Canteen System Assistance Notes

The Kwantung Army's 10th Division anticipated a difficult battle in the Wulianshan area. However, its vanguard, the 10th Regiment, was daringly ambushed by troops from the Eighth Route Army of Shandong Province during a crucial resupply operation. However, after the initial panic, the Kwantung Army's superior quality proved effective: under the command of non-commissioned officers at all levels, the 10th Regiment quickly seized the county wall and began constructing fortifications, forming a circular defense.

Although the old city wall of Zhucheng County is not covered with bricks, it is a rammed earth wall with a circumference of 4.5 kilometers and a height of 10 meters.

A few hours later, a cavalry surrounded the outside.

The circular defense line with infantry deployed in two layers and artillery in the center was built based on the small county town of Zhucheng.

The 10th Regiment thought that it would be no problem to hold out for two weeks at most - remember the Battle of Lanfeng, when the 14th Division under Lord Doihara held out for 16 days under the siege of 12 Chinese divisions and finally won the battle! The situation seemed to be just as they expected. Once the Eighth Route Army, which was fighting in the open field, encountered the circular position of the Kwantung Army defending the city, it would be like a lion facing a porcupine, and they would not be able to take action easily.

The 10th Regiment, reinforced with four Type 4 150mm howitzers and twelve Type 790 75mm field guns, was divided into two positions and deployed in the core area of ​​the perimeter defense. They blasted a wall of fire in every possible direction, effectively preventing the Communists from massing their forces and attempting to break through from key areas. Simultaneously, the artillery counterattacked the Communists' indirect fire, preventing them from firing ammunition at the infantry on the perimeter. At night, the 10th Regiment continuously fired flares from grenade launchers and indirect fire, and even set up gasoline drums to prevent any enemy night raids. Over the course of several days, despite rapidly depleting their ammunition, the Communists were unable to even break through the perimeter positions.

So the next day, the 10th Regiment sent a message: "The regiment is firmly entrenched in the cities. The Communist army cannot advance an inch. Our soldiers fought bravely. The enemy's offensive was crushed. We can hold out for 14 days without any problem."

On the third day, the 10th Regiment sent another message: "Our unit has suffered repeated attacks from the Communists. The cavalry search unit has suffered heavy losses. However, our soldiers have fought bravely and repelled the enemy's offensive. We hope that our headquarters will send reinforcements as soon as possible within 10 days. Together, we will break the enemy's encirclement."

On the third day, the telegram changed to: "Our troops were attacked by the Communist army many times today. Since the beginning of today, the enemy's artillery fire has become increasingly powerful and is gradually showing signs of overwhelming our troops.. In addition, the ammunition carried by the baggage train is being depleted day by day. I am afraid that it will not be able to hold out for more than 5 days. I hope this headquarters will send forces as soon as possible to provide tactical guidance to our troops..."

On the fourth day, the light bombers and fighter units that took off from Darini were intercepted by Communist fighter planes, and the transport planes preparing to airdrop supplies were also shot down. The air reinforcements that the 10th Wing had been expecting did not arrive.

On the fifth day, the 10th Regiment did not send any messages, and a round of intensive artillery shells fell near the radio antenna, seriously injuring several signalmen.

Day 7, 10th Regiment: "[Sincere Farewell Message]"

At this point, the 10th Regiment finally understood one thing: the Communist Army was not without a way to break through their defense line, they were just "appreciating the last struggle of the prey that fell into the trap" - after quickly surrounding themselves, the main force of the Communist Army

In fact, they left the outskirts of Zhucheng at night and participated in the battle to fight against the reinforcements from the east. The 39th and 63rd Regiments, as well as the garrison battalion drawn from Jiaoao, attacked desperately, but were always blocked less than 20 kilometers away from Zhucheng.

By the sixth day, Gaomi and Jiaozhou, located behind the 39th and 63rd Regiments and the garrison battalion, were captured by the main force of the Communist Army along the Jiaoji Railway. The entire army's retreat was completely cut off, and the rescuers instantly became the rescued.

