Seeing that it was almost time to launch the battle, Li Yunlong ordered a telegram to be sent to the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment.
Let Ding Wei and Kong Jie bring their battalion commander to Zhaojiayu to hold a combat meeting.
Ding Wei and Kong Jie had been waiting for this day for a long time. As soon as they received the telegram, they were like sharks smelling blood. They took the battalion commanders and got on the jeep and rushed over.
Bring the wind all the way.
"Old Li, with such a huge formation, we're going to launch a major counterattack?"
Kong Jie led his battalion commanders into the headquarters of the New First Regiment, and immediately saw the battalion commanders of the New Second Regiment sitting in the yard.
After first asking the battalion commanders to wait outside the door, Kong Jie quickly walked into the regiment headquarters and looked at Li Yunlong eagerly and asked.
Beside Li Yunlong, Ding Datuanzi had already arrived and was lying on the table with Li Yunlong, staring at the map and discussing.
"Lao Kong, are you here?"
Li Yunlong raised his head and smiled slightly:
"Yes, according to the order from the headquarters, we are going to take it seriously this time and launch a counterattack against the Japanese in Taiyuan and Zhengtai Railway!"
Next to Li Yunlong stood Wang Dehou, Zhang Dabiao, Xing Zhiguo, Zhao Gang, Ding Wei and others, and several combat staff officers from the new regiment were also busy there.
It looked like a war was coming, and even the air seemed to smell of gunpowder.
“I’ve finally been waiting for this day.”
Kong Jie was shocked and his eyes widened instantly:
"Very good!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Jie strode towards Li Yunlong and the others. Although he had already expected a series of combat orders from the headquarters, Kong Jie couldn't help but feel a little excited when he heard Li Yunlong admit it personally.
Now the new regiment is equipped with 50 aircraft and has seized air supremacy from the Japanese. The ground forces far exceed the Japanese army in Shanxi in terms of strength and firepower.
Kong Jie had long expected that the Eighth Route Army would launch a major counterattack against the Japanese in June at the latest.
But he didn't expect this day to come so quickly.
But when Kong Jie thought about it carefully, he felt that it was somewhat reasonable.
To launch a major counterattack in June, the Eighth Route Army must be better prepared, but the Japanese must also be more prepared during this time.
After all, the current situation in Shanxi and even North China can be seen clearly by anyone with a discerning eye, as long as they are not fools.
Sooner or later the Eighth Route Army will launch a major counterattack against the Japanese.
If in the past, more than 30,000 Japanese elite troops and more than 20,000 puppet troops had launched a mopping-up operation against the Jizhong Military Region, the Jizhong Military Region would have suffered heavy losses.
However, since the strength of the Central Hebei Military Region has been strengthened, as well as the air support of 90 aircraft, the Japanese raids have ended just as they began.
As the Japs continue their raids, the Japs' logistical supply lines are cut off. With the cooperation of the Eighth Route Army's air support and ground troops, the Japs will be wiped out sooner or later.
Judging from this counter-mopping operation in the Jizhong Military Region, the combat strength of the Eighth Route Army is no longer what it used to be.
Not only was the outside world in an uproar, but many people within the Eighth Route Army did not expect that the Eighth Route Army's combat strength was so strong.
After the Eighth Route Army had its own air force, its combat effectiveness increased significantly!
"When will the major counterattack begin?" Kong Jie asked, "Lao Li, you will be the commander-in-chief of the former enemy again this time, right?"
"Yes, it's me." Li Yunlong looked at Kong Jie, "Old Kong, how many people do you have in your regiment now? Lao Ding's new second regiment has more than 20,000 people."
"Old Ding, you are not a bad boy. You have made a fortune quietly."
Kong Jie looked at Ding Wei, his tone was surprised at first, and then he smiled:
"Our regiment also has more than 21,000 people, a total of 18 battalions. This time I brought 18 battalion commanders."
