Chapter 253 A Logistics Support Team of 220,000 People
Taiyuan, along the Nantongpu Railway.
"Woo~ Boom boom!"
Accompanied by a long whistle, a train pulled ten carriages full of goods from a distance.
This kind of scene is very common in Shanxi Province. After all, the Japanese used the Tongpu Railway to plunder countless resources and transported countless soldiers by train.
But today's situation is different. The train that was supposed to go to Taiyuan stopped in the wild ten kilometers away from the city.
As soon as the train stopped, the carriage was suddenly opened from the inside.
Dozens of soldiers in gray uniforms jumped down and then started working in their respective positions.
The comrades cooperated tacitly. After getting off the train, they carried all kinds of boxes and went straight to the target warehouse. The whole set of movements was smooth and flowing, and it was obvious that they were veterans.
After delivering a box of canned food to the destination, Zhang Wanhe turned around and retreated, preparing to return to the original route to continue unloading. But after only walking 200 meters, severe pain came from his waist.
As an old comrade in his 40s, his body has already given a warning after two weeks of high-intensity work.
Seeing that the Eighth Route Army seemed to have twisted its waist in front, a young man dressed in civilian clothes hurriedly put down the cart in his hand and ran over at a brisk pace.
"Ah! Minister Zhang! Why don't you listen to advice?"
"Didn't everyone ask you to stay in the logistics department to take charge of the overall situation? Why do you have to go to the front line yourself?"
"If something happens to you, the backbone of everyone will be gone! Come on, let's go to the tree in front and rest for a while."
This young man is from Yangquan, and his family has lived in the county town for generations.
After the Fourth Independent Mixed Brigade was completely wiped out, he always wanted to repay the Eighth Route Army for saving his life.
After learning that the transport team of the 129th Division was short of manpower, he brought his mule to the base with his parents' permission.
Since Zhang Wanhe has been leading the comrades of the logistics department to stick to the front line recently, most of the villagers know this unpretentious Minister of the Logistics Department.
Originally, Lao Zhang wanted to struggle, but his waist was completely out of control and he couldn't use any strength. In desperation, he could only be supported by the other party to the big tree 200 meters away.
Five minutes later, Zhang Wanhe barely regained his ability to move. He took off the water bottle on his waist and slowly drank a sip of water.
"Boy, now is the last step to recover the whole province. I, the head of the logistics department, must do it myself."
"The Eighth Route Army is different from the Guosu and Jinsui Army. Everyone is equal in our army. And as a minister, I have to take the lead."
"Okay, don't worry about me. Go to work quickly, I'll rest for a while."
Looking at Zhang Wanhe's resolute eyes, the young man seemed to have a little more unknown belief in his heart. He nodded seriously and then returned to the transportation queue.
The two weeks after the end of the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign really exhausted the entire logistics department.
Because most of the devils in the First Army chose to fight to the end, they did not forget to destroy the Nantongpu Railway, roads and bridges before they died.
Although the repair of many sections of the road was not difficult, Zhang Wanhe followed his comrades from the Engineering Department to the scene every time.
With the encouragement of his own minister, the traffic lines in southeastern Shanxi were unblocked in just one week, and the people even reinforced some bridges.
Considering that there were ten brigades attacking Taiyuan, a large amount of ammunition and food would definitely be needed. Zhang Wanhe prepared for a rainy day and prepared all kinds of supplies before the deputy commander-in-chief issued an order.
Then, the transportation problem made him feel troubled again. Now the Eighth Route Army did not have many modern transportation tools to use.
The trucks and trains seized from the devils alone were not enough. It was almost impossible to deliver all the supplies to the Taiyuan front before the scheduled attack time.
Fortunately, the villagers from all over the province lent a hand in time, and they spontaneously went to the base in southeastern Shanxi at the critical moment.
A full 220,000 people brought their own dry food and actively participated in the transportation work of this battle, which was equivalent to having two fellow villagers behind each combatant to provide logistical support.
This week alone, an average of 20,000 mule-drawn carts and 100,000 carts were constantly rushing to the front line every day, greatly improving transportation efficiency.
After fully recovering, Zhang Wanhe stood up with his knees. He stomped out the cigarette butt he had just smoked, then looked at the location of the border area and cursed with a smile:
"Damn Yellow River, you have to be a hands-off boss wherever you go."
"The M18 cannon is good in everything, but it is not very friendly to the logistics department. Whose good cannon can fire 15 shells per minute on average? Isn't this forcing me to die?"
"When he comes back next time, I have to give him a good meal."
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Eighth Route Army 129th Division, Field Command Post.
After two weeks of logistical preparations, troops at all levels finally got enough ammunition and supplies. According to the amount prepared by Zhang Wanhe, ten brigades can at least surround Taiyuan for a week.
At this time, the two brigade commanders, the division commander, Captain Wang Hai, the deputy commander-in-chief and the deputy chief of staff gathered together.
Next to the crowd, several staff officers were busy hanging several maps on the wall of the command post.
