Guo Bingxun's voice fell, Yang Zhen nodded slightly and said: "In this attack, we have achieved fruitful results, but at the same time, we have also exposed a lot of problems. But everything must be viewed from both positive and negative perspectives. As far as our army, which is still extremely immature, the sooner these problems are exposed, the more conducive it will be for us to rectify and reform. It is better to squeeze out the pustule earlier than to bury it in the body. ”

"In addition to the fact that there are still too many things lacking in training, there are too many places that are not in place. We also owe a lot of money in terms of firepower and logistical supply. First of all, the number of mortars belonging to the battalion was too small, which caused the troops to fight in battalion formation, and their firepower was quite limited. ”

"The battalion company we are equipped with is a Japanese Type 92 70mm mortar, not to mention the weight of the large, and the firing range is relatively close. This mortar was obsolete even among the Japanese army. The main reason why we have it as battalion company artillery equipment is because of his relatively large number. Isn't there a saying that hunger does not choose food? ”

"This relatively bulky mortar cannot be compared with the range of more than 2,800 meters and the weight of 23 kilograms of the Type 97 81-millimeter mortar we have in stock. The caliber is also relatively small. However, our battalion is only equipped with two guns, because the weight problem affects the mobility of the troops, not to mention, as a support firepower in terms of range and power is still a little weak. "And our configuration has been tested in actual combat, and it is still a little unreasonable. In a situation where most of the mobility still relied on marching on foot, the number of battalion support firepower was too small, and the equipment at the company level was too cumbersome. ”

"The Type 94 90-mm mortar, which is the main force of the regimental artillery, although the range and power are satisfactory, are still too heavy for the infantry in the absence of transportation capacity. However, in the case of insufficient number of 81-mm mortars, they can only be used temporarily. ”

"So on my way back yesterday with the Chief of Staff, we looked at the issue of the configuration of weapons. Under the condition of keeping the firepower distribution at and above the regimental level unchanged, the armament of the battalion and company levels should be mainly adjusted. The first is to keep the current establishment of nine light machine guns, nine grenadiers, and two heavy machine guns in each company unchanged, and to cancel the configuration of companies and mortars. ”

"All the battalion mortars were replaced with Type 97 81 mm mortars, and the number was increased from two to six. Upgraded a battalion mortar platoon to a mortar company. and an additional battalion baggage platoon was added to transport ammunition for its artillery and heavy machine gun batteries. ”

"In addition to the problem of equipment, we have another problem that needs to be solved urgently. That is the problem of the hand grenades in the troops. The grenades that our troops are now equipped with are all Japanese standard 97 grenades, and the power of this kind of grenade is quite good. But because it uses a relatively unique percussion fuse, it takes a long time to master it, and what we lack the most is training. ”

"Because of the unique way this grenade is used, most new fighters have a hard time throwing it. In several small scale blocking battles, because the throwing time was too early, it was picked up by the Japanese army and thrown back, causing a lot of casualties. The grenade is the main suppressive weapon of the infantry, so we have to solve this problem as much as possible. ”

Yang Zhen's readjustment of the armament of the troops was formed in accordance with the establishment of volunteer battalions and companies on the Korean battlefield in later generations, the establishment of the national army's US armament units during the War of Liberation, and the US military divisions that appeared only a few years later in 1943 in accordance with their own characteristics.

Compared with the Volunteer Army at the time when it first entered the DPRK, the establishment of grenadiers and heavy machine guns was mainly increased at the company level, and the establishment of 60-mm mortars was abolished. Because he didn't even have a mortar that was so light that it far surpassed the Japanese grenadiers. And the Japanese army, which was armed with a large number of grenadier canisters, did not have similar equipment. The Japanese mortars were also of seventy mm caliber at the smallest, and they were eliminated. The Type 92 infantry gun was the standard brigade gun of the Japanese army.

In the case that his arsenal, which had just opened, was not capable of producing it, let alone having no ability or place to buy it, Yang Zhen could only produce this kind of weapons and equipment with an excellent consumption ratio on the other side of the ocean, which could be described as the best support firepower at the company level. Only two bulky Type 92 heavy machine guns could be added to each company as a replacement.

