Chapter 409, The Cooperation of the Jiaodong Army 13.
There is another factor that affects the development of tanks by the Japanese, and that is that their combat opponents are too weak. Although the Japanese Army is hesitant in the debate between moving north and south, their goal of invading China is established. However, China's economic strength is not good.
The equipment of the army is even worse. In the view of the decision-makers of Japan, the Japanese army can destroy China within three months with its current strength, without wasting precious steel and gasoline to develop a large number of advanced tanks.
Therefore, Japan did not start trial-building tanks on its own until 1926. Previously, it mainly purchased "mk-iv" and "mk-a" tanks from the United Kingdom, and purchased the "Renault-F17" light tank from France. In February 1927, the Army
The No. 1 tank designed by the Vehicle Team of the Technology Headquarters was modeled after the Renault tank. It was finally successfully developed with the cooperation of the Osaka Arsenal and some civil society. It weighs 12 tons and has a speed of 25 kilometers per hour. The No. 1 tank changed speed under Mount Fuji.
Tests of climbing hills, crossing trenches, and firepower shooting basically met the design requirements. In April 1929, the Osaka Arsenal developed the No. 2 tank, weighing 9.8 tons, equipped with a 57mm cannon and a 6.5mm machine gun.
The armor is 5 to 17 mm, the maximum speed is 26 kilometers per hour, and the maximum range is 120 kilometers. The vehicle performed well during the long-distance trial from Tokyo to Aomori. When it was put into production, it increased its weight to 11.5 tons at the request of the military and was named Type 89
The other two main battle tanks, the Type 95 light tank and the Type 97 medium tank, were produced in 1935 and 1937 respectively. During this period, Japan also developed some other auxiliary tanks and armored vehicles. Tanks
95% of manufacturing enterprises are privately owned, and the remaining 5% are military camps. The overall production capacity is low.
The Japanese army’s usual scale for classifying tank levels is light tanks below 10 tons, medium tanks between 10 and 20 tons, and heavy tanks above 20 tons. However, according to European and American standards, all tanks below 20 tons are light tanks. Therefore, the main battle tanks of the Japanese army
In fact, they are all light. In a comprehensive comparison with European and American tanks, its main technical weaknesses are: small gun caliber, weak armor, low tonnage, slow speed, short stroke, etc. This directly leads to firepower, protection and persistence in actual combat.
Low power. In addition, there are also significant gaps in suspension devices, power generation and transmission devices, hydraulic and pneumatic devices, mechanical parts fastness, radio communications, optical equipment, etc.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army's tank production increased significantly, reaching an annual production level of 700 vehicles. This production was far from meeting the needs of the war. In fact, in the mid-1930s, some people had already predicted the dilemma of Japan's wartime tank production:
Japan's "tank production cannot exceed 500 vehicles in the first half year of the war, and cannot exceed 1,300 vehicles in the next year. The army's existing and stored tanks also amount to 1,200 tanks. However, the number of tanks required in the first half year of the war is
It is 3,300 tanks, so during this period, Japan must import 1,600 tanks from abroad. In the second half of the year, the number of tanks required is 2,700. Therefore, Japan needs to import 1,400 tanks."
Due to these reasons, the Japanese tanks were not only small in quantity and poor in quality, but also had backward tactical thinking. They were still at the level of scattered deployment and use to cover infantry operations. This was a far cry from the level of armored tactics taught by Jiang Qiang at the Military Academy.
Up to now, the Japanese army does not even have a tank division, and there are only three mechanized divisions. The number and performance of tanks are still far behind the mechanized forces of the German, American, British and Soviet armies.
The Battle of Nomenkan had not yet occurred at this time. Due to the limited scale of Zhanggufeng's battle and the terrain restrictions, in addition to experiencing the power of Soviet aircraft, the Japanese had not seen the real armored power of the Soviet army and did not understand what armor was.
Group assault tactics have never been taught in this area from the Army Sergeant School to the Army University. The Japanese army, from officers to soldiers, is still arrogant and always thinks that the Japanese Army is unparalleled in the world.
All this caused the commander of the 213th Regiment of the Japanese Army to be frightened to death when he saw that the Eighth Route Army actually used tanks, armored vehicles, and cars to form an armored group to launch a pursuit.
This guy was not stupid. He knew that his defeated army of more than a thousand soldiers could not outrun these steel monsters no matter what. If he ran, he would die, and if he did not run, he would die. So he simply ordered his troops to stop retreating and block the attack on the spot.
