Canteen System Assistance Notes

What exactly are they planning?

Is it, as the front command judged, to use multiple offensives to tie down the forces of the Jizhong Military Region, and then launch a strong attack from the Zhengding and Shimen lines? Or is it to launch an assault from the southern Shide Railway line?

Or were these attacks on central Hebei just feints, with the real purpose being to attack the southern Hebei base?

The situation before this veteran of the Northeast Army was like a pot of boiling water: the Japanese and puppet troops began to launch attacks from multiple directions in various parts of Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei in North China: Shandong Province, Beiyue, southern Hebei, central Hebei...all places were actively attacked by the Japanese army.

During this offensive, the Japanese maintained a tight formation, seemingly emphasizing the integrity of their front, rather than pursuing speed, thus tying down considerable forces in the base area. However, such a multi-pronged attack made it difficult to concentrate forces, and their sheer numbers couldn't quickly overwhelm our defensive forces. Ultimately, both sides were likely to waste resources, much like the days of that foolish Sugiyama Gen...

If these forces were concentrated, the attack would obviously be more effective. This newly appointed Japanese commander, who the central government repeatedly reminded them to pay attention to, is such an incompetent person? Is that impossible?

At that moment, the communicator's radio light came on, indicating that a message had come in. The communicator quickly determined the other party's identity based on the encryption key in the handshake message, selected the corresponding decryption key, and translated the message.

Reporting to the commander! A telegram has arrived from the Beiyue Pingshan base area: enemy tanks and accompanying infantry have been spotted in Pingshan and Lingshou counties. The enemy, with tanks leading the charge and numerous small-scale units with enhanced firepower, are fiercely attacking our forces! Is the ultimate target of such a large-scale mobilization, Taiyue, the ultimate target?

Commander Lü Zhengchao focused his attention on the area east of Shimen and Zhengding. That was the outpost where our army set out from the Taihang Mountains to enter the plains. Is this the target of the Japanese army? We can't let them succeed!

"Commander! The Communist Army in the Hebei region has begun to gather in the west. Communist outposts have been discovered around Wuji and Anguo! They are indeed as you expected.

Prepare to attack our troops from behind as they attack Pingshan!"

In Tieshishi Hutong, Beiping, the Japanese military staff suppressed their joy and reported to Okamura Yasuji. The latter nodded slowly and issued a new order.

"Let the 32nd and 27th Divisions mobilize first, launching attacks from the east and south! The 32nd Division will attack northward from Hengshui and Julu, while the 27th Division will advance from east to west, preparing to cross the Chengyang River and attack Xian County. The 110th and 57th Divisions will prepare their defenses and be ready to counterattack at any time. The mecha units...will remain stationary for now!"

"We must force out all the Communist Army's mobile forces in this area!"

Chapter 427: Central Hebei Circulation (⑵) Penetrating the Heart

Known situation:

Tanks were deployed in Shimen and Zhengding areas. This unit was the elite of the Japanese army. The area around Shimen was the starting point for the Japanese attack forces.

Elite Japanese troops consisting of tanks and infantry were discovered in the Pingshan area west of Shimen and Zhengding, and were launching a fierce attack on the Pingshan base.

Generally speaking, in a command room with limited information, it is a very normal judgment for the commander to think that the main attack direction of the Japanese main force is Pingshan, or at least the west. This is what Lu Zhengchao, who is proficient in guerrilla warfare, thinks. Unfortunately, Okamura Yasuji also thinks that Lu Zhengchao would think so.

After reading a lot of information about the battles between the Japanese Army and the Eighth Route Army over the years, Okamura Yasuji made a discovery. The Communist Eighth Route Army's interior offensive and interior defense were both very powerful:

In one case in Shanxi Province, a brigade-level unit, surrounded by the enemy, constructed a ring of fortifications along the mountainous terrain. However, under the coordinated artillery fire of the main Communist Army, these fortifications collapsed instantly. The commander, who ordered them to disperse, was stabbed to death by villagers with long spears. In defensive operations, the Eighth Route Army, unlike the Nationalist Army, tended to rely on multi-layered fortifications and independent units operating ahead of them, implementing a "well-supported and flexible defensive strategy." For example, during the attack on the Hejin Triangle, two Japanese divisions, each with parts of a coordinated attack, were unable to penetrate the Eighth Route Army's core positions.

Therefore, Okamura Yasuji believed that the Imperial Army could not engage in a mobile war or an offensive and defensive war with the Eighth Route Army, but rather had to engage in a counter-offensive war with the Eighth Route Army.

