Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

 December 2, 1941, northern section of Tongpu Railway.

 “Woooooo!”

Accompanied by the sound of whistles from far to near, a train carrying various types of heavy equipment slowly drove into the Xinxian platform.

 The cold temperatures in winter cause the steam to condense into white mist as soon as it is discharged from the chimney, making the scenery of the entire station look extremely spectacular.

 Under the guidance of the staff, the transport train stopped steadily in the designated area.

The soldiers who had been waiting for a long time also immediately took action and assisted the friendly forces who came for reinforcements to unload heavy equipment and supplies.

“Report to Chief of Staff Liu! All members of the headquarters artillery brigade are here! Please give instructions!”

 The slightly familiar voice made 103 turn his head sharply.

After discovering that he was an old friend he hadn't seen for many years, he immediately put down what he was doing and took three steps at a time to greet him.

 For the Eighth Route Army at this stage, artillery is the most important cornerstone of the army, and the artillery's strike capability and rapid response capability are the guarantee of combat effectiveness.

What’s more, the artillery directly under the headquarters is the best among the best. Who wouldn’t like this kind of strong support?

 “Lao Qiu! Long time no see!”

"Your artillery brigade is really timely. I am worried that the firepower on the front line is somewhat insufficient! With your help in the next decisive battle, the Japanese will definitely not be able to take advantage of it!"

 “Come on, let’s reveal how many good things you have brought this time!”

 The current Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region has not yet carried out the upgrade of support weapons.

Although the combination of the M1897 75mm field gun and the Brand 120mm mortar is enough to deal with the joint attack of the Mongolian Army and the North China Front Army.

  But as an army general, it is really difficult for 103 to refuse new artillery.

 After all, big is beautiful, and more is better. Caliber is justice, range is truth.

 The above point of view has long been verified in previous battles, and has even become a recognized code for Eighth Route Army soldiers.

Just when Political Commissar Qiu of the Headquarters Artillery Brigade was about to reveal the answer, Huang He came out from behind him with a Versailles look on his face, and spoke to 103 first:

 “Hey, we are bringing big pipes this time.”

“No more, no less, just 24 105mm howitzers and 12 105mm field guns. In addition, there is a reinforced regiment of self-propelled rocket launchers.”

 “How are you, are you satisfied with the support from the headquarters?”

As soon as these words came out, 103 immediately showed a shocked expression. He didn't even bother to say hello to Huang He, and rushed directly to the carriage to check out the new artillery.

 Leaving aside those mysterious self-propelled rocket launchers, the 36 105mm barrel guns alone are enough to attract attention.

This level of firepower, even on the brutal Eastern Front battlefield in Europe, is definitely a force that cannot be underestimated.

By the standards of the Japanese army, the paper strength of this artillery brigade is enough to suppress the artillery of three B divisions.

“It’s incredible, it’s incredible, our firepower has been upgraded too fast.”

“If you can give me seven artillery brigades, coupled with a sufficient number of infantry and air force, I will even have the confidence to sweep across the Japanese in the Republic of China.”

After a while of emotion, 103 jumped out of the carriage reluctantly, and then asked curiously:

"Director Huang, why are you here at the front line? Is it possible that you have some kind of job?"

In the minds of most comrades, Huanghe is a technical house with no door or two doors. Every day I am either doing research or on the way to do research.

 At this moment, when he appears on the battlefield, it must be some important work or mission.

 Faced with the question of 103, Mr. Huang didn’t care. He pointed to the car behind and explained:

“In the reinforcement regiment mentioned just now, there is a company whose new equipment needs to undergo high-intensity testing.”

“Do you know Hongjian? It’s the Type 41 122mm self-propelled rocket launcher, a new weapon that our Weapons Experimental Research Bureau just developed a few months ago.”

“Now that it has been upgraded, I came to Xinkou this time just to record the actual combat data of the Red Arrow 2. Compared to dry-firing at the shooting range, I prefer to shoot with the Japs.”

