Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Besides, in the anti-mopping-up campaign in 1941, the stronger the First Division was, the more the entire Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region would benefit.

After all, Division One has the most troops.

The combat effectiveness is also the strongest.

Yang Quanwu smiled and said, "I won't take advantage of you. Are you planning to form some new groups?"

"Yes. We've formed three new regiments, each with between 1500 and 2000 men. We plan to train them for six months, either to supplement existing units or to form new ones."

"How about this? I'll give you the Second Training Battalion of the First Division. Let me tell you, this Second Training Battalion was formed by selecting 500 squad and platoon-level officers from various units in the First Division, plus 500 veterans who have returned from injury. We've been training for about four months, and the various units below are watching closely. If you want to form a new unit, you'll definitely need a large number of grassroots commanders. I'll transfer the Second Training Battalion as a whole to your Eighth Column. Of course, I won't hand over the battalion commander, political commissar, and instructors of the Second Training Battalion to your Eighth Column. I'll also form another Second Training Battalion.

Yang Quanwu attaches great importance to training grassroots commanders.

One training brigade wasn't enough, so he formed two within the same division. Both the first and second training brigades were composed of squad and platoon-level cadres and veterans, training them batch by batch.

Yang Quanwu’s goal is that all grassroots commanders in the first division must receive such training.

Only in this way can the troops be truly knowledge-based, regularized and professional.

If the First Division hadn't consumed so much ammunition, he wouldn't have given the entire training battalion to the Eighth Column. But now, ammunition was more important. Yang Quanwu still had some ammunition reserves, but he wasn't reassured. With so many troops in the First Division, the amount of bullets consumed in each battle was staggering. So he needed more ammunition reserves to survive the Japanese army's large-scale sweeps. However, the entire Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Army consumed a large amount of ammunition during the Hundred Regiments Campaign. The only unit with sufficient ammunition reserves was the Eighth Column.

The Eighth Column didn't fight many tough battles during the Hundred Regiments Campaign, and their ammunition consumption was limited, but the spoils they captured were astonishing.

Three hundred thousand rounds of ammunition was an astronomical number for other military divisions, but Yang Quanwu knew that the Eighth Column could provide so many rounds.

Wang Qiuyun was the happiest.

Said: "Old leader, you are too polite."

A training brigade of 200 men, with about men, could provide the grassroots cadres needed by a small regiment. This was enough for company and platoon level cadres. This training brigade could easily be deployed to the Eighth Column, providing the cadre needs of three new recruit regiments.

Moreover, these cadres are outstanding commanders who have fought in battles, led troops, and studied in teaching brigades.

These are all treasures of the district.

The Eighth Column was expanding rapidly, so its grassroots commanders were definitely not as strong as those of the First Division. Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were very pleased to be able to retrieve a thousand grassroots commanders from the First Division at once.

This is a true complementary advantage.

The Eighth Column had ammunition, and the First Division had cadres. After this allocation of resources, the strength of both the First Division and the Eighth Column grew.

"When you go back, take the Second Teaching Brigade directly with you."

Yang Quanwu felt distressed.

After all, he had trained these grassroots commanders for over four months. But thinking of the 300,000 rounds of ammunition and 500 artillery shells, Yang Quanwu felt it was a good deal. With so much ammunition, he wouldn't have to worry about the next Japanese raid.

Chapter 350: Conflict between Ningji Okamura and the Expeditionary Force

At the end of December 1940, the North China Front Army welcomed their new commander, Ningci Gangcun.

This Japanese general, who historically caused great difficulties for the Eighth Route Army, flew from Tokyo to Beijing. After receiving his appointment, General Okamura Neiji resigned from his position as commander of the 11th Army of the Central China Front Army and flew back to Japan. He was quickly promoted to general in Japan, but before spending even a few days there, he hurriedly flew to Beijing to officially assume the position of commander of the North China Front Army.

The appointment was very sudden.

Even Okamura Neiji himself was disgusted. He was still considering the next battle plan in the 11th Army of the Central China Front Army when he suddenly received an order to take over as the commander of the North China Front Army.

However, it was precisely because he was appointed as the commander of the North China Front Army that the headquarters promoted him. Otherwise, it would have taken another year for Ningji Okamura to become a general. The reason why the headquarters hurriedly appointed Ningji Okamura as the commander of the North China Front Army was because the situation in North China was too dire.

