Chapter 348: Is this armored regiment a gift for me?

"Commander, are you going to the Ninth War Zone?" Zhao He wandered outside the command center for a long time with a hesitant look on his face. Finally, he couldn't help it, so he walked in and asked Meng Fanle.

"I saw you coming from a distance, but you didn't come in. What are you doing? Is it just to confirm this matter?" Meng Fan asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Hearing this, Zhao He hesitated for a moment, but still said it with gritted teeth.

"Can you take me with you?"

"bring you?"

Now it was Meng Fan's turn to be confused. What did this mean?
I'm not going to fight, I'm just going to the Ninth War Zone to act as a liaison.

Didn't you see that I only had a few staff officers with me? And a battalion of guards, that's all.

"I'm not going to fight, why are you following me? Besides, there are still many Japanese troops around Yangcheng that need to be cleared out. These are enough to keep you busy." Meng Fanle shook his head and said.

Although Yangcheng was taken, there were still two divisions around it.

Although it was only a third-line division and its combat effectiveness was not very good, the more than 20,000 Japanese troops still posed a considerable threat.

Once the Japanese army arrives with reinforcements from the sea, these two divisions will instantly become the vanguard.

So this hazard must be addressed.

Who knew that Zhao He just shook his head and said.

"Sir, you know that there are many waterways near Yangcheng, so the armored troops can't play their role at all. It's useless to stay here. Why don't you take me to Changsha to see the world? Didn't the Japanese send the Kwantung Army? They must have tanks too. It's just right for our armored regiment to fight the Japanese and see who is more powerful."

Hearing this, Meng Fanle instantly understood what this guy was planning.

This is wanting to fight.

But what he said was not wrong. The south is densely covered with water networks and is indeed not suitable for the march of armored troops. Moreover, the roads are muddy. As long as it rains, all kinds of mud will appear, which will greatly affect the speed of the armored troops.

He definitely would not agree to such a big thing as taking an armored regiment to Changsha without permission.

"I don't have the authority to agree to let your armored regiment go to Changsha, but this must be agreed by the commander-in-chief." Meng Fanle shook his head and said.

He would definitely not make such a mistake on a matter of principle and directly stated that he would never agree to it.

As expected, Zhao He was stunned when he heard this, then he thought about it and felt that this was indeed not a good idea.

This is a big taboo for a general.

Seeing Zhao He come back to his senses, Meng Fanle pondered for a while and then said.

"How about this, I will report your request to the commander and see what he means. If he agrees, then you can come with me. If he disagrees, then you just stay here."

"Yes, sir." Zhao He did not expect such a sudden turn of events and responded quickly.

Soon, Cun Yunsheng received a telegram from Meng Fanle, which specifically emphasized that Zhao He was eager to fight and wanted to go to Changsha to meet the Japanese army.

"This Zhao He is only thinking about fighting." Lin Yi didn't think too much about it, but joked.

"Sir, do you agree with his request?"

"I agree. Why not? The enthusiasm for war is high, which is a good thing. Besides, we can take the Guangdong-Hankou Railway and reach Changsha City directly." Cun Yunsheng said with a smile.

"And if necessary, we can also sell this armored regiment to the Ninth War Zone."

"Can they afford it?" Lin Yi was not at all surprised that Cun Yunsheng would say such a thing.

"Why can't we afford some second-hand goods? And what Zhao He said is right. In this generation of Nanyang, the role of tanks is indeed average, not as good as infantry fighting vehicles. The most important things here are airplanes and warships. Whoever owns this owns it." Cun Yunsheng said, stretching out his finger.

"Tanks are useless, but that doesn't mean we don't need them. We already have enough tanks at the moment."

"But the Ninth Theater is different. With these tanks, we will be able to handle the five divisions of the Kwantung Army with ease. At least we won't feel too frustrated."

Hearing this, Lin Yi couldn't help but nodded, thinking it made sense.

If the Ninth War Zone cannot hold out, then the five divisions of the Kwantung Army will definitely head straight for Guangzhou, or even the Fourth War Zone. At that time, it is possible that the Japanese army will directly attack Hanoi.

With more than 100,000 elite Japanese troops, Cun Yunsheng really couldn't guarantee that he could hold out.

Therefore, necessary support is still necessary.

"Okay, call Fanla back and tell him that you agree to let Zhao He take the armored regiment to Changsha. Remember one thing, you must win and never lose." Cun Yunsheng said in a deep voice.

"Yes."

…………

After receiving the reply, Meng Fanle handed the telegram to Zhao He, and then said with a smile.

