Minister He of the Ministry of Military Affairs was experienced enough to know that even if the Fourth Army Regiment accepted the military order and set off from southeastern Shanxi to the Fifth Theater, it would still take a long time, so the limited time for reporting the Fourth Army's arrival in the Fifth Theater was the lunar calendar of 1941.
before new year.
From the beginning of September when Tang Dao returned to the Sixings Regiment and announced the transfer to the end of January 1941, the time reserved for the Fourings was nearly four and a half months, which seemed to be very generous.
But the Four Lines Regiment at this time was no longer the small infantry regiment with only 2,000 people that had gone north from Xuzhou. At that time, the Four Lines Regiment had nothing but people. The big guys were carrying supplies and throwing away
Just walk on the road with a big stride.
The current Si Xing Regiment not only has a large number of soldiers, but also has a complete range of arms. If you want to march for more than 2,000 miles in such a war, the details that need to be considered are more than ten times as much as before.
Although each battalion of the Four Lines Regiment and even the chief officers have their own personalities, their work attitudes are deeply imprinted with Tang's style. Details determine success or failure. Even a seemingly fierce and powerful figure like Cai Dadao is in trouble.
After spending nearly a week to arrange all the personnel of the fourth battalion of nearly 900 people, we started to make arrangements for the long-distance march of the troops, and conducted two long-distance marches of nearly 100 kilometers with all supplies in less than a month.
On one occasion, the Japanese troops of the 108th Division deployed in the mountains saw nearly a thousand fully armed troops, not to mention 150 pack horses, and a three-wheeled cart pushed by a single person, which was full of weapons and ammunition, and even
There were three large-caliber artillery pieces dragged by pack horses, and the entire column stretched for more than 5 miles deep in the Taihang Mountains.
When the news reached Changzhi, it almost scared the head of the major general brigade commander of the 108th Division stationed in southeastern Shanxi.
Several county towns along the Handan-Changchun Highway immediately issued the highest level of alert. All county towns closed all city gates to prevent anyone from entering or exiting, and the number of security patrols doubled than usual.
Who knows that this is just to scare themselves? After a long-distance training, the 4th Battalion camped in the wilderness for two nights and then returned to the station in Dakouzidong Town. In 3 days, the 4th Battalion marched nearly 170 miles at full capacity.
The marching speed can reach 60 miles.
This basically meets Tang Dao’s requirement for the entire regiment to march 50 miles a day!
The Fourth Army Regiment Headquarters has been doing various daily tasks within the regiment these days. The most important task is to find a route that is most suitable for the entire regiment to march.
The whole group wants to go from Taihang Mountain to Central China. There are three routes to choose from. One is to go east from Taihang to Zhengcheng, and then go straight to the fifth theater. This route is the closest.
However, although Zhengcheng and most of Henan Province are still in the hands of the Chinese war zone, the area from the Taihang Mountains to the Yellow River outside Zhengcheng is already considered a Japanese war zone. If you want to pass there, you will inevitably have to fight hard with the Japanese army, and you may even have to fight a bloody road to pass.
If they don't carry a lot of supplies and just want the whole group to pass, Tang Dao will definitely choose to take this route.
What is the purpose of the Four Elements Regiment going out to Taihang? Isn’t it to fight the Japanese? Since they are fighting the Japanese, they will fight in the morning and evening. Tang Dao and the Four Elements Regiment don’t mind at all taking some on their way to the war zone to report.
The Japanese head was given to Commander Li as a greeting gift.
But obviously, the Fourth Army Regiment is destined to march heavily this time. It not only has tanks and heavy artillery, but also the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, which weighs up to 9 tons. If it were not for the wheeled base, there would be no packhorse to drag it.
Fortunately, there are jeeps from the guard company and TKS tanks from the tank company that can help tow it. Otherwise, no matter how excellent the performance of this gun is, Cheng Tieshou's air defense battalion will choose to give up.
But that's it. The air defense battalion only carried 16 guns this time, which is already the maximum mechanized towing capability of the four-row regiment today. The air defense battalion's most equipped equipment is the Sulotong twin-mounted 20mm cannon and the quadruple-mounted cannon.
Mounted 7mm heavy machine gun.
24 twin-mounted machine guns and 48 quadruple-mounted 7mm heavy machine guns are enough to weave a dense firepower network at an altitude of less than 2,500 meters above the Fourth Row Regiment's position.
In addition to these heavy equipment, the Four Lines Group will carry more various supplies this time. Food and drink are not bad. As long as you have money, you can buy anything. If not, you can go to the Japanese to rob them.