After the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the North China Front Army reacted too slowly. For days, the Eighth Route Army launched raids on the Zhengtai Road, but the First Army in Shanxi remained silent. By the time the First Army finally responded, the situation on the Zhengtai Road was already out of control. The North China Front Army itself didn't begin mobilizing troops until several days later. And while it did respond, the entire process was chaotic. Even subsequent retaliatory raids yielded limited results. Even more seriously, the security situation in Rehe, Chahar, and eastern Hebei was deteriorating.

Especially Chahar.

Chahar had completely become the territory of the Eighth Route Army. The Pingsui Road, connecting Peking, Zhangjiakou, Datong, and Suiyuan, was now completely severed. The troops stationed in Mongolia, defeated by the Eighth Route Army, retreated to Zhangjiakou and became cowards, allowing the Eighth Route Army to run rampant.

Although Chahar was under the administration of the North China Front Army, it was garrisoned by the Mongolian Army.

But the Kwantung Army regarded Chahar as their second line of defense in Mongolia, so they placed a lot of supplies in Zhangjiakou.

Once Mongolia needs it, supplies can be directly transferred from Zhangjiakou.

But what a mess Chahar has become now.

Then there was the 11th Regiment of the Ji-Rehe-Liaoning Advance Army, wreaking havoc in Rehe. Rehe was directly controlled by the Kwantung Army. The presence of Eighth Route Army troops in Rehe was unacceptable to the Kwantung Army, and neither was it acceptable to the Japanese Imperial Headquarters. Rehe was so close to the Northeast, and if Rehe was lost, the Northeast would also be affected. The Northeast was a very special place for Japan, and they could not allow any problems in the Northeast to occur.

The Japanese army finally defeated the large number of Northeast Volunteer Army and wiped out the powerful Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. If the Eighth Route Army in the interior of the country were to infiltrate and unite with the Anti-Japanese United Army in the Northeast, the security situation in the Northeast would be in jeopardy again.

The Japanese Imperial Headquarters absolutely could not accept such a thing. The Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army had become so intolerable with Tada Shun that they dismissed him from his post before the North China Front's military operations were even concluded. They ordered Tada Shun to return to Japan and face questioning from the Imperial Headquarters.

After removing Tada Shun, a new commander of the North China Front Army must of course be appointed.

Finally, the choice was made: General Okamura Neiji, commander of the 11th Army of the Central China Front.

So this appointment was very sudden.

Okamura Ningji himself had no psychological preparation, and he was confused and became a general and the commander of the North China Front Army. However, this was a promotion, from the commander of the 11th Army to the commander of the front army.

Therefore, Ningji Okamura came to Peking very happily.

Upon arriving in Peking, his first act was to inventory his forces. The Hundred Regiments Campaign had just concluded, leaving the Japanese army with heavy casualties, nearly 40000 men. Okamura Neiji naturally needed to know how many troops he could mobilize. But even with some mental preparation, the inventory of the North China Front Army's assets left him deeply shaken, and for a moment, he even regretted coming to North China. The North China Front Army was in such dire straits.

I had thought that the situation of the North China Front Army was not good, but I didn’t expect it to be so bad.

Although the Hundred Regiments Campaign achieved brilliant results, it did not completely wipe out large Japanese units as in previous anti-mopping-up campaigns.

Therefore, most of the North China Front Army is currently in the front line, claiming to have 20 troops. However, after careful investigation by Ningji Okamura, it was discovered that the entire North China Front Army currently has less than 14 troops still in the front line.

A lot less than expected.

In addition to the heavy casualties of the Hundred Regiments Campaign, many local garrisons were severely undermanned. Some garrisons were supposed to have 500 men, but were actually short of 30 or 40 men.

They were ambushed or shot by the Eighth Route Army or its local forces when they went out for sweeping operations.

Several people were killed at a time, or maybe even just one person.

They didn't report this kind of fighting. As a result, these garrison battalions, while nominally strong, were actually significantly short of men. This problem existed at every stronghold and fort. A small unit stationed at the fort, the Japanese, investigated and discovered that some men were missing.

Then there are the large number of patients in the hospital.

Patients with various illnesses are not in the front lines, but are lying in hospitals. As a result, the number of combat-ready personnel in the front lines is less than 14.

