Canteen System Assistance Notes

The air defense command, which has not yet been fully formed, is temporarily being jointly performed by the Military Commission and the Border Security Department. Ever since the guerrillas near Shimen reported that there were seven strange-looking monoplanes with two propellers landing, the border area has begun to enter a state of combat to prevent air raids.

The Air Force didn't yet have the capability to launch combat missions, so Tang Dayuan, who had just taken office, called out his valuable air defense forces: there were currently two battalions, equipped with second-hand goods that Liu Helian had bought back from the United States. The coastal artillery was selling scrap metal water-cooled M2 machine guns. This inconvenient but powerful device could be paired with the Maxim 4M twin-mounted anti-aircraft machine gun, the blueprints of which were provided by the Russians, to form a mutually protective barrage. Gao Chongde, from the civil defense department, led the team to unseal the anti-aircraft caves dug last year, inspected the ventilation ducts and stored supplies, and finally organized a last-minute air defense drill.

Fushi City has made almost all preparations and is just waiting for the Japanese army to arrive.

Finally, one day in July 1938, the observation post in Jincheng called back and reported that a Japanese biplane reconnaissance plane had taken off and was flying towards the border area. Soon, the River Defense Command responsible for the Yellow River defense also sent back the same information.

Compared with the briefing from the observation post, the data this time was clearer. The air observation and listening posts of the River Defense Command reported the type, distance, course, altitude and speed of the Japanese aircraft.

"One Type 95 reconnaissance aircraft, located 32 degrees east-northeast of our position, at an altitude of approximately 500. The enemy aircraft turned over Wubao, heading 11 degrees south-east, at a speed of approximately 220!"

While optical observation data wasn't very accurate, it was sufficient to inform air defense command—this must be the Japanese reconnaissance plane leading the charge. The women at the headquarters placed a glass plate on the map, drew a blue line with a marker, and waited for the next call to report the data before updating the chart.

Japanese planes took off from Jincheng, crossed Yongning Prefecture, passed through the river valley, arrived at Wubao, and then turned south. This was not the Japanese taking a detour, but finding a route for the heavy bombers and photographing and identifying landmark navigation points on the road. The Japanese planes now did not have high-tech such as laser gyroscopes and positioning systems, and Fushi City did not have a continuously working radio station to provide guidance. If they wanted to bomb Fushi, the more suitable route was along the Yellow River and Yanhe River.

Tang Dayuan ordered all the air defense forces not to enter the positions for the time being and to keep the positions camouflaged to avoid exposure. He recalled the "German bombing ideas" mentioned in the information and believed that the main force of the Japanese bombing - heavy bombers - would soon arrive with this lead reconnaissance plane.

This is similar to the idea of ​​hiding machine gun fire points during the army's war. If an air defense position is detected, subsequent enemy aircraft will bypass the position or suppress it.

The air defense forces, which are not numerous enough, can only face the air.

A battle of wits and courage.

An hour, two hours later, the reconnaissance plane finally reached Fushi. It was a Japanese biplane, flying very low. It first flew along the river valley, then saw thick smoke rising from Fushi (anti-target identification), and then it lifted slightly higher.

People on the ground can even use binoculars to see the "Hinomaru" on the fuselage and wings.

The biplane was like a buzzing fly, slowly circling around Fushi City, round and round. It didn't seem to be carrying any weapons and was just here for reconnaissance - after circling a few times, it flew back along the same route.

Then next, it will be the Japanese army's large force...

The soldiers on the positions kept their composure and waited quietly for the arrival of the large group of Japanese planes. However, after waiting for a long time, until the alarm was lifted and night fell, all the air defense posts and positions did not find any new enemy planes, let alone the legendary large group of Japanese planes.

How is this going?

Chapter 108 "Air Raid"

Compared to reconnaissance aircraft, light combat aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft, which are easier to maintain, multi-engine bombers require longer runways, higher maintenance requirements, and more supplies. At this time, when the Nine Provinces Crossroads F had not yet been occupied by the Japanese army, there were only three airports in North and Central China that could sustain the operation of "bombers" - Sijiucheng, Yicheng, and Modu. It was quite "optimistic" to rely solely on these few airports to support a comprehensive strategic air raid.

Shimen Airport was only a place for refueling and loading bombs, with no ability to overhaul or maintain aircraft. It was a "forward aircraft approach" area. The aircraft it maintained most often were light aircraft like fighters and attack planes, lacking the ability to overhaul heavy bombers. Meanwhile, the actively engaged military and civilian population of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area were happily tearing up the tracks of the Zhengding Railway. As a result, the bombs and fuel scheduled for Shimen Airport were stuck on the track, slowing their progress. After landing, this understaffed heavy bomber squadron was unable to take off for a while!