Similar to the sixty-mm mortar were a large number of submachine guns that were armed with three armies as a reference. Although they knew the role of submachine guns, because of the small amount of ammunition on hand, except for a small number of guards who were equipped with various senior commanders, the rest of them had been temporarily withdrawn from the equipment sequence before the ammunition problem was resolved.

And when this batch of submachine guns was seized, it was second-hand goods that had been used for many years. After years of high-intensity use, coupled with poor storage, it has almost reached the standard of scrapping. Even if some ammunition is still on hand, most of it has almost lost its usefulness.

It's just that compared with the 60mm mortar, which has no hope at all, the submachine gun, a relatively simple structure and relatively easy to manufacture weapon, is not out of reach for Yang Zhen, who now has an arsenal on hand, and there is still a little bit of hope.

At the battalion level, the number of heavy machine guns was the same as that of the volunteers when they first entered the DPRK, but less than that of the US army and the American armourers of the national army. However, the number of battalion-affiliated mortars is more than that of the best-equipped army of the Volunteer Army when it first entered the DPRK, and the American armor division of the national army that is not equipped with battalion-affiliated artillery at all. As for the regimental establishment, although it is far inferior to the US army, it is far better than the American army and the American armourers of the national army.

Of course, this weapon configuration is under sufficient capacity. However, the actual situation is that under the situation of lack of transportation capacity, the battalion artillery is extremely large because it is carried by manpower. Despite the fact that there were only two mortars, the number of personnel in the establishment reached sixty. Almost twice as much as an infantry platoon. The surplus manpower is dedicated to transporting ammunition. Even then, many times, only one mortar can be guaranteed to fire continuously.

After the battalion mortar was increased to six, although the original company artillery was integrated into the battalion mortar company, the pressure on this supply also increased dramatically. After all, manpower is still no match for pack horses and cars.

Similar to the mortar company, the heavy machine gun company is also intimidating in order to ensure the supply of ammunition. The strength of the support squads of the various machine-gun platoons reached twenty people. Ammunition was specially carried for the platoon's two heavy machine guns. Once more than half of the ammunition is consumed, only half of the heavy machine guns can be guaranteed to be put into battle. Not counting strategic supply, tactical supply alone has become the biggest problem restricting the combat effectiveness of the troops.

As for the problems with some weapons such as grenades, Yang Zhen could only helplessly hope that his newly established arsenal would do his best to copy the 77-style grenades he copied in later generations. The production of grenades is relatively easy compared to bullets, and the arsenal that now has nearly 1,000 of the equipment used to build machinery for Germany is better than the arsenals of the 18th Group Army that was launched in Turkey, right?

After talking about the adjustment of the army's weapon allocation, Yang Zhen changed the topic and returned to the problem that needs to be solved urgently: "Now for us, the most lacking thing is horses. We fought in the mountains, and although the more than 100 cars we captured had drivers, there was no place to use them. ”

"And the horses that fit us are lacking. In addition to the more than 200 horses captured by the chief of staff on the front line of the Fasi River, and the more than 200 horses captured by Liu Changshun during the attack on the Jiasui Railway, we only have more than 700 pack horses on hand. In addition to supporting the use of divisional artillery, the remaining horses can only barely ensure the use of regimental artillery. Very few have been distributed to the battalions. ”

"Mortars and heavy machine guns below the battalion level can only be transported by manpower. Even among the more than 700 horses available, not all of them can be put into use immediately. All the horses captured by Liu Changshun were civilian horses, and if they were to be used as pack horses, they would need to be trained. ”

"In order to ensure sufficient firepower, we even mobilized a large number of infantry to assist in transporting artillery shells. But even so, after the Taiheirakawa knocked out Sasaki to Ichi's command post, the shells we carried were almost exhausted. If it weren't for the capture of more than 100 Japanese artillery shells in the Battle of Taipingchuan, it is difficult to say whether the Battle of Fasihe could have been fought so smoothly. ”

