Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Their purpose is simple.

Grab some weapons and ammunition, grab some food and clothes.

They don't have big appetites.

It is enough to work on one car at a time.

These local troops and militia forces were very happy during this period.

Because they dug pits, planted mines, fired cold guns, and used various other methods to rob things on the road, they really robbed a lot of good things. Because in order to prepare for the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the Japanese army had to transport a large number of troops and a large amount of supplies to that place.

A good place right next to the highway.

They were happy, but the Japanese army was very troubled.

These local troops and militia forces have poor combat effectiveness.

But don't underestimate them.

Each attack was more powerful than the last. The methods used were varied, making it difficult for the Japanese to defend themselves. Even some small units of the main force took a fancy to Japanese supplies. Despite their small number, these small units were very powerful.

If they rob a car every few days, it would be enough for a company or a battalion.

While casualties along the way weren't heavy, and the lost items weren't huge either, reports of this kind surfaced almost daily, and when you add up the daily losses, the total is enormous. Okamura Neiji was furious when he received these reports. If it weren't for the strong orders from the Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army, Okamura Neiji would have certainly concentrated his forces to wipe out these Eighth Route Army troops.

Although Ningci Gangcun posed a huge threat and caused huge casualties to the Eighth Route Army in history, he did not have much contact with the Chinese Communist Army except for a brief period of clearing out the Northeast Volunteer Army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army in the Northeast.

After the July 7 Incident, he led his troops on the front line.

The Eighth Route Army's tactics were mainly learned through information.

But this time he truly felt the difference between the Eighth Route Army and other troops. Even though the main force of the Eighth Route Army had not been dispatched, the local troops and militia alone had caused them great trouble.

Ningji Okamura deeply felt the "harm" of the Eighth Route Army.

Ningci Gangcun now has a stronger desire to wipe out the Eighth Route Army. He has a strong premonition that if he does not wipe out these Eighth Route Army now, who will control North China in the future?

Unfortunately, the headquarters paid more attention to the national army.

They wanted to strike the Central Army and force Chongqing to surrender.

The North China Front Army began preparing for the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign in February. However, it took more than three months for the frontline troops to be fully replenished with new soldiers and have almost all of their supplies brought in. But the troops couldn't just go into battle like that.

We have just added new recruits and they also need to get used to each other.

Although the Japanese military had a relatively comprehensive conscription system, and many new recruits received military training, this training was significantly different from that of veterans who had fought in actual battles. After joining the army, these new recruits also had to adapt to the troops and to combat.

Of course, this was when the July 7 Incident had just happened.

The quality of the new recruits added by the Japanese army now is much worse than before. When the July 200 Incident just broke out, the army was expanded, and the new recruits who came in had fired to rounds of live ammunition, and the least had fired rounds of live ammunition.

But it didn’t work later.

By around 40, some of the new recruits hadn't even fired 100 rounds. Meanwhile, the massive new recruits for the North China Front had only undergone live-fire training once in Japan.

Although these recruits had received training in the country, they had only fired 30 rounds of live ammunition.

It can be seen how serious the decline in the quality of Japanese recruits is.

Although Ningci Okamura did not want to initiate the so-called Battle of Southern Shanxi, since he had accepted the order, he would of course give it his all. However, if he wanted to attack Zhongtiao Mountain, he would also need to eliminate the Nationalist Army stronghold north of Zhongtiao Mountain.

At this time, the Japanese army had assembled the 17th Division, the 21st Division, and the 33rd Division in Zhongtiao Mountain, as well as the 35th Division, part of the 110th Division, the 37th Division, the 41st Division, and part of the 36th Division drawn from Henan, as well as the st Independent Mixed Brigade stationed in Handan, the rd Independent Mixed Brigade and the th Independent Mixed Brigade on Zhengtai Road, the th Independent Mixed Brigade and the th Cavalry Brigade of the Mongolian Army.

A total of 100,000 troops.

On May 1941, 5, the Japanese army launched the Zhongtiao Mountain periphery operation.

The main targets were the 15th and 27th Armies of the Nationalist Army. The 15th Army was a unit of the Zhensong Army that emerged after the Xinhai Revolution, and the 27th Army was a unit formed by the transfer of He Yaozu's and Sun Chuanfang's Hunan Army.

They are currently stationed on the outskirts of Zhongtiao Mountain.

The Japanese army launched the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign and first had to eliminate these peripheral troops.

However, despite the large-scale troop movements of the Japanese army, which even began to sweep away the peripheral nationalist troops, the nationalist troops on Zhongtiao Mountain were still not very vigilant. For them, the Japanese army had not carried out a large-scale battle on Zhongtiao Mountain for a long time.

In previous attacks, the number of people was limited.

Relying on the geographical advantages of Zhongtiao Mountain, they were able to stop the Japanese army.

