Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Previously, the North China Front Army's sweep of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region had two main directions: one was the 26th Division and the nd Independent Mixed Brigade of the Mongolian Army, and the other was the Japanese Army's sweep of the First and Third Divisions in Hebei.

But this time is different.

The Japanese mobile forces in Hebei were transferred to Hebei to sweep the Hebei Military Region. Therefore, in addition to the troops stationed in Mongolia, the Japanese troops in this sweep were mainly transferred back from the Zhongtiaoshan front.

37th Division and 41st Division.

The two divisions each dispatched two regiments, each led by the commander of the division's infantry regiment. This major move attracted the attention of both the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. They even ignored the previous friction.

Because we need to judge the movements of the Japanese army.

Soon they found out.

The four regiments drawn from the 37th Division and the 41st Division were aimed directly at the Eighth Route Army's Yanbei base.

It can be said that Yan Xishan and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army breathed a sigh of relief, and the Nationalist Army on Zhongtiao Mountain was even happier. Because four regiments were withdrawn at once, the Japanese troops around Zhongtiao Mountain were reduced by a quarter.

Yan Xishan was even happier.

Recently, there has been constant friction between the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army and the Eighth Route Army. Now that the Japanese army is sweeping the Eighth Route Army base on a large scale, it is even more advantageous for Yan Xishan. Therefore, the friction between Yan Xishan and the Eighth Route Army is getting more and more serious.

However, there was no time to consider this in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area.

因为日军再一次调集重兵扫荡。独立混成第八旅团、独立混成第九旅团、37师团和41师团的四个联队，北平35师团的219联队和220联队，还有平绥路、同铺路、正太路各个据点的守备部队都抽调部队参与扫荡晋察冀根据其。日军这一次再次集中了3.4万人左右。

Accompanying the Japanese were the 4th, 7th, and 8th North China Security Army armies, as well as the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Independent Regiments of the North China Security Army. Together with local security forces, garrisons, and special forces, the total number of puppet troops exceeded 20,000.

In other words, the Japanese army once again concentrated nearly 60,000 Japanese and puppet troops.

Chapter 290 Reborn

On December 1939, 12, the 4th Independent Mixed Brigade took the lead in launching a mop-up operation against the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.

His goal is clear.

It was the Pingbei Detachment that swept through the Changping and Wanping areas.

The North China Front Army was deeply displeased with the Pingbei Detachment. This was especially true during the past three months, when the unit split into smaller units and engaged in widespread sabotage. Many of the local powerful, those with wealth and influence, were simply fence-sitters.

When the Japanese became powerful, they sided with them and helped them govern their local areas. When the Eighth Route Army became powerful, they immediately retreated, not daring to openly serve the Japanese. Since the Pingbei Detachment's activity in Changping and Wanping over the past few months, those local powerful groups that had previously been "friendly" to Japan have become ostriches. Some even chose to join the Eighth Route Army upon seeing it approach, abandoning the Japanese.

This was something the Japanese army could not accept.

The North China Front Army was undermanned and unable to fully control the occupied areas. Their only option was to rely on the traitors and use them to stabilize the region. Without their cooperation, the Japanese army, with its limited manpower, would not be able to secure resources from the occupied areas, let alone maintain public security.

Therefore, the North China Front Army hated the Pingbei Detachment operating around Peiping very much.

In order to wipe out the Pingbei Detachment, the Japanese army once again sent the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 16th Independent Mixed Brigade. However, the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade suffered heavy casualties in the previous sweep.

The replenishment from the base camp was also slow.

Even though new recruits have been added, combat effectiveness is still recovering. It can be said that as Japanese casualties mount, the combat effectiveness of new recruits will continue to decline. Even the new recruits added two or three years later will include both old men and children.

Of course, the Japanese army has not reached this point yet.

The new recruits currently being added are all freshly trained. However, no matter how good they are, they are no match for those who have fought in previous battles. Therefore, this time, the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade is serving as a blockade corps.

Starting from Wanping, we no longer seek to fight with the Eighth Route Army.

They were only to block the Eighth Route Army's marching routes. Important county towns and important transportation arteries would be handed over to them for garrisoning.

The actual attack was carried out by the 16th Independent Mixed Brigade.

"Commander, regimental commander, political commissar, we can't just retreat like this this time."

"correct."

"The people in the base area are all watching. We haven't fought a single inspiring battle since we arrived in Changping.

"That's right. After the last anti-mopping-up operation, our comrades all laughed at us. They said we only knew how to hide when we saw the Japanese and didn't dare to fight them."

35th Regiment Headquarters.

All cadres above the rank of Lian were gathered together.

