Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Now the 8th Column is about to launch the Zhangjiakou Campaign.

At this time, all the units of the Eighth Route Army were paying attention to the Battle of Zhangjiakou.

From the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region up to the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and Yan'an, everyone was watching closely. Because if this Zhangjiakou Campaign was truly successful, the strength of the Eighth Column would increase dramatically, and so would the strength of the Jin-Cha-Ji Eighth Route Army.

The plan proposed by Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun to launch a strategic counterattack in local areas is about to become a reality.

Of course, it wasn't just the Eighth Route Army. Ever since the Eighth Column laid siege to Zhangjiakou, the entire nation had been focused on the city. This was the first time the Eighth Route Army had concentrated its forces to attack a major city. If they could capture it, the political significance, not to mention the military, would be even greater.

Needless to say, military wise.

Once Zhangjiakou was captured, the entire Chahar region would be in the hands of the Eighth Route Army. The Eighth Column could then move westward to support the Suiyuan battlefield and eastward to help develop the Rehe base. In other words, once the Eighth Route Army captured Zhangjiakou, the anti-Japanese resistance in Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, and even the Pingbei region would reach a new climax.

As for politics, there is no need to mention it.

Up to this point, Chinese forces had been on the retreating side in the war against Japanese aggression. Although the Battle of Wuhan had led to a strategic stalemate, China remained at a disadvantage during this period, continuously losing territory on the front lines.

After enduring a difficult period, the Pearl Harbor incident occurred in 1941.

The Pacific War broke out, and Japan, Britain, and the United States began fighting. The outbreak of the Pacific War rejoiced throughout China, believing it was an opportunity for China. With Britain and the United States joining the war, victory in the War of Resistance was certain. However, several months had passed since the outbreak of the Pacific War, and China had yet to achieve any significant success on the battlefield.

If the Eighth Route Army could capture Chahar at this time, it would be of great significance.

Since the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army had repeatedly achieved success in North China, with increasingly brilliant results. If they were the first to capture a major city like Zhangjiakou, how high would the Eighth Route Army's status in the hearts of the people across the country be?

Knowing the importance of Zhangjiakou, Yan'an, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region had been in constant telegraphic contact with the 8th Column since it surrounded the city. Sometimes, they would receive several telegrams a day.

Wang Qiuyun, Wei Hongjun, Xu Luomin, and the commanders of the following detachments have been discussing this repeatedly in recent days.

After all, no one has experience in attacking such a large city.

After Wei Hongjun proposed a brief plan, the column fleshed out its siege plan over the next few days. Xu Luomin, the unit's chief of staff, announced the battle plan.

"The first step is to tire the enemy out. The Japanese army in Zhangjiakou is limited. Although they have armed some expatriates, their combat effectiveness is limited. Even with these expatriates, the Japanese army's manpower is still limited. They want to defend on all four sides, so they can only deploy about a thousand men on each side. Even with some puppet troops, there are not many people. It can be said that the Japanese and puppet troops are seriously understaffed. Therefore, in the first step, for about ten days, we will adopt a fatigue tactic. Concentrate troops and attack continuously from three directions, leaving the Japanese army no time to rest."

"Our fatigue tactics are to primarily use cold guns during the day. We'll gather sharpshooters from all units and use them to keep the Japanese on edge. Of course, if the Japanese and puppet troops don't show up, we can still attempt an offensive. We'll also cut off Zhangjiakou's electricity, preventing the Japanese from using it at night. At night, the troops will take turns attacking. Using the cover of the trenches, we'll push our infantry guns, flat-fire guns, and mortars forward to bombard the city walls and gates at close range. Blowing open the gates or even collapsing a section of the wall will be beneficial. As for our troops, they'll need to take turns fighting and resting to stay alert. This way, we'll prevent the Japanese and puppet troops from getting a good rest, keeping them constantly on edge. In ten days, the Japanese will be exhausted, especially the new recruits who haven't experienced war. It'll be unbearable and they might even collapse. The Mongolian garrison will defend the city, but these new troops have little combat effectiveness, so they can't be relied upon. The true defense will still be the main force of the former Independent Mixed Brigade 2."

