Dai County, Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region Headquarters.
"Well, the position is well laid out. Coupled with the special troops we brought, this is a defense system with no weaknesses."
"Old Nie, LYL, let's go back. The mission is clear now. It's only a matter of time to capture the cavalry group stationed in Mongolia. There is no need to worry about Commander Yang."
"What's more, I don't see any late-night snacks prepared here."
For the tiger in the forest, what he is most worried about in this battle is the left battlefield.
Although the cavalry group attacking Dai County and the independent mixed second brigade were completely at a disadvantage in terms of strength and firepower. But the enemy has a trump card like the tank regiment, which is definitely a tough nut to crack.
Once the Japs launch a night attack, those Type 95 light tanks and Type 97 medium tanks will become unknown variables that affect the battle situation.
Melee combat and night combat are indeed the glorious traditions of our army, and they are also the most valuable skills of soldiers.
However, for today's Eighth Route Army, fighting at night will weaken our own firepower advantage, not to mention that the enemy still has many armored vehicles and tanks.
It is precisely because of the above reasons and in order to reduce the losses of the troops that the Tigers in the Forest waited until the troops gained absolute advantage on the frontal battlefield and the right-wing battlefield, and then rushed to the left-wing headquarters overnight with secret weapons.
That’s right!
The trump card that came to support was the Searchlight 121 Regiment established by the headquarters after the Battle of Taiyuan.
The weak complain about the environment, while the strong change the environment. Since fighting at night is risky, then turn night into day.
After his division commander expressed his thoughts on inspecting the position, 103 followed up by emphasizing:
"The current Japanese army is different from the one before the beginning of the all-out war of resistance. Especially after the defeat of the First Army, the Japs in the North China Front also began to pay attention to the training of night battles."
"Tonight, there is a high probability that the old fox Nishihara Issaku will put up all the chips and decide the outcome with us."
"Your column must cooperate well with the 421st Regiment and the 1st and 2nd Air Divisions. Try to completely destroy the enemy's main force before dawn."
In 1937, Tiger in the Forest specifically wrote in his diary: The enemy's aircraft, artillery, tanks, and cavalry are almost useless in night battles. The enemy officers and soldiers have no experience in night battles. Therefore, our army should make every effort to use night battles to annihilate the enemy.
Large-scale night battles can be carried out on moonlit nights, small-scale night battles can be carried out on sparkling nights, and night battles that disturb the enemy can be carried out on dark nights.
It is even more necessary to coordinate night operations with day operations, and to expand the results of night operations during the day.
However, as the equipment of the Eighth Route Army got better and better, the combat effectiveness of both sides changed dramatically, and the Japanese had no choice but to start advocating night fighting.
The Army Toyama School, which is famous for teaching slashing, assassination, and fighting, even specially compiled a more professional drill code called "Infantry Night Education."
After all, it is a matter related to survival. No matter how arrogant the top brass of the Japanese Army are, they have to make changes.
Hearing this, Commander Yang nodded seriously.
In the previous battle at Julebao, he and the 103rd jointly encountered a large-scale night attack at almost the division level. He was deeply impressed by the enemy's tactics of combining virtual reality with reality, outflanking surprise attacks, and dividing troops to advance by leaps and bounds.
"Don't worry, the stage tonight will be left to the friendly forces. Our column will seriously provide support."
"The good news you three are waiting for me is that tomorrow morning will be the day when the cavalry group stationed in Mongolia will be destroyed. As for the battle on the left, I am confident that it will be completely over within a week."
Having said this, Commander Yang paused for a moment, then called the guard on standby and said, "Run to inform the kitchen and quickly order three bowls of noodles so that the chiefs can have a midnight snack before going back."
"OK!"
Amid a burst of laughter, the four of them, accompanied by the guards, moved to the cooking class together.
······
Twenty minutes later, the forward position of the left wing battlefield.
"My dear mother, this thing is too thick, and it is covered with foreign code."
"Comrade, you are the support troops sent by the headquarters. Welcome. If you need any help, just ask. Don't be embarrassed."
"What are these, can you tell me?"
Seeing dozens of trucks coming to support with unprecedented machinery, Commander Wang, who was in charge of the first line of defense, first told the deputy regiment to take over his post, and then led the political commissar and guard platoon over to help unload the goods.
Although the current Eighth Route Army attaches great importance to the culture and education of grassroots soldiers, foreign languages are still out of reach for most comrades.
The strange "weapon" made all the soldiers who helped curious.
"You are talking about this. It is a DC generator with a power of nine kilowatts. Our leader said that this thing is an original product from the British Rolls-Royce Company. There are only dozens of them in the entire Republic of China."
"As for the thick tube next to it, it is a ninety-centimeter searchlight. It is also the secret weapon prepared by the division commander for this battle."