"Let me tell you." Ding Wei curled his lips, "You, Lao Kong, are not a fuel-efficient lamp either."
After the new regiment changed its equipment, Li Yunlong gave Ding Wei and Kong Jie 10,000 American-style equipment each, which was enough for them to expand their troops to more than 30,000 people.
In three months at most, both the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment will be able to expand to a main strength of over 30,000 people.
There is enough food, enough American equipment, and the territory is large enough that there is no need to publicize it, and the enthusiasm of the people to join the army is extremely high.
Are you still worried about not being able to recruit troops?
At present, the territory north of the Xinzhou Basin is occupied by the Eighth Route Army, and the New Regiment even has territory in more than a dozen counties. The problem of troop sources has been solved.
Li Yunlong had long figured out that the New Second Regiment and the Independent Regiment each had more than 20,000 people, and the main force of the New First Regiment had more than 50,000 people.
In this attack on the Zhengtai Railway and Taiyuan, northwest Shanxi can send more than 80,000 troops.
The remaining troops must defend Datong and their hometown in northwestern Shanxi.
In the middle of last month, after Li Yunlong returned to northwest Shanxi from a meeting in southeastern Shanxi, the headquarters had issued a "Campaign Preparation Order" to various units of the Eighth Route Army, including the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the 129th and 120th Divisions, and the Northwestern Shanxi Military Region.
Also report to YA.
Although the North Shanxi Military Region has not yet been formally established at the headquarters.
However, for the convenience of command and naming, the headquarters collectively referred to the three regiments in northwestern Shanxi as the Northwestern Shanxi Military Region.
After analyzing the changes in the domestic and international situation, the "Campaign Preparatory Order" stipulated that the total number of troops directly participating in the major counterattack should be no less than 300,000.
The Northwestern Shanxi Military Region is required to send 70,000 people, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region is required to send 20 regiments, the 129th Division is required to send 200,000 people, and the 120th Division is required to send at least 10 regiments.
The large-caliber heavy artillery brigades, howitzer brigades, Katyusha rocket artillery regiments and mountain artillery brigades directly under the headquarters, as well as engineering units also participated in the battle.
After the Japanese launched a May Day raid on the Jizhong Military Region and the second batch of student pilots flew back to Yangcun Airport, the headquarters issued a "Campaign Operation Order" and determined the campaign deployment and combat areas.
The above-mentioned four major attack groups mainly attack the Northwestern Shanxi Military Region and the 129th Division, while the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the 120th Division serve as cover and assists.
According to the order, all attack groups focused on reconnaissance and investigation of the enemy situation, terrain, fortifications and residents of the Taiyuan and Zhengtai Railways.
Each attack group secretly mobilized troops, prepared combat supplies, and organized participating troops.
All participating troops from the three regiments arrived at the regiment headquarters, and Li Yunlong quickly held a combat meeting.
In the Zhaojiayu ancestral hall, about 80 people gathered together.
Except for Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, Zhao Gang, Kong Jie and other regiment-level and deputy regiment-level cadres, these 80 or so people are all battalion-level cadres.
Either the battalion commander or the battalion instructor.
Each battalion of the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment is of regimental size.
Almost every battalion of the new regiment strengthens the size of the regiment.
From the perspective of establishment, there are more than 70 battalions, but in fact there are more than 70 regiments.
Although the number is not as high as the 105 regiments in the Hundred Regiment Battle, the combat effectiveness of these seventy battalions far exceeds those 105 regiments in terms of quality and firepower.
Li Yunlong looked at the crowd, took the lead in delivering a speech, and went straight to the topic: "Everyone here is our battalion and above-level officers from northwest Shanxi. Many of them are familiar faces. This is not the first time for a combat meeting in Zhaojiayu. Of course, there are also some new faces.
."
"I, Li Yunlong, won't say any more nonsense. I think everyone has already guessed it."
"Yes, we are going to launch a major counterattack against the Japanese in Shanxi this time!"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the battalion commanders suddenly became commotion.
