For the Japanese army, the importance of Hanzhuang is self-evident. They must ensure that the reinforcement channels of Hanzhuang are smooth, otherwise, the Isogaya Lianjie Department who will defend Yixian County will be isolated and helpless!
The commander of the Second Army of the Japanese North China Front, Nishio Hisao, directly issued a fatal order: We must go all out to recapture Hanzhuang and buy precious time to rescue the 10th Division!
At this point, Zhuchen, Xiangcheng, Shuiguo, Guoliji, Shagou and other places around Yixian County were all involved in fierce fighting.
Both sides are engaged in a fierce battle around this place in Yixian. One side wants the center to bloom, while the other wants to encircle the points for reinforcements.
By the way, encirclement and reinforcements are not the key purpose. The most important purpose is to eliminate the troops of the Japanese 10th Division from the Japanese army's battle order and give the Japanese army the heaviest blow!
The battle on the front line was in full swing, and the headquarters of the fifth theater commander, as the center of command, was also under increased pressure.
In the chief's department, telegrams were buzzing, and all they were sending and receiving were battle reports from the front line!
"Sir, the battle report came back from the front line. The enemy's main reinforcements came from Hanzhuang Station. Now that Yu Xuezhong's troops are unable to support them, they have withdrawn from Hanzhuang. Hanzhuang has fallen." A combat staff officer ran to Li Zongren reported next to him.
Li Zongren thought for a while and said: "Call back to Yu Xuezhong and ask him to hold on and do his best to prevent the situation from deteriorating. Fan Songfu's 46th Army and Lu Han's 60th Army are already heading towards Yixian. We are on the way, if we persist for one more day, we will reach Yixian County!"
"Yes! Sir!" The combat staff gave a military salute and then responded.
…
A large army gathered in the fifth theater, and the total number of various troops was no less than 600,000.
As the headquarters of the Fifth War Zone Commander, Xuzhou is crowded with people and has become a huge barracks.
The training locations for the soldiers of the First Regiment directly under Zhang Tianhai's Third War Zone have basically been moved outside the city, because there is no place in the city to provide them with training.
After Zhang Tianhai inspected the cadre training class, he walked to the street. He also needed to relax and relax.
The cars coming and going on the street were all military trucks. If Zhang Tianhai didn’t expect it, they were carrying guns, ammunition, military bedding and other things. These things were all used to expand the army or deliver military supplies. Used on the front line.
In addition, there are various types of hurried troops, as well as those military police units responsible for maintaining order on the scene.
Bang bang bang...
A burst of chaotic but orderly footsteps sounded on the street, and groups of local military troops wearing iron-blue military uniforms filed past.
Standing on the roadside, wearing goose-yellow military uniforms and carrying white cuffs on their arms, are the military police units directly affiliated with the Fifth Theater Commander's Department.
There were also many Yunnan Army troops wearing dark green military uniforms.
Looking at these troops from Yunnan, the guys they were holding were indeed elite, with many firearms, but Zhang Tianhai couldn't recognize them.
"Regiment member, to be honest, the spirit of these Yunnan troops is really good, and the guys in their hands are also strong. Once a war breaks out, our regiment may not be their opponent, right?" Adjutant Wang Liang said.
Zhang Tianhai looked at it carefully and then said: "Indeed, our Zhiyi regiment is indeed not as strong as their Yunnan army in combat effectiveness. From the spirit and spirit, we can see that they are the elite of Yunnan Wang Longyun, and they have been in the army for a long time. In addition, their equipment is indeed very sophisticated. Even if we break out from Nanjing and have a fight with them, I don't think we can do it."
"No way? Regiment leader, although it is relatively late for our regiment to form an army, our combat effectiveness will definitely not be this bad, right?" Wang Liang was a little surprised.
Zhang Tianhai shook his head and said: "At that time, although our regiment had many veterans, it did not have enough background as an officer. They all graduated from the Yunnan Military Academy, so they were in a league higher than us. These half-baked officers were strong. At that time, the main officers of our regiment were all graduates of the Huangpu Military Academy or from the Northeast Military Academy, but company-level officers were basically promoted from the platoon leader or squad leader. In terms of combat command, It’s simply immature.”
