Chapter 429 The confidence of the Eighth Route Army
Such a big matter as weapons distribution cannot be decided by the Eighth Route Army headquarters in one sentence. It needs to be reported to Yan'an, and a decision can be made only after a meeting in Yan'an.
However, the deputy commander-in-chief can make the final decision on exchanging rail steel for weapons.
The day after leaving the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region Headquarters, a telegram was sent to all units in the Eighth Route Army that could receive the radio.
Although the battle in Yangquan, where the first detachment of the First Army Division was stationed, did not directly cause them to lose their combat effectiveness, the huge casualties and equipment losses could be described as a serious injury.
In the view of the detachment leader, even if the troops return to the base area, it will take at least half a year for a team to regain its pre-war strength.
Not because there is no one!
The more than 3,000 people from the entire detachment who came back alive are all veterans and elites.
As long as new soldiers are recruited and trained, they can regain their combat effectiveness in up to three months.
The biggest problem is equipment and ammunition.
The whole detachment had more than 5,000 rifles before the war, but less than 2,000 were left intact after the battle. As for those scrapped rifles, even if they were sent to the arsenal for repair, it would be a blessing to be able to repair a thousand rifles.
Calculating this, the entire detachment is still short of at least 2,500 rifles.
In addition to the light and heavy machine guns and artillery that were lost on the battlefield, after the entire detachment is fully equipped, at least half of the soldiers will train empty-handed because they have no equipment.
If it were placed before, the equipment detachment leader would not worry at all.
As long as you have veterans and fight the Japanese a few more times, you will have equipment, ammunition, and food.
However, after the first detachment returned from Yangquan, the Japanese and puppet troops in the detachment's jurisdiction didn't know what the problem was. They all trapped themselves in the county and strongholds, denying the first detachment a chance to attack them.
In this case, a team's dream of obtaining equipment from the Japanese and puppet troops will be shattered.
This is the fundamental reason why the detachment leader judged that it would take at least half a year for a team to regain its combat effectiveness after it returned to its base.
Without weapons, equipment, and ammunition, it’s useless no matter how well-trained the troops are. We can’t let the soldiers fight the well-equipped Japs with their bare hands!
Just when the detachment leader was worrying about weapons every day, five days ago, things took a turn for the better.
The military division suddenly ordered the political commissar of the detachment to bring a battalion to the military division to report and receive equipment!
At first, the detachment leader didn't take it seriously.
Everyone knows that the Eighth Route Army is poor, but the detachment leader also knows that in order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the frontline combat troops, the Eighth Route Army headquarters, military regions, and even military subdivisions are poorer than their combat troops.
In this case, what equipment can the superiors give me?
Even if there is equipment, it is still a drop in the bucket for a team of more than 7,000 people.
However, when the political commissar came back with more than a dozen large vehicles, the detachment leader was frightened, and he also brought good news that surprised him.
The military division actually gave itself a thousand 38-guns, thirty light machine guns, and ten heavy machine guns at one time, which was more than enough to equip a regiment.
More importantly, the detachment leader finally knew the fundamental reason why the headquarters went against the norm and ordered him to confront the Japanese and puppet troops head-on for several days!
"Political Commissar, you are saying that our arsenal can also produce weapons and equipment by ourselves in the future!" the detachment leader asked in shock and surprise.
The political commissar shook his head and replied: "I don't know if it can be produced. Anyway, the weapons and equipment I brought back were all snatched from the warehouse of Taiyuan Arsenal. They must have snatched back a lot of equipment that can be used to make guns and cannons!"
As an old revolutionary, the detachment leader may have been really frightened by the lack of guns and ammunition in the past. He replied with a serious face: "If the Taiyuan Arsenal can be moved to our base area and let us make our own guns and cannons, our team will
Even if you spend all your money, it’s still worth it!”
At this moment, the communications staff suddenly broke in.
"Detachment leader, political commissar, military region secret message!"
The political commissar who heard the words "secret telegram" immediately took the telegram, found the code book, and began to translate it himself.
It didn't take long for the political commissar's face to be replaced by a thick smile, and he said happily.
"Old Chen, maybe our Eighth Route Army really has its own arsenal! Not only can we make guns, but we can also make cannons!"
"This is from the military region. Let us take the rails and transport them to the logistics office of the headquarters for replacement of equipment. As expected, these equipment must have been made by our arsenal."
The detachment leader quickly took the telegram. Soon, his face was covered with an unprecedented firm expression. Then he affirmed.
"It must be possible, otherwise the military region would have no reason to collect so many railroad tracks! It's like the military region asked us to exchange bullet casings for bullets!"
After saying that, the detachment leader showed a thoughtful expression.
"Political Commissar, I remember that we carried out a raid some time ago. We recovered a lot of railway tracks and hid them in the woods. There must be hundreds of them. According to the exchange standards above, a two-thousand-pound railway track can be exchanged for twenty.
Rifles, can't one hundred rails be exchanged for two thousand rifles!"
"Just now I was worried about how to get more than 2,000 rifles. Now I have solved not only rifles, but also light machine guns, heavy machine guns, and even artillery!"
After saying that, the detachment leader made a decision: "Political Commissar, you come to guard the house, I will bring a reinforcement battalion, and then the guards, and send all the bullet casings brought back from the railway tracks and battlefields to the military region, and replace them with the ones we urgently need."
Bullets and weaponry!”
"As long as I have guns and ammunition, I will take three months to regain my combat effectiveness."
"When the time comes, when the puppet troops come, I will kill the puppet troops, and when the Japanese come, I will kill the Japanese."
"As long as I have enough weapons and ammunition, I'm not afraid of how many people come from the Japs!"
Also receiving the telegram were all regiment-level and above units of the Eighth Route Army equipped with radio stations.
For them, weapons may have to be taken from the hands of the Japanese, but rails are everywhere. Wherever there are railways, if they seize the loopholes in the Japanese defenses, they can take back more than a dozen rails in one operation.
At this time, some people may say that with so many troops bringing rail tracks to the arsenal to exchange for weapons and ammunition, the arsenal’s current production capacity will definitely not be able to supply them.
However, everyone obviously underestimated Wang Ping's gains in Taiyuan City.
In addition to more than 3,000 rifles of various types seized from the hands of the Japanese, a total of 4,000 new rifles were seized from the temporary arsenals arranged by the Japanese inside the four city gates.
As for the arsenal warehouse, there are more than 11,000 rifles repaired and newly manufactured in the arsenal.
After allocating 10,000 rifles as compensation for all participating troops in this battle, the remaining 7,000 to 8,000 rifles were all left in the arsenal.
Wang Ping directly regarded these rifles as hens borrowed from the arsenal to lay eggs, and used them to exchange for steel to produce more rifles, thus forming a virtuous cycle!
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