But where can the 7th Army find additional reinforcements?

The Kwantung Army Headquarters was so anxious that they once again concentrated their forces and sent a flying squadron to support across the sea. However, the fighter planes and light bombers that came to help were once again intercepted by the Communist Wildcat fighter planes and had difficulty reaching the battlefield. Even if there were a few

A large number of fighter planes broke through the defense line and flew over Zhucheng. How could they have any decisive impact on the battle situation with those small bombs and 7.7mm machine gun bullets?

What's even more terrible is that as the war situation in Shanxi Province changed, His Excellency Okamura Yasuji also issued a "general retreat order" ordering the entire army to retreat and give up rescuing the First Army.

This order was like a permit for the North China Army to move in and a general attack order for the Communist Army. Almost immediately after the 28th Division in Shanxi Province began to retreat, the Communist Army artillery around Zhucheng roared, and it seemed that more than a hundred large guns were gathered.

The caliber field artillery opened fire fiercely at the 10th Regiment. - - time, the earthen walls collapsed and shattered, the artillery in the city fell apart, and under the cover of darkness, the Communist assault team swept into the city like a torrent, quickly breaking into the city - - After a few hours,

The 10th Regiment headquarters in the city sent a final farewell message, announcing its destruction.

With the complete annihilation of the 10th Regiment, the Battle of Lu Province, or the Battle of Zhucheng, entered its final stage.

Under the classic "hammer and anvil" tactics, the 10th Division became rotten meat pressed on the chopping board, unable to escape its final fate. Our army drove the participating Japanese troops away from west to east like hunting on the grassland. The 39th, 63rd and garrison regiments

The remnants of the reserve brigade were like waves of despair, smashing against the breakwater one after another.

The vast majority of Japanese troops died in the repeated futile charges. Only a small number of troops, led by elite sergeants, escaped into the hilly areas and were lucky enough to find ships, crossing the Jiaozhou Bay Strait and returning to Jiaoao.

All the regiments burned their flags and destroyed their documents. Lieutenant General Jiro Togawa, the division commander who was acting with the 39th Regiment, carried the fragments of the flag and broke out to the west with the regiment commander and his escort. Unfortunately, after the 39th and 63rd Regiments were destroyed, he was besieged by the pursuing Eighth Route Army in the Yanghe area southwest of Jiaozhou. He was shot in the leg, thrown into a ditch by the blast, and fell unconscious, and was captured by our army. He became the first Japanese lieutenant general to be captured in Shandong Province. The fragments of the "Blood-stained Military Flag" (blood-stained military flag) he carried were also seized.

Unfortunately, 101's attempt to further expand the victory was not successful.

As our army attacked Gaomi, the Kwantung Army's 7th Army Headquarters and Lieutenant General Yoshimoto Sadaichi, stationed in Jiaozhou, quickly packed up their belongings, boarded a motor vehicle, and sped toward Jiaoao Harbor, successfully retreating into the naval protective zone. Our pursuing troops, unable to outrun the internal combustion engine on the highway, were evaded. Ultimately, they were bombarded by naval fortress artillery, forcing them to abandon the pursuit and slowly retreat.

When the 10th Division sent a telegram saying that it was surrounded by our army and urgently needed support, the 6th and 68th Infantry Regiments of the 3rd Division, which had just boarded a ship to unload and transfer in Jiaoao, immediately gathered their troops and turned back to Shanghai. The 55th Division (formerly the 6th Independent Mixed Division), which had been slacking off, also turned around and retreated to Quancheng. The 21st Division, after being blocked by our local troops, returned to the capital and retreated to the Longhai Line.

The 101st troops deployed outside Zhucheng to attack reinforcements and block the enemy almost nothing happened and became confused spectators of this battle.