 Early rockets, whether the Red Arrow developed under the leadership of Huanghe or the Katyusha currently in service by Lao Maozi, all had the problems of short effective range and poor accuracy.

 In response to the above situation, the Weapons Experimental Research Bureau came up with two sets of solutions.

 The first set allows the projectile to keep rotating during flight. To put it bluntly, it is a turbine rocket on the 107 Fire.

The core operation of this technology is not complicated. It only needs to divide the engine nozzle from one into multiple ones, so that they can be evenly arranged in a circle around the bottom edge.

 In this way, the rocket can maintain its spin during flight, ultimately improving accuracy.

Using this principle, comrades from the Weapons Experimental Research Bureau are trying to develop more powerful attack rockets, with a current tentative caliber of more than 200 mm.

 The second set uses a spiral grooved guide tube to make the rocket spin, and it is combined with the tail fin of the upper body to form double stability.

 In this way, the Red Arrow 2 self-propelled rocket launcher can increase its range to an incredible fifteen kilometers while ensuring accuracy, and it can definitely be regarded as an efficient enemy-killing weapon.

  ·······

Looking at the Yellow River, which was like a living king of hell, the corners of 103's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

 He could only feel happy now. After all, it was not a wise choice to be an enemy of such a talented and bold scientist. In a sense, the Third Master Huang mentioned by Lao Cui is really not a joke.

While Liu and Qiu were still thinking, Huang He looked around first, and then asked curiously:

“By the way, why don’t you see Mr. Lin? Isn’t he here today?”

As soon as these words came out, 103 immediately showed a wry smile, and then stretched out his hand and pointed into the distance. Following the other party's guidance, Huang He saw the target without much effort.

In the mist-filled platform, the tiger in the forest walked independently with his hands in his pockets, and his back alone showed a strong sense of exhaustion.

If you can change the gray Eighth Route Army winter uniform into a yellow-green coat at this time. That famous scene in a certain movie of later generations may not have appeared a few years in advance.

  Seems to have guessed Huang He’s thoughts, 103 took the initiative to explain:

“The division commander hasn’t slept a wink for two days, and even the deputy general staff officer and deputy division commander couldn’t persuade him.”

"His health has just recovered. I'm afraid something unexpected will happen if he continues like this. If possible, please ask Director Huang to find a way to persuade him." Hearing this, Huang He also sighed.

Although he has no experience in commanding large corps in combat, he knows that this is a matter that extremely tests the commander's body and will. After all, every decision is related to the victory or defeat of the battle situation and even the life and death of the troops.

Different from the game, when you play a round of Steel 4, it doesn’t matter even if the battle damage is uglier than the battle.

Because no one has the right to hold you accountable for your mistakes, and you don't have to be ashamed of your stupidity. It's just a game made of a bunch of data and images.

 After playing a few games of World of Warships, it doesn’t matter even if you lose for a whole day and sink a dozen aircraft carriers.

 Because you don’t have to be criticized like a real captain, and you don’t have to pay the price with your life for your decisions. A game lasts twenty minutes. You should do whatever you want after it’s over. Everything that just happened is just a string of red letters.

 But reality is different. As the top commander, you must be responsible for everyone.

 During the entire battle, the military commander needs to make the most correct deployment based on factors such as battlefield width, combat effectiveness, organization, and weapon equipment.

 This means that the top commander needs to know all the troops at all levels under his command, which in itself is a huge amount of memory and workload.

 In addition, you must also understand the enemy forces.

Only in this way can we find the content we need from the vast amount of intelligence, thereby judging the enemy's movements and formulating our own response methods.

 This is a dual physical and psychological torture, and it is a torture that cannot be avoided. This is the experience of commanding a large corps in combat.

Thinking of this, Huang He felt a headache.

In his impression, even the deputy commander-in-chief, who was like an iron man, took a break for several days after commanding the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.

The tiger in the forest is not in good health. Such a high-intensity battle will definitely affect his health. He may have to conduct the second battle of Xinkou on a stretcher.

