Know yourself and the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger.
After Kong Jie and Li Yunlong arrived, with the assistance of the fraternal troops of the Northwest Military Region, they quickly started collecting various intelligence on the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia in western Inner Mongolia, especially the elite cavalry brigade.
A lot of useful information was quickly collected.
On that day, during the analysis meeting of the Northwest Military Region Headquarters, Kong Jie pointed out directly:
"Comrades, judging from the information collected so far, the so-called chariot brigade of the Japanese is actually an accurate description of an armored group force composed of various arms.
This is very different from the Japanese army's relatively pure tank brigade unit subordinate to the tank division.
It is a mixed armored mobile force formed by temporary transfer of various armored units by the Japanese army.
Such a combined force of various arms includes not only tank troops, but also some infantry, artillery and engineer troops.
In terms of scale, the Japanese's chariot brigade and chariot cluster are very similar.
However, tank clusters have big drawbacks.
Due to the confusion and complexity of the arms, tank groups often lack unified tactical command and control capabilities.
Especially when the joint combat training of many of the Japanese's arms is not in place, this flaw will be particularly obvious, which means that the outside is strong but the inside is weak, which may be our opportunity."
Kong Jie said this with some psychological analysis and strategic contempt for the opponent. The cadres also felt that the armored brigade, which was originally thought to be a troublesome enemy, was suddenly full of flaws.
Of course, everything has advantages and disadvantages. Although tank clusters have such disadvantages, they also have advantages.
Since it is a combined force of multiple arms, the Japs’ tank clusters can undertake various types of combat missions. From this perspective, the Japs’ tank clusters cannot be underestimated.
The cadres then studied the so-called chariot brigade of the Japanese.
That is, a tank cluster.
The intelligence collected then showed that the Japanese tank group had a total of 3 tank regiments under its jurisdiction, which was one more than the tank regiment under the established tank brigade.<
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In addition, it has independent logistics support troops and maintenance support troops, and is equipped with various supporting arms such as cavalry, infantry, artillery and engineers.
It has a total of more than 190 tanks and armored vehicles, including the Type 95 light tank and the Type 97 modified medium tank.
The Japanese's Type 95 light tank is often seen on the battlefield of the invasion of China, but the Type 97 medium tank is rare.
Most of them are modified Type 97 medium tanks. In fact, on the basis of the Type 97 medium tanks, in order to better adapt to the battlefield in China, they were replaced with a Type 47 mm rapid-fire gun.
The armor protection ability of the Japanese Type 97 medium tank is much better than that of the Type 95 light tank, and it can even withstand direct fire from the Type 94 rapid-fire gun at a distance of 150 meters.
However, after encountering the Eighth Route Army's modified imitation of the German 37mm anti-tank gun, it was not enough.
Not to mention a team of specially built individual anti-tank rocket launchers.
Basically, as long as it hits, the Little Devil is only as armored as a thin-skinned tank on the European battlefield, and is completely vulnerable.
Okamura, an old devil, was probably based on this situation and considering that the Eighth Route Army also had a considerable number of tanks and armored vehicles, so he temporarily pieced together such an armored fleet that can undertake a variety of combat missions.
Use artillery, infantry, cavalry and other arms to cooperate with tank operations, and beware of the Eighth Route Army using anti-tank artillery to deal with tanks.
Armored vehicles are mainly Type 92 armored vehicles.
In addition, the Japanese tank group is also equipped with special tank search teams, including coordinated artillery units towed by cars.
It is also equipped with the Type 90 field gun and the Type 91 105mm field gun. It uses cars as traction to form an entire mobile artillery unit. According to the Eighth Route Army's detection, the Japanese's two larger-caliber artillery pieces are at least 20 or more.
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The leader of the Japanese Brigade, Major General Nanji Rokuro, is said to have been a fierce general who led the armored troops to severely damage a division of the Central Army in the Battle of Songhu and conquered several cities in succession.
Overall, this is a battle group with armored forces as the main force and joint operations of various arms.
It should be an armored force specially prepared by Lao Guizi Gangcun to deal with the Eighth Route Army in northern Shanxi and the 35th Route Army in the Hetao area.
When this series of data was presented in front of the soldiers, the faces of Kong Jie, Li Yunlong, Brigadier Zhang and even the division commander all looked solemn.
The little devil has indeed spent a lot of money this time. The armored cluster formed in front of him is equipped with multiple arms to coordinate. Judging from the equipment level, it is really not easy to mess with.
