Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

Chapter 145 The Origin of the Hundred Regiments

  At 5 o'clock in the morning on August 21, 1940.

Although the sun had only risen for half an hour at this time, the combat conference room at the Eighth Route Army headquarters was still very busy, and everyone had not rested all night.

More than a dozen correspondents shuttled back and forth here. They briefly summarized each piece of information sent back from each unit, and finally submitted it in written form to the staff officers in the conference room.

After obtaining this key first-hand intelligence, the staff will adjust the symbols representing the enemy and ourselves based on real-time battle reports.

 After a night of raiding operations, many ointment flags on the sand table that originally belonged to the small days have been replaced by small flags of the Eighth Route Army units at all levels.

On the wall to the north of the war conference room, there was a wooden plaque that said, "Eradicate the Japanese aggressors and return our mountains and rivers." Right below it was a military map that included the Zhengtai Railway and its surrounding areas.

At this time, the deputy commander stood there silently with his hands behind his back.

In his eyes, the red and blue arrows on the map indicating the complicated situation between the enemy and ourselves seemed to be battles that were breaking out.

 Although we are very confident in our own strength, and the main focus of this operation is a surprise attack. But before receiving the official battle report, the experienced commander was still a little worried.

At this moment, Section Chief Wang from the Operations Section of the Forward Headquarters walked into the conference room.

The comrade who held multiple positions saw the vice president's back at a glance, and then walked over with a telegram. Although the other party hasn't looked back yet, Section Chief Wang knows that he is waiting for him to speak.

“The battle report came from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. The battles at Niangziguan and Jingxing Coal Mine have ended successfully! Commander Yang of the Central Column has overfulfilled the task."

“According to the news they sent, professional engineers estimate that Jingxing Coal Mine will not be able to resume production for at least a year, and the repair work of Niangziguan Station and Pass will also take several months.”

“And the new regiment borrowed by the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region had an unexpected gain. In the process of blocking enemy reinforcements, they killed the brigade commander Mizuhara Yishige of the Eighth Independent Mixed Brigade.”

After hearing these breaking news, even the deputy commander-in-chief who had seen strong winds and waves couldn't help but shout "good news".

He turned around, hammered the table with the sand table hard, and then said to everyone in the war conference room:

"It seems that our battle has directly stunned Shinozuka Yoshio and Tada Shun. It has been ten hours since the battle began, and they have not yet made an effective counterattack."

“To be honest, I didn’t even expect that our army’s combat effectiveness is so strong now.”

“Ding Wei did a great job! Now it seems that I made a wise choice by detaining him!”

The deputy general staff officer also smiled. Judging from the current results, it would not be a loss even if the Eighth Route Army was forcibly terminated.

However, after thinking about the weaknesses of his opponent and old partner, he still gave a cautious reminder.

"Tada Shun is not a fuel-efficient lamp. Maybe he is planning a new round of raids now. Next, we may face a fierce counterattack by the enemy."

Just as the two were preparing to discuss the next response plan, a staff officer ran in from the outside very anxiously. It seemed that he had gotten some important news.

“Boss! Report on the battle situation! So far, our large-scale attack has begun to bear fruit. According to statistics, the troops have destroyed 97 kilometers of Japanese railways, 150 kilometers of roads, and a total of 58 bridges, tunnels and stations.”

This specific data shocked everyone in the combat conference room, including the vice president and deputy general staff.

However, the news that can be sent back at this time must have been verified by combat troops and intelligence agencies, and there is absolutely no way it is false.

 But many staff officers could not figure out one thing, that is, the headquarters clearly dispatched only twenty-two regiments this time. Such a result was obviously unreasonable. Even if the warriors were skilled in different aspects, they would not be able to achieve this level.

 In the eyes of everyone who was curious and excited, the staff officer did not show off. He directly turned the page and continued his report.

 In the original plan of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, it was true that only twenty-two regiments would participate in combat missions, but the plan could not keep up with the changes.

 In order to contain the Japanese support troops and buy enough time for the friendly forces, and also to coordinate and support the major attack on the Zhengtai line.

The three main forces of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the 120th Division, and the 129th Division all deployed a large number of troops outside the Zhengtai Line to fight against the Japanese.

Even the troops with spare strength also destroyed roads and railways together, giving a severe blow to Xiaoli.

And in order to prevent insufficient manpower and prevent the operation from achieving the intended effect in the first time, various base areas also dispatched many local troops to participate in the raid.

After hearing these reports, everyone present was laughing from ear to ear. Even the deputy commander-in-chief asked the staff officer with a smile:

“Then you can help me calculate how many regiments of troops we have invested in this traffic attack?”

The staff officer quickly took out the record book and looked it up from the beginning, and started calculating carefully. A minute later he got the result, a total of one hundred and five regiments.

Just when he was about to do the calculation again to see if there were any missed units, the deputy commander tapped the table excitedly.

“No matter how many regiments we have! It will definitely not be less than a hundred! It’s called a Hundred Regiment War!”

This codename was immediately recognized by everyone present, and the name Hundred Regiments War made it easier to expand publicity.

 The deputy general staff officer immediately took the deputy general to the table next to him and drafted a "Propaganda Work Instruction" to be distributed to all the units under his command.

This kind of victory must be publicized, not only to attack the capitulationists, but also to revive the determination of the country's military and civilians to resist Japan.

 So in addition to fighting, the lower-level troops of the three main forces have a lot of work to do.

 The first thing to do is to collect the enemy's military and political documents and trophies. After all, empty talk is not enough. In the enemy-occupied areas, the Japanese propaganda work was very effective, and even the black ones could be said to be white.

Once there is no reliable evidence, Xiaori will even bite back and say that the Eighth Route Army faked it.

Secondly, it is necessary to collect heroic deeds in combat, such as the New Regiment, which is very suitable for publicity.

They are simply representatives of collective heroism, and are examples of comrades who dare to fight, are not afraid of difficulties, and have the courage to sacrifice under the guidance of the principle of collectivism.

 The last thing is to take more photos. After all, they are going to be published in newspapers. Only with evidence and illustrations can the best effect be achieved.

 After preparing all this, the headquarters sent the battle report to the rear area that afternoon. Considering that the Eighth Route Army was nominally a candied army, the vice president also gave a portion to the bald man in the southwest.

Issue first and change later

 (End of this chapter)