Chapter 627: Spring Offensive of 1942

(Update, this chapter)

The campaign in Shandong Province ended with the brilliant Battle of Zhucheng, which was like a heavy hammer forging iron, and ended in a whimper.

The 10th Division of the Kwantung Army, obsessed with merit, deceived by the war situation and blinded by one thing, was besieged by the 101st Army with a strength of about 5 field divisions and was essentially annihilated - the 10th Regiment and the 39th Regiment were completely wiped out, the 63rd Regiment was beaten and dispersed, and then they were surrounded and knocked out one by one in the east of Jiaozhou-Gaomi. Even the high-equipped field artillery regiment of the 10th Division was "cruelly killed", with half of them destroyed and the other half captured by the Eighth Route Army.

In this battle, the Eighth Route Army of Shandong Province, which carried out its first large-scale active offensive, wiped out about 2.2 Japanese troops at the cost of about 6200 casualties, and seized a large number of military equipment, horses, and supplies. It also took advantage of the situation to completely compress the Japanese troops on the Jiaodong Peninsula to Jiaoao, Yantai and Weihaiwei. Even the Zhaoyuan gold mine, which the Japanese army had always fought hard to maintain its occupation, was successfully recovered by Shanye.

Unfortunately, the Shanye area, which had just been transformed into a field army, did not have a solid industrial base like the border areas. It was unable to fight continuously and capture Weihaiwei and Qingdao, the two core strongholds that the Japanese had long operated. It was also unable to attack Quancheng and completely destroy the Japanese presence in Shandong Province.

However, in this battle against the Japanese 10th Division, the Yamano warriors tempered themselves, honed their abilities, and furthered their understanding of regular, field-based combat methods. I believe that given time, they will be able to achieve their goal of completely expelling the Japanese army.

According to the battle naming conventions of China at that time, when the battle area spanned several provinces and the scale was too large, it was often impossible to describe it with "battle" or "campaign". Instead, a more dynamic word "offensive" should be used.

For example, the massive campaign launched by the Eighth Route Army, originating in Shandong Province, spreading across North China, and culminating in Shanxi Province, is known to historians of the time as the "Spring Offensive of 1942." Unlike the Soviet Union's habit of naming a series of battles in China after meteorological terms, many Chinese people have given this exhilarating offensive a more straightforward and robust name: the "Shanxi Counterattack."

Compared with Shanye, which needs to rely on captured weapons and reused consumables to replenish half of its logistics, Jinsui and Taihang, which are backed by the entire Guanzhong, Ning Province and border industrial areas,

The Taiyue and Mobile Corps and other "rear series" field armies were under the leadership of Yang Jisheng and Liu Mingzhao.

Under the command of , the battle had an extra sense of grandeur and grandeur.

Whether it was concentrating the tanks under his command for a 'BT raid', the "Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Valentine Combined Offensive" being used for the first time, or the Halifax using actual combat opportunities to test and drop the 2-ton aerial bombs with eyes at critical nodes, the agile tactics inherited from the Red Army era and the battle science learned from Soviet academic schools were successfully combined with the actual situation of the current Chinese battlefield in Shanxi Province, giving birth to battle tactics unique to the people's armed forces of this time and space.

The Shanxi Province Campaign, which began on March 1 and basically ended on March 29, was the premiere of this new tactic.

In this battle, the major bases of the Eighth Route Army worked together under the coordination of command systems at all levels and successfully wiped out the vast majority of the Japanese First Army's troops.

Among them were five three-unit divisions reorganized from independent mixed brigades: the 52nd, 67th, 58th, 53rd, and 65th Divisions. There were also conventional field divisions like the 37th, 41st, and 35th Divisions. In addition, the 28th and 36th Divisions, which had escaped the battlefield, also paid some travel expenses. The 36th Division's rearguard unit was ultimately delayed by our army and ultimately collapsed at the last moment of its escape. The 28th Division, having previously lost some men during its assault on the Shotai Line, also left behind some men during its efficient and swift transition, so its escape was not entirely complete.

