Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Although there are still some troops in Zhangjiakou, it is generally considered an empty city. The Japanese troops in Zhangjiakou, including the logistics personnel, currently number less than 2,000. But Zhangjiakou is so big, what can two thousand people do?

Faced with the temptation of Zhangjiakou, can the Eighth Route Army resist?

Will they gather tens of thousands of people and fight to the death in Zhangjiakou?

Thinking of this, Okabe Naosaburo and Tanaka Shinichi were both shocked.

"Commander, the Eighth Column has plenty of troops. What if they're really desperate and insist on taking Zhangjiakou?

"The Eighth Route Army is not that kind of force.

"What if?"

Tanaka Shinichi was very anxious.

He said on the map, "Commander, take a look. This is the Chaxi Detachment of the Eighth Column. They're wreaking havoc on the Pingsui Road from Zhangjiakou to Datong. Judging from the feedback we've received, they've deployed at least 10,000 troops. What if they give up on destroying the Pingsui Road and head straight north for Zhangjiakou?"

"The 8th Column's Chadong Detachment has also given up on destroying the Ping-Sui Road and joined forces with their Pingbei Detachment to encircle Zhangjiakou. Together with the 8th Column's Chanan Detachment, they will be able to mobilize around 30,000 troops. Although they lack siege weapons, with so many troops besieging Zhangjiakou, it would be very dangerous. After all, Zhangjiakou is so large, and if our limited forces are dispersed for defense, if any of them is breached by the Eighth Route Army, then Zhangjiakou will be truly undefendable.

The current situation is very embarrassing for the troops stationed in Mongolia.

There are no troops at hand.

The 16nd Independent Mixed Brigade was the only unit that could be mobilized. However, within a few days, the nd Independent Battalion of the nd Independent Mixed Brigade was nearly completely wiped out by the Cha'nan Detachment in Zhuolu, and the th Independent Battalion was completely wiped out by the Cha'dong Detachment in Kangzhuang. Furthermore, the st Independent Battalion of the nd Independent Mixed Brigade and other special forces were trapped in Huailai by the th Regiment.

As for the Third Independent Battalion in Tianzhen, it was difficult to deal with the Chaxi Detachment.

The five garrison battalions on the Pingsui Road also suffered heavy losses during this period.

The fort, once thought to be infallible, had been easily captured by the Eighth Route Army. The Japanese and puppet troops stationed there suffered heavy casualties. In the current situation, Tanaka Shinichi had to consider the worst-case scenario.

What if the 8th Column really doesn't care about anything else and insists on attacking Zhangjiakou?

"Then what do you mean?"

"Commander, we must reduce our forces now. Otherwise, we will be overwhelmed one by one by the Eighth Route Army. By the time we have no more troops, the counties around Zhangjiakou will probably be taken by them. In the end, they will definitely besiege Zhangjiakou.

"Didn't I already order the troops to withdraw?"

"Commander, what I mean is that we abandon all those outlying strongholds and redoubts, including those on important transportation routes. We must withdraw all our troops and deploy them around Zhangjiakou."

"Have you ever thought about what the consequences will be?"

Okabe Naosaburo said very seriously.

Tanaka Shinichi said nothing.

Tanaka Shinichi certainly understood the outcome. The Eighth Route Army was a force that thrived under the slightest glimmer of hope. If the Japanese retreated, the locals would quickly be seduced by the Eighth Route Army once they occupied many areas.

Even if the Japanese army reoccupies the area in the future, public security in that area will be a big problem.

Okabe Naosaburo sighed.

After thinking for a long time, he said, "If too many troops withdraw to the vicinity of Zhangjiakou, we will lose even more counties. The two of us will probably have to return home to face punishment."

"Commander, with the full deployment of the Eighth Route Army this time, the number of counties lost across North China will be much more than just one or two. Our troops stationed in Mongolia were deployed to support the battle on the Zhengtai Road, and the resulting large-scale deployment has led to the current situation. The loss of a few counties is of no concern to us. However, if anything were to go wrong in Zhangjiakou, both of us would be brought to court-martial."

Tanaka Shinichi spoke softly.

At present, the Eighth Route Army has caused such a big commotion that even Zhengtai Road has been smashed to pieces.

