Canteen System Assistance Notes

Perhaps in order to toy with this irresistible target, the driver of the Type 97 medium tank did not even open fire to kill the soldier. Instead, he adjusted the position of the tracks and drove the center of the vehicle towards him, as if he wanted to cruelly crush this heroic anti-Japanese fighter with the vehicle.

Though its weight was comparable to the "light tanks" of the other major combatants in World War II, the Type 97 medium tank, weighing over ten tons, was still a formidable force for flesh and blood to resist with bare hands. Facing the approaching, rumbling tank, the soldier trembled with fear, but could offer no resistance.

at last......

The tank drove over the soldiers' heads.

The soldier, who had just been severely injured and unable to move, immediately jumped up from the shallow pit. He pulled out a large anti-tank grenade from under his body, pulled the fuse, and threw it at the rear of the tank. Then, while the tank turret was still unable to react, he quickly rolled to the left and immediately hid in the crater next to it.

With a "puff" sound, the anti-tank grenade behind the Type 97 medium-sized tank emitted a puff of green smoke and made a sound like firecrackers - the engine of this tank was "destroyed".

"So, everyone, look! Although this tank looks indestructible, we can find many ways to deal with it - tanks are not indestructible and invincible!"

Comrade Wang Tiechui, standing at the side of the training ground, stood up and said to the new recruits, "Alright, everyone, assemble! Company commanders, lead your teams to your designated locations and line up to train with the armored comrades!"

Comrade Wang Tiechui, a former native of Northeast China and Shandong Province, often recalls the moment when he held up a signal stick at the last moment of the battle to indicate the target to his air force comrades in the thrilling anti-encirclement and suppression battle two years ago. After experiencing many battles and completing regimental-level tactical training, he was sent to the Hebei base area. Originally, he was sent as a "seed" to help the brother troops in Hebei establish their own reconnaissance and mobile forces. But no one knew that in the swift attack launched by the Japanese army using the "heart-piercing warfare tactics", Wang Tiechui would be placed in front of the Japanese army's most elite "Mechanized Mixed Brigade" in the interior, and would go head-to-head with the Japanese army's "cavalry genius" Tadamichi Kuribayashi.

Fortunately, he completed the mission and protected the base behind him from being ravaged by the enemy.

Now, the former "seed" mission of the reconnaissance battalion has been carried out by the reinforcement troops sent later, and the combat hero Comrade Wang Tiechui has gloriously taken on another mission - becoming the commander of the "M mobile combat force" of the Hebei-Central base area. Initially, the purpose of forming this force was to prevent the Japanese army from deploying similar mechanized forces again to carry out deep strikes on the base area. However, with the liberation of Cangzhou and the victory of the Shanxi Province Campaign, the enemy situation in North China has undergone a fundamental change.

The Japanese army changed from a "vicious warrior who carried a knife and was ready to find a flaw to stab you at any time" to a panicked enemy that needed to be on guard against "the Eighth Route Army rushing down from the Taihang Mountains and hitting them on the head". Even the battle scenario of the Hebei-Central base area had changed. At this time, if a force with high mobility and breakthrough capabilities could be maintained in the Hebei-Central base area, it would surely be able to involve the Japanese army's already limited defensive forces, and strike hard at the critical moment, punching a big hole in the Japanese army's so-called "Pinghan Road Iron Wall Defense Line" from behind.

Therefore, as one of the people who probably knew the most about motorized troop combat in the entire Ji-Zhong base area, after the resolution of the military district party committee, Comrade Wang Tiechui was able to rely on the last reconnaissance battalion seeds, select veterans and recruits throughout the Ji-Zhong Military District, and form a "synthetic motorized combat unit."

Throughout 1942, Wang Tiechui was busy organizing this new unit, leaving this tough Northeastern man, who once wouldn't shed a tear on the battlefield, with back pain and a dry mouth. The reason was simple: while the method of organizing a mobile unit was no secret, knowing it was one thing, and doing it was another.