However, the main force of the Mongolian army is small in number, and the repeated attacks for ten days will completely destroy their spirit and energy."

"Of course, this is also to cover our engineering troops digging tunnels.

Our engineering corps has already dug a tunnel almost to the edge of the city wall. In a few days, we'll be able to complete the mission."

At present, the biggest advantage of the 8th Column is its large number of people, while the biggest disadvantage of the Japanese army is its small number of people.

In a field battle, a small number of troops could run away. But in a city defense, a small number of troops meant it was difficult for the troops to rest. Furthermore, the bigger problem for the Japanese and puppet troops was that they had too many new recruits, all of whom were temporarily captured and had very poor combat effectiveness.

The 8th Column's disadvantage was that they had never attacked such a large city before, and they had a lot of heavy weapons, but their operation was limited. If the 8th Column's artillery units had the same level of skill as the Japanese, they could have simply concentrated their artillery to bombard a single city wall. They could have definitely blown Zhangjiakou's walls apart.

But the 8th Column artillery unit does not have such strength.

Moreover, the 8th Column did not want to suffer too many casualties, so it adopted a fatigue tactic.

The Eighth Column had many troops and could easily have attacked in rotation. However, the Japanese army had fewer troops, especially the core units, so it was difficult to rest in rotation. After being attacked by the Eighth Column for about ten days, how could the Japanese and puppet troops still have the energy?

We are all human beings, and if we don’t get enough rest, we will all feel tired.

"The second step is to intensify the attack. Especially after digging the tunnel, we will use a large amount of explosives to blow down the city wall. This time we brought the explosives stored by the column, as well as the explosives produced at the Xuanhua Explosives Factory. This is for the purpose of blowing down the city wall. As long as we blow down a few parts of the city wall and intensify the attack, the main force of the Japanese and puppet troops will definitely concentrate here. This time is about 5 to 7 days. Of course, this can be changed at any time according to the situation on the battlefield."

The first step is to tire the enemy, the second step is to lure the enemy.

Use attack to attract the main force of the Japanese army.

This plan was entirely due to the Japanese army's lack of manpower. If the Japanese army had only 10,000 troops in Zhangjiakou, this method would have been completely ineffective. Of course, the Eighth Column would not dare to attack Zhangjiakou. It was a pity that the Japanese army in Zhangjiakou had so few troops.

The battle plans were designed to tire out and lure the enemy, all targeting the situation where the Japanese army was short of manpower.

"The third step is for the First Brigade to attack Zhangjiakou from Wanquan. When the First Brigade attacks, use explosives to blow down that side of the city wall, tearing a hole and opening a passage for the First Brigade to attack. Then the troops must attack quickly and not give the Japanese army a chance to react. Everything we have done so far is for this last move. As long as the First Brigade successfully captures Zhangjiakou, then we will win this battle."

As long as we can capture Zhangjiakou, the rest will not be a problem.

Because there are not many Japanese and puppet troops in the city that are truly combat-capable. As long as the Eighth Column enters the city, these Japanese and puppet troops will not be able to do anything.

After Xu Luomin announced the battle plan, Wei Hongjun said, "The attack from Huaian will be commanded by Comrade Gao Wei, commander of the Chaxi Detachment. The attack from Chongli will be commanded by Comrade Feng Mulin, commander of the Chabei Detachment. The attack from Xuanhua will be commanded by Comrade Zheng Weishan, commander of the Chadong Detachment. You must put sufficient pressure on the Japanese troops in Zhangjiakou. Only if you put enough pressure on them will the Japanese and puppet troops' defenses tilt towards you, creating an opportunity for the First Brigade. At the same time, we cannot incur too many casualties. How to achieve this requires your frontline commanders to find a solution. Use all possible methods.

