Bright Sword: Start with Ding Blast Bridge, Homemade Sweet Potato Cake

The war in northern Shanxi was deteriorating, and the Japanese invaders were short of troops and unable to protect the railway line.

There were fires in many places and military support was urgently needed.

There were two options before Naosaburo Okabe. One was to mobilize the main force of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade to support the Datong Basin and stabilize the local situation.

The impact was the lack of troops in the Chahar direction. Five infantry battalions were stationed in Wucheng, Tianzhen, Huailai, Weixian and Yuanyuan respectively, blocking the active range of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.

If the main force of the brigade was transferred to Ding Wei, wouldn't the troops in Jin-Cha-Ji be in chaos?

The summer and autumn mopping-up operation that had just been completed had just suppressed the arrogance of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Eighth Route Army. If we withdraw the troops now, wouldn’t the mopping-up operation be in vain?

Second, abandon the territory south of Datong and make the Pingsui Railway the main defense area to guard against counterattacks by the Nationalist Army, the Ma Family Army, and the Mongolian Army and ensure the safety of the railway line.

But the area is rich in coal mines and the plains are abundant in grain. If we lose it, what is the point of occupying Shanxi Province?

The Mongolian troops had no extra forces to deploy, so they could only rely on the arrangements made by General Okamura of the North China Expeditionary Army.

Whether it is possible to withdraw troops to support the battle in northern Shanxi.

If the battlefield is in central Hebei or in the North China Plain, the main force at the division level can be easily transferred to eliminate the Fourth Military Sub-district.

But the battlefield broke out in northwest and northern Shanxi, although it was also a plain area.

The supporting troops need to cross the Taihang, Taiyue, Yanshan and other mountainous areas first.

The logistical pressure is great and the results are minimal.

Is it possible to consider bribing the cadres of the Fourth Military Sub-district through means of winning them over and tempting them, and disintegrating them from within?

Just as Okamura was doing, he tried hard to win over the commander of the Second War Zone and formulate the Haku Plan.

Commander Yan had studied abroad in Japan, and many people in the army were his classmates, and they secretly promised him many benefits.

His nephew was not famous in the country, but he was very famous among the high-ranking Japanese military officials.

He repeatedly vowed that he could win over his uncle and surrender to the Japanese.

The commander of the First Army, Yoshio Iwamatsu, even publicly stated that the plan to win over Yan Debo was an opportunity to force the Yamashiro government to surrender and a gap to break the unfavorable situation in the Chinese theater.

He also threatened that in May, he would be able to win over the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army to surrender, resolve the war in the Shanxi region in one fell swoop, and release the troops of the First Army.

Okamura decided to temporarily release the southern part of Datong and give it to Ding Wei. He first won over the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and allocated the 41st Division of the First Army to go north to deal with the Fourth Military Division.

The 13th Independent Regiment and two independent infantry battalions retreated to Huairen and Hunyuan respectively, abandoning the important county towns of Shuoxian, Yingxian and Shanyin.

At the same time, the First Army's troops stationed in Shenchi and Ningwu also quickly retreated to Gang County.

Large tracts of land on the east and west banks of the Sanggan River were taken over by the Fourth Military Sub-district.

Northern Shanxi was connected, and Ding Wei's headquarters moved to the important city of Shuo County.

The northern section of the Tongpu Railway will be firmly cut off, isolating the Datong Basin and the Xinding Basin.

Ten county towns in northwestern and northern Shanxi are included in the garrison area of ​​the Fourth Military Sub-district.

To put it simply, it's awesome.

All the vehicles, supplies, cars, etc. that could not be moved in time fell into Ding Wei's hands. The puppet troops, traitors and the like either surrendered or followed the Japanese in retreating to the north and south.

Quickly take over the territory, settle the military and political affairs, and clean up the artillery towers and strongholds left by the Japanese and puppet troops.

Repair the fortifications inside and outside the county town, and take over the city’s defense and security.

Ding Wei's command center has been completely renovated and replaced with a map of northern Shanxi seized from the Japanese invaders.

