Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

The First Field Army of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei won a great victory at its first move.

Within ten days of launching the Pinghan Road Campaign, nearly 80,000 troops from Pang Bingxun's army were annihilated, as well as a large number of local security groups. In addition to the attack on Dingzhou and the blocking of the nationalist army in Baoding, nearly 100,000 troops were annihilated.

But Geng Biao, chief of staff of the First Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Israel Front, was not satisfied.

This battle was fought against the weakest units of the Hebei Nationalist Army. Aside from the 40th Army and the New Fifth Army, the rest of Pang Bingxun's forces were descended from a junk army of puppet troops, puppet police, security groups, and bandits. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, these rubbish units were even outmatched by the local Eighth Route Army. So, despite annihilating approximately men, Pang Bingxun's troops ultimately captured very few valuable items.

Just look at the number of cannons.

Despite annihilating so many troops, only about a hundred artillery pieces were captured, including mortars. As for light and heavy machine guns, only about 700 were captured from so many troops. Of these, only about 90 were heavy machine guns, with the rest being light machine guns.

And the captured rifles.

There are a small number of Type 38 rifles, Hanyang rifles and Xinyi rifles made by the North China Security Army itself.

The weapons and equipment are really poor.

The annihilation of so many troops had little impact on the current Jin-Cha-Ji First Field Army. Although the weapons and equipment of the Jin-Cha-Ji First Field Army were not as good as those of the Northeast Field Army, they had annihilated a large number of Japanese and puppet troops in Hebei. Therefore, the troops were equipped with Japanese equipment.

Geng Biao was dissatisfied with the fact that the First Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army had so many personnel and such strong combat effectiveness. He only wiped out a few useless troops. Geng Biao always felt that this was an overkill.

Jin-Cha-Ji has always been the most powerful strategic area of ​​the Communist Party of China.

Of course, we should fight some exciting battles and annihilate the elite troops of the Nationalist Army instead of mopping up these rubbish troops.

So Geng Biao said to Yang Quanwu, "Commander, Shimen now only has Pang Bingxun's reorganized 40th Division, which has about 40 people. Although this unit has a large number of people, its combat effectiveness has not improved much compared to the 40th Army before it surrendered to the Japanese. In order to increase the personnel of the reorganized 40th Division, Pang Bingxun incorporated many puppet troops into it, which resulted in more than people. In addition to the reorganized th Division, Shimen also has some security groups. But this time, Pang Bingxun's troops were annihilated by us, with more than people. Now Shimen is in a state of morale and instability. I think we should launch the Shimen Campaign to liberate Shimen."

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Geng Biao served as a cadre in the 129th Division and Chief of Staff of the 129th Brigade of the 385th Division. However, he and his troops remained stationed in Yan'an until 1944, when he arrived in the Jin-Cha-Ji region and served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. It was only after the Jin-Cha-Ji region formed its field armies that he became Chief of Staff of the First Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army.

But in fact, he and Yang Quanwu are very familiar with each other.

Because they all led frontline regiments in the First Red Army. At that time, the First Red Army, a major central army corps, was a large regiment of 2,000 to 3,000 men. The entire corps had only a few commanders and political commissars. So they all knew each other well.

In truth, Geng Biao's seniority far surpassed Yang Quanwu's, and during the Red Army era, he had served as Yang Quanwu's superior. Geng Biao's military prowess was considerable. While Yang Quanwu preferred to maintain absolute control within his own sphere, he still valued capable cadres who did not challenge his authority.

In particular, Huang Fa, the chief of staff whom Yang Quanwu valued the most, was now the commander of the First Column. Therefore, after Geng Biao came, the cooperation between Yang Quanwu and Geng Biao was still very good.

Yang Quanwu looked at the map.

Shijiazhuang is a major city in Hebei Province. Although its status in Hebei Province is not as prominent as Baoding, it is still a major transportation hub in Hebei Province. Both the Pinghan Road and the Zhengtai Road are inseparable from Shijiazhuang, making it a city that must be captured as part of the central government's "Three Routes and Four Cities" strategy.

Although more Kuomintang troops were annihilated this time.

However, the First Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region did not complete the task assigned by the Central Committee. After all, the "Three Routes and Four Cities" requirement for the First Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region was to capture the Pinghan Railway, Baoding, and Shijiazhuang.

If Shijiazhuang could be captured, the central government's objectives would be achieved. One was to capture Shijiazhuang, and the other was to cut off the Pinghan Railway. More importantly, once Shijiazhuang was captured, the two major liberated areas of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan could be connected.

And the opportunity is good now.

Pang Bingxun's "Hebei Advance Army" was crushed by the First Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army. Pang Bingxun's troops in Shimen must have been demoralized. As Pang Bingxun aged and in poor health, he used opium daily to numb himself.

He no longer has the bravery he had when he was young.

Pang Bingxun's attitude certainly affected the morale of his troops. Although Pang Bingxun's troops had more men, their combat effectiveness had not improved. On the contrary, due to the mixed quality of the troops, their combat effectiveness had decreased significantly.

