Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

The main reason why the comrades of the advisory group wore French military uniforms in this aid to Vietnam was to conceal their identities.

There was no way. At the current time, any military action related to the border area would make the book become a frightened bird. This is the dominance and oppression of the strongest army in Asia.

If the enemy found that the Eighth Route Army suddenly appeared in the Indochina Peninsula, the local Japanese garrison troops would definitely strengthen their security or even launch a large-scale sweep, which would eventually make the soldiers' actions more difficult.

As for why they didn't wear the uniforms of the Allies?

Everyone wanted to wear them, and wanted to be more down-to-earth. But the Allies themselves have not yet unified their uniforms, which makes it difficult for the logistics department.

Hearing the complaints of his old comrades, Ding Wei couldn't help laughing out loud. However, considering that the journalists generally have a high level of education, some of them may understand Chinese, so he quickly adjusted his expression and reminded:

"Pay attention, don't forget our discipline. Before leaving, the deputy commander and the deputy chief of staff specifically instructed that breast-feeding is prohibited throughout this operation."

"By the way, give me your new gun later, and remember to pull out the magazine in advance."

"If we don't find something for these journalists to do, who knows when they will take pictures. We have to get off the plane and get to work quickly, and don't let trivial matters delay the main business."

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

The new weapon mentioned by Lao Ding is the semi-automatic rifle that even the French themselves have rarely used: Mas-40.

This thing is a killer weapon at the same level as the 11 Garand.

Look at the whole world.

It can be equipped with a bayonet, can launch rifle grenades, and is also equipped with an optical sight. Except for its slightly heavy weight, it has almost no disadvantages, otherwise the French would not have allowed it to serve until the Cold War.

If Shunliu were to choose now, he would definitely choose the Mas-40 produced by his own arsenal, rather than Achou's Johnson M1941 semi-automatic rifle.

After discussing the countermeasures, Cheng Shifa was the first to get off the plane.

Facing the French who surrounded him, he greeted them one by one with a smile, showing the style of a commander.

In order to get away as soon as possible, Ding Wei, who was one step behind, first made a few poses, and then handed over the semi-automatic rifle in his hand without saying a word.

As expected, seeing the cutting-edge infantry equipment that their own troops had never mass-produced, the reporters of the Algerian French African News Agency were all ecstatic.

If it weren't for the lack of conditions on the scene, they would have to write a few big headlines on the spot.

After squeezing out of the crowd, Cheng and Ding finally met the real person of this trip. Seeing the allies who came from afar to support him, Lao Hu said excitedly:

"A noble man lies in the rocky mountains, and a beautiful woman comes in the dense forest!"

"Brother Cheng, Brother Ding, you have worked hard along the way. On behalf of all members of the Viet Minh, I welcome you to Cao Bang for guidance."

"Let's go, let's get started. I have prepared a welcoming banquet for the two regiment leaders at the headquarters. Don't worry about other comrades, Lao Wu will stay at the field airport to take charge of the subsequent pick-up work."

After these words came out, the expressions of Cheng Xiazi and Ding Wei were as wonderful as they could be, and they didn't even know how to respond for a while.

Although before departure, their own brigade commander had given them a shot in advance on the issue of address, asking them not to take it to heart and just talk about their own things. But being called brother by an old comrade in his fifties was really awkward.

But to be honest, his attitude was indeed impeccable.

For liberation and victory, even if it was humble, it was worthy of respect.

After a short silence, Cheng Xiazi finally took action first. He waved his hand and told Lao Hu not to be polite and just call each other comrades.

"Then let's go and try to get to the Viet Minh headquarters before dark."

"If possible, I hope to visit the front-line troops today. Only by understanding the situation early can we formulate a combat plan early. Time is tight and the task is heavy, so we must seize every minute and every second."

"Okay, everything is up to you two."

······

Late that night, the temporary dormitory of the advisory group.

In a relatively simple thatched house, Ding Wei recorded what he saw and heard in a day in a notebook by candlelight. Judging from his frowning brows, his mood at this time can definitely be described as complicated.

In theory, serious people don't write diaries.