Because the Japanese army was leading a sweep of Changping, Xiao Yongshi was assigned to the 35th Regiment. The officers of the 35th Regiment were eager to fight, and each one of them expressed their determination to fight. During the previous sweep, the 35th Regiment split up and retreated.

They had been avoiding the main force of the Japanese army, which made many of their comrades laugh at them, even more than the 34th Regiment.

They all have tempers.

Of course they felt ashamed to be laughed at like this.

So now that the Japanese army has arrived, they all want to fight them.

Let everyone see that the 35th Regiment is not a group of people.

Song Zhiyuan and Feng Linqi sat on either side of Xiao Yongshi, remaining silent, waiting for him to speak. Xiao Yongshi looked at the excited 35th Regiment commanders below and said, "During the last anti-mopping-up operation, the 34th Regiment suffered heavy casualties because it was pinned down by the 77th Independent Battalion. The entire 34st Battalion of the 83th Regiment was pierced by the Japanese. Now the Japanese vanguard is the 77rd Independent Battalion, whose combat effectiveness should be comparable to that of the th Independent Battalion. Are you confident you won't be crushed by them?"

"Commander, even if our 35th Regiment is completely wiped out, we will not be defeated."

"Yes. It's not like we haven't fought against the Japanese before, so we will definitely not have any problems.

"Commander, please let us fight."

Xiao Yongshi nodded slightly.

Apart from anything else, the morale of the 35th Regiment alone is worthy of praise.

If a unit lacks this kind of courage, how can it fight? Therefore, Xiao Yongshi turned to Song Zhiyuan and said, "Captain Song, your 35th Regiment commander is so enthusiastic about asking for battle. What are your thoughts? I need a unit that can fight, not a unit that only knows how to talk big. Boasting alone is useless."

Song Zhiyuan stood up and said, "Commander, please trust our 35th Regiment. Our 35th Regiment is the unit that emerged from the Jidong Uprising. During the Jidong Uprising, we did not fall behind. When the troops retreated to the base, we did not fall behind. Now that we have to fight the Japanese army, we will not fall behind."

"Okay. I agree that your 35th Regiment should teach the Japanese vanguard a lesson."

"Thank you for your trust, Commander."

After receiving the order, Song Zhiyuan approached the map and said, "Around 83 Japanese soldiers from the 600rd Independent Battalion have entered our base. They are currently advancing at a rapid pace, and their target is our 35th Regiment Headquarters. At their current speed, they should be able to reach us in about six hours at most. If we want to engage the Japanese, the Qianmen Gorge area is the most suitable. As long as we block the high points on both flanks and the exits, the Japanese will be able to pass through."

"My plan is for the First and Second Battalions to participate in the battle. We'll assign a company to each of the high points on either flank, and leave that to the Second Battalion. The First Battalion will block the exits. All regimental headquarters and other organs and units will retreat."

When the Eighth Route Army chose its baton, they would choose places with geographical advantages.

The geographical advantage is that when something happens, we can stop the enemy and give the baton a chance to retreat. This is the location of the 35th Regiment headquarters.

Qianmenxia is the location of the eastern gate of the garrison, a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

So Song Zhiyuan chose to fight a battle in Qianmenxia.

The troops immediately went down and began to deploy for battle.

"The troops are in good spirits. Comrade Feng Linqi, you have put in a lot of effort.

When the troops below went to prepare, Xiao Yongshi praised Feng Linqi, the political commissar of the 35th Regiment.

The morale of the 35th Regiment is really good.

Feng Linqi said, “Thank you for the compliment, Commander.

"Comrade Song Zhiyuan, I'm a little slow to realize this. During the last anti-mopping-up operation, the 35th Regiment had been operating in separate groups, avoiding the Japanese. I criticized you then. Now that I think about it, I was wrong, and I apologize."

"Commander, you are seriously injured."

Song Zhiyuan immediately waved his hand.

Xiao Yongshi asked very sincerely, "Comrade Song Zhiyuan, I still want to hear what you thought at that time.

Xiao Yongshi was very sincere this time.

During the previous anti-mopping-up operation, the 35th Regiment avoided the main Japanese forces and remained out of action. After the operation, they were criticized by the column and detachment, and even ridiculed by some units. But looking back at the 35th Regiment now, Xiao Yongxian feels that he was somewhat misguided.

