Canteen System Assistance Notes

Or perhaps fighter jets that can soar to tens of thousands of meters, tracking missiles capable of flying at over ten times the speed of sound? Or a new aircraft carrier with a fully loaded displacement of over 80,000 tons, equipped with electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear?

The impoverished Eighth Route Army naturally yearned for these things and wanted them very much. However, the real world always adheres to certain basic rules. Even with the unconventional element of Comrade Xiao Liu, the Eighth Route Army at this time would find it difficult to flexibly utilize these highly complex future war weapons.

However, as a learning-oriented army that had once observed aircraft carriers in cave dwellings and debated the modernity of battleships, many veteran commanders of the Eighth Route Army, armed with numerous futuristic equipment, ultimately wanted to abandon the traditional light infantry unit. After extensive communication, research, and discussion, these veteran commanders, who had fought for half their lives, ultimately decided to advance a rather "black technology" project: an "automated digital command and communications system."

With the deep participation of the Central Military Commission, the Central Industrial and Electric Power Commission (now renamed the Industry and Post and Telecommunications Commission), the Ministry of Industrialization and Standardization, and Comrade Liu Helian, the "Minister of State", the first phase of the command and communication system project, the "digital map and command system framework", was successfully put into use in the first half of 41.

It uses the historical L.5OC "Chinese military map" produced by the US military between 1942 and 1945, which was aerially photographed and drawn by the US military, as its base. It also incorporates elements from Japanese military maps and the Eighth Route Army's own surveying and annotation. This topographic map, marked with contour lines, has been completely digitized, allowing operations such as marking directions, planning routes, and setting stop lines on the map.

At the same time, based on the communication base stations and server backend within the supplier's system, Tu Mujiang successfully replicated a local communication network capable of supporting the transmission of digital voice signals and data streams using the "P-phone" model. Within the base station's service range, command centers at all levels can instantly send voice commands and short message information to any authorized digital terminal, enabling rapid information flow.

In short, this is a battlefield data link based on future 2G/3G/4G and even 5G civilian networks!

Furthermore, when the number of base stations exceeds three, a multi-base station approach can be used to achieve more accurate terminal positioning. In this scenario, the extremely clean radio background environment means that signal propagation is largely affected only by the undulations of the terrain. According to tests, in plain areas, a single elevated base station with enhanced transmission power can even provide coverage of 30 kilometers. If the transmitter and receiver use high-gain antennas, this distance can be extended to approximately 45 kilometers.

On the battlefields of World War II, the real-time positioning of combat units, even if it is only within a limited area, accurate to about 50 meters, and refreshed every minute, will mean a complete military revolution.

——------

"Prepare to go online, three, two, one... Communication node station A is online!" "Communication node station B is online!"

"Communication Node Station D is online!"

After nearly 4 hours of installation and deployment, and nearly 2 hours of intense debugging, the Eighth Route Army has now assembled 5 communication node stations with 4 sets in use and 1 set as backup.

It has been deployed in the area controlled by our army on the south bank of the Yellow River.

There was no roar of artillery fire, no machine gun trajectories. These strange-looking base station antennas, in the invisible electromagnetic field, spread an impenetrable net over the preset battlefield more than 30 kilometers to the north.

Soon, as the number of operational base stations increased, the positions of the numerous red dots, originally fixed on electronic maps, reported by troops and manually marked by staff, began to become more dynamic. Furthermore, units with higher levels of "informatization," such as artillery columns and mobile corps, displayed more information in the details section on the side of their screens—artillery and troop ammunition reserves, deployment status...

"In the future, the campaign organization model centered around operational plans will be gradually replaced by an organizational model centered around operational objectives. The information-based and digital communication and command system will significantly reduce the waste generated in the transmission of commands and information... In Dalat Bay, hundreds of kilometers north of the Central Military Commission, General He looked at the information jumping on the electronic map and recalled a passage he had read in the literature before.

He remembered what he had seen before, and decided China in another time and space.

Fate's War Record: Those comrades over there created such a brilliant miracle, but without these advanced facilities...

