On October 10, 1941, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army in Taiyuan.

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

"Suiyuan's Eighth Theater has not been able to withstand the frontal attack of the devils, and at present, the troops at all levels under the command of the seventh and a half have scattered and broken through, but his main force, the 35th Army, is still in a state of being pursued."

"We have to send troops immediately, and we'll talk about the attitude of the mountain city after the fight."

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 were attacking in a big way, the headquarters would receive a telegram for help from seven and a half roads every day.

The bald head, who does not do personnel, seems to have predicted the operation of the Eighth War Zone, and frequently pressured the Eighth Office of Shancheng to prohibit the three main forces from sending troops north to support.

The lesson of Zhongtiao Mountain made the high-level leaders of the preserved fruit once again raise their vigilance against TG, and they were afraid that their troops would make a wedding dress for the desperate war fox.

In a sense, the border areas are the forces they fear the most.

The loss of Suiyuan is not all a bad thing, after all, it can allow the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi to be attacked in the north and east at the same time, delaying their development opportunities.

In order not to undermine the anti-Japanese united front, it is also to prevent certain people from guiding the common people through public opinion to reach an ulterior secret.

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

1. Mobilize the commanders and fighters of the Daqingshan Base Area to go all out to help the Eighth Theater carry out the sabotage work, and strive to destroy as much as possible the logistical supply lines of the troops stationed in Mongolia before the start of the war.

2. We should provide as much as possible the military supplies needed by seven and a half routes, and continuously transport weapons and food to the Wuyuan area by air.

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

After everyone present digested the information just now, the deputy general staff officer continued to say to the Suiyuan map on the wall:

"At present, the Ma Jiajun has been defeated and retreated to Ningxia, and the Sixth Cavalry Army of the Central Army has withdrawn to the Yimeng area south of the Yellow River, and the above two forces are not in danger for the time being."

"Judging from the current advance route of the troops stationed in Mongolia, the devils have no intention of continuing the pursuit."

However, the situation of the main force of the 35th Army was not good, and the great defeat made the morale of the troops at all levels low, and they were almost in a desperate situation. If we don't lend a helping hand, the vast majority of people risk dying on the way to Lanzhou. ”

Although the deputy general staff did not say it explicitly, anyone could hear what he meant.

Regarding the long-distance rush to rescue the seven and a half roads, the commanders did not feel disgusted.

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 insects who are not worthy of the name.

For the fierce generals who dare to fight, everyone has a little bit of a good impression.

What's more, the three main forces are about to start a full-scale war with the Mongolian army, and it is not difficult to save people while fighting devils.

After a pause, the deputy general staff shifted his gaze to Grand Master Li, who was listening attentively.

"Li Yunlong, your 1st Marine Regiment is the most mobile unit in the whole army. After discussion at the headquarters, it was decided to send your regiment to cooperate with the 1st Air Division to carry out the mission of searching for and rescuing allies. “

"The 1st Air Division will rush to the battlefield in advance to reconnoitre, and then send your regiment to the vicinity of the target. If things go well, just kill the pursuing devils. ”

"You don't have to worry about intelligence, I have already sent someone to your regiment's station before the combat meeting begins."

Suddenly, when he heard the deputy general staff officer call out his name, Grand Master Li subconsciously bounced up from his seat, and a little shock could be seen on his face.

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

After a while, Li Yunlong, who had a big heart, adjusted his state.

As the commander of the most elite airborne forces in the whole army, he looked at the deputy general staff officer with resolute eyes and replied:

"Roger!"

"Rest assured, chief! We, the 1st Marine Regiment, are guaranteed to complete the mission! ”

This situation made Huang He feel a little distracted when he touched his chin.

In his impression, the most famous case of using airborne and airborne landings to rescue allies during World War II was Operation Oak Tree.

Considering the difficult after-school homework assigned to Li Yunlong by infantry experts, the future performance of his fellow countrymen will definitely not be better than that of Otto. Skorzny cha.

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

······

Half an hour later, the operational meeting officially ended, and the commanders hurriedly returned to their stations by car.

Li Yunlong was no exception, there were still 21 hours left before the departure time of the 1st Marine Regiment, and he had to hurry back to make a rescue plan.

