984 Another and another...a hundred-regiment battle?
...Captain Song of the Yanbei detachment is also a strong anti-Japanese war general with quite a personality. Over the years, he has tormented the little devils quite hard in the area where the three provinces of Shanxi, Hebei and Inner Mongolia meet.
This time, in accordance with the order of the division headquarters, after successfully capturing Datong, the main force of the Yanbei detachment rode on the captured mechanical vehicles of the 26th Division and quickly advanced towards Inner Mongolia to attract the attention of the Japanese army and cover the rapid attack led by Li Yunlong and Kong Jie.
Reaction troops, conducting roundabout operations in the direction of Licheng.
But how could the mighty Captain Song be satisfied with this?
"Our attack on Datong was too sudden. The Japanese soldiers stationed there were already depleted of troops. This battle was not pleasant at all for him.
Next, all our troops gathered in Licheng, and the Japanese quickly sent additional defenders in the direction of Licheng. This was our Eighth Route Army's first real frontal, large-scale offensive battle since the Anti-Japanese War.
Our Yanbei detachment cannot miss this big show!"
The deputy detachment leader on the side was stunned for a moment and said hurriedly: "Old Song, don't mess around. We have a mission and we have to go north to contain the Japanese army."
"Of course the mission must be completed, but this time our troops from all walks of life rush to Le City together. This is a tough battle for a joint event. We cannot miss it. Even if we arrive later, we must catch up."
"This way..."
As he said that, Captain Song immediately came up with a plan, "Let's quickly advance towards Zhangjiakou and take advantage of the situation to destroy some of the puppet cavalry ranches stationed in the Mongolian army at the junction of Hebei and Mongolia.
After attracting all the attention of the Japanese, we divided our troops into two groups, one of which continued northward to contain the Japanese army. The other group, led by me, quickly detoured toward Licheng."
"Old Xu, you have to help me fulfill this wish!"
In this regard, what else could Deputy Captain Xu say, so he had no choice but to agree.
Soon after, with the help of the rapid maneuverability of mechanized combat vehicles, the Yanbei detachment, which was rapidly advancing northward, arrived near Zhangjiakou.
Then they launched an assault on some nearby Japanese and puppet cavalry ranches.
This was a contest between the mechanized combat troops and the Japanese cavalry. The Japanese and puppet troops were no match for each other. They were quickly defeated and the ranch was immediately destroyed.
At this time, Li Yunlong and Kong Jie led the rapid reaction force and quickly went south along the border suburbs of Shanxi and Hebei. They were protected by the Eighth Route Army base areas along the way, and they were not noticed by the Japs for the first time.
Therefore, the Yanbei detachment, the mechanized combat force that was the first to cause trouble near Zhangjiakou, immediately attracted the attention of the Japanese and puppet troops.
Datong was quickly attacked by such a mechanized combat force.
After the Eighth Route Army that had sneak attacked Datong withdrew, a mechanized combat unit quickly moved northward. This made the Japanese army subconsciously think that the Eighth Route Army that had sneak attacked Datong's mechanized combat unit moved north again.
The devil's attention was indeed attracted.
Reconnaissance planes flying out from Wuchagou Airport were also roaring back and forth in the sky near Zhangjiakou to investigate the situation, trying to block the mechanized combat troops of the Eighth Route Army heading north.
……
The cavalry unit of the 35th Army on the other side, including a special mechanized combat unit composed of some armored vehicles and automobiles made by Commander Fu, formed a mixed rapid transportation unit.
When news came that Datong had been captured by the Eighth Route Army, the fighting in the direction of Licheng intensified.
The cavalry group of the Mongolian Army originally stationed at the Baotou base camp first moved two cavalry regiments southward and was deeply encircled by the Eighth Route Army. It was probably a disaster.
After the Eighth Route Army in northern Shanxi made chaos everywhere, the Japanese cavalry group continued to dispatch troops to assist in the battle.
At this time, the Mongolian army stationed in Baotou is probably already exhausted.
Realizing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Commander Fu immediately issued a combat order for a surprise attack on Baotou with fast cavalry units and mechanized combat units.
Commander Fu, who is good at stealing homes, appears again.
Taking down the Baotou headquarters of the Mongolian army has always been his obsession.
"Our 35th Route Army has achieved quite a reputation in the past few years, especially the battle to regain the Five Plains, which made us famous in one battle.
But we can't just think about resting on our laurels. The Eighth Route Army has even captured the Japs' Datong Fortress.
If this continues, the area in northern Shanxi and Inner Mongolia may only know the Eighth Route Army but not the 35th Route Army.
This is not the case. Regardless of the outcome of this attack on Baotou, we must use the momentum of our 35th Route Army!