Although the Central Hebei region, now connected to the Shandong and Southern Hebei bases, was a large base area with abundant grain production and a sufficient number of available troops, it lacked the industrial infrastructure of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to the rear. Even after the recovery of Shanxi Province, the rear could directly support the rest of North China, but the Japanese still occupied the Pinghan Line, making large-scale transportation difficult. Therefore, Comrade Wang Tiechui was forced to compromise, or simply make do.

First, based on the experience he gained from the "Mobile Corps" of the Eighth Route Field Army, which was also the "Yang Jisheng Corps" that the Japanese invaders feared, he roughly set a brigade-level size for this unit: because of the actual situation in the Hebei-Central base area, the size of this unit should not be too large to reduce the pressure on logistics.

Based on his suggestion, the Hebei-Central Military Region organized four fully equipped infantry battalions for this "mobile brigade"* and formed a reconnaissance company from the elite "Hebei-Central Cavalry Regiment" capable of mobile reconnaissance. In addition, the unit also had an engineering company capable of bridge-building, demolition, and earthwork operations, paving the way for the entire force to advance.

In terms of technical weaponry, the "mobile company" comprised a sizable and well-equipped artillery battalion. These included 100mm mortars, providing regimental support firepower, M1 75mm mountain guns, and 107mm recoilless rifles for deployment and reinforcement. Due to the need for unified logistics support, the newly arrived 14.5mm KAPV anti-aircraft machine guns were not assigned to a separate anti-aircraft machine gun company. Instead, they were stationed within the artillery battalion, used to protect artillery positions or be deployed for ground-strafing fire.

Anyway, the anti-aircraft gun is effective against the ground if it is placed flat.

As for armored forces, due to the existence of the Pinghan Line defense, any large-scale arrival of tanks and armored vehicles from the rear at the Hebei-Central base would be tantamount to directly announcing the start of an offensive campaign, triggering a fierce reaction from the Japanese army. Therefore, based on the principle of self-reliance, the Hebei-Central Military Region submitted a report to the Military Commission and requested a technical team to strengthen the existing repair shops in the base.

Thanks to the efforts of these "great technicians," a significant number of Japanese tanks and armored vehicles abandoned by the Japanese and destroyed by our forces during the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign in central Hebei were restored. They not only restored Isuzu vehicles, once owned by the North China Transportation Company and the Japanese Navy, to tow artillery and transport logistical supplies, but also, by disassembling and reassembling parts, successfully restored 16 Type 94 ultra-light armored vehicles, 8 Type 95 light tanks, and 6 Type 97 medium tanks.

Considering the difficulty of operating the guns on Japanese tanks and the difficulty in finding ammunition, the border region's repair team decisively replaced the 37mm guns on the Type 95 light tanks with 14.5mm KPV machine guns, and the 57mm guns on the Type 97 medium tanks with 37mm tank guns removed from American tanks—these guns were far more effective than the Japanese 37mm guns. As for the tank chassis that had lost their turrets or suffered heavy damage, they were converted into training vehicles and tractors for driver training, plowing, and towing.

Comrades in the Hebei-Central Military Region carefully protected these tanks and began learning their use under the guidance of specially assigned tank instructors. As the crews gradually graduated, by 1943, Wang Tiechui's mobile brigade was finally able to incorporate a cutting-edge Japanese armored battalion. Although this battalion consisted of only three Type 97 medium tanks and six modified Type 95 light tanks, its combat effectiveness was relatively modest, the soldiers could still proudly say, "We have tanks now!"

Now, in February 1943, Wang Tiechui finally reaped the rewards of his labor.

Although its scale was severely undersized, its combat effectiveness far inferior to that of a regular mobile corps, and its fuel still had to rely on biodiesel stolen from "logistics supply points"... this mobile brigade in the Hebei Province, born from the "gift" of the Japanese "Special Mixed Mechanized Brigade", still achieved combat effectiveness far exceeding that of local troops of the same size, or even field troops.

In several battles to capture strongholds, Comrade Wang Tiechui commanded this highly mobile force. Under the command of the military district headquarters, he intercepted the Japanese mobile forces used to reinforce their strongholds, achieving very good results.