This situation made Ningji Okamura very angry.

North China is such a vast area, but the frontline troops are less than 14. This number of troops is not enough to garrison large and medium-sized cities and some transportation hubs, let alone mobile forces to deal with the Eighth Route Army.

The Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign because they saw that the Japanese troops were scattered and undermanned.

Therefore, Ningji Okamura could only ask the headquarters to recruit new soldiers as soon as possible.

As the Japanese army suffered increasing casualties on the Chinese battlefield, the new recruits were no match for the initial supply. Whether in terms of training or fighting spirit, they were far behind. However, despite the difference, the North China Front was short of so many men, so of course, they needed to be replenished as quickly as possible. Besides recruiting new soldiers, Okamura Neiji also had to restore the transportation that had been disrupted by the Eighth Route Army.

It's really not easy.

The Eighth Route Army destroyed more than a thousand miles of railways in Shanxi and Hebei.

Especially those tunnels and bridges, which were so severely damaged that it was more difficult than building a new one.

In addition to railways, important roads were also severely damaged. For the Japanese army, which needed railways and roads to transport troops and supplies, the destruction of railways and roads directly affected the Japanese army's combat effectiveness.

Now he has to organize people to build these railways and roads.

It cost a lot of money and supplies. But there was no other way. Without railways and roads, the Japanese army couldn't quickly mobilize troops during battle. So, Okamura Neiji held his nose and insisted on repairing these railways and roads. In addition to railways and roads, the Eighth Route Army destroyed so many mines and power plants, and tore down so many electric poles and telephone lines. All of these needed to be restored.

Just dealing with these things made Ningji Okamura feel overwhelmed.

After understanding the situation of the North China Front Army, the situation on the North China Front, and the Eighth Route Army, Okamura Neiji realized that the North China Front Army, with its current strength, was simply incapable of defeating the Eighth Route Army. Furthermore, in Shanxi, there were also the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, as well as units from the Central Army and the Shaanxi Army. The Nationalist Army still had over 200,000 troops in Shanxi.

Besides, the North China Front Army also had to manage Shandong. The number of Nationalist and Eighth Route Army troops in Shandong was no less than that in Shanxi.

Therefore, Okamura Neiji told the Imperial Headquarters that simply recruiting new soldiers was insufficient to resolve the current situation in North China. Okamura Neiji also understood some of Tada Shun's previous actions. Tada Shun had repeatedly requested additional troops from the Imperial Headquarters, citing the lack of manpower in the North China Front. However, the Imperial Headquarters refused to agree and instead transferred five independent battalions from the North China Front to support the Central China Front.

Because of this incident, Tada Shun had a long dispute with the Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army.

At that time, Ningji Okamura was still mocking Tada Shun in his heart.

But now he completely understood Tada Shun.

Therefore, Okamura Yasuji sincerely and seriously requested an increase in the North China Front Army's troop strength from Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army. Naturally, both Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army were impressed by the Eighth Route Army's prowess during the Hundred Regiments Offensive and believed the North China Front Army was understaffed. Therefore, they agreed to Okamura Yasuji's request. A month after Okamura Yasuji assumed command of the North China Front Army, Imperial Headquarters agreed to transfer the 17th and 33rd Divisions from the Central China Front Army to the North China Front Army. This meant that the North China Front Army had gained two divisions.

The Imperial Headquarters also transferred troops from the Kwantung Army to join the North China Front Army. The Kwantung Army's 32nd and 83rd Aircraft Squadrons, and the main force of the 3rd Aircraft Group, were also deployed to the North China Front Army.

But Ningji Okamura still felt that the North China Front Army did not have an advantage in Hebei and Shanxi.

Therefore, Ningci Gangcun once again decided to transfer the 21st Division, which was responsible for southwestern Shandong, northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, and eastern Henan, to Shanxi. Ningci Gangcun added three divisions in Hebei and Shanxi. After the new recruits arrived, Ningci Gangcun prepared to launch a large-scale sweep of the Eighth Route Army base areas.

Ningji Okamura was really ready.

Unfortunately, the Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army had completely different views. Their plan, the same as in 1940, was to force the Chongqing government to surrender and quickly resolve the Chinese battlefield. Chongqing was, after all, the legitimate central government in China and possessed the largest number of troops. Therefore, to end the Chinese battlefield, Japan's first priority was to force Chongqing's surrender.