By the time the underground party in Shimen and the nearby guerrillas compiled the entire incident into a long telegram and sent it all back to the border area, the makeshift air defense headquarters, on high alert, stared at each other in amazement, feeling a sense of emptiness, like they had put all their efforts into hitting a cotton ball. Where had the legendary strategic air raid been? Where had the German-style air raid process, with a leader aircraft leading the way and a large group of aircraft following? Where had it all gone?

But the intelligence has confirmed that seven or eight bombers have indeed landed in Shimen. They must be prepared to bomb the border area, but they cannot help but defend. But if they keep on keeping their nerves tight...

Maintaining a tense posture before the battle, after a long time, everyone must be tired.

In the end, the air defense headquarters could only maintain a normal state of alert, letting the officers of the communications office take turns on duty, waiting for the new telegram from Shimen.

In the next few days, the heavy explosion at Shimen was silent. Only the detectives from Jincheng came occasionally to investigate the border area, take pictures of some landmarks, and throw a few grenades.

The bombs were even dropped, and one of them was even lost due to weather conditions.

As we were flying, we turned into a wrong valley and ended up in Fu County - there was also a mountain there, with a tower on it, and the town was also in the valley between the mountains.

Apparently, the pilot of the reconnaissance plane did not notice the mistake in time. He circled the tower twice and dived down, intending to vent his anger by strafing. However, he was shot at by the local garrison with a mounted light machine gun. He quickly pulled up and flew away, and the matter ended in vain.

"The Japs have been coming a lot these past few days. They don't come in large numbers, just one or two, and they don't carry any explosives. At most, they bring something about the size of a mortar shell, which can't hit anything. The damage is mainly a few houses and a few large animals, with few casualties."

In the central conference room, a bunch of old smokers were looking at the briefing in their hands and listening to Gao Chongde, who was in charge of the civil defense command, talking about the impact of the recent frequent alarms in the border areas.

"After so many times, every time the alarm goes off, do we have to shut down our blast furnaces? Do we have to cut off power to our power plants? Do we have to keep our schools and shopping malls open? Honestly, there are already quite a few voices on campus. Some say the Japanese can't bomb Fushi City, so there's no point in air defense. Some say Fushi is just hillocks and dirt slopes, not worth an airstrike."

At this point, Gao Chongde paused and said: "I actually hope that if our area is all earthen slopes, the Japanese won't come. Unfortunately, there are so many factories, mines, schools and hospitals around Fushe now that we can't escape even if we want to." He sighed.

As the saying goes, a thief can be thieves for a thousand days, but you can't be on guard against thieves for a thousand days. While the metaphor is a bit far-fetched, we certainly can't live in constant fear. We need to find a way to temporarily eliminate this threat, at least until the Air Force can fight again. Everyone looked at Nie Heting, who was temporarily in charge of the Air Force. He waved his hands in a rather unconcerned manner: "The Air Force has only a few planes right now, and there are a lot of pilots, but they're all still raw. They haven't even finished their classes yet. That kid Tang Lingyun said he was planning to use a wave 2 to attack Shimen at night, but I blew them away. How can you say you're using the Air Force like a bomb?"

After taking a breath, Nie Heting muttered, "They say the Air Force is delicate. This time I've finally seen it. This is more strenuous than leading a regiment."

A light laugh broke out in the conference room. The chairman smiled, put down his cigarette, and began his speech: "Ah! We have a lot of pots and pans these days! Comrades, you have all seen the role of pots and pans in the past few months, and I have seen it too. With the new clothes and weapons for the troops, and the new farm tools and cloth on the market, everyone is reluctant to part with these pots and pans, and that's understandable."

He looked at the people sitting in a circle and stood up. "The existence of jars and cans is an objective reality. I don't think we need to deny their existence, but we shouldn't let them restrict our thinking either! The enemy's air force is always stronger than ours for the time being, and they have their own set of tactics. Our mass base and guerrilla tactics are something the Japanese can't achieve or understand. We have our own way of fighting."

"If they want to launch an air raid, well, let them come!" Chairman Mao showed his fearless demeanor. "If they come, we will fight them back! Don't be afraid of losing all your pots and pans."

Instead, I had this strange thought: "Why haven't the Japs come to bomb us yet?"

