Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Feng Mulin made every possible preparation, employing tactical deception against the Japanese. He also devised numerous ambush strategies, striving to avoid exposing his weaknesses. Unfortunately, the battlefield tolerated no chance; good was good, bad was bad. Within half an hour, the ambush wiped out over 200 Japanese soldiers, a promising start. However, the remaining 500 Japanese troops, not a single, concentrated force, were divided and surrounded by the Chabei Detachment.

But even with such a Japanese army, the Chabei Detachment could not take it down.

The weakness of the Chabei Detachment's insufficient offensive capabilities was clearly revealed in this ambush.

In the end, the Japanese were completely defeated at the cost of human lives. Wave after wave of attacks, company after company, finally managed to break through the Japanese positions. This was because the Japanese army had so many new recruits. If it had been the veterans of the Japanese army from two or three years ago, the Chabei Detachment would have been unable to break through the Japanese positions.

But the result was shockingly high casualties.

It was the battle with the highest casualties since the establishment of the Chabei Detachment.

Feng Mulin, a general with over a decade of experience, had seen death before. But seeing his fallen comrades on the battlefield, he couldn't help but cry. The Chabei Detachment was entirely developed by Feng Mulin himself.

Many of the officers and soldiers of the Sixth and Seventh Independent Regiments were recruited by Feng Mulin, who personally trained them in combat. But now, many of them have died, and there are still so many wounded. Officer Feng Mulin understands that with the current medical level of the Eighth Column and the battlefield rescue capabilities of the Chabei Detachment, the fact that even half of these wounded are still alive is a stroke of luck.

Feng Mulin felt a sharp pain in his heart when he thought of these things.

“The two battles fought by the Chaxi and Chabei detachments were extremely brutal.

Two big battles in a row.

The Chaxi and Chabei detachments were relatively weak among the five detachments of the Eighth Column. However, these two detachments fought two consecutive ambushes and wiped out 2000 Japanese troops.

For the Eighth Route Army, or for the current Chinese army, this is a great victory worthy of boasting.

But after Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun received the battle report, their faces were very solemn because the price paid for these two ambushes was too high.

The Chaxi Detachment ambushed the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade, and the New Fourth and New Sixth Regiments, which had joined the Chaxi Detachment in ambushing the Japanese, were completely crippled. Zhang Shan, the commander of the New Fourth Regiment, was seriously injured, and other battalion and company-level cadres also suffered heavy casualties.

In the short term, both the New Fourth and New Sixth Regiments were unable to participate in the battle.

The situation of the Chabei Detachment is even more serious.

The Chabei Detachment deployed its two main regiments, the Sixth and Seventh Independent Regiments, ultimately suffering over 2000 casualties. These two main regiments were severely damaged in this battle. It could even be said that the entire Chabei Detachment was severely damaged by this battle.

Zhao Junyou, commander of the 7th Independent Regiment, died in battle.

Zhao Junyou was a cadre in the 10th Brigade of the 3rd Division. At the time, the Column had assigned the entire 3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, of the 10th Brigade to the Chabei Detachment. Zhao Junyou was not only a veteran of the Red Army, but had also made outstanding contributions to the Chabei Detachment in recent years. Unexpectedly, he was killed in this ambush.

The Chabei Detachment's Sixth and Seventh Independent Regiments, like the New Fourth and New Sixth Regiments, were simply unable to go to the battlefield in a short period of time.

"Commander, Political Commissar, the Chabei Detachment needs training.

Xu Luomin reviewed the battle report and said, "Although the Chabei Detachment lacked heavy weapons, the ferocity of this battle and the heavy casualties are still related to the unit's combat effectiveness. If the Chanan, Pingbei, or Chadong Detachments had the same weapons and equipment, the casualties would definitely not be so high. The situation of the Chabei Detachment clearly shows that the unit's offensive capabilities are insufficient. This is due to the lack of excellent and qualified grassroots cadres."

