On the afternoon of February 19, 1942, Niangziguan, Shanxi, China.

On a section of the Great Wall near the city gate, a group of exhausted middle-aged men took advantage of the gaps in battle to strengthen their positions with sandbags and earth. Some of them wore steel helmets, some only cloth caps, and the rifles were not neat. The military uniforms that were blackened by gunpowders could be seen everywhere with stones and shrapnel holes, and they looked very embarrassed.

Behind a well-in-lawed arrow chop, two Jinsui soldiers, one old and one young, were lying sideways. The older veteran looked pleated and looked like he had experienced vicissitudes, but it was difficult to tell his true age. He tied several grenades together with a cloth strap of leggings, and then unzipped the lids of the grenades one by one, tied the cables together, making a simple bomb.

The soldier beside the veteran was about seventeen or eighteen years old, thin and tender in his face, but the military uniform and the spear in his hand made people feel a sense of incongruous maturity. Looking at the work in the veteran's hands, he asked worriedly: "Brother, is this done?"

The veteran placed the bundle of grenades beside him and patted the soldier on the shoulder, "It's accurate! Just stuff the bundle of grenades under the belly of the enemy's chariot and keep it and it will be scrapped! As long as you move fast enough, you won't be able to hurt the fur!"

"Oh" the soldiers looked away again. The Japanese soldiers were still preparing for a new round of attacks. Dozens of Japanese tanks and hundreds of infantry were gathering outside the range of field artillery. Since the Pacific War, the Japanese army has occupied most of Southeast Asia, part of South Asia, Australia and the South Pacific islands for more than six years. The production facilities damaged in the war have resumed operations one after another. Various minerals and crops have been transported to Japan in a steady stream, which not only reversed the precarious economic situation in Japan, but also further strengthened its military machinery. Navy and air force construction is still the first. Even so, the modernization innovation of the Japanese army has achieved considerable results, which makes them enough to crush the Chinese team under various conditions.

After three years of active preparation during the armistice period, the equipment and training level of the Chinese team has been greatly improved. The formation of 22 American armed divisions, 20 and a half American armed divisions, 12 German armed divisions and 11 semi-German divisions gave the Chinese people great encouragement, but this army still lacks heavy weapons, with combat aircraft less than one-fifth of the Japanese army, and the total tonnage of naval ships is less than one-twentieth of the Japanese army. After the Japanese army restarted the war, China unexpectedly lost the Yangtze River defense line.

But they then organized defenses in an orderly manner in depth, fighting against the Japanese troops invading China one million, causing the Japanese base camp's quick victory plan to go bankrupt again. After the New Year, the Japanese army assembled 300,000 elite troops to launch a large-scale offensive against various strategic areas in Shanxi. China assembled more than 700,000 Shanxi Sui Army and the Central Army to launch a defensive battle. The determination and fighting spirit of defending the country were unquestionable. However, as the war in the front deepened and the consumption of soldiers and materials, the Chinese team, as the weak side, was more and more bearish.

Under great pressure, the Japanese army relied on the resources of most of Asia, like the storm caused by a hurricane, washing away the dam built by the flesh and blood of the Chinese people. The battle in Taiyuan lasted until the second month, and the casualties of the Chinese troops participating in the war reached more than 200,000, and some divisions carrying heavy responsibilities even lost 70 to 80% of their combat power. Starting from late February, the Japanese invaders launched offensives in central and southern China, conquering more than 50 cities and towns in just half a month, with a straightforward force.

Forced strategic strongholds such as Changsha and Chongqing. With the advice and help of the US General Staff Corps, the Chinese Military Commission successively adjusted its deployment and sent live forces to various places to "fight fires", barely resolving the crisis faced by southern China. Continuous operations consumed a large amount of ammunition and drug resources, which quickly bottomed out. According to the professional statistics of the US General Staff Corps Corps, if the Japanese offensive continued until mid-to-late April, most Chinese troops would face the dilemma of running out of ammunition.

Before Niangzi Pass, before the Japanese ground attack was launched, a heart-pounding buzzing sound came from the sky, and groups of fighter planes appeared in the sight of the defenders. They did not take the pitiful air defense firepower of the Chinese defenders seriously, and circled in the air recklessly, looking for targets and dropping bombs.

This Niangzi Pass is known as the "Ninth Pass of the Great Wall". It is surrounded by mountains and rivers and is condescending. However, no matter how good the fortifications are, they are dead objects. In the face of modern weapons, steep passes and barriers have fallen one after another. It is probably difficult for a mere Niangzi Pass to stop the Japanese army's pace.

"Let's go down!"

After being pressed by the veteran, the soldier suddenly felt dizzy and his ears were ringing violently. He tried to push the veteran away, but found that the veteran was so heavy that he was humming and humming in a low voice. The soldier quickly felt a wet and hot liquid on his face. He felt a big deal, and when he got up, he found that the veteran was covered in blood.

"Brother, brother!" Xiaobing was so anxious that he was about to cry. He looked around and shouted loudly: "Medical staff! Medical staff!"

But there were injured people everywhere, and several medical soldiers had no time to take care of them.