The Eighth Route Army's manpower, firepower and even command system all prefer to be deployed forward in order to increase the density of firepower on the front line, improve command flexibility, and strive to quickly crush the enemy's organized counterattack. At this time, he felt that if the Imperial Army was also in an offensive state, the distance between the two sides would quickly close, and the organized elite of the Imperial Army would be able to defeat the opponent in a head-on confrontation.

Okamura then ordered the reinforced squads, which had previously halted their attacks and continued training, to assemble and coordinate with the tank and mechanized units originally belonging to the 110th Division. They would pose as the main force and launch a large-scale attack on the Pingshan area, luring the Eighth Route Army into attacking their rear. The mechanized units, heavily armed with tanks and vehicles, would then lay low and disguise themselves as supply troops. Martial law was also imposed on all surrounding residential areas to prevent intelligence leaks.

But this is still not safe. What I know, the Communist army must also know: they also know that they lack depth during the offensive, and they will definitely deploy reserves in the rear. As long as they fail in the offensive, the reserves will push forward to buy time for friendly forces to regroup and reorganize the defense line.

Therefore, the premise of Okamura Yasuji's next plan was to completely drain the mobile forces of the Hebei-Central Military Region. He ordered the powerful 32nd Division to attack from Hengshui and Julu, targeting the Shenxian, Wuqiang, and Raoyang triangle—a core area of ​​Hebei Central, home to numerous handicraft workshops and hydraulic plants. Meanwhile, the exhausted 27th Division would attack westward from the Jinpu Road, attempting to cross the river and attack Xianxian, the county seat on the triangle's flank. This way, the commander, unwilling to see his achievements shattered, would undoubtedly dispatch his valuable reserves to stop the Japanese.

At that time, Okamura Yasuji would order the 110th Division and the 57th Division, which were on the defensive, to change their posture and launch an offensive against the Eighth Route Army. If the progress was smooth, they would pursue the defeated communist army all the way and attack the core of the base.

Besides this, Okamura Yasuji had another sharp dagger - once the special mixed mecha unit was activated, it would storm out from the Zhengding area, along the narrow river plain channel between the Jintuo River and the Zhulong River, and directly stab the Communist Army's most vulnerable underbelly!

"To this end, I've mobilized resources, stockpiling large quantities of fuel and ammunition for the Special Mixed Brigade. I've also invited the cavalry prodigy, Kuribayashi-san, to partner with the battle-hardened General Sakuma. He confidently thought, 'This 'heart-piercing assault' will be a success, completely destroying the Hebei Communist Party's ability to generate revenue!'"

The cyclone rotating around the central Hebei region gradually expanded and expanded, like a stove with ever-increasing temperature, turning the kettle above it from lukewarm water all the way to boiling.

West of Hebei Province, reinforced squads and tank units of the 110th Division, supported by the mechanized units' logistical automated vehicles, engaged troops from the Pingshan base area in a back-and-forth engagement, even briefly retaking the lost Banbishan stronghold. While the Japanese tanks were prone to sudden destruction when entering a village, bypassing it and advancing across open country proved a formidable opponent for the local forces. Clearly, unless the field forces in the Dubeiyue area arrived with heavy firepower, the current stalemate would be difficult to break.

North and east of Hebei Province, the North China puppet troops, deployed for the first time, launched an offensive against the base area under the leadership of the Japanese. Compared to the weaker Wang Puppet Army and the Shanxi Province puppet troops, these puppet troops, equipped with Nationalist weapons and systematically trained by the Japanese, presented a real challenge to the Chinese soldiers facing them. They could maneuver sentries, organize firepower, and even employ indirect artillery fire—though they were still no match for the powerful field regiments. But how many field regiments could a base area have?

Therefore, when the 32nd Division under heavy cover was transferred from Cang County to Hengshui by Okamura Ningji and launched an attack on the triangle of Shen County, Wuqiang and Raoyang,

When the exhausted but well-managed 27th Division ordered the march,

When artillery pieces were set up east of the Chengyang River and shelled Xian County, located east of the triangle area at the junction of the Chengyang River and the Haituo River, it seemed that they were going to attack from two fronts and break through one of the core areas of Ji Zhong, Commander Lü Zhengchao, the military commander of the Ji Zhong base, showed a hint of hesitation.

The mobile forces in the base area were already under great pressure. There were now many things in the core area of ​​the Jizhong Military Region that needed to be protected. The troops could no longer move freely as before, but had to fight on the periphery to prevent the flames of war from entering the base area...