"Our current basic tactical supply capabilities, let alone by the standards of the Japanese army, are far from the same. Even compared with the national army in the Guannai, it is not even as good as the miscellaneous troops. The lack of transport capacity, especially horses, has severely restricted the development and combat effectiveness of the troops. ”

"When the line of Taipingchuan was almost exhausted of artillery shells, I sent a telegram to the troops remaining in the Liangzihe area, asking them to transport the remaining shells to the line of Miaolingzi Mountain. However, due to the lack of transportation capacity, it could only be transported by manpower, and it was not transported until the follow-up battle on the front line of the Fasi River ended. ”

"According to our current firepower configuration, at least each battalion must be equipped with more than 100 pack horses. That is to say, not counting the division and regimental headquarters, that is, at the battalion level, we still have a gap of at least 900 horses. Of course, if we fought on the plains, and more than a hundred cars could be put into service, our horse gap could be reduced to half of this number. ”

"In addition to the somewhat irrational establishment of weapons and the extremely poor tactical supply capability, our operation also exposed many problems such as poor long-distance marching ability, weak battlefield adaptability of grassroots commanders, slow speed of signal troops erecting wires, unskillful selection of layout routes, still very rusty coordination of infantry and artillery, and poor battlefield rescue capabilities."

"But that's not what worries me the most, because it can be solved by training and learning in battle. My greatest concern is that after this battle, our rank-and-file officers and men will see the power of artillery fire and will rely too much on firepower in future operations. At least for now, we can't even a single mortar shell, the simplest parts of various artillery. ”

"Stockpile shells are one shot, one less. After this battle, together with the previous training, we consumed almost a fifth of the shells in stock. More than 2,000 rounds of artillery shells were fired from the mountains alone. Although the artillery was trained, the artillery mastered the actual combat ability at the fastest speed. But it also had a negative impact. That is, it is easy for the troops to become overly dependent on artillery support. ”

"If the troops rely too much on firepower, it will be extremely detrimental to our future operations. In the absence of the production of artillery shells and the fact that we can only rely on captured stockpiles for warfare, we will continue to use mountain artillery in the most important places in addition to mortars. At this point, the political commissar and the chief of staff must do a good job as a soldier. ”

Speaking of this, Yang Zhen looked at Li Yanping, the commander-in-chief with a contemplative face, and said with a smile: "Although this battle has exposed a lot of problems, many problems are even imminent and must be solved immediately. But we also won an unprecedented victory. ”

After that, Yang Zhen turned his head to Guo Bingxun and said, "Chief of Staff, you will report the results of our attack to the commander-in-chief and political commissar." ”

Hearing this, Guo Bingxun opened the notebook in front of him and smiled: "Commander-in-chief, political commissar, this time we have achieved a great victory. It is a complete victory without a little water. In this battle, we won the first battle in the Marble Stone Jar area. The two infantry battalions of the 43rd Wing of the 11th Division of the Japanese Army, which were attacked by the southern route, and the puppet Manchurian military police attached to the operation, were completely annihilated. Killed its commander, Wing Commander Takao Murata of the 43rd Wing. ”

After completing the encirclement and annihilation of the enemy on the front line of Yunshi Lizi, Commander Yang not only left an infantry battalion to cooperate with the directly subordinate engineer battalion to launch a large-scale sabotage attack on the Jiasui Railway, but also personally led the main force to Taipingchuan Village, where the headquarters of the Japanese army was attacking. After the battle, he killed the Japanese commander Lieutenant General Sasaki and eliminated his command in one fell swoop. ”

After defeating the Japanese command organs, Commander Yang led his troops north. On the front line of Miaolingzi Mountain, the 1st Infantry Brigade of the 17th Wing of the 8th Division of the Japanese Army was completely annihilated. Later, the Second Infantry Brigade of the Wing commanded by the 17th Wing Commander Kawada Takeshisa, as well as the Puppet Manchurian Luobei County Forest Police Brigade and the Puppet Manchurian Army, were completely annihilated on the front line of the Fasi River. ”

