Rise From Eight Hundred

Minister He of the Military and Political Department was experienced enough to know that even if the Four-Line Regiment accepted the military order to set off from southeastern Shanxi to the Fifth War Zone, it would take a long time, so the deadline for the Four-Line Regiment to arrive at the Fifth War Zone was before the Lunar New Year of 1941.

From the beginning of September when Tang Dao returned to the Four-Line Regiment’s station and announced the transfer order to the end of January 1941, the time reserved for the Four-Line Regiment was nearly four and a half months, which seemed to be very generous.

But the Four-Line Regiment at this time was not the small infantry regiment of only 2,000 people that had previously marched north from Xuzhou. At that time, the Four-Line Regiment had nothing but people. Everyone carried supplies and strode forward.

The current Four-Line Regiment not only has a large number of soldiers, but also has a full range of arms. If you want to march more than 2,000 miles in this wartime, the details that need to be considered are more than ten times more than before.

Although the battalion and company commanders of the Four-Line Regiment all had their own personalities, they were deeply influenced by Tang's work attitude. Details determine success or failure. Even a seemingly fierce figure like Cai Dadao, after spending nearly a week to arrange all the personnel of the Fourth Battalion of nearly 900 people, began to arrange long-distance marches for the troops, and in less than a month, they conducted two nearly 100-kilometer long-distance marches with all supplies.

One of them was even seen by the eyes and ears of the Japanese troops deployed in the mountains of the 108th Division. The nearly 1,000 fully armed troops, with 150 pack horses, and a single-person three-wheeled cart full of weapons and ammunition, and even 3 large-caliber artillery pulled by pack horses, the whole team stretched for more than 5 miles in the depths of the Taihang Mountains.

When the news reached Changzhi, the major general brigade commander of the 108th Division stationed in southeastern Shanxi was almost scared to death.

Several counties along the Handan-Changzhi Highway immediately issued the highest level of alert. All county gates were closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave. The number of patrol troops doubled compared to usual.

Who knew that this was just to scare themselves? After the long-distance training, the 4th Battalion camped in the wild for two nights and returned to the Dakouzidong Town. In three days, the 4th Battalion marched nearly 170 miles at full capacity, and the daily marching speed could reach 60 miles.

This basically meets Tang Dao's requirement for the whole regiment to march 50 miles a day!

The headquarters of the Four-Line Regiment has been doing various daily work in the regiment these days, and the most important task is to find a route that is most suitable for the whole regiment to march.

The whole regiment wants to go out of Taihang Mountain to Central China. There are three routes to choose from. One is to go east from Taihang to Zhengcheng, and then go straight to the Fifth War Zone. This route is the shortest.

However, although Zhengcheng and most of Henan Province are still in the hands of the Chinese war zone, the area from Taihang Mountain to the Yellow River outside Zhengcheng is already considered a Japanese war zone. If you want to pass through there, you will inevitably have to fight hard with the Japanese army, and even need to fight your way through.

If you don't carry a lot of supplies, and only the whole regiment passes, Tang Dao will definitely choose this road.

What is the purpose of the Four-Line Regiment going out of Taihang? Isn't it to fight the devils! Since it is to fight the devils, it doesn't matter whether it is early or late. Tang Dao and the Four-Line Regiment don't mind taking some devil heads as a gift to Commander Li on the way to report to the war zone.

But obviously, the Four-Line Regiment is destined to march heavily this time. Not only are there tanks and heavy artillery, such as the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, which weighs up to 9 tons. If it is not for the wheeled base, there is no packhorse to drag it. Fortunately, there are jeeps from the guard company and TKS tanks from the tank company to help drag it. Otherwise, no matter how excellent the performance of this gun is, Cheng Tieshou's anti-aircraft battalion will choose to give up.

But even so, the anti-aircraft battalion only carried 16 guns this time, which is the maximum capacity of the current mechanized towing of the Four-Line Regiment. The most equipped in the anti-aircraft battalion are the Suloton twin-mounted 20mm machine guns and quadruple-mounted 7mm heavy machine guns.

24 twin-mounted machine guns and 48 quadruple-mounted 7mm heavy machine guns are enough to weave a dense firepower network at an altitude of 2,500 meters above the Four-Line Regiment position.

In addition to these heavy equipment, the Four-Line Regiment has to carry more various supplies this time. Food and drink are okay. As long as you have money, you can buy them. If you are not good enough, you can go to the Japanese to rob.

