Rise From Eight Hundred

"Duo Tianjun is here, and the North China Anti-Japanese War is about to usher in a new stage!" Tang Dao said meaningfully at the military meeting where the main force of the Four Lines Regiment marched into southern Hebei.

The main force of the Si Xing Regiment marched into Jinan. This was not decided by Tang Dao or the Si Xing Regiment headquarters, but an order from the Second Theater Command.

Before the first month of the year was even out, the Second Theater Headquarters sent a message to the headquarters of the Fourth Army Regiment and ordered the Fourth Army Regiment to send a main force to sneak into the southern Hebei region to launch operations against Japan.

The reason is very simple. Tang Daoke still holds the position of deputy director of the Jinan Administrative Office. It is most normal for him and his four-pronged group to enter Jinan.

The director of the Jinan Office appointed by the national government had secretly arrived in the suburbs of Handan years ago and had begun work.

Tang Dao knew that this was the reaction of the man in the mountain city to the 80th Army Group who entered a large number of enemy-occupied areas. He did not mention the formal appointment of officials, but also ventured into the enemy-occupied areas to carry out work.

However, Tang Dao was also curious as to who was that great man who wanted officials so much that he actually dared to arrive in the Japanese-occupied areas to carry out work without the protection of the army. Such people were common in the Eightyth Army, and they could be found under that man. Not much.

March 16, 1939!

On the 10th day after the Japanese North China Front Headquarters announced the arrival of the new commander, Lieutenant General Da Tianjun, the 1st and 2nd companies of the 1st Battalion, the 4th and 5th companies of the 2nd Battalion, and the 7th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the Fourth Army Regiment , 10th Company of the 4th Battalion; 3rd and 4th Battalion Artillery Company, 1st Company of the Cavalry Battalion, 1st Company and 2nd Company of the Artillery Battalion, 1st and 2nd Company of the Air Defense Battalion; 1st Company and 2nd Company of the Transport Battalion; 1st Company and Regiment Headquarters of the Guard Battalion A total of 6 infantry companies, 5 artillery companies, 1 cavalry company, 3 special companies, and 2 baggage companies, including directly affiliated reconnaissance companies, mountain infantry companies, and engineer companies, sent troops to southern Hebei.

Of course, such a large-scale troop march cannot be carried out with much fanfare. Doesn't that give Duo Tianjun, a new official, an opportunity to make a fuss when he takes office?

Southern Hebei is not a big mountain like southeastern Shanxi. The two important cities in the area are Handan and Xingtai. The northwest of Handan is the eastern flank of the main ridge of the Taihang Mountains, which is a mountainous area. The central and eastern parts are plain areas, which are Handan's most important food and food crops. Cotton and oil production areas; and the mountainous areas of Xingtai only account for 20% of the city's area, and up to 80% of the area is hills and plains.

This means that the fighting method of the Four Troops Regiment arriving in southern Hebei will be very different from that of the past year. If they are surrounded by a large number of Japanese troops in this undefensible plain area, it will be the end of the entire army. Game, no luck at all.

Therefore, the main force of the Si Xing Regiment going to Jinan went in batches, almost an infantry company accompanied by an artillery company. Tang Dao personally led the guard company, cavalry company, reconnaissance company, mountain infantry company, and escort company forward. .

Although the engineering company and the baggage company are auxiliary troops, the army of the Four Lines Regiment, no matter what type of troops it is, has strict military training. Its combat effectiveness may be comparable to that of the four major infantry battalions, but not everyone can bully them. of.

Moreover, the 80th Group Army's local military work team provided information along the way, so they were not afraid of being attacked by the Japanese army.

Although the Fourth Army's trip to southern Hebei was said to be fighting the Japanese, it was obviously not for a big fight. None of the 12 Bofors mountain guns of the mountain artillery company with the strongest artillery support was moved, and neither were the materials transported by the two baggage companies. Mainly food or ammunition.

Only insiders knew that the two baggage companies were transporting a large number of mines and excavation tools with all their strength.

That was Tang Tuanzuo's secret weapon against the so-called "Three Guangs Policy" of the Japanese army!

Since the Japanese want to use the tactic of exterminating every household, Tang Tuanzuo will use the method that has been practiced on the North China Plain with great success to fight with them.

Sparrow warfare, mine warfare, and tunnel warfare are all successful tactics practiced with blood by the 80th Group Army and the vast number of soldiers and civilians in the base area.

