Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

Chapter 303 The most dangerous man in the Republic of China

 October 10, 1941, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Taiyuan.

“Comrades, before the meeting officially begins, I want to tell you some very unfortunate news.”

“The Eighth Theater in Suiyuan failed to withstand the frontal attack of the Japs. At present, the troops at all levels under the Seventh Route and a Half Command have dispersed to break through, but his main force, the Thirty-fifth Army, is still being pursued.”

"We have to send out troops now. We will wait until the battle is over to determine the attitude of the mountain city."

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the entire Meishan conference room instantly dropped to freezing point.

 During the period of the Japanese's massive attack, the headquarters received telegrams requesting help from seven and a half routes every day.

The bald head, who was not involved in human affairs, seemed to have predicted the operations of the Eighth War Zone, and frequently put pressure on the Eighth Office of the Mountain City to prohibit the three main forces from sending troops northward for support.

The lessons learned in Zhongtiao Mountain have made Guozhou executives more wary of TG again. They are afraid that their troops will serve as a wedding dress for the Desperate Warrior Fox.

 In a sense, the border area is the force that they fear the most.

Losing Suiyuan is not entirely a bad thing. After all, it allows Shanxi's Eighth Route Army to be attacked in the north and east at the same time, delaying their development opportunities.

 In order not to undermine the anti-Japanese united front, it was also to prevent some people from leading the people to achieve ulterior secrets through public opinion.

 The deputy commander-in-chief had no choice but to take two countermeasures:

 1. Mobilize the commanders and fighters in the Daqingshan base area to fully assist the Eighth War Zone in carrying out the attack work, and strive to destroy the logistics supply lines of the Mongolian army as much as possible before the war begins.

  2. Provide the military supplies needed by the Seven and a Half Routes as much as possible, and continuously transport weapons and food to the Wuyuan area by air transport.

 In addition to high-end weapons such as fighter jets, tanks and self-propelled rocket launchers that require training to use, the Eighth Route Army will give the other side whatever they want.

After everyone present digested the information just now, the deputy general staff officer continued to speak to the Suiyuan map on the wall:

“At present, the Ma Jiajun has been defeated and retreated to Ningxia. The Sixth Cavalry Army of the Central Army has withdrawn to the Yimeng area south of the Yellow River. The above two troops are not in danger for the time being."

“Judging from the current advance route of the Mongolian army, the Japanese have no intention of continuing the pursuit.”

"However, the situation of the main force of the 35th Army is not good. The defeat has demoralized the troops at all levels and they are almost in a desperate situation. If we do not lend a helping hand, the vast majority of them may die on the way to Lanzhou. "

Although the Deputy Chief of Staff did not say it explicitly, anyone could hear the implication.

The commanders did not feel disgusted by the long-distance rescue operation.

Judging from the opponent's current record, he can definitely be called a famous anti-Japanese general in the major war zones of the Republic of China, and is much stronger than some insects that do not deserve the name.

　　Everyone has a favorable opinion of generals who dare to fight and fight hard.

What's more, the three main forces are about to go into full-scale war with the Mongolian army. It will not be difficult to save people while fighting the Japanese.

 After a pause, the deputy general staff officer turned his attention to Commander Li Da, who was listening carefully.

“Li Yunlong, your 1st Marine Regiment is the most mobile unit in the entire army. After discussion at the headquarters, we decided to send your regiment to cooperate with the 1st Air Division to carry out the task of searching and rescuing allies.”

“The First Air Division will rush to the battlefield in advance to conduct reconnaissance, and then deliver your regiment near the target. If things go well, we will directly kill the pursuing Japanese.”

“You don’t have to worry about intelligence matters. I have already sent someone to your regiment’s location before the combat meeting begins.”

 Suddenly hearing his name being called by the deputy general staff officer, Commander Li jumped up from his seat subconsciously, and a bit of shock could be seen on his face.

 After all, the commanders at the venue were basically at the brigade level or above. Lao Li really didn’t expect that their regiment’s mission would be ranked first.

 After a while, the big-hearted Li Yunlong adjusted his condition.

As the most elite airborne commander in the army, he looked at the deputy general staff officer with firm eyes and replied:

"receive!"

“Don’t worry, chief! Our 1st Marine Regiment guarantees to complete the mission!”

This situation made Huang He touch his chin in a daze.

 In his impression, the most famous case of using airborne and airborne landings to rescue allies during World War II was of course Tokusan's Operation Oak.

Taking into account the difficult after-school homework assigned to Li Yunlong by the infantry expert, his fellow countryman’s future performance will definitely not be worse than that of Otto Skorzeny.

After the Eighth Route Army captured Suiyuan, maybe Lao Li would really like to mention the title of "the most dangerous man in the Republic of China".

