469 Multi-arms Combined Corps: The Future of Cavalry
The meeting continued. Now that the independent group has a leader and an acting political commissar, the cadre team has become more stable and everyone feels more at ease.
Then the conversation changed and when talking about the next military operation, Kong Jie said: "Our Eighth Route Army launched the Battle of Zhengtai last year, and not long after, the Japanese launched a large-scale spring raid on us."
"In this spring sweep launched by the Japanese, except for a few regiments such as our Independent Regiment, New First Regiment, and New Second Regiment, many troops suffered heavy losses."
"Equipment and ammunition were consumed a lot, troops lost a lot, soldiers sacrificed a lot, and the surrounding villages were burned down by the Japanese. Many base areas that the troops spent more than a year working hard to open up were completely destroyed by the Japanese."
."
"Farmland, buildings, and all aspects of development have all been damaged to a great extent."
"If the Japs come here to raid from time to time, our Iron Triangle regiments will be lucky, but other troops will have a hard time. The crops in the base area will be destroyed by the Japs' raids before they can be harvested. If this continues, even the troops will not be able to survive."
It’s hard to feed them all.”
Li Wenjie said: "Captain, the current situation is like this. Although our independent group has developed well, it is still difficult to change the overall situation.
Since the end of the Shotai Battle last year, both the Japanese army, the National Army, and the Shanxi-Sui Army have been oppressing our troops.
Each military unit has repeatedly streamlined its troops and streamlined its administration, and tried to reduce the number of unemployed people (a category of people who do not participate in agricultural production), but even so, the life of each military unit is still very difficult."
Kong Jie nodded. The overall situation of the Eighth Route Army was getting more and more difficult now, so he didn't know.
Kong Jie just wanted to try his best to do something and change as much as he could. "How are the preparations for food and military supplies to support each regiment?"
Li Wenjie said: "Captain, everything has been prepared. It is the materials and food that have been distributed without affecting the support of our own troops in the independent regiment."
Kong Jie said: "It is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish. No matter how well our independent regiment develops, we only have a large area of land like Niukou Village, and no matter how large the number of people is, we only have four or five thousand people. We are expected to be a regiment."
It is absolutely impossible to provide relief to all the troops in our base areas, and it is only a drop in the bucket."
"Right now, what we can count on is this batch of high-yielding potatoes that are about to be harvested. After harvesting these more than 10,000 kilograms of potatoes, we will give some to the surrounding troops so that they can find ways to grow their own, feed their troops, and solve the food problem.
Question."
"Dong San, your logistics department should take responsibility for this and handle it properly as soon as possible."
"Yes!" Dong San responded.
After that, Kong Jie continued the previous military topic and said: "The little Japs have a very strong desire for revenge. Our headquarters launched the Battle of Shotai, and the Little Japs backhandedly launched a spring sweep."
"Our independent regiment has only been a little noisy for more than half a year, and then what? The stupid little devils actually used this big sweep to bring reinforcements first to the Fourth Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army and the Ishii Regiment, and then to reinforce it.
A large brigade has mobilized tens of thousands of troops to retaliate against our independent regiment."
"Why is it that he, the little devil, is just taking revenge on this and that all day long, and we can only stand by and suffer from this cowardice?"
As soon as Kong Jie said these words, several battalion commanders who were eager to fight looked shocked and straightened up quickly.
First Battalion Commander Wang Leihu was the first to ask: "Commander, do you mean that we are preparing to launch a counterattack to counter the retaliatory sweep launched by the Japanese a few days ago?"
Kong Jie said decisively: "To deal with the little devils, you have to fight tooth for tooth and blood for blood. Only then can they be scared to the core.
The Japanese dare to launch a large-scale raid to retaliate against our independent group. Why can’t our independent group take the initiative to launch a counterattack and also retaliate against his little Japanese?
Although we won the big sweep launched by the Japanese against our independent group this time, we still suffered a lot of losses. Dozens of villages, large and small, were burned to the ground by the Japanese, as well as this counterattack.
During the mopping up operations, our independent regiment also sacrificed many soldiers.
Which of these hatreds is not the reason for us to kill the Japanese?
We must use practical actions to tell the Japanese and puppet troops that our independent group is not easy to mess with."
The regiment leader has made it clear that he will launch a counterattack.
For more than a year, under the command of Kong Jie, the Independent Regiment has won every battle without ever losing.
Kong Jie's personal prestige in the independent group has already reached its peak, coupled with the near-perfect charm of his personal attributes.
Don't look at the current independent regiment, which only has about 5,000 troops.
But if Kong Jie ordered to attack Taiyuan City, no one among the battalion and company commanders of the entire independent regiment, including instructors and instructors, would say anything.