At this moment, there is only one way Huanghe can think of to break the situation, and that is to defeat the troops directly under the Mongolian Army and the North China Front Army as quickly as possible!

As long as all the enemies are dead, there is no need to worry anymore.

While Huang He was still thinking, the tiger in the forest in the distance suddenly shouted to them:

“Director Huang! Political Commissar Qiu! Chief of Staff! Come here, I have something to announce to you.”

Hearing this, the three of them immediately stopped communicating and trotted over.

 “LYL, please remember it!”

"I will make the following deployment adjustments. The fourth column and two main regiments will be used to strengthen the defense line from Heiyu to Yangfangkou. The second and third columns will be added to the teaching regiment, the cavalry regiment and the headquarters artillery brigade to attack Xinkou."

 “One vertical line, stop the enemy in Ekou and Dai County areas!”

 "The remaining troops, as the general reserve! Repeat it to me!"

 Come, come, the most handsome and famous scene is here. Hearing the deployment of the tiger in the forest, Huang He instinctively became excited.

 After a moment, he looked at 103 expectantly.

Since the incident happened suddenly, the chief of staff did not have paper and pen on hand, and Huang did not know whether the other party could fully recount it.

"yes!"

“Use the remaining troops from the fourth column as the general reserve!”

Facts have proved that, as the chief of staff at the division level, 103’s memory is not very good. Even without paper and pen, he could still perfectly repeat his master's orders.

As if feeling that something was missing, Huang He decided to replace a certain comrade working in Shandong. He stepped forward and suggested to Lin and Liu:

“I would like to add that the troops participating in this war also have an artillery academy, and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region must make full use of these artillery.”

“There are also the newly formed tank regiment and the 1st Marine Regiment on standby in the rear. These two units are the highlight of the headquarters’ preparation for the allies.”

As soon as these words came out, both the tiger in the forest and his chief of staff nodded.

This decisive battle at Xinkou was the first battle in which the Eighth Route Army crushed the enemy in both quantity and caliber of artillery. With such a powerful weapon, it is natural to give full play to it.

"Okay! Regarding the deployment of the armored forces and the 1st Marine Regiment, I will come up with a reasonable plan with the staff later."

"As for Director Huang, I suggest you not to get too close to the battlefield. If you must go, it is best to retreat to a safe area immediately after the first wave of attacks."

　　"Received! I will absolutely obey your arrangements!"

 That afternoon, the entire Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region received notification from superiors.

 The general offensive will begin at 1:00 pm on December 3rd.

 After the general offensive is launched, the attack should be carried out continuously without stopping or requesting delay for any reason. While completing their respective tasks, each unit should actively assist its neighbors to achieve victory.

 For those who waver in the face of battle, it will cause trouble for the fighters. The commanders of each unit have the right to strictly enforce discipline and must not tolerate it.

  ·······

  At 9 a.m. on December 3, 1941, the Joint Command of the Mongolian Army.

"Yano-kun and Nishihara-kun, we are about to arrive at Xinkou. You two must be more vigilant and don't underestimate the Eighth Route Army!"

 Since the end of the Battle of Datong, the three Japanese lieutenant generals had an ominous premonition. They even had a bold guess that the so-called division-level commander of the Eighth Route Army was actually a decoy.

After all, whenever they are about to capture a target, there will always be a strong reinforcement force accompanying the air force.

 Once or twice may be a coincidence, but three or four times must be the tactics arranged by the enemy.

After hearing Iimorinuma's reminder, the two Japanese lieutenant generals stationed in the Mongolian army immediately nodded solemnly.

 Being able to become division commanders, the two of them are naturally no losers. In an area like Xinkou that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, they certainly cannot let their troops plunge in headfirst.

"Don't worry, I have sent enough reconnaissance teams to guard and explore the way."

“The Eighth Route Army’s field artillery and mortars only have an effective range of eight kilometers. As long as this range is stuck, they will not rush into the enemy’s encirclement.”

“Those **** Republic of China people didn’t realize it themselves. They relied too much on artillery.” (End of this chapter)