"After all, I'm not He Huzi from 48, and the Eighth Route Army soldiers are not the People's Liberation Army from 48. The human element still needs to be tempered, and there's still a long way to go!"

He Huzi looked at the many staff officers busy at the command seat, Yang Jisheng staring at the electronic map in deep thought, and Chief of Staff Liu Xingchang running around, and smiled with satisfaction.

At that very moment, several flashing "eyeball" symbols appeared on the enemy-occupied frontier area north of the Yellow River. Immediately, as the telephone rang, voices clattered from the staff booth at the forward command post. Blue markers representing enemy forces began to appear on the electronic map—the main positions of the puppet Mongolian Army's First Division, the main positions of the puppet Mongolian Army's Fourth Division, and the barracks and dormitories of Japanese troops with unknown numbers...

"Howitzer Regiment 1, Commander, this is Lancang 01, please pay attention to receiving artillery fire information.

"Square H4, East 100, North 150, Elevation 00...Central Battalion Base Cannon...Wooden Watchtower, Grenade, Instantaneous Fuze, One Test Fire Ready—"

A string of communications was connected to the artillery command post at the forward command post and simultaneously transmitted to the artillery units on the front lines. Not long after, a green triangle representing a deployed artillery unit flashed, and was highlighted and singled out.

"Hit the target! Hit the target! Howitzer Regiment 1, all regiments—5 minutes of artillery fire, 10 rounds in a row, start!"

Chapter 470: Long Live Assault

In the early hours of the morning, against the indigo night, the warheads, shimmering with a faint orange glow, glided down the slope of gravity like floating lanterns. Empowered by electronic information technology approaching the level of the 1980s, the late 1930s-era M-30 122mm howitzers responded to the artillery observation team, codenamed "Lancang 01," within five minutes—54 guns erupted in flames, unleashing destruction upon the unsuspecting river defense positions.

You should know that before liberation, artillery pieces larger than 100mm were mostly called "heavy artillery", and the lively situation of 18 122mm howitzers from the first battalion and 54 from the third battalion pouring fire on a target at the same time was unprecedented in China at that time.

Ten-round bursts of fire followed by a damage assessment of the impact zone, and then another ten-round burst, and so on and so forth. Faced with this feast of firepower, the artillery observation team, Lancang 01, maintained a professional composure. From a safe distance, they reported a set of artillery parameters while pulling out their flare guns and firing flares into the sky.

This was the agreed signal. Accompanied by the rumble of artillery fire, several heavily loaded AEC all-wheel-drive trucks rushed toward the Yellow River beach. They turned around at a pre-planned location and headed south for the ferry berth. Meanwhile, soldiers from the pontoon bridge brigade, stationed nearby, climbed onto the cargo bed, unbolted the railings, and unloaded the prefabricated floating pontoon bridge into the Yellow River, beginning the frantic erection operation.

The 25-ton Yellow River-type shallow-water motor boats that had been assembled in advance had already weighed anchor from their departure positions upstream. They rushed down the river from the "slipway" made of rolled logs, dragging several unpowered boats, and adjusted their course based on optical signals, heading towards the designated landing site under the cover of artillery fire.

The Japanese army was not unprepared.

Although the Japanese army did not mobilize its entire army to guard against our army's attack on Suiyuan due to the misleading intelligence system, our army's operations in the Yili League over the past year still aroused the vigilance of the troops stationed in Mongolia.

针对驻鹿城的骑兵集团机动力有余而兵力不足的状态，驻蒙军司令部调动驻云中地区的26师团11联队共2个大队，分别驻防厚和与鹿城两地一一驻扎鹿城的11联队第1大队便专门负责对黄河北岸的防御。

They took about 1400 remnants of the hastily retreating 4th Division of the puppet Mongolian Army, and while strictly controlling and training them, they also drove the local labor force to build a defense line outside the existing defense line of Lucheng, and arranged fortifications such as machine guns, rapid-fire cannons and shooting bunkers - these things used brick and stone bunker walls and wooden frames covered with earth, which were enough to withstand the bombardment of 75mm field guns and 82mm mortars commonly used by the Eighth Route Army.