At the same time, we also have to fight our own—I remember that right now, near Shimen, in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region, it's He Huzi's 120th Division and his men?"

"Oh, Comrade Chairman, yes. To be specific, it should be Comrade Wang Xibei and the soldiers of the 359th Brigade," Zhou Gong had an excellent memory. He squinted his eyes and thought for a moment. "In the regular newsletter a while ago, the newly formed Pingshan Regiment fought many brilliant battles. I still have a deep impression of them."

"Comrades, please look."

The Chairman walked to the map hanging on the wall, picked up a laser pointer from the table, and pointed to the sparse transportation lines in North China: "The Japanese troops are strategically insufficient in such a vast area of ​​North China; and the devils are tactically insufficient.

Strength is organically integrated with strategic weakness."

He placed the red light on the stone gate: "Take the stone gate as an example. This is the headquarters of the Japanese First Army, and the garrison in this area is our old rival: the 109th Division.

"The 109th Division has a relatively complete troop strength, but their defense zone stretches from Baofu in the north to Zhaoducheng and Zhangde in the south, and they also have to cover Jinxian County to the east. In other words, they have a maximum of 10,000 men, but they have to manage over 400 kilometers of railways and highways, as well as surrounding villages and county towns. How many troops can they concentrate in one place, and how dispersed should their forces be?

"So, at first glance, this is an issue of the Air Force, air raids, and air defense." The Chairman dropped the laser pointer on the table and chuckled as he grabbed a few peanuts. "Essentially, it's still an Army issue!" "The Japs fight the Japs, and we fight ours! Haha, the Air Force comrades mentioned earlier that Air Force combat isn't limited to the air. Isn't this an excellent attitude of liberating thought?"

Chapter 109: No Eighth Route Army Beards

North of Shimen City, Dagu Village.

This place is outside Shimen City. Although there are occasional patrols by the Japanese army, it is not the core of the Japanese army's control. The management here is mainly handled by the "Shimen (pseudo) Administrative Office". The gentry of the pseudo-administrative office would never go out of the city to manage a small place like Dagu Village. Therefore, the management here was once again outsourced to the Dagu Village Maintenance Association.

Yes, it was the second one. The previous landlord had fully cooperated with the Japanese puppet regime's oppression and control, not only exploiting the people but also betraying anti-Japanese patriots, causing widespread resentment among the people. Then, one night, this landlord's head was hung on the flagpole in front of the earthen wall, along with a "public trial document." His barking dog was transformed into a fragrant stew pot, placed next to the flagpole.

So now, the chairman of the maintenance association here has started to shout "Japan and China be friendly, treat the people well", and he no longer sets up checkpoints and collects rent randomly on weekdays. He seems to be much easier to talk to.

On this day, two guys who looked like peddlers came from a distance driving an ox cart. The oxen were old and thin, but they were big animals after all and could pull a cart full of things. They came from Pingshan and Zhengding counties in the north. They were itinerant merchants who were very popular among the people living around Shimen City because they could always bring good necessities of life, such as very cheap clothes, high-quality and inexpensive condiments or potions that could relieve prickly heat and itching.

"Big needle - foreign thread - Bakelite comb!"

"Sugar bean pancakes—tiger fat!"

A thick Pingshan accent rang out. The militiamen at the village entrance glanced at them, then stopped looking, minding their own business. The peddler, evidently an experienced man, hurriedly pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lifted the paper lid, tapped the bottom, and distributed the cigarettes among the militiamen carrying some sort of rifle.

"Hey! Peddler Zhang, the cigarettes are pretty good! Have you made any money recently?"

The head of the regiment said this in an oblique way, holding the extra filter on the cigarette butt with one hand, and stretched out the other hand, spreading it upwards, "Red Brand cigarette with butt

This is a rare find.”

"So, as soon as I get some goods, I'll come and give them to you!"

The peddler flattered him slickly, slipping a pack of cigarettes into the hands of the militia leader, who nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand to let the cart go. However, when he saw a sturdy, but timid man following behind the cart, he asked, "Hey, Peddler Zhang, where's your usual little follower? Why did you change him?"

"Oh! Sir, my nephew has a cold and can't come."

The peddler hurriedly explained, rummaging in his pockets again, only to find half a pack of cigarettes. "This is Erleng, the mute from the village. We have a lot of stuff this time, so we need someone strong to help us."

The man named Erleng was gesticulating, trying to explain. While gesturing, he hid behind the peddler, pinching the corner of his clothes, looking like a really unreliable country bumpkin.

