Chapter 123 Preparations before the decisive battle
——Yuci Eighth Route Army Headquarters
After the Battle of Xinkou, the Eighth Route Army immediately reunited the main force of the scattered Eighth Route Army. Liu Bocheng, Lin Sanhu, He Long and others led the generals into the headquarters, and everyone laughed continuously.
"Your 115th Division still did a good job. I heard that you captured more than a hundred machine guns alone." He Long smoked his pipe and smiled at Lin Sanhu.
Lin Sanhu shook his head slightly and said nothing, but his pride could be seen in the upturned corners of his mouth.
"Your 120th Division fought well. You gained a lot from the victory at Yanmen Pass, right? I saw that the 92nd Infantry Artillery was in the convoy you led." Nie Rongzhen saw that Lin Sanhu was unwilling to speak, so he took it.
Huatou.
"It's so lively, are everyone here?" Mr. Zhu and Zhou Guansheng brought Mr. Peng, Zuo Quan, Liu Dake, Jiang Cheng and others into the room.
Everyone stood up and saluted. After everyone sat down, Mr. Zhu said, "Everyone has worked hard during this period of fighting. Mr. Peng, let's talk about our results and losses during this period."
Mr. Peng stood up and said, "In the more than 40 days since the first battle of Pingxingguan by the Eighth Route Army, our army has fought dozens of times with the Japanese army. According to the data of the Third Division, our army has killed 1,139 people, injured 2,134 people, and annihilated about 4,300 Japanese troops."
, there were 2,400 puppet troops. We seized weapons, including 5,700 rifles, 263 light machine guns, 83 heavy machine guns, nine 92 infantry guns, five mountain cannons, and countless ammunition."
Everyone applauded loudly. Such a good record exceeded everyone's expectations. You must know that in history, the three main divisions only had so many machine guns combined.
Boss Peng continued, "Now let me talk about the enemy's situation." Boss Peng pointed at the map with his baton and said, "Before the Battle of Xinkou, the Japanese army had three brigades and nine puppet Mongolian divisions in the direction of Xinkou. After three reinforcements,
Later, there were five brigades and nine puppet Mongolian divisions, but because the Japanese army in North China was too empty, we got information that the Japanese army had summoned the Ninth Brigade and the First Mixed Brigade back to North China and Suiyuan. We have to say that the Japanese army
The commander-in-chief probably has a grudge against the ninth brigade, and he has been running away for more than a month."
After telling the joke, Mr. Peng continued to introduce, "In other words, we now have three brigades in the north that have been fighting for two months and a total of about 10,000 puppet cavalry. Although these three brigades are constantly being replenished,
The total number of people will not exceed 35,000. On the other side are the Japanese 20th Division and the 31st Brigade of the 109th Division. They are also three brigades, with a strength of about 40,000. At the same time, there is also the 31st Brigade of the 109th Division.
The 108th Brigade is near Niangziguan and can bring reinforcements at any time. As for us, it’s just our three divisions and the Shanxi New Army. Comrade Liu Dake, how many people are there in the Shanxi New Army now?"
Liu Dake stood up and replied, "In the past two months, our Shanxi New Army has developed rapidly. Now it has five regiments, 6,000 guns, and more than 10,000 men."
Boss Peng nodded and said, "That's more than 40,000 people. In addition, we now have new weapons, but everyone is fighting, and the users are all headquarters personnel. After the meeting, everyone will bring them back to each unit. They are all good things."
.Our operational goal is to detain the Japanese troops and buy time for the transport troops. The goal is at least five days, and preferably ten days."
After Mr. Peng finished speaking, Liu Bocheng stood up and asked, "Are we going to fight a positional war with the Japanese? Although our current strength has increased rapidly, it may not be appropriate to confront the Japanese head-on now."
Mr. Zhu opened his eyes and said, "It's not enough to fight head-on. Our goal is just to buy time. The most important thing to transport is people, workers and progressive forces. As for machinery and materials, we can move them if we can. If it doesn't work, give up. I'll do it."
Tell me how to fight..."
After hearing what I, Mr. Zhu, thought, everyone fell into deep thought. Lin Sanhu glanced at Liu Bocheng and He Long and said, "Our 115th Division wants to launch the main attack in the north."