Those Japanese troops that relied on railways and highways to maneuver and were attacked in unexpected places often could not hold out for a single round in front of him; and after the mobile brigade eliminated the reinforcements and joined the offensive battle, the Japanese and puppet troops who intended to rely on a few strong strongholds to hold on and wait for reinforcements often suffered a morale collapse the moment they saw the tanks appear. There were even cases where the puppet troops turned against him on the spot, engaged in a firefight with the Japanese army, and surrendered.

At such times, the military and civilians in the base areas participating in the battle often cheered loudly and their morale soared.

However, this daily routine of training with other brother units and occasionally participating in offensive campaigns did not seem to last long.

"Brigade Commander, telegram from the military district."

The signalman trotted over to Wang Tiechui who was training on the ground with the printed telegram.

Wang Tiechui took the telegram.

"According to orders from above, your troops are required to assemble at their base within 12 hours, be ready for battle, and arrive within 48 hours..."

Wang Tiechui's expression didn't change, but he couldn't help but take a deep breath and raised his head slightly.

He could sense that the events he had imagined and deduced countless times were about to officially project from his mind into reality, transforming into an impending wave and storm. Wang Tiechui's heart was slightly lifted, then slowly calmed under the control of reason—a mixture of determination, anticipation, and a slight sense of nervousness enveloped him.

"Call Political Commissar Lei over." Wang Tiechui gave a simple order, then he took out the whistle from his chest pocket and blew it hard.

"drop------!"

Chapter 770 Comrade Ozaki's Reflections on Visiting the North China General Army

Among the undercover intelligence personnel of the CCP's "Tongwen Academy" lineage, Ozaki Hidemi is one of the well-deserved "stars".

Although being famous in later history as an intelligence officer is not something to be proud of in a certain sense, it also shows the dangerous situation faced by this undercover comrade and the outstanding work he did - before the Sorge case broke out in the original time and space, he became the personal adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro, and was able to lay intelligence channels into the highest level of Japanese decision-making and obtain the most critical strategic intelligence.

Meanwhile, Sorge remained undiscovered, having evacuated to Europe through the German Embassy. Naturally, Ozaki Hidemi, who would have been "tracked down," remained undiscovered. Not only did he maintain his "young master" persona (which he certainly was), he also leisurely evacuated Japan at the end of 1941, spent considerable time "relaxing" in Southeast Asia, and finally reestablished contact with the organization in the second half of 1942 through the Chinese Communist Party's Party Committee in Aden.

Oh, he even took his companion, the eldest son of Duke Saionji, on a long tour of Africa before coming to Aden - it was so relaxing and comfortable that it even made people a little jealous.

For example, Comrade Ozaki Shotaro, who was still working in the enemy's lair, might have felt a little "unbalanced."

At the end of 1940, after Shirai Yukiyuki received a special certificate of appreciation from the Chief of Staff and was promoted to Vietnam, the position of Chief of the Intelligence Section of the North China Front Army became vacant. Ozaki Shotaro, then working in the Intelligence Section of the Manchurian Railway's Research Department, was transferred to Shirai's position due to his outstanding work ability and understanding of China.

Afterwards, under Okamura's command, Shotaro took over the intelligence network left by Shirai step by step and carried out related work.

He diligently carried out Okamura Yasuji's brief "contact reconnaissance operation" order. Using a number of elite "reinforced squads" (supersized squads equipped with six light machine guns and six grenade launchers, led by veterans who had served beyond their term), and specially summoning a large amount of captured goods that reflected the Communist army's industrial capabilities, he convinced Okamura to draw on elite forces and naval trucks to form a "thorough armor unit." He assisted the Japanese garrison in analyzing the changing situation on both sides, regularly collecting and compiling information on vacancies in Japanese defensive systems and personnel in various regions, and gathered information on the Eighth Route Army's troop structure, helping local commanders understand both themselves and the enemy. He also, under orders from Imperial Headquarters, regularly drafted intelligence summaries from North China, encrypted them in the Army's standard intelligence code, and sent them back to mainland China via telegram for reference by decision-makers.

In order to keep it secret, Comrade Shotaro really sent everything via wired telegraph.