Of course, the First Army Command and its direct forces, which had been entrenched in Shanxi Province for many years and committed numerous atrocities, basically did not escape.

By this calculation, after one month, the number of Japanese troops annihilated by the Eighth Route Army had reached about 160,000. Among them, apart from the Japanese residents forcibly conscripted by the Japanese army, there were also more than 10,000 prisoners, including some Japanese troops who voluntarily surrendered to our army in an organized manner.

Although, in such battles, the Japanese army also caused quite heavy losses to our army - after taking into account the casualties incurred when other bases were used to contain, block and harass the Japanese army, our army suffered nearly 45,000 casualties in this spring offensive, and the enemy-to-our casualty ratio reached 1 to 4.

Of these, approximately 5,000 officers and soldiers died on the battlefield, and around 40,000 suffered varying degrees of injuries. These casualties occurred primarily during the offensive against Pingyang and the blocking battles along the Zhengtai Railway. Some casualties also occurred during the desperate Japanese counterattack during the Battle of Xinkou in the north. Approximately 410 soldiers never made it out of the operating table or onto stretchers. Over 80,000 suffered minor or severe injuries, but at least survived and were able to retire or return to non-combat positions.

As for the remaining soldiers, they were saved by the multi-level battlefield medical system. With the help of antimicrobial drugs, battlefield surgery, emergency blood transfusions, and other medical measures, after a period of rehabilitation, they will gradually recover their health and return to their posts with medals of military honor.

In the final moments of the battle, the main forces of the Eighth Route Army, both north and south, met in Jinyang City, successfully taking over the core and capital of Shanxi Province. The commanders responsible for the two fronts finally reunited after a long separation. For a month, even with the assistance of advanced communication equipment and the cooperation of staff officers, Yang Jisheng, Li Shizhen (surname Guan), Nie Yunzhen, and Liu Mingzhao...

Zhang Hao....Commanders, young or old, have also experienced high-intensity work.

Fortunately, apart from some minor mishaps and flaws, the overall progress of the campaign was smooth, and no critical situations arose that required the commanders to think hard to save the situation.

At the northernmost edge of the battle line, our army was largely on the defensive. After Liu Mingzhao's corps moved south, the remaining field army not only withstood the diversionary attacks of the Japanese 4th Division but also launched proactive attacks on the front's flanks, recaptured Yangyuan, Guangling, and Yuxian, and completely drove the Japanese out of the mountainous basin of northwestern Hebei.

At the same time, the Wutaishan base, which successfully blocked the Japanese army at Fanzhi Pass, launched a counterattack against the Japanese army and successfully liberated Lingqiu at the foot of Hengshan Mountain.

They also destroyed part of the 4th Division that was assisting in the defense of this area, and the Japanese army's "Beiping Defense"

Line" was forced back to the source.

Along the key Zhengtai Line, the assault force composed of the Southern Line Group and the Taihang Base Area troops, with the cooperation of guerrillas and local forces, pursued the enemy all the way along the railway, and was once again blocked by fierce artillery fire and strong resistance from the Japanese army in the Niangziguan area.

Taking into account that the troops were lightly armed and marching quickly, and that the Japanese occupied advantageous terrain, were determined to stop the attack, and had artillery advantages, our army, after counterattacking the Japanese counterattack, alternately covered and withdrew from the front line, built a defense line in the rear, and entered a state of confrontation with the Japanese army.

As for southeastern Shanxi, with the siege of Changzhi drawing to a close, the Changzhi Basin, occupied by the Japanese for two years, returned to the people's embrace, and the Zhongtiao Mountains were also recaptured by our army. The 106th Division, which had come from central China to assist in the defense of North China, was forced to move south and advance to the Shanyang, Xinxiang, and Zhengzhou triangle to block any possible advance of our army.