As a result, the Nationalist troops were extremely low on guard. Many even openly collaborated with the Japanese and puppet troops, allowing their spies to freely enter and exit Zhongtiao Mountain. The Japanese had complete knowledge of the Nationalist army's defensive deployments.

However, the Japanese army launched the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain much later.

Historically, the Japanese army officially launched the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign in May. However, in this time and space, the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Offensive dealt the Japanese army such a heavy blow that it took them longer to assemble troops and supplies. It wasn't until May that they hastily launched the Zhongtiaoshan Outer Campaign.

The peripheral battles were not going very smoothly.

It took a long time to completely eliminate the troops outside Zhongtiao Mountain.

The troops then readjusted their deployment, and it was not until mid-June that the Japanese army began to formally deploy its troops and started the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.

Chapter 356 Political Battle

The Battle of Zhongtiaoshan officially broke out on June 1941, 6, which was more than forty days later than in history.

The influence of Wei Hongjun's flapping wings on history is growing. The heavy casualties of the Japanese army in the Hundred Regiments Campaign and the severe damage to the Zhengtai Road and Pingsui Road directly affected the outbreak of the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign.

It took the Japanese troops an unknown amount of time just to assemble in southern Shanxi.

It was very difficult to gather in southern Shanxi.

Furthermore, the Japanese troops participating in the attack had recently received an excessive number of new recruits. Although their numbers remained the same as in history, their combat effectiveness was significantly lower. After all, many of the Japanese troops participating in the attack had suffered devastating losses during the Hundred Regiments Campaign, with some even being annihilated in their entirety. Even if these troops were supplemented with new recruits and officers, their combat effectiveness would be significantly reduced.

Originally, after these troops were recruited, they should have been trained for at least two months before going to the battlefield.

But where is the time?

The Imperial Headquarters and the Chinese Expeditionary Force had been urging General Okamura Ningji to quickly launch the Battle of Southern Shanxi to eliminate the Nationalist troops on Zhongtiao Mountain, especially the Central Army on Zhongtiao Mountain.

Therefore, Ningci Okamura had no time to train the troops under his command. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the Battle of Southern Shanxi, Ningci Okamura devoted most of his energy to this for half a year after becoming the commander of the North China Front Army.

The Japanese army launched an all-out attack this time, holding nothing back. In contrast, the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain were completely unprepared. The Japanese had attacked Zhongtiao Mountain many times before, but each time they only had a force of 10,000 or 20,000 men, and at most only 30,000 or 40,000 men. So, despite the large Japanese force, the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain thought this attack would be the same as before.

Therefore, their preparations are the same as before.

More relaxed.

Even though the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain had broken out, Wei Lihuang, commander-in-chief of the First War Zone and commander-in-chief of the Hebei-Chahar War Zone, who was supposed to be responsible for the defense of Zhongtiao Mountain, was not at the front line at this time.

He is currently being questioned and criticized in Chongqing.

Because he was too close to Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army.

For those who experienced the Hundred Regiments Campaign of the Eighth Route Army and the Southern Anhui Incident

For Chiang Kai-shek, Yan'an had become his number one enemy.

Compared to the Japanese, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army were his biggest concerns. Although there was intelligence from the front that the Japanese were assembling a large force and were about to launch the Battle of Southern Shanxi, Chiang Kai-shek's attention was focused on sorting out those Nationalist generals who were relatively close to the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

Wei Lihuang was almost under house arrest in Chongqing.

As a result, the command system in the Zhongtiaoshan region was completely disorganized. Zhongtiaoshan brought together the Central Army, the Shaanxi Army, the Yunnan Army, and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, all of which were already at odds with one another. Even when Wei Lihuang was in office, commanding these units was difficult. These units were divided into factions and commanded by their own officers. If the commanding officer even briefly assigned one unit to a difficult mission, they would assume they were cannon fodder and would disobey orders. Furthermore, with Wei Lihuang's absence, these units were even less coordinated.

When Wei Lihuang was there, he was at least familiar with these troops. He also knew the conflicts among them. When deploying for battle, he was able to balance all aspects.

But since Wei Lihuang was not there, these troops were not willing to submit to each other.

What a mess.

The Japanese army was well aware of the defense of Zhongtiao Mountain.

As a result, from the first day of the war, the Nationalist troops in Zhongtiao Mountain were at a complete disadvantage. Fortunately, the Japanese troops attacking Zhongtiao Mountain were not as powerful as the Japanese troops in history. Therefore, although the Nationalist troops were at a complete disadvantage, their defenses did not collapse immediately.

"Old leader, we are so far away from Zhongtiao Mountain. No matter what we do, we can't help them. Besides, Chiang Kai-shek has the nerve to ask us to send troops to help. He forgot that he launched the "Southern Anhui Incident" just a few months ago and attacked our New Fourth Army troops.

The Eighth Column really has all kinds of tasks.