Should we coordinate with the Pingshan base, which is currently under attack by the main Japanese forces, to attack the Japanese rearguard in Zhengding and Shimen? Is the army's attack too aggressive? Should we send the last remaining field regiments and direct forces across the Lituo River to reinforce the Shen-Wu-Rao triangle, which is currently under attack by two divisions?

He finally hesitated. The objective reality of the base, the rapidly changing battlefield situation, and the adoption of new tactics by General Okamura Yasuji, all played a role. This veteran of the Northeast Army, who was good at mobile warfare and guerrilla warfare, was finally trapped step by step in the offensive and defensive positions he was not good at.

Lü Zhengchao issued a flawed order: the 7th Regiment of the Hebei-Central Field Army, which had arrived in the base area less than a month earlier, was ordered to cross the river southward in coordination with the artillery company directly under the Hebei-Central Military Region to support the First Military Sub-district in the Triangle Area and resist the Japanese invasion. The troops attacking the Zhengding and Shimen areas would provide mutual cover and retreat in an orderly manner, preparing to reinforce the defenses of the Lituo River to prevent a Japanese attack across the river.

And this is almost the last mobile main combat force in his hands.

"Say it again! Are you sure?"

"Hi! Your Excellency!" the staff officer holding a folder reported loudly, his tone full of disbelief. "The 27th Division is reporting that Communist field artillery units have appeared around Xian County! They are engaging in an artillery battle with our army! The main force of the Communist Army, with an unknown number, has also appeared in front of the 32nd Division!"

Great, great! With long-range field artillery, it must be the main force of the Communist Army!

Okamura Neiji clenched his fists. Months of meticulous planning finally paid off. The massive troop feints, the steadily rising casualties, the ever-increasing logistical costs—he was indeed under incredible pressure, but the opposing commander was also under pressure, and certainly even greater.

Now, it's time to make them pay!

"Order! All units of the 57th Division, maintain pressure on the enemy front lines and strictly prevent them from withdrawing to reinforce. The 110th Division will switch from offense to defense, attacking northeastward along the Xinle and Anguo lines along the Tanghe and Zhulonghe watersheds!

"The mecha troops, departing from Zhengding, will advance northeastward along the Hutuo and Zhulong River watersheds along the Wuji, Shenze, and Madian Town lines, accompanied by independent engineering corps. Once they break through the Madian Town pass, bridges will be constructed across the Zhulong and Hutuo Rivers based on the progress of the 110th and 32nd Divisions' attacks to support their allies. After reuniting with their allies, the combined forces will break through Suning and capture the Renqiu-Hejian line, the core of the Communist Army in the central Hebei region!"

"After the troops break through, follow the same principles as for mopping-up and sabotage operations in enemy-occupied areas and destroy all manpower, equipment, and resources!"

Chapter 428: Central Hebei Circulation (3) Shadow of the Rising Sun

"what!"

Shi Yintang, captain of the Wuji County guerrillas in the Second Military Sub-district of the Jizhong Military Region, gasped sharply, as if awakened from a nightmare. He breathed deeply, like a dying man in a lake, grasping a rotten log in his dying descent, briefly surfacing from the dark, cold waters.

Although this man from central Hebei, who had been a farmer for 18 years and a guerrilla fighter for two years, had never seen the sea anywhere except in literacy classes, he still felt the suffocating fear.

Shi Yintang opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a blurry world. He shook his head, and the blur gradually faded, but it still occupied a large part of his vision. He could only struggle to pry his hands open and get up from the ground.

The surrounding mud was very soft, making him feel a bit unresponsive. But soon, he grasped something damp and soft. Unfortunately, it didn't have much power. Shi Yintang turned around and saw that his hand had grabbed an arm—just one arm.

It was a young arm that was still somewhat childish, and its owner had been a living person just before.

Captain Shi looked up suddenly, and as his vision gradually cleared, the world split in two along a road. On one side, golden wheat, ready for harvest, lay flat and stretched out in a straight line toward the west; on the other side, burning wheat fields emitted billowing black smoke in the wind.

"Ah..." He sighed, and the next second, everything that happened today flooded into his mind.

Shi Yintang was the most common person in China at that time - a farmer who worked the land.