"Comrades, I have said many times about the importance of the Zhangjiakou Campaign. But I still want to say one thing today. The victory or defeat of the Zhangjiakou Campaign will determine the future development of our Eighth Column and the future development of our Jin-Cha-Ji Army. If we can take Zhangjiakou, then our Eighth Column will completely control Chahar. In the future, we can attack Suiyuan to the west and have the opportunity to connect with the Jin-Suiyuan base of the 120th Division. Go east to Rehe and open up the Rehe base. Go southeast and connect with the Jidong base to open up the connection with the Ji-Re-Liaoning advance army. By then, the Yidong base will be With the Eighth Route Army's bases in the Chahar area, the Jin-Cha-Ji Beiyue area, the Central Hebei Military Region, and the Southern Hebei Military Region, we can divide Hebei, encircle its major cities and transportation lines, and begin to squeeze the North China Front Army's living space. Ultimately, our Eighth Route Army might even have the opportunity to capture Baoding, Shijiazhuang, and even important North China cities like Peking and Tianjin. At that point, our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region could unite with the Eighth Route Army in Shandong to conquer all of North China and then advance into Northeast China. This would truly complete the CCP's promised strategic counteroffensive and usher in victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan.

"But the foundation of all this is our Zhangjiakou Campaign. Therefore, taking Zhangjiakou is the foundation of everything. Our slogan for this Zhangjiakou Campaign is to take Zhangjiakou and recapture North China.

"Capture Zhangjiakou and recapture North China."

Everyone is full of passion.

Who could have imagined that the 8th Column would be able to develop to the point of attacking Zhangjiakou? Now, Wei Hongjun stated that after taking Zhangjiakou, they would take North China and usher in victory in the War of Resistance. Just thinking about it made him excited. Wang Qiuyun, observing the excitement among his generals, stood up and said, "This battle can only be won, not lost. Now, return to your respective posts. All units must prepare for battle according to the plan and await orders from the column."

"Yes."

Chapter 417 Preparations for Taking Over Zhangjiakou

After the final combat meeting, each unit took its position, awaiting orders from the column to begin the siege.

At this time, Wei Hongjun, along with Li Shiping, deputy commander of the column, Chu He, deputy political commissar of the column, and Han Weiguo, director of the political department, convened a meeting of the Party Committee of the Southern Chahar Border Region. The purpose of Wei Hongjun's meeting was to discuss the matters concerning the takeover of various institutions in Zhangjiakou after the capture of Zhangjiakou.

With the Xuanhua incident, Wei Hongjun attached great importance to the work of taking over the city.

When taking over Xuanhua, not only did the army make mistakes, but the local cadres also encountered many problems. Like the army cadres, most of these local cadres in the southern Cha region were country bumpkins.

After taking over the city, I don’t know which institutions should be taken over first.

After taking over the puppet government institutions, many people did not understand how to transform them into Eighth Route Army institutions, so many problems also arose.

However, compared with the paper leaks that occurred in the army, these problems are not very obvious.

How to smoothly transition to taking over a city is a crucial issue. That's why Wei Hongjun made early preparations this time. Zhangjiakou is not Xuanhua. If there were to be a major problem in taking over Zhangjiakou, it would directly affect the Eighth Route Army's image in the eyes of the people of Zhangjiakou. It would even make the Eighth Route Army a laughing stock in front of the entire nation.

The central government is now trying to win the support of the people and scholars across the country. If a big joke were to happen in a big city like Zhangjiakou, it would be easy for the Kuomintang to seize upon it.

People say everywhere that the Eighth Route Army is a bunch of country bumpkins and is incapable of managing a city.

The political impact is bad.

"After we capture Zhangjiakou, we will definitely implement martial law in the city within a short period of time. Zhangjiakou has many military warehouses, which contain large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and supplies. I will arrange for the troops entering the city to control these warehouses and important military units, and be responsible for seizing these supplies, weapons, and ammunition.