Seeing Lin Sanhu snatching the task, Liu Bocheng wanted to stand up, but was caught by He Long and said, "The east side, the east side belongs to us, Old Liu, you did such a good job in Qidan Village, this time we will leave it to our brothers."
.”
Liu Bocheng smiled bitterly and said, "Then I will have to go to the north to play support. I said you two don't have such skills. How can I explain to the subordinates?"
Seeing everyone's fighting spirit, Mr. Peng clapped his hands and shouted, "Are they all fighting against Japanese invaders? Just tell us how you want to. Our retreat route will not go south. We are all transport convoys. We will go west."
Liu Dake was familiar with the geography of Shanxi and said hesitantly, "There are big mountains in the west, and the road is difficult to travel."
Mr. Zhu agreed and said, "We are leaving only if it is difficult to leave. We are all old Red Army soldiers and have been through the Long March. Are we still afraid of a few hills? And once we retreat to the mountains, I really don't believe that the Japanese dare to chase us. Although we go to the south
The road is wide and easy to walk, but the Japanese have planes, tanks and numerous cavalry. Once we are targeted by them, it will be difficult for us to retreat."
Liu Bocheng has always had a soft spot for guerrilla warfare. He smiled and said, "If he dares to come, we will give him a hard blow."
Mr. Peng took a sip of tea and said, "That's good. If everyone has no questions, just go down and prepare. Go and take away the new equipment first."
Liu Dake stood up and asked, "Boss, where is our Shanxi New Army? What are the combat missions of our New Army?"
Mr. Zhu stood up and crossed the railway line and said, "The New Army has three most important tasks. One is to escort the transportation team to retreat, the other is to cooperate with the Sacrifice Alliance to evacuate the masses, and the other is to tear down all the railways here! We need to launch
People, finish it in three days."
Liu Dake said anxiously, "What about combat missions? Our new army can also fight."
Boss Peng looked at Boss Zhu and said, "Who said there are no more combat missions? The New Army is familiar with the situation in Taiyuan City. After the field battle is over, the Eighth Route Army will be tired, and the New Army will be responsible for the remaining tasks."
Liu Dake then said with satisfaction, "I guarantee to complete the organizational tasks."
After everyone left, Mr. Zhu said to Jiang Cheng, "Xiao Jiang, you go to Gujiao first. It's already November. When we enter the mountains, temperature and food are very important. Our troops and civilians will
I am afraid that the number of relocated workers and their families will exceed 70,000 to 80,000, and the horses will also need food. This number will not be small. Although we made preparations more than a month ago, we also sent people to secretly widen the road.
, but after all, it is more than a hundred miles away, and ordinary people may have to walk four or five days to get there. I am really afraid of what might happen, so you go to Gujiao and bring more food, water, and medical supplies from your time.
Then I will order people to set up distribution points in more than a dozen villages along the way. We cannot let the people who are willing to go to Yan'an with us die on the way to migration."
Jiang Cheng knew in his heart that Mr. Zhu really had this need firstly, and secondly he was afraid that something might happen to him in the war zone, so he nodded in agreement and went upstream along the Fen River to Gujiao County.
Gujiao had a lot of coal, and it was the county city with the highest urbanization rate in Shanxi Province in later generations. However, it was still an ordinary county town at that time. After all, in the Republic of China, where steel and electricity were not developed, and transportation was inconvenient, Gujiao in the mountains had no future.
bustling.
At this time, Gujiao already had an advance force of a company of the Eighth Route Army to establish a base here. Under the leadership of the guards, Jiang Cheng quickly arrived at the warehouse prepared for him. The guard said, "Report to the head of 203, this turned out to be a granary.
The largest warehouse can be found in Gujiao. Do you think it’s okay?”
Jiang Cheng looked at it, nodded and said, "Okay, you have to guard the outside."
The guard nodded and said, "We have learned the confidentiality regulations many times before coming here."
Jiang Cheng set the upgraded new time and space point here, and then traveled back to modern times after the guards left.
