I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 92 Commander Chen's Semi-Mechanized Reinforced Regiment

While Chen Changzai and his men were test-flying the new aircraft day and night, constantly improving any problems they discovered.

However, the battle situation outside was undergoing tremendous changes.

On August 13, 1937, the Japanese army invaded Shanghai.

By this time, across the land of China, smoke signals rose from both the north and south, and cries of agony filled the air.

On August 28, our army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and ordered to join the northern battlefield against the Japanese.

By this time, our army had already assembled and was waiting for orders in the border area, and the two eastward-bound troops from the north and south had officially begun their eastward expedition.

The Southern Route Army crossed the Yellow River and entered Shanxi to begin its operations against the Japanese.

The northern route runs westward along the Daqingshan Mountains, heading straight for Baotou, the western terminus of the Ping-Sui Railway.

Although the troops were divided into two groups this time, the troop deployment was heavier in the south and lighter in the north.

According to the Japanese troop deployment.

Our army dispatched more than 10,000 troops to the southern route.
The northern route was led by Regiment Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu, consisting of the fully-staffed Third Independent Reinforced Regiment of 3,000 men, along with a 1,000-man armed logistics force.

There was also the Northern Headquarters' directly subordinate cavalry regiment, with 300 cavalrymen sent by Regiment Commander Yang.

The reason why Commander Chen's Third Independent Regiment went straight to Baotou was because...

That's because the Ping-Sui Railway line is too important.

This railway line connecting the east and west starts in Beiping, passes through Datong, reaches Guihua (now Hohhot), and then goes west to Baotou.

In Datong, this railway line connects with the Tongpu Railway, which runs north-south through the entire territory of SX Province.

The Tongpu Railway connects with the Zhengtai Railway, which runs east-west from Zhengding in Hebei Province to Taiyuan in the west, in Taiyuan.

These three railways form the main trunk lines of the railway network connecting the north, south, east, and west of Shanxi.

During the eight-year War of Resistance against Japan in Shanxi, almost all the major battles fought by our army and the Japanese in the Shanxi region revolved around these three railway lines.

The ultimate goal of all the battles was to seize control of these three railway lines.

The reason why the Southern Route Army sent a large number of troops to support Taiyuan, Shanxi, was because Taiyuan was the central hub of Shanxi.

If Taiyuan falls, the hub of Shanxi will change hands, and the Japanese in North China can easily enter the heart of Shanxi via the Zhengtai Railway.

The Tongpu Railway connects the north and south of Shanxi, giving the Japanese the greatest initiative in whichever side they wanted to attack.

This is also why headquarters dispatched a large number of troops to support Taiyuan, Shanxi.

While the Ping-Sui Railway to the north is also important, it is still slightly inferior to Taiyuan in terms of overall importance.

But the fact that it's a little short doesn't mean it's unimportant.

On the contrary, this line is very important to our army.

Because Baotou is not far from our mining base in Daqingshan, the two places are only about 400 kilometers apart.

The northern part of Baotou is characterized by mountainous and plateau terrain, the central part by hilly terrain consisting of low mountains, hills and basins, and the southern part by open plains.

Baotou Railway Station stands in the southeast of Baotou, at the intersection of the Hetao region and the Tumote Plain.

If the Japanese invaders were to occupy Baotou, their military might would be aimed directly at our army's Daqingshan mining base.

When that time really comes, the entire Chulechuan region will be under direct threat from the Japanese invaders.

The transportation channels for minerals are also at risk of being cut off at any time.

This is something that the headquarters absolutely cannot accept.

Therefore, although the number of troops sent to the northern route this time was small, it can be said to be the first in the entire army to complete the re-equipment, and it is already semi-mechanized and semi-mule-driven, the most elite Third Independent Reinforced Regiment.

The Third Independent Reinforced Regiment, under the command of Regiment Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu, had a full complement of over three thousand men.

The entire regiment has more than 2,500 infantrymen, who have been re-equipped with the latest Type 1 rifle.

The cavalry were all equipped with Type 1 submachine guns.

The personnel and weapon configuration of an infantry squad/platoon is as follows: a squad of ten men is equipped with seven rifles, two submachine guns, and one precision sniper rifle.

It is also equipped with four grenade launchers that do not count towards the authorized number of units.

Three classes form a platoon.

Under the platoon leader's command, there were also two machine gun teams, each consisting of two men. Each team was equipped with a Type 1 light and heavy general-purpose machine gun.

Each 60mm mortar crew consists of three men and is equipped with one 60mm mortar.

Each unit is assigned to a heavy infantry platoon and is equipped with one wheeled/tracked three-wheeled off-road supply vehicle, with two personnel including a driver and a co-driver.