That is the means by which the Four-Line Regiment started. Even if they are now rich and look down on the Japanese, the gene of "robbing the devil's canned food and cigarettes" has been engraved in the bones of the veterans of the Four-Line Regiment. The new recruits have even heard the veterans' bragging and their ears are calloused. They have been waiting for the day to try it themselves.

The most brought are ammunition supplies and medicines!

The main weapons and equipment used by the Four-Line Regiment were all Germanic. The Fifth War Zone had never seen new machine guns like MG42, let alone used them. Forget about expecting to replenish ammunition from the war zone.

For this reason, when Tang Dao left the Military and Political Department, he specifically asked Minister He for a license to help the Four-Line Regiment transport special supplies such as ammunition and medicines with the power of the civilian merchant group.

Minister He, who knew that Tang Dao and Laura had a special relationship, approved the note very readily. In order to prevent some people from having bad intentions, Tang Dao found a foreign girl and established a transportation company in the name of Rockefeller Company.

Boss Qian's younger brother served as the manager of the company, and purchased more than 300 carts and more than 1,000 pack horses. Laura also promised that when the Chinese government began to order jeeps, it would also purchase 100 jeeps with rear compartments to transport them domestically.

The armed guards were naturally recruited from the disabled retired veterans of the Four-Line Regiment or the 80th Army Group, and the number of personnel would not be less than 600.

With the license and pass issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs, plus the background of Rockefeller Company and the reputation of the Four Lines Group, even if the four major families want to make a move, they will probably have to weigh the consequences.

But that is a matter for the future. With Tang Dao's caution, he will never hand over the lives of 5,600 people in the group to others.

This time, the special caliber bullets for various infantry and machine guns alone are as high as 1.5 million rounds.

For example, for semi-automatic rifles, Tang Dao's requirement for the baggage battalion is that in addition to the ones issued to each battalion company, the logistics must be transported at the standard of 300 rounds per gun; submachine guns are 500 rounds, MG42 machine guns are 4,000 rounds per gun, and machine guns are 400 rounds.

In addition, the ammunition required for various artillery pieces equipped by the four-line regiment, at least 20 days of food for more than 5,000 people, fodder and fodder for thousands of pack horses and war horses, and fuel for tanks and jeeps, etc., the supplies are several times more than the equipment of an entire infantry regiment that the four-line regiment was responsible for transporting.

Although Tang Dao ordered each battalion and company to increase the weight of individual soldiers by 30% on the original basis, even the medical personnel of the special service battalion medical brigade marching with the regiment headquarters carried a large backpack of more than 30 kilograms. Tang Dao, the commander of the regiment, carried a large backpack of more than 30 kilograms. The heavy transportation task that the baggage battalion needed to undertake still made Zhuang Shisan, an extremely experienced logistics chief, turn gray in less than a week.

After thinking it over and over again, Tang Dao and several chief officers could only give up this seemingly shortest route.

The second route is to cross the Yellow River from Zhongtiao Mountain, pass through Shaanxi Province and cross the Qinling Mountains from Yunxi to Xiangyang. The entire journey will never exceed 800 kilometers, and it can directly reach the Fifth War Zone Headquarters located in Xianrendu Town.

The Yellow River is easier to cross. Winter is the dry season. The Tenth War Zone can also prepare a certain number of ships. It takes a few days and nights to transport the entire infantry regiment.

But the Qinling Mountains are difficult to cross!

The Qinling Mountains, starting from Kunlun in the west, passing through Longnan and southern Shaanxi in the middle, and ending at the Dabie Mountains in Hubei, Henan and Anhui in the east, are known as the north-south dividing line of China. In winter, the Qinling Mountains block the cold wave from entering the south; in summer, it blocks the humid sea breeze from entering the north. It is known as the dragon vein of China!

The mighty Qinling Mountains are about 1,600 kilometers long from east to west and more than 100 kilometers wide from north to south. The average altitude is about 2,000 meters. The highest peak, Taibai Peak, is 3,771 meters high and is the highest peak in eastern China.

In such mountains, not to mention that there are no roads in many places, even if there are roads, the thought of carrying supplies and heavy equipment across more than 100 kilometers in such mountains and ridges makes even a tenacious soldier like Tang Dao feel scalp numb.

In the past, the 80th Army abandoned precious heavy machine guns and artillery under the snow-capped mountains. It was not a prodigal son, but if it was not abandoned, people and artillery would become the enemy's spoils of war.

This idea almost only flashed through the minds of the chief officers of the Four-Line Regiment, and was quickly rejected.