“Well, that’s indeed a problem.”

Wang Qiuyun nodded.

He looked at Wei Hongjun and said, "Old Wei, what do you think?"

"It should be retrained."

It was common for the Eighth Route Army to conduct training to improve their combat effectiveness. Troops from the Jizhong Military Region would often enter Fuping for training to improve their combat effectiveness. Once the training was complete, they would return to the Jizhong Military Region.

During the Jidong uprising, the Jidong troops retreated to Pingxi in order to train in the Pingxi base area and improve their combat effectiveness. After the training was completed and the combat effectiveness was improved, they returned to Jidong to fight again.

Unfortunately, on the way back, they were attacked by Japanese and puppet troops, resulting in heavy casualties.

Wei Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "My idea is to allocate one-third of the graduates from the Column's training brigade to the Chabei Detachment. The Sixth and Seventh Independent Regiments suffered heavy casualties this time, so there must be an even greater shortage of grassroots commanders."

"Yes. What the Chabei detachment needs most right now is qualified grassroots cadres.

"One more thing. Comrade Feng Mulin is very good at commanding operations. This time, he performed very well in besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements. However, he has been engaged in guerrilla warfare for many years, and he is somewhat lacking in training his troops for offensive capabilities. I suggest sending a comrade with strong abilities in this area to work with the Chabei Detachment to improve its offensive capabilities."

Wei Hongjun still admires Feng Mulin very much.

This battle clearly demonstrated Feng Mulin's exceptional abilities. He mastered the art of "encircling Wei to save Zhao," "attacking where they must rescue," accompanying the attack on Jining, and ambushing the Japanese. He performed flawlessly in every aspect. However, this doesn't mean Feng Mulin was without flaws.

His biggest weakness was his years of guerrilla warfare, leaving him with little experience in building a strong offensive force. After all, his entire career, from the Red Army until his time with the Chabei Detachment, had primarily been guerrilla warfare. He lacked both the regularization of his troops and their offensive capabilities.

In this case, of course we have to send someone to help him improve in this area.

"That's a good idea. Speaking of this, besides the 16th and 18th Regiments, the most outstanding individuals in our 35th Column are Comrade Song Zhiyuan, Commander of the 37th Regiment, and Comrade Cao Ken, Commander of the 25th Regiment. They are both very good at training the troops and improving their offensive capabilities. Comrade Chen Zuning, Commander of the 39th Regiment, Comrade Guo Changyi, Commander of the 40th Regiment, and Comrade Cai Debao, Commander of the th Regiment, are also very outstanding in this regard."

Wang Qiuyun counted the cadres of the Eighth Column.

Not to mention high-ranking cadres like Xiao Yongshi and Zhang Zihua, among the remaining regimental-level cadres, Song Zhiyuan and Cao are the most outstanding in terms of training troops and regularizing the army.

"How is Cao?"

"Cao Mo is suitable."

Although Cao came from the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, he was really capable.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun both admired Cao Cui very much. Cao Cui served as the commander of the 37th Regiment, and the 37th Regiment became the first-class main force of the th Column.

"Once this anti-mopping-up operation is over, we will appoint Cao Mo to the Chabei Detachment as deputy commander. He will be responsible for training the Chabei Detachment's grassroots commanders and the training of the Chabei Detachment.

"can."

Two victories, but the atmosphere was oppressive.

After the two battles, over 4000 men were killed or wounded, and four regiments were severely damaged and lost their combat effectiveness. Despite the depressing atmosphere, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun handled their work normally. Since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Column had suffered heavy casualties.

This is not the first time there have been such heavy casualties.

The 8th Column defeated the Japanese mopping-up operation and even suffered 16,000 casualties.

So although they felt very sad, the two of them were not unable to accept it.

Compassion does not command troops.

The Eighth Route Army was fighting the Japanese army every moment, so Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun didn't have much time to grieve for the autumn.

