Mongolian forces, along with the Japanese and puppet Manchukuo forces, frequently clashed, with various small-scale battles continuing unabated. In July, the Soviet Union appointed Zhukov as commander of the First Army, marking the beginning of the Nomonhan Campaign, a direct confrontation between the Soviet and Japanese armies.

They fought for several rounds.

The fighting between the two sides did not end until August 8st. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the blow to the Japanese army was even greater. With the conclusion of the Battle of Nomonhan, the northward movement's proposal was essentially bankrupt, and the two sides subsequently signed an armistice agreement.

The news reached the North China Front Army, and Tada Shun was very dissatisfied.

For the North China Front Army, this war would either result in a complete victory for the Soviet Union or a complete victory for Japan. Either outcome would be good for the North China Front Army.

A complete victory for the Japanese army would give the northbound faction the upper hand. The army would receive more financial allocations, which would be crucial for the North China Front Army. A complete Soviet victory would directly thwart the Kwantung Army's plans. This might lead to the Kwantung Army reducing its forces and allowing more troops to fight inland, thus making up for the North China Front Army's shortage of troops.

But the current situation is most unfavorable.

The Soviet and Japanese armies fought a battle, but neither side completely overwhelmed the other.

Moreover, although a "ceasefire agreement" was signed, both sides did not trust each other at all. Therefore, the agreement was signed, but both sides had to deploy heavy troops on the border.

I'm afraid one of the parties will tear up the agreement.

"What's going on at base camp?"

"There's news. The 9th and 10th Divisions in Central China will be transferred to Manchuria and incorporated into the Kwantung Army. Furthermore, the Kwantung Army will be drawing one regiment each from the 1st, 2nd, and 9th Divisions to form the 28th Division, which will also be stationed in Manchuria. There's also news that the 14th Division, stationed in South China, may also be transferred back to Manchuria."

Yamashita Tomoyuki told Tada Shun all the information he had found out.

After hearing this, Tada Shun couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it! North China and Central China are both short of troops right now. The headquarters won't give us any reinforcements, and they're transferring so many troops from Central China. Withdrawing troops to the Kwantung Army like this, how can we continue to fight? Does the Expeditionary Force have any objections?"

Tada Shun was really angry.

The current situation of the Japanese army in China is that the frontline troops cannot advance. Because the frontline troops are insufficient in number, they cannot completely defeat the large number of nationalist troops in front. And the troops behind the enemy lines cannot stabilize the occupied areas.

At this time, the headquarters should add hundreds of thousands of troops to North China and Central China to completely solve the problems here.

However, the current situation is that the headquarters not only refuses to send reinforcements to North and Central China, but also withdraws so many troops from Central China back to Manchuria. If the current situation continues, the Kwantung Army will have twelve or thirteen divisions. Furthermore, the Kwantung Army also has a large number of mixed brigades and garrison troops.

"General Okamura Neiji of the 11th Army requested reinforcements from the Imperial Headquarters several times this year, but they refused. The 11th Army's offensive against China's Fifth War Zone in May (the Sui-Zao Campaign) wasn't very successful. This was because the 5th Army was short of manpower. If the 11th Army had one or two more divisions, it could easily have wiped out ten or eight Chinese armies. It was precisely because of this lack of troops that the campaign was abandoned halfway."

"The headquarters does not want to continue expanding the Chinese battlefield. Some have even proposed leaving only 400,000 troops in the Chinese interior.

"Commander, with only 400,000 men, it would be impossible to maintain the situation in China."

"So, Okamura-kun and I both objected. But the Imperial Headquarters said that 800,000 troops in Kanei were too many and might need to be reduced to 700,000. Commander Nishio of the Expeditionary Force also expressed his objection, but it seems the Imperial Headquarters didn't accept it."

Tada Shun's face looked really bad.

With more than 80 troops now, it is somewhat unable to cope with the domestic battlefield in China.

If the force is reduced to 700,000, that would mean the loss of several divisions. The China Expeditionary Army Headquarters and the headquarters of several other fronts are all opposed to reducing the force inside the Great Wall. They have all expressed to the headquarters that

China's expeditionary force is currently understaffed.

Unfortunately, the headquarters did not accept their opinions.

"Commander, are you saying that our North China Front Army won't be increasing its manpower in the short term?"

"Correct."

"Will the Kwantung Army send troops into the pass?"

"It's impossible in a short time."

Tada Shun and Yamashita Tomoyuki were both silent.

The situation in Hebei is truly dire right now. The Eighth Route Army in Rehe and Eastern Hebei is raging, while the Eighth Route Army in Central Hebei is also growing stronger. This also includes the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, which is also growing stronger.

It is difficult to deal with them relying solely on the troops in Hebei.

"Your Excellency, Commander, should we continue with the planned sweep of the Eighth Route Army in Central Hebei?"

Chapter 288 Jin-Cha-Ji General Training

"Of course continue."

Tada Shun didn't hesitate.

Yamashita Tomoyuki said worriedly, "But once we deploy the 110th Division, the 27th Division, and the th Independent Mixed Brigade to sweep the Hebei-Central Eighth Route Army, the Hebei-Eastern and Rehe areas will be completely empty. I'm worried that the Rehe and Hebei-Eastern Eighth Route Army won't be too obedient."

The North China Front Army's current sweep in Hebei is like tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall.

To put it bluntly, there are not enough mobile troops.

The Eighth Route Army's rapid development in Hebei far exceeded the Japanese army's expectations. In particular, the rapid development of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region directly promoted the development of other surrounding bases.

The year before, the Japanese army concentrated its forces to deal with the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area.

It gave other bases a great opportunity to develop.

The Jireliao Advance Army had serious internal divisions due to development issues.

But even in such a situation, the current Jireliao Advance Army has six main force regiments, with a main force strength of about 14,000 people.

It can be said that the development is very rapid.

The Eighth Route Army developed even faster in other places such as the Hebei Central Military Region and the Hebei Southern Military Region. Now the Eighth Route Army is everywhere in Hebei.

Not long after leaving the big cities and transportation lines, Eighth Route Army troops were already active.

This seriously affected the Japanese army's rule in Hebei.

Tada Shun sighed and said, "Let the troops secure the cities and transportation arteries first, and then we can deal with it after the troops have wiped out the Eighth Route Army in Central Hebei. Over the past year, the Eighth Route Army in Central Hebei has reached a point where it must be eliminated. If we leave it alone, it will soon become a headache for us like the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei."

The concentrated base area has a large population, abundant money and rich products.

The Hebei-Central Base Area currently comprised over 40 counties and a population of over 8 million. In terms of population size, it was comparable to the current Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei-Northern Yue region. Precisely because of its large population, it also provided a wealth of manpower.

Just look at the 120th Division.

The 120th Division was deployed to the Hebei-Central Base Area in late 1938 to help train and fight the Eighth Route Army. Six months later, it left Yi-Central, having expanded its forces by 120 men. In other words, in just six months, the th Division expanded its forces in Yi-Central by over men.

This is the advantage of the central base.

There are many people and abundant sources of soldiers.