"Okay, as you wish, the commander agrees that you can lead the armored regiment to support Changsha. Go back and pack your things immediately. The train at 3 pm will be pulled by your entire armored regiment to Changsha."

"Yes, sir." Zhao He stood at attention and saluted, then went back to prepare.

After Zhao He left, Meng Fanle said to the staff behind him.

"Let's get ready and set off."

"Yes."

In the Ninth War Zone, Changsha City, the sound of gunfire outside the city never stopped. Thanks to the support of the 10th Artillery Regiment, this battle was fought particularly smoothly.

At least, they haven't been so proud for a long time.

Although we have won before, most of them were pyrrhic victories.

Such an absolute victory simply does not exist.

The Japanese 3rd Division retreated five kilometers in a row, which had never happened before, but they did it now.

As for annihilation, that is just a slogan. So far, no entire division has been truly annihilated. At most, it has been severely damaged or most of it has been annihilated.

"This battle was fought well. At least for the next three to five days, the Japs will not dare to continue invading Changsha. Next, the Japanese troops outside the city should place their hopes on the upcoming Kwantung Army." Xue Yue looked at the battle report that was sent to him. At least more than 2,000 Japanese troops were annihilated, and he was very satisfied.

After all, this is the Japanese Army's 3rd Division, a very high-ranking Type A division, and its combat effectiveness is unquestionable.

"It's a pity that we failed to wipe out an entire Japanese regiment. It would have been great if we could have captured a regiment flag." Li Yutang, commander of the 10th Army, said with some regret.

The War of Resistance had lasted for five years, but there was not even a regimental flag.

However, many of their troops were wiped out by the Japanese army and their numbers were cancelled.

"How can it be so easy to capture the Japanese regiment flag?" Xue Yue was quite open-minded. As long as he could kill as many enemies as possible, the regiment flag was not that important.

Of course, it would be even better if there is.

"Your Tenth Army has fought three battles in succession and suffered heavy casualties. Although it has received a batch of new recruits, its combat effectiveness has not yet fully recovered. This time it has to face the attack of the Japanese army. Can it withstand it?" Xue Yue asked Li Yutang with concern.

Hearing this, the smile on Li Yutang's face disappeared instantly, and he looked worried.

"Captain Xue, to be honest, we are a bit overwhelmed. Less than 30% of the veterans are left, and some of the new recruits are originally from the militia. You know how weak they are."

"Well, I know these, but what about your weapons and equipment? Are there any gaps? Shancheng received a batch of American weapons and equipment before, how are they being used?" Xue Yue knew that the 10th Army needed a good rest, but with the Japanese army invading one after another, there was no time at all. "It's useful, but it consumes too much bullets. When the brothers went to the battlefield, one of them was not paying attention and didn't hold the fire, and a magazine of bullets was used up. You should quickly replenish a batch of weapons and ammunition for me. If there is another battle of this intensity, the brothers will definitely not be able to hold on." Li Yutang complained hurriedly.

American equipment is useful, but it is useless if the logistics cannot keep up.

"I know, you don't have to worry about weapons and ammunition, it can be solved soon." Xue Yue gave him a reassuring look.

Li Yutang was completely confused. When did he become so generous?

Could it be that Shancheng has a change of heart?

Or did Xue Yue make some fortune?

Just then, the communications staff came in and reported with a happy face.

"Sir, the Sichuan Army has sent someone here."

Xue Yue was about to speak when Li Yutang couldn't help but interrupt.

"Which Sichuan Army? Deng Jinkang's Sichuan Army? When did he arrive?"

I swear to God, Li Yutang really didn't expect it to be the Sichuan Army in the south. He thought it was Deng Jinkang's Sichuan Army.

"The one in the south, the more accurate name should be the Nanyang Task Force." Xue Yue rolled his eyes at him unhappily.

If you don't know, don't interrupt.

"Come on, follow me to take over. Whether your Tenth Army can be equipped with American-equipped divisions this time depends on them. Also call Huang Zhengcheng over. Didn't he complain about the small number of artillery pieces? We will have them all this time." Xue Yue said, and strode outside.

At this time, Changsha Railway Station had become somewhat dilapidated due to the bombardment and the city of Changsha, and even traces of the fire could be seen in some places.

"The three Changsha battles have almost turned this place into ruins." As soon as he got off the train, Zhao He came to Meng Fanle. Looking at the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"You didn't participate in the Battle of Changsha, did you?" Meng Fanle asked doubtfully.