It is a good opportunity to liberate Shijiazhuang.

"Is it more important for us to capture the Stone Gate, or use it as bait to attack the reinforcements?"

Yang Quanwu looked at Baoding, then at Handan, Xinxiang and other places.

Because of the importance of Shijiazhuang, if the Jin-Cha-Ji region attacked Shijiazhuang, reinforcements would be sent from Baoding, Handan, and Xinxiang. Wang Zhi said, "Commander, I think it's more important to capture Shimen.

"How to say?"

"Pang Bingxun is from the Northwest Army and has served in a puppet army. His relationship with other national army troops is average. When we attack Shimen, other national army troops may not really try their best to rescue us. Sun Lianzhong probably has some concerns. Previously, Sun Lianzhong asked Pang Bingxun to send troops to support Dingzhou, but Pang Bingxun was hesitant and did not obey Sun Lianzhong's orders at all.

Now that it's Sun Lianzhong's turn to rescue Pang Bingxun, he certainly won't do his best. The same is true for the Central Army troops. They won't risk their lives for a ragtag unit like Pang Bingxun. Even if they rescue him, it's because of the importance of Shimen. So we can prepare to attack the reinforcements, but we should focus more on how to take Shimen.

There are many factions in the national army.

Not to mention Pang Bingxun, a ragtag unit from the Northwest Army.

Even within the Central Army, people dislike each other and will not actively provide rescue.

Yang Quanwu nodded.

That's what it means.

Currently, in Hebei, the Central Army is primarily concentrated in the northern region of Baoding, around Beijing and Tianjin. Sun Lianzhong's Northwest Army is deployed around Baoding. The Central Army is currently engaged in combat with the Fourth Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar Wing, under the orders of Du Yuming.

So once the fighting breaks out in Shijiazhuang, it should be Sun Lianzhong who sends troops to support.

Unfortunately, Pang Bingxun had just offended Sun Lianzhong.

Then there were the Nationalist troops in Handan and Xinxiang. The Nationalist Third Army in Handan was the elite Central Army unit. Even Sun Lianzhong couldn't mobilize these Central Army troops unless Chiang Kai-shek ordered them.

Yang Quanwu thought for a moment and then nodded slowly.

"Then we will send a telegram to the military district and the central government."

"it is good."

To attack Shijiazhuang.

The telegram quickly reached the central government.

The commander-in-chief said happily, "Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei fought well. They fought on both the east and west fronts and annihilated 20 enemy troops. Comrade Wei Hongjun annihilated Fu Zuoyi's main force, and Yang Quanwu swept away Pang Bingxun's troops. Now they are going to attack Shimen and Datong. Once Jin-Chahar-Hebei controls Shimen and Datong, the Jin-Cha-Hebei Liberated Area will be completely stabilized."

Although the Central Committee had thought that Jin-Cha-Ji would be very powerful, it was for this reason that they formulated the "Three Routes and Four Cities" plan. They hoped that Jin-Cha-Ji could stabilize the situation in North China while maintaining contact with Northeast China.

I didn’t expect that after Jin-Cha-Ji sent 100,000 troops to the Northeast, its strength was still so strong.

This is the foundation.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Jin-Cha-Ji was a model base area and the strategic zone with the best performance. Although a large number of troops entered the Northeast, Jin-Cha-Ji had a strong foundation and could quickly recover.

However, the chairman's expression was very solemn.

He said, "Yang Quanwu's idea of ​​attacking a weak enemy is not wrong, but Pang Bingxun's troops are the weakest in Hebei. Although they have over 100,000 troops, they do not have much influence on the situation in Hebei. Even if Pang Bingxun's troops are destroyed, the situation in Hebei is unlikely to change completely. Pu Chayi's troops are still in Hebei, and we still need to annihilate one or two elite troops. Otherwise, after we capture Shijiazhuang, we will have to divide our troops to garrison Shijiazhuang, and our mobile forces will be short."

The Chairman still admired Yang Quanwu's fighting style.

Since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, Yang Quanwu had been adept at finding weak enemies to annihilate. He rarely engaged the enemy head-on unless absolutely necessary. This time was no different. If it were any other general, they might have directly targeted the troops emerging from Baoding.

But Yang Quanwu is different.

Go directly to fight the weakest Pang Bingxun.

The effect is indeed very good.

But powerful troops in Hebei still exist. The Chairman has always advocated destroying the enemy's active forces.

If they want to completely control the situation in Hebei, they should annihilate the Central Army or Sun Lianzhong's direct troops. Only in this way can they change the situation in Hebei.

"What Mao said is true. The Shimen Campaign must be fought, but we cannot just attack Shimen. We should also focus on attacking the reinforcements. It would be best to concentrate our forces to annihilate one or two divisions. If we can annihilate an entire army of the Central Army, or even an entire reorganized division of Sun Lianzhong, then we will have the upper hand in Hebei."