"Oh...oh, it's just that the Japanese have been checking very strictly recently, and there's nothing we can do..." The militia leader took the half pack of cigarettes quite skillfully, weighed it, and felt that the weight of the half pack of cigarettes was enough. He shouted to the people in front with satisfaction: "Okay! I don't think the people from our neighboring villages have any bad intentions. You are not the Eighth Route Army bandits in the mountains..."

“Let Luca go and let them into the village!”

"Alas, alas!"

The peddler's face, eyes, eyebrows, and mouth lit up with joy. He forcefully pulled the mute Erleng out from behind him, pressed his head against his, and bowed, "Why don't you thank me, General?"

The sky gradually darkened.

The peddler duo took advantage of the light before they sold some salt, underpants, needles and thread, and other small items. The village maintenance committee chairman also sent his assistant to buy soap, sugar, mothballs, and other goods. Although the peddler's new assistant spoke incoherently and was unable to speak, he was meticulous and careful in organizing the goods. Everyone said that peddler Zhang had found a good assistant.

By the time the smoke from Daguo Village cleared and the sparse kerosene lamps lit up, the dirt roads on the village were deserted. After the two peddlers confirmed that no one was around, they quickly loaded their goods onto the ox cart, bundled them, and headed to the villager's cattle shed.

"My fellow villager, my fellow villager, do you have any kerosene left for lighting?"

The peddler knocked on the door, but heard a creaking sound, and a voice squeezed out from the crack of the door: "No, if it's not from Mobil, I won't buy it."

Thanks to the nonexistent industrial capacity of preserved fruits, Mobil, which had crossed the ocean, sold kerosene lamps at bargain prices throughout rural areas of North China, and even changed the local night lighting habits.

"We also have it from Mobil, but you have to pay extra."

After hearing this answer, the fellow opened the door and let the two people in.

"I'll give you a one-night stay, so give me a discount!"

This seems perfectly reasonable: a dedicated peddler is selling kerosene for lighting to a fellow villager, and the bargain-hunting villager hopes to exchange a discount on the kerosene for a night's lodging.

Well, if we ignore the fact that this fellow villager and the two peddlers were scouts of the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, everything would be normal.

This fellow villager's family is a newly developed "contact household" and belongs to the "basic masses" of our party!

With the curtains drawn and the oil lamp dimmed, this ordinary house quickly fell into silence, as if the two peddlers, tired from a day of traveling and hawking their wares, were finally resting. The skinny ox tied up in the cowshed pulled at the dry straw piled nearby, chewing its cud before slowly settling down, leisurely enjoying its night's rest.

After a while, two heads wrapped in straw appeared from the haystack outside the village.

By moonlight, two heads crawled forward, groping toward the eastern edge of the village. Here, a trenched, barbed-wire fence surrounded a flat expanse of ground, dotted with wooden watchtowers. In the drowsy vision of the lookout, the dim searchlight's circle revealed nothing but grass and rocks, flattened earth, and a line marked with white lime: this was outside the Imperial Army-controlled Shimen City. It was quiet, and there were no enemies. Night duty, a grueling task, was usually assigned to rookies like him by veterans.

One of the two heads silently cut through the barbed wire, crouched down, and observed through a telescope. Then, he stretched out his arm and gave a thumbs-up toward the plane, which shimmered in the moonlight. The other head had already put on headphones and pressed a miniature microphone to his throat.

"Observation post three, take position."

Chapter 110 No One Attacked the Imperial Army

The Eighth Route Army was trying to solve the problem using the army's methods, while the Japanese army was trying to solve the army's problems.

For the 109th Division in Shimen, the biggest problem is not the enemy in front of them, no matter whether it is the Eighth Route Red Army or the Yamashiro Army of Guofu. They are confident that they can fight against these weak enemies. The fact that the entire regiment of the friendly 108th Division was wiped out is more like an accident and a joke; what the division commander Yamaoka Shigehisa is more concerned about is that a considerable number of soldiers in the entire 109th Division will expire their service and are about to retire.

That’s right, I’m retiring!

Sitting in the division headquarters at Dashiqiao, the delicious tea and snacks couldn't make General Yamaoka Shigeaki feel any better. As a veteran of 82, he had been called up again after being transferred to the reserves, and his call-up order would expire next year.

If nothing goes wrong, I can retire comfortably next year.

