Chapter 303 The Most Dangerous Man in the Republic of China

October 10, 1941, Taiyuan Eighth Route Army Headquarters.

"Comrades, before the meeting officially begins, I want to tell you a very unfortunate news."

"Suiyuan's Eighth War Zone failed to withstand the frontal attack of the devils. At present, the troops at all levels under the Seventh Route and a Half have dispersed and broken through, but his main force, the 35th Army, is still being pursued."

"We have to send troops immediately now. We will wait until the battle is over to see what attitude the Shancheng side will have."

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

During the period when the devils launched a large-scale attack, the headquarters received telegrams for help from the Seventh Route and a Half every day.

But the bald man who didn't do anything seemed to have predicted the operation of the Eighth War Zone, and frequently put pressure on the Eighth Office of Shancheng to prohibit the three main forces from sending troops to the north for support.

The lesson of Zhongtiao Mountain made the top leaders of Guosu again increase their vigilance against TG. They were afraid that their own troops would make wedding clothes for the desperate war fox.

In a sense, the border area is the force that they are most afraid of.

The loss of Suiyuan was not a bad thing. After all, it allowed the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi to be attacked from both the north and the east, delaying their development opportunities.

In order not to destroy the anti-Japanese united front, it was also to prevent certain people from leading the people to reach a secret through public opinion.

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

First, mobilize the officers and soldiers of the Daqingshan base to fully assist the Eighth War Zone in carrying out the raid and strive to destroy the logistics supply line of the Mongolian army as much as possible before the war.

Second, provide the military supplies needed by the Seventh and a Half Route Army as much as possible, and continuously transport weapons and food to the Wuyuan area by air.

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

After everyone present had digested the intelligence just now, the deputy chief of staff continued to speak to the Suiyuan map on the wall:

"At present, the Ma family army has retreated back to Ningxia, and 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."

"From the current advancement route of the Mongolian Army, the devils have no intention of continuing to pursue."

"However, the situation of the main force of the 35th Army is not very good. The great defeat has caused low morale of troops at all levels, and they are almost in a desperate situation. If we don't lend a hand, most people may die on the way to Lanzhou."

Although the deputy chief of staff did not say it explicitly, anyone could hear his implication.

The commanders did not feel disgusted with the long-distance raid to rescue the Seventh Route and a Half.

Judging from the opponent's current record, he is definitely a famous anti-Japanese general in the major war zones of the Republic of China, much stronger than some unworthy insects.

For the brave and brave generals, everyone has more or less a good impression.

What's more, the three main forces are about to go to war with the Mongolian troops. It is not difficult to fight the devils and save people at the same time.

After a pause, the deputy chief of staff turned his eyes to the commander Li who was listening attentively.

"Li Yunlong, your Marine Corps 1st Regiment is the most mobile unit in the army. After discussion at the headquarters, it was decided to send your regiment to cooperate with the Air Force 1st Division to perform the task of searching and rescuing allies."

"The Air Force 1st Division will rush to the battlefield for reconnaissance in advance, and then send your regiment to the vicinity of the target. If the situation goes well, just kill the pursuing devils directly."

"You don't have to worry about intelligence. I have sent someone to your regiment's base before the combat meeting started."

Suddenly hearing the deputy chief of staff call his name, the commander Li subconsciously jumped up from his seat, and a bit of shock could be seen on his face.

After all, the commanders in the meeting hall were basically at the brigade level or above, and Lao Li really didn't expect that the task of their regiment would be ranked first.

After a moment, the big-hearted Li Yunlong adjusted his state.

As the commander of the most elite airborne troops in the entire army, he looked at the deputy chief of staff with a firm look and replied:

"Got it!"

"Don't worry, sir! Our Marine Corps 1st Regiment will complete the mission!"

This scene made Huang He touch his chin in a trance.

In his impression, the most famous case of using airborne and helicopter landing to rescue allies during World War II was naturally Operation Oak by the German Army.

