After more than two hours of fierce fighting, the air battle was decided. The fleet that had previously covered the sky had become sparse, and both sides suffered heavy losses.
The Japanese dispatched 327 fighter jets, but in the end only 50 of them escaped, most of them injured;
China invested 152 fighter jets and 107 bombers in waves, for a total of 259 fighter jets. 51 were shot down, 72 were damaged, and nearly half were killed.
Fortunately, most of the injured aircraft were able to return to the sky after repairs. 21 fighter pilots and 55 bomber crew members were sacrificed. Although the cost was high, they still won and gained air superiority in the combat area.
After gaining air supremacy, the Chinese Air Force carried out indiscriminate bombings on the Japanese ground troops. More than 80 flying fortress bombers dropped nearly 700 heavy aerial bombs on the Japanese, bringing thousands of casualties to the Japanese infantry division. casualties.
The Japanese tanks and artillery were almost completely lost. The Chinese tanks rushed into the Japanese at high speed, destroying those far away with tank guns and machine guns, and directly crushing those close by with tanks. The grass was dyed red by the corpses of the Japanese. The real corpses lay everywhere. Rivers of blood flowed across the fields, wiping out the blood of the Japanese Chahar Corps.
Gao Feng, commander of the first mechanized infantry brigade of the tank force, reported to Li Qing:
"Commander, most of the Japanese Chahar dispatched troops were annihilated, 137 enemy tanks were destroyed or captured, 82 artillery pieces of various types were captured, and no less than 200 were destroyed;
More than 1,000 vehicles of various types were destroyed and seized, more than 23,000 ghosts were killed, and more than 6,000 ghosts were captured. Only a small number of ghosts escaped. The equipment and materials seized are still being counted. There are too many. "
Li Qing nodded and continued to ask:
"What are the troop casualties?"
Gao Feng's face suddenly fell and he said sadly:
"The entire column suffered more than 6,000 casualties, many of whom were our old brothers who came from the Zijin Mountain base area. In addition, the 101st Column, which cooperated in the operation, also suffered more than 1,000 casualties;
29 tanks, 17 self-propelled artillery pieces, and more than 100 vehicles of various types were lost. The artillery brigade also lost more than 30 artillery pieces. The consumption of ammunition and materials cannot be calculated.
The Kwantung Army was indeed the elite force of the Japanese. Even though we had every advantage, we still suffered nearly 8,000 casualties;
I heard that the Air Force also suffered a lot of losses. "
Li Qing also looked sad after hearing this, but as a commander he still comforted Gao Feng and said:
“Lao Gao, this is a national war to regain lost territory, and we must all be mentally prepared to make heavy sacrifices;
Our sacrifice is great, and the enemy's loss is even greater!
We cannot afford to fight such a decisive battle, let alone the Japanese. In order to regain our country, no matter how big the sacrifice, it is worth it!
I remember when we were still in the Seventh Company, Lao Chu told us that our generation is to fight all the wars so that our descendants will no longer have to fight. This is the value of our sacrifice;
Lao Gao, for the sake of future generations, keep fighting! "
Gao Feng nodded solemnly. The battle had just begun. There were still hundreds of thousands of Kwantung troops waiting for them to destroy.
The soldiers were very fast. After destroying the Japanese mechanized troops, the left-wing regiment continued to attack deep into the grassland. The Japanese organized troops to block many times, but were defeated by the tank brigade;
On the undefensible grassland, the infantry group could not stop the mechanized corps's assault. The only reason that could stop them was that there was no fuel.
The Chinese armored column advanced deep into the grassland at a speed of about 150 kilometers per day. It did not turn to attack Manchuria as the Japanese thought. This made the heavy defense line prepared by the Japanese in advance worthless. The Japanese had been guessing their plans. Where is the target of the assault?
At the headquarters of the Kwantung Army, a dozen old Japanese soldiers gathered together and gathered around the map to study the position from which the Chinese mechanized corps would invade Manchuria;
With hundreds of kilometers of defense line, it is really hard to guard against.
"Gentlemen, let me tell you, China's mechanized assault force has more than 100,000 people, with a large number of aircraft, tanks and self-propelled artillery. Infantry and supplies are carried by trucks;
Now that they have control of the air again, the Imperial Army's reconnaissance planes cannot get close to them and cannot control their movements in a timely manner. "
General Umezu Yoshijiro's words caused everyone to think deeply. The matter was of great importance, and no one dared to speak hastily. If they guessed wrong, they would have to bear huge responsibility.
General Umezu naturally knew that he knew their concerns, but he needed to brainstorm ideas, so he snorted coldly:
"It's okay, gentlemen. The mechanized corps of the Eighth Route Army is advancing at a speed of more than 100 kilometers every day. Due to the lag in intelligence, no one knows where they are now. This is very dangerous!
Kasahara-kun, you are the chief of staff, you should take the lead first. "
He first selected the general of Yukio Kasahara, which was also his responsibility as chief of staff.
Lieutenant General Kasahara stood up with a chuckle and said:
"Your Excellency, Commander, Chu Xiong has always been good at using large detour tactics. Based on his usual military style, his assault target is most likely Qiqihar, an important town in Northern Manchuria;
Then continue to advance eastward, attack and occupy Bingcheng, cut off the connection between Xinjing and the Far East, cut off the retreat route of our Kwantung Army Xinjing Corps, and attack Xinjing front and back with the main force of the Eighth Route Army in Shengjing! "
Several other deputy chiefs of staff agreed with Lieutenant General Kasahara's judgment.
Umezu Yoshijiro took a breath and thought along Kasahara Yukio's train of thought, breaking out in a cold sweat. If this were true, the Kwantung Army headquarters, including himself, might be surrounded and annihilated in Xinjing.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible. This was very consistent with Chu Xiong's combat style. Thinking of this, he nodded heavily and said:
"If this is the case, the important town of Qiqihar in Northern Manchuria must be defended!
Qiqihar currently has a 12th Division, and its strength is obviously not enough. The most elite 9th Division must be supplemented by the 71st Division, the 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment, the 4th Regiment, the 3rd Tank Brigade, The 5th Flying Regiment and other units were transferred to Qiqihar City, with a total strength of about 80,000, and the 27th Army was formed, under the unified command of Lieutenant General Hara Morijiro, commander of the 9th Division. "
General Meijin always kept his word in the Kwantung Army. Following his order, the 9th Division and other Japanese soldiers scattered in Heishui and Ji Province quickly gathered to support Qiqihar City.
After receiving the order from the Kwantung Army Headquarters, the Japanese 12th Division drove tens of thousands of civilians in the city to reinforce the defense line outside the city. They used a large amount of concrete to build strong bunkers in preparation for a decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army.
'While the 12th Division was building defenses day and night, they finally discovered the Eighth Route Army's mechanized corps more than fifty kilometers west of Qiqihar. It was so majestic that it could not be seen at a glance. The Eighth Route Army was just as Lieutenant General Yukio Kasahara expected. They came to kill Qiqihar City.
"Hey, Mr. Shinohara is really the Zhuge Kongming of the empire!"
