Okamura Neji also hesitated at the time, thinking whether it was necessary to make up for this shortcoming.
Because at least on the Chinese battlefield, the imperial tanks are still barely adequate.
However, Okamura Neji then thought about it, is it really enough?
When facing the T34 of the Eighth Route Army, didn’t the Imperial tanks suffer repeated defeats?
Isn't this one of the reasons why he has always hoped to regain air supremacy?
In addition, the Eighth Route Army also has rocket launchers, which can penetrate the frontal armor of the "Type 1" tank, making the Imperial tank a "protected object" at all times.
If the empire can learn Hans' advanced tank technology and even tactics, does that mean that when the air supremacy is evenly matched, the imperial army does not need to worry about the enemy's T34?
Thinking of this, Okamura Neiji no longer hesitated and immediately responded: "Please tell me, Mr. Kono, that we are willing to cooperate!"
After a pause, Okamura Neiji added: "However, I hope your army can send more military advisers and related equipment. I need... to form a brand new airborne force!"
Kono Shinta thought for a while, then nodded and said: "No problem, I will report the General's request to Hans. I think they have no reason to refuse!"
Hans certainly had no reason to refuse.
The reason is that Hans also needs a powerful Jaap... After all, the Japs can also contain Yingjiang on the battlefield, and Yingjiang is Hans's formidable enemy.
So Okamura Neji and Hans happily reached an agreement.
This situation made Neji Okamura even forget that the war on the front line was not over yet...
At this time, the Japanese were in embarrassment.
To be precise, it's not an embarrassment, but rather a defeat.
Although Commander Endo Shino retreated with the remaining defeated troops, but they were mechanical troops that penetrated deep into the heart of the Eighth Route Army. Where could they escape to?
There were also three squadrons of mechanized troops still taking advantage of the darkness to attack the Eighth Route Army's granary... Okamura Neiji was so shocked by the rout on the front line that he simply forgot about these three squadrons.
According to normal command, these three squadrons should be withdrawn immediately, the sooner the better.
The reason is very simple. For mechanized troops that go deep into the enemy's hinterland, all supplies such as fuel, ammunition, etc. are airdropped by the aviation fleet.
Food is second to none. The Japanese can use compressed biscuits to survive for a few days. In addition, they can also plunder the people to support the war.
Medicines can also be ignored. The Japanese can give each wounded soldier a grenade.
The focus is on ammunition and fuel.
Without ammunition, they fired fewer and fewer bullets. When they ran out of ammunition, they could only sit and wait to die.
Without fuel, all their tanks and chariots could not move, and their mechanized troops were reduced to infantry.
Originally, none of this was a problem. After all, the Japanese had many bombers and the temporary airport was not far from the front line, so they were fully capable of providing them with sufficient supplies.
But now...
The air force was blown up into the sky, and two temporary airports and most of the supplies in the airport were also sent away.
The reason why I say "vast majority" is because the temporary airport is connected to the railway track, and many supplies are still on the train and have not had time to be unloaded.
When the Japanese saw that something was not going well, they immediately drove away the train and rescued a batch of supplies in time.
However, this batch of supplies is only a drop in the bucket compared to the airport.
With no planes or airports, what would the Japanese use to airdrop mechanized troops?
The Japanese frontline commander was not unaware of this situation. Under normal circumstances, he should order the troops to evacuate urgently rather than continue the attack.
The question is... Okamura Neiji remained silent. Who would dare to order the troops to stop attacking as a Japanese who has always regarded "obeying orders as his bounden duty"?
Some commanders even believed that Okamura Neiji wanted to make a desperate move, hoping that these three squadrons could capture the granary and turn defeat into victory. Therefore, instead of ordering a halt to the attack, he urged the troops to step up the offensive at all costs.
By the time Okamura Neiji came to his senses and ordered the troops to retreat urgently, it was already an hour later. By then, the ammunition of the mechanized troops was almost exhausted and they were even charging forward with bayonets drawn.
This situation made Neji Okamura yell in anger: "These bastards think they are dealing with the old Eighth Route Army. Don't they know that the current Eighth Route Army is already the Eighth Route Army with 'special bombs'?"
Kono Shinta's words "The Eighth Route Army is more advanced than Hans" have left a shadow in Okamura Neiji's heart, so much so that "special bomb" has become a synonym for the Eighth Route Army that should not be underestimated.
Okamura Neiji hurriedly ordered a complete withdrawal of troops. At the same time, the 21st Division, which was fighting with the Eighth Route Army on the defense line, should try its best to hold the gap in the defense line.
On the other hand, the 21st Division sent a support force to meet Endo Shino and his defeated troops.
Okamura Neiji did not want this army to be wiped out. After all, this was an elite infantry force, veterans selected from various units who could block ten with one... Okamura Neiji never expected that these veterans would be sent to
Their role after the battlefield is not much different from that of new recruits, because they were all bombed by "special bombs" at Wangxing Airport.
However, Okamura Neji once again kept things simple.
Just when Okamura Neji was doing these actions, Li Yunlong had already handed over the defense of Yuncheng to Kong Jie, and led thousands of his subordinates, including the tank battalion, northward along the Yuncheng defense line...
Their goal was to create a gap in the defense line created by the 21st Division. As long as this gap could be blocked, the Japanese mechanized troops would not be able to escape even if they had three heads and six arms.
Because the Japanese air force had basically been wiped out, the Japanese, who had lost their reconnaissance planes, were completely unaware of the independent group's actions.
There is no need to say more about the next battle.
After Li Yunlong came up, he first blasted the Japanese with a rocket launcher, and then the soldiers of the independent regiment launched a counterattack against the Japanese under the cover of T34 tanks.
Although the Japanese 21st Division is equipped with a "Type 1" tank, it is immature, and its firepower and defense are far inferior to the T34, so it is no match for the T34.
In fact, the most important thing is that this battle is fought at night.
At this time, none of the tanks had the ability to fight at night, but the tank battalions of the independent regiments were trained to have some night fighting capabilities.
This is the method used by Wang Xuexin when he attacked Yuncheng before, relying on infantry tanks and rocket launchers to fire incendiary bombs to indicate targets for tanks.
Although it only has "partial night combat capability", it is many times stronger than the Japanese tank which has no night combat capability at all.
Therefore, like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, the Independent Regiment retook the defense line and blocked the gap.
As a result, Endo Shino and three squadrons of mechanized troops, as well as a battalion of about a thousand reinforcements, were surrounded in the defense line.