Okamura Yasuji was quite satisfied with the new section chief, so he assigned more work to him after the Shanxi Province Campaign, hoping that he could cooperate with Lieutenant General Iimura Mamoru to help him improve the combat effectiveness of the new "North China General Army" in order to achieve "stability" in the battle situation and the front line.

He didn't even seek a "counterattack."

Well, if the leader has a demand, the subordinates have to work.

The portly Comrade Ozaki Shotaro was a man who was quite observant and able to read the atmosphere. After interacting with the now neurotic Lieutenant General, he immediately realized that Iimura Jo was someone who was highly skilled in detailed calculations, but lacked—or rather, was unwilling to exercise—the ability to plan and analyze the overall situation of the war. Thus, Shotaro volunteered to take on the planning and deployment aspects of the "combat capability enhancement" work, allowing Lieutenant General Iimura to focus on his areas of expertise.

This also allowed Comrade Shotaro to understand from a higher level the various changes in the North China Army after it was upgraded to a general army.

It has to be said that these changes are quite obvious - putting aside other things, the North China General Army finally welcomed a large number of additional troops after completing its upgrade.

Previously, the former leader of the North China Army, Itagaki Seishirō, had used his connections to pre-emptively secure manpower supplies for the North China Army, resulting in an unusually low annual supply of troops in 1940 and 1941. After the Shanxi Campaign, faced with the tragic situation of the Eighth Route Army descending from the Taihang Mountains and the immediate collapse of the situation within the Great Wall, the Imperial Headquarters finally relaxed its supply policy for the North China Front Army.

A total of 4 divisions (excluding the 3 divisions added before the Battle of Baojin Province) were sent to North China, and landed through Jieshi Island and Tianjin Port, and were added to the ranks of the North China General Army.

Of these, only two divisions carried only moderate heavy weaponry (Type 31 field guns, Type 94 mountain guns, etc.), while the other two divisions were full-fledged "bolt-action rifle divisions." These units were primarily composed of a small number of Type 1B troops and a large number of Type 2B troops, with the high-quality "Type A" troops almost extinct.

Shotaro noticed that the list of reinforcements sent in 1943 even included a number of "Type C soldiers," as well as some troops from the peninsula—presumably, their combat effectiveness would be even worse. However, having people around was always a good thing. After some planning, the seven divisions sent in 1943 were split into two parts—two divisions equipped only with rifles and machine guns were split into squadrons and sent to the divisions on the front lines that were bleeding so badly that they could not leave the cities; the other five divisions with some heavy weaponry were reorganized into new divisions with limited offensive capabilities and complete defensive capabilities.

These "Defense Guard Divisions" were designated 8, 82, 83, 85, and 87, and were immediately deployed by the Japanese in Peking, Tianjin, Tangshan, Jieshi Island, and Shimen. This served to strengthen local defenses and isolate local Communist forces, particularly those in the eastern Hebei base area, from frequent infiltration and raids by "other commanders." This ensured that the key transportation routes from the Kwantung Army to the North China Army remained firmly under Japanese control, preventing the subsequent "no railroad, no train" situation.

It is not enough to just replenish people; it is also necessary to supplement the troops with heavy technical equipment in response to the equipment they lack, especially the new changes in the Communist Army.

During the Shanxi Campaign, the Eighth Route Army employed numerous tanks. Whether they were the armored BT-5 and BT-7 tanks or the Valentine tanks clad in inert armor, they proved a "wall of sighs" for the Japanese 20mm and 37mm anti-tank guns.

When these rumbling metal fortresses carried the Communist Army's powerful assault teams to the Japanese defense line, the Japanese anti-tank guns were often hit by retaliatory direct fire after 2-3 rounds of firing. After losing these, the defending Japanese army had to resort to human bombing of tanks, paying a high price to destroy individual tanks - and they had to pray that after they approached the Communist tanks, the accompanying Communist infantry did not quickly leave the vicinity of the tanks.

Because this often means that the "smoke grenade launchers" on the turrets of the Communist tanks are not loaded with smoke bombs, but "air-burst shotgun shells" specifically used to kill nearby infantry.