After deciding on the matter of the Chabei Detachment, Wei Hongjun pointed to Zhangjiakou and Jining and said: "The Chaxi Detachment and the Chabei Detachment suffered heavy casualties in these two battles, but the results were also very brilliant. After these two battles, the situation here has changed greatly, a change that is completely in our favor. The Mongolian Army was originally short of manpower. More than 2000 Mongolian Army soldiers were annihilated in two battles. The situation of the Mongolian Army is worse than ours. Let's take a look at the area around Zhangjiakou. The Japanese army currently only controls the cities of Zhangjiakou, Xuanhua, and Huaian, with only about 2000 troops. Among them, there are about 1000 people in Zhangjiakou, and about 500 people in Huaian and Xuanhua. Now they dare not leave the city at will. They will inevitably abandon the strongholds and bunkers outside the city and retreat to these cities. City. This way, our Eighth Route Army will be able to fully control all the surrounding towns and villages. Let's look at Jining. The 13nd Battalion of the 1500th Regiment is still fighting the Chaxi Detachment. Even if some of them return to Jining, the Japanese troops in the entire Jining are only about 4000. In such important places as Zhangjiakou and Jining, the current combined strength of the Japanese army is less than . And we have the Chabei Detachment and the Chaxi Detachment here, with a main force of more than people alone. Not to mention that the Chanan Detachment currently semi-encircles Xuanhua, and the Chanan Detachment has nearly main forces here. If the local forces of the three detachments are added together, we have about troops here. It can be said that we have an absolute advantage here of more than ten times.

The 8th Column's continuous attacks on the Mongolian troops have resulted in the Mongolian troops being truly short of soldiers and generals.

The area north of Datong and east of Jining within the Mongolian garrison's defense zone encompasses over twenty counties and a population of three million. Yet, despite this vast territory, the Mongolian garrison currently has fewer than 300 troops. In contrast, the Eighth Column boasts five detachments, over 4000 regiments, and a total of 30 main forces. If all the local forces are included, the number is even greater.

It can be said that the strengths and weaknesses are already very obvious.

In the Chahar and Suiyuan areas, the Japanese army was already at an absolute disadvantage.

"Yes."

Wang Qiuyun nodded.

The current situation is indeed very favorable to the Eighth Column.

It can be said that the Eighth Column has firmly suppressed the troops stationed in Mongolia in the Chahar area.

Xu Luomin added, "Commander, Political Commissar, if we capture Zhangjiakou in one day, then the bases of our 120th Column will be connected. The entire Chahar region will be under our control. By then, we will be able to occupy the entire Chahar region and have more than county towns in our hands. If we capture Jining, then we can open up contact with the th Division's base in northwest Shanxi to the west. Cooperating with the Yituan Corps, we can capture Guisui and Baotou in Suiyuan. This will greatly change the situation in northwest Shanxi and Suiyuan."

"Ok.

When Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun established the anti-Japanese base in Sheng County four years ago, they never imagined that one day they would be able to threaten Zhangjiakou and Jining. The same was true for Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun's original idea was to take advantage of the Japanese army's lack of manpower to establish a base behind enemy lines. However, he never expected that four years later, the base would have developed to the point where it could threaten Zhangjiakou.

Historically, the Eighth Route Army had to wait until the Soviet Red Army moved south before it could capture Zhangjiakou.

But in this time and space, the Eighth Column has sufficient strength to begin threatening Zhangjiakou. Even if the Eighth Column is determined, it is possible to capture Zhangjiakou. If Zhangjiakou is captured, the several bases of the Eighth Column can be completely integrated.

"Old Wang, look. The Japanese army still holds the upper hand on the battlefields across the country, and the national war of resistance is still in a strategic stalemate. Because of the Japanese army's strength, our Eighth Route Army still has to resort to independent mountain guerrilla warfare. But here in Chahar, we already have an absolute advantage in manpower. Our Eighth Column already has the strength to fight a major battle. Moreover, the situation of the Japanese army also gives us the opportunity to fight a major battle."