However, the border area requires the person in charge to report the progress of work to the headquarters every three days. In desperation, Lao Ding had to use a bald experience card.

"Today is the first day we enter the Indochina Peninsula.

The weather is hot, the mountains are high and the roads are narrow. The mud is slippery and difficult to walk on. We can't ride horses even if we have them. We have paid a little price for internationalism.

The Viet Minh authorities treated us very well. Three women brought two carts of fruits and sugars to make coffee and lemon tea for us. We declined several times, saying that it was instructions from the top, which was disturbing."

The welcoming banquet arranged by Lao Hu was in a simple hut in a big mountain valley.

The top leaders of the advisory group who learned of the news did not have any dissatisfaction, and everyone was even prepared for hard struggle on the road.

It's not like we haven't lived through hard times before.

But who would have thought that there is a world under the barren appearance.

When the comrades saw the sumptuous banquet of roast suckling pig, milk and fruit, they all felt a sense of absurdity in their hearts. Is this ideology really okay?

But on someone else's territory, Cheng and Ding couldn't say much.

The two could only ask the comrades to reduce the burden on the local people as much as possible and maintain the fine style passed down since the Red Army period.

Of course, disturbing things must be recorded.

After Director Xiao and his team arrived, they had to give the Viet Minh cadres a few serious lessons to get rid of the root of hedonism as much as possible.

Just as Ding Wei was writing down his suggestions and opinions, Cheng Xiazi, who had been busy all day, finally returned to the dormitory.

After entering the room, he took off his military uniform first, and then drank half a tank of water in one breath.

"Hey, although I have long expected that it will be difficult to be a military adviser. But the problems of the local front-line troops are too big."

"To put it bluntly, if their 304, 308, and 312 main divisions collided head-on with the 772 regiment on the plain terrain. I am confident that within two days, we can fight a gorgeous annihilation war with gorgeous data."

"Outrageous, really outrageous. They are all military advisers, but why are their situations so different?"

Seeing that his old comrade was full of anger, Ding Wei hurriedly took a basket of fruit from the table and signaled him to eat something to slow down.

As an old comrade who has climbed snow-capped mountains and walked through grasslands, he naturally knows how difficult it is to advance from a guerrilla to a regular army.

This is not just a matter of combat experience. Whether bad habits can be completely changed and the regularization of ideas and management is the top priority.

After eating two pieces of pineapple, Cheng Shifa's mood was obviously relieved. He picked up a diary and a pen from the table, and analyzed while recording:

"The only advantage of the three main divisions of the allies at this stage is their high morale. After getting a batch of French and Japanese equipment, they can go to the battlefield without mobilization."

"But morale is the key to success and failure. The Viet Minh, who has been poor for a long time and suddenly became rich, has been dazzled by the equipment."

"When I inspected the 308th Division today, their middle and high-level commanders actually asked me when we could attack the city. Isn't this nonsense? My surname is Cheng, not Wang!"

After a brief contact and conversation, Cheng Xiazi found that the cadres of the allies rarely talked about how to erode the vitality of the Japanese and Vichy forces, but wanted to eat a fat man in one bite.

This kind of behavior, which was both addictive and addictive, once made his blood pressure soar.

As expected, the only lesson that mankind has learned from history is that mankind has not learned any lessons from history. Wanting to learn from the Russians at the beginning, isn't that just courting death?

Hearing this, Ding Wei patted his old comrade on the shoulder. This kind of "work injury" caused by anger is really infuriating.

In fact, he didn't figure it out. Just based on the grassroots soldiers whose cultural level seemed to have been burned and buried, why did the commander of the 308th Division think he could recapture the city where the Japanese division was stationed.

Compared with the vast military blind spots of these cadres, the entire Soviet Union can be regarded as a narrow region.

After his comrades finished recording the problems encountered today, Lao Ding rubbed his stubble and suggested:

"Directly attacking a large city is to die."

"The deputy commander said that our advisory group should be a good staff and share more experience and lessons with our allies. Leave this matter to me. I will take Brother Wen to a meeting with the cadres tomorrow."

"But as staff, we brothers have to think of a way to find a more suitable enemy for the Viet Minh."