So now, a basic infantry platoon under Commander Chen's command has a total of forty men, including the platoon leader.

The platoon's main firepower was the 60mm mortar.

Two general-purpose machine guns were used to support the 60mm mortar, serving as secondary firepower.

Around the firing anchors of these two general-purpose machine guns, the squad's sniper rifles provided primary long-range suppressive fire.

Then came rifle fire.

The grenade launcher, which is not part of the official roster, serves as a short-to-medium range heavy fire support weapon for riflemen or submachine gunners.

In the final 100 to 200 meters, at close range, that's where the submachine gunners reign supreme.

Even at the very end, there are still hand grenades and directional fragmentation anti-personnel mines as the last line of defense.

It's that anti-personnel mine with the "facing the enemy" designation.

The heavy-duty three-wheeled vehicle at the very back, with interchangeable tires and tracks, is the super healer for this platoon.

The supplies for this platoon of forty people will all be carried by this three-wheeled vehicle, which has a standard load capacity of four tons and can carry up to six tons when overloaded.

On hard surfaces, you can use wire tires to move forward.

If you encounter a muddy road.

Then, if you replace it with heavy-duty wide triangular tracks, it won't get stuck in most places.

Even if it gets stuck, a few short logs are enough to get it out.

If all else fails, then unload all the goods; people can carry them out.

This is the best thing about three-wheeled trucks; their maneuverability is virtually limitless.

It can go wherever trucks can go.

It can go where trucks can't.

Even if it can't get through a certain place, as long as a person can get through, they can carry it across.

If that doesn't work, take it apart, carry it over, and then reassemble it.

Once it passes this section of road, it can run again.

When this tricycle first entered Commander Chen's Third Independent Regiment, every soldier praised it highly.

Its position in the platoon is arguably even higher than that of the platoon leader.

Because as long as it follows a row of the most battles.

It can turn a platoon into a solid fire support position.

This position can be held for at least eight to ten days without shortages of firepower or food.

If you add the weapons and ammunition that the soldiers carry themselves, they can hold out on a position for half a month or even longer.

If there is a battle that requires a charge and an assault.

This heavy three-wheeled vehicle can also use its front armor plates to transport a general-purpose machine gun or mortar mounted on a heavy machine gun tripod to the most needed locations for mobile fire support.

With such a super healer, what warrior wouldn't like her?

This is only platoon-level firepower.

Then it came to a company consisting of three platoons.

In addition to the firepower of platoon-level units.

The company headquarters under the company commander also had two 12.7mm heavy machine guns that could be used for both anti-aircraft and anti-tank operations.

Moreover, this heavy machine gun can be used either fixedly on the ground or mounted on a tricycle, turning the tricycle into a mobile heavy firepower platform.

In addition to the two heavy machine guns, the company commander also had two 82mm mortars, one infantry gun, and one 70mm infantry gun.

This is a company-level heavy fire support unit. When it reached a battalion consisting of three companies...

The battalion headquarters under the battalion commander was further reinforced with a heavy machine gun platoon consisting of four 12.7mm heavy machine guns.

A mortar platoon consisting of four 82mm mortars.

And an artillery platoon consisting of four Type 1 infantry guns.

Add a supply train.

One battalion in the Third Independent Regiment had more than 650 men.

There are three such basic battalions in the Independent Regiment, with a total of nearly two thousand people.

When it came to Regiment Commander Chen, he had a cavalry battalion of 500 men and a regimental-level cavalry company under his command.

In addition to these two units, he also had an artillery company equipped with eight state-of-the-art 75mm mountain guns (designated Mountain Type 1), and an infantry-artillery company.
A company of 12.7mm heavy machine guns that can be used both on a high-altitude and low-altitude mission.

An anti-aircraft gun battery equipped with four single-barreled 37mm anti-aircraft guns for both high-altitude and low-altitude use.

Including his regimental staff, communications personnel, and others, the entire combat force numbered just over three thousand.

This doesn't even include the hundreds of two-horse carriages following behind the regimental headquarters, equipped with steel axles, bearings, and rubber tires.

There are also more than forty hand tractors and more than thirty heavy three-wheeled motorcycles belonging to the logistics unit.

The entire logistics force consisted of just over a thousand people.

In addition, there were 300 cavalrymen sent by the headquarters' directly subordinate cavalry regiment.

Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu led a large force of nearly 4,500 men toward Baotou.

However, Commander Chen tried to remain hidden as much as possible along the way, not wanting anyone to discover his presence.

Even the one he was supposed to come to support, General Fu, who was still fighting in Chahar.