"I guess we did experience the bombing." Zhao He obviously didn't want to mention it. Seeing this, Meng Annoyed didn't ask any more questions.

"Let your armored regiment unload first and maintain it. Don't let them down. They may have to be put into battle soon." Meng Fanle reminded.

"Don't worry, it's under maintenance and will definitely not break down." Zhao He assured, patting his chest.

Just then, Xue Yue drove over with his men.

As soon as he got off the train, Xue Yue was attracted by the tanks behind the train.

Fuck him!

The tanks have been sent?

Is this an American tank?
It is several times stronger than the Japanese's tiny tanks.

The Sichuan Army is really generous, much better than those stingy people in Shancheng.

Every time he asked for arms, he was always dithering and not decisive at all.

"I am Xue Yue. Who is Meng Fanle?" Xue Yue looked at Meng Fanle and Zhao He. For a moment, he couldn't tell who was who. He could only ask with a puzzled expression.

"Hello, sir. My name is Meng Fanle, and I'm the commander of the Eastward Detachment of the Nanyang Task Force." Meng Fanle immediately stepped forward and saluted.

"So young? Young and promising. Are those tanks behind you?" Xue Yue praised, then pointed at the tanks shipped at the back of the train and asked curiously.

"Yes." Meng nodded angrily.

"This doesn't seem to be on the list of supported weapons." Xue Yue looked at the list and there was no record of tanks on it, but now that he saw the tanks, he thought that a batch of tanks had been sent as support.

But he has no tank soldiers.

This is a troublesome matter.

Basically, the tank troops were in the hands of the Fifth Army, but they ran to Tianzhu.

"Cough cough cough, sir, this is the armored regiment of our Eastward Detachment. This time we are ordered to support the Ninth War Zone, so it is not on the list." Meng coughed violently a few times in annoyance. What a joke, are they targeting their tanks?

"Oh, so that's the case. I thought you even gave us tanks. Commander Cun is really generous." Xue Yue's old face turned red. He really thought that the tanks were for support.

The handover of weapons and equipment then began.

Not all of the three American-equipped divisions have arrived, and there are more to come.

Currently, there is only one American-equipped division arriving with the military train.

Even so, it was enough to excite Xue Yue for a long time.

Especially Li Yutang, his face was full of excitement.

His Tenth Army is about to be equipped with American-equipped divisions, which he would never have dared to dream of before.

I didn’t expect that it would actually come true now.

"Damn, American equipment is great, much better than the fire sticks we have, but they waste too much bullets. Colonel Meng, do you have enough ammunition?" Li Yutang couldn't help asking as he looked at the weapons and equipment that were constantly being moved out.

"I can't say there will be enough, but at least we won't be short of bullets." Meng Fanle made such a boast without caring about it. If there were any problems later, he would not be able to take the responsibility.

"That's fine. If I had so many weapons and equipment earlier, I would have let the 106th Division escape at Wanjialing. Who knows if I could have seized several regiment flags and let hundreds of people escape?" Li Yutang said excitedly.

Meng Fanle was not surprised by Li Yutang's excitement, because he had once been a cannon fodder and naturally knew the attraction and morale that good weapons brought.

Why were they willing to follow Cun Yunsheng in Zenda back then?

In addition to giving them human dignity, they also have weapons and equipment.

The morale boost brought by all-American equipment is really different.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you. I finally saw so many American weapons and equipment. I'm so excited. I heard that there are three divisions?" Li Yutang was like a chatterbox at this time, asking non-stop.

"Well, we only have three divisions. We can't mobilize more." Meng spread his hands in frustration.

"No one expected that the Japanese army would mobilize the Kwantung Army to the south, and that they would mobilize five Type A divisions with more than 100,000 elite troops. The pressure was enormous."

"It was you who stirred up a hornet's nest by taking over Yangcheng, causing the Japanese army to really panic. Otherwise, they would not have mobilized the Kwantung Army." Xue Yue seemed very calm.

Or perhaps the three Changsha battles had made him no longer as nervous as he was the first time.

More than 100,000 Japanese troops, just like that.

He believed that he could definitely stop the fierce attack of the Kwantung Army.

It’s not like he hasn’t fought against Type A divisions before.

The Third Division in front of him was severely beaten by him last time and suffered heavy losses.

"Now that we have an armored regiment and an artillery regiment, I have an idea. We should completely wipe out the Third Division in the front and give the upcoming Kwantung Army a warning." Xue Yue looked at the tanks that were constantly being unloaded and came up with a bold idea.

(End of this chapter)