As soon as Jiang Cheng returned to modern times, due to the reduction in transportation some time ago, the warehouse was already full of goods. Jiang Cheng only needed to wait for the time to pass. Thinking of water, Jiang Cheng asked Lin Fei to buy a large amount of drinking water directly.
When the time came, he brought these compressed biscuits, ham sausages, drinking water, and medicines to Gujiao. The transportation team that had been prepared for a long time immediately moved these things to those villages. Only then did Jiang Cheng know that the Japanese army was approaching the city.
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——Taiyuan Yan Xishan is indeed a businessman and very trustworthy. He left as soon as he agreed to move. The day after the war meeting, he moved his people to Jiaocheng (which is two places from Gujiao,
This one is in the south of Taiyuan.) On the fourth day, we arrived at Xi County, which is 350 kilometers away from Taiyuan.
Other troops also started a large-scale retreat with the people of Taiyuan City. In fact, there were not many people in Taiyuan. When the war just started, Yan Xishan continued to publicize that he would live or die with Taiyuan and transform Taiyuan into a city.
All the citizens of Taiyuan who were able to leave the tomb of the Japanese army have left, and now those who cannot leave have also left with the help of the troops. In the end, the remaining ones are unwilling to leave.
There is a large factory in the northeast of Taiyuan. This is the essence of Shanxi, the Taiyuan Arsenal of Shanxi.
Nowadays, the place is extremely busy. Countless workers and civilians are carrying machinery and supplies. A line of large trucks are lined up outside. After every truck is loaded, they immediately leave and head south.
"How's it going, Mr. Wang, how long will it take to finish moving?" Liu Dake looked anxiously at the bustling scene.
The person who was called was an old worker who was almost in his 50s. It was said that he was the oldest person in the arsenal. While giving instructions, he said, "There are endless moves. The accumulation over the past few decades cannot be done by just these big trucks.
Chairman Yan only pulled more than a thousand of the most advanced machinery for a month. Although he mainly pulled materials, you can also see that there are so many materials. As far as I know, there are many machines in Taiyuan City.
There are tens of thousands of machines. Among the better machines we have registered, there are still more than 4,000 machines. I think we can get at most two to three thousand sets of machines, which will be good."
Liu Dake thought of what Mr. Zhu said about personnel being the first priority, so he said, "It's okay if you can't pull them all out. You can pull as many as you can, but they must be evacuated within the specified time."
The Wang Gong nodded and said, "Commander, don't worry, just leave as soon as you finish pretending. They are all precious children, and you won't be willing to leave them behind for the Japanese."
Wang Gong is not willing to give in, and Liu Da is even more unwilling. But what is most lacking now is livestock. A large cart requires two horses. These thousands of rubber-tyred carts and other collected rubber-tyred carts have been replaced with rubber tires.
The vehicles and livestock alone cost three to four thousand, and the 129th Division had less than five hundred horses when it first set off. The two or three thousand people tried their best.
This kind of moving scene is not only the arsenal. Factories and schools across Taiyuan are all moving away all the most precious materials under the command of the Red Party. The first battle of the transportation team in Dahu Gou is already crowded with people.
The families of the workers who left in the first step have already embarked on the journey. Everyone brought what they could carry. Strong men pushed wheelbarrows. The elderly, food and valuables were all placed on the wheelbarrows. Children were sometimes held in the hands of women.
Or follow along on foot. Soldiers are guarding and commanding from a high place. Occasionally, a car breaks down and immediately causes congestion on the road. At this time, we can only cruelly abandon the car aside and clear the road. Because there are all
The mountainous dirt roads are still difficult to walk in many places, and the soldiers have to help push the carts and repair the roads. Although they were mentally prepared when they left Taiyuan, seeing that their belongings were about to be thrown away, what happened to the people who had suffered all their lives?
Willingness to do it, cries, curses, and persuasion filled the air above the team with an anxious atmosphere. Although in the end, under the persuasion of family members and soldiers, they set off on the road while wiping away tears, the time and distance were often delayed.
The movement in one day was less than 20 miles. Such speed made Mr. Zhu and others at the headquarters never expect.
"Why is it so slow? Such a speed will delay important events." Mr. Peng said anxiously.
