...According to the battle report after the squadron leader of the Japanese flying squadron that performed this reinforcement mission returned:
"We discovered what appeared to be a small armored unit of the Eighth Route Army that defeated Major Nishizono, and successfully blew up a dozen enemy tanks and armored vehicles. That unit has been completely destroyed!"
It is said that Major Nishizono, who learned the news later, looked up to the sky and sighed:
The sky has eyes!
Almost all of the two tank squadrons he led were lost in the hands of the small armored force of the Eighth Route Army.
Now he was finally avenged by the empire's flying troops.
However, there are also smart Japanese officers who disagree with this.
During this period of time, since a large number of Eighth Route Army armored units appeared in the western Inner Mongolia area, several squadrons affiliated with the Wuchagou Imperial Army Airport have been performing combat missions almost every day, and have made gains every day.
The relevant staff departments of the Japanese army have also analyzed the corresponding situation.
According to the combat status reported by the flying troops every now and then, the total number of Eighth Route Army tanks that were blown up in total must have been at least 200, right?
But the question is, where did the Eighth Route Army get so many tanks?
In addition, if it has really succeeded in blowing up so many tanks of the Eighth Route Army, why have the various offensive units of the Nanzhi Armored Brigade been attacked from time to time by small groups of armored units of the Eighth Route Army? What about a sneak attack?
Is it possible that the Eighth Route Army has more than one armored brigade?
I'm afraid this is unlikely, right?
According to data records related to the Japanese army, the Chinese army once built an armored corps when the Sino-Japanese war officially broke out.
It's just that the armored corps built by the Central Army was directly disabled in the Songhu Battle, and later even the designation was changed to the infantry designation.
At this point, the Chinese army basically has no established armored units.
Therefore, a Japanese staff officer boldly put forward an idea:
"Is it possible that the so-called Eighth Route Army armored units that our flying units blew up were not true from beginning to end? Don't you think that every bombing mission we carry out goes too smoothly?
Many times, even when we were performing bombing missions, we did not receive any counterattack from the Eighth Route Army.
This is absolutely against common sense! "
In the end, the Japanese army determined that this situation occurred in a joint operation conducted by armored forces and the air force not long after.
According to the situation reported by the flying unit, dozens of Eighth Route Army armored vehicles were successfully blown up in the target area, so a follow-up Japanese tank squadron arrived quickly.
The Japanese originally wanted to clean up the battlefield and seize it, so they even brought the reporters accompanying the army with them, and planned to take some photos and publish them in the newspaper to satirize the incompetence of the Eighth Route Army in armored combat!
As a result, the little devils who arrived were dumbfounded on the spot when they saw the situation in front of them.
Eighth Route Armored Forces?
There are rotten iron frames, rotten wood, and some obviously homemade rollers, plus some iron sheets that were completely shattered by bombs and painted to imitate the armor of a tank.
Is this the so-called armored unit of the Eighth Route Army that the flying unit blew up?
The Japanese squadron leader who led the team was not stupid. He had inspected the wreckage of the Eighth Route Army armored unit after being bombed. With a sudden change of mind, he immediately understood what the problem was.
In his subsequent report to the headquarters, he said with some indignation:
"These damn Eighth Route Army are extremely cunning. They clearly used these so-called iron frame wooden chariots to paralyze our judgment and deceived our investigation.
Perhaps all the combat missions carried out by our military's flying units during this period and all the enemy's armored units blown up were all fake tanks in this disguise! "
This inference quickly explained many unreasonable points.
No wonder the Eighth Route Army, even if a large number of armored vehicles were destroyed by the flying team, could still launch local raids on the Nanzhi Chariot Brigade from time to time.
No wonder every bombing mission carried out by the flying team goes so smoothly. When the reconnaissance planes are looking for the armored units of the Eighth Route Army, they can find them easily.
It is no wonder that during the bombing process, there was almost no fire resistance from the Eighth Route Army.
"Assholes, these damn bastards!"
At the headquarters of the Mongolian Army, the Japanese commander Jutaro Amakasu was furious. He felt that he was like a clown, being played around by these cunning Eighth Route Army soldiers.
Just a few days ago, when I called Neji Okamura, he said that he had successfully destroyed a large number of armored vehicles of the Eighth Route Army in the western Inner Mongolia area.
It's better now, he has completely become a laughing stock.
...For Kong Jie and Li Yunlong, it is not enough just to make the Japanese army a laughing stock!
The seventh day.