But who the hell knew that this group of Eighth Route Army was using 122mm heavy artillery this time!!!

The Japanese and puppet troops guarding the frontline positions were instantly struck with misfortune. The temporary ammunition depots behind the rapid-fire artillery positions were ripped open by grenades, igniting the explosive propellant and blasting numerous machine gun positions into the air. Three consecutive 10-round rounds, directed by the artillery observation team, reduced the fixed firing points of the Japanese and puppet troops on the frontline positions to nothing more than piles of broken bricks and burning logs.

At this moment, the landing boat team moving from upstream and the heavy motorized pontoon bridge on the other side of the Yellow River had arrived at the two port areas of Dashuwan and Guandukou in the south of Lucheng. The unloading platform of the 25-ton flat-bottomed shallow-water boat was lowered, and the gangplank of the motorized boat was docked. In an instant, two battalions of the Eighth Route Army appeared at the two landing points.

Two pioneer battalions with direct fire, armored units, and combat engineers!

"Engineers and bulldozers clear the landing site and assist the pontoon regiment in building the pontoon bridge; infantry artillery positions are set up to provide direct fire support! "Infantry, along with tanks, in battle formation—follow me! Disperse these little Japs!"

-------one

Although the landing operation is only across the Yellow River, its key points are similar to those of a cross-sea landing - quickly control the landing point, expand the landing depth, and then guard against the defenders' counterattack

Until the second wave of friendly support arrived.

Due to the need for concealment before the war, our army could not stockpile too many ships in front of the Japanese and send a large number of troops at once. In addition, the unique hydrological conditions of the Yellow River created many sandbars, which did not allow our army to choose the landing ferry at will. Therefore, during the approximately 45-minute gap when the pontoon bridge troops assembled the mobile pontoon bridge components into a floating bridge, the two battalions that first landed had to withstand the counterattack of the Japanese and puppet troops who might have exceeded their own strength by three times!

Well, at least in the pre-war briefing, the enemy situation report received by our commanders and fighters was roughly like this.

The straight-line distance between the two ports was only 3 kilometers. The soldiers of the vanguard battalion did not dare to delay at all. They confirmed the position of the friendly forces through radio and signal flares, and quickly switched from offense to defense, attacking northward, preparing to join forces and establish a safe zone with sufficient depth.

Six creaking T26 tanks climbed the gentle slope of the shore, and the infantry charged into the shattered first line of defense, annihilating the few remaining Japanese and driving away some puppet Mongolian troops who had been bombed into submission. The APU-equipped 45mm anti-tank gun, detached from the combat engineers' Combine Reaper bulldozers, was driven by the gun crew, dragging its ammunition van into the shattered Japanese positions and aiming its muzzle at Lucheng, just north of the defense line.

At this time, the sun had already risen in the east, casting its rays across the land of Suiyuan. Then, from the Japanese-controlled area in the north of the battlefield, three red flares rose, seemingly signaling a counterattack. Soon, all the soldiers of the pioneer battalion saw this scene:

In the golden sunlight, the grassland with green grass and yellow seeds is mottled with colors. In such a beautiful and pleasant picture, a crowd of more than 1500 people spread out into a loose, mixed and huge fan, like a mighty army of ants, rushing towards the two river defense positions captured by our army.

Although the figures in the khaki uniforms of the Japanese army charged straight ahead, their attacking formation was a mix of infantry and cavalry, but not chaotic. Aside from some of the men in the team wearing "boss rolls" and holding high sabers, who were yelling and shouting "Load!", their charge was quite methodical.

The disorganized, jumbled group of figures, their uniforms a jumble, seemed even more dramatic. While many in khaki uniforms fired their rifles into the air, striving to maintain order, their bodies and minds were clearly out of sync: some acting independently, running aimlessly about; some, shouting like groundhogs, were swept along in the charge, yet clustered like a hedgehog; others, running and stopping, seemingly charging fiercely, their bodies drifting toward the edges of the formation...