That was the way the Si Xing Regiment got started. Even though they are now rich and don't look down on the Japanese, the gene of "grabbing Japanese cans and cigarettes" has been engraved in the bones of the veterans of the Si Xing Regiment.
Even hearing all the bragging from the veterans makes my ears tingle, and I have been waiting for the day to try it myself.
What I bring most is ammunition supplies and medicines!
The main weapons and equipment used by the Four Lines Regiment are all Germanic. New machine guns like the MG42 have never been used in the fifth theater, let alone seen. Don't even think about replenishing ammunition from the theater.
For this reason, when Tang Dao left the Ministry of Military Affairs, he went to Minister He to apply for a license to use the power of the civilian business group to help the Four Lines Group transport ammunition, medicine and other special supplies.
Minister He, who knew that Tang Dao and Laura had a special relationship, readily approved the note. In order to prevent some people from thinking wrongly, Tang Dao specially found a young foreign girl to set up a transportation company in the name of Rockefeller Company.
Boss Qian’s brother serves as the manager of the company and has purchased more than 300 large trucks and more than a thousand draft horses. Laura also promised that when the Chinese government starts ordering jeeps, it will also purchase hundreds of jeeps with rear carriages for domestic transportation.
The armed escorts are naturally recruited from the disabled veterans of the Fourth Army or the Eightyth Army, and the number of personnel will not be less than 600.
With the license and pass issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs, coupled with the Rockefeller Company background and the reputation of the Four Lines Group, even if the four major families want to make an idea, they probably have to weigh the consequences.
But that will happen in the future. With Tang Dao's caution, he will never hand over the lives of the entire regiment of 5,600 people to the hands of others.
This time, they only carried 1.5 million rounds of special caliber bullets for various machine guns.
For example, for semi-automatic rifles, Tang Dao's requirement for the supply battalion is that, excluding those issued to each battalion and company, logistics must be transported with a standard of 300 rounds of ammunition for each gun; submachine guns are equipped with 500 rounds, and MG42 machine guns are equipped with 4,000 rounds per gun.
, the machine gun has 400 rounds.
Coupled with the ammunition required for various artillery units equipped by the Four Lines Regiment, food for more than 5,000 people for at least 20 days, thousands of pack horses, fodder for war horses, fine materials, oil for tanks, jeeps, etc., the supplies are comparable to those at the beginning.
The Four Lines Regiment is responsible for transporting an entire infantry regiment's equipment several times more.
Although Tang Dao ordered each battalion and company to increase the weight of individual soldiers by 30% on the original basis, even the medical staff of the special agent battalion's medical brigade marching with the regiment headquarters only had a weight of 15 kilograms. Tang Dao, the regiment commander, himself
Carrying a large backpack weighing more than 30 kilograms, the heavy transportation tasks required by the baggage camp still made Zhuang Shisan, an extremely experienced logistics officer, lose his head in less than a week.
After thinking again and again, Tang Dao and several chief officers had no choice but to abandon this seemingly shortest route.
The second road is to cross the Yellow River from Zhongtiao Mountain, cross Shaanxi Province and cross the Qinling Mountains from Yunxi to Xiangyang. The entire journey will never exceed 800 kilometers, and it can go directly to the Fifth Theater Headquarters in Xianrendu Town.
The Yellow River is easy to survive, and winter is the dry season. The Tenth War Zone can also prepare a certain number of ships, and it will take a few days and nights to transport the entire infantry regiment there.
But the Qinling Mountains are difficult to cross!
The Qinling Mountains start from Kunlun in the west, pass through Longnan and Shaanxi in the middle, and end at the Dabie Mountains in Hubei, Henan, and Anhui in the east. They are known as the dividing line between the north and the south of China. In winter, the Qinling Mountains block cold waves from entering the south; in summer, they block the humid sea breeze from entering the north, and are known as
Dragon Veins of China!
The mighty Qinling Mountains are about 1,600 kilometers long from east to west and more than 100 kilometers wide from north to south. The average altitude is about 2,000 meters. The highest peak, Taibai Peak, is 3,771 meters high and is the highest peak in eastern China.
In such mountains, not to mention that there are no roads at all in many places, even if there are roads, the thought of carrying supplies and heavy equipment across hundreds of kilometers in such lofty mountains makes even a tenacious soldier like Tang Dao feel numb.
In the past, the 80th Group Army abandoned its precious heavy machine guns and artillery pieces under the snow-capped mountains. This was not a waste of money, but if they had not discarded them, both the people and the artillery pieces would have become the enemy's trophies.
This idea almost only flashed through the minds of the officers of the Four Elements Regiment, and was quickly rejected.