"After I took over as the commander of the 35th Regiment, I found that the officers and soldiers of the 35th Regiment lacked combat experience. Many of our grassroots commanders in the 35th Regiment had learned only simple infantry tactics during training, but nothing else. Commander, I lead troops in battle. But my troops, from top to bottom, have basically never fought a battle. Under such circumstances, how could I let the 35th Regiment go up to fight when suddenly encountered a Japanese raid? Especially when the 34th and 35th Regiments attacked Wanping County together, the various offensive tactics of the troops were very chaotic. If such a unit went up to fight the Japanese directly during the counter-sweep, who knows how serious the casualties would be. But if the troops don't fight, they can't make any progress."

"So I decided to disperse the 35th Regiment. Let them first learn how to march and evade the enemy during the war. These things are usually trained, but only through actual combat can they be fully mastered. Afterwards, I arranged for the troops to ambush small Japanese units or transport units. I chose units with fewer Japanese and puppet troops. This was to allow the officers and soldiers to learn how to fight in a short period of time. Many of the officers and soldiers in our 35th Regiment are students, and their comprehension skills are quite good. After a few battles, they will be able to integrate what they have learned.

Xiao Yongshi nodded repeatedly.

It turns out that the commander of a unit is so important.

Song Zhiyuan and Gui Jiu both took over the command of the regiment at the same time, and the 34th and 35th Regiments had similar foundations. However, their choices were completely different. Song Zhiyuan knew the strengths and weaknesses of his own unit, so he chose to minimize casualties and train his troops during the war.

The results are indeed very good.

The 35th Regiment suffered few casualties, but during the previous counter-mopping-up operation, they were constantly pursued by the Japanese. However, during this pursuit, they learned how to march and how to escape. Never underestimate this. Chairman Mao said that war is about preserving oneself and destroying the enemy. To preserve oneself, one must learn how to escape on the battlefield. This is a profound skill. Later, they followed Song Zhiyuan in a surprise attack on a small Japanese unit, effectively participating in the war firsthand. Lower-level commanders also began to learn how to fight.

Song Zhiyuan was an officer from the Northeast Army who graduated from a regular military academy. He taught these grassroots commanders how to fight on the battlefield. After the anti-mopping-up campaign and the fighting in recent days, the troops have improved a lot in all aspects.

That's why Song Zhiyuan dared to fight the Japanese army now to boost the morale of the troops and further train them.

Chapter 291 A blow to the head

"During this period, I sent the troops out in company-sized units. We either attacked the puppet troops, or attacked Japanese and puppet troop convoys, or even attacked Japanese and puppet troop strongholds. This was to improve the troops' tactical capabilities, the command capabilities of the grassroots commanders, and to fully adapt the troops to war. The current 35th Regiment, while not comparable to the 16th and 18th Regiments, is also not the 35th Regiment of a few months ago."

Song Zhiyuan is very confident.

Xiao Yongshi nodded.

Then he said, "Well, I'll follow the First Battalion and watch them block the Japanese head-on. You go to the Second Battalion and attack the Japanese from a high point. Comrade Feng Linqi will be responsible for leading the other troops and the logistics department to retreat together."

Xiao Yongshi still wanted to go and take a look.

Only by personally observing could one accurately determine the 35th Regiment's combat effectiveness. Xiao Yongshi, as both the commander and political commissar of the Pingbei Detachment, must clearly grasp the strength of his troops. Only then could future battles be planned without problems.

"Commander, it's too dangerous."

"We've all been through the battlefield, so how can we avoid even the slightest danger? As long as you have confidence in the combat effectiveness of your 35th Regiment, there will be no danger.

Qianmen Gorge.

It's like a large bottle.

The road before Qianmen Gorge was about 20 to 30 meters wide for a long stretch. But after reaching Qianmen Gorge, the road narrowed. For about 400 meters, it was only about 6 meters wide, and at its widest point, less than 8 meters.

The mountains on both sides of the road were not high. It was not until we reached Qianmen Gorge that high points began to appear on both sides.

It really is a natural defensive position.

Furthermore, going further in, the roads were mostly mountainous. Of course, this area was also the poorest in the region. It was for this reason that the 35th Regiment's headquarters was located here. A few hours was a bit short, but it was enough for the 35th Regiment to make its deployment.

“The spacing is too short.”

Xiao Yongshi followed the first battalion and watched it deploy its positions.

The 35th Regiment had indeed made significant progress in all areas. From the trenches they had dug and the defensive lines they had constructed, to the lack of any sign of nervousness on the faces of the officers and soldiers of the 35th Regiment, it was clear they had put in a lot of effort. Under normal circumstances, Xiao Yongshi would have intervened.

Because Xiao Yongshi intervened directly and the procedure was wrong.

But the First Battalion's soldiers were arranged in the trenches with quite a bit of spacing between them; it was simply too dense. That's why Xiao Yongshi spoke up.