This is the personal prestige that Kong Jie has established with his actual command and ability, and it is also the absolute trust that the soldiers have in the regiment leader Kong Jie.
Everyone firmly believes:
The regiment leader never fights a battle that he is not sure of. As long as the regiment leader wants to fight a battle, he will definitely win. As long as the regiment leader wants to fight the enemy, he will definitely be able to defeat or destroy the enemy.
What if one day, the regiment leader suddenly waved his hand: Comrades, let’s go and take over Taiyuan City!
The company commanders of each battalion probably have to think about where to place the military flag after taking Taiyuan City.
On this point, even the current acting political commissar Li Wenjie is convinced.
As the political commissar, Kong Jie, the highest military commander of the Independent Regiment, has the final say on the military aspects of the Independent Regiment as long as he does not make any obvious or major mistakes.
Wang Leihu said without hesitation: "Commander, please give the order!"
"Captain, if we launch a counterattack this time, you have to hand over this vanguard to our Second Battalion. Our Second Battalion will do our part!" Shen Quan quickly asked for a fight, fearing that he would be overtaken by the First Battalion Commander.
Several other battalion commanders were not to be outdone.
What was originally a good ordinary meeting seemed to have turned into a pre-war military meeting to prepare for the counterattack against the Japanese and puppet troops in the occupied areas.
Kong Jie was soberer than ever at this moment, and cursed: "Everyone has some potential, it's not like he has never killed a kid before, so why are you so excited?"
"Don't even think about a large-scale military counterattack. Without orders from the headquarters, if you make such a big move privately, how many heads do I have to chop off?"
"In addition, the current overall situation is that the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the Japanese army has further strengthened the blockade of our base areas around Taihang. Under such circumstances, taking the initiative to launch a large-scale counterattack is simply asking for trouble."
Chen Quan asked: "Captain, what do you mean?"
Kong Jie said: "A large-scale counterattack is impossible, but a small-scale attack is still possible. Guerrilla warfare, sparrow warfare, mobile warfare, and ambush warfare are our specialty and our foundation."
"Now our team needs to be equipped with equipment and ammunition. A small 50 gun, plus a propellant pack, can hit the target seven hundred meters away.
Under such circumstances, if you carry out a sneak attack and you still can't defeat the little Japs, don't say he's a soldier of my independent regiment when you go out. I, Kong Jie, can't afford to lose this guy."
"In a word, if we gather together, we can become a big ocean. If we gather enough water drop by drop, it can become a sea."
"I have put the general policy here for you. After we return, the company commanders of each battalion will think about it themselves and issue specific combat arrangements."
"One requirement is that the maximum scale of the operation cannot exceed one company. It is best to attack with small combat units such as squads and platoons. The movement is too big and I can't handle it."
"The other one is still adhering to the principle of maximizing victory with minimal sacrifice. You can engage in ambushes and guerrilla warfare. If a company commander or platoon commander causes excessive casualties to the troops, I will not be lenient and will be dealt with according to the military law."< /p>
"The ultimate goal is to cause the Japanese and puppet troops to cause unrest and panic, so that we can continue to expand our base area and provide cover for our actions to win over each village."
"Is there anything unclear?"
"No!"
The cadres shook their heads.
Shen Quan asked a little more, "Captain, I have something to report to you. The local comrades around us and the militia comrades. I heard that the local comrades around the New Second Regiment even asked the New Second Regiment for help. If you have infantry artillery, you can scare the Japanese and puppet troops badly.
We comrades also want to ask the regiment commander to borrow some cannons, and want me to ask the regiment commander what you want."
Kong Jie thought for a while and replied: "It is a good thing that the Japanese and puppet troops cannot figure out the specific firepower configuration of our team. You can convey to the local comrades and militia comrades for me that if they want to borrow artillery, as long as it is used for On the key points, it’s absolutely fine.”
"In addition, we will set a rule from today on. If local comrades and militia comrades don't have ammunition, if they want to ask us for some ammunition, they can, but let them exchange for bullet casings."
"Those who want guns or cannons can do it. Let them exchange for steel and copper."
"As for whether they can obtain these raw materials, it depends on their own abilities."
Shen Quanle said: "Captain, if you say that, I'm afraid the local comrades and militia comrades will be extremely happy. It's just the Japanese railroad tracks, wires, etc., I'm afraid they will suffer."
Kong Jie said: "This is to encourage local comrades and militia comrades to carry out sabotage attacks. We have to give materials. Let's give equipment and ammunition for free? A business that loses money will not last long. Exchanging materials for weapons, etc. Comrades feel more at ease."
In the meeting that continued, Kong Jie and the battalion and company commanders discussed in detail some of the tactical methods that could be used in the subsequent small-scale counterattack against the Japanese army.