After all, the Japanese army's primary task now was to guard against the Eighth Route Army's possibility of "rushing down the Taihang Mountains and galloping across the North China Plain" at any time. The strategic situation in the entire North China had thus undergone a drastic reversal!

Chapter 628: Excerpts from the Field Army Logistics Report

(This chapter imitates reportage)

On March 31st, it was reported that, one month into the campaign, the General Logistics Department established a special working group to oversee the supply of combat logistical supplies to the Southern and Northern Corps, as well as the Taihang and Taiyue regions. Under the leadership of the General Logistics Department's Party Committee, the dedicated efforts of comrades in all logistics departments throughout the army, and the concerted efforts of comrades in the rear-area military industrial departments and the "Material Center," the logistical support for the Spring Offensive was largely successfully completed.

Regarding the various aspects listed in the report on the logistics organization work of this campaign, the following summary and opinions are put forward.

This battle was large in scale, involved multiple battlefields, and had complex logistical support conditions, but the overall logistics organization work had made great progress compared to the Mengxi Campaign. There was no further chaos in logistics organization, and there was no need to rely on additional forces to rescue the situation. This basically met the combat needs of the front-line troops.

After logic adjustments were made to the Automatic Logistics Information System version 2.3, operational efficiency has been significantly improved. Granting relevant permissions to various levels of organizations has slightly reduced the efficiency of logistics information transmission, but it has essentially eliminated the need for frontline troops to directly call the logistics center. The education on radio and information discipline implemented by various units before World War I was highly effective.

Now, except for units directly under the combat corps such as the "Maxwell" electronic reconnaissance team, the logistics information of troops at all levels will first be reported to the regimental level and summarized at the division-level command. After being resolved and filtered, it will be reported to the logistics center. This has mobilized the subjective initiative of troops at all levels and reduced the phenomenon of overload in the logistics center. There are no more cases of communication staff and logistics staff fainting due to exhaustion in the logistics center.

During this campaign, the supply of food and water was relatively smooth. Thanks to thorough preparation, all frontline troops were able to maintain standard wartime rations, providing daily meals of meat, vegetables, and noodles. Considering the possibility that the Japanese army could use their chemical and biological warfare units to contaminate water sources, each division and regiment was equipped with newly developed "common toxic agent detection kits" and "biological contaminant sampling and identification kits," along with appropriate water treatment chemicals, and dedicated soldiers were assigned to handle these tasks. The army experienced only a few sporadic cases of gastrointestinal and food poisoning, and no infectious diseases spread.

Drawing on experience from the Battle of Western Meng, the General Logistics Department's pre-stockpiled extra supplies for this operation also played a significant role. For example, during the siege of Pingyang City, despite frontline troops having doubled their ammunition loads and stockpiling double amounts of submachine gun ammunition, boxer ammunition, disposable launchers, and explosives in their regimental baggage and supply teams, they still ran out of ammunition after days of fighting against outlying positions and city defenses. Later, the General Logistics Department's frontline team promptly mobilized personnel and vehicles, organizing a dedicated ammunition delivery team from a newly built military depot and logistics point. This effort quickly alleviated the frontline troops' supply shortages and was well received by the troops.

The comrades involved in logistics work focused on the central tasks of "serving the front line" and "ensuring that comrades do not suffer from a shortage of medicine and ammunition." They launched a campaign against negative tendencies and negative emotions among all personnel, and launched a campaign to make meritorious contributions and improve efficiency. The vast majority of comrades realized the importance of logistics work, and their fighting spirit was high, which effectively ensured the completion of the mission.

However, there are still issues in the logistics work of this campaign that need to be reviewed and improved in future work.

First, Shanxi Province, long governed by Yan Baichuan and occupied by the Japanese, had a large inventory of weapons and equipment, with a mixed pattern. This situation became even more pronounced after the increasing damage to Japanese weapons in 41, necessitating the adoption of Shanxi-made weapons. Some units, fearing trouble and change, paid insufficient attention to weapons and ammunition captured and received on the front lines, resulting in numerous loopholes.

