"Has the new artillery position been constructed?"
Amakasu Jutaro asked a combat staff officer.
"Report to Commander, not yet!"
The combat staff member lowered his head and answered bitterly.
The Japanese's two artillery regiments moved their artillery positions. The artillery positions they built earlier were moved after firing only five rounds.
However, some of the artillery and artillery units were blown to pieces by the Eighth Route Army's artillery observers who guided the artillery fire.
It takes a lot of time to find and build artillery positions again.
"Order!" Jutaro Amakasu said in a crazy tone: "After the artillery has completed the construction of the artillery position, it will immediately fire in the direction of the Eighth Route Army tanks to cover the artillery fire."
"Hi!"
The combat staff member suddenly lowered his head, turned around and went to deliver the order.
Seeing this, Nishihara Issaku sighed helplessly in his heart.
As the division commander of the 3rd Tank Division, he naturally knows that at this point in the war, it is no longer possible for the current troops stationed in Mongolia to defeat the Eighth Route Army.
Whether it is the opponent's Eighth Route Army or the main force of our own army stationed in Mongolia, tank units are each other's trump card.
However, the main tank unit of the Mongolian army could not defeat the tank unit of the Eighth Route Army.
Nishihara's original plan was to use the 12th Tank Regiment and the anti-tank brigade to kill the Eighth Route Army's tanks.
However, the Yin people failed and instead brought in the 12th Tank Regiment and the Anti-Tank Brigade.
The Eighth Route Army's tank losses were almost zero.
The Locust Army's chariot unit, with only one chariot brigade left, is definitely no match for the Eighth Route Army's tanks.
In addition to tanks, the Eighth Route Army also had terrifying artillery firepower as its trump card.
No matter how Nishihara Yice analyzed it, he felt that the Mongolian army had no chance of winning.
In the current battle situation, even if the commander of the North China Front Army, Okamura Neiji, came in person, it would be impossible to defeat the main force of the Eighth Route Army on the opposite side.
The firepower gap is too large and cannot be made up by the commander's tactical command ability and the individual quality of the soldiers.
In normal times, it would be impossible for Commander Amakasu Jutaro not to know the strength gap between the Mongolian Army and the Eighth Route Army.
But here's the thing.
In this battle, Jutaro Amakasu is already a bit overmatched.
Issei Nishihara looked through his binoculars and saw that two tank regiments and two infantry regiments had bypassed the Eighth Route Army's position from the left and right flanks.
The 13th Tank Regiment on the left wing and the 11th Infantry Regiment of the 26th Division were targeting the Eighth Route Army's artillery positions.
The 17th Tank Regiment on the right wing and the infantry regiment of the 3rd Tank Regiment were targeting the northern city wall of Datong.
The entire battlefield was filled with smoke and the roar of artillery, making it look like an apocalyptic scene.
At this time, the Eighth Route Army's left and right cavalry, who were preparing to circle back and attack the Japanese infantry, happened to encounter the Japanese's left and right attacking columns.
The Japanese machine guns rained down heavy bullets, and the cavalry of the Eighth Route Army suddenly fell on their backs.
The two cavalry battalion commanders had no intention of fighting and immediately ordered a retreat.
Although they could not defeat the Japanese tanks, the Eighth Route Army cavalry was faster than the Japanese tanks.
Soon they broke away from the Japanese tanks.
Inside the headquarters of the Mongolian Army.
Nishihara Issaku held up the telescope and looked at the sky.
He found that the transport planes and fighter jets called by the Eighth Route Army had already flown away after dropping the airdrops.
This made Nishihara Yice slightly relieved. Fortunately, those fighter jets did not attack the troops stationed in Mongolia, otherwise the losses of the troops stationed in Mongolia would be even greater.
Especially the cannons on the 3rd Tank Division on the ground and the fighter jets called by the Eighth Route Army can easily penetrate the armor of the top turrets of Type 95 and Type 97 tanks.
and.
Those fighter jets only drove away the 2nd Flying Team, but did not shoot them down.
Currently, the 2nd Flying Team is already on its way back to Peking Airport.
Speaking of which, the Second Flying Team was quite frustrated. It was fully loaded with fuel and bombs and hovered over Datong for more than half an hour. Without firing a single round of ammunition, it was scared away by the plane called by the Eighth Route Army.
Thinking of this, Issaku Nishihara said to Jutaro Amakasu:
"Your Excellency, Commander, the transport planes and fighter jets called by the Eighth Route Army have left. The 2nd Flight Team is currently on its way back to Peking Airport to replenish fuel."
"I suggest calling back the 13th Tank Regiment, the 11th Infantry Regiment, the 17th Tank Regiment and the 3rd Division Infantry Regiment."
"Take a break."
"We will wait until the fighters and bombers of the 2nd Flight Team arrive over Datong again before we launch the attack."
The chief of staff of the Mongolian garrison, Major General Toyojiro Daomura, stayed behind at the home base of the Mongolian garrison in Zhangjiakou.
Therefore, Nishihara Issaku plays the role of chief of staff next to Amakasu Jutaro.
Hearing this, Jutaro Amakasu immediately felt that it made sense. When the 2nd Flying Team came back again, the Mongolian Army would have a greater chance of winning.
He was about to issue an order to retreat temporarily.
The communications staff officer came over and reported: "Your Excellency, Commander, the 13th Tank Regiment and the 17th Tank Regiment reported that they both defeated a cavalry regiment of the Eighth Route Army. They are attacking forward. The 17th Tank Regiment is far away. The northern city wall of Datong is only 2 kilometers away!”