According to the comprehensively deployed weekly tactics, the armored force and mobile force of the Taihang Quick Reaction Force directly under the leadership of Li Yunlong, and an armored corps led by Kong Jie, formed a total of two armored forces.
The final decisive battle with the Nanzhi tank group specially built by the Japanese army in the western Inner Mongolia region officially began.
At this time, if you look down from the entire Mengxi area, you can see such a scene.
Originally composed of three tank regiments, the Japanese tank group was a huge force mixed with engineers, mobile artillery, motorcycles and other types of arms.
After six full days of chasing, the originally uniform mechanized combat troops had been scattered into more than a dozen parts.
And the parts are still far apart.
On the outside of these scattered Japanese tank troops were small armored units of the Eighth Route Army that were being chased by the Japanese.
At this time, the Japanese army was chasing exhaustion, not only the soldiers, but also the tanks that were not alive but still needed to consume fuel and would still suffer mechanical losses during the long and long march.
The Japanese tanks and armored vehicles that were pursuing them were obviously much slower than they were six days ago.
Even during the chase between the two sides, some Japanese tanks broke down halfway due to the losses caused by battles that broke out from time to time.
In the past six days, a large number of combat vehicles belonging to the Nanzhi Chariot Brigade had more or less problems.
The most terrible thing is that the fuel carried is almost exhausted.
Until the old Japanese Nan Zhi's order was quickly issued, requiring the scattered troops to gather immediately to guard against being defeated one by one by the Eighth Route Army.
Logistics troops and transport convoys were also immediately dispatched to deliver fuel and supplies to various local tank units.
The decisive battle broke out at this time...
at this time.
Hetao area.
General Headquarters of the 35th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
Commander Fu, who is good at stealing chickens, is immersed in the military map in front of him. He is studying the evolution of the battle situation.
The chief of staff who was following the analysis was sighing: "Yi Gong, today is already the seventh day. According to the intelligence information we received, in these nearly seven days, the Japanese used flying troops to destroy the Eighth Route Army. Lots of armored vehicles.
On the plateau in western Inner Mongolia, you can see the Japanese tank brigade almost everywhere, and the Japanese are killing the Eighth Route Army armored units everywhere..."
At the end, the chief of staff even couldn't bear to continue talking.
"Yi Gong... the situation seems to be getting worse and worse. Maybe the so-called armored force of the Eighth Route Army has been completely wiped out by the little devils.
I just can't figure it out. In this situation, why does the 120th Division dare to pat its chest and say that they can contain the main armored force of the Japanese?
Do you still want us to launch an attack alongside them? "
Commander Fu did not speak immediately.
After a moment of thinking, he asked: "Ming Buddha, do you think the Eighth Route Army is smart or stupid?"
"this……"
The chief of staff was silent.
As Fu Yisheng's fellow countryman and Fu Yisheng's most trusted subordinate, he followed Fu Yisheng and had many interactions with the Eighth Route Army. He also had a more in-depth study of the Eighth Route Army, including its beliefs and guerrilla tactics.
The chief of staff had to admit this.
"The Eighth Route Army is indeed not a stupid force. They rarely fight uncertain battles!"
Commander Fu laughed: "This is exactly the reason. Therefore, the information we have obtained and the situations we have seen may be superficial.
From what I know about Lao He, this old guy is really capable.
The Eighth Route Army knew that their armored troops would be surrounded and suppressed by the Japanese armored forces after they appeared in the Mengxi area. Why did they do this?
There must be something going on! "
"Yi Gong, do we still need to continue to support the Eighth Route Army in fighting?"
Commander Fu said happily: "Old rule, don't rush, wait until the fight between the two parties becomes heated, then there will be more and more loopholes, and then we will have the opportunity to take advantage of them!"
The chief of staff smiled and said nothing, and did not let go of the hawk when he saw the rabbit. This is exactly the characteristic of Yi Gong!
…
The 26th Division of the Japanese Army was building a defensive line from the north of Datong to the border of Inner Mongolia.
In accordance with the orders of the General Headquarters, the 26th Division deployed a large number of combat troops on the defense line early in the morning, waiting for the Nanzhi Chariot Brigade to drive away all the armored units of the Eighth Route Army that appeared in the West Inner Mongolia area.
Then complete the combat mission of flanking attack from both sides.
As a result, the situation that the little devils of the 26th Division imagined that a large number of armored units of the Eighth Route Army would be defeated all the way and then be attacked and eliminated by them did not happen.
On the contrary, half a day later, urgent news came one after another.