Therefore, the North China Front Army was required to follow this strategy, and Okamura Neiji's plan to concentrate troops to sweep the Eighth Route Army base was rejected.

Of course, Ningji Okamura was dissatisfied.

So I immediately flew to Nanjing.

"Sir Yan Junliu, the biggest threat to North China right now comes from the Eighth Route Army and the Chinese Communist Party. If the Eighth Route Army isn't eliminated, North China will be in turmoil and there will be endless trouble. The Eighth Route Army is short of ammunition, and after fighting a battle of this scale, their ammunition is certainly even more insufficient. So now is the best opportunity. Once we have recruited new soldiers, concentrating our forces to wipe out the Eighth Route Army will be very effective. As long as the Eighth Route Army is destroyed in North China, the remaining forces will be insignificant. How can we attack Zhongtiao Mountain at this time?"

Ningji Okamura didn't hesitate at all and directly expressed his thoughts.

What a mess the Eighth Route Army had become in North China. The headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army had actually left the Eighth Route Army alone and were going to attack Zhongtiao Mountain. This was putting the cart before the horse. So he immediately went to Nanjing and found the new commander-in-chief of the China Expeditionary Army, Yan Junliu.

Both of them were promoted suddenly this time.

Yan Junliu was previously the commander of the Central China Front Army. After the July 7 Incident, Yan Junliu was considered to have made great military achievements. Therefore, this time, the headquarters appointed Yan Junliu as the commander of the China Expeditionary Army and Okamura Ningji as the commander of the North China Front Army.

Okamura Neiji had previously fought under Yan Junroku, so the two were familiar with each other. That's why Okamura Neiji was so direct in expressing his views on North China. Why attack Zhongtiao Mountain? The troops should be concentrated on dealing with the Eighth Route Army at this time.

In the view of Ningji Okamura, the friction between the National Army and the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army was becoming increasingly serious.

Several military conflicts even broke out between the two sides in Shanxi.

Furthermore, after 1939 and 1940, the North China Front Army had a clear understanding of the conflict between the Nationalist Army and the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi. Tada Shun had previously withdrawn troops from the Zhongtiao Mountains front several times to mop up the Eighth Route Army. At the time, the Nationalist Army in Zhongtiao Mountains had largely remained stationary, instead observing the commotion from the outside as the Japanese and Eighth Route Army battled.

Wei Lihuang had a good relationship with the Eighth Route Army, but this relationship was limited.

If the Japanese army attacked, the two sides would have close cooperation in the Zhongtiaoshan area. But if they left the Zhongtiaoshan area and the Japanese army swept the Eighth Route Army, the National Army in Zhongtiaoshan would never take the initiative to attack.

Wei Lihuang can still grasp this balance.

After arriving, Okamura Neiji carefully studied the situation. Since the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain were not actively attacking, why bother to fight them? After analyzing the situation in North China, Okamura Neiji formulated a plan to first sweep away the Eighth Route Army and then deal with the Nationalist troops. He believed that the Eighth Route Army posed a greater threat than the 200,000 Nationalist troops entrenched in Zhongtiao Mountain. The Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain were not going to come out to fight you unless you attacked them. Therefore, the mission of the North China Front Army should be to sweep away the Eighth Route Army base, not to attack Zhongtiao Mountain.

But in the eyes of Ningji Okamura, this very good plan was rejected by the Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army.

Jun Liu said, "Mr. Gangcun, this is not just my idea, it is also the strategy of the headquarters. The China battlefield has dragged on for too long and has affected the overall strategy of the empire. Therefore, the empire needs us to resolve the China problem as soon as possible. But you know that the only way to resolve the China battlefield is to force Chongqing to surrender. As long as Chongqing does not surrender, the China problem cannot be solved. You also know that this is the most difficult time for the Chongqing government. We must seize this opportunity, severely strike the Chongqing government's power, and force the Chongqing government to accept negotiations militarily. As for the Eighth Route Army in North China, it is indeed a big problem. But compared with the grand strategy formulated by the headquarters, it is not the most important thing."

Chapter 351 Angry Ningji Okamura

"Sir Junliu, are you sure you can force the Chongqing government to surrender?"