Yamaoka Shigeto thought, this should have been a happy occasion, but it was actually making him irritable. Over the past six months, guerrilla groups, which should have been easily defeated, have begun to appear again, and they are clearly more cunning than before. Troops have been attacked, personnel are short, and armaments are undermined. Requests for reinforcements are piling up on the general's desk, keeping him working late.

Normally, the 109th Division, composed of reservists, would be supplemented with new recruits to maintain its organization, allowing it to deploy full squadrons, battalions, or even regiments when needed. However, due to continuous losses, the 109th Division, which was supposed to provide support, is now understaffed. Furthermore, with many veterans nearing the end of their service, the headquarters may adopt a different approach.

Order the entire division to be decommissioned, and then form a new 109th Division to replace the old reserve 109th Division as a whole. How can this be possible!

What should I do if the entire unit is demobilized?

Yamaoka Shigeto was a bit depressed. Wouldn't it be nice if he could just complete his garrison duty peacefully, get promoted to an aide-de-camp after Showa 13, or secure a nominal position in the General Staff, and then retire with honor? Why was he doing this?

It's all your fault, you damned guerrillas!

He could only use his own network of connections to ask around.

Now, aside from separating the 109th Division from the First Army's jurisdiction and placing it directly under the North China Expeditionary Force, the Expeditionary Force's headquarters hadn't taken any further action. Besides his superior, Lieutenant General Kozuki Seiji, being recalled to Japan due to being held responsible for the 108th Division's "embarrassment to the Empire," there had been no other news. This silence made Division Commander Shigeto Yamaoka quite uncomfortable. This was a matter of great importance, as it affected his post-retirement benefits.

After thinking it over, he pressed the doorbell and called his staff officer.

"Hi, General."

The staff officer, who had long been a confidant, walked in and quietly asked for the general's instructions. Yamaoka Shigeo coughed and pushed the paper on the table over. "Oda-kun, you have worked hard for the Empire. I can't finish these snacks, so I'll give them to you." "General! This..."

"Sit down, but it's okay. I asked you to investigate earlier. What was the result?"

The staff officer named Oda finally realized what was happening. He closed the door gracefully, bowed, and accepted the general's offer with both hands before sitting down. Previously, he had used the general's official funds to leverage his connections at the North China Expeditionary Army headquarters to gather information from classmates, cohorts, and informants. After making overtures at numerous restaurants and taverns, he had managed to gather some information.

"General, the headquarters has decided to prioritize the 108th and 109th Divisions for security warfare. It's said that the new recruits joining our army will be replaced by North China Security Forces recruited in ZN. This way, we only need to hire some returning soldiers who volunteered to stay as advisors to the new units, and we can organize the troops into a model suitable for 'security warfare'—according to my senior."

The headquarters believed that this was the next period of time that the North China battlefield would demand

The main form of combat faced."

"Hmm... then, regarding funding and materials, and how to adjust the organization—or rather, regarding your and my job responsibilities—is there any news?" The general pondered for a moment.

"This is also to better contribute to the empire."

"In these areas... I'm deeply sorry, General!" Staff Officer Oda stood up abruptly and bowed deeply. "Although we've tried our best, we really don't have any further information!"

Um....Um, no need to apologize, it's not your fault. You can leave first...Oh, wait, please call the orderly for me, it's very late, it's time to rest.

What are the Expeditionary Force Headquarters and the headquarters planning to do?

After the staff officer said goodbye, he opened the door and walked out. The division commander fell into deep thought.

Are you preparing to deal with the guerrillas? Although the guerrillas are annoying, they are not impossible to deal with. As long as we gather the troops and send them out in a concentrated manner, won't they run away faster than rabbits? After all, not everyone is the mysterious Eighth Route Red Army. Apart from them, there are all kinds of armed forces in North China, and there are many easy-to-catch fish among them.

As a reserve lieutenant general, Yamaoka Shigetoshi did not quite understand why the expeditionary force headquarters attached so much importance to "public security". After much thought, he decided to focus on fighting for his retirement.

If they were to take on the task of maintaining public security, then the main task would be to fight against, bribe, and reorganize the bandits and the guerrilla forces. Although this was not as easy as an offensive campaign to establish merit, it would still be a merit if the public security that the headquarters valued could be "rewarded." Shan Gangzhonghou decided to send his regiment commanders to various military units tomorrow to "investigate" how many soldiers were willing to "voluntarily extend their service terms" and take the initiative to "serve the country for seven lifetimes and never stop until their death" to serve as the backbone of the new security division and lead the newly recruited North China Security Army.

Well, I believe there are many patriots in the imperial country who are willing to sacrifice themselves.