Canteen System Assistance Notes

"All in all, the situation is much better than I imagined. While the Chinese Communist Party's logistical support capabilities are far inferior to ours, they are much better than many overseas bases. With adequate material transportation support, this place can basically accommodate the long-term stationing and operations of several regiments."

The HNA veteran wrote in the report, "The only thing we need to pay attention to is that before the CCP launches the North China Campaign, we may need to reduce the proportion of beef in the meal standards and replace it with chicken. Broiler chicken farming here is quite large. I think we may need to transport some beef cattle and pork breeders to help them expand the scale of their meat supply."

"But the people here are very enthusiastic. They said that as long as we have US dollars, we can use some special channels to get beef from Japanese-controlled cities." He thought for a moment, as if recalling the taste of that "slightly strange steak" last night.

It smelled like beef, tasted like beef—though not of the highest quality—and looked like beef, but the only problem was that the steak, which should have been an irregular shape, was cooked into a perfectly round shape, and the chef said it could only be cooked "well-done"—but it was still tender and flavorful.

"I can't believe that Japanese steaks all look like this."

"Never mind. Just being able to eat steak seasoned with black pepper and sea salt is enough. What else can't I want?" Towers scratched his head, watching the typist fill out the report according to his outline and make annotations with a pen. "Colonel Jimmy Doolittle of the Army has arrived at the Rushan airfield today. He will coordinate the Far East Special Bombing Group to carry out the Allied forces' first large-scale air raid on Japan. The Communist raid was too small. They need a larger bomber force..."

"John!"

At that moment, someone strode in from the doorway. Towers turned and saw it was Major General Elliott Buckmaster, his rank equivalent. He frowned, his displeasure clearly written across his face. "Oh my God, stop reading this damned report! Contact Washington! Something's wrong!"

Major General Elliot spoke quickly and urgently, as if his eyebrows were on fire and his buttocks were on fire.

"Elliot, what happened? A Japanese air raid?"

"What Japanese? It's the damn British!"

"What's wrong with the Englishman?"

"They bribed the Chinese Communist Party and pulled a bomber squadron from the Middle East, using the Marauders we gave them, saying they were going to bomb Kyushu, Japan!"

"Major General Elliott cursed angrily,"When I got the news, the plane had already

Go to the 'border area', they're going to bomb it in the next two days!

"Son of a bitch! The Englishman is trying to sneak away!"

Chapter 675: Alliances (5) Long-lasting "Hotspots"

Take the US B29 bomber wing in the late World War II in the original time and space as an example. When it was dispatched in a cluster of four bomber groups and the bombing target was not far away, they could use more than 80 bombers to drop more than 720 tons of bombs on the target area, reducing an entire urban area to ashes.

In the strategic bombing of Japan, the US military often dispatched several bomber wings at the same time to deal a devastating blow to a city.

Such a powerful effect naturally comes with an equally terrifying cost. A bomber wing often needs to expend resources three to four times the total weight of the bombs dropped to complete a bombing run, including but not limited to "four fluids and three gases," spare parts for repairs, and a vast amount of supplies for pilots, ground crew, security, and all related personnel, in order to maintain this massive system and deliver a devastating hail of bombs to the enemy.

However, if the sole purpose is to achieve "bombing", a lot of things can be saved - just like what the British are doing now.

Long-term operating mechanism? No need;

Sustainable staffing? Not required;

Sufficient material reserves and production systems to support multiple bombings? Not even necessary!

All we need is a "victory" that's big enough to make the front page of newspapers and generate sufficient publicity!

His Excellency Winston Churchill, "that Lord" of Britain, who was far away in London, may not have known whether Wan Chai was right next to Singapore, and may have had no idea what seeking truth from facts and being cautious and modest were, but he must have been an outstanding master of wartime propaganda.

After the loss of Singapore, the British army in the Far East was defeated. Japanese aircraft carriers even began to fight deep into the Indian Ocean. The British fleet was so cowardly that it evacuated Sri Lanka. As long as they could drop bombs on the Japanese mainland, it would be a complete "major victory."

So, the RAF took action - Operation Torchwood was launched!

They began mobilizing all available air power from nearly ten thousand miles away from China. The British Middle East Command selected its Desert Air Force: four squadrons of bombers from the Royal Air Force, the Southern Rhodesian Air Force, and the South African Air Force. They assembled from their bases, embarking on this immense journey.