The order given by the commander of the regiment was not wrong. The Japanese soldiers were brave enough. After receiving the order, they immediately began to spread out and lie down, preparing to form a skirmish line and set up machine guns, grenade launchers, and infantry artillery. It is a pity that all this
It was useless. They were pursued by the Eighth Route Army and even the most elite teaching brigade and teaching regiment in China, and they were pursuing them with tanks, armored vehicles and cars. The machine guns on the vehicles, 95 assault rifles, and assault rifles were firing continuously.
The spring water seemed to completely wash away the insects that polluted the earth, without giving them any chance to resist.
The motor was roaring and the machine gun was roaring. At this moment, the little devil's life seemed not to be his life, but the dead leaves in the cold wind of late autumn and early winter, floating and floating in the wind, all the way to the East.
Hu Dawei didn't care whether the ghost of the little devil could float back to the East. At this moment, he only had two words in his mind, which was "assault". Break through the enemy's blockade, split the enemy, crush the enemy, and continue to pursue in depth until the tank crushed him.
The ultimate goal was to smash the body of Jutaro Amakasu, the commander of the 33rd Division. Therefore, he completely ignored the little Japanese who was beaten into a sieve by the machine gun, and even ignored the ugly appearance of the little Japanese crawling on the ground to avoid bullets. He just used the car radio to repeat
Order the troops to advance again and again.
After the group was over, the little devil's corpses were scattered all over the place.
When the Second Regiment came up, the remaining Japs were completely crazy. They had no time to set up heavy machine guns, infantry guns, and grenades. These heavy weapons were almost lost when they retreated from Kaiyuan to Qingchi and were bombed and strafed by Jiaodong Army fighter planes.
, now they encountered the Jiaodong Army Armored Group again, and the soldiers who wanted to set up heavy weapons fell under the vehicle-mounted machine guns.
The crazy little devils no longer crawled on the ground to avoid the firepower of the Jiaodong Army, and began to attack with human bombs. Some brave little devils made tactical moves, moving around, trying to throw hand grenades on tanks, armored vehicles, and cars. There were also
A dozen little devils held explosive bags and screamed, completely ignoring the bullet rain from the Jiaodong Army and wanting to die with the tanks. Of course, this was just their wishful thinking. This is a plain, which is most suitable for armored forces to maneuver. The Second Regiment
After installing tanks, armored vehicles, and automobiles, it has been the main assault force of the Jiaodong Group Army since the annihilation of the 107th Division. It has seen many battle formations, so it is not strange for the little devil to behave like this, so it was dismissed with a burst of fire.
Maybe a group of little Japs felt that they couldn't go to heaven or enter the earth, so they simply picked up their shining bayonets and launched an attack on the armor formation of the Second Regiment. Seeing the tank commander Zhou Hao burst out laughing, without any hesitation, he carried
The convoy rushed up and turned them into ghosts under the wheel.
In the end, the little devils' will to resist was completely destroyed. The remaining dozens of little devils simply knelt on their legs and raised their hands in surrender.
We can't blame these little devils for not having the guts. The battle has developed to this point and the meaning of resistance has been completely lost. The 213 Little Devils Regiment originally marched a long distance to receive a visit from Xintai City. When they saw the Xintai City Wall, they saw the shadowy figures.
There was an earth-shattering sound of artillery, and people were frightened. Then they received an order that Xintai might fall into the hands of the Jiaodong Army, and they quickly retreated to Qingchi to join the 214th Regiment. As soon as they cleared the way, they were attacked by Jiaodong Army fighter planes.
The bombing was indiscriminate. Fortunately, there were many villages along the way, so these 1,500 or 600 people were lucky enough to survive. They finally rushed to Qingchi, crawling and crawling, and met up with the Akita brigade of the 214th Regiment, which was left to support them, and started
They quickly retreated and were overtaken by the Jiaodong Group Army's armored forces. This was a large plain, and the Japs were overtaken on the highway. Although they dispersed their formation immediately, there wasn't even a foxhole to hide in.
There was no way to hide, no way to hide. Under the firepower of such powerful armored units as the Regiment 1 and Regiment 2, how could they stand still and stabilize their position? Not to mention the armored units that were catching up, it was the cavalry that was catching up.
, what awaits them is also one word: "death"! Two words: "quick death"! Isn't it unnatural for the little devil not to surrender!
Li Yannian and Shunzi, who were traveling with the Second Regiment in a car, saw that the Japs had not completed the troop assembly and were in a dispersed retreat. They knew that the Japs had indeed been badly beaten by Li Jinglin and the others, and they did not need more troops to participate in the pursuit.
