The intimidation of the Shanxi-Sui Army artillery allowed Wang Xuexin to command the tank troops to successfully approach the outskirts of Yuncheng.
But to be honest, even if the artillery and Japanese troops of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army hadn't started fighting, Wang Xuexin would still have been able to bring the tank troops here.
The first method is smoke bombs, the second is fake tanks, and the third is rocket launchers.
Smoke grenades can prevent the enemy from observing the location of the tank.
Fake tanks can cause enemies to bomb fake targets to consume their shells.
Rocket launchers can destroy the artillery deployed by the Japanese outside the city, and can also intimidate the Japanese artillery.
Before this, that is, before joining forces with the Jinsui Army, Wang Xuexin planned to fight like this.
But now that the Japanese artillery did not dare to fire easily, there was no need for Wang Xuexin to bother with this anymore.
Wang Xuexin just ordered the troops to burn used tires in all directions and upwind of Yuncheng, plunging the entire Yuncheng into a haze of very low visibility smoke, and then sent the T26 tanks to approach the enemy's positions.
The troop deployment of the Eighth Route Army is as follows:
The independent regiment was split into three main attack forces, responsible for the west, north, and east directions respectively. The south side was not suitable for tank operations due to the complex terrain of the salt lake, so it was transferred to Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment and the artillery unit of the Shanxi-Sui Army.
The three main attack forces each consisted of a tank company and an infantry battalion. A tank company was strengthened at the north gate, and the remaining tank company and infantry battalion were used as reserves.
The reason for this arrangement is that the ordinary troops of the Eighth Route Army have no idea about the coordination of infantry and tanks, and a battle is likely to be chaotic. Only the infantry battalions of independent regiments have the ability to cooperate with tank troops in combat.
One disadvantage of this arrangement is that there are insufficient troops in all directions and there is only one reinforced battalion.
But this is not a problem. The troops assisting the Independent Regiment in attacking Yuncheng this time include two divisions with more than 20,000 people, and they are also the main divisions.
This troop strength is not an exaggeration.
Because according to common sense, the strength of the attacking side must be more than twice that of the defending side to be considered equal in strength, and the equipment and quality of the Eighth Route Army are generally worse than that of the Japanese. It should be said that two divisions and an independent regiment attack Yuncheng where more than 10,000 Japanese are stationed.
Not enough.
In addition to the 358 regiment led by Chu Yunfei and the three artillery regiments led by Zhou Zhen... this is considered equal in terms of strength, no problem.
The key point is that Zhou Zhen's three artillery regiments are not of the same mind as the Eighth Route Army, otherwise Yuncheng could be captured with a serious attack.
Of the two divisions of the Eighth Route Army, one temporarily deployed to the north of Yuncheng to build a defense line to resist the possible arrival of Japanese reinforcements, while the other divided into regiment-level units to reinforce the independent regiment's main attack force.
To put it simply, let the independent group do the hard work of knocking down bunkers and building gun towers, and let the main group do the hard work of occupying it with soldiers.
This can also be regarded as an unprecedented phenomenon in the Eighth Route Army...the main force actually became a supporting role to cooperate with independent regiments that did not occupy the establishment.
But who allowed Wang Xuexin to be included in the independent group?
Who allowed people to get dozens of tanks?
Who told Wang Xuexin to be the only one in the army who knew how to use tanks?
Therefore, the main force is also unwilling to accept it.
The order to attack the North Gate was the 1st Tank Company, 4th Tank Company commanded by Chen Songyong, Huzi's 13th Company as the following infantry, Zhang Dabiao's 1st Battalion as the main attacking force, and Li Changfu's Hundred Battle Regiment as the coordinating force.
Obviously, the North Gate is the main attack direction of this battle, and all the troops deployed are aces in the army.
Li Yunlong still has doubts about this.
He called Wang Xuexin to the temporary regiment headquarters, shook his hands in front of the map and said: "Little Northeast, is it too obvious if we fight like this? There is only one tank company elsewhere, and two at the north gate. The Japanese will know at a glance that we are
If we are mainly attacking the north, why don’t we allocate men to defend the north gate? Can we succeed in this attack?”
Wang Xuexin knew what Li Yunlong meant. He wanted to give the Japanese a plank road to cross Chencang secretly. He did not tell the Japanese which direction they would attack, and then suddenly he would do something cruel.
However, Wang Xuexin replied: "Captain, don't worry, there are still ruthless people behind us!"
Zhao Gang was still worried, and he asked Wang Xuexin worriedly: "Comrade Wang Xuexin, I also think there is a problem with fighting like this. Although the Japanese built a railway, which gave us an extra channel tens of meters wide, according to the news from our military intelligence personnel
, the Japanese have prepared dozens of artillery pieces, enough to block this passage with firepower. On the other hand, the artillery of the Shanxi-Sui Army still seems to have poor communication, should we consider it again..."
The poor communication between the artillery units of the Shanxi-Sui Army was actually Zhou Zhen's intentional act.
He planned to install one before the war started. After the war started, he would have an excuse for not firing and not cooperating. He said that the signal was not good and he did not receive the order to fire. Who could do anything to him then?
Go to Yan Laoxina to question him?
The most Yan Laoxi could do was scold him a few times, then turn around and give Zhou Zhen a thumbs up and another reward. Then it would be the Eighth Route Army that would suffer the consequences.
The Jinsui Army has been playing this trick a lot, and the Eighth Route Army has also been on guard.
So when I discovered that the artillery unit was not communicating well, I realized that something was wrong.
However, Wang Xuexin said this and persuaded Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang within a few seconds.
In Yuncheng, Ikegami Xianji regarded this battle as a rare opportunity for him to make meritorious deeds.
He immediately organized a meeting of various ministries and lectured: "Everyone, this time the Eighth Route Army and the Shanxi-Sui Army unite, they have fifty tanks and more than seventy artillery pieces... The strength is three times that of our army! They
They probably hope to seize Yuncheng in a short time, but we must not let them succeed! This is an opportunity for our ninth brigade to stand up, so cheer up! The time has come to serve the empire!"
"Yes!" The subordinates responded in unison.
It is not without reason that Ikegami Kenji was able to grasp the strength of the Eighth Route Army and the Jinsui Army so accurately and quickly... There were many spies in the Jinsui Army who were bribed by the Japanese.
If in the past, when the Jinsui Army still occupied Yuncheng, the officers and soldiers still had a glimmer of hope for the Jinsui Army, then after the Jinsui Army withdrew from Yuncheng, everyone from top to bottom despaired of the Jinsui Army.
This is not actually the fault of these officers and soldiers, because everyone knows that the Jinsui Army that has lost its independence can only become a vassal, either of the Japanese or the stubborn army, and there is no third possibility.
Retaking Yuncheng at this time is considered the third possibility, but this is an opportunity that suddenly pops up, and the officers and soldiers did not know it before.
Therefore, during this darkest period of the Jinsui Army, the officers and soldiers were looking for a way out for themselves.
They either surrendered to the Japanese or to the stubborn army.
Those who plan to join the stubborn army believe that China still has hope to win this war, or they hold the idea that they would rather die than become a ghost of China.
Those who plan to vote for the Japanese have no hope of victory... If they are going to fail in the end, why not vote for the Japanese now?
For the latter, all it takes is for the spy who has been infiltrated by the Japanese to open his mouth and get a little favor, and then they will hit it off.
The information on Kenkichi Ikegami was provided by these people.
This is also the reason why Wang Xuexin will guard the last "harsh move" so strictly. Even the headquarters does not know about it. It was not until now that the fight was about to begin that Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang were informed.