When sparrows fly foraging for food, they never fly in groups, but mostly in groups of one or two, three to five, or a dozen, flying east and west, gathering and scattering, with small targets, fast speed, and flexible movements.

'When attacking the garrisoned enemy, the militiamen take advantage of the familiar advantages to find out the enemy's various situations, take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, and launch a sudden attack; when fighting an ambush, our soldiers and civilians set up ambushes on the only way the enemy must pass. , lure the enemy into a trap, and use volleys of guns and landmines to kill and injure the enemy in large numbers; in the blocking battle, our soldiers and civilians adopt a dispersed and concealed approach to eliminate the enemy at the right time. ’

This is the strategy that Commander Liu of the 921st Division named "Sparrow Warfare" in the "Tactical Report on the First Anniversary of the 921st Division's Anti-Japanese War" in July 1938, and it was gradually promoted.

The reason why Tang Dao carried company-level units instead of battalion-level units this time was that he planned to adopt the method of sparrow warfare and spread the main force into the vast plains and countryside in companies and platoons.

If a small group of Japanese troops is encountered, such as at the squad or squadron level, the militia developed by the Eightyth Group Army stationed in the local area will cooperate with the platoons and companies to harass, ambush, block and annihilate them;

If the Japanese army begins large-scale reinforcements, they will immediately telegraph the troops stationed in surrounding villages, townships, and counties to harass the enemies coming for reinforcements along the way, slow down their marching speed, and cover the evacuation of local soldiers and civilians.

In the past, the reason why the Japanese army could send an infantry squadron to achieve the purpose of "clearing the countryside" was just to bully the soldiers and civilians in the base area with poor weapons and equipment. A single infantry squadron could withstand the attack of the 80th Army with nearly a thousand people, and it had enough time. Hold on until reinforcements arrive.

But when the Four Elements Group appears in southern Hebei, this good wish of the Japanese will completely come to nothing!

In order to cope with this situation of dispersed and independent combat, the Four-Line Regiment once again updated the infantry squad equipment during the spring military training.

In view of the characteristics of plain offensive and defensive warfare, the firepower demand is more inclined to be dense and not too pursuing range. The long guns of the 15-man infantry squad were reduced to 6 people, and the bolt-fire rifles were completely eliminated from the infantry squad.

5 people are equipped with semi-automatic rifles, 3 are members of the improved 60 mortar team, 2 are MG42 machine gun shooters, the machine gun is equipped with a bipod, and one precision shooter chooses to equip a gun according to his own wishes. The other 4 people are all equipped with submachine guns.

Last time, the little foreign girl gave a big gift. Although she gave the friendly army up to 230 submachine guns, there is still a stock of P38 submachine guns. With a configuration of 4 guns per infantry squad, 150 infantry squads can be equipped.

With 12 infantry companies in the four major infantry battalions and a total of 36 infantry platoons, and 4 infantry squads in each platoon, it is just enough to cover all the personnel. Tang Tuanzuo naturally did not hesitate to distribute this new equipment to all front-line infantry.

In addition, in order to continue to strengthen the close-range firepower, except for the heavy-duty long spearmen, the artillery group, machine gun group and submachine gun soldiers are all equipped with black star pistols.

Although this has increased the requirements for infantry, the officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment made the choice without hesitation between accumulation and life-saving.

There are not so many semi-automatic rifles in the Four Lines Regiment, but this has long been in Tang Dao's plan. Rostav received an order to purchase 10,000 Czech semi-automatic rifles half a year ago, and they were secretly transported to the Fengfeng Coal Mine controlled by the German Empire a month ago.

After the main force of the Four Lines Regiment arrived in the mountainous area there, the infantry will change their equipment and then rush to the villages and townships in Handan and Xingtai!

Dozens of 40mm anti-aircraft guns ordered by Tang Dao have also been delivered. The two air defense companies that did not carry the bulky 20mm anti-aircraft guns but only carried 7mm heavy machine guns will also add 24 40mm anti-aircraft guns near Fengfeng Coal Mine.

However, the two air defense companies will not move with the already dispersed infantry, but will be stationed with the guard company, reconnaissance company, mountain infantry company, cavalry company 1, engineering company and other units led by Tang Dao in Zishan after Tang Dao's reconnaissance company surveyed it.

Zishan, also known as Mafu Mountain, is located 15 kilometers northwest of Handan City and is known as the "No. 1 Mountain in Handan".