On behalf of the North China Army, Shotaro submitted a request to the Imperial Headquarters, hoping they would coordinate the delivery of more powerful anti-tank guns, such as the newly issued Type 1 anti-tank gun. However, the Imperial Headquarters stated that the production capacity of this type of anti-tank gun was insufficient, and that they had to ensure the deployment of the Kwantung Army first before providing support to the "less close" North China Army.

Instead, it was replaced by a "Type 2 twin 7.5 frame jet-propelled gun" weighing 38 kilograms (16 kilograms body + 12 kilograms gun mount). This thing has an effective range of about 200 meters and a maximum range of about 50-600 meters. It can launch turbo rockets with an armor-piercing ability of about 150 mm (static penetration). The headquarters believed that this thing was enough to destroy even Russia's "heavy tank T-34", and there would be no problem dealing with the British tanks of the Communist Army. It could even replace the Type 92 infantry gun and be issued to those newly established divisions that lacked artillery.

General Okamura Yasuji and Lieutenant General Iimura Jo were clearly dissatisfied with this. They asked Shotaro for some captured "disposable turtle fist" launchers and petitioned the Imperial Headquarters to manufacture a replica of this lightweight weapon, weighing no more than 7 kilograms. However, the Imperial Headquarters, having never encountered the chaotic use of turtle fists, rejected the proposal, saying, "How can we use such crude Communist weapons?"

Helplessly, Okamura could only instruct Shotaro Ozaki to first go to the Fengtian Arsenal to draw up a blueprint, then let him use the intelligence department's "private warehouse" to purchase equipment, and then produce a modified version of the domestically produced "Type 2 double 7.5 Torreya spray gun" at the Beizhi Field Weapon Factory in Tianjin.

This rocket launcher, called "Type 2 7.5 Torch Spray Run Kai", removed the tripod and the other launch tube and only used the front bipod for support.

So the weight is controlled at about 8.5 kg. It can be carried out by a launcher and

—A loader works alone and uses grenades and armor-piercing shells to hit distant targets.

As for the problem that the effective range is halved (only 100 meters effective range) and the accuracy is greatly reduced after the gun mount is missing...it is still better than the 20 anti-tank gun and human bomb that cannot penetrate the target.

Shotaro completed this work with 10%, sometimes even 120%, of his passion. Under his supervision, the "Type 2 7.5 Gel Spray Run Kai" rifles manufactured at the North China Field Arms Factory were smooth, well-made, equipped with optical sights, and even the ammunition was polished to achieve "craftsman-like" consistency. Although the factory's production volume fell far short of expectations, the Japanese soldiers who received these weapons raved at the time.

Even the military and civilians in the Jidong Anti-Japanese Base Area gave it positive reviews, saying that the rockets made by the Japanese were really good.

Finally, due to General Okamura's continued obsession with his now-defunct "Mechanized Mixed Brigade," the North China Army, after being elevated to a general army, initiated a reorganization of its mechanized units. Because this matter concerned the "Mechanized Mixed Brigade's countermeasure to the communist army," Okamura personally led the reconstruction of the unit, leaving Ozaki Shotaro, the head of the Intelligence Section, largely uninvolved.

He could only follow the arrangements and assist the army in receiving various armored vehicles shipped from the sea. In the more than half a year from 1942 to 1943, he watched the North China Army successively receive some Type 97 modified tanks with replaced turrets, "Type 1 Spore Tanks" with a Type 90 field gun installed on the Type 97 tank chassis, and some strange-shaped national tanks shipped from the south.

These included several "Renault UE ultra-light tanks" (Renault UE31R armored vehicles) and "Lavli armored cars" (Lavli 50 AM), with a total of no more than 5 vehicles, and even some old Renault FT-1718 light tanks. Seeing this, Shotaro Ozaki's eyelids kept twitching, and he exclaimed in his heart that it was outrageous.

Of course, these vehicles look much better than the "Vickers Armored Vehicles" and "Wolseley Armored Vehicles" supported by the Chinese Army in Shanghai - after all, they are proper armored units.

But soon, something even more outrageous happened - the headquarters seemed to be very enthusiastic to provide help. They dug out an old armored vehicle design from the archives and hoped that the North China Army could organize production to fill the shortage of "armored vehicles".

