Quartermasters can also fight the devils

However, this only means that the 44th Army is the boss among the Sichuan Army. However, the Sichuan Army as a whole is third-rate among the Chinese army, so the combat effectiveness of the 44th Army is still relatively weak. At the same time, the weapons and equipment of the 44th Army are also inferior, and the firepower is also very weak.

In fact, the dissatisfaction with the weapons and equipment and organization of the 29th Army are secondary. The most crucial thing is that the quality of the officers and soldiers of the 29th Army is very poor, the training and cohesion of the troops are not good, and many bad habits of the troops during the warlord period exist in this army.

For example, officers of the 29th Army withheld a large amount of soldiers' pay, used the troops to smuggle military supplies, took credit for themselves and shirked responsibility, engaged in constant factional fighting within the army, and did not sympathize with the soldiers. Before the Battle of Western Hubei, some officers within the 29th Army even resold the army's food at high prices to food-scarce areas, earning huge profits. They then used the money they earned to buy the same amount of inferior food to fill the army's numbers and feed the soldiers.

At that time, Commander Chen of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government personally discovered military rations with the logo of the 29th Army Group on the market. Commander Chen was furious on the spot and ordered the commander of the 29th Army Group, Wang Zanxu, to investigate.

The commander of the 29th Army Group, Wang Zanxu, is a veteran warlord in the Sichuan Army. In Commander Wang's opinion, what his troops did was nothing at all. However, since it was Commander Chen, commander of the Sixth War Zone, who asked him to investigate, he had to give the big boss some face.

So, Commander Wang arrested and imprisoned the commander of the 162nd Division, Xin Chunting, for smuggling, and then removed Xin Chunting from his position as commander. There was no major rectification action afterwards, and Commander Chen was helpless against such local factional troops.

Moreover, the 44th Army's troops were recruited from Sichuan Province. There were a lot of new recruits from Sichuan Province in the army. In fact, people from Sichuan Province could not be considered excellent military materials because they were born in a wealthy family and had a relatively superior environment. They were accustomed to living a comfortable life and were not used to fighting everywhere. The soldiers were good at fighting some short-term tough battles, but once they were involved in a long-term battle,...

The 73rd Army of the 29th Group Army is also a local factional force. The 73rd Army Division was reorganized from Tang Shengzhi's Hunan Army. Most of the senior officers are Tang Shengzhi's old subordinates. The army commander Wang Zhibin is also Tang Shengzhi's subordinate. Naturally, it is a local force that is not valued by the Chinese government, and its combat effectiveness is limited.

In general, the combat effectiveness of the 29th Army Group is among the weakest among the army groups. Like the 33rd Army Group in the Sixth War Zone, it is considered to be the weakest in the Chinese army in terms of combat effectiveness.

The reason why the acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Huaxia Government, Commander Sun, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone ordered the troops of the 29th Army to defend this line was mainly because the 29th Army had been stationed in northwestern Hunan for a long time and was relatively familiar with the terrain and customs here.

Moreover, in the previous Battle of Western Hubei, the 29th Army's performance was still acceptable. Although the troops suffered heavy casualties, they had basically completed the combat tasks assigned by the Sixth War Zone Command. Theoretically, they still had a certain defensive capability.

For Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, with the current actual combat effectiveness of the 29th Army, in theory it should not be used for the first line of defense. Instead, it would be safer to place the 29th Army in the position of the war zone reserve. However, the actual problem facing Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, is that if he does not use the 29th Army, which other troops can he use? Given the current situation of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government with insufficient troops, Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, has no other troops to replace the 29th Army.

Compared with the 29th Army in the southern section of the first line of defense, the 10th Army of the Chinese government, which is responsible for the defensive positions in the northern section of the first line of defense, is completely different.

Because the 10th Army Group of the Chinese government is a quasi-first-class unit of the Chinese army and a direct force of the Chinese government.

Although the 79th Army and the 66th Army under the Tenth Army were formed by local security forces in Hunan and Hubei provinces after the outbreak of the war between China and Japan, they have always belonged to the system of the Chinese government's direct forces.

Because, since the establishment of the Tenth Army of the Chinese government, all the officers in the army were from the Whampoa Military Academy, which has left a deep imprint of the government's direct troops on the Tenth Army. This makes the Tenth Army's weapons and equipment much better than other miscellaneous troops, and the training and military discipline of the officers and soldiers of the army are also stricter.

Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the Tenth Army is relatively much stronger than that of other miscellaneous troops, and the officers and soldiers' fighting will is even stronger. It can be called a tough unit and is also first-class among the direct troops of the Chinese government.

Similarly, in the Battle of Western Hubei half a year ago, the 79th and 66th Armies of the Tenth Army also fought hard and fierce battles with the Japanese Army. While annihilating a large number of Japanese troops, they also defeated the offensive forces of the Japanese 11th Army that were flanking Shipai, successfully completing the combat deployment of the Sixth War Zone.

As for the 74th Army of the Chinese Government, which was deployed on the second line of defense by Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese Government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone, there is no need to say more. From the Battle of Shanghai to the present, the 74th Army has fought countless bloody battles.

In the previous battles with the Japanese Army, the Japanese Army also knew the strength of the 74th Army. Several commanders of the 11th Army of the Japanese Army had always wanted to completely eliminate this direct force of the Chinese government, but every effort of the Japanese Army failed.

However, although the 74th Army has strong combat effectiveness, it only has three divisions under its command, with a total strength of about 20,000 people. Facing the Japanese 11th Army's plan to concentrate the strength of three divisions to besiege Changde, the 74th Army is obviously unable to withstand it.

The other troops that were pieced together by Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, also had varying degrees of combat effectiveness. There were both direct troops of the Chinese government and miscellaneous troops with weak combat effectiveness. However, these troops could not immediately join the battlefield in the direction of Changde for a while, so they did not require special attention from the Sixth War Zone Command.

For Commander Sun, acting commander of the Sixth War Zone of the Chinese government, and Chief of Staff Guo of the War Zone, the most important thing now is when the already assembled troops of the Japanese 11th Army will launch an attack. Then Commander Sun and Chief of Staff Guo need to make a final judgment on the ultimate combat objectives of the Japanese Army based on the attack direction of the Japanese 11th Army, and then arrange the remaining troops to enter the battlefield as planned.

(Thanks to Mi Zong who loves lamb and zucchini, Wei Guogong who loves beef jerky, Xiao Xiao Ping Guo, and Dumplings Without Vinegar for their gifts! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!)