He only said he would tell him by telegram.

We have already brought more than 3,000 people to provide support.

However, the journey is long and difficult, and he cannot arrive in a short time.

General Fu didn't really care much about his poor neighbor.

This is not to say that General Fu was ignorant or uninformed.

It was simply because of his deep-seated impression of this poor neighbor.

Although he also knew that a copper mine had apparently been found west of the Daqing Mountains in northern Shaanxi.

They also achieved a good result in the battle against Ningma.

But how much wealth can a copper mine make?

If a single copper mine could change the world, then Fu Zuoyi had two copper mines under his control.

Isn't this just the way things are going to be?

As for the battle fought between Shaanxi and Ningma, General Fu also read the newspapers in detail, and finally concluded that...

Commander Yang from northern Shaanxi was a smart man who knew how to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

And that brigade commander from Ningma can't be called a fool.

But it was nothing more than average.

Or rather, no one expected that someone would be able to launch an ambush using such inconspicuous terrain.

They were also able to dig out horse traps and trenches that covered an area of ​​more than ten kilometers.

General Fu had also considered this kind of trap, wondering if he himself could discover it in time or break out of it.

In the end, he still felt that Commander Yang, who had set up the encirclement, was indeed a military genius.

When he set up this encirclement, he left his enemies with no way out.

General Fu was also interested in the hand-operated tractor that had played a prominent role in that battle.

But no matter how you look at it, that thing is just a farm tool.

Besides, it's not like I only just found out now.

He already knew about it when hand-held tractors were first used for land reclamation in northern Shaanxi.

That thing can't be hidden from people.

He not only found out.

He also found a middleman to buy more than a dozen of them from northern Shaanxi and used them. He felt that they were quite good for farming.

He also wanted to see if his small factory could replicate it.

The result greatly disappointed him.

Because his small factories couldn't replicate it.

When he wanted to buy again, they said there was insufficient production capacity, all the production had been exported, and there wasn't much left for their own use.

General Fu also asked someone to inquire about the export situation in northern Shaanxi.

I later heard that they exported several hundred units, but their factory that can produce these things is not big, and they can't produce many in a year. They don't sell them for much, and they only make a meager living.

Having reached this point, General Fu stopped taking the matter seriously.

As the situation became increasingly tense, he focused more of his energy on the Japanese forces in the east.

Now the war has started again.

He had received reinforcements from northern Shaanxi, but he had no hope of knowing how many soldiers they could send or what their fighting strength would be.

According to his own thinking, those poor neighbors would be considered wealthy if a battalion had two or three machine guns.

If the entire battalion could be equipped with rifle ammunition, that would be considered very good.

Therefore, General Fu did not place too much hope on these reinforcements.

They also didn't take it seriously that they couldn't catch up with the battle on the Chahar side.

At this time, he had already dispatched Tang Enbo's troops to be responsible for the defense of Nankou.

General Fu was also guarding the Ping-Sui Railway and launching a fierce attack on Baochang and Guyuan in an attempt to recover these two lost territories.

However, to his surprise, on August 26, Tang Enbo, who was in charge of defending Nankou, was defeated.

What's most infuriating is that after his defeat, he didn't report back on the battle situation in a timely manner.

Finally, he was told that the radio was broken, which was why he hadn't been able to report it in time.

On the 28th, five hours after General Fu received the telegram for support from northern Shaanxi, he learned of the fall of Nankou.

Before he could react.

An urgent telegram arrived from Liu Ruming's troops, who were in charge of the defense of Zhangjiakou, reporting that the outer defense line of Zhangjiakou had collapsed.

Liu Ruming's 68th Army was in constant danger of being surrounded and annihilated.

General Fu had no choice but to order Liu Ruming to lead his troops out of the Zhangjiakou defense line and retreat westward.

Zhangjiakou subsequently fell.

This was on August 29, 1937.

It had only been one day since Shaanxi sent a telegram to General Fu requesting troops to be dispatched.

Faced with this chaotic situation, General Fu had no choice but to retreat again and carry out tiered defenses along the Ping-Sui Railway.

By this time, he had long forgotten his poor neighbor in northern Shaanxi, and even if he remembered him, it would be of no use.

The two sides are hundreds of kilometers apart; they couldn't fly over there even if they wanted to.

For at least a month, those few thousand people won't be able to do much.

At this time, Commander Chen and his men were indeed marching rapidly towards Baotou, but even with such a rapid march, forty kilometers a day was already the limit.

It will take at least five days to get there.

This isn't driving on a wide highway; this is a march of several thousand people with heavy equipment.

(End of this chapter)