  ·······

 Half an hour later, the combat meeting officially ended, and the commanders hurriedly returned to their stations by car.

Li Yunlong is no exception. There are still twenty-one hours left before the departure time of the 1st Marine Regiment, and he must go back quickly to formulate a rescue plan.

 “Captain! You are finally back!”

"Is there a new combat order? I just saw the headquarters' correspondent at the gate."

"By the way, you should go to the regiment headquarters quickly. The political commissar, deputy commander Xing and the three battalion commanders are waiting. They told me to take you there as soon as possible."

After saying this, the monk grabbed the arm of his regiment leader and ran into the base without saying a word.

Since the Eighth Route Army established the airborne force, Li Yunlong's physical fitness has been greatly improved, but there is still a big gap compared with the calf-like Wei Dayong.

With no choice, he could only speed up while cursing his mother.

 Fortunately, the regiment headquarters was not far from the gate, and the two of them reached their destination in just five minutes.

 After entering the door, what you see is a framed calligraphy hanging on the wall. This is one of the gifts given to Li Yunlong by the army morale wizard after the Battle of Taiyuan.

 The font is in dignified regular script, and the content is "With the torrent of steel, we will realize our ambitions."

According to the boss, the huge military transport planes in the sky are another manifestation of the torrent of steel.

 “Hey, the leader is back.”

“You didn’t really have a fight with the deputy commander, did you? Why did the combat information come back earlier than the people who attended the meeting?”

"According to me, you really don't have to worry. Since the establishment of our First Marine Regiment, there has never been a battle of any size without our airborne troops."

Looking at the playful Zhang Dabiao, Li Yunlong rolled his eyes and sat down at the table.

 Taking action with the deputy commander in chief? Whenever someone coughed, he would slap himself three times, and then quickly think about whether he had done anything wrong recently. “Okay, stop talking nonsense.”

“Our group will set off on time at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. The destination should be between the Houtao area and Lanzhou. Now we will have a meeting quickly to formulate a battle plan.”

“Give me the information sent by the deputy general staff, and let’s discuss together what equipment the troops need to bring.”

 Taking the folder from Xing Zhiguo, Li Yunlong opened the information and began to read it carefully, while the others kept quiet and waited.

 Five minutes later, Lao Li frowned, as if he had encountered something difficult.

“The defeat of the Eighth Theater was not unfair. Compared with the Japs a year ago, the current troops stationed in Mongolia are simply exaggeratedly stable.”

“This Amakasu Jutaro has completely absorbed the experience and lessons of his former commander Okabe Naosaburo. Every step of his command is almost in tit-for-tat with the seven-and-a-half-way plan.”

“Coupled with the strong strength that overwhelms others, it feels like defeating ten groups with one force.”

Hearing the analysis of his team leader, Zhao Gang and his team all nodded in agreement.

 Everyone present is a commander with rich combat experience. They have already made a mental assessment of the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Theater Zone, which has been equipped with some magical weapons.

Given the strength of the opponent, they only lasted for two weeks. This time the enemy must not be underestimated.

 In fact, it’s not to blame for the improper command of Qilu. After all, there is a certain gap in the hard power of the two sides. The army stationed in Mongolia dispatched a large number of armored troops, and human legs and horse legs were simply unable to compete with machines on the prairie.

Unable to defeat the enemy from the front, the Eighth War Zone could only send out cavalry to take the initiative while defending the city, in an attempt to attract the enemy back to defense by disrupting encirclement points in the rear for reinforcements and encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao.

The Japanese army adopted a chain defense in the Suiyuan area. Normally, one stronghold did not have too many troops.

However, there is strong linkage between each stronghold. Once attacked, motorized troops can quickly arrive to support.

In view of the above characteristics, the Eighth War Zone organized a dozen cavalry commandos, detoured to the rear of the Mongolian army and went straight to Huanglong to launch an attack.

At the same time, the main force of the army set up ambushes at various transportation nodes to intercept the returning defense troops stationed in Mongolia. They planned to take advantage of the Japanese's unwillingness to fight and eager for reinforcements to kill and injure the enemy's effective forces as much as possible.

This trick worked so well during the winter offensive that year that the entire Eighth Theater once walked Okabe Naosaburo like a dog on the grassland.

It's a pity that the Japanese are also making progress, and they won't suffer losses twice with the same trick.

  Amakasu Jutaro's army stationed in Mongolia not only added a new tank brigade, but also equipped a large number of armored vehicles and transport trucks. Its mobility is no longer what it used to be.

 The ultra-high support speed has caused huge psychological pressure on every soldier in the cavalry commando team.

What's more, the troops directly under the North China Front supported the Mongolian Army with a B division and an independent mixed brigade. The surge in troops greatly increased the difficulty of the attack.

