Rise From Eight Hundred

Because of the battle of Zhaojiazhuang, the battlefield behind enemy lines in North China entered a delicate balance period.

The Japanese army firmly guarded the city, county town and controlled the area with a radius of approximately four or five kilometers centered on the county town. In addition, armed patrols on major transportation routes were strengthened.

To this end, the Japanese North China Front Army borrowed two cavalry regiments from the neighboring Kwantung Army, transported a batch of tanks from the country, formed three cavalry regiments directly under the command of the headquarters, and transferred the 3rd Division and the 16th Division back from the Western Front to strengthen control over the occupied areas.

The so-called cavalry regiment here is very different from the cavalry regiment in the Japanese division. In addition to symbolically retaining a regular cavalry squadron with war horses, the other three squadrons were replaced by Type 94 light tanks, Type 92 armored vehicles, and Type 97 light cavalry tanks, becoming a highly threatening motorized assault force.

Especially the Type 97 light cavalry tank, which is a masterpiece of Japanese military industry!

This tank is smaller than the Type 95 tank as a whole. It is only equipped with a Type 94 37mm tank gun. It is mainly responsible for infantry assault and anti-armor operations. It is not equipped with machine guns. It has a crew of 2 people, a maximum speed of 40 kilometers per hour, and a frontal armor of 12 mm.

It seems to be of little use, but the Japanese, who have achieved the ultimate in saving materials in the development of light tanks, have no intention of developing the only tank destroyer model on the battlefield at that time. The Type 97 cavalry tank became famous in the Nomonhan Battle that broke out half a year ago, and became the only bright spot in the Nomonhan Battle where the Japanese army was beaten to pieces.

On the same target, the Type 97 cavalry tank is too small to be as big as a small car. It can flexibly avoid artillery shells on the battlefield. The smaller it is, the smaller the chance of being hit by artillery shells. After survival can be guaranteed, its Type 94 37mm anti-tank gun can penetrate 50mm armor at a distance of 500 meters, which is enough to deal with the T26 tanks and BT series tanks of the bear.

To put it bluntly, although the Type 97 is small and light, its firepower is still quite strong. It is a weapon that is far more suitable for attacking strongholds on the plains than the Type 94 light tank.

Such 5 cavalry regiments were sent to the occupied areas, supplemented by some infantry, which was indeed a very tough nut to crack.

At the same time, the Wang Puppet Government, supported by the Japanese army, was authorized to change the name of the North China Security Army to the "North China Pacification Army" in advance, and recruited a large number of soldiers. As of the end of October, the North China Pacification Army already had 12 groups, an artillery battalion, and 11 independent infantry regiments, with a strength of more than 70,000 people.

Zheng Yunqiu, who performed "outstandingly" in the Battle of Zhaojiazhuang, was also promoted to the head of the 1st Regiment of the 101st Group and was ordered to station in Handan.

It can be said that the Japanese side paid a heavy price for the nearly three-month melee in the southern Hebei region. There were many small soldiers, and the lieutenants were either killed in battle or slapped in the face. The generals were almost sprayed to death by the domestic people, but this one was the only one who rose to prominence and was promoted twice, becoming the guy who gained the most benefits in the Japanese army.

Perhaps the only thing that worried him was the little tail that was tightly held by the Chinese soldiers on the opposite side. That thing was also a big bomb. As long as the fuse was pulled slightly, it could be blown to pieces.

But this matter! There was no use worrying. Commander Zheng was now a celebrity in the Handan area. He had given a lot of money and things. As long as the opposite side asked for weapons, money, food or intelligence, he could satisfy them one by one.

Zheng Yunqiu also knew that a living self was far more useful to the opposite side than a dead one.

Duo Tianjun no longer stubbornly insisted on his "cleansing the countryside operation". From the end of July to November, more than three months seemed to be a waste of time. Apart from defending the city and controlling the main traffic arteries to ensure the transportation of materials, there was no achievement on the Zhongtiao Mountain front and the southeastern Shanxi front.

The Yellow River natural barrier, which was once claimed to be conquered within this year, still did not make any progress with only one month left before New Year's Day.

The Chinese side was happy to be quiet when they saw that the Japanese had stopped fighting, and started the mode of "you strengthen yours, I strengthen mine".

