Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 238 Expansion Plan

Tang Weiguo nodded: "Now that we've covered the results, Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang, could you please report on the losses suffered by our militia?"

"yes.'

The smile on Zhang Haoshan's face gradually disappeared. He turned to the last page of his notebook, cleared his throat, and spoke in a low, restrained voice.

"In this battle, all four battalions of our regiment were decimated by the Japanese. Currently, only the fifth and sixth battalions, the reconnaissance battalion, and the mountain artillery regiment remain relatively intact in the combat force."

"In this operation, we suffered a total of 3245 casualties among our militia members and 2432 wounded. The wounded are currently receiving unified treatment at the militia hospital."

Zhang Haoshan closed his notebook, his voice choked with emotion: "I propose that we all observe a minute's silence in memory of our fallen brothers."

Tang Weiguo was the first to stand up, deftly removing his military cap. With a rustling sound of chairs being moved, all the officers stood up, removed their hats, and stood at attention.

The somber atmosphere in the meeting room instantly overshadowed the joy that had just passed.

The minute passed quickly.

"sit."

Tang Weiguo's voice broke the silence.

After everyone was seated, he looked around solemnly and said, "This victory was bought with the lives of over three thousand people." His fingers tapped lightly on the table. "All of you here are leaders. Remember—behind every fallen soldier is a broken family."

"Therefore, all of you commanding officers here must act with caution in your battles against the Japanese and minimize our casualties."

"Yes," Tang Xiaohu and the others replied in unison.

"Next, we need to discuss the next steps in our militia's development plan," Tang Weiguo continued.

"First, I would like to inform you of the telegram we just received today from the Second Theater Command."

"Li Qin, read aloud the commendation order from the Second War Zone Command."

"Yes, Commander." Li Qin stood up after saying that.

The following is a telegram from the Second War Zone Command:

"Today, the Anti-Japanese Independent Militia has inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese in the Wolong Mountain area, making a name for our Second War Zone. We share the honor of our Second War Zone."

"In order to commend the heroic resistance of the Anti-Japanese Independent Militia and to ensure that the blood of the frontline soldiers is not shed in vain, at the personal request of Commander Yan and with the special approval of the mountain city, the Anti-Japanese Independent Militia shall be expanded into the Anti-Japanese Independent Brigade and awarded the honorary title of 'Iron-Blooded Independent Brigade'."

"The regimental commander, Tang Weiguo, is a major general and the deputy regimental commander, Zhang Haoshan, is a senior colonel. The appointment of personnel within the brigade headquarters is made by the brigade commander, Tang Weiguo, and reported to the Second War Zone Commander for record."

"Congratulations, Commander! You've become a general!"

Tang Xiaohu shouted excitedly.

"Commander, amazing! A general who's not even 20 years old! He's practically Huo Qubing reincarnated!" Zhang Haoshan was so astonished he couldn't close his mouth.

Thinking about how he'd lived to be over forty and only managed to earn the rank of colonel, Zhang Haoshan felt a pang of envy.

But then I thought again, Tang Weiguo has built up such a combat-effective army in just two years. If he doesn't become a general, who else can?

Not long after he started following him, he went from deputy regimental commander to deputy brigade commander, and his rank jumped two levels from major to colonel, something he never dared to dream of before.

If he could follow Tang Weiguo for a few more years, he might even become a major general. Thinking of this, Zhang Haoshan couldn't help but grin foolishly.

"Alright, alright, it's all just empty fame." Tang Weiguo waved his hand dismissively.

"Li Qin, please continue."

"The last telegram said that the mountain city had specially approved the equipment for a brigade, which will be delivered soon." After reading this, Li Qin sat down.

"When did the Nationalist government become so generous? This is the equipment for an entire brigade," Zhang Haoshan muttered.

"This batch of equipment won't come into our hands so easily," Tang Weiguo said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Besides, almost all of us have now switched to Japanese equipment, and we might not even be satisfied with the weapons provided to us by the Nationalist government," Tang Weiguo said with a smile.

"What do you all think?" Tang Weiguo asked.

"Commander, no, we should call him brigade commander now. It seems that after this battle, we can no longer hide our strength," Tang Xiaohu said.

“After our organization is upgraded to a brigade, the Japanese will definitely pay more attention to us!” Tang Xiaohu said.

“Brigade Commander, this is both a challenge and an opportunity for our militia. With a brigade-level scale, we can openly request the theater command to replenish our forces from the rear.”

"We can quickly restore our strength. Right now, our militia doesn't lack weapons, only men."

“Once we recover our strength, we won’t be afraid of the Japanese threats in the vicinity,” Zhang Haoshan said.

"Deputy Commander Zhang is right. This is a great opportunity for us to develop."

"Therefore, now that our unit is organized at the brigade level, our unit structure must also change accordingly."

"The last battle exposed the deficiencies in the organization of our militia forces. With our current battalion and company organizational structure, it is difficult for our current command capabilities to coordinate and operate efficiently."

"In small-scale battles, we can flexibly organize company-level units to launch attacks, but in this large-scale defensive operation at Wolong Mountain, the problems of our militia's current organizational structure have been exposed."

"So, tonight I'm taking this opportunity of meeting to share with you a military reform plan that I had previously devised. Please take a look and give me your feedback."

"Our brigade's main force consists of 11 regiments, including one reinforced regiment, three field regiments, a rapid support regiment, a reconnaissance regiment, an artillery regiment, a guard regiment, an air defense regiment, a logistics transport regiment, and an engineer regiment."

"The First Battalion is a reinforced regiment, consisting of five combat battalions, plus a mortar battalion and a Type 5 infantry gun battalion, with a total strength of 4000 men."

"The Second, Third, and Fourth Battalions are respectively the First, Second, and Third Field Regiments, each with three combat battalions and one mortar company. The total number of personnel is 2000."

"The reconnaissance battalion is a reconnaissance regiment, consisting of three combat battalions and one artillery battalion, with a total strength of 2000 men."

"The artillery battalion was changed to an artillery regiment, which consisted of one mortar battalion and two Type 92 infantry gun battalions, with a total strength of 2000 people."

"The Fifth Battalion was reorganized into a rapid support regiment, consisting of three combat battalions and a mortar company, with a total strength of 2000 men."

"The Sixth Battalion was reorganized into a Guard Regiment, which consisted of four combat battalions. The total number of personnel was 2000."

"The air defense battalion was changed to an air defense regiment, which consisted of two air defense battalions with a total of 1000 personnel."

"The logistics transportation battalion was changed to a logistics transportation regiment, which consisted of four transportation battalions with a total of 2000 personnel."

"The engineer battalion was changed to an engineer regiment, which consisted of three engineer battalions with a total of 1500 personnel."

All officers at all levels of the above-mentioned units, from battalion commanders to regimental commanders, and within each regiment, battalion commanders, company commanders, platoon leaders, and squad leaders, are appointed by the respective regiments themselves and reported to the brigade headquarters for approval.