You have to let the little devil know that in this area of Inner Mongolia and northern Shanxi, the Eighth Route Army is not easy to mess with, and Fu is not a vegetarian either!"
"Let's go——"
……
In the direction of Datong, the Eighth Route Army troops gradually disappeared.
After the Yanbei detachment and the rapid reaction troops led by Li Yunlong and Kong Jie took the lead in withdrawing, the main force of the 120th Division and comrades from the local troops also retreated back to the base in an orderly manner.
Facing the reinforcements that the little Japanese was still pushing towards Datong like crazy, the soldiers slowly let go of the blockade and let the little Japanese pass.
Unfortunately, when the Japanese reinforcements rushed back to Datong, all they were left with were the empty supply depots, ammunition depots and granaries.
Even bricks and tiles, as long as they were of some use, were looted by the Eighth Route Army soldiers.
The 26th Division was stationed in Datong, and the family that had been operating for many years was completely declared bankrupt.
Including various military vehicles, motorcycles, search vehicles, bicycles, as well as armored vehicles and tanks, a total of more than 200 vehicles.
In addition, a large number of artillery pieces stationed in the Datong Arsenal were also looted.
Some heavy howitzers were also towed away by soldiers using tractor vehicles.
There is also a large amount of mining equipment, including various rare minerals hoarded by the Japanese, as well as factory equipment and massive piles of materials.
All of this, if the Eighth Route Army used ground-breaking surprise attack tactics to break through the 26th Division's base camp Datong in one fell swoop, it was a military miracle.
Then, the Eighth Route Army gathered all the forces of the military and civilians to rapidly transport various captured Japanese supplies within a short period of time, which also created a miracle.
Back and forth, the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army in northern Shanxi invested troops, plus local troops, militia troops, and even ordinary people who took the initiative to help.
The total number of people, a rough estimate after the war, even exceeded 100,000.
Promoted by later reports from the Eighth Route Army:
This is a great military miracle created by the unity of the Eighth Route Army and the people on the anti-Japanese battlefield.
This is a miracle pushed out by all military and civilian vehicles. This is a miracle of tens of thousands of people working together in a dispersed manner, with a high degree of cooperation and close division of labor.
Like a large group of ants, seemingly disorganized, they cooperated tacitly and operated efficiently to transport the massive supplies hoarded by the Japanese army throughout Datong.
Of course.
There are simply too many supplies, and with the constant pursuit of Japanese reinforcements along the way, a battle may break out at any time.
It is impossible for the soldiers and the helping common people to transfer all the supplies to the base area.
This was also a situation that the Eighth Route Army cadres had long anticipated when they were at the division headquarters before the fighting broke out.
Therefore, the final solution is still the most familiar idea of segmented transfer, moving to the nearest location, transporting secretly, and finally gradually transferring to the base area.
To put it bluntly.
It is to gather the strength of all the military and civilians, disperse a large amount of seized materials on the spot in various villages and base areas, and temporarily hide them to achieve the effect of quickly hiding the materials.
Then, small-scale battles were held to delay time until these secretly hidden materials were successfully transferred to the Eighth Route Army base area.
Even in some local battles, the soldiers were defeated by the Japanese and puppet troops, and only a very small part of the supplies were lost.
Facing hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians united as one, the Japanese army could only look back and sigh.
Lieutenant General Harem Chun, the division commander of the 26th Division, learned the news at the headquarters. He was so distressed that he almost cried when he learned that all the property he had accumulated for many years had been looted.
More is despair.
After this battle is over, it can be expected that his 26th Division will be disgraced due to this disastrous defeat.
In addition, the family's financial resources have been completely wiped out, even if the casualties of the army itself are not many, there will even be a dilemma of being unable to feed the huge army in the future.
It’s almost embarrassing to be thrown into grandma’s house.
……
At this time, the disastrous defeat of Datong has become a definite fact and cannot be changed.
The Japanese army did not care about the losses.
The attention of the entire Japanese army in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi was quickly drawn to the Licheng battlefield where the commotion was getting louder and louder.
If we say that the battle in Datong was not exciting and intense because the Japanese army was not fully prepared.
So for the current battle surrounding Licheng, both sides have made relatively complete preparations, once it breaks out completely.
That was the battle in the true sense that was enough to shake the entire North China and even the entire Sino-Japanese battlefield.
The Eighth Route Army is frantically mobilizing troops, changing its low-key and guerrilla warfare policy for so many years.
In the Taihang base area, almost all the main combat units of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army were deployed. The 386th and 385th brigades, including the newly formed combat brigades, totaled dozens of regiments and went into action.
