Okamura Neiji said that he did not know which city the Eighth Route Army would attack. It could be said that the Japanese were strategically passive.
From a tactical perspective, it was the Japanese who attacked the Eighth Route Army defenders.
For example, the Japanese would launch raids at every turn, or launch surprise attacks from the flanks, etc.
But from a strategic perspective, the Eighth Route Army was attacking and the Japanese were defending.
The reason is that the Eighth Route Army often makes sneak attacks, hitting here and there. Not only the railways will become the target of the Eighth Route Army, but also military depots, gun towers, bunkers and other facilities used to protect communication lines will become the target of the Eighth Route Army.
Now, even the city has become the target of the Eighth Route Army...
This was unimaginable before.
Because most places that can be called cities have walls and gates, such a place only needs a squadron of troops or even a few puppet troops, and there is basically no need to worry about the Eighth Route Army's attack.
This was the case in the previous battle in Yucun. Several main regiments of the Eighth Route Army besieged Yucun but were unable to do anything about it. In the end, it was Wang Xuexin who disguised himself as a Japanese soldier and drove a tank into the city to cooperate with foreign forces and finally captured it.
Therefore, the Japanese can use each city to establish a fulcrum on the defense line. For example, Yunjing City is a fulcrum for nearby supplies and maintenance.
But now, if the Eighth Route Army has the ability to capture such a city...these originally unbreakable fulcrums will instantly become loopholes, so the Japanese's originally relatively tight defense line will be "full of loopholes."
It’s no wonder that Okamura Neiji was worried about the troops being mobilized. He needed more troops for defense, thereby achieving the purpose of compressing the Eighth Route Army’s living space.
But now, all his plans have been shattered by the mobilization order from Kanto Prefecture.
Not only that, the entire defense line in North China may be counterattacked by the Eighth Route Army due to insufficient strength.
After listening to Okamura Neiji's analysis, Shinozuka Yoshio finally saw the current situation clearly.
He thought for a while and then suggested: "General, in this case, we should report the situation to our superiors and ask them to stop deploying troops..."
"It won't be useful!" Okamura Neiji weakly shook his head: "They will not pay attention to our voices from the front line, because every unit on the front line will do the same thing and emphasize the importance of their location.
Sex and troops are in short supply!"
Yoshio Shinozuka felt helpless.
Okamura Neiji is right. With the Kanto Prefecture mobilization order, not only the North China battlefield, but also every part of the entire China battlefield will be in a state of severe shortage of troops.
As a result, the request made by the North China Front Army would soon be drowned in a sea of "short of troops" telegrams, and would not be taken seriously at all.
After thinking about it, Okamura Neji asked: "How are the preparations for the Type 1 tank?"
Yoshio Shinozuka replied: "I need to ask Akiyama-kun about this!"
Saying that, Yoshio Shinozuka ordered the staff officer beside him: "Let Akiyama-kun come here!"
Akiyama Kenichi has been paying attention to the production of Type 1 tanks during this period.
The Type 1 tank cannot be regarded as a new tank because it is an improved version based on the Type 97 tank.
This tank was a project established after the Battle of Nomonhan... After the Battle of Nomonhan, the Japanese have been seeking to improve their tanks to defeat the Mao Xiong, so they changed the Type 97 again and again.
First, we simply strengthened the defense and replaced the artillery. This is the 97 modification.
Then I felt that the Type 97 modification was not enough. After all, after the Japanese had the Type 97 modification, they soon discovered that Mao Xiong had many new tanks, so they further improved the Type 97.
When it comes to the "Type 1 combat vehicle", it is almost changed to another tank.
Because even the engine has been replaced with a more powerful engine, new alloy armor has been used to increase the thickness of the front armor to 50mm, and a loader has been added to increase the crew to 5 people. The result is that defense, maneuverability and command are better than those of 97
The change has been greatly improved.
If Wang Xuexin heard this tank mentioned by Okamura Neji, he would be surprised and at the same time expected.
Because although the "Type One Tank" in history was successfully developed in 1941, the Japanese used it as a secret weapon for "local decisive battles" and never fought outside the main island.
The devils had their reasons for planning this way.
The reason why they developed the "one-type combat vehicle" was because they planned to deal with the bear.
But in 1941, the Japanese decided not to target Mao Xiong and instead attack Southeast Asia, so the "Type 1 tanks" immediately lost their target... Whether in China or Southeast Asia, the Japanese used Type 97, Type 95 and other old tanks.
can achieve a brilliant victory, so the Army believed that it was no longer necessary to produce the "Type 1 tank" and stopped the development of other tanks.
From then on until 1944, the Japanese's research and development of tanks had been at a standstill. It was not until Yingjiang began its major counterattack that the Japanese suddenly discovered that they were unable to fight against the "Sherman", and then hurriedly resumed the development and production of new tanks.
However, it was too late by this time. Even a "one-type tank" like the Japanese, which was at the top of the tank, was still vulnerable to the "Sherman".
But the situation has changed by this time.
Just as Wang Xuexin thought before, due to the emergence of rocket launchers, the existing tanks of the Japanese are no longer able to adapt to the Chinese battlefield, especially the rocket launchers exposed to the Japanese can only barely destroy the Japanese armor...
If the rocket launcher had TNT instead of hollow charge, its armor-breaking capability would be only a few dozen millimeters, and the thickness of the Type 97's front armor would be only 25 millimeters and there would be no sloped armor.
In other words, the rocket launcher may threaten the Type 97 from the front, let alone from the side and rear.
Under such circumstances, how could the Japanese not improve the protection of their tanks and still send the Type 97 to the battlefield to be bombed by the enemy?
In particular, there are more advanced tanks in China that have been successfully developed.
So naturally, this "Type One Tank", which did not enter mass production but stalled in 1941, was immediately put on the agenda by the Japanese and entered the mass production process. This tank had never appeared outside the empire.
, will also appear on the Chinese battlefield.
After Akiyama Kenichi arrived at the headquarters, he immediately reported the situation to Okamura Neiji: "Your Excellency, General, we have produced 23 'Type 1 tanks' and are currently testing them to find their flaws..."
"Bring these tanks over immediately!" Okamura Neiji ordered: "Also the crews and logistics personnel!"
"But General!" Akiyama Kenichi objected: "We need to know their flaws and try to correct them as much as possible, so that there will be no problems in mass production..."
"The battlefield is their best testing ground, Akiyama-kun!" Okamura Neiji interrupted Akiyama Kenichi: "What's more, we don't have time to wait, we need the 'One Type Chariot' now!"
Okamura Neiji urgently needs to form an invincible force. He needs to use this force to defeat the counterattacking Eighth Route Army. Only in this way can he defend the long defense line in North China.