Li Yunlong glanced at the battalion commanders. Some battalion commanders had hot eyes, some had excited expressions, some were full of expectations, some had resolute expressions, and some had stern expressions...
Only no one showed any fear.
The officers here who can become battalion commanders are all ruthless characters. They climbed out from the dead and are excellent in tactical command and troop leadership.
Li Yunlong continued to outline the headquarters' combat plan with a satisfied expression.
Zhao Gang conducted political mobilization with great emotion, focusing on why this war was fought and how to win it successfully.
Then, Wang Dehou began to deploy his troops: "The new second regiment marched from the left wing to Taiyuan, the independent regiment marched from the right wing to Taiyuan, and the new first regiment marched from the center to Taiyuan."
"The first phase of the battle plan is."
"As the vanguard battalion of the entire army, the First Battalion of the New Regiment maintained a distance of about 50 kilometers from the main force, approaching the enemy first and attracting Japanese attacks."
"If the Japanese army came to attack, the first battalion would launch a defense on the spot and hold on for a day. The Eighth Route Army troops would form a large encirclement on the outside against the Japanese attacking the first battalion."
"If the Japanese army does not attack the first battalion, each regiment will proceed step by step along the original route and attack as planned."
"The second phase of the battle plan is to eliminate the Japanese defending outside the city, send troops to intersperse, and use artillery fire blockade and other means to prevent the Japanese from escaping into the city."
"The third phase of the battle plan is street fighting."
Immediately afterwards, Wang Dehou talked about the troops remaining in Datong and northwest Shanxi.
Li Yunlong's battle plan this time is to bloom in the center.
In this major counterattack, the Eighth Route Army was the attacker and the Japanese were the defender.
The Eighth Route Army's firepower is indeed very strong, and its troops also have a great advantage.
However, as the defensive side, the Japanese were waiting for work. Although the Eighth Route Army had the advantage in all aspects, the casualties of the attack were bound to be considerable.
Li Yunlong was about to release a bait. This bait was the New Regiment and the First Battalion. It was up to him whether the Japanese would dare to come out and bite the hook.
If you can destroy an enemy division in the field, then this battle will be much easier to fight!
In addition, the Japanese army also deployed two divisions on the Zhengtai Railway.
These two Japanese divisions were mainly attacked and restrained by brother troops from the 129th Division, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and the 120th Division.
The combat meeting ended soon after. Li Yunlong called Ding Wei and Kong Jie to the regiment headquarters and told them some things to pay attention to.
Although the Eighth Route Army was far superior to the Japanese in every aspect, it should not be careless.
As soon as he finished his instructions, guard Huang Erhu ran in and reported to Li Yunlong: "Report to the leader, Yan Shuangying is here and has brought new business."
Li Yunlong asked: "Is Boss Chen here?"
"Boss Chen didn't come." Huang Erhu replied, "There is only Yan Shuangying."
Li Yunlong said: "Please come quickly!"
"yes!"
Huang Erhu turned around and walked out quickly.
"Old Li, you've been doing a lot of business recently!" Ding Wei asked tentatively, "Last time we killed Yoshimoto Teiichi and completely annihilated the North China Front Army's aviation unit. Such a big deal, you made a lot of money, right?"
"Hey, it's all a small business, not much."
When he mentioned this, Li Yunlong felt happy, but his face pretended to be indifferent:
"That's 226 aircraft, 28 B4 heavy howitzers, 28 Katyusha rocket launchers, several weapons and ammunition production lines, hundreds of thousands of tons of fuel, 500 vehicles, and a full set of oil field equipment."
"What Boss Chen sent this time should be warship business. This is called big business."
Ding Wei's voice suddenly rose: "My dear, Lao Li, do you call this a small business?"
Kong Jie on the side also suddenly widened his eyes.
226 planes?
Our Eighth Route Army has made a fortune!
This chapter has been completed!