On the third day after the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain broke out, Yang Quanwu personally came to Sheng County from Laiyuan.

There is only one content.

Allowing the Eighth Column to stir up trouble in Chahar was a tactic of encircling Wei to save Zhao, aiding the Nationalist forces in Zhongtiao Mountain. Both Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were baffled. Chahar and Zhongtiao Mountain were literally thousands of miles apart.

Even if we attack Wei to save Zhao, it will not be Chahar's turn.

Even if something really happens in Chahar, what help will it provide to Zhongtiao Mountain?

Besides, the Nationalist Army had just launched the "Southern Anhui Incident" at the beginning of the year, and destroyed the New Fourth Army headquarters. The blood feud between the two sides deepened again. Especially for these troops in Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei, the New Fourth Army and they are of the same lineage. Most of the New Fourth Army troops were the troops left in the Soviet area by the Central Red Army. They used to be in the same unit. To attack the New Fourth Army troops is to attack themselves for these cadres in Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei. Now they want the Eighth Route Army to help them, which is not a joke. Besides, the Japanese army frequently mobilized the 37th Division and the 41st Division to participate in the base area sweep, and there was no help from the Nationalist Army in Zhongtiao Mountain.

"This is not a military battle, but a political battle."

Yang Quanwu explained with a smile.

"Since launching the Battle of Zhongtiaoshan, the Japanese have been promoting an agreement with the Eighth Route Army not to attack each other. Now the news has spread across the country, and many newspapers are openly questioning whether we are truly collaborating with the Japanese." The Ta Kung Pao even published an article criticizing us. This has been very detrimental to our public opinion.

"Old leader, isn't this just finding excuses to accuse someone? And those reporters, they know nothing. Our Eighth Route Army troops are not like the Nationalist Army troops. They can quickly replenish ammunition and have sufficient logistical supplies after a battle. During the Hundred Regiments Campaign at the end of last year, many troops used up two or three years' worth of ammunition, and their guns were almost useless as firewood. Moreover, many troops suffered heavy casualties, and now a large number of new recruits have entered the army and are undergoing intensive training. In the current situation, how can we launch a large-scale battle? Although there have been no large-scale battles, the small-scale battles between us and the Japanese army have been going on all the time and have never stopped.

Wang Qiuyun was very angry.

It's easy for reporters to write articles in the office, but it's not so easy to fight behind enemy lines. Behind enemy lines, any slackness will result in the loss of one's life.

The Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign, which looked impressive. But it also came at a heavy price. Many troops consumed vast quantities of ammunition, leaving many soldiers in the 120th and 129th Divisions with only two rounds of ammunition.

How to fight a war in such a situation?

Wei Hongjun also nodded.

Although half a year had passed since the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army units were still recuperating and recovering. This was why the Central Committee had repeatedly emphasized that the Eighth Route Army units should engage in mountain guerrilla warfare, mobile warfare, and ambush tactics, avoiding face-to-face conventional combat.

It was because of this kind of battle that the Eighth Route Army lacked heavy weapons.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army suffered heavy casualties and consumed a lot of ammunition, which was simply not something they could afford. After the Hundred Regiments Campaign, many troops did not recover until 1943.

Yang Quanwu nodded and said, "This is the most contradictory part now.

Chongqing has invited the Eighth Route Army to fight, and public opinion is unfavorable to us. However, as you all know, the Eighth Route Army's current situation is quite good. Many units are capable of small-scale ambushes, but it's extremely difficult to launch significant battles to counter this public opinion. Therefore, the headquarters decided that the Eighth Route Army's 120th and 129th Divisions, along with the Jin-Cha-Ji troops, would primarily ambush Japanese convoys on the highway. They would not conduct large-scale raids to support the Nationalist forces in Zhongtiao Mountain. However, to restore public opinion, the Eighth Route Army still needed to make some statements. Ultimately, the headquarters and the military region decided that the Eighth Route Army's th Column would undertake the task of countering public opinion. This is because during the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the th Column suffered few casualties and, in fact, significantly increased its strength. If any unit in the entire Eighth Route Army could shoulder this heavy responsibility, it would be yours.

"That is to say, there must be a battle."

"Correct."

After hearing what Yang Quanwu said, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun finally understood the whole story.

This is indeed a political battle.

In fact, given the current situation between the Nationalist Army and the Eighth Route Army, if it weren't for this public opinion, the Eighth Route Army would have ignored the Nationalist Army in Zhongtiao Mountain. The Eighth Route Army is not a saintly gentleman. The Nationalist Army had just ambushed the New Fourth Army headquarters and even declared the New Fourth Army a rebel. Now they still want the Eighth Route Army to come out to help, but it's not going to be easy.

The fact that the two sides did not engage in a full-scale fight was the result of restraint on the part of Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army. Otherwise, the Eighth Route Army would have taken up arms and engaged these Nationalist troops.