For example, after the Japanese 37th Division was annihilated by our army on March 8, the 13th Division of the Northwest Field Army found 136 Shanxi-made big-eye Thompson submachine guns while cleaning the battlefield, each with three magazines and 200 rounds of Shanxi-made ammunition; 27 Japanese-made Type 94 mountain cannons were also found, with about 15 rounds of ammunition remaining for each gun.

However, due to inherent errors and a lack of attention, the 13th Division did not inspect the weapons or determine the situation. When filling out the logistics material delivery orders, the information was unclear and ambiguous, resulting in many problems.

For example, when the Big Eye Thompson submachine guns were shipped, the magazines, weapons, and ammunition were split into three separate orders and sent the next day. However, due to a temporary railway dispatch, the magazines, ammunition, and weapons were distributed to three different locations. As a result, the 2nd Independent Brigade of the Taihang Military Region, the recipient of the submachine guns, discovered that the guns only had the original magazines and no spares, forcing them to find a magazine problem on their own.

Another example was the inaccurate information entered when sending the Type 94 mountain gun. Not only did captured ammunition not arrive, but the wrong type of ammunition was also entered, causing the automated logistics dispatch system to deliver unusable Japanese-made 7smm field artillery shells. Furthermore, after receiving the weapons, the Pingyang Provisional Artillery Regiment discovered that 13 of the 27 guns had been damaged by our artillery shells when they were captured, and three had tipped over during transport, resulting in missing sights and oil leaks from the recoil mechanism.

In the end, the Pingyang Temporary Artillery Regiment was able to restore the operation of only seven more broken guns by dismantling and repairing them, which objectively had an adverse impact on the Pingyang Campaign.

Secondly, to improve efficiency, the General Logistics Department often uses "standard pallets" for transport, with plans for different vehicle loads. However, supplies consumed by frontline troops in combat are sometimes uneven, resulting in frequent mismatches.

For example, during the Second Battle of Xinkou, the Valentine Unit of the Northern Mobile Corps fired far more high-explosive rounds than armor-piercing rounds. However, when replenishing supplies, they rigidly followed the standard ammunition pallets stipulated before the war (the proportion of high-explosive rounds had actually been increased before the war). This resulted in an excess of armor-piercing rounds in the front-line units, which not only wasted transportation capacity but also led to complaints from the tank units that "they were sending us tons of iron but they were useless," which had a negative impact.

For example, due to the length of this operation and the high intensity of some battles, logistics transport trucks suffered significant damage. Aside from minor damage repaired by the transport units themselves, statistics show that 37% of the trucks sustained significant damage beyond self-repair and required evacuation to repair stations.

However, due to changes in the combat environment, the field maintenance facilities prepared by the Southern and Northern Campaign Corps often could not keep up with the advancement of the front line. Due to the fierce fighting, the equipment was destroyed by artillery fire, and the train repair equipment was different from the automobile repair equipment. Attempts to repair trucks using the Tongpu Railway Vehicle Section facilities were also relatively difficult.

During the war, the truck maintenance teams on the north and south lines completed a total of 7641 vehicle repairs, accounting for about 42% of the total evacuation maintenance needs. A large number of trucks were difficult to repair immediately due to backlogs, lack of parts, etc., and had to be assisted by the armored maintenance teams and repaired by the "organ donation" method, or evacuated to Guanzhong, Jining or even Lucheng for repair, which wasted transportation capacity and reduced the efficiency of logistics transportation.

Therefore, after this campaign, although our army's logistics work has made considerable achievements, there is still much room for improvement. In future work, we can focus on improving in the following aspects:

1. Grasp the crux of the matter and focus on resolving the personnel issue. Comrades in the industrial and military sectors have already provided us with material conditions rarely seen in China, even better than those of the Soviet Union in some respects. However, the personnel issue is a fundamental one. In subsequent work, we must continue to strengthen the quality training of logistics personnel and the education of the Politburo, especially the education of leading comrades...