However, under martial law, with the exception of specialized departments like military warehouses, the takeover of other departments still requires the involvement of local officials. That's why I convened this meeting. After the Zhangjiakou Military Control Commission was established, I served as its director, with Comrade Chu He and Comrade Li Shiping serving as deputy directors, and Comrade Wu Qinghe serving as commander of the Zhangjiakou garrison. Today, we will discuss the takeover of those pseudo-government units in Zhangjiakou and how to quickly stabilize order in the city.

Let me know what you think. This is our first time hosting a city as big as Zhangjiakou, and we're all inexperienced, myself included. So the only solution is to pool our resources.

"Secretary Wei, let me say a few words first."

"Comrade Yang Yonghui, go ahead."

Because the Eighth Column rose from Sheng County, the current Cha'nan Border District Party Committee includes many Sheng County officials who initially joined Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun in their early careers. Yang Yonghui is currently a member of the Cha'nan Border District Administrative Committee and Director of the Education Department.

Of course, Yang Yonghui’s position is also related to his identity.

After all, he was a former member of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Kuomintang, had many students, high prestige, and was from a wealthy landowner family. Now was the Anti-Japanese War, and the Eighth Route Army needed to unite everyone they could to fight the Japanese behind enemy lines.

Although Yang Yonghui joined the party, his background could convey a message to the landlords behind enemy lines.

That is, the Eighth Route Army treats people of all different backgrounds equally.

Yang Yonghui himself is also quite capable. Since becoming the director of the Education Department, he has been working hard for the development of education in the base area.

"Secretary Wei, Zhangjiakou was the most important base for the Japanese army in the Chahar and Mongolian regions. Zhangjiakou had many wealthy people, many students, and many schools. Not only were there numerous ordinary primary and secondary schools, but there were also many schools with distinct ethnic characteristics. This was particularly true of Zhangjiakou's pseudo-Mongolian College, also known as the Northern Chahar League Mongolian Youth School, which primarily served Mongolian students. Although affiliated with the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government, the school's teachers were primarily Japanese, and the teachers promoted a Japanese-style enslaved education. Even the pseudo-Mongolian College, directly under the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government's Ministry of Civil Affairs and primarily training Mongolian students, was in this situation. Other schools were even more devastated, each promoting the Japanese-style enslaved education. Over the years, countless students were harmed. Therefore, I believe the first thing we should do upon entering Zhangjiakou is to take control of the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government's Ministry of Education and all the schools under its jurisdiction. We must quickly organize efforts to change the teaching staff, textbooks, and educational system, abolishing the existing enslaved education. We cannot allow the Japanese to continue to persecute Mongolian students. We should win over these educated Mongolian students and enlist them as ethnic minority cadres for our Party. I believe this is our top priority."

The puppet government currently controlling Chahar, Suiyuan and Mongolia is the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government.

Originally, their pseudo-capital was in Guisui, which later became Hohhot.

But later moved to Zhangjiakou.

Zhangjiakou boasts a comprehensive range of government institutions and numerous schools. While these schools are nominally affiliated with the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government, the actual management and textbooks are reviewed by the Japanese. They even film Japanese teachers teaching in the classroom.

Early on, Japan openly promoted the "Manchuria and Mongolian no-man's land" theory, providing a rationale for its invasion of Northeast China and Mongolia. Once in the Mengjiang region, they supported the Manchus and Mongols in establishing their own states and governments, stirring up conflict between the Han, Mongolian, and Manchu peoples. This served to divide and disintegrate the Mengjiang region, facilitating their control.

In order to achieve this, they trained a large number of Manchu and Mongolian students.

Give them what they want.

“Yes, we cannot allow our students to continue to receive slave education.

