Kono Shinta looked at Okamura Neiji in surprise: "General, you mean that the 'special bomb' was also developed by the Eighth Route Army within one year? This... this is impossible!"
It’s no wonder that Shinta Kono had such a reaction. Hans’s v1 missile was developed with a nationwide effort and gathered elite scientists. It took several years and continued to hit obstacles during the process. The Eighth Route Army was actually able to produce it within a year.
Developing it from scratch…
Okamura Neiji replied: "I can't believe it either, but this is the fact, Kono-kun! You should get to know the military expert nicknamed Xiaodongbei again in the Eighth Route Army. In this year, he has
It gave us too many surprises!”
At this point, Okamura Neji frowned. He felt that what was standing in front of him was not a wall, but a mountain, and it was a mountain with a cliff. No matter how hard he tried, he could not cross it.
This made him vaguely feel that he would still fail in this battle, again and again, and would never be able to turn around.
Hope this isn't true!
Okamura Neji could only comfort himself in this way.
Because Okamura Neiji could not accept allowing the Eighth Route Army to develop for another year, he could only seek a quick victory.
If you want a quick victory, of course you can only rely on mechanized troops with a short training period.
Okamura Neji also put a lot of effort into the mechanical army:
The first is to increase the number of Type 95 tanks.
Among the tanks the empire put into the battlefield last time, it was proved that the 95 tank is indeed a logistically reliable tank, and when it hits the enemy's position, it is often the enemy infantry that it faces rather than the daunting T34...
T34 is deployed in Yuncheng to defend the Yuncheng defense line, which almost means that it cannot be used to defend the hinterland.
Therefore, the Type 95 tank can play a much greater role in combat than Okamura Neiji imagined... The Type 95 cannot be said to be invincible, and the rocket launchers in the hands of the Eighth Route Army can effectively penetrate it.
However, the Eighth Route Army's rocket launcher can penetrate 50mm thick armor. There is no difference between Type 95 and Type 1 in front of it. They will both be penetrated. So why use Type 1 which is expensive, troublesome to maintain and slow to move?
Secondly, Okamura Neiji also supplemented the mechanized forces with armored vehicles.
This is also the experience summed up from the last mechanized battle... Although the shoulder strap is fast and flexible, its defense power is too low.
After all, the Type 95 tank is a tank, and its poor external perception makes it difficult to form efficient coordination with infantry.
Therefore, there is a defense and firepower gap in the mechanized force composed of a combination of shoulder straps and 95 tanks.
Hans filled the gap with a half-track, so what was the Imperial Army going to do?
It is definitely not possible to introduce half-track vehicles. Hans's things have to be transported to the empire by submarine. If it is reasonable to transport high-value things such as tank engines, transporting half-track vehicles... I am afraid that the freight is the cost of the half-track vehicle.
several times of.
It is also unrealistic to produce on your own.
This is not a problem that the research and development speed cannot keep up.
In fact, if we really want to develop it, the speed may be enough to catch up.
Because the empire can originally produce armored vehicles, cars, and tanks... It is not difficult to develop half-track armored vehicles on this basis. At worst, it is just like a simple "combination" of car and tank tracks like a furry bear.
It is said to be unrealistic because the empire has invested a large amount of money and steel in the research and development of naval warships and equipment, so that the empire's tanks are a full generation behind developed countries.
Under such circumstances, developing a half-track armored vehicle? And also in China?
This will definitely be scolded by Tokyo:
"What's going on with you? Do you think the empire has endless funds and resources? You actually want to produce this kind of useless equipment!"
"Can't our infantry walk? Even if we want to move forward quickly, can't cars do it? Do we have to have this kind of half-track armored vehicle?"
"My soldiers go to the battlefield to fight, not hide behind shields and tremble! Therefore, they do not need the protection of this kind of armored vehicle. This is the behavior of a coward!"
…
Okamura Neji couldn't help but lament in his heart, he could imagine how Tokyo would rebut him.
Those senior officials have no idea at what stage the current war has developed. They do not understand that half-track armored vehicles are an important piece of equipment in modern warfare, especially mechanized warfare, and are even indispensable.
It's not about enjoyment, nor is it about cowardice, but it means two completely different tactics:
Should the chariot slow down to adapt to the speed of the infantry, or should the infantry speed up to adapt to the speed of the chariot.
Okamura Neiji knew very well that countries such as Gaul and the Sun Never Set chose the former, so they had so-called "infantry tanks".
Hans was one of the few who allowed the infantry to adapt to the speed of the chariot, and he achieved great success on the battlefield.
To make infantry faster and adapt to combat vehicles... there is only one way, and that is half-track armored vehicles, and nothing else can replace them.
(Note: This statement is not completely correct. Modern warfare generally uses fully armored and more powerful personnel carriers to replace half-track armored vehicles.)
This is Okamura Neji's helplessness.
However, Okamura Neji is not a person who feels sorry for himself. Since reality cannot be changed, he can only try to do the best under this current situation.
What can fill the gap in firepower and defense of mechanized troops is the empire's armored vehicles.
Its shortcomings are, first, its high cost, and second, its inability to transport troops, which means it can only be used for combat, and it even needs a shoulder strap to carry fuel and ammunition.
Therefore, Okamura Neiji did not dare to deploy too many armored vehicles in the mechanized troops to improve firepower and defense, ten for each brigade.
Finally, it was Okamura Neiji who transferred Hans’ advisor as an instructor.
Consultant Hans originally worked in China, but Okamura Neiji used his connections to transfer him to China.
Because Okamura Neiji believes that to fight a beautiful "blitzkrieg" like Hans, it is not enough to have its speed and tactical thinking, but also requires grassroots command.
Part of the reason for the failure of the last "blitzkrieg" against the Eighth Route Army was the disconnect between the frontline commander and the command of Shinta Kono...
In fact, Shinta Kono's command also made mistakes. For example, the understanding of the frontline situation should be multifaceted, and one should not listen to the one-sided words of the frontline commander. Especially the Imperial Army had control of the air at that time. It is not enough to understand the advancing position of the troops from the air force and verify it.
difficulty.
However, Okamura Neji's deep-rooted admiration for foreign ideas of "leaving Asia and joining Europe" made him take it for granted that this was not Shinta Kono's fault, but that the grassroots commanders did not command well.
This time, if both the rear and front lines use Hans’ advisor, there won’t be any problems!