As soon as these words came out, Cheng Xiazi immediately took out a military map from his shirt pocket, which clearly marked the distribution of enemies in the entire northern region.

Among all the high-threat targets, the most challenging one is naturally the Japanese Army.

"Come, take a look. The biggest enemy in the entire Indochina Peninsula is the 21st Division of the Japanese Army. This unit was established in Henan Province four years ago. It is a three-command guard division that is not in the mainstream."

"This group of devils is, in a sense, an old rival of our 129th Division. They participated in the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain that year, but they escaped by luck because they withdrew too quickly."

"Although the 21st Division's troops are scattered in three provinces, the devils' mobility is still good. It is best not to use them."

In the first half of this year, Lao Hu and Wen Ge did not just wait for assistance. Before the advisory group arrived in Indochina, they worked with the French insiders to roughly understand the enemy's troop distribution and organization.

The 21st Division just mentioned is one of the achievements of the two.

The main force of this group of devils entrenched in the coastal areas is the 82nd and 83rd Infantry Regiments. In addition, the enemy also has two artillery battalions to provide fire support.

To be honest, if the above-mentioned 8,000 devils were placed in North China, Cheng Xiazi would have full confidence in killing them with the 772nd Regiment alone.

But if it was the Viet Minh, without more than three times the number of troops, it would be hard to say who would win or lose.

After eliminating a wrong option, the two turned their attention to the Vichy French troops on the inland border of Indochina. Looking at the sparse deployment of the other side, Ding Wei said with some difficulty:

"Except for the part that secretly turned to us, the French can use less than 35,000 troops, a total of 27 infantry battalions."

"The actual combat effectiveness of these people, to put it bluntly, is not as good as the local troops of the poor, and it is indeed a good choice to use them for training."

"However, the other side is all fence-sitters that can be won over. Even if the foreign legion is weak, it is better than the Viet Minh 3rd Division, which has little experience in large-scale battles. Maybe they can become a good filling-in force in the future."

At this point, the thinking has reached a deadlock.

There is no opponent. We can't let Brother Wen take three divisions to take a detour to the expedition to Britain. We are still in the Allied camp.

Just when the two were at a loss, Cheng Shifa accidentally lost his grip on the pencil and let it fall onto the military map.

Sometimes, fate comes so suddenly. Looking at the area pointed by the pen tip, the two brothers who were originally frowning immediately became energetic.

"Oh, how could I forget it. Let's do "Italy". I will draft a telegram now and let the border area make the final decision."

"As long as War Fox and Army Morale Wizard approve it, I will tell Lao Hu, Brother Wen and several commanders about this proposal at the meeting tomorrow."

"This opponent is moderately soft and hard, and it is also a member of the Axis Powers, and it is also a must-pass route on the new route! Perfect, too perfect!"

The Italy mentioned by Cheng and Ding must not be talking about Mo Guangtou. It is far away in the Mediterranean and has nothing to do with it.

The whetstone they chose for the Viet Minh was Siam, a vassal state that called itself the Little Italy of Asia. The country declared war on Dai Ying and Ah Chou in January 1942 and was a serious member of the Axis.

As the little overlord of Southeast Asia, the Siamese Army has about 60,000 troops, including 48 infantry battalions, 2 cavalry battalions, 1 artillery battalion and 1 armored regiment.

This level of troops is definitely a powerful force in the entire Indochina Peninsula.

With infantry, cavalry, tanks and armored vehicles, air force and even navy, it is a suitable training target no matter how you look at it.

Hearing the proposal of his old comrade, Ding Wei patted his thigh excitedly.

"Sure, you are really smart today. Siam won the Franco-Thai War two years ago and snatched a lot of disputed territory from Vichy."

"If we lead the Viet Minh to break through the opponent's defense line, I am afraid Cambodia and Laos will also come to surrender with troops."

"By then, we will eat away the Japanese 21st Division, and the wavering Vichy will definitely raise the white flag. By then, we will integrate the entire Indochina Peninsula, and we may be able to pull up a group of troops with no less than 100,000 troops to fill the line." (End of this chapter)