After Ono led his troops back to Laiyuan City, Laiyuan County was still under the rule of the Japanese.
However, the huge loss not only shocked Ono, the military headquarters was also very angry, and even considered replacing Ono.
In the end, although Ono stayed, the entire brigade underwent an unprecedented overhaul at the request of the military headquarters.
From the chief of staff to the commander below, they were all replaced. Many of my close and beloved generals were directly replaced by the military, no matter how much I tried to plead for mercy.
Ono knew that this was the military headquarters venting their dissatisfaction and anger on him.
Four thousand Imperial Army soldiers died on the battlefield. Such a huge loss was almost worth a large-scale battle on the front line.
But what is happening in front of us? So many Imperial Army soldiers were all lost in a battle against Tubal Road.
After the brigade underwent a major top-down blood change, new officers were quickly sent in. Because it took time to familiarize themselves with the troops, and the supplementary troops given to him by the military headquarters had not yet arrived, Ono could only act like a coward and give orders.
The troops are stationed in Laiyuan City and are not allowed to go out.
Of course, Ono didn't do nothing.
Although this failed attack almost cost him his position as brigade commander, it was not without any gains.
The biggest gain is that I have a new understanding of the Imperial Association Army.
At this moment, the Imperial Alliance Army is no longer just cannon fodder in his eyes. If used properly on the battlefield, they can do many things for the Imperial Army. For example, in this attack, if not for the existence of the Imperial Alliance Army, the casualties of the brigade would have been even higher.
It's so big that it even loses its offensive ability until the end.
Therefore, before the additional troops from the military headquarters arrived, in order to strengthen his strength, Ono did not sit idle and directly reported to the military headquarters, requesting the expansion of the Imperial Association Army.
Anyway, prisoners and captured equipment are constantly being sent down from the front line. Only a part of the prisoners and equipment are needed. The empire can expand the Imperial Alliance Army without much effort at all.
In fact, it was not only Ono who realized the importance of the Imperial Association Army in the purge operations, but also many senior Japanese military officers in the military department.
Therefore, the report on the expansion of the Royal Association Army was easily approved by the military headquarters, and the Imperial Army was directly allowed to expand into a garrison division based on the garrison brigade, with a total strength of 7,000 people.
While the Japanese army was clinging to the county seat and secretly expanding its strength, the Eighth Route Army was not idle either.
The two main regiments that captured Laiyuan City were not idle. One attacked to the west and the other to the east. They continued to expand their base areas and then recruited troops to expand the Eighth Route Army.
As for the vast countryside of Laiyuan, neither regiment was moved, leaving it directly to the independent regiment which was recovering its strength.
At this time, a party committee meeting with a dull atmosphere but a hint of joy was held in the conference room of the Independent Youth League.
"Comrades, let me first read the commendation telegrams sent to us by the military region and headquarters!" Political commissar Cheng Xiao was the first to stand up at Wang Ping's signal.
"Whether it is the military region or the headquarters, they are very positive about the battle of our independent regiment and have sent telegrams one after another. The military region has awarded our independent regiment collective first-class merit. In addition, the regiment commander and I have been reinstated in our positions, and we have been promoted throughout the whole
Commendation issued by the military region."
"The headquarters was not in a hurry to credit our independent regiment, but also gave us the honorary title of Tiger Regiment. You know, our independent regiment is the only regiment-level unit with these titles in the entire military region!"
"Let's talk about the military division again. The commander is also very supportive of us. Not to mention the awards, he also agreed to our report on setting up a firepower battalion, a firepower company for the battalion, and a garrison battalion for the regiment headquarters. Finally, the commander specially approved the five
Give us a thousand yuan and let us give subsidies to the soldiers!"
Although there are not many substantive things in the awards, such as promotions and big rewards. However, in the Eighth Route Army, cadres and soldiers at all levels also like to record merit and various honorary titles.
Therefore, as soon as the political commissar finished speaking, there was very warm applause in the conference room.
But soon, Wang Ping's words instantly caused the smiles on everyone's faces to disappear, and the atmosphere in the conference room also turned from relaxed to tense.
"Why, everyone has forgotten the comrades who died on the battlefield so quickly. Without the sacrifices of these people, would we have won this battle and received so many awards?"
Political Commissar Cheng Xiao stood up quickly: "Comrades, the regiment leader is right. We are happy, but we cannot forget how this victory came. At the same time, we cannot forget the various difficulties that the independent regiment is facing now.
!”
"Chief of Staff, please come and brief us on the casualties and the difficulties our independent regiment is currently facing!"
Zeng Quan's face looked very ugly, because the various numbers on his hand represented human lives, and now they were all gone.
After taking a deep breath, he answered: "After statistics, a total of 2,199 comrades from the regiment's main force, recruit battalion, and garrison battalion died in this battle, including two deputy battalion commanders, three deputy instructors, and three company commanders.
There are also eight deputy company commanders and deputy instructors!”
"These are just the sacrifices. There are still 561 seriously wounded people lying in the field hospital. According to statistics, even if all of these wounded people recover, at least 200 of them will have to leave the army due to disability!"
"There were more than 3,600 troops before the war started. Now there are more than 800 people left, half of whom are slightly injured. Among these more than 800 people, there are more than 200 in the garrison camp, and the others are all main forces. There are more than 600
People. The first battalion has the most, with more than 300 people. The second battalion has the least, with only about 100 people left. The third battalion is better, with 200 people left. The cavalry company has more than 40 people left, and the guard company has suffered more than 70% casualties.
The troop casualties also exceeded 70%!"
"It can be said that after this battle, our independent regiment has been completely crippled!"
"There is also the consumption of equipment and ammunition. Because the Japanese dispatched a large number of artillery and aircraft, our losses were particularly large. In addition to the shells, the remaining ammunition in the inventory was less than 20%, especially grenades and hand grenades, all of which were used up!"
"Fourteen mortars were lost, 15 heavy machine guns were lost, and more than 30 light machine guns were lost. In addition, more than 1,500 rifles of various types were blown up! If we hadn't captured more, even if our independent regiment recovered
Yuan Qi has recruited new soldiers, but the equipment is not enough!"
"Everyone has heard it, this is the bad situation our independent regiment is currently facing!" Wang Ping suddenly interrupted!
"After I, the political commissar, and the chief of staff applied to the military division, we have the equipment. Excluding the equipment that was handed over to the military division, we have a total of six mountain guns, 21 mortars, 21 heavy machine guns, and a large number of light machine guns.
.”
"This equipment is enough for us to form a force of 3,000 men. However, our independent regiment now only has less than 1,200 people including the seriously wounded, leaving a shortage of 1,800 men. Therefore, the independent regiment
The next task is to recruit troops, fill them up as soon as possible, and then train them to form combat effectiveness!"
"Comrades, this time we have suffered a big loss from the Japanese. Even Laiyuan City was occupied by us. The Japanese will definitely not give up. Therefore, we must regain our strength as soon as possible. Let alone attacking the Japanese, we must at least protect ourselves.
ability!"
"Political Commissar, you are in charge of intelligence. Expand our intelligence network and see if there are any enemy mines or prisoner camps around us. They are all veterans with combat experience. Once they are reorganized, they can go to the battlefield."
"Director Deng is responsible for recruiting local troops. Everyone in the Independent Regiment will cooperate with you. There are as many as you can, but you must remember one principle, it is better to have fewer troops than to have too many troops. There is also our Eighth Route Army's recruitment policy. Don't do it alone!"
"The other thing is political review. We must ensure that there are no Japanese and puppet spies among all the recruits. We have already suffered a big loss in this regard and we must not suffer it again."