Then there is only one way left, crossing the Yellow River and turning to the southwest through Shaanxi Province, from Hanzhong to northern Sichuan to the Chengdu Plain, then to the mountain city, and then down the Yangtze River to Zigui and Yiling to enter the battlefield.

This road is a big arc, the entire marching distance is more than 2,300 kilometers, and when the main force of the regiment marches in Shaanxi Province, northern Sichuan and central Sichuan, it is inevitable that it will be discovered by spies and spies developed by the Japanese army, and the confidentiality is not high.

More importantly, all the strength of the Four-line Regiment will be exposed to that person, and there will be no secrets.

In the first half of the year, during the battle of Zishan, the Four-line Regiment suddenly used 150 heavy artillery, which shocked that person so much that he even let Tang Dao abandon his troops and go to Shancheng to report on his work. Now he sees that the Four-line Regiment not only has mountain artillery and large-caliber mortars, but also has more than 20 tanks. Even if they are small tanks that many people look down on, they are mechanized, okay? Wouldn’t that person’s eyes pop out?

You know, that person has spent all his financial resources to build an armored division, and it is the fifth armored division in the world, under the high standard of the direct command of the Ministry of Military Affairs, and it is only equipped with 82 T-26 tanks.

Good guy, you have 28 tanks in an infantry regiment. What do you think of that person who spent a lot of money to have such a mechanized force?

With that person's mind, he would not be able to sleep if he did not hold such a well-equipped army in his own hands. If things go wrong, the Four-Line Regiment that entered the outer periphery of the mountain city would not be able to go to the battlefield, and might even be dismembered by that person. This is the unanimous opinion of Ye Chenghuan, Lei Xiong, Shangguan Yun and others.

Compared with this seemingly safer route, several commanders are even willing to choose the first route. The Four-Line Regiment has never been afraid of frontal artillery fire, and they just fight their way out. However, the cold arrows from behind are what they are unwilling to face and cannot defend.

"I still prefer the third route!" Tang Dao looked at the map and pondered for a long time before making this puzzling choice.

They all knew that Tang Tuanzuo disdained that person's command ability and character, and they also knew that Tang Dao would not leave his fate to others.

This whole regiment drove tanks and pulled artillery into Sichuan in such a grand manner, which could not be concealed from the Japanese or that person's intelligence system.

“Yes, everyone knows that our Four-Line Regiment is an elite division that has never been defeated in the battles against the Japanese invaders. But perhaps only you here know that the battle record of our Four-Line Regiment today is not only due to our excellent weapons, which only accounts for 30% at most. The other 70% is due to the courage of all officers and soldiers of our regiment to face death with indifference.” Tang Dao looked at everyone with a burning gaze and pointed in the direction of the Martyrs’ Cemetery.

"All the achievements of our regiment come from the thousands of brothers lying there. If it weren't for their succession, how could our regiment have such a brilliant record!

Do you know how many monuments have been erected since our regiment entered the battlefield in North China, or since the cemetery was built?"

Several officers including Ye Chenghuan were slightly stunned!

The Martyrs Cemetery is not under the jurisdiction of the Four-Line Regiment Headquarters, but has established an independent cemetery management department, which is composed of disabled soldiers. As the Four-Line Regiment continues to fight, the Martyrs Cemetery will erect new monuments every once in a while. The martyrs' burial ceremony is basically attended by the head of the regiment headquarters or the direct battalion-level officers stationed in the area. Everyone present has attended at least ten times, but it is difficult to tell the exact number for a while.

"4632!" Tang Dao's eyes are deep.

"That is the vast majority of officers and soldiers who died on the battlefield since our regiment was expanded into a regiment in Xuzhou, as well as a small number of comrades who died in Songjiang and Guangde. Some officers and soldiers could not transport their remains back for special reasons and could only be buried on the spot. If the number of people who died in the battlefields of various places in the predecessor of our regiment, the Four-line Camp, is added up, the number will exceed 6,000!"

The number mentioned by Tang Dao made all the officers present at the meeting look solemn!

The number of deaths in battle exceeded 6,000. If the wounded are included, the number will definitely exceed 20,000. Although the span is more than 3 years, it is still a shocking number.

For soldiers like Lei Xiong and Leng Feng who followed Tang Dao to fight out of the siege from the Four-line Warehouse, their eyes were even more sad. They have experienced all the battles from the Four-line Camp to the Four-line Regiment. Those familiar old faces are getting fewer and fewer.

