After hearing Lin Zhiqiang's words, the person leading the team quickly said: "Captain, I'm sorry that I'm late and have made you worried. It was when I was handing over the supplies that I heard the commander of the advancing army talking about the danger on your side. You It's my old leader. As soon as I heard that there was a problem with you, I immediately rushed over with my troops..."
"We are all mechanized troops and we move quickly. As for the batch of things I was ordered to escort, please rest assured that all the materials have been handed over. Except for the cattle and sheep we carried because we are not very good at taking care of them, some of them died. , the remaining supplies include a bag of flour, a bullet, and a box of cans. All supplies were handed over intact to the logistics department of the advancing army."
The person who reported to Lin Zhiqiang was none other than Yang Jicai, who was ordered to escort a batch of supplies to support the advancing army. Although Lin Zhi emphasized that he had been working in the customs for some time, he was Yang Jicai's old superior when he was at the headquarters, so Yang Jicai treated him He has always been addressed as an old leader.
However, Lin Zhiqiang did not expect that he would be the one ordered to escort the supplies this time, because Lin Zhiqiang knew that Wang Guangyu, the deputy commander of the field army and commander of the Nenjiang Military Region who was responsible for commanding the roundabout troops, had always valued him very highly and would not easily send him away. After being released, the headquarters sent Yang Jicai back several times, but he never agreed.
Lin Zhiqiang also knew that Yang Jicai was very capable and was known as one of the best combat staff in the headquarters. Not only did Commander Wang think highly of him, but also the No. 3 head of the headquarters, Guo Bingxun, who was the chief of general staff of the army, also thought highly of him. This time Commander Wang's ability to release him was beyond Lin Zhiqiang's expectations.
However, although it was somewhat beyond his expectation, Lin Zhiqiang also understood that he was sent out this time because Commander Wang was preparing for his beloved general to be transferred back to the headquarters. Although Yang Jicai had outstanding staff skills, he was unable to lead troops. Because he was a little inexperienced, this time he was asked to be responsible for transporting supplies and supplies to advance into the army. He would definitely encounter some enemy troops along the way.
Whether in Chahar or Hexigten Banner, the Japanese and puppet troops encountered along the way will not be the main force, let alone large groups of Japanese puppet troops. The large group of puppet troops along the way will not be the main force. Either they were attracted to Xing'anxi by the outflanking troops, or they were attracted to Rehe by the advancing troops.
What should be left in both places are the Japanese and puppet garrison troops, which are not too strong in strength. These garrison troops are essentially Japanese and puppet troops. Their combat effectiveness is not strong, and their deployment is relatively scattered. Under this situation, Yang Jicai can accumulate a certain amount of experience in leading troops and mechanized combined command experience at the regiment level, which will be very beneficial to his future development.
However, this does not mean that Yang Jicai will not encounter any situations along the way, nor can it be said that his actions before entering Rehe were just to accumulate the so-called experience of leading troops and pave the way for smooth future work. There are no shortcuts for people on the battlefield.
If you want to gild the bottom, go up. Not to mention that there is no such tradition in the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Even in any army that is not a private warlord, this situation will not happen. In fact, even though this way There is no large garrison of Japanese and puppet troops, but it is not a smooth road, and the conditions along the way are also a severe test for a regiment-level commander.
It should not be said that it is the habit of the Japanese puppet army. When they find that there are so-called hostile elements entering the country, they will never sit idly by and do nothing. They will definitely send troops to intercept them. In terms of the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army, the strength of a squadron is enough for Their regiment-level detachment will cause a lot of trouble, and they are not advancing lightly. They carry a large amount of supplies for the advancing army, especially the food that is most urgently needed by the advancing army.
These supplies are undoubtedly a heavy burden for this small unit with no more than a regiment-level organization. Although it is fully mechanized equipment, it will still be a considerable trouble once it encounters the Japanese and puppet troops stalking them, especially It is not a good job to ensure that these supplies are delivered intact to the advancing army who are continuing to supply food.
Although the Japanese and puppet troops along the way will not cause much harm to this small force equipped with cavalry and tanks, although the Japanese and puppet troops in these places are mainly cavalry, they have to compete with a force with tank cover. The fully mechanized troops are still far behind in frontal combat, but these Japanese and puppet cavalry will undoubtedly cause them a lot of trouble.
Lin Zhiqiang did not think that this division of troops was because Commander Wang had specially taken care of the young cadre in front of him, whom he admired very much. In the Anti-Japanese Alliance, there was no shortcut to promotion. This operation was a great opportunity for Yang Jicai. In other words, it is more about accumulating experience, and it will not be of much help to his essential promotion. To be precise, it should be more of a training.
Moreover, when Lin Zhiqiang was working at the headquarters, he always had the feeling that during the time he was working at the headquarters, No. 1 was somewhat suppressing him intentionally or unintentionally. He just did not promote and appoint the most outstanding staff member of the Anti-Japanese Alliance in front of him. Lin Zhiqiang, who was well aware of the relationship between Yang Jicai and Yang Zhen, could not figure out why No. 1, who always valued talents, would consciously suppress this young and promising cadre in front of him.
Seeing that Lin Zhiqiang was in a daze, Yang Jicai smiled and did not disturb him. Instead, he raised his binoculars and observed the line of Straw Hat Mountain for a long time. After Lin Zhiqiang calmed down, he pointed to the line of Straw Hat Mountain and said: "Old chief, How about I help you over there, give you some fire support, or send a tank company to charge towards the Japanese starting position at the foot of the mountain?"