Comrade Yang Yonghui, I think this is the way. You should begin mobilizing teachers from across our base area and prepare to take over the Zhangjiakou Education Department and all the schools. Once we enter Zhangjiakou, the Education Department must remain calm and present its work to those who are studying. We must be well-reasoned and well-reasoned. We must show the people of Zhangjiakou that we are fully prepared, and this includes showing the demeanor of our Eighth Route Army education cadres to the teachers and students. Don't let them assume we are just ragtag Eighth Route Army soldiers who don't understand education, and try to fool us. Furthermore, we must not delay the education of the students in Zhangjiakou. After the establishment of the Zhangjiakou Military Control Commission, Comrade Yang Yonghui will serve as the temporary Director of the Zhangjiakou Education Bureau. We must rely on the underground Party to identify teachers in Zhangjiakou's schools. Teachers willing to correct their mistakes and accept the transformation of the Eighth Route Army may be retained, depending on the circumstances.

"Yes."

"Comrade Yang Yonghui, after entering Zhangjiakou this time, we will come into contact with a large number of educated Mongolian students. You must quickly free these Mongolian students from the influence of the Japanese enslavement education. We will need a large number of Mongolian cadres in the future.

"Ok."

Wei Hongjun wrote down everything about education in his little notebook.

Wei Hongjun actually had a comprehensive idea for how to take over Zhangjiakou. But he couldn't guarantee that his ideas were correct or complete. So, he needed everyone to brainstorm and work together to find a perfect solution for taking over a major city like Zhangjiakou. As the saying goes, three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. Working together, we can surely come up with a more perfect plan.

Moreover, the Eighth Column may capture more and more cities in the future, and many cadres of the Eighth Column will then face the problem of how to take over the cities.

Wei Hongjun, the political commissar of the 8th Column, cannot personally attend every city takeover. The 8th Column needs more capable cadres. Discussing the plan for taking over Zhangjiakou is also a good exercise for everyone.

When they take over other cities in the future, they will have a clearer idea in mind.

"Secretary Wei, I believe that after the troops attack the city, in addition to those important military warehouses and the Japanese puppet army headquarters and important Japanese puppet army institutions, there is another place that must be occupied immediately.

Gao Weinong, director of the Industry Department, spoke up.

In the base areas behind enemy lines, the army and local leaders often repeat themselves.

Just like Wei Hongjun, who was both the political commissar of the 8th Column and the secretary of the Party Committee of the Chahar Border Region, Gao Weinong was both the director of the Logistics Department and the Trade Department of the 8th Column and the director of the Industrial Department of the Chahar Border Region.

"where?"

"Mengjiang Bank."

Wei Hongjun nodded repeatedly.

Although there were some bank-like institutions in the county towns they had previously captured, they had never encountered a large bank. Therefore, Wei Hongjun almost forgot about such an important matter. Zhangjiakou had many good things, but among them was a bank with a special status: the Mengjiang Bank, known as one of the "Four Puppet Banks."

After the Japanese entered China, they established more than 20 banks.

The China United Reserve Bank established in Peking in 1938, the Huaxing Commercial Bank established in Shanghai in 1939, the Central Reserve Bank established in Nanjing in 1941, together with the Mengjiang Bank in Zhangjiakou are collectively known as the "Four Puppet Banks."

These were the four largest banks operated by the Japanese puppet regime in China.

Mengjiang Bank has its own branches in important cities across the country.

Why is the Mengjiang Bank established in Zhangjiakou so important? This, of course, must start with the history of Zhangjiakou. Hundreds of years ago, Zhangjiakou was nothing, and the most important place at that time was Xuanhua.

During the Ming Dynasty, one of the nine important border towns was Xuanhua, which was called "Xuanfu" at that time.

Xuanfu and Datong were important military towns, so the Ming Dynasty sent a "Xuanda Governor" to manage them. When Xuanfu became a famous military town in the Ming Dynasty, Zhangjiakou was not even a shadow of it.