Perhaps the soil of China always breeds unruly souls, or perhaps the good grain yields in central Hebei give people a little time to contemplate longer-term issues. Shi Yintang didn't want to be a muddle-headed farmer, living his life at the mercy of the weather. Even if he had to farm, he wanted to do it with clarity. Thus, in the winter of 38, a farmer could often be seen attending the cadre literacy night school in the Central Hebei Military Sub-district.

In a time of great change, those who work hard will always stand out. After two years of training, Shi Yintang quickly rose from a guerrilla fighter to the captain of a district squad, and then to the captain of a guerrilla squadron, and was sent to work in Wuji County.

He was a keen learner and already familiar with the mission assigned to him: the enemy's recent repeated encirclement and mopping-up operations were likely primarily for food. June was the wheat harvest season in central Hebei, and the food-hungry enemy would often advance in May, aiming to control more territory and harvest the ripe wheat. During these times, the guerrilla units of Wuji County would operate in the narrow riverbed stretching a hundred miles from Zhengding to Wuji, and from Wuji to Shenze, cooperating with the main force to strike the Japanese in the narrow battlefield encircled by the Putuo and Zhulong Rivers.

So, although the captain emphasized that this time the devils were not ordinary, Captain Shi was still a little unconcerned in his heart - the devils were far away in Zhengding, and Wuji had just been captured by the main force of the Second Division. There was at least 60 miles between them.

Instead of thinking too much, it is better to do the task at hand. According to the arrangement of their superiors, they need to set up surveillance here and catch any Japanese spies who want to sneak into the base at the first opportunity.

"Captain Shi, a large number of Japanese troops were spotted east of Zhengding, heading east along the Wuding Highway. The commander asked us to be prepared to support the retreat of the troops in the front." Captain Shi still remembered that the comrade in charge of the message saluted him and informed him that the situation had changed.

"There are Japanese cavalry inside." the comrade also reminded.

This enemy report was somewhat incoherent and too brief. Shi Yintang became a little wary.

In the past, the military sub-district's intelligence was always very detailed, compiling and distributing the total number of Japanese troops, their composition, possible routes, and their own operational plans. This also required their intelligence gathering to be equally meticulous. But now, Captain Shi only knew that he was facing a large number of Japanese troops with cavalry.

Moreover, if there were any Japanese cavalry, unlike the Japanese on foot, who usually marched forty miles a day, they could reach Wuji from Zhengding in a single day. Captain Shi thought that just a few days ago, their orders had been to ensure the safety of the rear of the main force of the military sub-district and to coordinate the attack on the Japanese troops in Zhengding. Now, they had to organize a defense and an orderly retreat.

However, when this order was issued, the guerrillas in the squadron were still very happy. Perhaps in their view, this was obviously a victory for the main force, the Japanese invaders came out in full force, and we should evacuate in time and not be entangled with the Japanese invaders.

Just as everyone was eating beans and egg pancakes with cold water, making do with their lunch at their respective battle stations, the sounds of intense fire could be heard from Wuji. Machine guns, artillery... and even the sound of engines!

The first thing that appeared was two red flares rising in the western sky, which meant that a unit had encountered a large number of enemies.

Shi Yintang also pulled out his signal gun, preparing to relay the signal back gradually. At the same time, he blew his whistle, summoning the various guerrilla groups to an urgent assembly. The sight of Japanese troops with vehicles and horses outside Wuji, coupled with the sound of gunfire, meant they could advance 60 miles in the morning, piercing the frontline troops, composed of both local forces and the main force, and even have strength left to continue.

The devils in front of us are formidable enemies, and they are definitely not something that the military sub-district can handle on its own!

Although he was the captain of a guerrilla squadron, Shi Yintang knew many principles of marching and fighting: when there were pursuers behind him, if he wanted to help his allies evacuate, he had to organize a line of defense!

He recalled about one person from his own organization and began to set up simple blocking positions on the road from Wuji to Shenze area: the guerrillas began to dig shooting bunkers in the blockade ditch on the road, and placed remote-controlled "broadsword mines" against horses and light vehicles; the only two Type 24 light machine guns in the entire squadron were spread out on both sides of the road, ready to use their firepower advantage to intercept and shoot at the Japanese vanguard.

But before the gunfire from Wuji's direction subsided, a new flare whizzed up from even closer to him, followed by even closer, more intense gunfire. That was the area controlled by another guerrilla group—they didn't wait for the evacuating friendly forces, but instead waited for the Japanese soldiers!