Then there is only the last road left, which is to cross the Yellow River and then cross Shaanxi Province and turn southwest, from Hanzhong to northern Sichuan, enter the Chengdu Plain, and then to the mountain city, and then go down the Yangtze River to Zigui and Yiling to enter the battlefield.
This road was a big arc, with the entire march covering more than 2,300 kilometers. Moreover, when the main force of the regiment was marching in Shaanxi Province and northern and central Sichuan, it was inevitable that they would be discovered by spies and spies developed by the Japanese army, so confidentiality was not high.
What's more important is that all the strength of the Four Elements Group will be exposed to that person, and there will be no more secrets.
In the Battle of Zishan in the first half of the year, the Four Elements Regiment suddenly launched 150 heavy artillery pieces, which shocked that man so much that he did not hesitate to let Tang Dao leave his troops and go to the mountain city to report on his duties. Now he saw that the Four Elements Regiment not only had mountain cannons, but also large-caliber cannons.
There are mortars, and even more than 20 tanks. Even if they are low-end small tanks that many people look down on, they are still mechanized, right? That makes your eyes pop out?
You know, that person who spent all his money and resources was only able to build one armored division, and it was the fifth armored division in the world. It was under the direct command of the Ministry of Military Affairs and was of high standard. It was only equipped with 82 T-26 tanks.
Good guy, you have 28 tanks in your infantry regiment. What do you think of the man who spent huge sums of money to have such a mechanized force?
With that person's mind, he would not be able to sleep unless he had such a well-equipped unit in his hands. Maybe even the four-line regiment that entered the outskirts of the mountain city would not be able to leave if they wanted to rush to the battlefield. It might even be possible.
It was the unanimous opinion of Ye Chenghuan, Lei Xiong, and Shangguan Yun that he was dismembered by the man who was looking for opportunities.
Compared with this seemingly safer route, several chief officers were even willing to choose the first route. The Four Elements Regiment was never afraid of frontal artillery fire and just fought their way out, but they were unwilling to face the cold arrows from behind.
There's no way to prevent it.
"I still prefer the third path!" Tang Dao looked at the map and pondered for a long time before making this choice that puzzled everyone.
They all knew Tang Tuanzuo's disdain for that commander's commanding ability and character, and they also knew that Tang Dao would not leave his fate to others.
The whole regiment drove tanks and artillery into Sichuan in such a big way, which could not be hidden from the Japanese or the intelligence system.
"Yes, everyone in the world knows that our Four Elements Regiment is an elite division that has never been defeated in the battle against the Japanese invaders. But perhaps only you here know that the reason why our Four Elements Regiment has today's record is not only because of its sophisticated weapons, but also because of its excellent weapons.
At most, it only accounts for 30%, but the other 70% comes from the courage of all the officers and soldiers of my regiment to regard death as home." Tang Dao looked at everyone with a burning gaze and pointed his finger in the direction of the Martyrs Cemetery.
"All the achievements of our regiment come from the thousands of brothers lying there. If it weren't for their continuous efforts, how could our regiment have such glorious achievements!
And do you know how many monuments have been erected since our regiment entered the North China battlefield, or since the cemetery was built?"
Several chief officials, including Ye Chenghuan, were slightly startled!
The Martyrs Cemetery is not under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Army Regiment. Instead, an independent cemetery management department has been established, which is composed of disabled servicemen. As the Fourth Army continues to fight, new erected buildings will be erected at the Martyrs Cemetery every once in a while.
The monument and the burial ceremony of the martyrs are basically attended by the regimental commander or the directly affiliated battalion-level officer at the station. Everyone here has attended at least ten times, but it is difficult to give an accurate number when it comes to the total number.
"Seat 4632!" Tang Dao's eyes were profound.
"Those are the vast majority of officers and soldiers who died on the battlefield since our regiment was expanded from Xuzhou, as well as a small number of comrades who died in Songjiang and Guangde. There are also some officers and soldiers who cannot transport their remains back due to special reasons and can only be buried on the spot.
, if we add up the number of people who died in various battlefields in the Four Lines Battalion, the predecessor of our regiment, that number will exceed 6,000!"
The number Tang Dao said made all the officers present look solemn!
There were more than 6,000 killed in battle. If the wounded were included, the number would definitely exceed 20,000. Although that span spanned more than 3 years, it was still a shocking number.
For soldiers like Lei Xiong and Leng Feng who followed Tang Dao to break out of the siege from the Sixing Warehouse, their eyes were even more filled with sadness. They had experienced all the battles from the Four Lines Battalion to the Four Lines Regiment. Those familiar old faces,
That's why it's becoming less and less.