Ah this...

The commanders and soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion watched in astonishment at this shocking, utterly unimaginative, scene. Chaos, psychedelic illusions, and absurdity all blended together, making one wonder if they were traveling through time and space. Perhaps only Liu Helian, a time traveler himself, could understand the source of this intensely thrilling scene—when facing no superior enemy firepower, during the initial stages of the Japanese landing and deployment, the defending forces naturally muster as many available forces as possible, valiantly storming the beachhead and driving the enemy "overboard."

But did the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia in July 1941 even have the concept of "enemy superior firepower" in their minds? Did they have the experience of fighting the US military on the Pacific islands and the repeated tug-of-war?

Did they even have a commander like Kuribayashi Tadamichi who was good at thinking and could arrange a tiered defense? No, no! They had nothing but mad attacks and shouts of "Get on board!"

“It’s dark out, get on board!!!”

Looking at the Japanese defensive forces who were charging with sabers raised high and accompanied by the puppet Mongolian army, the artillery observation team "Lancang 01" accompanying the vanguard battalion could only press the call button again.

"Howitzer Regiment 1 Commander, this is Lancang 01. All current data are invalid. Change target. Pay attention to receive new data."

.......

"Target No. 4, enemy infantry and cavalry cluster, suppressive fire, grenade, airburst fuse, timer 16-65, 15-round burst—fire!"

Chapter 471: Heavy Hammer and Detailed Hit

At that time, Lucheng was quite small, located north of the current Lucheng East Railway Station and Airport. Encased in dilapidated classical city walls, it was a classic northwestern city.

The Yellow River now flows further north than it did in later generations. In 1941, the Nanhaizi wetland park was still a key water and land port for Lucheng's trade, bringing prosperity to the city. Therefore, when choosing a ferry crossing, merchants naturally chose to build on the waterfront, where river siltation was less severe, if conditions permitted.

In this way, a relatively stable ferry crossing could be formed: Dashuwan and Guandukou. These two main ferry crossings south of Lucheng were known to the Eighth Route Army and naturally also to the Japanese army.

The 11th Regiment of the 26th Division, having recently arrived, failed to launch an attack due to its outdated tactics, even after being bombarded by 12mm airburst grenades. However, the cavalry group headquarters stationed in the city had been operating in Lucheng for a long time and was familiar with the local conditions. Soon, the artillerymen, still working to demolish obstacles on the ferry beach, heard a sharp whistle from the north—the sound of a 75mm field gun!

Although the Japanese army did not have such an advanced artillery command system as the Eighth Route Army, they must have already measured and completed the artillery fire parameters for the two fixed ferry crossings and even conducted test firing.

Carrying out indirect fire on a known fixed target is very difficult for the Japanese to do.

It is a basic skill for artillerymen.

The 90mm field guns hidden in the military camp east of Lucheng finally completed their deployment and, without any test firing, launched a covering fire towards the Guandukou position!

The shells fell heavily, and the combat engineers had to evacuate urgently, and even had to abandon the precious "International Reaper" armored bulldozer and crawl around.

While the concentrated fire from eight 90mm field guns couldn't completely destroy the ferry, it was enough to disrupt the engineers working on clearing obstacles and building bridges. The continuous bombardment created muddy pits on the ground, even destroying a bulldozer and injuring several men. "Howitzer Regiment 3, commanding officer, this is Lancang 01. 'Poyang Lake' is under intense enemy field artillery fire. Direction 007, east of Lucheng!"

Before the artillery observation team could finish their anxious words, the sky, already fading from its dark blue, erupted in the ferocious roar of propellers—two DB-7 bombers, originally French, swooped down over the two landing sites. "Lancang 01, Artillery Group 3, Jinsha 98! This is Qingzang, prepare to shake hands!"

The artillery forward command lent a hand in time. The staff officer in charge of coordinating the landing took to the keyboard and quickly issued new instructions. "Understood!" "Understood!"