Then, after a month's journey, they arrived in China, with only a little more than one-third of their size left - a large number of planes were

During a long-distance flight, the aircraft may be damaged or break down, and may have to stop at an airport along the way for repairs.

There was even a crash during landing.

They were even unwilling to carry out in-depth repairs in the aircraft overhaul/assembly plant in Guanzhong using the spare parts carried in the ammunition bay before carrying out the mission. Instead, they only carried out the simplest inspection and maintenance and flew directly to Shandong Province. In order to ensure the safety in the British sense, they ignored the persuasion of the Eighth Route Army and deliberately chose to fly at night.

Then, two more planes crashed mid-flight due to malfunctions and fatigue. Fortunately, since the crash sites were all inside the base, the base no longer had to worry about the Japanese army's attack, and the surviving pilots were rescued by the military and civilians of the base.

Finally, after enduring countless hardships and difficulties, the British crew finally reached the Jiaodong Peninsula they had longed for. Of the nearly 50 bombers originally deployed, only five B-26 Marauders, eight Venturas, three Marylands, and four Martin 187 Baltimores remained—a total of just 20 aircraft.

The remaining British pilots and the surviving random reporters used a long-range radio to send a telegram to the embassy in the mountain city, then laughed three times in front of the Americans, whose faces looked like bitter melons. They first slept a lot all day, then drank black coffee that was so sour and bitter, like a medicinal soup, and then flew their fighter planes, equipped with bombs and full of aviation fuel, to start the real bombing mission.

Hahahaha! The first Allied nation to conduct a "large-scale air raid" (referring to double-digit aircraft) on the Japanese mainland was not you, America, but Great Britain! !!

-One by one, one by one, one by one

Although the 20 twin-engine aircraft of various models looked powerful, their total bomb load was only a little over 10 tons because they needed to take on more fuel, which was similar to the Eighth Route Army's "Red Flash" operation.

But as expected of that master who excels at drama and propaganda, the British even divided up their small number of aircraft – approximately eight Venturas bombed Hirado and Matsuura in the northwest corner of Kyushu at low to medium altitudes. After indiscriminately bombing the factories in the city, they turned around and fled amid the farewell sounds of the Japanese air defense sirens.

The remaining miscellaneous planes all flew towards the Korean Peninsula.

The Chinese Communist Party does not allow bombing targets on the Korean Peninsula, but there is no problem attacking Japanese shipping cargo ships!

This group of British crews, who were fighting against the Germans and Italians in the Mediterranean, boldly began to use the technique of flat-masted bombing before the Korean army could react, and indiscriminately attacked cargo ships flying the Japanese flag in the port, causing the busy Incheon Port to be engulfed in flames and explosions.

The remaining few Baltimore bombers, lacking ammunition, turned to Seoul and dropped densely packed leaflets over the city. Because they could not bring any British leaflets, all they dropped were anti-Japanese and anti-war leaflets printed in Shandong Province based on local materials. Meanwhile, random reporters in the cabin screamed and shouted wantonly, then kept pressing the camera button to take pictures until all the film was used up.

Finally, after paying the price of 5 deaths, 1 capture, and many injuries, 4 planes were shot down by "Zhongdao" in pursuit, 3 planes crashed during landing, and all the remaining planes were declared decommissioned on the spot and donated to the Eighth Route Army because they could not be repaired and the cost of transporting them back was too high. The British Air Force, after a long expedition of thousands of miles, finally completed the Allied forces' first large-scale air raid on Japan.

They successfully caused minor riots in two southwestern towns in mainland Japan, damaged and sank several cargo ships and ships in Inchon, Korea, and dropped leaflets over Seoul... Most importantly, they managed to obtain enough photographic film before the United States, and edited and produced it into a 20-minute film, confirming the reputation of "the first large-scale bombing of the Japanese mainland by the Allies."

In the face of such huge wartime propaganda benefits, the "cost" of sacrificing pilots' lives, losing all air-raid aircraft, and having to maintain a squadron-sized four-engine strategic bomber force for the Eighth Route Army for five years was not a big deal for Winston Churchill.

The British came to bomb Japan at their own expense, and the Eighth Route Army was naturally happy to see it happen. The only ones who were unhappy were probably the Americans who had originally planned to bomb Japan as well and shoot a propaganda film.

