The battle here hasn't ended yet, and the assembly area has been attacked.
If the assembly area is occupied by the enemy, wouldn't you become a lone army?
The little Japs, who were deeply afraid of being cut off, inevitably became distracted on the battlefield, and their morale began to decline.
On the other hand, the Eighth Route Army saw the main force starting a general offensive and became more and more courageous as it fought.
The coordination between pistols and bayonets became better and better, and the hand-to-hand combat slowly turned into a one-sided massacre...
Two hours later, the battle was over.
While everyone was celebrating this victory, Li Hao couldn't be happy.
The mobile battalion suffered too many casualties.
Nearly 500 people participated in the battle, but in the end less than 200 survived, and there were dozens of lightly or seriously injured people who were almost disabled.
"Where is the First Battalion and the Guard Battalion? What are their battle losses?" Li Hao asked, staring at Hong Linfeng.
"There are 172 people left in the first battalion, a direct loss of nearly 40% of the force, and there are 194 people left in the guard battalion, a loss of exactly one-third."
"The combat effectiveness of the troops is still too poor!" Li Hao judged.
"The first battalion participated in the entire blocking battle. The equipment was not as good as ours, and the direct losses were only a little more than 40% of the total strength."
"The mobile battalion fought one less battle than the first battalion, and was well-equipped. The losses actually exceeded 60%. Adding in the lightly and seriously wounded, the losses were almost 70%. The difference is not even a tiny bit!"
Speaking of this, Li Hao became more determined to ask Commander Chen for help and go back to train his troops.
He hesitated and said: "Chief of Staff, I decided to ask Commander Chen to ask some cadres to return to the garrison regiment, preferably platoon commanders and deputy company commanders, so that they can serve as company commanders and deputy company commanders in the garrison regiment, and replace our old Eighth Route officers.
The training methods and combat styles are brought into the garrison to improve the combat level of the soldiers, especially the assassination level and the ability to avoid enemy fire on the battlefield."
"I just looked at the battlefield. The casualties of the mobile battalion are mainly reflected in two aspects: one is to avoid the enemy's artillery fire, and the other is to fight the enemy with bayonets."
"It shows that these two aspects are the shortcomings of our defense team, and we must find ways to make up for them."
"Ask Commander Chen to ask for someone to join the garrison directly to train and command the troops. This is the most direct way to make up for the two shortcomings."
The chief of staff also understood the principle of a raging army and a raging den. Li Hao showed an expression of approval as soon as he finished speaking.
But within a few seconds, he reminded me with a worried look on his face: "Will Commander Chen agree?"
"The garrison regiment plus the guard company are almost twenty infantry companies. Each company is supplemented by one cadre, which adds up to twenty company and platoon-level cadres."
"Even the platoon leader is the backbone of the army. Will they agree to remove so many people at once?"
Li Hao answered confidently: "Chief of Staff, don't worry, I have a way to get Commander Chen to agree."
"Twenty company platoon cadres may seem like a lot, but don't forget the size of the main force under Commander Chen. On average, a main force group only has two or three people."
When Li Hao found Commander Chen, the headquarters staff was reporting on the results of the battle.
Seeing Li Hao walking in, his face lit up with joy: "Comrade Li Hao, because of your support, we won a great victory here."
"The results of the battle have been tallied. Except for more than a hundred people in the main regiment of the Japs, they escaped under the cover of night. All others have been wiped out."
"We also killed the little Japanese captain, and he was shot to death by a machine gun."
"In addition, more than 800 puppet soldiers were captured and all the artillery equipped by the Little Japanese Artillery Brigade were seized."
"With these artillery pieces, not only can artillery battalions directly under the base area be set up, but each division can also set up its own artillery company, and the main regiment can also set up a mortar company."
"I just heard from the chief of staff that the mobile battalion suffered a lot of casualties during the blocking battle, with more than 60% direct losses."
"In order to make up for the mobile battalion, I decided that you can take whatever weapons and equipment you captured during this siege and annihilation battle."
Commander Chen spoke quickly, and Li Hao didn't mince words and spoke directly.
"Chief, I really need your help with something."
As soon as Li Hao's words came out, several group leaders focused their attention on him, with nervous expressions on their faces.
They were deeply afraid that Li Hao's lion would open his mouth and take away the artillery and light and heavy machine guns that they had already set their sights on.
"Say..." Commander Chen replied readily.
"A gentleman has his word and his horse is whipped. You can pick whatever you like from these seized weapons and ammunition. No one will dare to stop you."
Commander Chen's words made several regiment leaders jealous, but there was nothing they could do. They looked at Li Hao even more nervously, waiting for his next words.
At the same time, I also prayed in my heart that the weapons and equipment I liked would not be picked up by him.
"Chief, I don't want any of these weapons and equipment." Li Hao replied in surprise.
The gazes of several group leaders looking at Li Hao immediately changed from nervousness to shock, and then everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, Li Hao continued: "I hope Commander Chen can support the twenty company and platoon-level cadres of our garrison, preferably platoon commanders and deputy company commanders who have grown up step by step from the bottom, and those who can fight tough battles.
"
"In today's battle, I found that the garrison had two shortcomings. One was how to avoid artillery fire and bullets on the battlefield, and the other was how to fight with bayonets..."
"The First Battalion and the Guard Battalion are just the opposite. They are good at these two aspects."
"So I would like to ask the chief to support the twenty cadres of the garrison, let them join the garrison, train the troops, and help us make up for these two shortcomings."
In the eyes of Commander Chen, who has tens of thousands of troops at his disposal, twenty people are more or less than they are.
But Li Hao's demands were too many.
The cadres who meet those requirements are undoubtedly the backbone of the army. The regiment and battalion commanders are certainly not willing to let go of the treasure they hold in their hands.
When Commander Chen looked at the several regiment leaders, they seemed to have reached an agreement and turned their heads at the same time to avoid Commander Chen's gaze on him.
Li Hao had long expected this scene.
He did not embarrass Commander Chen and continued: "Of course, I don't want these people for nothing."
"The chief knows: In order to seek weapons, ammunition and equipment, I brought more than 600 war horses, and I plan to exchange 500 war horses for these cadres."
"In today's battle, I found that there were very few cavalry in the base area. If a cavalry of one battalion participated in the battle, our casualties in today's battle would definitely be much smaller."
Five hundred war horses that could not be bought even with money were exchanged for twenty military backbones. Faced with this temptation, several regiment leaders were tempted.
Li Hao's guess was correct, the cavalry was indeed their weak point.
The limited war horses are concentrated in the hands of correspondents, and they cannot form an organized cavalry at all.
Every time they see the little Japanese cavalry rampaging on the battlefield, invincible, they can only envy them and have no choice but to do anything.
Five hundred war horses can be used to form at least five cavalry companies.
There are three main regiments here, minus three cavalry companies, and the base headquarters can use the remaining horses to form a cavalry battalion...
The more I thought about it, the more excited everyone became, including Commander Chen, whose eyes were already starting to shine.