In the Taiyue Military Region, the Eighth Route Army guerrilla units also advanced toward Licheng, constantly attacking the Japanese blockade.
Combat troops, including those in central and southern Hebei, also moved south toward Licheng, taking the opportunity to launch local counterattacks, further expanding the base area and impacting the security and stability of the Japanese security areas.
The commotion grew louder and louder, and in the end even some Eighth Route Army guerrilla units in Shandong became more active and radical than before, launching attacks on the surrounding Japanese and puppet blockade strongholds.
The former enemy headquarters of the Eighth Route Army.
Looking at the huge battle map hanging on the wall in front of him, which represented the Japanese Army and the Eighth Route Army, and even the Shanxi-Sui Army and the Chiang Kai-shek Army, with all the different arrows and sharp teeth, the boss was in a daze for a moment.
It was just a team at first, and the boy Kong Jie took the lead in launching the winter counterattack.
At that time, Kong Jie made a special report to the headquarters regarding the specific combat plan for this winter counterattack, and the boss personally gave instructions.
As a result, one team fought really well, and the winter counterattack captured many Japanese towns.
It also shattered the rumor that the Eighth Route Army was wandering without attacking.
As a result, the winter offensive developed to the middle and late stages.
Kong Jie and Li Yunlong accidentally detected intelligence that the Japanese army was preparing to attack the Eighth Route Army Huangyadong Arsenal.
So the attack and defense of Huangyadong broke out.
Several main forces directly under the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and the 386th Brigade fought with the Japanese troops inside Huangyadong. More than a dozen main groups from nearby base areas and military divisions began to fight with the Japanese reinforcements.
After that, the anti-mopping battle in the 385th Brigade base area started.
The main force of the 385th Brigade and more than a dozen main regiments from various base areas and military divisions participated in anti-mopping operations.
Then the anti-mopping battle in the Iron Triangle defense zone began. Several regiments left behind cooperated with the reinforcements in southern Hebei, as well as a large number of local troops.
Start a confrontation with the Mongolian troops stationed in the south.
The Zhongtiao Mountain troops are temporarily stationary as reinforcements, and the peripheral Chiang Kai-shek troops are also participating in the battle.
To break the situation.
Kong Jie and Li Yunlong joined forces and boldly proposed a surprise attack on Datong.
What kind of person is the boss? A commander who has experienced hundreds of battles. When he realized that this plan was feasible, he gave full support with absolute courage and finalized the battle plan of Li Yunlong and Kong Jie in detail.
At this point, the Yanbei Detachment of the 120th Division, the 358th Brigade and other units have fully cooperated with the 129th Division's mobile troops in fighting in the direction of Baode County and Datong, as well as reinforcements from Yan'an, which also include more than twenty regiments.
As the situation on both sides became tense, both sides invested more and more troops.
Even the boss himself is dazzled by the map.
That's it, not counting the troops who fought the raid along the Tongpu Railway and quelled the raid along the railway.
It turned out that the Japanese rapid squadron, motorized search team, and traitor flying convoy, who were still showing off their power, were blown up by roadside bombs as soon as they left the city gate.
These troops cooperate with the Iron Triangle Attack Wolf troops that penetrate everywhere.
Not to mention the Japanese army, even the boss felt that there were combat forces of the Eighth Route Army in the entire Shanxi and Hebei regions, and even in the direction of Inner Mongolia, in all directions and in every region?
Mobile warfare, ambush warfare, positional warfare, pursuit warfare, critical warfare...
Almost all types of battles are included in this battle.
The boss who came back to his senses actually had a headache. In such an increasingly complex and huge situation, even he was not sure how to effectively conduct overall command.
I guess I can only give a general direction.
Let each regiment free their hands to fight the rest.
Just...
"Why does this scene... feel a bit familiar?"
"By the way, now that I think about it, isn't this the change before the Hundred Regiments War completely entered a large-scale battle?"
For this reason, the boss felt a thump in his heart.
I'm really confused. I never thought about launching a comprehensive battle on such a large scale. How on earth did this gradually evolve into the current situation?
Fortunately, according to the current evolution of the situation in this battle, the Eighth Route Army has completely gained the upper hand.
Datong has been destroyed.
The Japanese troops in Huangya Cave have been completely wiped out.
The 385th Brigade's counter-mopping operation was successfully completed, severely damaging the Japanese army and suppressing all Japanese field armies within the Japanese security area.
The battle for the Iron Triangle Force to annihilate the Mongolian troops stationed in the south is coming to an end.
"Maybe it's time for the soldiers to hone their skills in advance and accumulate more combat experience when they enter the strategic counter-offensive stage in the future!"