First, there was a request for help message from the headquarters of the Nanzhi Chariot Brigade.
The news was very urgent, claiming that there was an urgent need. His unit was subjected to a comprehensive counterattack by the Eighth Route Army's armored vehicles, causing heavy casualties and urgently needed reinforcements.
Immediately afterwards, the order from the headquarters was also conveyed:
The 26th Division was required to immediately mobilize all mobile units northward to reinforce the Nanzhi Brigade.
Datong, the headquarters of the Japanese 26th Division in Datong.
The newly appointed commander of the Japanese 26th Division, Lieutenant General Kuroda Shigenori, also looked confused at this time.
What on earth is this bastard Nan Zhi doing?
Didn't news come out a few days ago that the battle was going very smoothly, that a large number of armored units of the Eighth Route Army had been successfully destroyed, and that the final strangulation would be completed soon?
Why are you suddenly asking for help again?
Lieutenant General Kuroda had a headache. In fact, he was very reluctant to serve as the division commander of the 26th Division.
——It’s all the fault of this old devil Okamura.
Since the Eighth Route Army in North China has become more and more noisy, especially in the Taihang base area, especially that detachment of the Eighth Route Army, the Iron Triangle and many other units have gradually risen and grown step by step, becoming a serious problem for the Japanese army.
The senior officers of the Japanese army were not willing to serve in the North China Front Army at all.
Why?
That's a big mess.
According to relevant data, so far, although the entire North China area is still generally under the control of the Japanese army, at least nearly ten Japanese soldiers will die every day.
After a large-scale operation like this is launched, this number will increase several times or even dozens of times.
These Eighth Route Army troops in the occupied areas were like psoriasis. The Japanese troops were tortured to death, but they could not get rid of it.
Therefore, Japs who serve as officers of the North China Front often bear considerable pressure.
The Japanese officers of the North China Front were also mobilized most frequently.
There's nothing we can do about it. If we lose this battle, we'll have to be punished. We'll have to replace them. Then new officers will have to be transferred.
Finally, Lieutenant General Kuroda ordered that all the mechanized combat units under the 26th Division be temporarily mobilized and centralized, and attached to some cavalry under the superior division, to form a rapid mobile force to reinforce the western Mongolian area.
...At this time, in the Mengxi region, most of this area belongs to the plateau area with less undulating terrain.
The decisive battle between the armored troops of the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese tank brigade has been going on for nearly half a day.
The weekly tactics set by Kong Jie and Li Yunlong were implemented smoothly.
The horn of decisive battle suddenly sounded.
The Japanese Nanzhi Tank Brigade was already tired, both in terms of soldiers and tanks. On the Eighth Route Army side, the soldiers had undergone several days of training and the tanks had also been maintained for several days. It was at the peak of their combat power.
According to the deployment of Kong Jie and Li Yunlong on the 6th.
The troops, with companies as combat units, have successfully established themselves at various nodes in the Mongolian region.
After the decisive battle broke out, these nodes quickly connected. Looking down from above, it looked like sharp knives suddenly appeared inside the Japanese tank troops, stabbing out the Japanese soldiers unprepared.
The baggage troops, transportation troops and logistics troops belonging to the Japanese Nanji tank group received priority attention.
Especially the tank trucks used by the Japanese to transport fuel. Shortly after the decisive battle broke out, most of them were found by the tanks of the Eighth Route Army and then destroyed.
At this time, many tanks on the Japanese side had not yet had time to be repaired, the fuel was almost bottoming out, and the original tank clusters were relatively scattered.
The Eighth Route Army's onslaught began.
A large number of modified tanks took off their camouflage, just like they were on this plateau.
Cannons roared and machine guns fired.
The modified tanks have made it difficult for the Japanese tank troops to withstand.
The Eighth Route Army actually used the chassis of captured Japanese tanks and then assembled anti-tank artillery on the chassis to create an anti-tank self-propelled artillery that was light, mobile, but extremely practical, and could be called a tank killer.
Or it can be said to be an anti-tank assault vehicle.
The little devils from Nanzhi Brigade have never seen such a battle before.
Under the attack of these anti-tank assault vehicles, the Japanese tanks, which were already thin-skinned, were beaten with almost no power to fight back.
Once the decisive battle broke out, the so-called elite armored Nanzhi Chariot Brigade of the Japanese army, which was originally still arrogant, pursued them wildly.
It was immediately defeated.
The so-called armored confrontation between the two sides presented a one-sided situation...
(End of chapter)