Before Wang Liang could continue to speak, Zhang Tianhai continued: "The strength of Yunnan Jiangwu Hall is not bad, and its foundation is even longer than ours in Huangpu. Their company-level officers are basically graduates of Yunnan Jiangwu Hall. Yes, as soon as a war breaks out, these company-level officers will quickly become qualified to serve as battalion commanders or even regimental commanders. Our successors cannot compare with him."
"Then we now have a cavalry battalion, an artillery battalion, an engineer company, and a Soloton machine gun battery. All these troops combined. Is it true that we can't defeat them?" Wang Liang said with some disbelief.
"If it's a regiment-level unit, probably no other unit can be our opponent, right? If you want to choose, pick a brigade-level unit." Zhang Tianhai said.
Wang Liang thought about it and realized that this was indeed true. After all, the first regiment directly under the Third War Zone was a German weapons reinforced regiment with a relatively complete range of arms. It would never suffer a loss in a war.
Well, at least for units at the same level.
"One, two, one! One, two, one! We are the strongest army from Yunnan. Why are we on the battlefield?!" A Yunnan Army officer wearing a dark blue military uniform shouted loudly.
"Resist Japan!!" A strong roar came from the team.
"We went to the battlefield to resist Japan!!!" That strong roar roared again, and it was very powerful.
"Resist Japan!! Resist Japan!! Resist Japan!!!"
The voices in the team are very powerful, and their confidence makes even passers-by look at them!
They are a strong army, a strong army from Yunnan.
"It would be great if our army also had such a steely fighting will." Adjutant Wang Liang sighed.
"Don't worry, our troops will have such strong combat effectiveness and fighting will sooner or later. We don't lack it. What we lack is training time and qualified officers! Give me a little more time, and I will definitely train a combat force." A very powerful and invincible army!" As he was speaking, Zhang Tianhai clenched his fists tightly.
He is absolutely confident in his words. Putting aside other things, Zhang Tianhai himself is a person with rich military combat theories.
Although his soul has traveled through time and arrived in this era, the knowledge from his previous life has not been forgotten.
With his rich knowledge, if he were to lead a company, he would definitely be able to turn this company into a company with the quality of a special forces unit.
It's just that now he is the leader of a regiment. Leading a regiment and leading a company are different concepts. To lead a company, he only needs to take care of the hundred or so people, and then everything will be fine.
But if you are leading a regiment, you must manage these dozens of company commanders well and teach these dozens of company commanders how to lead their troops well, and only then can you lead a truly strong army!
Therefore, what Zhang Tianhai is doing now is to train these dozens of company commanders and let them learn how to lead troops.
"The subordinates will fully assist the regiment to build our regiment into a more powerful force!" Wang Liang promised confidently.
"Well, you can take the opportunity to have a good rest now! There will be a big battle in a while, and our regiment will definitely become a main force to participate in the battle. As my adjutant, you have to do a lot of things. "Zhang Tianhai said very seriously.
"Members of the regiment, please rest assured. I promise to complete the auxiliary tasks due to my humble position and will never hold back the regiment!" Wang Liang continued to promise.
"Okay, let's go back first!" As he said this, Zhang Tianhai did not forget to take a deep look at the Yunnan Army troops from Yunnan.
The Yunnan Army's tradition of emphasizing discipline and combat effectiveness has been preserved, so Zhang Tianhai wanted to build the first regiment directly under the third theater of war into a force like the Yunnan Army.
After leaving the city, Zhang Tianhai arrived at the cavalry camp. He drove his special military jeep there.
These days, he has been focusing on the main infantry battalion, but has neglected the construction of the cavalry battalion.
Don't forget, the cavalry battalion is the only mobile unit directly under the first regiment of the third theater.
Regarding the construction goal of the cavalry battalion, Zhang Tianhai believes that the cavalry battalion must become a unit that can fight when mounted and dismounted.
In fact, to put it bluntly, it is to build this force into a rapid reaction force similar to that of later generations.
Zhang Tianhai felt that in addition to seeing the current situation of the cavalry camp this time, he also wanted to see what equipment the cavalry camp still lacked, and then find ways to supplement the cavalry camp.
At least the close-range firepower needs to be strengthened. After all, the current situation of the cavalry battalion is that it has sufficient mobility but relatively insufficient firepower.
If they rush to the front, but cause a large number of casualties to the cavalry battalion due to insufficient firepower, it will be very unworthy.
It is not an easy task to train a qualified cavalryman.
Moreover, it would be quite different if the cavalry battalion could be used as an assault force.