"In response to the Japanese army's attack on the 24th Wing of the 12th Division, the main force of the Japanese army in the middle of the road, we adopted the tactic of combining mines with cold guns and cold artillery, killing and wounding nearly two infantry squadrons of the Japanese army and a puppet Manchurian military police. In addition to the two infantry squadrons of the Japanese army annihilated by the commander on the front line of the Taiping River, our army completely annihilated five infantry brigades of the Japanese army in this anti-encirclement and suppression operation, and defeated at least two infantry squadrons of the Japanese army. Killed one Japanese lieutenant general commander and two captains of the Dazuo Wing. The group leader was five and a large number of squadron leaders and officers. ”

In addition, one infantry regiment and two other battalions of the puppet Manchu army and two puppet Manchurian forest police brigades were completely annihilated. Defeated one infantry regiment of the puppet Manchu army and one forest police brigade. More than 1,600 puppet Manchu military and police officers were captured. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition were also seized. According to preliminary statistics, rifles alone are enough for us to equip a condensed infantry regiment. ”

Kwok's report is as simple and to the point as his style. Although it is not too detailed, it is enough for the commander-in-chief and Li Yanping to hear it clearly.

After listening to Guo Bingxun's report, the commander-in-chief and Li Yanping glanced at each other, and they both saw the excitement in each other's eyes. According to this number of enemies, in just this battle, nearly two wings of the Japanese army were almost wiped out. Coupled with the puppet Manchurian military and police who cooperated with him in the battle, it can be described as an unprecedented victory.

Reminiscent of last year, almost by the Japanese army's large-scale encirclement and suppression, almost ran out of ammunition and food, and all of them died in the mountains and forests. In the western expedition held in order to find a breakthrough and break the encirclement and suppression of the Japanese army, the Second Route Army almost lost two armies with the strongest combat effectiveness.

Thinking about it now, in continuous combat, the Japanese army alone has wiped out five infantry brigades. Together with the puppet Manchurian military and police, there are nearly 10,000 people. In such a short period of time, how can we achieve great results, how can this not make the two who were forced by the Japanese puppet army last year to almost go to a dead end be excited.

What kind of concept is the five infantry brigades, the commander-in-chief and Li Yanping are very clear. The infantry brigades of these five elite divisions of the Japanese army were enough to defeat a division or even an army of the national army on the battlefield in Guannai. In the northeast, it is enough to fight against any of the three route armies of the United Nations to form a catastrophe.

However, both of them were steady people, and after a brief moment of agitation, the commander-in-chief quickly calmed down. After looking at Yang Zhen, who was not at all proud, he still had a calm face, and the commander-in-chief said in a stern tone: "Heroes are teenagers." As soon as the two of you made a move, you gave me such a big surprise. To be honest, I could barely believe my ears. ”

"What is the concept of five infantry brigades, we all know. The Japanese army's crackdown on us this time can be described as extremely vigorous, but it was this comprehensive sweep that was broken by us, not to mention that the five infantry brigades of its main force plus a large number of puppet Manchu military and police attached to it were also eaten by us in one bite. ”

"Now we have not only broken the Japanese advance, but also killed a Japanese lieutenant general. Such a result can be described as a brilliant beginning for a unit that has just completed its reorganization. ”

"This Sasaki to Ichi, I know, the so-called "Manchurian Public Security Rectification Plan" was proposed by this guy. The so-called merger of households was also made by this guy. It can be said that our Anti-Japanese Federation is in such a predicament now because of this guy. ”

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief Yang killed this evil guy in a battle, and finally gave me a big breath of evil in my heart. It also avenged the blood revenge of the anti-United Nations fighters who were cut off from supplies in the past two years and died because of freezing and starvation. I thank you both for the soldiers who died at the hands of this person. ”

Speaking of this, the commander-in-chief nodded to Li Yanping. After receiving the message from the commander-in-chief, Li Yanping smiled and signaled to Yang Zhen and Guo Bingxun, then stood up and walked out. When he returned, the guards in his hands and the guards behind him each held a small wooden box.

Looking at the wooden box in Li Yanping's hand, the commander-in-chief smiled again: "But you gave us such a big surprise, Yanping and I can't do nothing." In this way, we will also give the two of you two not too much surprise. You open it and see what's in it? ”