After hearing the news, Brigadier General Kenneth Wolfe, the Army Air Force representative to the Eighth Route Army, and Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, the bombing commander for Operation Revenge, sat in silence for a long time in the office vacated for them by the Eighth Route Army. "How are the preparations for Operation Revenge going?" Brigadier General Wolfe finally broke the silence. "How are our boys preparing?"

"The planes and personnel have already arrived in China. Seven Liberators from the 9th Squadron of the 7th Bomber Group are already in place. They're currently stationed at a government-provided airfield in southern China and will arrive soon," Colonel Doolittle replied. "However, the British have consumed a significant amount of the fuel and ammunition originally reserved for us. Given northern China's production and transportation capabilities, it will probably take another five days to replenish the supply."

As expected, we still have to wait until the CCP captures "Hebei" and completely opens up railway transportation before we can truly increase the scale and frequency of bombing.

Brigadier General Wolfe pinched his brows between his eyes and thought for a while.

"Let the 436th Squadron's Liberators come as well, the same number as the 9th Squadron, also 7." He said, "Since things have already happened, let's just wait another week and let the two squadrons attack together!" Far away on the other side of the Yellow Sea, another commander was sitting at his desk.

"(Air raid) How can the Imperial Kingdom be beaten again and again? We must fight back!" A certain Private First Class Tojo shouted at the top of his lungs, "The British have attacked our innocent people without any reason. Their crime is unforgivable and unpardonable!"

"We must launch a severe and unparalleled counterattack against the brutal Chinese who surrendered to the British devils and American beasts!"

Chapter 676: To Live (⑴) A Small Aspiration

(Update)

"In the 27th year of the Republic of China, the sound of artillery roared, and the Yellow River surged out of eastern Henan.

"The fields and houses were flooded, and all the people and livestock in the village died.

"It's a pity that the Dragon King was blind, the flood was gone and the drought continued.

“There’s no rain, no snow, and strong winds bring up yellow sand.

"Flying sand covered the Ba La Temple, and locusts carried away thousands of bushels of wheat.

“People eat people, dogs eat dogs, and hungry rats gnaw on bricks.”

....

A young soldier, clutching a short rifle, followed the steadily advancing trailer, humming something that was either a nursery rhyme or a limerick, recounting a story that was either terrifying or desolate. The tractor pulling the trailer made a chugging sound, as if the cylinders and flywheel were breathing steadily, maintaining sufficient strength to cross the yellow sand, wasteland, dead trees, and abandoned villages of Henan Province.

The large transport convoy was like a tiny speck of dust in this vast, quiet and desolate land.

Henan Province did not start to suffer from many disasters including drought in 42. To some extent, the "flood, drought and locust soup" is also a "sequence list" of disasters that have occurred one after another. This place had already been the "disaster area" with the most serious disasters in the Republic of China many years ago.

After the catastrophic human disaster of 138 AD, when the Huayuankou dike collapsed due to Japanese bombing (according to official propaganda), many families who had managed to eke out a living were shattered by the violence of the flood. And the Huayuankou tragedy, which immediately affected 1200 million people and killed 89, wasn't even the end of Henan Province's suffering. The broken dike repeatedly flooded the Yellow River during flood season, exacerbating the disaster year by year.

Then, the devastating famine extended the scythe of death to the plains farther away. Compared with it, the flood that could spread for thousands of miles seemed so "gentle".

The Eighth Route Army's disaster relief operations here have been going on for several years.

From the earliest days of setting up stations in villages and guiding the evacuation of people and livestock, the Eighth Route Army's disaster relief efforts continued to escalate. Under the stranglehold and pressure of the Japanese puppet troops and the Nationalist army, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area in the eastern entrance of Henan Province fought continuously to ensure its survival while doing everything possible to save more lives.

They reclaimed land within the base, set up resettlement sites and villages, distributed leaflets to the disaster area, and sent working groups to guide the victims in eastern Henan to the Huxi Anti-Japanese Base in the Hebei-Shandong-Henan region.

But this method was ultimately ineffective. As the disaster worsened year by year and the situation on the anti-Japanese battlefield changed, the Eighth Route Army had to take the initiative, cross the Yellow River flood area, and go to the Shuixi area with Xihua, Shangcai, Shangshui and other places as the core to establish an anti-Japanese base. They took the initiative to gather people who were no longer able to migrate on their own, organized the scattered personnel into teams, and then "left eastern Henan."