"First target some small and medium-sized strongholds of the Japanese and puppet troops on the periphery. There are not many Japanese and puppet troops in those strongholds. Pulling a flat-firing cannon and two shots can scare the puppet troops into surrendering."
……
"We can arrange some elite small groups of combat troops to block the villages near the Japs' county. When the Japs' troops advance, we will focus on attacking the Japs' supply lines."
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"The militia comrades in Longwo Village are very clever. After nightfall, they set up a lot of scarecrows near some Japanese and puppet army strongholds and put some clothes on them."
"While shaking the scarecrow and setting off firecrackers, the Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold were so frightened that they were on tenterhooks all day long."
"Later, some family members of the traitors were invited to watch the battle near the stronghold. Just like this, the puppet soldiers in the stronghold took the initiative to disarm."
……
As the meeting continued, seeing Sun Desheng scratching his bald head several times and opening his mouth to speak, Kong Jie added with a smile:
"In small-scale raids, mobile operations, ambush warfare, and guerrilla warfare, cavalry with high speed mobility can be of great use. If your companies want to carry out coordinated operations between infantry and cavalry, you may wish to go to Sun Desheng. ”
As soon as these words came out, the company commanders all looked at Sun Desheng with fiery eyes, and Old Sun was immediately overjoyed.
After the meeting, the cadres left in twos and threes, and Kong Jie asked Sun Desheng and the cavalry company instructor Chen Dalian to stay temporarily.
"Lao Sun, Lao Chen, I'm keeping you two here because I want to talk to you about the future development direction of the cavalry company."
"You two should have heard that I recently issued a new order to prepare for the establishment of a mechanized force belonging to our independent regiment."
Kong Jie gets straight to the point.
Sun Desheng was a rough man. He scratched his head and asked directly: "Commander, I have heard about this. I probably know about the mechanized troops. I just want to ask, Commander, are you going to abandon the cavalry company?"
Right?"
Kong Jie did not answer directly, but looked at the instructor Chen Dalian, "Old Chen, what do you think about the cavalry company and mechanized troops?"
Chen Dalian smiled bitterly and said: "Captain, like Lao Sun, I have been in the cavalry unit for these years, and I have already had a relationship with the cavalry."
"Lao Sun and I are actually very clear that mechanized troops also have high-speed mobility, stronger firepower and better armor protection. They can do everything the cavalry can do, and they can also do what the cavalry cannot.
Do."
"In addition, mechanized troops are more convenient than the maintenance of war horses."
"If the mechanized forces continue to develop like this, I have already predicted this. Perhaps the development of mechanized forces will sooner or later make the cavalry completely withdraw from the stage of history."
Kong Jie said: "Although I don't want to say this, I have to admit that this is the gradual development trend of modern military warfare.
In today's war, the value of cavalry is not to rush into the enemy's preset positions and sacrifice their lives in vain.
Rather, it has powerful tactics and operational mobility.
Cavalry fights on horseback and can run faster than infantry. It can quickly attack the enemy's weak flanks, so that the enemy has no time to turn around to defend the front, and is outflanked and caught off guard.
Even if the attack is frustrated, the cavalry can quickly withdraw so that the enemy cannot catch up. This is called tactical mobility.
Using the tactical mobility of the cavalry to open a large breakthrough and quickly expand the breakthrough, even to the level of the entire campaign, this is called campaign mobility.
These two potential values give the cavalry unit its unique charm.
When one day, the gradually developed mechanized troops can exert all the performance of the cavalry troops and perform better, they will naturally gradually replace or even eliminate the cavalry troops."
Kong Jie's affirmation made Sun Desheng look even more lonely.
When the conversation changed, Kong Jie said with a smile: "Old Sun, don't be so unsure.
At least the development of mechanized troops in our independent regiment is still in its infancy.
The tactics of mechanized troops also need to refer to cavalry tactics.
Research has even shown that soldiers participating in mechanized force operations should ideally be cavalry, because cavalry and mechanized forces have something in common.
I believe that our excellent cavalry company soldiers, since they are good cavalrymen, they are also good mechanized troop soldiers.
At the moment, you company commanders and instructors need to work harder on how to integrate our existing cavalry company into the mechanized force that is about to be built. The two sides will fight together and use the combat mobility of the cavalry to replace the mechanized force to a certain extent and supplement the mechanized force.
The number of mechanized troops is insufficient and they are used as rapid battle groupings.
Form a combined corps with cavalry, artillery, armored vehicles, and infantry that coordinate with each other and have diverse combat functions.
This results in a more powerful combat effectiveness.
This is exactly the direction you need to study and work on in the future."
After Kong Jie finished speaking, his enlightening words made Sun Desheng and Chen Dalian fall into deep thought on the way away from the regiment headquarters...