When Ozaki Shotaro opened the package containing the blueprints, he nearly fainted.

On the blueprint labeled "Type 99 Special Infantry Horizontal Commander," five hand-drawn soldiers were inside a wooden vehicle protected by 4-1mm steel plates, pushing their pedals hard to propel the vehicle forward. This was a human-powered machine gun vehicle with a five-member "crew" and powered by pedals!

Chapter 771: Overlaying the "Eighth Route Army" and the "New Fourth Army"

The second half of 1942 was a rather "quiet" period for the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

After retaking Shanxi Province in the spring of 1942, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army provided limited support during the Nationalist Army's campaign in western Hubei. For the rest of the time, the military and civilians throughout the liberated areas were preoccupied with the 1942 drought, striving to save as many lives as possible through drought relief efforts.

After all, the Eighth Route Army's actions of leaving Taolinsai, entering Luoyi, and dispersing the Nationalist troops were considered armed disaster relief, not combat. However, this does not mean that the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army will give up their regularized construction.

With the strategic balance of power in the entire Anti-Japanese War reversing, and the transition to a strategic defensive phase, or even a strategic stalemate, imminent, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army had no choice but to transform their troops into field armies, empowering them with more units for frontal combat, thereby annihilating the Japanese invaders and recovering lost territory on a large-scale battlefield. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, having anticipated this, had already considered this point in 1939 and initiated the construction of field armies early on.

This campaign, which lasted for several years and relied on the emerging industries in the border areas and imports, gave birth to a group of field armies that frightened the Japanese invaders and caused Chiang Kai-shek to lose sleep.

Supported the success of the Mengxi Campaign and the Shanxi Province Counterattack.

In 1939, the regulations for the construction of the field army, which were based on the major bases that were still divided and isolated at that time, were somewhat affected by the rapidly changing situation in North China.

It seems a bit behind the actual situation.

Therefore, throughout 1942, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, in addition to disaster relief, were busy with internal military development. And when the last page of the 1942 calendar was torn off and the morning sun of 1943 shone across the land of China, this enduring people's army was striving to reform itself from within to adapt to the new and larger-scale struggle for national liberation and independence.

Because domestic transportation, logistics, and battlefield conditions, as well as the resources of the liberated areas, were simply not comparable to those of post-First Five-Year Plan China, the field army's relatively modest divisional organization remained largely unchanged, maintaining the standard of three infantry regiments, supplemented with attached forces, using 75mm mountain guns as divisional artillery, and being able to receive additional artillery reinforcements from superiors.

In the 1942 adjustments, the focus was on building the direct forces of the army-level unit "column".

Because in the year 139, when the previous version of the Field Army plan was formulated, the Eighth Route Army had not yet liberated western Inner Mongolia and Shanxi Province, and the bases in various places were unable to break through the Japanese blockade line at any time and anywhere to transport supplies, the Field Army plan basically only set relatively clear goals for the "division-level units", and only made directional plans for the higher-level "columns".

In the Battle of Western Meng and the Battle of Shanxi Province, the new field army troops basically fought in divisions, and the front committees responsible for front-line command often had many independently organized artillery, armored, engineering and other forces at their disposal. By delegating and strengthening them to designated field divisions, these divisions could be responsible for breakthrough missions in the main offensive direction or defense missions at key nodes.

However, this model was sufficient in the battles in western Inner Mongolia and Shanxi Province, but it seemed a bit inflexible in the North China battlefield with a larger combat area.

Therefore, after discussion, starting from 1941, the Central Military Commission decided to slow down the training speed of field army infantry personnel to a certain extent, further increase the training ratio of technical personnel, and add "military units" to the newly formed field army "columns" to enhance the overall combat effectiveness.

Under normal circumstances, a field army column will have 2-3 division-level troops under its command and have an independent command and communication system, responsible for commanding operations over a larger area.