Regarding Yang Jicai's suggestion, Lin Zhiqiang shook his head and said: "It's not necessary for the time being. Don't scare away the Japanese and puppet troops on the other side of the mountain. The head of the headquarters attaches great importance to this battle, which is to use the mountainous area to the north of the paddock as the chopping block." , using the five brigades currently deployed in Xinglong and Ningcheng as iron hammers, we will encircle and annihilate the main force of the puppet army in Rehe in one fell swoop or severely damage them in the mountainous area north of the paddock."
"These Japanese and puppet troops are very cunning. They are good at night fighting and sneak attacks. They once adopted sneak attack tactics, which caused considerable losses to our army during night battles. Once your tank attacks, they may not see the situation well. Retracting Chifeng will affect our overall deployment of future operations. You can only support the front line of Straw Hat Mountain with artillery fire. As for the tanks, they are not needed for the time being."
"Furthermore, the advancing army lacks attack methods. Your tank battalion will be of great use in the future. Although the current battle has left you and me with only a few people left, it is only for solving the overall problem of Rehe. It’s a small fight, but the big battle is still to come. If you, the only mechanized detachment in the advancing army, are damaged, it will be difficult to fight the next tough battle."
Having said this, Lin Zhiqiang ordered the combat staff around him to immediately find a way to restore communications with the Third Regiment, then turned to Yang Jicai and said: "Give me two of the 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns you have on hand, and how many more?" Light machine guns, on the Straw Hat Mountain ahead, I only have a little more than three companies. If we want to stop thousands of Japanese and puppet troops, the firepower is still too weak."
Regarding Lin Zhiqiang's request, Yang Jicai smiled and said: "There is no problem with anti-aircraft machine guns. Forget about light machine guns. Our troops have completed the change of equipment and all light machine guns have been eliminated. Now our main front-line troops use 7.6 Even if I give you a few 2mm light and heavy machine guns, it won't solve the big problem."
"Old chief, I'll give you twelve Soviet-made rotary machine guns and five Soviet-made water-cooled heavy machine guns. I'll give you two hundred thousand rounds of ammunition. What do you think? Well, let me think about it, the little devil's grenades It's very powerful and poses a great threat to the machine guns, so I will deploy two more recoilless gun squads and four rocket launchers to follow you on the front line to deal with the grenades of the Japs."
"As for the Japanese-style light and heavy machine guns, I can't help you get them. The few seizures I have on hand have all been handed over to the advancing army headquarters when the supplies were handed over. Over there The commander has already signed for it, and if I ask for it now, firstly, there is not enough time, and besides, it would not be good to ask for it back after what I handed over."
Hearing that Yang Jicai actually had a Soviet-made light and heavy machine gun in his hand, Lin Zhiqiang, who didn't know that Wang Guangyu and Ren Guang had confiscated a Soviet war preparation warehouse in Outer Mongolia, was slightly startled and said: "Where did you get these Soviet-made machine guns?" As for the light and heavy machine guns, did you clash with the Soviet and Mongolian troops again when you were passing through? Did the troops suffer any losses?"
Seeing Lin Zhiqiang's anxious look, Yang Jicai shook his head with a smile and told him about his experience in Outer Mongolia, and finally said: "Ren Guang, that little bitch, keeps all good things close to the First Division. He is in the warehouse of the Outer Mongolian army." He got a lot of good stuff and hid it secretly. When Commander Wang discovered it, he told Commander Wang and took ten water-cooled heavy machine guns and asked Commander Wang to allocate them to the cavalry brigade."
"But this guy's hands and feet are not very clean, and I know that he has always said he is generous, but in fact he must have the habit of holding back. He said he did not touch those Soviet-made light and heavy machine guns, but according to this guy's usual He has a habit of being prepared and treating junk that others don't want as a treasure. If there are such good things, he really only hides a little bit of them."
"After the cavalry brigade commander took away the ten water-cooled heavy machine guns allocated to him, I kept observing him secretly, just to see if he had any good stuff. Sure enough, when we were dividing the troops, I saw him heading towards the 1st Division. There were more than 40 rotary light machine guns and more than a dozen water-cooled heavy machine guns hidden in the convoy. They were also covered with backpacks for fear that others would find them, and some bullets were also hidden. Although it was not many, there were hundreds of thousands of rounds."
"I know that your old commander's troops are in the paddock, so I am thinking about the difficulties of the troops inside the customs. Although the Anti-Japanese Alliance has transported some weapons by air, so many troops rely solely on air transportation, and they also need to transport ammunition and artillery equipment. And the troops inside the customs The scale is so large that the quantity may only be enough, and there will be very little spare equipment left.”
"The big rivers are short of water and the small rivers are dry. The general environment cannot be changed. The quantity sent to you will not be sufficient, so I did not be polite to him and Commander Li of the First Division. Before dividing the troops, I sent him one directly. The meeting was divided into half, and these twelve rotary machine guns and five water-cooled heavy machine guns were poached from him."
"But old chief, I have to tell you first that I can only give you weapons. In addition to recoilless rifles, rocket launchers and large-caliber machine guns, I don't have the manpower for these dozen light and heavy machine guns. I only have one infantry battalion here to transfer to you. I can give you the strength of more than half a company at once, but it’s really a bit difficult.”