Lights flashed, radio waves echoed across the sky. Soon, a 17-digit handshake code was transmitted, and a "voice conference"* between radio stations was established in the electronic frequency band. Thanks to the communication base station, several terminals were able to achieve one-to-many voice communication, and multiple communication terminals on the ground were able to establish direct communication with fighter jets in the air.

"Lancang 01, this is Jinsha 98. Please report the approximate location of the enemy field artillery position... Oh, no thanks, I've got the target in sight." The male voice representing the DB-7 team paused in the headset, as if he had seen the smoke and dust rising from the field artillery fire from afar. "East of Lucheng, square 9, approximately 500 meters northeast of a flat-roofed brick building, we've discovered an active artillery position. Is that the Japanese field artillery?"

"Confirmed, confirmed! There are no friendly troops in square 9!"

Lan Cang⑾ of the artillery observation team shouted hurriedly, because the large-scale river crossing had not yet begun, and they were now the most advanced troops of our army. Further north, there was no one else except the Japanese and the puppet Mongolian army. Who else could dare to fire the artillery over there except the Japanese field artillery?

"Jinsha 98 received. Repeat, square 9, enemy field artillery position—watch for the smoke column."

The DB-7 flew past, turned down the slope, and circled back to the battlefield from a distance. Two tactical bombers methodically entered the glide path from medium and low altitude, aiming at the artillery position that was firing in retreat.

Once camouflaged in French tricolor camouflage, they waited at ports across the ocean for shipment, only to receive the devastating news of their motherland's demise. Now, thanks to Chinese purchases, these American-made French fighters have been revitalized. Under the steady control of the Eighth Route Army's air force, a sudden, unprepared rain of 100-kilogram bombs descended upon the unsuspecting Japanese artillery.

Boom boom boom boom!

The two planes first strafed the area with machine guns, then emptied their magazines of ammunition. Finally, they circled and dropped smoke rockets over the artillery positions, which were still recovering from the aftermath of the explosion. The emerald green smoke rising into the air with the blast was very eye-catching against the morning sky, making it an excellent target for range and direction finding.

"Howitzer Regiment 3, Commander, this is Lancang 01, prepare to receive new bombardment parameters."

Positioned centrally between the two landing sites, the responsive 25-pounder gun (Vickers mount), boasting a 13.5-kilometer range and an all-around firing arc, swung its muzzle high and began its intended counter-artillery suppression mission. As soon as "Mr. Deyi" provided the firing data, the eager artillerymen quickly maneuvered the guns and loaded the separate shells into the barrels.

"10 rounds rapid fire, fire!"

Boom!

The soldiers pulled the gun ropes, and with the low sound of hammers like thunder, 54 points of light leaped towards the north of the battlefield; 6 seconds later, the first round of shells had not even landed yet.

The second round of shells has been fired again!

Less than 20 minutes after the first Japanese artillery shell fell, the Second Field Artillery Company of the Cavalry Artillery Regiment of the Mongolian Cavalry Group was completely destroyed by the pouring rain of bullets.

With the departure of the Japanese long-range firepower, the pontoon regiment resumed its temporarily suspended bridge-building operations. Soon, two bridges, strong enough to support heavy vehicles, spanned the Yellow River about 300 meters, connecting Yimeng and Lucheng.

The passage for the troops to attack has finally been officially opened!

The Eighth Route Army's motorized training division, nicknamed the "Mobile Corps," led the charge, beginning a steady stream of troops crossing the Yellow River from the pontoon bridges at Dashuwan and Guandukou. For a moment, the two ferry crossings, about three kilometers apart, were abuzz with the sounds of people, horses neighing, and carriages. The two, almost entirely motorized training brigades took to their wheels and rapidly advanced deep into the battlefield.

Led by two vanguard battalions, they split into two groups: one quickly stormed the Japanese-held Blagoveshchensk Airport, while the other headed for the railway station south of the city. These two key points supported the second and final line of blockhouses in Lucheng's defenses, forming the last resolute fortifications before the Eighth Route Army stormed the inner city. After capturing Lucheng, the Japanese constructed numerous stacked blockhouses, attempting to use them as a stronghold to hold onto the core of their occupied city.