"Captain! You're finally back! ”

"Is there a new combat order? Just now I saw the correspondent of the headquarters at the gate. ”

"By the way, you should hurry up and go to the regimental headquarters. The political commissar, Deputy Regiment Commander Xing, and the three battalion commanders are all waiting, and they have instructed me to take you there as soon as possible. ”

After speaking, the monk dragged his head by the arm and ran to the base.

Since the establishment of the Airborne Force by the Eighth Route Army, Li Yunlong's physical fitness has been greatly improved, but there is still a big gap compared with Wei Dayong, who is like a calf.

In desperation, he could only speed up while scolding his mother.

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

After entering the door, what caught my eye was a pair of words that were framed and hung on the wall, which 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 atmospheric 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 not another manifestation of the torrent of steel?

"Hehe, the head of the regiment is back."

"You won't really have a fight with the deputy commander-in-chief, why did the combat intelligence come back earlier than the people attending the meeting?"

"According to me, you really don't need to worry. Since the establishment of our First Marine Regiment, how many battles and small battles have been inseparable from our airborne troops? ”

Looking at Zhang Dabiao with a hippie smile, Li Yunlong rolled his eyes and sat down at the table.

Do it with the deputy commander-in-chief? When someone coughed, he had to slap himself three times first, and then quickly think about whether he had done something wrong recently.

"Okay, less."

"Our regiment will leave on time at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, and the destination should be between the Houtao area and Lanzhou, now hurry up and have a meeting to formulate a battle plan."

"Give me the information sent by the deputy general staff, and we will discuss together what equipment the troops need to bring."

Taking the folder handed by Xing Zhiguo, Li Yunlong opened the information and began to read it carefully, while the rest of the people kept quiet and waited for a while.

Five minutes later, Lao Li's brows furrowed, as if he had encountered something tricky.

"The Eighth War Zone is not unjustly lost, compared with the devils a year ago, the current army stationed in Mongolia is simply a steady exaggeration."

"This Ganji Jutaro has completely learned the lessons of his predecessor, Naosaburo Okabe, and every step of the command is almost-for-tat with the seven-and-a-half-way plan."

"Coupled with the strong strength to overwhelm people, there is a feeling of one force to ten meetings."

Hearing his leader's analysis, Zhao Gang and his party all nodded in agreement.

All of you present are experienced commanders in combat, and they have already made an assessment of the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Theater of Operations, which has been equipped with some magic weapons.

With the strength of the other party, it only lasted for two weeks, and the enemy this time must not be underestimated.

In fact, it is not to blame that the seven-and-a-half command is improper, after all, there is a certain gap in the hard power of the two sides. The Mongolian garrison dispatched a large number of armored troops, and the legs of men and horses could not keep up with the machinery in the steppe.

In the case that the frontal defeat could not be defeated, the Eighth War Zone could only send cavalry to take the initiative to attack while defending the city, in an attempt to attract the enemy back to the defense by disrupting the rear encirclement point to send reinforcements and encircling Wei to save Zhao.

The Japanese army used chain defense in the Suiyuan area, and usually a stronghold would not have too many troops.

However, there is a strong linkage between each stronghold, and in the event of an attack, motorized troops can quickly arrive to support.

In view of the above characteristics, the Eighth Theater organized more than a dozen cavalry commandos to make a detour to attack the rear of the army stationed in Mongolia and attack Huanglong directly.

At the same time, the main force of the army set up ambushes at various communication nodes to intercept the returning troops of the Mongolian army. They plan to take advantage of the devil's unintentional desire to rush for reinforcements and kill and wound as much of the enemy's living force as possible.

This trick was very effective in the winter offensive of that year, and the entire Eighth War Zone once walked Okabe Naosaburo as a dog on the grassland.

It's a pity that the devil is also improving, and the same trick won't suffer twice.

The Mongolian garrison not only added a tank brigade, but also equipped a large number of armored vehicles and transport trucks, and its mobility was no longer what it used to be.

The ultra-high support speed has caused huge psychological pressure on every soldier of the cavalry commando.

What's more, the troops directly under the North China Front Army supported the army stationed in Mongolia with a B division and an independent mixed brigade, and the skyrocketing strength greatly increased the difficulty of the attack.