Not to mention other bases behind enemy lines, in addition to continuing to recruit soldiers to expand the military force, southern Hebei also played the mode of "building high walls and storing grain". A large amount of land was barren due to the war, so it was replanted. If wheat, corn, and sorghum could not be planted, other crops were planted. Anyway, all that could be eaten was planted.

A large amount of food was also continuously sent to southern Hebei through various channels.

In addition to supplying food to the army, the people were also subsidized, especially the military dependents. Each household of the regular army was subsidized with 30 kilograms of refined grain and 50 kilograms of coarse grain per month, and each household of the militia was subsidized with 40 kilograms of coarse grain, which further stimulated the enthusiasm of the people in the base area to send their sons and husbands to join the army.

Except for the military dependents, the rest of the people who wanted to obtain food could only exchange it through labor. Subsidies were given for replanting food crops, digging tunnels, building high walls for villages, and making cloth shoes for the army.

Seeing that autumn was coming and winter was coming, there was no food in the cold winter, and none of the old, weak, women and children could survive the cold winter. In addition, the Japanese army's rural cleansing operation in the past few months was just around the corner. Without the soldiers' brave resistance, the whole village would have been slaughtered. How could the people, who had little way out, not work hard?

Men mainly did physical work such as digging tunnels, building high walls and digging ditches, while women spun weaving and sewing and even farming. The elderly and children were responsible for helping to carry the excavated soil, and a large number of wheelbarrows were manufactured.

Wheelbarrows consisting of dozens of people could be seen everywhere, moving slowly across the plains. There was neither food nor equipment in them, only mud!

A large amount of soil was dug out from the ground, some of which were piled into walls, some were made into fortifications, but more were piled up to form man-made hills.

Looking from the sky, there are nearly a thousand such man-made hills, which is really spectacular!

That should also be a tactical consideration of Tang Dao, using such large artificial hills to form barriers, which can be used as obstacles to hinder the rapid advancement of Japanese armored vehicles and trucks during wartime.

Some tunnels even only lead to these hills, and soldiers can reach the commanding heights on these plains at any time through the tunnels.

On the other hand, if the Japanese army wants to seize these man-made commanding heights, they may enter the minefield or even the directional blasting point again.

The entire Ji'nan Plain has become a large construction site. According to the log of the Ji'nan Office, in just three months, hundreds of thousands of acres of crops were replanted in the Ji'nan area, the total length of tunnels dug and reinforced reached 3,000 kilometers, and the roads leading to villages and towns were 6,000 kilometers. 1,206 combat-type hills were artificially piled up, and 160,000 mines of various types and homemade mines were buried.

3 million soldiers and civilians in southern Hebei, who burst out their life potential under the survival crisis, completed this miraculous plain defense project with their own hands before the arrival of the cold winter.

On the battlefield in North China, China and Japan entered a stalemate. The two defense lines of Zhongtiao Mountain and Taihang Mountain blocked the heavy Japanese troops pressing towards the Yellow River defense line. The Chinese soldiers and civilians in the enemy-occupied areas united as one, developed production under the leadership of the regular army, and united to strengthen their resistance.

On the battlefield in South China, in early September, Gangcun Xiaoci commanded 4 divisions, 2 detachments, and a part of the navy and aviation, a total of more than 100,000 people, and attacked Tanzhou from three directions of northern Hunan, northern Jiangxi, and southern Hubei with the tactics of dividing and attacking.

The acting commander-in-chief of the Ninth Theater of China commanded 15 armies, 1 advancing army, and more than 200,000 people. He also ambitiously planned to use the favorable terrain of mountains and rivers to organize defense to consume the Japanese army, first lure the Japanese army to the vicinity of Changsha, and then surround and annihilate it.

Two generals who left enough fame in the history of the Sino-Japanese War spent a month, but neither of them achieved their previously envisioned strategic goals.

Gangcun Xiaoci neither ate up the main force of the Chinese 9th War Zone nor achieved the main strategic goals. In Gan Province, he was almost eaten up by the Chinese army. A division was lost, and his face was lost.

Although Commander Xue did not achieve the previous strategic goal of luring the enemy deep into the depths to annihilate a Japanese division or even more, he defended Tanzhou, and generally speaking, he still had the upper hand.