  Various types of fighter aircraft supported by the Kwantung Army made it impossible for the cavalry in the Eighth Theater to hide, and almost all operations were carried out under the eyes of the enemy.

The first steps of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao and encircling points to rescue Zhao failed, and subsequent plans naturally became illusions.

When the Mongolian army concentrated three divisions and two independent mixed brigades to attack the Wuyuan area with all their strength, the 7th Army had to retreat westward with its main force, the 35th Army.

 Heavy artillery, tanks, and aircraft come together. It is simply not a combination that the old and new cities of Wuyuan can withstand.

After driving away the Seven and a Half Route Army, Amakasu Jutaro did not choose to use a small number of Japanese troops and a large part of the puppet troops to defend the city. After all, his predecessor had suffered losses.

  The old Japanese army directly left a regiment of troops in the city, and also transferred three divisions of puppet troops from the rear to garrison Wuyuan.

In order to ensure that the city would not be attacked by sneak attacks, he first asked the puppet troops to set up sentry posts on the periphery to check everyone with suspicious behavior along the way, and also to guard the traffic lines.

The Japanese do not expect the puppet army to have any combat effectiveness, as long as they can give early warning to the regular troops in the city when they are attacked.

The main force is to occupy the buildings in the city that are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and connect each stronghold to each other to form a core position, and finally reinforce it with barbed wire and civil engineering works.

As a result, strict defense and highly mobile armored forces combined with tens of thousands of defenders completely dispelled the intention of the Seven Route Army to wait for an opportunity to counterattack Wuyuan.

What's more, in this attack, Jutaro Amakasu specially strengthened the defense force on the logistics route, and the troops fought for a full two weeks without showing signs of fatigue.

Had it not been for the Qi and a half army to mobilize the masses in advance and divert the water from the Yellow River into the main and branch canals, making the Hetao area a flooded area, it is estimated that even retreating to Lanzhou would have become a luxury.

 After briefly analyzing the tactics and strength of the troops stationed in Mongolia, Li Yunlong took out a piece of information from the folder and said:

“This time the enemy attaches great importance to reconnaissance and intelligence work. In the process of rescuing the Seventh and a Half Routes, there is a high probability that we will encounter the Army Aviation of the Kwantung Army.”

“Although we now have a high-power radio station, we can call for support from the First Air Division in time. But it will take a while for the fighter jets to arrive, and we have to rely on ourselves for air defense.”

“The rescue mission does not require a fortification, so I decided to replace the eight airborne tanks with medium-sized anti-aircraft vehicles. That thing is as effective at hitting aircraft as it is at hitting people, and it can even fire a few shots when encountering enemy tanks.”

Hearing what his regiment leader said, Zhao Gang signaled Li Yunlong to turn the information back, where there was specific information about the enemy's tank brigade.

Different from the First Army, the tanks equipped by the Mongolian Army are not Type 95 light tanks that can only bully infantry, but Type 97 medium tanks with stronger firepower and protection.

The armor on the front half of this thing's body is 25 mm thick, and the thickness on the lower and rear sides is also 20 mm. It's not that easy for the Cicada tank's 37-gun cannon to penetrate it at long distances.

“This time the soldiers need to bring more 40 fire. It is really impossible to use transport planes and gliders to load more and arm the soldiers in the eighth theater.”

“Let’s also bring the secret weapons that Lao Huang prepared for us. Although the stability and reliability of the new assets are not high, we need stronger anti-armor capabilities in this operation.”

“Before departure, the mobile combat company organized another exercise to practice the new tactics developed some time ago. Hey, I didn’t expect to use them so soon. If you don’t sharpen your weapons quickly in battle, it will be useless!”

Li Yunlong glanced at Zhao Gang with a strange look. He thought that the other person was really worried. After all, their main purpose this time was to save people, not to go head-to-head with the armored troops stationed in Mongolia.

Even if the Cicada tanks cannot defeat the Type 97 medium tanks, they can still avoid the battle by virtue of their mobility and intelligence advantages.

As long as the 1st Air Division has dealt with the enemy's land aviation and armored forces, it all depends on their own interests whether they want to leave or stay. No matter how hard the Type 97 medium tank is, it cannot withstand rockets and aerial bombs.

However, the opinions of his political commissar still had to be adopted. Li Yunlong stood up and said to everyone present:

 “Okay, let’s break up the meeting.”

“Leave the exercise matters to Lao Xing and Lao Zhao. I’m going to see Lao Huang now to see if he still has any stock.”

There is really no other way out in the Eighth War Zone. They cannot write unless they retreat to Suiyuan.

However, it is not unreasonable for the Japs in Suiyuan to become stronger. After all, they cannot do nothing even if Jin Province is gone.

 (End of this chapter)