In addition to the large number of artillery attached to the Japanese, if the mobility of armored vehicles is used, coupled with the thousands of miles of flat and endless open terrain in western Inner Mongolia, it is simply an excellent battlefield for the Japanese armored forces to take advantage of mechanized combat.
Conventional infantry and cavalry are simply impossible to match the Japanese armored forces.
As for the same armored units, whether it is the Eighth Route Army or the 35th Route Army under Commander Fu in the Hetao area, they are not in large numbers, and their equipment level and configuration are not as good as those of the Japanese army.
As Brigadier Zhang said:
"After the Japs' Nanzhi Chariot Brigade moved into the West Inner Mongolia area, Commander Fu had no choice but to stay in his Hetao area and even shrink all the troops outside the defense area. He was afraid of the Japs' retaliation and directly
Attack Hetao by force in an armored group.
The 35th Route Army in the Hetao area is bearing the brunt these days, but it has suffered a lot. Commander Fu also hates the Japanese chariot brigade with gritted teeth, but there is nothing he can do.
With the Japanese armored force here, the 35th Route Army cannot move at all.
A few days ago, Commander Fu wrote a special letter, asking our division commander to help us find a way to deal with the Japanese armored force!"
"Then fight, what else is there to say?"
Li Yunlong became angry, "I still don't believe it, but I want to see how hard this little son of a bitch's armor is. He has steel teeth, and we have to break them to pieces."
"Lao Kong, we have almost explored the situation in the past few days, and we have already begun preparations for advance deployment. Is it time to launch combat operations?"
As soon as Li Yunlong said these words, the faces of other cadres once again looked a little surprised.
Everyone originally thought that Kong Jie and Li Yunlong were two generals who cooperated and cooperated with each other when they led the mobile troops to the north.
But who would have thought that Li Yunlong, who has always been fearless, would actually ask Kong Jie for his opinion.
This is indeed the case, and Lao Li is also depressed!
This week's tactics were proposed by Lao Kong, including how to implement them and all the details. Lao Kong definitely knows more than him.
In addition, when leaving this time, the bosses, including the deputy chief of staff, were afraid that Li Yunlong would cause some trouble, so they almost pointed at Li Yunlong's nose and said, "You kid, please listen to Kong Jie more before taking action.
The most important thing is...
Lao Kong is the top leader of Huasheng Company, and Lao Li is only the second in command.
I have to ask the big boss what he means anyway, right?
It is not good to take advantage of others' softness, but to take advantage of others' shortness of mouth.
Li Yunlong's new second regiment has been able to develop to the present point, and even the rapid reaction force directly under Taihang has been mobilized.
How did he, Lao Li, make his fortune? Can you not figure it out?
Everyone's eyes focused on Kong Jie.
Kong Jie pointed out one point in the outermost defense area of the Japanese armored brigade in western Inner Mongolia:
"Old Li, I think this is it. Let's temporarily form a few small armored forces with light tanks and armored vehicles, set off at night, say hello to Commander Fu in advance, cross their Hetao area, sneak attack the Japanese from the flank, and attract the Japanese army's
Attention.
Let’s talk about him first.”
"Haha, this is a bad move, it just suits my purpose!" Li Yunlong nodded immediately.
Kong Jie said to the division commander again: "Sir, Commander Fu, I'm afraid you have to say hello in advance. As long as we can hold back the enemy's chariots, when the two sides are fighting at a critical moment, the enemy's mobile troops will not be spared."
Focus on guarding against the 35th Route Army.
After all, the 35th Route Army has been operating in the Hetao area for many years and has the best understanding of the situation in the entire western Inner Mongolia area. It is most appropriate for them to take advantage of the Japanese mobile elite to be contained and attack the Baotou area, the base camp of the Japanese army, in a roundabout way." p>
The teacher nodded immediately and agreed without saying a word.
Brigadier Zhang even smiled and said: "This should not be a problem.
During this period, the 35th Route Army suffered a lot from the Japs’ armored units. Even the armored units composed of some old tanks that the 35th Route Army bought from us a few days ago were crippled by the Japs.
.
I guess that old man is also feeling angry. If he had the opportunity to steal a house now, why would he hesitate?
This guy really dares to poke the kid in the ass."
So, the battle plan was finalized.
Eight days.
It’s already the eighth day since the Japanese launched the so-called May Day raids.
The Japanese army's sweep of the Eighth Route Army base areas in Shanxi and Shandong has gradually entered a fever pitch.