Not to mention the more than 100 remnants of the Four-line Warehouse, even the Four-line Camp with a thousand people reorganized in Songjiang, they can still call out the names of soldiers, not many.

Just as Tang Dao said, the glory of the Four Lines Group was not brought by sophisticated equipment, but by blood and sacrifice!

"You all don't know the number completely, but that person must know it!" Tang Dao cast his eyes on everyone again.

"Although that man has many faults, you all must not forget that he is a prominent figure in the current Chinese political arena. It is under his leadership that China still persisted in the face of a losing battle and did not surrender. For this reason alone, his political wisdom is a hundred times stronger than that of Wang Ni, who was full of vigor and vitality in his youth but betrayed his ideals in his middle age!

Others may be shocked by the excellent equipment of our regiment, but he knows that the reason why our regiment is what it is today is because of our fighting spirit. If he attacks our regiment out of fear, it will become an indelible stain in his political career in the future.

Of course, he may not care about these, but our regiment is still not a soft persimmon that can be easily squeezed. Our regiment has fought side by side with friendly forces over the years, and now they are also facing the Japanese army on various important defense lines. If anyone wants to attack, he must also consider the reaction of the frontline soldiers."

Hearing this, everyone knew the real reason why Tang Dao dared to lead his troops into Sichuan.

Looking back at the battlefields of the past, Ye Chenghuan was simply in awe. It turned out that Tang Dao had used these years to fight with friendly forces and quietly developed a network of relationships that made that person dare not easily take action.

For example, the 38th Army under the 5th Army, which was located on the Zhongtiao Mountain front line, and the 67th Army of the 5th War Zone, the 43rd Army of the 9th War Zone, which were closest to the Four-Line Group, were also slightly farther away, including the 4th Army and the 28th Division of the 10th War Zone. Even though General Zhang of the 33rd Army had died on the battlefield, several of his generals also admired Tang Dao. There was also the commander of the security brigade directly under the 9th War Zone Command, who was also Tang Dao's old superior.

Not to mention that Tang Dao, who was from Sichuan, had the entire Sichuan Army system to support him.

Now that I think about it, perhaps Tang Dao had long anticipated that there would be such a day and began to prepare in advance. This wisdom beyond the battlefield is truly supreme.

"Of course, I just said so many reasons, but there is only one real reason why I dare to march from there. If Yiling is lost, the east gate of the mountain city will be gone, which is equivalent to the Japanese putting a knife on his neck. No matter how big the matter is, we have to put it aside for the time being and pull out the thorn of the Japanese first." Tang Dao said with a serious look.

Yiling once fell in the time and space, and a miracle comparable to the "Dunkirk" evacuation was born - the "Yiling Great Evacuation". In just 40 days, 130,000 tons of materials and more than 30,000 personnel were collectively evacuated to the mountain city, saving the lifeline of the national industry and a large number of talents.

This time and space has not appeared for some reason, but Tang Dao has a hunch that something will happen.

This also makes Tang Dao sure that the Military and Political Department has enough capacity to transport the entire Four-Line Regiment to the war zone through the Yangtze River by ship.

The marching route was finally determined, and the report to the war zone was approved, which can be regarded as solving the biggest problem. The rest is to train the whole regiment, raise materials, and deceive the Japanese army's tactics.

The marching column of a battalion alone was more than 5 miles, not to mention the entire 4th Regiment, which was more than 10 kilometers. Moreover, there was a Japanese-occupied area before entering Zhongtiao Mountain. If the Japanese found out and bombed it, it would be "dying before achieving success, which makes heroes shed tears".

If they wanted to leave, it was not as simple as just packing their bags and marching.

Before the departure date secretly set by the 4th Regiment Headquarters, the 4th Regiment and allied forces began to take the initiative to attack. In nearly one and a half months, the attacking forces in Zhongtiao Mountain and southeastern Shanxi reached 60,000.

The Japanese army was caught off guard by the Chinese army. After continuous exchanges of fire, the Japanese division that was hit hardest on the Zhongtiaoshan front, which did not understand the Chinese tactical intentions, voluntarily gave up the occupied town and retreated to Yuncheng.

Intelligence showed that the 40,000 troops of the Fifth Army, which was not far away, were already on standby.

What the Japanese did not know was that in southeastern Shanxi, 200 kilometers away, there was really a 5,600-man army that had already entered the full standby mode! ()

Warm Tips: Share this website s??????.??? to Facebook. Please move your fingers so that we can continue to operate.