The Shuixi base itself lies on the edge of the Yellow River floodplain, with a fragile ecology and a low carrying capacity. Even serving only as a forward post requires overcoming numerous difficulties, the most crucial of which is maintaining a communication line between Huxi and the Shuixi base.

This section of the road is not easy to walk. The distance of about 280 kilometers is already quite far for the legs, and along the way you have to cross the Longhai Railway and the Longhai Railway and Guide Prefecture controlled by the Japanese and puppet forces.

To this end, the Eighth Route Army came up with many solutions.

They reported to the rear and built an assembly plant that was quite similar to the township enterprises of later generations. They used parts produced in the border areas to assemble and produce 12-horsepower hand tractor trucks to replace mules and horses to pull trailers. They were able to pull one ton of materials in rotten land and climb out of pits on their own.

Strangely enough, the Eighth Route Army could always buy gasoline with the Blue Sky and White Sun emblem in Henan Province, which was enough to maintain the supplies needed for multiple convoys, and basically did not need any support from rear-end transportation.

Furthermore, the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area launched offensives against Japanese and puppet troops entrenched in Guide Prefecture. Despite being located on a strategic route along the Longhai Railway, the Japanese presence was actually small, garrisoned by the Wang Puppet regime's "Peace and National Construction Army." The two Wang Puppet commanders, Zhang Lanfeng and Sun Liangcheng, respectively claimed to command an entire group army and a field army, boasting over 100,000 troops. However, they were severely defeated by the Hebei-Shandong-Henan base area. Having lost all their resources in several battles, they were forced to gather their forces and defend themselves, entrenching themselves along the railway and in the city itself, making it difficult to interfere with transportation routes.

However, apart from this, the Yellow River flood area itself is the biggest problem facing the transportation line.

The explosion at Huayuankou in 27 created a thousand-mile-long floodplain. The "water" in the Shuixi base area refers to this vast lake. The spreading Yellow River water brought with it enormous amounts of silt, salinizing the land and almost completely destroying the ecological environment here, creating a thousand-mile-long barren land in what was once China's most densely populated area.

There were no villages to rest, no good roads to travel on, not even a safe water source. The Eighth Route Army, fighting on their own soil, had to resort to drawing on information from their foreign campaigns and learning from the Northwest Passage transport team's experience in the Gobi Desert. They even had to incorporate water tankers and water treatment equipment into their ranks to successfully traverse this area.

The transport team traveled across the desolate Central Plains.

The sun was setting, but hadn't yet sunk below the horizon. The two-stroke engine devoured low-quality fuel like a diligent and silent ox. It wasn't moving fast, but with rhythmic breathing, it slowly moved forward, carrying its heavy burden.

The young soldier also shifted his rifle from his back to his arms and walked to the front of the group. The long trek, eighty miles a day, was somewhat arduous, but fortunately, it was nearing its end. He looked around. Beneath the June sky, the indigo color of night had begun to appear on his sides and behind him.

There were no people, green fields or farmlands to be seen, and the area was gradually plunging into darkness.

However, he was not infected by the desolation and loneliness that permeated the world - a village appeared right in front of the team.

This may have once been a very large village, with hundreds or even thousands of households. Although it is now dilapidated, there are ruts and footprints on the road at the entrance of the village. Although there are not many people in the village, many houses have obviously been repaired and cleaned, with holes patched and slogans painted on them, showing some of the flavor of life.

"On June 7, we walked through the Yellow River flood area and stayed in Baojiatun."

The young soldier jumped off the back of the truck, rubbed his butt, which had been shaken to the point of breaking into four pieces, and pulled out his diary and pencil. "Today, I met some people heading east from Baojiatun. There were comrades from other teams and some villagers who had followed them. They were from Shangcai, over a hundred of them." "Mostly all of them were men. There were also some women, old and young, but not many."

He squatted on the ground, thinking about the words and grammar he had learned in literacy class, and wrote crookedly on a piece of stone,

"I asked them if anyone knew Old Man Liu and Liu Meihua from Zhaozhuang Village, Zheng County, or if anyone had seen my father and sister - and just like before, no one knew."