One regiment, one regiment two and the brigade cavalry battalion were enough. Thinking that the Japs' planes might arrive on the battlefield in a short time, Li Yannian decisively ordered the third regiment, the new regiment and the troops directly under the division to stop the pursuit.
, moved to covert rest on the spot, and organized fellow villagers to extinguish the smoke to prevent Japanese air raids.
Li Yannian even wanted to notify Shunzi and ask his cavalry brigade to stop the pursuit and go into hiding to rest and recuperate. However, when he raised his binoculars, he saw that his left and right wings were rolling up smoke and dust in the distance. Needless to say, it was the cavalry brigade that was making a quick detour.
Just by looking at the power of Chentou, one could tell that the cavalry soldiers were galloping on their horses at extremely fast speeds, and they were embarrassed not to let Hu Laohu and the others join the battle.
Lieutenant General Jutaro Amakasu, commander of the 33rd Division, ordered the 213th Regiment and the 214th Regiment to be completely lightly equipped and retreat to Hancun, and then quickly urged the soldiers to build fortifications and prepare to hold on.
Jutaro Amakasu now has a certain understanding of the strength of Jiang Qiang's Jiaodong Group Army. He knows that General Terauchi Juichi's analysis was right. The Jiaodong Group Army is actually very powerful. Otherwise, they would not have taken two of the Imperial Army in one move.
The division started to attack. Especially this unit was well-equipped and had novel tactics. Not to mention anything else, just the tactics they used to capture Commander Odaka Kamezo, which I had neither heard from my teacher nor taught to my students.
Is this simply a demonstration of the old saying in China: "To take the head of a general out of a million troops"! Not only that, they actually have such a powerful aviation force, and they crippled their own 33rd Division in a single concentrated bombing raid.
.Now, their tanks, armored vehicles, cars, and cavalry have caught up with the incomplete 213th Regiment and 214th Regiment. I don’t know if these two regiments can get rid of them!
Although he knew that the 213th Regiment and the 214th Regiment were overtaken by the Jiaodong Group Army's tanks, armored vehicles, cars and cavalry, he was not sure whether they could escape the pursuit of the Jiaodong Group Army and was worried, but Amakasu Jutaro was old and his thinking was aging.
At this time, the German armored blitzkrieg had not yet occurred, and Jutaro Amakasu had no concept of armored blitzkrieg in his mind. In his opinion, as long as the Jiaodong Army's fighter planes did not come to bomb, the 213th Regiment and the 214th Regiment would leave some troops to block and entangle the enemy.
With the Eighth Route Army's pursuit force, the main force can still be withdrawn. As long as they withdraw and wait for the Royal Air Force's fighter planes to arrive, they can bomb the Jiaodong Group Army's pursuit force, and it is still possible for them to organize a retreat to the north.
Amakasu Jutaro did not have extra troops to reinforce the 213th and 214th Regiments, so he could only send reports to Kobayashi Asaburo over and over again, urging the Chief of Staff to order the aviation force to take off quickly. If it was too late, it would be too late.
The imperial army's fighter planes had not yet arrived, but the pursuing Jiaodong Army had arrived.
After receiving the report that the Jiaodong Army was catching up, Amakasu Jutaro hurriedly climbed to the roof of a house and raised his telescope to observe. This observation almost frightened him off the roof. He saw Xintai City and Steel City.
On the road, dust is flying and thick smoke is billowing. Under the smoke, a monster covered with sorghum stalks and dead tree leaves is rushing towards Hancun. Needless to say, the 213th Regiment and the 214th Regiment have been formed like this monster.
The convoy was completely devoured!
Looking around again, Amaterasu, two fast-moving smoke pillars appeared on the north and south sides. Under the smoke pillars, there were the cavalry of the Jiaodong Army running fast. The strange thing was that the cavalry were all holding torches in broad daylight, but they were nowhere to be seen.
From the flames on the torches, I saw only wisps of smoke from the torches, floating into the air in groups, gathering in the air, drifting away, forming one after another, one inside another, round and continuous circles of smoke.
Amakasu Jutaro was not stupid. He immediately thought that the Jiaodong Army deliberately created smoke to conceal their body and interfere with the sight of the Imperial Army's aviation.
With a "clang" sound, Jutaro Amakasu's telescope fell from his hand and fell to the ground in the yard!
The sound of the telescope falling to the ground woke up the majestic Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant General Amakasu Jutaro.
After coming down from the roof, Jutaro Amakasu already understood that this small village called Hancun was the burial place of the 33rd Division and his own burial place.
After understanding this, Jutaro Amakasu didn't panic. After all, he was a general with both military theory and practical experience. He immediately understood that he could hold on to the position at the entrance of the village and repel the Eighth Route Army with the troops he temporarily collected.