Leading cadres should go deeper into the front lines, not only to assist with logistics and work, but also to understand the thoughts of other cadres. When problems are discovered, they should be promptly educated and addressed, and those who have made achievements should be promptly rewarded to overcome the contradiction of having more problems to report than to help solve them.

2. Further adapt to the logistical demands of a new war. Next, our army will enter a phase of counterattack against the Japanese. The situation in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has changed, and similarly, the state of logistics will undergo significant changes. Logisticians should quickly transition from an internal logistics model based on base areas to an external logistics model based on strategic offensives. They should master the use of new equipment to serve the new war.

3. Maintain communication with industrial and military departments in the rear area. The Rear Industrial Committee has called several times, hoping that comrades on the front lines will offer valuable suggestions, rather than simply replying, "Things are going well now, and most difficulties can be overcome." Closer coordination between the front and rear areas of the battlefield is crucial to improving the technical and tactical capabilities of logistics.

General Logistics Department of the Shanxi Campaign

Chapter 629 (Report on the Battle in Shanxi, China)

Since the Chinese comrades only informed us the day before the start of the Fposa (Thunderstorm) battle and did not specify the specific time of the battle at the briefing, the members of the observation group were still enjoying Chinese-style pasta and potato vodka in the Old Roman Scallion Noodle Shop at that time, missing the critical moment of the start of the battle and the early planning process of the battle.

However, the International Brigade pickets did not make things too difficult for us. After going to the dormitory to change our clothes that were soaked by the water column, we still took a plane to the front line as soon as possible.

Because of the closed terrain of Shanxi Province in China, which is full of mountains and intertwined mountain basins, in this battle, our Chinese comrades chose to launch a joint centripetal attack with the two corps in the north and south, and deployed blocking troops on both sides of the "Zhengtai Line", the only external transportation artery in the central government, to prevent the Japanese army from escaping and reinforcements.

The observation group was divided into two teams, each accompanied by Chinese comrades and sent to the headquarters of the northern and southern "battle fronts" (Chinese comrades prefer to call this unit a battle corps) respectively. I went to the Southern Front to observe.

When we arrived, the battle on the front lines had already begun. The "Water-Frequency" transport plane carrying us landed at the field airfield in the Hancheng area, and our personnel transport vehicles quickly joined the long queue of vehicles preparing to cross the highway bridge in the Yumenkou area.

To be honest, it was quite unwise to maintain the logistics of about 9 to 10 field divisions of the Southern Front - Chinese comrades used this term to indicate the forces with strong combat offensive capabilities, whose equipment level on paper was approximately equal to that of the Soviet Army's "second-line main infantry division" - on a bridge. Although the bridge has two lanes and the traffic jam is not bad under command, it is also fortunate that the Japanese army in China lacks an excellent air force like the Nazis.

If it were on the Soviet-German battlefield, the Germans would definitely find ways to bomb this bridge, and the Soviet Red Army's Air Force would fight to the death to defend it.

I consulted with the accompanying Eighth Route Army comrade, who agreed with my view and explained that they had deployed advanced radio detection systems, searchlights, and anti-aircraft guns around the bridge, with a dedicated aviation force responsible for its protection. Furthermore, on the Yellow River, where a pontoon bridge was not feasible, numerous motorized and human-powered vessels were deployed, expanding the "bottleneck" of this transport route through water transport.

My doubts were answered.

I had served as an artillery advisor to the Chiang Kai-shek government in southern China, and like Comrade Xiongski, I had taught myself Chinese with a Sichuan accent. Along the way, I chatted with the Chinese comrades who were in charge of our escort about the Soviet-German battlefield.

This Chinese comrade had never been to the Soviet Union, but possessed the educational background of a high school graduate and military academy education. He was deeply interested in the current state of the Soviet Army and asked me many questions, such as how the Soviet Army organized and employed artillery, whether the Air Force was a flying artillery piece or an independent combat unit, and how to prepare firepower when attacking entrenched enemy positions.