At a distance of less than 2 kilometers, a low tank with a plaster flag painted on it emerged from the end of the road and drove towards here under the rain of bullets from the district squad. It didn't care about the rifle fire around it, slowly twisted the turret, and fired a shot: a machine gun fire point was instantly silenced.

"Come back, come back! Someone, tell the villagers to run away!" The Japanese not only have cars and horses, but also tanks!

Shi Yintang still remembers what those tanks looked like.

It is short and clumsy, but it is covered with indestructible iron armor and is immune to ordinary bullets. Only the heavy iron gun, the short-range shoulder-fired cannon and the military division's artillery can cause enough damage.

As he blew his whistle to gather the guerrillas, the district squad that was carrying out the mission with him kept firing, but was soon overwhelmed by the more intense gunfire and artillery fire. During this time, amid the noisy explosions, a muffled sound was heard that was different from all the other gunshots.

With this muffled sound, a golden spark rose from the side of the turret of the leading small tank, and then it stopped spinning. But before the tank stopped moving, a group of Japanese cavalrymen appeared from its side, waving sabers and lances, and rushed towards somewhere in the wheat field.

That distinctive muffled sound echoed once more, then died down. The district squad of more than fifty men had been defeated without a fight in less than ten minutes. So fast, these devils didn't even pause!

On the flat plains, they quickly discovered the ditches dug to block the road ahead and began deploying their troops in attack formation. Tanks rolled down the roadbed, crushing the ripening wheat fields in a sparse horizontal formation; rows of cavalry followed behind, marching in columns. Like a winter sandstorm rolling in from the northwest, they pressed forward toward Shi Yintang's position, leaving no escape.

The guerrilla squadron Shi Yintang served in wasn't a fully equipped main force. Its only threat to the tanks came from two "turtle fist" launchers. In the open air, shoulder-mounted gunners likely couldn't even approach the tanks protected by cavalry.

Retreat? The Japs had already spotted him and were attacking him in a horizontal formation. Tanks aside, running away from cavalry on foot was a dead end.

Explosions from earlier battles had already ignited the flammable wheat, sending plumes of burning smoke rising from the fields. The sound of tracks grew closer, and through the dirt, the guerrillas could even feel the vibrations of horse hooves. "Bah! Those little Japs..." someone said.

"One breaks even, two make a profit." Some people also said.

"Captain, look at me taking down one of those Japanese iron turtles!" someone else said.

Shi Yintang turned his head and looked around. Most of the guerrillas in Division Two were young, with dark skin and immature faces, while many had weathered features, revealing a precocious maturity. Although some hesitated, at that moment, everyone made the same choice:

"Fuck that son of a bitch!!!"

Shi Yintang could no longer recall the events. The ensuing battle was swift and brutal, the guerrillas detonating mines and attacking an enemy a hundred times more powerful than themselves.

The erupting steel balls broke the leg of a military horse, but they could do nothing to the tanks protected by riveted steel plates; the sudden sound of a machine gun knocked down two Japanese soldiers, but they were retaliated by another tank; the two-man shoulder-mounted artillery team was suppressed by the rain of bullets, the main gunner fell, and the deputy gunner took over, but was hit by a bullet at the last moment; even the ditch where they were located was noticed by the enemy after continuous shooting.

was bombarded.

The young and old deer were gone, leaving Captain Shi as the sole survivor. The Japanese, consisting entirely of tanks and cavalry, had moved in a hurry, not even bothering to stay and clean up the battlefield—perhaps they were confident enough to believe that this makeshift blocking position, covered in charred earth and strewn with corpses, was devoid of life. Or perhaps they felt that this small guerrilla group didn't need to be meticulously eliminated, thus wasting precious fighting time.

The tracks left strips of ruts in the field. Shi Yintang looked towards the east along the fallen wheat: those devils came from the west and were going to fight in the east.

"Damn it, you look down on me, bah! I told you not to look down on me!"

This man from central Hebei, who had been a farmer for eighteen years and a guerrilla fighter for two, and who thought he'd already died once, felt a touch of the crude anger of a peasant. "Comrade, let the captain avenge you."

Captain Shi muttered to himself with a stern air as he buried his severed arm in the collapsed roadside ditch and bowed. Crouching, he found a rifle and strapped his unfired fist back onto his back. He took advantage of the fire in the wheat field before it got too close and ran toward the east side of the battlefield.

Chapter 429: Central Hebei Circulation (4) The Cruel Straw

Feifei galloped along the roads of Jizhong, living up to his nickname, running at a brisk pace without feeling too shaken. This young Hequ horse was happily recalling the two sugar cubes his owner had placed in his hand that morning—oh, that taste. What the hell was a carrot?