Attacking can only be a distant dream. The only thing that can be done is to use the courtyard in the village to fight with the Eighth Route Army, so that it can last longer, cause casualties to the attacking Eighth Route Army, and let them see what Great Japan is.
The bravery of the imperial soldiers.
Thinking of the bravery of the Imperial Japanese soldiers, a bitter smile appeared on Jutaro Amakasu's face, which twisted his originally ferocious face into a bit like a clown in a comedy show, which was indescribably awkward and ugly.
The thousand little Japanese who retreated to Hancun with Jutaro Amakasu were basically the remnants of the supply regiment, engineering regiment, field artillery regiment, health corps, communications corps, field hospital, and sick horse factory of the 33rd Division.
Little devils. They have strong combat effectiveness. The infantry brigade of the 215th Regiment that accompanied the division headquarters was basically dead by the Xinlai River. This is not to blame for the cruelty of the Jiaodong Army Aviation Brigade. The battlefield is originally life and death. Who called this?
How about organizing anti-aircraft shooting when the little devils in the infantry brigade are bombed?
Although Jutaro Amakasu now has thousands of remnant soldiers organized into four squadrons, they are basically soldiers of the technical arms who usually play a support role. Only these soldiers of the technical arms who are not so tenacious in their resistance will,
Only then could they resolutely lie down and evade under the repeated ravages of the two fighter formations of the Jiaodong Group Army, and luckily survive. If they were like the infantry brigade, they thought they could dig a simple foxhole to cover themselves, and then organized the attack.
If he shoots from the air, under the repeated blows of Jiaodong Army fighter planes' machine guns and bombs, he will lose an arm or a leg even if he is not dead. He will bleed to death. How can he escape to Hancun with the division commander?
These guys were hardly equipped with field weapons, and they ran away even more thoroughly and neatly. Some picked up a rifle, some carried a box of grenades, and some took nothing but just walked.
Holding short and thick legs and swinging his arms, he followed the division commander into Han Village.
Fortunately, Amakasu Jutaro made a timely decision and immediately ordered three squadrons to return to the Jiaolai River to deal with the seriously wounded, treat the lightly wounded, and bring back the abandoned machine guns and cannons. None of the cannons were brought back because there were no pack horses.
It was a burden to come back, and we had to throw them away when we retreated. We got back a lot of light and heavy machine guns, rifles, and ammunition, so we were fully armed at least.
Amakasu Jutaro, who knew the details of his family, had no choice but to hope that his hastily organized skirmishers would have a heart of loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor, fight to the death, and die with dignity.
Considering that these skirmishers have low combat effectiveness and must be put to death, Jutaro Amakasu immediately ordered the squadron holding the position at the entrance of the village to resolutely block the attack. All heavy machine guns were concentrated at the position at the entrance of the village, strafing the Eighth Route Army infantry behind the tanks and armored vehicles. The other three squadrons
They all withdrew into the village, hid in the courtyard, and started a battle for the courtyard with the Eighth Route Army. At the same time, a small team was dispatched to form a supervising team, and any soldiers who dared to escape from the battle would be killed!
After issuing the order, Jutaro Amakasu sat down and drafted a telegram to the commander of the North China Front, General Juichi Terauchi, the Prime Minister of the Land, General Sugimoto, and the Chief of General Staff, Prince Kanin Miyazaihito, briefly reporting on the events since the formation of the 33rd Division.
After entering the battle in North China, he was ordered to reinforce the Xintai City battle, and then reported the information that the Jiaodong Army had strong aviation and armored forces. Finally, he said that he could no longer wait for the aviation reinforcements. The Jiaodong Army had surrounded the village and was preparing for His Majesty the Emperor.
The last moment of allegiance was coming. As a Lieutenant General of the Japanese Army, he could not fall into the hands of the Jiaodong Army and humiliate His Majesty the Emperor, so he was determined to burn the military flag, blow up the radio station, and perform a caesarean section to apologize!
Then he sent a farewell message to his wife. Considering the living conditions of his family members, in the farewell message, Akasho Jutaro used words and sentences with an awe-inspiring tone, encouraging his children to serve His Majesty the Emperor.
After sending the telegram, Amakasu Jutaro ordered the guards to start burning military flags and documents, ordered the code books to be burned, and the radio station to be blown up.
After finishing these things, Amakasu Jutaro asked the guards to get a machine gun, moved a square table in the upper room to the door of the room, and set up the machine gun. He took out the pistol himself, turned on the safety, put it on the table, and moved it again.