The little soldier's pen tip tilted and he made a mistake in writing a word. He was a little annoyed and didn't want to take out his eraser from his bag, but after thinking it over, he finally opened his backpack, took out the eraser, and corrected the wrong word.

The situation is even worse than it was in 41. Back then, I could still see families with children, but now I hardly see them.

He thought so, but it wasn't surprising. Natural disasters, misfortunes, or man-made calamities—in China at that time, there were so many things that could take a person's life, so many that even a young man who had just turned twenty felt numb. The chances of finding his father and sister were gradually decreasing, approaching zero. The young soldier desperately hoped that they had actually survived the flood and drifted far away, ending their wanderings in some unknown village and living a quiet life.

If they could also encounter the Eighth Route Army, there would definitely be no problem.

This year's drought is even worse than last year's. It seems like there hasn't been a single rain since the beginning of spring. If this continues, who knows how many more people will die before next year's summer harvest. The young soldier looked up at the nearly cloudless sky, a hint of worry rising in his eyes.

"How many people can we save like this? When will I be able to find my father and sister?"

"Liu Liuqi, 667!"

"Why!"

Suddenly, the young soldier heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and saw that it was his comrades.

"Come and help unload the goods! The last transport team took away a lot of food, we have to unload the food quickly." The comrades who came with the team were rowing with their sleeves rolled up.

He waved his hands vigorously at him and said, "This grain is from the folks in the base areas of Jizhong and Shandong Provinces.

The food we support needs to be stored properly! After we have it stored, we need to check the rat poison cages. We can't let the rats ruin the food...

"Oh, by the way! I heard that tonight, we're having chili and egg noodles!"

"Okay! Here I come! Let's finish the work early so we can have dinner early!"

The young soldier stopped thinking, put away his diary and pen, and ran towards his comrades.

The roar of a reversing tractor's engine, the clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen echoed, comrades chanted and lined up on a conveyor belt, clerks counting supplies whispered to each other, and the once empty village and desolate wilderness suddenly came alive. Yes, things are no longer as they were before. In the face of such a disaster, we are not helpless.

Young soldier Liu Liuqi stretched out his hands, unloaded a bag of grain from the trailer, and handed it steadily to his comrade beside him. Smoke drifted in the air, the sound of people bustled in the background, and everything seemed to have temporarily returned to normal.

Chapter 677: To survive (⑵) Food for the famine

If Henan Province from 1941 to 1943 is a painting depicting suffering, then the Yellow River flood area can only be regarded as part of the background color on the canvas.

The Shangcai County Chronicles of Shangcai County, Henan Province, recorded that "in autumn, there was a severe drought, all the autumn crops withered and died, and no grain was harvested"; Weishi County reported "large swarms of locusts, which covered the sky, more than ten miles wide from east to west, flying from north to south, and temporarily shrouded the moonlight, making it dim"; Nanyang, where the situation was slightly better, also reported that "in early autumn, the harvest of crops was only 30 to 40 kilograms per mu, and in late autumn, there was basically no harvest."

Corpses were left on the streets, children were sold, and every village was barren, with not a rooster crowing. Countless tragedies, too numerous to mention and too painful to describe, unfolded relentlessly in this once prosperous land, until grief sapped people to a state of numbness. Perhaps, years later, they will eventually merge into a cold, chilling record in history books: "In a year of great famine, people ate each other."

Drought, locust plagues... and, most crucially, man-made disasters, were the fundamental driving force behind M's suffering. Like a massive avalanche, they carried with them all the ill will of a nation already impoverished and weak for nearly a century, plunging down upon them, devouring countless lives—so horrific, so absurd, and yet so irresistible.

The Eighth Route Army certainly knew that "to eradicate the weeds, one must remove the roots; to cure the disease, one must address its root cause." As long as the root causes of social problems were not addressed, it would be impossible to fundamentally improve the situation in Henan Province. However, in 1942, under such complex circumstances and heavy pressure, they had no choice but to succumb to reality.

It would be best to cure the root cause, but if we can't even cure the symptoms and people are starving to death, then how can we talk about curing the root cause? At least don't let people starve to death first.

"Wash and remove impurities from the soybeans, then bake them in the oven at 150 degrees for 20 minutes. Once cooked, grind them into powder." "I see. Soybeans make up 28%, teacher. Are they the main source of protein?" "Yes, plant protein. Animal protein comes from this: egg powder."