The veteran opened his eyes and his lips moved slightly. The soldier leaned over and heard only one intermittent sentence:

"Put it under the stomach and blow it up and send it to their hometown"

Before the Japanese local artillery fire broke out, the veteran stopped breathing and his eyes widened.

Before the chariots and infantry attacked, the Japanese army used heavy artillery to bombard Chengguan, and Japanese fighter jets coated with plaster marks also flew in waves one after another. Under the fierce attack, a gap was finally opened in a weak part of the Great Wall. The company where the soldiers were located was urgently transferred to block the gap.

After the artillery fire stopped, the Japanese ground troops indeed moved the main attack direction to the gap. Thousands of Japanese soldiers rushed towards this side under the cover of more than 20 combat vehicles. The firepower of the Chinese defenders swept down many Japanese soldiers, but the rifles and machine gun bullets were unable to do anything.

The soldier hugged the bundle of grenades left by the veteran.

"Put the belly under his stomach, blow it up and send it to their hometown!" The soldier muttered softly, his eyes full of determination.

The harsh metal rubbing sound was getting closer and closer. A Japanese chariot was the first to climb up the gentle slope made of gravel in the gap. Soon the second chariot also climbed up. The last memory of the soldier was the pulling cable of the grenade when the Japanese chariot drove past him.

With a loud bang, the Japanese chariot was drooping its gun barrel and wilted. The plaster flag inserted on the turret was torn off by shrapnel at some point. The blood of the hero did not flow in vain, but more tanks rumbled past the side.

Just a few hours later, the Chinese defenders, with heavy casualties, were forced to evacuate Niangzi Pass.

After conquering Niangzi Pass, the Japanese army took a short rest and responded that friendly troops from Zhangjiakou and Datong line advanced to Taiyuan. The Chinese battle situation was in danger. Although the top leaders were determined to defend Taiyuan, they also knew that the chance of successfully resisting the Japanese army was slim. However, at this time, the arrogant Japanese army took the initiative to stop the offensive after a bluffing attack. All the troops retreated along the original route, and the Niangzi Pass, which had been captured by thousands of casualties, was also voluntarily abandoned by the Japanese army. Whether the Japanese army was playing hard to get, waiting for the Chinese defenders to relax before attacking, or had to suspend or end the attack for other reasons? This is a question worth exploring.

Shortly after the Japanese army on the front line of Shanxi stopped their attack, most of the Japanese troops in other directions slowly retreated to the starting point of the attack. The intelligence transmitted from the enemy-occupied areas showed that the Japanese army was secretly mobilizing troops northward. The barracks of the famous field divisions' permanent residence in the inland China suddenly became empty, leaving only a few left-behind personnel, and continued to send telegrams of no substantial significance in the name of the division command.

On March 29 of the same year, accompanied by the Soviet ambassador to Ireland Alexei Nikonov, the Special Representative of the Soviet Revolutionary Military Commission, Lebedev, visited the Irish King and Prime Minister, and put forward the request for emergency military assistance under the framework of the Moscow Conference Agreement. The Russians hope to obtain 60,000 tons of ammunition and 30,000 tons of fuel in the next three months, and Ireland recruited ships needed to transport these materials to the Murmansk port in northern Soviet Russia.

"Is this the rhythm of a big battle?" Pierce asked in surprise in front of the Russians.

Lebedev was a bald middle-aged man with a look similar to Lenin. He replied sly: "Part of it is used for military training and part of it is used to deal with potential threats."

At this time, Xia Shu said, "The former accounts for 10%, while the latter accounts for 90%?"

Lebedev smiled and said nothing.

Due to communication with the Prime Minister and relevant personnel in advance, Xia Shu said clearly: "Although there were some unpleasant frictions between our two countries, it is nothing on the international political and diplomatic stage. Since Ireland is a signatory to the Moscow Conference Agreement, it has the responsibility to fulfill the agreed terms. However, the production and supply of 20,000 tons of ammunition and 10,000 tons of fuel per month exceeds our current capacity. In fact, since the summer of 1938, our military production capacity has been reduced in batches. Even if it is fully operational, it can only meet 40% of your country's requirements. In addition, we can allocate some materials from strategic inventory, such as grenades, mines, and mortar shells. This part is estimated to be about 20,000 tons. In total, we can provide 50,000 to 60,000 tons of combat materials in three months, which is enough to support a protracted large-scale battle."

"What Your Majesty said is probably a battle calculated by a hundred thousand people, right?" Lebedev responded calmly, "But what we are considering is a battle calculated by a half hundred thousand people. Is the ammunition required to be calculated by a five-fold?"

Su Shi of course knew that the Russians not only made an urgent request for arms supply to Ireland, but also made requests to signing countries such as Germany, Italy, Austro-Hungary, etc., but due to the problem of non-uniform caliber of weapons and ammunition, only part of the industrial capacity can be converted into aid to Russia. Although the scale of Ireland's military industry is only one-third of that of Germany, the proportion of exports is relatively high, with 7.62mm rifle shells, 120mm mortars, and 152mm howitzer shells production lines. As long as the Irish people do their best, it is enough to solve a considerable number of military supplies of the Soviet Russian army.

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