The battles surrounding Licheng, Shexian, Liaoxian, Xiangyuan, Lucheng and other five cities are still fierce.
The Eighth Route Army, which was besieged in the five cities, seemed to be out of ammunition and food, and seemed to be unable to hold on at any time. However, it managed to hold its position despite the Japanese attacks again and again, causing more and more casualties to the Japanese army. The Japanese major general responsible for commanding the troops to capture the five cities was also furious.
Having already made such a huge sacrifice, he still failed to capture the Eighth Route Army position that seemed likely to collapse at any time. How could he easily give in? Let alone stop now, he would definitely be punished by his superiors for his incompetence in combat.
Taihang base area.
The Japanese army followed the sticky tactics of Japanese Chief of Staff Tanabe and made smooth progress on the outside, occupying a large number of fortifications of the Eighth Route Army on the outside as well as high ground and various passes.
It's just that after the battle lines of both sides gradually advanced to the center line defense area of the Eighth Route Army base area, everything changed.
Facing the extremely strong concrete fortifications built by the Eighth Route Army, even the various types of Japanese artillery, including Type 92, Type 41, etc., basically had no obvious effect.
Unless large-caliber heavy artillery is mobilized, it is extremely difficult to transport these artillery in mountainous areas, and the defensive positions of the Eighth Route are even more interconnected.
The enemy's offensive was extremely difficult.
Their opponent, the Eighth Route Army, was completely different from those Chiang Kai-shek troops in the past.
Chiang Kai-shek's troops fought around the city. Once the city was lost, there was basically no position to defend. They would either be wiped out or have no choice but to collapse and flee.
The Eighth Route Army, on the other hand, placed the battlefield within the base area, surrounded by mountains, ravines and canyons. It was easy to build fortifications that were easy to defend and difficult to attack based on the terrain. Once defeated, they could withdraw in an orderly manner at any time.
In the end, the Japanese spent a lot of manpower and material resources, and even suffered huge sacrifices, but all they got was a cold position.
There are countless positions like this in the entire Eighth Route Army base area.
As Ding Wei said: "We will give the little devil as much as he wants!"
"After the sweep is over, it is impossible for the Japanese to leave the counties and towns and come to occupy these positions of ours. Those who fought hard must be returned to us intact."
This is exactly the "drag" tactic decided by the boss and the deputy chief of staff at the general headquarters to launch against the Japanese army in the Shanxi battlefield, Taihang, Taiyue and Zhongtiao Mountain base areas.
While relying on the solid defense system built in the base area to block the Japanese raids, the soldiers were secretly preparing for the final counterattack.
It is the end of the week when the Japanese are raiding, and it is the time when people and horses are exhausted.
……
……
West of the Loop.
It was probably still dark, but a group of armored troops emerged from nowhere and suddenly appeared on the outside of the southbound defensive position of the Japanese Nanzhi Chariot Brigade. Then they launched a fierce bombardment, firing dozens of shots.<
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On the defensive position of the Japanese army, only the sound of artillery was heard, and the little devils who were awakened hurriedly went into battle.
Inside the headquarters, the old Japanese soldier Nanjirokuro received news that armored units of the Chinese army appeared and launched a sneak attack on the empire's southward defense line.
Nanji Rokuro was furious. If it was the infantry and cavalry of the Eighth Route Army, that would be fine. Knowing that he was the most elite armored brigade unit of the Empire of Japan, he dared to sneak attack with chariots and tanks. This was clearly a provocation from the Chinese army.
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Of course, as a famous general with outstanding military exploits in the Songhu Battle, Nan Zhi, an old devil, is not confused.
Since he led the tank group to the Mongolian region, most of the 35th Route Army has remained stationary, and the original armored units have basically been disabled by him.
What is the situation with this armored force that suddenly appeared again?
Is it still the 35th Route Army, or are reinforcements from the Chinese army arriving?
"Contact the headquarters immediately, request air reinforcements, conduct a detailed investigation of the area where enemy armored forces appear, and be sure to find out the enemy's situation!"
"Hi!"
Shortly after Nanzhi's request was issued, five or six Japanese reconnaissance aircraft departed from Wuchagou Airport and rushed to the coordinate area provided by Nanzhi to conduct aerial reconnaissance.
The next day, the Japanese Air Force reconnaissance team returned and reported the situation:
"A considerable number of enemy tanks and armored vehicles were found in the target area. The identity of the enemy could not be ascertained. The enemy launched a fire counterattack against our reconnaissance aircraft. The enemy was equipped with corresponding anti-aircraft firepower!"...