The commander-in-chief nodded.

I support the Chairman's statement.

The Chairman said: "Yang Quanwu swept through Pang Bingxun's troops with ease. Look at Sun Dianying's New Fifth Army. In three hours, the troops were completely defeated. Yang Quanwu didn't even exert any force, and Pang Bingxun's troops were annihilated. Yang Quanwu concentrated the troops of six brigades, but the overall casualties of the troops were just over 2000. In other words, apart from being slightly tired, Yang Quanwu's troops still maintain absolute combat effectiveness. They can take advantage of the opportunity to attack Shimen to concentrate their forces to annihilate the reinforcements.

"So that's the answer?"

"Ah."

After consulting with the Commander-in-Chief, the Chairman replied to Yang Quanwu: "Congratulations to the First Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region for their victory in wiping out Pang Bingxun's 80,000-strong force. This battle is of great significance for the liberation of Shimen."

If the northern enemy from Baoding advances south, concentrate our forces to annihilate a portion of them. If the northern enemy pauses, our army should rest for five to seven days, reorganize the troops, recover from fatigue, reconnoiter Shimen, and complete all preparations for the attack. Then, concentrate our main force of 12 brigades, as well as the local forces, and attack Shimen as if we were attacking the reinforcements, focusing on attacking the reinforcements. If the attack on Shimen fails to arrive within three days, abandon the attack on the reinforcements and quickly capture and control Shimen.

Chapter 678 Chen Cheng takes office

"Chairman."

Nanjing.

Chen Cheng entered Chiang Kai-shek's office and saw Chiang Kai-shek standing by the window.

Chiang Kai-shek was very strict about his dress code. It was very hot in Nanjing at that time, but he buttoned his shirt all the way down to his neck. Chiang Kai-shek's expression was very serious, and his face was not looking very good. Seeing Chen Cheng come in, he said, "Ci Xiu is here, sit down."

"Yes."

After Chen Cheng sat down, Chiang Kai-shek finally sat on the chair.

"Have you read the battle report from Hebei?"

“Just saw it.”

"Sun Lianzhong is incompetent, Pang Bingxun is incompetent. I had hoped Pang Bingxun could stabilize the situation in Shimen, but in one battle, he was annihilated by Yang Quanwu's troops, 70,000 to 80,000 men. He truly betrayed my trust."

In the past, or in history, Chiang Kai-shek did not care at all about the casualties of these miscellaneous troops.

Chiang Kai-shek had always used the Red Army and the People's Liberation Army to annihilate the local warlords' miscellaneous troops. During the Agrarian Revolution, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized a large number of warlord troops to encircle and suppress the Soviet areas, with this in mind.

Chiang Kai-shek was wary of the warlords' troops, but he also looked down on them, wishing they could all be wiped out by the People's Liberation Army.

But not now.

Because the Jin-Cha-Ji troops in this time and space were too strong.

In Chiang Kai-shek's view, the current Northeast China problem ultimately stems from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region. If the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Eighth Route Army hadn't been so powerful, with so many troops entering the Northeast, how could there be so many powerful regular army units in the Northeast? Du Yuming's troops were already the most elite units of the Nationalist Army.

But it was very difficult to capture Jinzhou and Shenyang. After the troops arrived in Siping, they could not break into it no matter what.

This was all because of the Jin-Cha-Ji troops. So Chiang Kai-shek was really bitter towards Jin-Cha-Ji.

Chiang Kai-shek was indeed very confident in his own strength. After all, he had more than 200 million regular army mobile forces under his command.

But now it was an all-out offensive, and Chiang Kai-shek also felt that his forces were somewhat insufficient. After all, there were so many places to attack and occupy, and many of them were more important than the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region.

Especially the Central Plains and Jiangsu regions, they must be taken.

That's why Chiang Kai-shek treated the northern warlords' troops so well, asking them to help resist the Jin-Cha-Ji War. However, these warlord troops disappointed Chiang Kai-shek. The battle in Hebei, in particular, left him dumbfounded.

Although I thought that Pang Bingxun’s troops were weak in combat effectiveness.

But I didn't expect their fighting capacity to be so weak. Seventy to eighty thousand troops were annihilated by Yang Quanwu's troops. Those troops didn't even last a day. Did Yang Quanwu's troops suffer any casualties? The most common casualties among Yang Quanwu's troops were sprained ankles while capturing prisoners.

"Chairman, Pang Bingxun's troops have limited combat effectiveness. Although they took advantage of the Japanese surrender to gather 100,000 troops in Hebei, these puppet troops have little combat effectiveness. They only relied on the Japanese support to bully the civilians. They can't even defeat the local Communist troops. This time, facing the main force of Yang Quanwu's troops, they are definitely no match. These miscellaneous troops should be reorganized and trained uniformly. Only in this way can they be more combat-effective.

Chen Cheng immediately expressed his opinion.

Chiang Kai-shek nodded.

I agree with Chen Cheng's idea.

These puppet troops cannot be left alone like this.