After receiving the order from the organization, Chu Xiong returned to Hedong and took office. Not only did he leave with him the entire command system, but also 160 Mustang fighters, 120 Flying Fortress bombers, 20 bombers, and 8 reconnaissance aircraft;
Yingjiang is responsible for airlifting a complete set of airport facilities, including the latest radar system, enough to equip an anti-aircraft regiment's anti-aircraft guns.
500 tank drivers and 300 reserve pilots were selected from the training team;
In order to support the Eighth Route Army's counterattack against the Japanese, Black Bear supported 240 T34 medium main battle tanks and 120 120mm self-propelled artillery, all of which came from the Mobei Grassland. These equipments were all requested by Chu Xiong.
It has been half a year since the construction of the Hedong Industrial Park. With the full support of Yingjiang, it has begun to take shape. Of course, the money was provided by Taihang Investment Company. Strictly speaking, it is a cooperation.
The scale of Taiyuan Military Factory has expanded several times and has become the largest military factory in China. It can produce 200 8-barrel or 12-barrel Wei Shen cannons and 500 Mulan cannons every month. The shells and bullets produced can basically meet the requirements of the Eighth Route Army. consumption.
After Chu Xiong and others arrived in Hedong, they immediately established a joint command. Shi Chuan served as the commander-in-chief and Chu Xiong served as the former enemy's chief of staff. The members of the joint command included Ming Zhao, Shu Kang, Fu Pian, Hu Hu, and Zijing. This was basically The Eighth Route Army has the strongest configuration.
Chu Xiong's qualifications were still too young, and it was too far-fetched to command a few big shots, so upon Chu Xiong's suggestion and Yanzhou's approval, such a joint command was established;
The commander-in-chief helps suppress the situation, Chu Xiong only serves as the former enemy's chief of staff, and Zhong Guoliang serves as the former enemy's deputy chief of staff. This configuration is much more reasonable, and it is temporary. Chu Xiong is still responsible for the actual command.
After the joint command was established, the first meeting was held. Naturally, Chu Xiong played the leading role. Others cooperated and coordinated the troops. There were too many aspects involved, and good coordination was the most important thing.
Fortunately, Chu Xiong is very familiar with several great people, and they also support Chu Xiong's work, so that the internal team can be unified. Chu Xiong has prepared for this meeting for a week, and it can be said that he is well prepared. Simple After being polite, we went straight to the topic:
"The number of troops invested in this counterattack and the scale of the war are unprecedented. This is a true large-corps battle, and it is an offensive war. For the Eighth Route Army, this is the same time as a big girl goes to the bridge;
Previously, we fought defensive warfare, guerrilla warfare and smaller-scale mobile warfare. Our troops were dispersed and used in regiments, up to brigades.
After nearly six years of development, our Eighth Route Army has expanded from the previous 16 regiments to hundreds of regiments, large and small. No command system can command so many lower-level units;
Therefore, the establishment of a higher-level combat unit has become the first priority before this major counterattack.
At present, the Eighth Route Army in North China has a total of 900,000 people. It is impossible for these 900,000 people to join in a swarm. That is not a war, it is nonsense!
My idea is to set up a temporary organization or column between the division and the brigade. After all, there is still the Sichuan curse on it. We can't irritate him too much, otherwise he will overturn the table again. "
After Chu Xiong finished speaking, the others couldn't help laughing. Everyone understood the beauty of setting up a temporary column under the division;
Shuzhong is more serious, it can be explained that it was established because of the temporary needs of the battle, and was canceled after the battle;
The Eighth Route Army still has 4 divisions and an independent corps, which is roughly equivalent to a group army composed of 5 corps.
The 115th and 120th divisions were originally military-level establishments. These five military-level units were all established by the government and were not overstaffed. There was no fault in Sichuan.
Seeing that everyone understood what was going on, Chu Xiong stopped talking and continued:
“It’s not about the number of troops, it’s about the quality. If all 900,000 men cannot be thrown into the counterattack, the logistics will be too much, and it is easy to scare Shuzhong;
According to our agreement with Big Brother, it is enough to dispatch a total of 500,000 main troops, so my suggestion is to use half a month to gradually form a field army of 500,000 people.
It includes eight infantry columns, each with 3 infantry brigades, 1 artillery regiment and other directly affiliated troops, each column has 50,000 people;
In addition, an armored column was established, with Li Qing, commander of the Northeastern Hebei Army Division, as the column commander. It has 2 tank brigades, 1 self-propelled artillery brigade, and 2 motorized infantry brigades. The directly subordinate units include 1 air defense regiment, 1 communications regiment, 1 reconnaissance regiment, etc., with a total number of 50,000 people;
Equipped with 160 T34 tanks and 80 self-propelled 130mm cannons, they are the main force of this major counterattack.
A separate artillery column was established, with 2 Weishen artillery brigades, 1 howitzer brigade, and 1 infantry brigade under its jurisdiction, with a total number of approximately 30,000 people.
In addition, there are about 20,000 troops directly under the headquarters and the air force, with a total strength of more than 500,000!
It takes half a month to form 10 columns, which is a heavy task. In order to speed up the formation efficiency, my suggestion is to assign them to each division;
The main force of this counterattack was the Hedong Military Region, and Big Brother's assistance also came from the Mobei Grassland, so the armored column, artillery column, and infantry 101st and 102nd Columns were formed by the Hedong Military Region;
The 103rd and 104th Columns were formed by the 129th Division;
The 105th Column was formed by the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the 106th Column was formed by the 81st Division, the 107th Column was formed by the Qilu Military Region, and the 108th Column was formed by the 120th Division. The commander of each column and the composition of the troops to be transferred are decided by each division;
After half a month, the personnel, establishment, weapon configuration and other information must be reported to the joint command headquarters. Those who are in need can be mentioned, and those who are short of artillery will be uniformly deployed by the Hedong Military Region. "
There is no pressure on them to form a column from one division. Not only is it not difficult, but it is probably too little;
But Chu Xiong is also right. The troops participating in the counter-offensive must be elite soldiers and generals from each army. It does not mean that other troops will not participate in the war, but will serve as logistics support tasks and be used as second-line troops.
If there are casualties in the main column, troops must be drawn from other units to supplement. This is equivalent to 500,000 field troops plus 400,000 support troops. In fact, it is still 900,000;
A 500,000-strong army is fighting, and 400,000 support troops are not enough. Part of the front troops must be mobilized. This is still a people's war.
The members of the joint command were all experienced in fighting. It was obvious at a glance that Chu Xiong's plan was the most practical reorganization plan for the Eighth Route Army, and everyone agreed.
The central topic of this meeting is to reorganize the troops and form a 500,000-strong field army. This is no small project and involves many aspects. It needs to be coordinated by the division commanders after they return home.
Finally, the commander-in-chief made a request to everyone. Each division must deploy the most capable troops and the strongest elite soldiers to form field columns. Whoever hangs the chain will be beaten.
The others followed the order and left, while Chu Xiong, Zhong Guoliang and other staff teams began to formulate a combat plan. After the reorganization of the troops was completed, they would go into battle. If Big Brother showed sincerity, China would naturally reciprocate the favor.