It is located at the junction of Taihang Mountain and North China Plain, with an area of ​​about 20 square kilometers, and is the remnant of Taihang Mountain. Zishan has a towering mountain, with a ridge foothill, and the main peak is 4 meters above sea level, which is the highest point in Handan City.

Because the exposed huge rocks and towering cliffs on the mountain are mostly purple, golden and brown "purple quartz", it is named Zishan.

Of course, the main reason why Tang Dao personally chose it as the location of the Four-Line Regiment Headquarters is that it is located at the junction of Handan, Wu'an and Yongnian counties (cities), and is not far from Xingtai, so it is completely possible to support various units from here.

In other words, Tang Dao's tactical deployment is already very clear. The Four-Line Regiment Headquarters headed by him has three light infantry assault companies, one cavalry company, one guard company, one heavy mortar company, two air defense companies, and two baggage companies to form a cluster that can retreat and advance.

This is also the supply base for the various units of the Four-Line Regiment. Whether it is guns, ammunition, food, or personnel, they can be supplied from here.

If 2 baggage companies with 1,500 people are added, the Four-Line Regiment Headquarters can mobilize nearly 3,000 troops. With the firepower support of a heavy mortar company and two air defense companies, even if the Japanese army dispatches a detachment of 10,000 people, it cannot occupy an overwhelming advantage.

Moreover, there are still a large number of regular troops and militias of the 80th Army in the surrounding area. Unless the Japanese army launches a battle at the campaign level, they will not be able to drive the headquarters of the Four-Line Regiment out of this mountainous area.

With this strong enough base that can radiate the two cities as a backing, the real damage to the Japanese army is caused by the six infantry companies and two artillery companies that were deployed.

The company is stationed in six counties, and the squad and platoon are stationed in villages and townships, forming nearly 100 small bases to deal with the "burning war" sweep of southern Hebei that the Japanese army will soon launch.

In order to defeat the Japanese army with sparrows, in addition to more powerful firepower, communication is more important. Only in this way can the sparrows disperse and gather at will.

For this reason, Tang Dao also spent a lot of money to import nearly 100 radios of different powers through Rockefeller Company.

Not only is the company equipped with a high-power radio that can directly communicate with him and even the two brigade headquarters of the 921st Division, but even the platoon-level and the classes that are farther away are equipped with 5-watt low-power radios, at least to ensure that they can communicate effectively with their company headquarters.

The communication company dispatched as many as 80 professional communication soldiers to each infantry and artillery platoon. The remaining communication company following the Four-Line Regiment Headquarters was equipped with 8 high-power field radios. The communication density was the highest since the establishment of the Four-Line Regiment.

This was not enough. Ten days before Tang Dao led his troops to the expedition, he personally arrived at the headquarters of the 80th Army Group, 60 kilometers away from Dakouzidong Town. First, he discussed with several leaders about the battle behind enemy lines in southern Hebei, and second, he formally resolved his party membership issue.

The calculation that Shancheng racked his brains to calculate was actually completely shattered the moment Tang Dao raised his right hand and swore under the red flag.

In the eyes of several leaders, what's wrong with leaving the southern Hebei base to Tang Dao, the deputy director of the southern Hebei Office?

However, Tang Dao believed that the 80th Army Group must show its presence in southern Hebei. First, this is the most normal. The 80th Army Group is not a wronged daughter-in-law. Whatever the mother-in-law says is what it means.

Secondly, the Fourth Army Regiment is still too weak in southern Hebei and needs the help of the 80th Army, especially in uniting the people. The 80th Army's working methods are unparalleled in the world.

Tang Dao had already reported the fact that the Japanese army would use the "household annihilation strategy" sooner or later through Brigadier Cheng. Several leaders had long been alert enough and had made corresponding arrangements in the Japanese-occupied areas.

Vigorously develop the people to become anti-Japanese activists, and then become the eyes and ears in the dense countryside, vigorously suppress those among the rural gentry who surrender to Japan, so as to prevent them from becoming internal collaborators of the Japanese army sooner or later.

The latter is particularly important because it was also a shortcoming revealed in the war against Japan in the past. It was precisely because of too much emphasis on united front work that some landlords and gentry who tried to preserve their wealth fell to the Japanese under the lobbying of traitors. They were betrayed again and again, killing countless soldiers and civilians in the base area.

At Tang Dao's suggestion, the Eightyth Army spent several months screening the landlords and gentry in the base area, and ruthlessly suppressed anyone who had contacts with traitors or Japanese invaders.