The battlefield in the south was in full swing, while the battlefield in the north was accumulating strength and undercurrents. This was just the current situation on the battlefield in China.

For the commanders of both sides, they naturally had plans.

Although Duo Tianjun was a typical example of great ambitions but little talent, he was definitely not the kind of person who would shrink his head and no longer dare to make crooked ideas after being hit hard.

For three months, this number one Japanese military in North China has not been idle. He took a special plane to the Kwantung Army headquarters in Changchun, and even returned to his homeland.

Of course, this person did not go back to apologize to his emperor, but to seek help.

Before leaving, Duo Tianjun had a secret talk with Okabe Saburo, who was no longer his chief of staff but was forced to stay in Pingbei City as a punishment, for a whole night.

When Duo Tianjun returned from his homeland, Okabe Saburo received a telegram from the headquarters, ordering him to immediately set off to the northeast to take over the position of the commander of the 1st Division.

Although he knew that this day would come sooner or later, when he really received the appointment order from the headquarters, Okabe Saburo was still excited and tears filled his eyes.

It's too difficult, it's really too difficult!

It's been a whole year and a half, and it's almost 40 years since the rumor of the appointment came out in June 1938. Finally, it's my turn.

Thinking of this, Okabe Saburo couldn't help but think of the annoying face of Tang Dao.

It's not because Tang Dao is handsome that this long-suffering Japanese Army Lieutenant General is obsessed with it, but if it weren't for Tang Dao and the Four Lines Group, his appointment time would be at least one year earlier.

To put it bluntly, the Tang sword is a stumbling block and obstacle on Saburo Okabe's way forward, but at least Saburo Okabe is going to the Kwantung Army, thousands of kilometers away from North China, and he will no longer have to deal with the Tang sword, this "scourge".

But Saburo Okabe still couldn't get rid of the hateful face of the Tang sword from his mind. Before getting on the plane, he took a deep look at the northwest.

Although he didn't command it personally, in his telegrams, nearly 100,000 imperial warriors died on this battlefield. He has no nostalgia for this land.

But Saburo Okabe knows that there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests, not to mention that he and Duo Tianjun are not even friends.

If Duo Tianjun hadn't found His Royal Highness the Prince and persuaded the old stubborn people in the headquarters, he would probably have great twists and turns if he wanted to become the commander of the first division.

But, no matter what, when he becomes the highest commander of the oldest division in the history of the Japanese Army and has independent command, when he meets that hateful young man again in the future, he will definitely let that opponent know how powerful he is.

Saburo Okabe got into the cabin and never looked at the land that left him with deep shame.

On November 1, Saburo Okabe took office as the commander of the First Division stationed in Qiqihar.

On November 15, the First Division was ordered to be transferred to Shengjing for military reorganization and refitting.

The total number of the division reached 30,000 people, and the heavy firepower was added. This can be seen from the artillery replaced by the artillery regiment alone. The 75MM mountain gun was reduced to 12, the 105 howitzer was 24, and there were 12 150 howitzers.

The cavalry regiment was retained, but a new tank regiment was added, with a total of 60 light and heavy tanks.

The strength of the First Division increased suddenly, but it was transferred to Shenyang, which made the Russian side nervous for a while. They thought that the Japanese were unwilling to give up after the Battle of Nomonhan and planned to accumulate strength to fight them again.

Japanese diplomatic envoys repeatedly patted their chests to guarantee that the Kwantung Army had no ambitions for the border, but the Russians were a little rough, but they were not fools. Your First Division has changed its generals and updated its equipment. I don’t believe you.

The Russians added two mechanized infantry divisions on the border, waiting for the First Division in Shengjing to fight.

Little did they know that the newly appointed division commander Lieutenant General Okabe Saburo had always had a map of North China on his bedside.

Duo Tianjun is not good at fighting, but he is good at showing off in his circle of friends.

. . . . . . . . .

Duo Tianjun and Okabe Saburo were too busy to accept defeat, and were planning to make a comeback. What was Tang Tuanzuo busy with?

Anyway, he would not put his weapons into storage, let his horses go to the mountains, and go home to have a baby with Tan Tai Da Lianzhang.