The most obvious one was the city defense map of Taiyuan, which was blown up by the Japanese as the Maginot Army, and the distribution map of the garrison's strength and garrison situation.
These three maps were provided by the First Air Division. Captain Wang Hai would send out a reconnaissance aircraft squadron every hour. The Japanese in the First Army had no decent anti-aircraft weapons, so they could only let the soldiers observe.
The other part is a topographic map of the entire North China region, which marks the positions of the Kwantung Army, the Mongolian Army, and the direct-controlled troops of the North China Front Army.
"Have all the units arrived at the designated reserve positions?"
After hearing the question from the deputy chief of staff, the youngest brigade commander Chen took the initiative to stand up. He pointed at the map of Taiyuan with a small stick and began to report:
"The new 11th Brigade has assembled on the west bank of the Fen River. As long as we wait for the order of the general attack, we can act according to the original plan."
"The three brigades on the northern line also successfully arrived at the designated coordinates. Among them, the new 10th Brigade also captured the steel mill and rescued hundreds of workers. The other two brigades are stationed in Wohu Mountain."
"The southern and eastern lines are also ready for battle. The six brigades are gathered in Dayingpan and Dongshan respectively and can be put into battle at any time."
Although the map in the command post has not been hung up yet, everyone present is a senior commander who has a map in mind without a map in hand. Everyone can completely rely on the report just now to fill in the complete battlefield information in their minds.
After seeing Brigade Commander Chen finish his report, Captain Wang Hai stepped forward and took the small wooden stick. There was a faint smile on his face, as if he had encountered something happy.
"All members of the Air Force First Division have assembled, and there are 297 fighter jets of various models participating in this battle."
"Our airport is in Wusu, and if necessary, we can provide 1,500 ground attacks per day."
Wusu Airport is in the southeast corner of Taiyuan, only 20 kilometers away. Such an important airport was taken by the Marine Corps 1st Regiment ten days ago.
After a week of temporary expansion, the airport can barely accommodate all the fighter jets of the Air Force First Division.
It's a pity that the take-off and landing process is a bit troublesome. After all, the runway and apron are too crowded, and each formation needs to proceed in an orderly manner within the specified time.
For the Air Force First Division, this battle can be called a flying dragon riding on the face.
If it weren't for the fact that Taiyuan City still has a large number of people from the Republic of China, Captain Wang Hai would have to take the comrades of the Air Force First Division to bomb the entire city.
After hearing the terrifying number of 1,500 sorties, everyone took a breath. Although so many fighter jets are not needed, who would think that their close ground support is too strong?
The next time is the personal show of the brigade commander.
At present, the traffic lines from Shanxi Province to Suiyuan and Hebei Province have all been cut off by the 120th Division and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, and the First Army is already isolated and helpless.
From the perspective of terrain, Taiyuan City is located in the center of a basin.
It is surrounded by mountains on the east, west and north sides, sandwiched between the branches of the Taihang Mountains and the Luliang Mountains, and there is also a Fen River to the west of the city.
According to the above conditions, the most suitable direction for attack is naturally the south. There is no danger to defend there, which is very suitable for infantry-artillery coordination and air-ground coordination tactics.
At present, the 129th Division has assembled ten brigades and 110,000 troops, which is ten times that of the First Army. Moreover, compared with the two, both the quantity and quality are crushed by their own side.
The main attack task of this operation fell on the South Group with the 386th Brigade as the main force, and the three brigades under it are the first main attack direction from south to north.
The second main attack was assigned to the East Group, led by the 385th Brigade. Commander Chen will lead three brigades from east to west to make the First Army run around.
The three brigades led by the new 10th Brigade are the North Group. They will feint and put enough pressure. Once the enemy shows a clear decline, Commander Fan will feint and turn to the main attack.
Among the four directions, the West Group has the easiest task.
The New 11th Brigade is guarding the west of the Fen River with four regiments. If they dare to try to break out to the west, 12,000 soldiers will let them know what cruelty is.
After listening to the tactics prepared this time, the deputy commander nodded with satisfaction. Our side has a great advantage in this battle, and a rigorous plan is even better.
"Okay, there is no problem with this battle plan. I will report it to the border area in a while."
"But I have a request. After the general offensive begins, the artillery must first kill Iwamatsu Yoshio's headquarters!"
After speaking, the deputy commander looked at the brigade commander and said half-jokingly and half-seriously:
"The army morale wizard only gave us three days. The Japanese support troops are coming in full force. How many days will it take you to conquer Taiyuan?"
Since it is a serious matter, the brigade commander can't joke. He looked at the map and then said seriously:
"Thirty hours, no more! The strength of Iwamatsu Yoshio and I is ten to one. I have an advantage in all aspects and I will win this battle."
"There is no joking in the army."
"I dare to issue a military order!"
There is still one chapter. I will slack off and write it tomorrow morning. I will try to be a healthy guy!
In the future, try to write two chapters of 3,000, or one chapter of 6,000.
By the way, did I swallow the comments on the first few posts? Captain Jia has a lot of comments. It would be a pity if they were gone!