This kind of suppression was also extremely effective in deterring those two-faced and fence-sitting factions. Unless they abandoned their family businesses and went to the cities occupied by the Japanese army and completely became obedient citizens of the Japanese, they would have to stand on the same front as the people in the base area.

Choosing sides in war is even more cruel than choosing sides in political struggles. There are only two choices: life and death.

Eliminate the Japanese army's eyes and ears, make the Japanese army blind, and scatter observation posts all over the place. As long as the Japanese army raises troops out of the city, the garrison in the villages and villages can quickly get the news and make tactical adjustments based on the Japanese army's strength.

This is a big test for the company commanders who have become commanders of one side for the first time. However, there is no passing or failing, only life and death!

In addition, in addition to these elite officers and soldiers scattered out, auxiliary combat tools and tactics are also very important.

Landmines and excavation tools will also be distributed to soldiers and civilians in various places according to different terrains.

Located in mountainous areas, a large number of landmines were used to block the mountain roads. The 2,000 landmines and 2,000 excavation tools carried by the two baggage companies this time were only a small part of Tang Dao's plan.

The Sihangtuan Army Factory in Dakouzidong Town has stopped manufacturing other types of firearms and switched to producing various types of landmines.

The endless variety of landmines, including pressing mines, tripping mines, pulling mines, and letter mines, are the crystallization of the wisdom of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians. Tang Dao turned them into reality every time they pulled them.

Only this time, it is no longer a homemade landmine made of clay pots, stones, and wood shells, and black powder is used as explosives, but a regular landmine that kills one piece when it explodes.

According to Tang Dao's requirements, this production is 200,000 pieces!

If it weren't for the worry about cleaning up after the war, Tang Dao could lay mines all over southern Hebei!

In plain areas, in addition to laying necessary minefields, it is also extremely necessary to dig and use tunnels to fight against the enemy.

In the past, in order to solve the problems of lack of oxygen, ventilation and drinking water in the tunnels, the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians on the plains of Hebei Province tried every means to cleverly combine the tunnel vents with buildings and natural objects on the ground, such as chimneys, wells, wall tops, etc. Bunkers and shooting holes were built at the edges of villages, streets, and courtyards, and connected to tunnels.

Later, various anti-Japanese villages and towns gradually developed a network of tunnels, that is, every house is connected, every street is connected, every cave is connected, and every village is connected.

Some villages also invented chain holes, that is, there are holes under the holes, holes in the holes, real holes, and fake holes, which is dazzling.

After the tunnel war began, the enemy also tried their best to find cave entrances and set fire, water, poison and other methods to destroy it.

However, the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians constantly learned lessons from the battle and constantly improved the tunnels. They cleverly concealed the entrances of the tunnels with walls, cooking pots, wells, earthen kangs, etc., making it difficult for the enemy to discover the entrances of the tunnels;

At the same time, build traps, lay mines, insert sharp knives at the entrance of the cave, or dig criss-crossing "checkerboard roads" inside the cave to prevent enemies from entering the cave; there are also bayonet, flaps, and anti-virus and waterproof doors in the cave. , and has a breakout that leads directly to the outside of the village.

In this way, the tunnel becomes a solid underground fortress that can be attacked, defended and retreated.

The ‘No. 1 Laboratory’ located in the Fengfeng Coal Mine has been ordered to use a large amount of steel to manufacture various tunnel excavation tools, and has begun to continuously provide them to the 80th Group Army.

Before the New Year, the design and planning of tunnels in various villages and towns on the plain had been completed, and excavation work had begun on the third day after the New Year under the organization of the Eightyth Army.

The engineer company led by Yum Sheng is no longer just the more than 200 people in the past. After being upgraded to a deputy battalion-level unit, the engineer company has exceeded 580 people in one fell swoop, with a total of 7 engineer platoons.

As it happens, each engineer platoon assists an infantry company in guiding and participating in the excavation and construction of tunnels in villages and villages.

As long as Duo Tianjun is still grinding away like before, what awaits him in half a year will be tunnels as dense as spider webs on the plains, and minefields in the mountains where he may lose his legs or legs if he sets foot.

When Tang Dao arrived at the predetermined location in Zishan, he also met his immediate boss who had been waiting for him for a long time.

Tang Dao smiled as he looked at the director of the major general-level office, who looked disheveled and wore a black cotton robe with several patches, like a country teacher, running toward him with a somewhat aggrieved expression, as if he had finally found the organization. .

"Sir Wang, long time no see!"

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