These bunkers had cement roofs strong enough to withstand mortar fire, and their red brick and cement walls were strong enough to block small arms fire. But when the remaining Japanese soldiers drove the puppet Mongolian First Army, responsible for the city's defense, into the fortifications and withstood round after round of artillery fire, they finally saw the Eighth Route Army, dressed in dark green, armed with light and heavy weapons, advancing in tandem with the extended artillery shells, advancing tanks, and accompanying direct-fire artillery.

That group of Japanese military advisers could still maintain composure, and this group was okay at bullying the herdsmen and citizens, but the puppet Mongolian army, which was terrible at fighting, was completely confused.

Who is across from us?

What are we fighting? What happened!

Immediately, several of the figures, twisting and leaping forward, separated and crouched behind a slope. A large iron pipe extended, emitting a puff of black smoke, and then a bunker in front flew into the air. The machine gun bullets inside exploded with a crackling sound like firecrackers. In the distance, a huge noise, the likes of which they had never heard before, erupted from the charging crowd.

"Surrender your weapons and we will not kill you!" "The Eighth Route Army treats prisoners well!" "Chinese people do not fight Chinese people!"

Before the words of persuasion were even finished, another brick-and-concrete bunker was destroyed. This time, with bad luck, it was hit by a rumbling tank. The huge iron lump braked to a stop, rotated its turret, and then another puff of smoke erupted from the turret. After a burst of dust, the front of the bunker caved in, and the Maxim machine guns and human parts inside burst out straight from the rear door.

"Attack! Attack! At this moment, the only way to win is to close the distance and counterattack!"

The Japanese military advisor who accompanied the team drew his samurai sword and asked everyone to show their brave and invincible samurai spirit and launch a counterattack against the evil ZN communist army! The puppet Mongolian troops were almost crying.

Damn it! Now?! Counterattack?!

Why don't the Japanese just go somewhere on their own?

"What, you guys, are you disobeying orders?!" Seeing that the people in the bunker did not move, the Japanese adviser held a knife in one hand and pulled out a pistol in the other, threatening, "Die, die..." Then a rifle butt flew over, and with a click, he fell face down.

"You hit... you hit too hard..." The soldier holding the rifle was shaking like a sieve, "He's dead... He's dead... " "What's the big deal? The red-haired guys are hitting us, why don't you run away!"

Chapter 472 "Our Army Will Victory"

The battle south of Lucheng is advancing at an incredible speed.

The main force defending here, part of the 1st Division of the puppet Mongolian Army, scattered like birds and beasts under the heavy artillery fire. Not only did they lose the 1st Battalion of the 11th Regiment of the 26th Division, which was deceived as an instructor and military supervisor, but they also stunned the Eighth Route Army that rushed into Lucheng Railway Station and Airport for a while.

What about the promised offensive?

Where are the two strongholds we promised?

This incredible speed of breakthrough left the veterans of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces in the Mobile Corps completely baffled. Although they had known from long-term training and education that this training-oriented motorized unit could execute breakthrough operations at "very fast speeds," they had never experienced firsthand just how fast this "very fast" was.

Their long experience of playing hide-and-seek with the Japanese army in the three northeastern provinces ultimately made them cautious.

At the Dashuwan Floating Bridge and Langhe River, the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Training Division, responsible for attacking the airport and train station, decided to slow down their two combat groups and thoroughly eliminate these two key support points outside Lucheng. They believed that once follow-up troops arrived, this area could serve not only as a new logistics assembly point for the army but also as a launching point for the attack on Lucheng proper, allowing for both advance and retreat. On the surface, this was a sound decision.

However, after this decision was reported to the division via the brigade radio, the 2nd Brigade commander's headquarters was quickly met with the violent curses of the forward command chief of staff:

"Xu Heng...! Bah, Brigade Commander Xu! What are you doing..."