As soon as these words came out, the soldiers on the battlefield were all amazed.
After all, today is the first time that the Searchlight Troop makes its debut, and no one knows or has seen these new weapons.
As we all know, the Handsome Warrior is a night multi-role fighter. When designing, engineers took into account a variety of combat environments, including offshore anti-submarine warfare.
As an upgraded version provided by Awakening the Brave Tiger, Huang He uses the handsome warrior produced by the military factory in the system, and comes with optional accessories like the Cicada tank.
Only this time it's not a Little John adapter, but an advanced searchlight similar to Lee's.
The ultimate range of this equipment is 6096 meters. Whether it is airborne anti-submarine or disassembled for air defense, it is the best choice.
In fact, during World War II, Daiying was definitely ranked among the top three in the world in terms of searchlight unit development. In 1935, they began a searchlight equipment modernization and improvement plan.
During the Battle of Britain, several searchlight regiments were directly involved in the battle. In the Suez Canal and Gibraltar, there were also troops dedicated to torturing the Dönitz wolves.
Even in the middle and late stages of the war, Daiying produced the CDL Canal Defense Light, which can be called the World War II version of the Prism Tank, but the special tank had little chance of being used on the frontal battlefield.
These ninety-centimeter searchlights were also equipped with manual shutters and were used as signal lights on the battleships, allowing them to communicate with other ships in the fleet over long distances.
In the original timeline, TG's own searchlight unit had to wait until nine years later.
During the anti-aggression war on the peninsula, the three regiments hit more than 1,100 enemy aircraft. Cooperating with the Air Force and anti-aircraft artillery units, they damaged more than 50 enemy aircraft, and even recorded 4 unparalleled shootdowns.
Now under the leadership of Huang He, the Eighth Route Army established the Searchlight Unit in 1941.
Originally, he wanted to produce some auxiliary weapons on his own to help the anti-aircraft artillery units stationed in various counties in Shanxi Province for air defense.
After all, in order to cover the three divisions attacking Datong, the Army Aviation of the North China Front launched day and night suicide attacks, breaking them into pieces just to contain their own air force.
With searchlights, the anti-aircraft artillery units can maintain more or less accuracy at night.
But who could have imagined that the comrades of the Kong 1st Division were so powerful that it only took them a few days to defeat the enemy. These searchlights of his have no use before they have formed combat effectiveness.
In this battle, in order to prevent the armored night attacks of the cavalry group, the tigers in the forest directly pulled this special unit to the front line.
In a sense, it can be regarded as unintentional intervention.
Half an hour later, all 94 searchlights were deployed. They are evenly distributed on the first line of defense to ensure that the enemy can be illuminated without blind spots.
Each searchlight will be equipped with three soldiers, two of whom are responsible for managing the generator and the other operating the searchlight.
When more power or less power is needed, the latter will inform the generator operator through the Morse device on the light. If conditions permit, the operator can also directly use a portable communicator to shout.
"Comrade, do you think the Japs will really come tonight?"
"I'm not afraid of your jokes. This is my first time on the battlefield, so I'm still a little nervous."
The searchlight troops at the headquarters and the leaders at the regimental and battalion levels are all selected from cadres who are studying at the Anti-Japanese University.
The main account testers, on average, have a high school education, and some of them are college students who came from the Northwest Associated University to join the army some time ago.
The academic qualifications of all members are as high as those of the Air Force. The reason for such a big war is naturally to prepare for the future radar unit.
Hearing what the young comrade said, the soldier who was obviously a veteran showed a gentle smile.
"When I first went to the battlefield, my performance was not as good as you are now. At that time, there was not even one gun per person, and there were even fewer bullets."
"Look at the Japanese. They want guns and cannons, but they are really rich."
Obviously, the story of the old comrade was very attractive, and even the two men who operated the generator turned their attention.
These three people were engineering college students who had just joined the army. They looked forward to and a little bit afraid of the war to defend their homeland and country.
"Then, how did comrade adjust his mentality? I remember the early days of our Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. It can definitely be described as difficult."
"Aren't you afraid?"
Hearing this, the old soldier touched the new cotton-padded clothes he received when winter came, and then replied calmly:
"Afraid. In fact, I am afraid every time there is a combat mission. When I go to the battlefield, I am afraid that something will happen. I am sorry for my wife and children who are still waiting for me at home."
"However, if you don't go to the battlefield, you will be sorry for the Eighth Route Army and the trust of my fellow villagers. Don't tell me, if you put on these clothes, you really won't be so afraid."
"When the fight starts, you guys must be obedient. I will definitely take you home alive. Our superiors have told us that people are more important than equipment. Don't hesitate when it's time to retreat." (End of Chapter)