Considering the difficult homework assigned to Li Yunlong by the infantry expert, his fellow villager's future record will definitely not be worse than Otto Skorzeny.

After the Eighth Route Army took Suiyuan, maybe Lao Li could really get the title of "the most dangerous man in the Republic of China".

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Half an hour later, the combat meeting officially ended, and the commanders hurriedly took the car back to their own bases.

Li Yunlong was no exception. Now there were still twenty-one hours left before the departure time of the Marine Corps 1st Regiment, and he had to go back and formulate a rescue plan.

"Captain! You're finally back!"

"Are there any new combat orders? I just saw the communicator from the headquarters at the gate."

"By the way, you should hurry to the regiment headquarters. The political commissar, Deputy Commander Xing and the three battalion commanders are all waiting. They told me to take you there as soon as possible."

After saying that, the monk grabbed his commander's arm and ran into the base without saying a word.

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

In desperation, he could only speed up while cursing.

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

After entering the door, what caught their eyes was a framed calligraphy hanging on the wall. This was one of the gifts given to Li Yunlong by the Army Morale Wizard after the Battle of Taiyuan.

The font is a dignified and majestic regular script, and the content is "With the torrent of steel, 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 regiment commander is back."

"You didn't really fight with the deputy commander-in-chief, how come the combat intelligence came back earlier than the people attending the meeting?"

"According to me, you really don't have to worry. Since the establishment of our Marine Corps, no battle, big or small, has been separated from our airborne troops."

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

Fight with the deputy commander-in-chief? He has to slap himself three times when someone coughs, and then quickly think about whether he has done anything wrong recently.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense."

"Our regiment will set off on time at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. The destination should be between the Houtao area and Lanzhou. Let's hold a meeting now to formulate a combat plan."

"Show me the intelligence sent by the deputy chief of staff, and let's discuss what equipment the troops need to bring."

Taking the folder handed over by Xing Zhiguo, Li Yunlong opened the intelligence and began to read it carefully, while the others kept quiet and waited for a while.

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

"The Eighth War Zone lost well. Compared with the devils a year ago, the current Mongolian troops are so stable that they are exaggerated."

"This Amakasu Shigetaro has completely learned the lessons of the previous commander Okabe Naosaburo. Every step of his command is almost tit-for-tat with the plan of the Seventh Route and a Half."

"Coupled with the strong strength to suppress others, it feels like one force can defeat ten skills."

Hearing the analysis of his own regiment leader, Zhao Gang and his party nodded in agreement.

All the commanders present were experienced in combat. They had already evaluated the combat effectiveness of the Eighth War Zone, which had been equipped with some French weapons.

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

In fact, it is not the fault of the Seventh Route and a Half for improper command. After all, there is a certain gap in the hard power of the two sides. The Mongolian Army dispatched a large number of armored troops. On the prairie, human legs and horse legs could not fight against machines.

In the case of being unable to fight head-on, the Eighth War Zone could only send cavalry to attack while defending the city, trying to attract the enemy to return to defense by disrupting the rear to besiege and attack the reinforcements, and to rescue Zhao from Wei.

The Japanese army adopted chain defense in the Suiyuan area. Usually, there would not be too many troops in a stronghold.

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

In view of the above characteristics, the Eighth War Zone organized more than a dozen cavalry assault teams to attack the rear of the Mongolian Army and directly attack Huanglong.

At the same time, the main force of the army set up ambushes at various traffic nodes to intercept the returning defense troops of the Mongolian Army. They planned to take advantage of the fact that the Japanese were eager to reinforce and not want to fight, and kill as many enemy forces as possible.

This trick worked very well in the winter offensive of that year. The entire Eighth War Zone once treated Naozabu Okabe like a dog on the grassland.

It's a pity that the Japanese are also improving, and the same trick will not suffer twice.

Shigetaro Amakasu's Mongolian Army not only added a tank brigade, but also equipped a large number of armored vehicles and transport trucks, and its mobility is no longer what it used to be.