Compared with the Eighth Route Army's homemade maps, the Japanese maps are more complete, contain more information, and are more accurate.

This map was hard-earned. It was seized by the special forces from the headquarters of the 26th Division. It can be considered a big gift from Zhou Weiguo to Ding Wei.

All the people present were the regiment commanders of the military sub-districts, and it was the first time that Ding Wei had gathered everyone together.

"Everyone, come and take a look. The headquarters has issued a new order to streamline the military and improve military discipline."

According to the requirements of the headquarters, the subordinate groups are divided into three types: A, B and C.

Type A regiments are divided into 3 battalions and 9 companies, with 2000-2500 men;

Type B regiments are divided into 2 battalions and 6 companies, with 1200-1500 men;

Type C regiment consists of 5 companies, 900-1100 people.

Ding Wei has a total of 9 regiments under his command. The cavalry regiment and artillery regiment are directly under the military region, so we will not mention them for now.

Among the remaining main forces, efforts have been made to streamline the ranks, but efforts have repeatedly failed to keep them down.

After each battle, there would always be a group of new soldiers on the rosters reported by each regiment, battalion and company.

There's no way, the team is moving too fast.

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Regiments of the th Military Sub-district are undoubtedly the three most elite regiments, led by Gao Qing, Kong Jie and Zhang Dabiao respectively.

These three regiments were built according to the standards of a Type A reinforced regiment, with a full complement of 3000 men;

4团、5团、6团、7团，按照甲种团的标准建设，满编2500人。

The Cavalry Regiment and the Artillery Regiment are built according to the standards of a Type B Regiment, with a maximum full strength of 1500 people.

In addition, the county brigade and guerrilla detachment are respectively under the jurisdiction of each regiment, and the troops directly under the regiment shall not exceed the establishment.

"I know you are capable and brave enough to fight. Your troops are expanding quickly and you have captured a lot of supplies."

"I, Ding Wei, have high requirements and standards. Not everyone can be a soldier in my Fourth Military Division. We can't be like the ladies in the Eight Great Hutongs, where anyone can come in."

"Ideological work must be done well, military discipline must be clear, and the combat style must be tough."

The officers and soldiers of each regiment were given eye drops in advance, and the headquarters' requirements for discipline have become increasingly clear recently.

Those who need to arrange political commissars should arrange political commissars, and those who need to carry out rectification should carry out rectification.

The fundamental reason why such a big problem arose is that the troops suffered heavy losses during the anti-mopping-up operation.

The base was severely damaged by the Japanese invaders.

With such a small territory, we cannot support too many troops.

Many detachments began to dig up civilians' cellars, and some even forced people to death.

It is said that the Eighth Route Army had good military discipline, but not every unit could do so. Some had strict discipline, while others might not be able to meet the standards.

Some military sub-districts opened their own shops and did business, sometimes more than a dozen shops in a row, and used speculation to exploit local money.

This made Ding Wei have different ideas. He also brewed and sold wine secretly, but it was far from the level of exploitation. His products were always of good quality and low price.

Are the brother troops playing so wildly?

Opened your own shop?

Why didn't I think of this?

Whether it is iron discipline or soft discipline depends entirely on whether the army is rotten from the root.

It is necessary and imperative to streamline the military and improve military discipline.

After explaining the requirements of the headquarters and the military sub-district's requirements for enforcing military discipline and strengthening training, Political Commissar Zhong continued to emphasize the subsequent learning and training tasks.

Ding Wei found Kong Jie alone, and the old comrades were very cordial when they met.

"Old Kong, I have some new ideas and I want to talk to you alone."

"The New Second Regiment is an old unit you lead. There is no need to say much about its combat effectiveness, and I don't need to worry about its expansion and training. The unit is well-equipped with weapons and captured supplies. I intend to set up two combat detachments, each with five battalions, led by your New Second Regiment and Zhang Dabiao's New Third Regiment, and cancel the New Seventh Regiment."