"Calm down, my boss Peng, these are ordinary people, not the iron army in your hands. The reason for this speed is because most of them are workers, otherwise it might be even slower." Zuo Quan advised, and then said, "
In the past, Liu Xuande led his people across the river, with more than 100,000 people and thousands of taels of baggage. He traveled more than ten miles a day, which was almost the same as us. Our road was more difficult than him. Now he can travel at a speed of 20 miles, which can be said to be
Very well organized.”
Boss Peng slapped the table and said, "We are Ge Ming's team. How can we compare? How long will it take to travel more than a hundred miles?"
Boss Zhu asked, "How are the Japanese troops on both sides doing now?"
Zuo Quan said, "Wei Lihuang's troops in the north have retreated to Yangqu County. Our troops are setting up a battlefield. The Japs in the east are attacking us in Yuci direction in two groups. The Shanxi New Army and the 120th Division have already arrived at the scheduled battlefield."
Boss Zhu looked at the map and said, "The next step depends on the soldiers."
——Shouyang
Shouyang is the only way to Yuci. There are railways and highways leading to Yuci. At this time, countless people are working crazily on the railways and highways.
"Hard work! Ha! Ha! Hard! Ha!" the labor chant rang loudly, and the railway that Yan Xishan had worked so hard to lay was now being dug up by the 120th Division and the Shanxi New Army.
"How's it going? How many railway lines have been dug up now?" He Long asked, holding his beloved pipe.
Bo Shucun accompanied He Long all the way and said, "The railway cannot be moved if it is missing a section. We dug a section every few hundred meters. Now we have dug more than 30 kilometers. This is all a loss to the people. In the Sacrifice League,
After it was activated, the nearby villagers came with their guys to help. Without them we would not be able to complete the task."
He Long puffed out his cigarette and turned around and asked, "Where's the highway?"
Chief of Staff Zhou Shidi said, "We buried all the landmines distributed to us and dug trenches everywhere. The Japanese wanted to go all the way to Yuci from the highway. That was a dream. How were these landmines made?
Can such a small thing really kill someone?"
He Long smiled and said, "Boss Zhu said that if you can blow it up, it will blow up to death. Besides, this is provided by 203, so it must be right."
Guan Xiangying next to him quickly patted him and said, "Mr. He, you have forgotten organizational discipline again."
He Long touched his head and said, "Okay, let's just wait for the Japanese to come."
——Qinglong Town
This is a town to the south of Yangqu County. Not far to the south is the Taiyuan Arsenal. At this time, Lin Sanhu was looking at the terrain here and thinking about something.
"Commander, Wei Lihuang sent a telegram saying that they can't hold it anymore and are preparing to retreat tonight." A staff officer said with a telegram.
Lin Sanhu nodded to show that he understood, then looked at the town and said, "Force all the remaining people in the town to leave. The devils will be unable to fight hard and will definitely use the people to lead the battle. We must be prepared. In addition, generate electricity."
Give it to Master Liu and ask them to wait for our signal."
If you want to talk about Itagaki Seishiro's current mood, he is very proud. He led half of his division (the Ninth Brigade basically did not participate in the battle) across Shanxi and defeated dozens of divisions. Such a record can definitely be called the God of War.
Well, thinking about it, Itagaki Seishiro felt a little ecstatic all over.
"Report from the front line. The Chinese army has escaped. General Honda Zhengcai called and requested to continue the attack." A signal soldier came in and reported.
"Did he run away again? Wei Lihuang has become a lost dog. Tell General Honda that Wei Lihuang is one of the most skilled generals in China. He must be completely annihilated and pursued resolutely and bravely." Itagaki
Seishiro immediately issued an order.
The 2nd Mixed Infantry Brigade of the Kwantung Army is composed of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division of the Kwantung Army. It has two infantry regiments and several specially dispatched special forces. The total strength is 8,000 people. However, after more than a month,
At this time, there were only more than 5,000 people in continuous operations. This was mainly because the Kwantung Army had a special organization and was not as easy to replenish as the Fifth Division, and it was always fighting on the front line.
Honda Masato looked at his majestic troops, held the command knife and shouted, "Forward, target - Qinglong Town!"