The extremely high support speed caused great psychological pressure on every soldier of the cavalry assault team.

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

The various types of fighters supported by the Kwantung Army made the cavalry of the Eighth War Zone nowhere to hide, and almost all actions were carried out under the eyes of the enemy.

The first step of Wei to save Zhao and besieging points to attack the reinforcements failed, and the subsequent plans naturally became a fantasy.

When the Mongolian Army concentrated three divisions and two independent mixed brigades to attack the Wuyuan area, the Seventh Route and a Half had to retreat to the west with its main force, the 35th Army.

Heavy artillery, tanks and aircraft together were not a combination that the old and new cities of Wuyuan could resist.

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

The old devils 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 surprise, he first asked the puppet army to set up sentry points on the periphery, check every suspicious person along the way, and guard the traffic line by the way.

The devils did not expect the puppet army to have any combat effectiveness, as long as they could issue an early warning to the regular army in the city when attacked.

The main force occupied the buildings in the city that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, and connected each stronghold to form a core position, and finally reinforced it with barbed wire and civil engineering works.

In this way, the rigorous defense, highly mobile armored forces and tens of thousands of defenders completely eliminated the intention of the seven and a half routes to counterattack Gohara.

Moreover, in this attack, Shigetaro Amakasu specially strengthened the defense of the logistics route, and the troops fought for two full weeks without showing any signs of fatigue.

If the 7th and a half troops had not mobilized the masses in advance and diverted the water of the Yellow River into the main and branch canals, making the Hetao area a flood zone, it is estimated that even retreating to Lanzhou would have become a luxury.

After briefly analyzing the tactics and strength of the Mongolian troops, Li Yunlong took out a piece of intelligence from the folder and said:

"The enemy this time pays great attention to reconnaissance and intelligence work. In the process of rescuing the 7th and a half troops, there is a high probability that we will encounter the Kwantung Army's aviation."

"Although we now have a high-power radio station and can call for support from the Air Force 1st Division in time. But it will take some time for the fighter jets to arrive, and we have to rely on ourselves for air defense."

"The rescue mission does not require attacking. I decided to replace the quota of eight airborne tanks with medium-sized anti-aircraft vehicles. That thing is as good at shooting down planes as it is at shooting down people, and it can even shoot a few shots at enemy tanks."

Hearing the words of his own regiment leader, Zhao Gang signaled Li Yunlong to turn the intelligence back, where there was specific information about the enemy tank brigade.

Unlike 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 thickness of the armor on the front half of the body of this thing is 25 mm, and the thickness of the lower side and the rear side is also 20 mm. It is not so easy for the 37mm gun of the Cicada tank to penetrate it at a long distance.

"This time, the soldiers must bring more 40 guns. If it doesn't work, use transport planes and gliders to load more, and arm the soldiers of the Eighth War Zone."

"Bring the secret weapons prepared by Lao Huang for us. Although the stability and reliability of the new belongings are not high, we need stronger anti-armor capabilities in this operation."

"Before departure, the mobile combat company will organize another exercise to practice the new tactics developed some time ago. Alas, I didn't expect it to be used so soon. It's better to sharpen the gun before the battle!"

Li Yunlong looked at Zhao Gang with a strange look. He thought that the other party was really worrying too much. After all, their main purpose this time was to save people, not to fight the armored forces of the Mongolian Army.

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

As long as the Air Force 1st Division deals with the enemy's aviation and armored forces, it is up to them to decide whether to leave or stay. No matter how tough the Type 97 medium tanks are, they cannot withstand rockets and aerial bombs.

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

"Okay, let's adjourn the meeting."

"Leave the exercise to Old Xing and Old Zhao. I will go to Old Huang to see if he has any stock."

The Eighth War Zone really has no choice. If they don't retreat from Suiyuan, they can't write.

However, it is not unreasonable for the Japanese in Suiyuan to become stronger. After all, they can't do nothing even if they have lost Jin Province.