Chapter 45 An Unforgettable Troop

Zou Jiyan was a battalion commander of the 107th Division of the 70th Army.On the way of leading his troops to march upwards, he kept encountering all kinds of friendly troops. For a while, the marching road became crowded with vehicles and horses, shoulder to shoulder. Some of these friendly troops have just been damaged on the front line and need to be withdrawn to the rear for repairs. Some, like the 107th Division, are being transferred from one area to another to carry out blocking missions, and some are just transferred from the rear. Team.Most of them belonged to the 30th Group Army, which was organized based on the security team of the Sichuan Provincial Security Department. When it came out of Sichuan to resist the war, it was at the end of the Wuhan Battle, so the troops did not suffer serious losses, and the soldiers were still intact.

Of course, this is only about the soldiers, and nothing else can be mentioned. The friendly troops that Zou Jiyan encountered were not only messy and outdated weapons and equipment, but also most of them had tattered clothing and poor military appearance. Military appearance is not as simple as making superficial articles.Okamura is very good at capturing such details. During the Wuhan battle, he often observed the camps of various troops from indoors. He noticed that the camps of the Taiwan brigade were very chaotic. Wind, frost and rain.On the contrary, the tents used by the soldiers of the Ninth Division were in good condition, and they set up tents for camping as soon as they arrived at the campsite, and the order in the camp was also orderly and quiet.

From this, Okamura concluded that the Ninth Division is an elite force that can be used in the future. As for the Taiwan Brigade, it will be embarrassing to use it. Okamura's vision is sharp, and his judgment can also be applied to any army.Back on the battlefield in northern Jiangxi, the 107th Division encountered a Sichuan infantry regiment head-on during the march. At this time, three Japanese planes flew over the sky. The Sichuan Army immediately exploded after seeing it. The soldiers would not look for the terrain. The ground features are hidden, and they will only run around like a group of headless chickens without order, and there is no officer to command and stop them.

The Japanese machine hopes that you will mess up.After a burst of dive-bombing and low-flying strafing, dozens of officers and soldiers of the Sichuan Army were casualties, and the luggage was also bombed into a mess. It was also an accidental air strike.Zou Jiyan immediately ordered the soldiers to evacuate and hide, and set up modified anti-aircraft machine guns to monitor the air, so the troops did not suffer too much loss.Zou Jiyan's 107th Division belongs to the Hunan Army system. It is itself a newly formed division that lacks actual combat experience, but its military training is obviously much more standardized than that of the Sichuan Army.

The Chinese army has a large number, but its combat quality and combat effectiveness are often not high. In the Chinese army, troops like the Sichuan Army and the Hunan Army, which are slightly better than the Sichuan Army, account for a considerable part. There are also real strong troops.When Zou Jiyan led his troops into a mountain pass between two mountains, he saw a domestic army that he had never seen before.This army is not only uniform in weapons, but also majestic in military appearance. The officers and soldiers are full of energy and high in fighting spirit. The difference from the Sichuan army is extremely obvious.

Zou Jiyan was somewhat complacent when compared with the Sichuan Army, but now he has to admit that the Hunan Army may be slightly better than the Sichuan Army, but it is far inferior to the army in front of him. This unforgettable force is the Seventy-Fourth Army.Now its strategic role in the War of Resistance is different, and the matter has to start with a selection by the Military Commission not long ago. At the beginning of 1941, the Military Commission decided to set up two attacking armies (main forces) in the northwest and southwest regions respectively, as mobile forces on both sides of the river.One of the differences between the attacking army and the ordinary army is that the establishment of the army headquarters has been significantly expanded. The troops directly under the army include artillery, engineering, and logistics regiments, as well as semi-mechanized search battalions, anti-aircraft artillery battalions, tank defense artillery battalions, and communication battalions. , Secret service battalion (that is, guard battalion), the number of officers and soldiers is more than a division.In combat, these special forces can be assigned to each division to enhance the infantry's firepower and maneuverability.

In the northwest region, the first and second armies were changed to attacking armies. In the southwest region, it was decided to be the fifth army stationed in Guangxi, which was the earliest mechanized army in China. No one had anything to say.Around the last remaining spot, the competition is quite fierce in all aspects, and everyone is trying to get it. Nominated by the Ministry of Military Command, four armies in the southwest region submitted applications for approval, among which the Eighteenth Army and the Seventy-fourth Army were evenly matched.The 18th Army, with the 11th Division as the basic unit, was built by Chen Cheng alone. It has made many achievements from the civil war to the Anti-Japanese War and has a high reputation.The Seventy-Fourth Army was only established in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, but its record has been impressive since its establishment. As its military song sang: "We have defended Luodian, defended the capital, rushed to help Xu Hai, and fought against Lanfeng! Nanxun line, Show your loyalty, Zhang Gushan, blood stained red!" Such a heroic unit that dares to fight and fight is also a strong candidate for the attacking army.

The Military Commission was unable to make up its mind after reviewing and reviewing, so it had to submit it to Chiang Kai-shek for a decision.After careful consideration, Chiang Kai-shek voted for the Seventy-Fourth Army. Being selected into the attacking army can not only expand the strength of the army, but more importantly, it also means a kind of supreme honor, which is the praise and affirmation of the army's past record and overall quality.When the good news came, the whole army of the 74th Army was jubilant, and the morale was unprecedentedly high. When elected, the Seventy-Fourth Army was stationed in Shanggao and Gao'an areas, under the command of Luo Zhuoying.After being changed to an attacking army, according to regulations, they no longer serve as fixed defensive tasks on the front line, but should retreat and become an attacking army.

The Seventy-Fourth Army first handed over defensive tasks to friendly troops for the first phase of training.The content of the training is mainly to check the personnel and equipment, and to explain the performance and use of the replacement weapons. A week later, the first period of training was over, and the whole army held a review.At this time, the situation on the front line suddenly tightened. Luo Zhuoying issued an order to participate in the battle according to the deployment of "retreat decisive battle" and listed it as the core of the second-line corps.