Tang Tuanzuo went back to the Sihang Regiment’s base, and stayed there for less than a week. He and Tan Tai Mingyue had less than three meals in total. He took an hour to teach his brother-in-law about his gun skills, and then he went on a long journey.

Yes, Tan Tai Mingjing stayed to join the army after all.

Although Tang Dao was away, it was unknown how Tan Tai Mingjing persuaded his parents and his elder sister to let him stay, but Tan Tai Mingjing’s performance in the recruit camp was obvious to all.

No one let him off because he was Tang Tuanzuo’s brother-in-law. The instructors in the recruit camp were not ignorant of the ways of the world, but the veterans knew that if they let him off during training, Tan Tai Mingjing would die quickly on the battlefield.

Some people say that luck is the only thing that matters on the battlefield. As long as you are lucky, you will not die if shells and bullets do not hit you. This is true from the results. However, if hard training greatly enhances the judgment, reaction and even physical strength of soldiers, can we increase those "luck values"?

Or, as long as your shooting is accurate enough, you can kill your enemy first, can you reduce the danger?

Therefore, real soldiers believe in the existence of luck, but they always regard it as part of their strength, not all of it.

Tan Tai Mingjing stayed in the recruit camp for 4 months, twice as long as in the war, until he could hit 45 rings with 5 bullets of 50-meter pistol target, 85 rings with 10 bullets of 230-meter rifle, and 5 kilometers of cross-country running to meet the qualified standards of the regular army of the Four Lines Regiment, and then he was assigned from the recruit camp to Leng Feng's 3rd Battalion as a signalman.

Driven by self-esteem, Tan Tai Mingjing trained hard and thought he had good shooting skills. He was originally reluctant to stay in the camp as a signalman. He wanted to go to the front line.

Leng Feng, the cold-headed man, was not afraid of training troublemakers. Seeing that the boy, who was not yet 18, took himself seriously, he asked Tan Tai Ming Jing to pick anyone from the battalion's guard platoon. As long as there was one person who was behind him in any competition, he would be sent to the infantry squad.

Those who could enter the guard platoon, whether it was a regiment or a battalion, were carefully selected elites, at least they had seen blood on their hands.

A soldier who was just sweating on the training ground wanted to challenge them, and the result was predictable, a complete defeat.

Knowing that the brother-in-law, who was recognized as the best gunman in the whole regiment, was back, Tan Tai Ming Jing had to pester Tang Dao for some guidance!

For the sake of his wife and parents-in-law, Tang Tuanzuo, who was busy every day, squeezed out an hour to teach the little guy his battlefield experience.

Before leaving, he showed off his skills. He used the Czech semi-automatic rifle assigned to Tan Tai Ming Jing to shoot a pheasant at least 360 meters away, which was startled and flew up because of the gunshot, and asked him to take it back to give to Captain Leng for a snack.

"When you can see and do, and the gun moves freely, you can go to the front-line infantry squad to serve as a soldier." Tang Dao set an almost impossible test line for his brother-in-law.

That standard, even in the reconnaissance company with many archery masters, not many people can meet it.

It is not just about diligence, but it has reached the stage of competing for talent.

But Tang Dao may not have thought that there are always some people who will do their best for their ideals.

The 17-year-old boy made a wish when he picked up the pheasant with a bullet accurately piercing its neck: one day, he will definitely be able to do what his brother-in-law said.

The boy may not have enough talent, but he is young enough and has enough time.

And Tang Dao arrived in Tianjin again.

There is an old friend with blond hair and blue eyes, who is looking forward to it!

When the two met on the first day of the new year, the other one jumped up and hugged Tang Tuanzuo, which frightened him so much that he almost kicked him away!

Making money is not enough, why do you want to take advantage of others!

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ps: Today is the New Year's Eve. Fengyue came back last night and wrote half a chapter. After having lunch with my parents, I wrote another half chapter to avoid being criticized for interrupting the update. There are too many things in middle age. Fengyue is sometimes helpless! I wish everyone a happy new year at the end of this chapter. Fengyue will send red envelopes to the readers in the evening. Thank you for your support over the years!

Also, my daughter's "Border Wanderer" will be on the shelves next Tuesday, which is also the fourth day of the new year. Please support me! ()