Not to mention the more than 100 remnants of the original Sihang Warehouse, even if the Sihang Battalion with a thousand-man level was reorganized in Songjiang, there were not many soldiers they could still name.
As Tang Dao said, the glory of the Four Elements Regiment is not brought by sophisticated equipment, but by blood and sacrifice!
"It's a number that you don't completely know, but that person must know it!" Tang Dao turned his attention to everyone again.
"Although that man has a lot of faults, don't forget that he is a man of the hour in China's political arena. It is under his leadership that China still persists without surrendering in a losing battle.
For this alone, his political wisdom is a hundred times stronger than that of Wang Ni, who was high-spirited when he was young but abandoned his ideals when he was middle-aged!
Others may be shocked that our regiment is well-equipped, but he knows that the reason why our regiment is what it is today is the fighting spirit of our regiment. If he is afraid to attack our regiment, it will be an unforgettable part of his political career in the future.
Remove stains.
Of course, maybe he doesn't care about this, but until now, our regiment is not a soft persimmon that can be easily manipulated. Our regiment has fought side by side with friendly forces in recent years, and now they are also on all important lines of defense.
In a confrontation with the Japanese army, whoever wants to take action must also consider the reaction of the frontline soldiers."
After hearing this, everyone learned the real reason why Tang Dao dared to lead his troops into Sichuan.
Looking back on the battlefields of the past, Ye Chenghuan was so impressed that Tang Dao actually used these years to fight against friendly forces and quietly developed a network of relationships that even that person did not dare to attack easily.
For example, the 38th Army under the 5th Army located on the front line of Zhongtiao Mountain, the 67th Army in the 5th Theater, and the 43rd Army in the 9th Theater are closest to the Four Lines Regiment. There are also the 4th Army and the 10th Theater a little further away.
Even though General Zhang of the 28th Division and the Thirty-third Group Army had died on the battlefield, several of his major generals also respected Tang Daoke, as did the commander of the garrison brigade directly under the 9th Theater Headquarters.
Tang Dao's old superior.
Not to mention that Tang Dao, who is from Sichuan, also has the support of the entire Sichuan military department.
Thinking about it now, perhaps Tang Dao had already anticipated such a day and started to prepare for it in advance. This kind of wisdom that transcends the battlefield is truly extraordinary.
"Of course, I just mentioned so many reasons. In fact, there is only one real reason why I dare to march from there. Once Yiling is lost, the east gate of the mountain city will be gone. It is equivalent to the Japanese putting a knife on his neck.
, I have to put aside this big thing for the time being and pull out the thorn in the side of the Japanese." Tang Dao said with solemn eyes.
In the past, Yiling fell in time and space, and as a result, a miracle that was even more difficult than the "Dunkirk" evacuation was born - the "Yiling evacuation". In just 40 days, 130,000 tons of supplies and more than 30,000 personnel were lost.
The collective evacuated to mountain cities, preserving the lifeline of national industry and a large number of talents.
This time and space has not appeared yet for some reason, but Tang Dao has a hunch that something will eventually happen.
This convinced Tang Dao that the Military and Administrative Department had enough capabilities to transport the entire Si Xing Regiment to the war zone via the Yangtze River by ship.
The march route was finally determined and reported to the war zone for approval, which was considered to have solved the biggest problem. What was left was to train the entire regiment, raise supplies, and deceive the Japanese army's tactics.
The march of one battalion alone is more than 5 miles, let alone the entire regiment of the Fourth Army, which is no more than ten kilometers. Moreover, there is a Japanese-occupied area before entering Zhongtiao Mountain, so the Japanese will find out that they are bombing by planes.
, that’s like ‘dying before leaving the army and making the hero burst into tears’.
If you want to leave, it's not as simple as just picking up your bags and marching.
Before the departure date secretly set by the headquarters of the Sixings Regiment, the Sixings Regiment and all friendly forces began to take the initiative to attack. In nearly a month and a half, the troops located in Zhongtiao Mountain and southeastern Shanxi attacked with a strength of 60,000.
The Japanese army, which was actively attacked by the Chinese army, was obviously caught off guard. After continuous exchanges of fire, the Japanese division that was hit the hardest on the Zhongtiao Mountain front line, which did not understand the Chinese tactical intentions, voluntarily abandoned the occupied town and retreated towards Yuncheng.
Intelligence shows that the 40,000-strong Fifth Army Group not far away is already on standby.
What the Japanese don't know is that there is really an army of 5,600 people in southeastern Shanxi, two hundred kilometers away, that has entered the full army standby mode! ()
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