After this war is over, the headquarters will definitely hold you accountable.

The first person to be held accountable was the commander of the North China Front Army, then the commander of the First Army, and finally the Mongolian garrison.

But once the Mongolian troops lost Zhangjiakou, the matter would not be a simple matter of accountability.

If he returns to China, he may be tried in a military court or even be shot.

“Let me think about it.

Okabe Naosaburo closed his eyes and thought for a long time.

He said, "Retreat. Abandon all outposts. Immediately send a telegram to the front army headquarters, informing them of what is happening here. Request that the front army send troops to support them."

The news reached the North China Front Army.

After receiving the news, Tada Shun just sighed deeply and did not get angry because of the loss of Zhuolu.

It’s really because there has been too much bad news recently.

The loss of the deer was just one piece of bad news.

Although the capture of Zhuolu by the Eighth Route Army directly affected the situation in Chahar, Tada Shun did not make a fuss as he had previously. After the outbreak of the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army had captured more than one or two important counties. Even Jingjing County was captured by the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Column, so it was not impossible for the Eighth Route Army to capture other counties.

Tada Shun sighed and asked, "Do we have any troops that can support the Mongolian troops now?"

"No."

Yamashita Tomoyuki answered very straightforwardly.

Because there are really no troops, the North China Front Army currently has no mobile forces to draw upon.

Tada Shun smiled bitterly.

Yes, the North China Front Army currently has no troops. They finally managed to divert what mobile units they could to Zhengtai Road, and now there are no mobile forces left in the entire North China region. Initially, due to insufficient manpower, they even diverted the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Mongolian Army south. Where can they find reinforcements for the Mongolian Army now?

The important railways and highways in Hebei and Shanxi have been attacked and largely disrupted. The most important route is the Zhengtai Road, which must be secured first. Previously, the Japanese army intended to use the strongholds and forts along the Zhengtai Road to isolate the 129th Division from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area. However, with the Eighth Route Army's severance of the Zhengtai Road, it became the Eighth Route Army that was supposed to be cutting off the Japanese forces in Hebei and Shanxi.

This was something the North China Front Army could not accept.

Therefore, he said, "Reply to Okabe-kun: Have the Mongolian garrison reduce its forces and make sure to secure the core area around Zhangjiakou. Once we resolve the situation on the Zhengtai Road, we will definitely reinforce the Mongolian garrison."

"Yes."

Chapter 337 Expanding the Scale of the Battle

Zhang Zihua wanted to fight a battle to change the situation for Xuan Zhuohuai, and he did it.

The capture of Lu County by the Eighth Column directly changed the situation in the Xuanzhuohuai area.

This was the first county town captured by the Eighth Column after the Ping-Sui Road raid, and it was also a very important city. After being captured by the Japanese army in November 1937, Zhuolu County returned to the hands of the Chinese army.

More importantly, Zhuolu is in a very good location.

Eighty miles to the northwest is Xuanhua, and seventy miles to the northeast is Huailai.

The distance between the two county towns was less than a hundred miles. Even without using railways or roads, they could be reached within a day by walking alone. In the past, the Eighth Column would never have dared to capture such an important city.

Even if you conquer it, you can't control it.

But it's different now.

The Chanan Detachment not only captured Zhuolu, but also directly stationed its troops in Zhuolu and had no intention of leaving.

With Zhuolu under their control, the Eighth Route Army could threaten both Xuanhua and Huailai simultaneously. They could even cut off the connection between Xuanhua and Huailai at any time. The Pingsui Road from Zhangjiakou to Huailai was directly under the control of the Chanan Detachment.

The troops stationed in Mongolia could not withstand the attack of the Chahar Detachment, and the North China Front Army was also helpless in the face of the current situation of the troops stationed in Mongolia.

Therefore, they were unable to help the troops stationed in Mongolia.

Tell the troops stationed in Mongolia that the North China Front Army has no reinforcements to send, and require the troops stationed in Mongolia to defend the core territory of Chahar with Zhangjiakou as the center.

The troops stationed in Mongolia had no choice but to start withdrawing their forces.

Many of the strongholds and redoubts that the Japanese had worked so hard to build were abandoned after the loss of Zhuolu County. In just a few days, the Mongolian troops had abandoned more than 30 strongholds and 70 redoubts.