I talked to him a lot without crossing the red line, and I could feel his simple sympathy for me, whose country was also invaded by the Nazis.

and envy of the Soviet Red Army's more tanks, more artillery, and more aircraft.

But to be honest, as far as I know, the Soviet army is facing the relentless pressure from the Nazis, the factories in the rear have not yet been fully adjusted, and a large number of troops still lack weapons and supplies, and cannot reach the level in the organization table at all.

If this dark green torrent of lovely Chinese comrades that I am in were placed on the current Soviet-German front, I am afraid that any front-line commander would be jealous and want to recruit them under his command.

Take artillery for example, this is my forte - most of the artillery soldiers of Chinese comrades can be guaranteed to have the cultural level of a junior high school graduate (even their loaders!), and artillery officers are rarely emergency trainees. They have all undergone complete and reasonable professional training (although not entirely Soviet-style teaching plans), and have excellent technical and tactical levels.

During our assault on the ancient, majestic fortress called Pingyang, the 122mm artillery regiment I observed coordinated command via radio. Multiple artillery groups fired simultaneously, unifying their bombs and suppressing the Japanese frontline positions. The Japanese were practically devastated. Meanwhile, the French and Polish 15mm guns, equipped with APU engines (could we consider this modification?), bravely advanced to the front lines, firing destructive fire on the city walls.

My colleague Comrade Ilyich sighed a little, thinking it was a complete waste to use a powerful 155mm howitzer to shoot at such a medieval-style city wall. But when the Pingyang battle ended and we walked under the towering ruins of the city wall, he felt the silence, solidity and power of this ancient city wall made of rammed earth and bricks.

"Actually, I'm not wrong. The Chinese guys never bombarded the city walls - they bombarded a dirt hill - which was tactically necessary." Little Ilic looked up at the sky and defended himself, adding a lot of laughter to our alcohol-deficient inspection trip.

Compared to their elusive and imaginative infantry, the Eighth Route Army's artillery had no other outstanding features worth mentioning. Throughout the battles we observed, they were methodical and meticulous, even the suppression artillery groups responsible for suppressing enemy artillery fire. Everything seemed to be pre-planned and dictated by various pre-planned procedures, as if everyone was simply turning the handwheel, loading the shells, and delivering the warheads to the Japanese.

However, for an artillery instructor like me, this was like watching a high-level symphony performance - following the rules was the best compliment to the quality of the artillery. But this also had something to do with the enemy the Chinese comrades faced: the Japanese First Army.

Although they showed amazing resilience and cleverness at times - please forgive me for using this word, after all, I can't think of any other words to describe the Japanese intention to break up the artillery organization, hide in the city and use single-gun counterattacks to cause more casualties to the Eighth Route Army - but most of the time, the Japanese showed first-class rigidity in equipment and tactics.

They seemed no different from the Nomonnohan Campaign a few years prior; their equipment level had even declined. The First Army lacked widespread 12mm/105mm artillery, and their long-range howitzers were limited to a handful of 10mm howitzers and a few 88mm guns left behind by warlord Yan. The 150mm howitzers, the mainstay of their firepower, had a short range, slow response, and low rate of fire, making them easily suppressed by the Eighth Route Army. Sometimes, even before the artillery could suppress them, the infantry soldiers scattered across the mountains would capture the remaining artillery pieces.

So, as I write these words, I always feel a strange sense of unreality. Those days when I painstakingly prepared plans, instructed officers at all levels, and even presented complex instructions to artillerymen using diagrams instead of text—yes, that's what I did when I was with the Nationalist Army—seem like yesterday, unforgettable.

Although it may sound a bit arrogant to think so, if the Japanese First Army was transferred to the Soviet-German battlefield, it could only serve as a second-line garrison force.