The Japanese garrison headquarters in Datong has now become the former enemy headquarters of the Northwestern Shanxi Eighth Route Army!
The commander led his troops into the city an hour ago and took command of the encirclement and annihilation war that has not yet ended in Datong!
"Commander, the third regiment reports: The puppet troops they surrounded for more than 400 days have been completely wiped out. We have captured 268 rifles, 12 light and heavy machine guns, four mortars, and a lot of ammunition!" the chief of staff rushed in!
The headquarters reported with excitement!
Surprisingly, upon hearing the news, the commander didn't have much smile on his face!
The chief of staff continued to report: "Commander, get rid of these little Japs! In Datong, except for the Japs encircled by the Shanxi-Sui Army, all the Japs surrounded by our Eighth Route Army have been wiped out!"
The commander still doesn’t have much of a smile on his face!
The chief of staff looked puzzled and was about to ask why!
The combat staff suddenly rushed in with a smile on his face!
"Chief, good news..."
"All the weapons and ammunition we seized in the city have been counted!"
"The large arsenal plus scattered small ammunition depots in the city, plus the weapons and ammunition we seized inside and outside Datong City, there are more than 11,500 rifles, 185 light and heavy machine guns, 54 mortars, mountain cannons, and infantry cannons
16 doors in total!”
Seeing a flash of surprise on the commander's face and then quickly regaining his composure, the chief of staff couldn't help it!
Even if only half of this equipment remains in the base area in northwestern Shanxi, it will still be enough for everyone to form three or four main regiments!
If an army wants to become combat effective, it must not only have weapons, but also ammunition!
Since the formation of the Eighth Route Army, the problem that has never been solved is the lack of ammunition!
He stared closely at the combat staff and asked: "Where's the ammunition? How much ammunition have we seized in total!"
"The large arsenal plus scattered small arsenals, plus those seized from the Japanese and puppet troops on the battlefield, total more than 8.5 million rounds of rifle machine gun bullets!" the combat staff replied quickly!
"More than 31,200 mortar shells of various calibers plus mountain artillery shells!"
"There is also food: the total seizure of all material warehouses in the city totals 10.5 million jins! There are also nearly 500,000 cans and 10,000 sets of quilts!"
"These are bulk supplies that are easy to count! The small supplies and those we seized from the Japanese-controlled trading houses in the city are still in the process of being counted!"
"That's enough!" The chief of staff shouted loudly without suppressing his excitement!
"Commander, with so many weapons and ammunition, even if our northern Shanxi base area only takes half, it will be enough for the entire army to last more than half a year!"
"There is also food. The food output in our land in northwestern Shanxi is already very low, and we have to support Yan'an. Food has always been a fatal factor that has plagued our development and growth!"
"With these more than 10 million kilograms of grain, not only will we not be short of food this year, we will also be able to feed several more main groups!"
The commander still had an indifferent expression. He was only happy for a few seconds before regaining his composure!
At this time, the chief of staff was even more puzzled!
I couldn't help but ask: "Commander, this is a great thing, I see why you are unhappy!"
"Happy, of course I'm happy!" the commander affirmed!
"With these weapons and ammunition, we can form at least four more main regiments, and the overall strength of the military region can also be increased by at least 30%!"
"However, no matter how much ammunition is seized, it will eventually be used up!"
"When the ammunition we seized in Datong tonight is used up, and the troops have not seized other ammunition, the troops will still be short of ammunition!"
"If the food is gone, we can eat whole grains and wild vegetables to get through it as soon as we can!"
"But once the ammunition is gone, the guns in the soldiers' hands will turn into fire sticks. Facing the attack of the Japanese and puppet troops, they can only be beaten passively without even a chance to fight back. In the end, it is the people in the base area who suffer!"
The chief of staff was the commander's old partner. He could see his inner thoughts at a glance and asked thoughtfully: "I understand, commander, you are also interested in the ammunition factory and repair shop established by the Japanese in Datong!"
The commander did not deny: "Not bad!"
"The base area in northern Shanxi is so large that we can basically collect the raw materials for bullet production!"
"As long as we have the equipment, we can immediately set up an arsenal and produce weapons and ammunition ourselves!"
"As long as we can ensure that we are self-sufficient in some weapons and ammunition, and rely on seizures for the rest, the base area will no longer have to worry about ammunition!"
"Even if the base area is blocked by heavy Japanese troops, the troops will not be without ammunition!"
A flash of embarrassment flashed across the face of the chief of staff: "Commander, according to the order from the headquarters: all equipment in the ammunition factory and repair shop belong to the garrison, and all weapons, ammunition and food belong to us!"
"Relatively speaking, we have already taken advantage of it!"
"If I ask them again for equipment, separate it into an ammunition factory and a repair shop, I'm too embarrassed to ask this question!"
"Report to the chief!" the communications staff officer suddenly rushed in and interrupted!
"Telegram from the garrison: Let us verify the identity of Comrade Li Yunshan at the Datong Japanese ammunition factory as an underground party member! At the same time, we hope that we will approve: transfer Comrade Li Yunshan to the garrison!"
The commander's eyes lit up and he shouted: "We have a solution!"
"Just now I was thinking about how to get some military equipment from the garrison. God will give us an opportunity soon!"
"Breaking through Lingqiu, the garrison was reduced sharply to two to three hundred people!"
“Many people were lost in coal mining in the mountains!”
"Although the coal mines were captured and a large number of prisoners came from absenteeism, because the army has few veterans, it will definitely be difficult to completely restore its combat effectiveness!"
"But our northern Shanxi base area is just the opposite!"
"Due to the harsh environment and severe blockade by the Japanese and puppet troops, the expansion of the army has been very slow, so the proportion of veterans in the army has always been very high!"
"My idea is to mobilize some grassroots veterans to replace equipment with the garrison!"
"The garrison is short of veterans, and we are short of equipment. Contact the garrison directly to get what we need, and then report it to the Eighth Route Army headquarters for filing. The garrison will definitely agree!"
"Chief of Staff, please immediately contact Comrade Li Hao, the head of the garrison, and ask him to come to our place. I have important matters to discuss with him!"
The chief of staff also has a very long-term vision!
Compared with the mountains of ammunition in Datong City, he also valued the mechanical equipment more!
Weapons and ammunition are only immediate benefits, machinery and equipment are only for the long term!
Immediately replied: "I will leave it to the garrison to send a telegram and ask Commander Li to come to the headquarters to discuss it!"
"No!"
The commander seemed to have thought of something and suddenly refused!
"If I remember correctly, the garrison headquarters has also entered the city. Go there in person and ask Comrade Li Hao to come here!"
"Okay! I'll go there myself!" the chief of staff quickly replied!