He bought a chair, sat in front of the square table, and tried the machine gun shooting posture. Then he sat on the chair holding the command knife, the big sword and the golden horse, staring at the gate of the yard like a hungry wolf, waiting for the Eighth Route Army to crash into him.
muzzle.
Jutaro Amakasu is ready for his last desperate struggle. Can the Jiaodong Army give him what he wants?
After wiping out the remnants of the Japanese 213th Regiment, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the 1st Division continued their pursuit westward and caught up with the remnants of the Japanese 214th Regiment at the Xinhe Bridge.
Li Jinglin led the Jiaodong Army Aviation Brigade to launch an air attack on the 33rd Division, which dealt a fatal blow to the Japanese army. The greatest losses were caused by the troops directly under the 33rd Division Headquarters and the 215th Regiment, because the 215th Regiment
The brigade led by the captain returned to occupy Xintai County in advance and went out of Weihe Bridge to meet the 213th Regiment. The 214th Regiment's brigade was all exposed on the road, and almost the entire army was destroyed. The brigade operating with the division headquarters was trying to prevent the attack.
They were shot from the air and suffered two retaliatory strikes from Jiaodong Army fighter planes, and were basically destroyed. Except for the Akita Brigade that stayed in Qingchi, the Japanese 214th Wing was not bombed by fighter planes. The remaining two brigades and wing headquarters were in Qingchi.
During the retreat to Xinheqiao, they were also bombed by Jiaodong Army fighter planes. However, like the 213th Wing, since this area has the densest concentration of villages on the Xintai Plain, the Japs were able to find hiding places and lost losses.
Relatively small. The Japs from the two brigades managed to survive with thousands of soldiers alive. As soon as the Jiaodong Group Army fighter planes left, the frightened Japs no longer dared to stay. They threw corpses and extra weapons and ammunition on the ground.
All the seriously wounded were treated, and then they ran towards the Xinhe Bridge like a bereaved dog.
After crossing the Xinhe Bridge, one could see the miserable situation of the 215th Regiment rushing to the Xinhe Bridge to meet the retreating brigade: the wreckage of cars and armored vehicles were still lingering around, and the pungent smell of burning tires made it difficult to open one's eyes.
Eyes, on the wreckage of the car were the corpses of Japanese soldiers burned into black sticks. Around the car were broken limbs, weapons and ammunition scattered on the ground. Judging from the situation, this brigade had just arrived at the Xinhe Bridge and encountered them before they had time to get out of the car.
The Jiaodong Group Army fighter planes became a target and were killed by the Jiaodong Group Army fighter planes, including people and vehicles.
The captain of the 214th Wing just looked at it briefly and felt miserable in his heart. When did the Japanese Army fall into this situation? It was bombed by Chinese fighter planes and was unable to fight back. This Jiaodong Group Army was still a primary school textbook of the Empire of Japan.
Is it the Sick Man of East Asia's embattled army mentioned above? If we continue to fight like this, how many divisions will the Japanese Empire have to fill up the black hole in the North China battlefield that can't be seen at a glance?
The captain of the 214th Regiment felt miserable and was in no mood to watch anymore. He just ordered the soldiers to deal with the wounded who could no longer march with the troops.
The Japanese army is naturally the most cruel force in the world. They are not only cruel to the people they invaded, but also to their own wounded. Fortunately, if they win, the wounded can receive timely treatment. When they are defeated, they often escape.
Give the wounded a grenade and let them kill themselves or die with the enemy. For those seriously wounded people who have lost the ability to kill themselves and die with the enemy, directly use rifles to help them kill them. Anyway, at this time, the right to life is even a piece of paper.
No one is holding them accountable for violating human rights.
The Japanese soldiers treated the wounded very quickly, because there were no lightly wounded people, and if there were any, they would have run away long ago. Occasionally there was a seriously wounded person, and it was also a bloody gourd. There was no need for treatment at all, so the Japanese soldiers just opened fire.
Only a few scattered shots were fired, and the operation to treat the wounded was over.
The captain of the 214th Regiment led the soldiers to take off their military hats and bowed to the corpses of the fallen Japanese soldiers. He silently recited the blessings of Amaterasu several times in his heart, and then ordered the troops to run towards Hancun.
Originally, if the captain of the 214th Regiment ordered the blowing up of the Xinhe Bridge at this time, it might have slowed down the Jiaodong Army's pursuit, allowing the remnants of the 214th Regiment to safely retreat to Hancun and join up with the remnants of Amakasu Jutaro. However, the 214th Regiment
The captain did not receive the order to blow up the Xinhe Bridge, although he heard fierce gunfire coming from the direction of Qingchi.