The various types of fighters supported by the Kwantung Army made the cavalry of the 8th Theater of Operations unremarkable, and almost all operations were carried out under the noses of the enemy.

The first step of encircling Wei to save Zhao and encircling the point to send reinforcements failed, and the follow-up plan naturally became a fantasy.

When the Mongolian army concentrated three divisions and two independent mixed brigades to attack the Wuyuan area with all its might, the seven and a half had no choice but to retreat to the west with their main force, the 35th Army.

Heavy artillery, tanks, and airplanes are not at all a combination that the old and new cities of Wuyuan can resist.

After driving away the seven and a half roads, Gansu Shigetaro did not choose to use a small number of Japanese troops to increase the defense plan of some puppet troops, after all, his predecessor had suffered losses.

The old devil directly left a wing 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 was not attacked by surprise, he first asked the puppet army to set up sentinels on the periphery, check every suspicious person along the road, and by the way, guard the communication line.

The devils don't expect the puppet army to have any combat effectiveness, as long as they can give early warning to the regular army in the city in case of attack.

The main force was to occupy the fortified buildings in the city, and to connect each stronghold to form a core position, which was finally reinforced with barbed wire and civil fortifications.

In this way, the rigorous defense and highly mobile armored troops combined with tens of thousands of defenders completely dispelled the intention of the seven-and-a-half waiting for an opportunity to counterattack Wuyuan.

What's more, in this offensive, Gansu Shigetaro specially strengthened the garrison of the logistics route, and the troops did not show fatigue for two whole weeks.

If it weren't for the seven and a half roads that mobilized the masses in advance to divert the water of the Yellow River into the main and branch canals, making the Hetao area a flooding area, it is estimated that even retreating to Lanzhou would have become a luxury.

After briefly analyzing the tactics and strength of the troops stationed in Mongolia, Li Yunlong took out a piece of information from the folder and said:

"This time, the enemy is very focused on reconnaissance and intelligence work. In the process of rescuing the seven and a half roads, there is a high probability that we will encounter the land aviation of the Kwantung Army. ”

"Although now that we have a high-power radio, we can call for support from the 1st Air Division in time. But it will take some time for the fighters to arrive on their way, and the matter of air defense will have to rely on themselves. ”

"The rescue mission did not need to be stormed, and I decided to exchange the places for eight airborne tanks for medium anti-aircraft vehicles. It's just as good at airplaneing as it is at hitting people, and even a few shots can come when you encounter an enemy tank. ”

Hearing the words of his regiment commander, Zhao Gang motioned to Li Yunlong to turn the information back, where there was specific information on the enemy's tank brigade.

Unlike the First Army, the tanks equipped by the Mongolian army were not Type 95 light tanks that could only bully infantry, but Type 97 medium tanks with stronger firepower and protection.

With 25 mm of armor on the front half of the hull and 20 mm on the lower and rear sides of the car, it was not so easy for the Cicada tank's 37 gun to penetrate it at long distances.

"This time, the soldiers need to bring more 40 fires, and it is really not possible to use transport planes and gliders to install more, and arm the soldiers of the Eighth War Zone."

"Let's also bring the secret weapon that Lao Huang prepared for us, although the stability and reliability of the new family are not high, but we need stronger anti-armor capabilities in this operation."

"Before setting off, the mobile combat company organized another exercise to practice the new tactics developed some time ago. Hey, I really didn't expect it to be used so soon, and it's not fast to grind the gun! ”

Li Yunlong glanced at Zhao Gang with strange eyes, and he thought that the other party was really a little worried. 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 tank can't defeat the Type 97 Zhongtan, they can still avoid the battle with their superiority in mobility and intelligence.

As long as they wait until the 1st Air Division disposes of the enemy's army aviation and armored units, it depends on their own interests whether they want to leave or stay, and no matter how hard the Type 97 Zhongtan is, it will not be able to withstand rockets and aerial bombs.

However, the opinion of his own political commissar still had to be adopted, Li Yunlong got up and said to everyone present:

"Okay, let's break up the meeting."

"The matter of the exercise will be handed over to Lao Xing and Lao Zhao, and I will go to Lao Huang now to see if he still has any stock there."

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

However, it is not unreasonable for Suiyuan's devils to become stronger, after all, Jin Province is gone, and they can't do nothing.

(End of chapter)