Feifei ran vigorously, but his master offered no extra affection for his excellent running, even occasionally tugging on the reins to control his speed. This frustrated Feifei, and even his ears twitched for a moment: he was, after all, only a pony with just over a year of service, and he didn't need a reason to be unhappy. Wang Tiechui was just an Eighth Route Army soldier who had enlisted in 1937 and served for over three years—but as a commander, he didn't have the luxury of being unhappy or acting out of character without reason.

The reason is simple: the current situation in the Hebei-Central base area is very bad.

——――—---

Since May 15th, the Japanese army had launched a widespread offensive across multiple bases in the North China Plain, with the Hebei-Central, Hebei-Southern, and even Hebei-Shandong border bases bearing the brunt of the attack. After receiving supplies from transport brigades, the Japanese troops in various regions, well-fed, drove the newly appointed North China puppet troops into a widespread offensive unprecedented in years—but such attacks alone were unable to inflict any substantial damage on the already heavily fortified bases. In this first round of offensives, the Hebei-Central base dispatched the main forces of its various military sub-districts, successfully repelling the Japanese attack.

But then the situation began to deteriorate. While the pressure from the other bases remained relatively constant thanks to the Japanese and puppet troops, the pressure from the surrounding Jizhong bases increased dramatically as several purely Japanese attacking forces began to be deployed. Commander Lu, who was in charge of the counter-encirclement and suppression campaign, dispatched his last fully-organized reserve force to the Southern First Division, where the pressure was greatest, to stop the powerful 32nd Division.

Under these circumstances, the Japanese mobile force, reportedly numbering 50.0 men, that emerged from Zhengding became the final straw that broke the camel's back for the Jizhong base area. Like a swiftly moving venomous snake, it charged northeastward, not only retaking Wuji, previously occupied by our army, but also relentlessly breaking through the guerrillas' blockade and advancing towards Shenze County, the gateway to the Hutuo and Zhulong Rivers.

This was all the information Wang Tiechui had learned from Cheng Zihua, the Political Commissar of the Jizhong Military Sub-district. The information that followed was fragmentary and worthless. From the time the alert was transmitted from the outskirts of Zhengding to this sudden interruption in intelligence, only seven hours had passed from yesterday morning to noon.

He was leading his men, riding his warhorse K Feifei, toward the front lines of Division Two. Wang Tiechui was pleased to learn that Feifei was very clever and could stay centered on the road without constant course correction. This allowed him to simultaneously analyze the available intelligence, drawing upon his knowledge from the Company and Platoon Leader courses and the "Intermediate Class."

Even though the intelligence outposts around Zhengding are no longer functioning and the guerrillas are temporarily disabled, Wang Tiechui feels that as a reconnaissance company commander, he can still analyze a lot from these incomplete intelligence, or even from these "incompleteness" themselves.

The attack speed of this group of devils was unusually fast. In half a day, they were able to break through the guerrillas' obstacles all the way from Zhengding and capture Wuji. They could also continue to break through the interception of several district squadrons and threaten Shenze. Even the occupied areas could only issue very simple warnings.

Wang Tiechui couldn't help but think of the mobile corps he'd seen in the border region. That corps, composed of his fellow Northeasterners, could, under extreme circumstances, continuously raid and strike at a distance of 100 kilometers in a single day and night. While Division Two lacked the numerous rivers of the northwest, the terrain between the Haituo and Zhulong rivers was relatively flat, with simple roads available. The Japanese could certainly attack 60 kilometers a day.

However, they were unable to stop and complete the sweep and liquidation. The gunfire from Wuji and Shenze had not stopped, proving that there was still organized resistance in the enemy's rear. Combining those fragmentary intelligence, Wang Tiechui believed that this group of devils should be a vanguard force that could motorize artillery, with cavalry as the main force, and mixed with tanks and other armored vehicles; their infantry should be inherently insufficient.

Or there are infantry but they cannot keep up with the speed of the vanguard, resulting in

The two sides are out of touch.

He shared these situations with his instructor Lei Zhende and reached a consensus. Instructor Lei also added that although the main water systems of the Second Division, the Zhulong River and the Hutuo River, both flow from southwest to northeast, parallel to the direction of the Japanese army's advance,

But in fact, there are many small rivers and lakes inside the base area. The Japanese can run so fast, probably because they have engineers who are carrying pontoon bridge equipment following behind to help.