The North China Front Army was short of troops, so it could only focus on the attack.

In the current Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the Japanese army's main attack was on the First Division. The Japanese army's elite troops mainly targeted the First Division. Therefore, the pressure on the Jixi base area in the First Division was the greatest.

Counties like Laiyuan, Yixian, Mancheng County, and Laishui County were the main battlefields where the First Division fought against the Japanese army.

Tens of thousands of Japanese troops swept through the Jixi base area of ​​the First Division.

There is also the growing three-district area.

The strength of the Third Division is much greater than it was in history. This is actually a transmission. The rise of the Eighth Column in southern Chahar allowed the First Division to boldly develop towards western Hebei, and its development speed was very rapid. The rapid development of the First Division also drove the development of other military divisions in the Jin-Cha-Ji region.

The strength of the Third District around Baoding is becoming increasingly powerful.

It was also the target of the Japanese army's key sweep in Hebei.

In comparison, the number of troops deployed in Chahar was much smaller. As a result, the situation in Chahar was completely reversed. The Eighth Route Army's strength had always been comparable to that of the Japanese army. By now, the Eighth Route Army's strength had already crushed the Japanese army in this area.

Different situations, of course, require different playing styles.

The First Division was the focus of the Japanese army, so the Japanese army had the upper hand in the enemy's strength. Although the First Division had a large number of troops, it was not easy to blindly fight a large-scale battle. Therefore, it still adopted more guerrilla warfare and tactics such as destroying the Japanese army's transportation lines.

But the situation on the 8th Column is different.

Can fight big battles.

"Fight a big battle, fight a big battle."

Wang Qiuyun looked at the map and thought about what Wei Hongjun said.

Xu Luomin said from the side, "Our Chahar region is indeed different from our other Eighth Route Army bases. The Mongolian garrison, in particular, is severely underdeveloped, giving our Eighth Column a significant opportunity. Although the Chaxi and Chabei detachments suffered heavy casualties in this ambush, it did change the balance of power between the Chaxi and Chabei bases. This demonstrates that we can engage in major battles in Chahar and completely alter the balance of power here."

"Ah."

Wang Qiuyun also agrees with this statement.

Looking at the map, he said, "Then let's fight a big battle? Right here, completely break the Japanese mop-up."

"You can fight."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Xu Luomin nodded beside him and said, "Commander, Political Commissar, with the strength of our Eighth Column, we can fight a big battle here."

Chapter 383 Siege the city and call for reinforcements

Yunxi Valley.

A small place in the east of Huailai.

Although it is a small place, the top leaders of the 8th Column gathered here, including Commander Wang Qiuyun, Political Commissar Wei Hongjun, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff Xu Luomin, Deputy Commander Zheng Weishan, Deputy Commander and Commander of the Cha'nan Detachment Zhang Zihua, Deputy Commander of the Cha'nan Detachment Wu Qinghe, Deputy Political Commissar of the Cha'nan Detachment Lei Jiabin, Commander of the Cha'dong Detachment Zhang Dahu, and Political Commissar of the Cha'dong Detachment Xia Houwen.

What everyone was discussing was the issue of counter-raiding.

Xu Luomin briefly introduced the current enemy and our situation.

Because the Japanese were no longer secretive, the Eighth Route Army had a much easier time gathering intelligence. The North China Front Army's primary focus this time was to mop up the Chadong and Pingbei Detachments. The Pingbei Detachment consisted of the 34th, 35th, 39th, 40th, New nd, and New rd Regiments, the Independent th Regiment, and several other strong local units.

Moreover, the column was worried that the Japanese army would pass through Wanping and enter Shengxian from Chunhuabao.

Therefore, the 37th Regiment was pulled to the Chunhuabao area, and the New th Regiment was left in Shengxian. At the same time, local troops in Shengxian and Huailai were mobilized to prepare for the Japanese attack on Shengxian.