Zhang Tianhai is familiar with the general trend of history, and also knows that the cavalry will gradually withdraw from the stage of history. Because of their insufficient protective power and lack of heavy firepower, they cannot compare with the rolling torrent of steel in later generations.
Of course, areas like these on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau still need troops such as Qi soldiers to maintain them. After all, the terrain there is very complex.
But after all, observing the general trend, we can know that the cavalry will slowly withdraw from the stage of history.
But now there is no way, it is better than not having no cavalry battalion, right? After all, this is also a powerful fast assault force, it depends on how it is used.
The cavalry battalion is located near a village in the west of the city.
Zhang Tianhai's military off-road jeep was driving so fast that it directly set off a plume of dust and smoke on the vast North China Plain.
Due to the trampling of the army, many grasses that had just sprouted were trampled to death, so patches of flying loess were exposed.
Of course, there are many troops and convoys coming and going outside the city, heading to Xuzhou City to perform various military tasks.
Not long after, Zhang Tianhai's vehicle drove directly to the headquarters of the cavalry battalion.
To be honest, the officers and soldiers of the cavalry battalion were very surprised by the arrival of Zhang Tianhai, the regimental commander.
Obviously you can tell by looking at their expressions. They were stunned for a moment, then stood up, stood at attention and saluted: "Hello, Captain!"
"Hello, Captain!"
"Hello, Captain!"
As soon as Zhang Tianhai parked his car and got off the car, he was greeted by waves of salutes and greetings.
Zhang Tianhai glanced around expressionlessly, then nodded and said, "Brothers, I, Zhang Tianhai, came to the cavalry camp today to inspect the troops. Call your battalion commander out immediately!"
In fact, when Zhang Tianhai's vehicle drove into the battalion headquarters, some soldiers quickly ran to Wang Yongcheng's office to report.
"Battal Commander! Battalion Commander! It's not good! The regiment commander is here! The regiment commander is coming to inspect the troops!!" A soldier quickly ran into Wang Yongcheng's office, then stood at attention and saluted and reported.
After hearing the news, Wang Yongcheng shouted and asked: "Come here as soon as the regiment commander comes. What is there to panic about? How is it appropriate to be in such a hurry? In what way is our cavalry battalion inferior to their four main infantry battalions?" ? In what way are you inferior to those brothers in the artillery battalion? Why are you panicking?"
"Yes, battalion commander!" the soldier responded.
After glaring at the soldier, Wang Yongcheng straightened his military cap and strode out of the battalion commander's office.
Not long after, Wang Yongcheng walked up to Zhang Tianhai, and then with a "pop" sound, he gave a very standard military salute: "Hello, commander! I am reporting to you as the commander of the cavalry battalion of the first regiment directly under the third war zone. , and say hello to you!”
Zhang Tianhai nodded very seriously and said: "Very good, I just need to see the current mental outlook of your cavalry battalion and know that you are ready to fight."
"Thank you for the compliment. The cavalry battalion will definitely continue to work hard to build a better cavalry battalion! We will definitely not hinder the combat effectiveness of the regiment. We will strive to surpass any of their four main infantry battalions in terms of combat effectiveness. One!" Wang Yongcheng said loudly, full of momentum.
Zhang Tianhai nodded and said, "Very good, it's good that you have this confidence."
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Tianhai patted Wang Yongcheng on the shoulder and said: "These days, your cavalry battalion has been somewhat neglected. Please don't feel thorny in your heart. After all, at this stage, the main focus is on positional warfare, and training a Qualified cavalry is not that easy. Until the critical moment, I would never want to put your cavalry battalion on the front line and use it as infantry. That would be an absolute waste!"
Zhang Tianhai's voice was very decisive, which made Wang Yongcheng feel slightly relaxed, because he was born in the Northeast Army, not in the direct line of Huangpu, so he would have some psychological concerns in that regard.
If it was treated as a fringe force, no one would feel comfortable.
As soon as Zhang Tianhai said these words, Wang Yongcheng's worries suddenly eased a lot. At least he felt comfortable, right?
…
PS: To make up for yesterday’s second update, it’s 4,000 words. Think of it as interest. Later chapters that are in arrears will be slowly made up and repaid. I hope to pay them all at once before the third day of the Lunar New Year.
After all, everyone knows that during the Chinese New Year, there are more things to do and busier, and there are indeed more banquets of all kinds.
Please forgive me, thank you all.
vertex