The 8th Column immediately notified local troops and people in the base area.

All these strongholds and bunkers were demolished. Moreover, during the Japanese retreat, the Eighth Column pursued them and attacked them. Moreover, the Japanese army withdrew its forces, especially the surrounding forces to Zhangjiakou, which resulted in a lack of defense in many places in Chahar.

The Eighth Column is becoming more and more active.

On the third day after the capture of Zhuolu, the Chanan and Chadong detachments jointly captured Xinbaoan Station. Xinbaoan Station and Kangzhuang Station were the two most important stations between Beiping North and Zhangjiakou on the Pingsui Railway.

They were captured one after another by the Eighth Route Army troops.

Afterwards, the Chanan Detachment broke through Xiahuayuan for the second time.

Even more unacceptable to the Japanese army, as the Mongolian garrison was shrinking, the Chabei Detachment and the First Special Agent Regiment jointly captured Guyuan County. This also became the second county captured by the Eighth Column after the Hundred Regiments Campaign began.

Afterwards, the Chabei Detachment and the First Special Forces Regiment went south to attack Chongli County.

The more active the Eighth Column was, the more nervous the troops stationed in Mongolia became. They kept pulling troops from the surrounding areas back to defend Zhangjiakou. As a result, the surrounding troops continued to decrease, making the Eighth Column's activities even more tense.

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region can be said to have shone brightly this time.

The First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, plus the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Divisions of the Hebei-Central Military Region, a total of ten military divisions, sent out nearly 80 regiments to participate in the Hundred Regiments Campaign.

Not only did it completely paralyze the eastern section of the Zhengtai Road, it even cut off a long section of the Pinghan Railway.

The Zhengtai Road raid was a resounding success, far surpassing the historic Hundred Regiments Campaign. Furthermore, with the 110th Division stationed in Shijiazhuang to protect the Zhengtai and Pinghan Roads, the mopping-up force in eastern Hebei became the 27th Division.

The strength of the 27th Division is obviously inferior to that of the 110th Division.

As a result, the Eighth Route Army in Jidong and Rehe became active again. In order to support the Zhengtai Road raid, the Jireliao Advance Army also began to attack everywhere.

Although the Ji-Re-Liao advance wasn't going very smoothly, the main force and local troops were still able to deploy over 20,000 men. The troops lacked a unified plan, so each unit fought independently. However, even with these units fighting independently, Ji-East had many outstanding generals.

They each led their own troops and fought with flying colors. Although compared with the Jin-Cha-Ji Beiyue District and the Hebei Central Military District, it was really mediocre. But for the 27th Division, which was responsible for stabilizing the situation in eastern Hebei, the pressure was still great.

Then came the 11th and 12th Military Divisions, which launched the final attack.

It even beat the troops stationed in Mongolia into retreat. It can be said that among the current Eighth Route Army, the only area that can beat the Japanese army into retreat within a single area is Chahar.

"The Eighth Column fought well."

All battle reports from various battlefields were reported to Marshal Nie.

Marshal Nie was very satisfied with the battle report from the Eighth Column. Although the Eighth Column was the last to attack, the results were brilliant. So far, they have captured two county towns in succession, and it seems that they can continue to capture other county towns.

"Commander, this is not the full strength of the Eighth Column. Up to now, the Eighth Column has not fought any tough battles. The Eighth Column still has enough strength."

Although the 8th Column achieved brilliant results in the battle, it did not really exert its full strength.

Until now, they had never fought the big and tough battles like before. It was only because the North China Front Army had withdrawn its troops to the south, and the Eighth Column took advantage of the sparse Japanese forces around to attack, so it looked so powerful.

"Yes, the Eighth Column hasn't fully exerted its strength yet."

Marshal Nie nodded.

Marshal Nie knew the powerful combat capability of the Eighth Column and that it still had enough strength to launch a larger-scale battle.

By now, the first phase of the Hundred Regiments Campaign has basically ended.

However, the Central Committee requested that the Eighth Route Army units continue their efforts and prepare for the second phase to expand their victories. In the Jin-Cha-Ji region, preparations for the second phase of the Hundred Regiments Campaign had already begun.

Of course, the Eighth Column must also participate.