For example, in the 1942 version of the field army plan, the original independent artillery regiment consisting of 54 guns was split up, with 12 155mm-D1 howitzers and 24 7MB0-12mm howitzers, along with more than 90 British and American trucks, forming a "corps artillery regiment" directly under the column. This allowed a column to independently carry out artillery preparation in a direction without relying on artillery units issued by the forward command, and to achieve approximately 50% of the firepower continuity of the US military (excluding Van Fleet) in the Korean War in a different time and space. Alternatively, the artillery could be split up and decentralized, and a subordinate field division could be upgraded to a "main field division" capable of carrying out breakthrough missions in key directions.

For example, under the column, a "Military Reconnaissance Battalion" consisting of tricycles, light trucks, armored vehicles, or large Bren reconnaissance vehicles and their variants could be deployed. These units, capable of maneuvering at speeds far exceeding human speed, could carry the newly developed "Swallow Dance 4" communications relay station, conducting mobile reconnaissance over vast distances, reporting enemy activity to the field army column, and even directly directing artillery fire against high-value enemy targets.

In addition, because of the existence of the "column" level, the field army can also accommodate more motorized logistics, engineering, hospital, machine repair, veterinary, communications and air defense units to support the field army to form a more diverse range of execution tasks.

Service capabilities.

However, considering the different quotas of each base and even each unit, there are also differences in the high-level and low-level direct forces of the field army.

不少根据地没有能力生产和运用重型的122、155火炮，便会利用缴获的日式75毫米野炮、160毫米重迫击炮，亦或者中央转交的英制25磅榴弹炮作为军属炮兵团的组成单

Yuan; Some bases have difficulty in ensuring the transportation of a large number of transport vehicles, so the military reconnaissance battalions will use cavalry, three-wheeled motorcycles or even bicycles to replace mobile vehicles for battlefield maneuvers or transporting ammunition.

To the surprise of some comrades, the "26-inch heavy-duty mountain bikes" assembled from the main bicycle parts exported from the canteen and spare parts from the base area were widely praised in various base areas. Comrades in the base areas said,

These bicycles are simple and easy to use, durable and easy to repair, and are not picky about roads or people. You can learn to ride them after just two days.

A rifleman equipped with a bicycle can march 4 or 5 kilometers without feeling tired; a machine gun assistant gunner with a bicycle can carry four 150-round ammunition boxes; a rocket launcher with a bicycle can carry five "disposable turtle fists".

Not only is it easy to use and low-cost, it can also greatly increase the firepower sustainability and combat capabilities of scouts, making it very useful.

As for the field armies near Guanzhong and border areas, or deployed in Shanxi Province, with the support of the entire liberated area industrial cluster and the "canteen system", their equipment can be more "luxurious".

The 122+155mm towed artillery can basically fill the organization. Some field armies in mountainous combat areas can also be strengthened with 160mm heavy mortars or 107mm towed rockets; those fighting in plain areas or having the ability to break through enemy advances can also be strengthened with 160mm heavy mortars or 107mm towed rockets.

Some field armies tasked with setting up defense lines will be reinforced with independent tank battalions.

Because of the arrival of American aid, a large number of M3/M5 Stuarts arrived in the border area, so these tank battalions were all "American small tanks-Chinese modified" - after being equipped with "leek box" additional armor, the personnel of the border vehicle factory were

These American tanks have added rear-mounted telephones and vehicle-mounted smoke grenade/anti-personnel grenade launchers, making them capable of performing the task of accompanying infantry breakthroughs.

Those "heavily armored" Valentines would be assigned to field armies facing clear Japanese anti-tank artillery positions. Although slow, their extremely strong protective capabilities would crush the Japanese defense lines that they thought were very tough.

As for the "Yang Jisheng Mobile Corps", which is very special in the entire field army genealogy and is responsible for the Eighth Route Army's exploration of motorized and mechanized troops, their newly acquired equipment is even more special and cannot be replicated.

The.

In addition, the construction of a higher version of the new field army must be accompanied by politically concerted actions.

Carl von Clausewitz once said in "On War" that war is nothing more than the continuation of politics by other means. Although the Eighth Route Army is not a believer in his doctrine, it also admits that the military is not completely isolated from politics and administration.

Therefore, in October 1942, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee was held in the border area. The Central Committee members who came back from all over the country reviewed and passed a series of topics, summarized and deployed the next year's combat strategy, disaster relief tasks, and review and approval.