Jutaro Amakasu, who was about to order the attacking troops to retreat temporarily, suddenly saw the glimmer of hope for victory.
"Yoshi!"
Jutaro Amakasu exhaled a heavy breath:
"Order!"
"The 13th Tank Regiment, the 17th Tank Regiment, the 11th Infantry Regiment, and the Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Tank Regiment will continue to attack according to the original plan!"
"The tanks should spread out as much as possible to avoid being covered by the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire!"
This battle has been fought so far, and the Locust Army has finally achieved some results.
Moreover, defeating two cavalry regiments of the Eighth Route Army was no small achievement.
The total strength of the Eighth Route Army's two cavalry regiments exceeded that of one Japanese cavalry regiment.
"Hi!"
The communications staff officer lowered his head, turned around and went to deliver the order.
After the communications staff officer left, Jutaro Amakasu said coldly: "Those trash in the First Army, if my 1st Cavalry Brigade were here, this battle wouldn't be so difficult."
Nishihara Issaku wanted to persuade Amakasu Jutaro to withdraw his troops or even give up the mission, but the words were stuck in his mouth and he didn't know how to say them out.
…
"Commander, the Japanese have organized two more attack columns, attacking from the left and right wings."
"Each attacking column consists of a tank regiment plus an infantry regiment."
"Judging from the Japs' attack situation, the Japs attacking troops on the left are coming towards our artillery position."
"The Japanese attack force on the right is heading towards the north wall. They want to cooperate with the 1st Division inside and outside."
In the Eighth Route Army headquarters, the combat staff reported to Kong Jie:
"Our attacking cavalry on the left and right flanks encountered the Japanese attacking troops. The cavalry troops have withdrawn and lost contact with the Japanese tanks. Our cavalry suffered little loss."
Although the cavalry of the Independent Regiment and the New Second Regiment are also equipped with bazooka rocket launchers.
But after all, the Japanese tank fleet has more than 60 tanks.
The tank guns of more than 60 tanks and the 7.7mm heavy machine guns mounted on the tanks are enough to kill the Eighth Route Army cavalry.
The cavalry will only be tortured when fighting tanks. Even the Japanese tanks and the Eighth Route Army cavalry are well-equipped, but they cannot defeat them.
The Japanese tank regiment did shoot and kill some Eighth Route Army cavalry, but the number was very small.
However, the captains of the two tank regiments, in order to please their division commanders and commanders, deliberately claimed that they had defeated the Eighth Route Army's cavalry regiment.
Coincidentally, Yamamoto Qihachi was tricked to death by his subordinates in this way.
However, these two tank commanders lied about the military situation this time, and they were hurting themselves.
"It's interesting."
"This battle is getting more and more interesting!"
At the command center, Commander Kong Da’s mouth turned up slightly.
The 12th Japanese Tank Regiment in the middle and the Japanese anti-tank brigade were severely damaged by the Katyusha Rocket Artillery Battalion and were no longer able to attack.
Kong Jie quickly analyzed the current battle situation in his mind.
The Japanese have lost a tank brigade and an infantry brigade.
Kong Jie thought that the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia would retreat, and then the Eighth Route Army would catch up and beat up the drowned dogs.
But he didn't expect that the Japanese troops stationed in Mongolia, which had suffered such heavy losses, would continue to attack?
"If Li Yunlong was commanding this battle, how would he fight in this situation?"
Kong Jie narrowed his eyes and thought:
"According to this dog's tactical command style, if Li Yunlong were to command this battle, he would definitely send a tank battalion and two infantry battalions from the center to attack the headquarters of the Mongolian Army."
"Use tanks, infantry and artillery firepower to conduct beheading operations against the headquarters of the Mongolian army."
"Then defeat the Mongolian army in one fell swoop."
Kong Jie thought about it and felt that this tactic was still a bit too risky. He preferred a steady and steady tactic.
As long as no mistakes are made, this battle is already a guaranteed win for the Eighth Route Army.
Thinking of this, Kong Jie loudly ordered:
"Give me the order!"
"The tank battalion immediately returned and attacked the Japanese tanks and infantry moving on the right."
"Also, concentrate all the artillery fire on me and bombard the Japanese tanks and infantry on the left wing!"
The chief of staff asked: "Will the 203mm howitzer battalion also fire?"
"That's right." Kong Jie said firmly: "The 203mm howitzer battalion also fired for me!"
Of course, the Katyusha rocket launcher is more powerful when fighting Japanese tanks and infantry.
However, the Katyusha rocket launcher takes a long time to load. It takes 10 minutes to load all the rockets and fire again.
After waiting for 10 minutes, the Japanese tank troops were almost rushing to the artillery position.
The Japanese's attack formation is more dispersed, with tanks and infantry spread far apart, which will inevitably lead to poorer artillery effects.
This time, Kong Jie wanted to concentrate the artillery group except the Katyusha rocket launchers and fire at the Japanese attacking troops on the left.
Following the command's order.
First, the tank battalion and two infantry battalions of the Eighth Route Army turned around and attacked the flank of the Japanese right wing.
In an instant, the tank battalion of the New Regiment and the two infantry battalions of the Independent Regiment, like an arrow from the string, shot crazily towards the right-wing attack force of the Mongolian Army.
When the two sides entered a one-kilometer range, the Eighth Route Army tank gunners used their 75mm main guns to target the Japanese tanks one by one.
During the explosion, the Japanese tanks were hit by armor-piercing projectiles from the tank guns one after another, setting off huge fires. (End of chapter)
