Hearing the platoon leader's request, He Fangren patted him on the shoulder and said with satisfaction: "Okay, it turns out you have a plan in mind. I think you can be the company commander. Okay, I'll follow your request. I’ll give you three snipers, and I’ll give you the more than twenty directional mines we brought this time.”
"That thing is not used for offensive combat. It is too heavy to carry. As for the next battle, our superiors will replenish it for us if we use it up. But you have to be careful. Use snacks when you bury it. Don't let the Japanese use artillery fire. They were all wiped out. This thing is a powerful weapon against group charges. It would be a pity if the Japanese used artillery fire to wipe it out."
In response to He Fangren's instructions, the platoon leader just smiled honestly and said: "Captain, don't worry. We are all veterans and know what to do. Please don't worry, Commander, we will definitely follow your request and die." Hold back the enemies in front of you to prevent them from taking a step beyond the limit."
He Fangren nodded to the platoon leader's assurance, but didn't say anything else. Now he didn't have much time to talk nonsense. How could he defeat the enemies on his flanks in the shortest time and seize the initiative on the battlefield? What should be done most now.
After leaving behind the equipment and personnel requested by the platoon leader, He Fangren himself led the remaining troops into two groups and detoured towards the two wings of the Puppet Manchukuo Railway Police Guards Squadron that was attacking his flanks, preparing to cooperate with them. The blocking platoon defeated the squadron first.
He Fangren's plan of concentrating the limited forces at hand to first defeat the enemies on the flanks, and then counterattack the enemies in front of them, to take advantage of the opportunity of Tao Laizhao's defenders to break away from the fortifications and annihilate them as much as possible in the field is a good and more consistent plan. The current comparison of enemy and enemy forces.
But at this time, He Fangren, who was eager to defeat the enemy who was outflanking him, made a mistake that he shouldn't have made. Although the puppet Manchukuo Railway Police Guards in front of him were very different from what he had remembered, but in the In He Fangren's eyes, he still didn't take them too seriously.
Because the prisoners of war have not yet been captured, he does not yet know that the Puppet Manchukuo railway police escort in front of him is very different from before. To him, these Puppet Manchukuo policemen are different from the Puppet Manchukuo army he has encountered before. Compared with the military and police, their combat effectiveness has only been enhanced and the number of machine guns equipped has increased.
In his opinion, these puppet Manchukuo military and police forces, even if they have strong combat effectiveness, can be so strong. The reason why they fight so tenaciously is probably the result of the Japanese army supervising the battle behind them, and the Japanese army behind them supporting them. As long as he is in the shortest time, Within the time required to complete the counter-siege, it was only a matter of time before the Puppet Manchukuo Railway Police collapsed.
In a word, He Fangren underestimated the enemy in this battle. When he discovered that the number of Japanese and puppet troops in Tao Laizhao exceeded his total strength, he did not concentrate the troops that were scattered to seize various strongholds east of Tao Laizhao, but he ignored the strength and strength of both the enemy and ourselves. Due to the disparity in firepower, they took the lead in attacking.
What he should do most at this time is to gather up the troops scattered east of Tao Laizhao who are seizing various key points, instead of concentrating all his forces to attack the enemies on the flanks first. Of course, if Tao Laizhao's defenders are defeated by these two puppet Manchurian Two squadrons of the railway police escort force, it was a pretty good choice for him to do so.
But the defenders here are not just these two railway police squadrons. Although the Japanese and puppet troops like Tao Laizhao do not need a reinforced regiment to deal with them, at least one battalion of troops must be concentrated. After all, where is the actual strength of the Japanese and puppet troops? , before the artillery arrived, the difference between the heavy equipment was also huge.
He used a reinforced company to attack Tao Laizhao, who had three and a half squadrons and artillery cover. It can only be said that it was too much. Almost all the defenders on Tao Laizhao's front line were concentrated in Tao Laizhao, but other troops on the east and west sides were concentrated. There are not many Japanese and puppet troops in all the strongholds combined.
As long as the Japanese and puppet troops in Taolaizhao Nei are defeated, the remaining enemy forces are nothing to be afraid of. They can be dealt with slowly. Even if the remaining small forces are not dealt with, the few remaining troops will be left with two or three. A Puppet Manchukuo police force of ten or more people is no big deal.
In his opinion, he should concentrate his forces at the moment and launch a counterattack against the Puppet Manchukuo police escort squadron on his flank first, trying to concentrate his forces first to defeat one of them, and then concentrate the remaining forces to eat up the frontal enemy and defeat these two squadrons. With the Puppet Manchukuo police escort, two-thirds of Tao Laizhao's main garrison force had been eliminated, and the remaining one and a half squadrons of Japanese troops were no longer in his eyes. It would be a matter of course to capture Tao Laizhao by then.
However, he ignored the combat effectiveness of the Puppet Manchukuo Railway Guards in front of him. Will he be able to easily succeed under the cover of artillery fire? Even if he could deal with the squadron of the Puppet Manchukuo Railway Guards, his casualties would still be high. Can numbers allow him to realize his plan?
Moreover, his opponent in front of him is not the kind of guy who is hot-headed and doesn't care about anything. The middle and lower-level officers of the Japanese army are still quite capable of commanding and grasping the situation of this small-scale battle, especially the combat staff officers. Although He's a bit arrogant, but his tactical analysis skills are at least average.
The most important thing is that He Fanggen also had some deficiencies in adjusting his deployment on the battlefield and the difficulties he encountered. Although he had foreseen the difficulties in adjusting his deployment under Japanese artillery fire, he did not take it too seriously. In his opinion, Adjusting the deployment under the artillery fire of the Japanese and puppet troops will indeed cause certain casualties, but these casualties are still somewhat insignificant compared with the results obtained after the adjustment and deployment is completed.
He Fangren thought that his plan was perfect, but Major Seto Keiji in front of him was not an idiot. On the contrary, after calming down, he reacted very quickly. Through the telescope, he found that the Anti-Japanese Alliance in front of them had adjusted their deployment and strength, and was concentrating on eating him. After the troops launched the attack from the flank, they immediately adjusted their deployment.
Major Seto Keiji immediately put half of his infantry squadron and the cavalry squadron of the police escort into the flanks to strengthen the troops on the flanks. At the same time, except for two mortars and a nine-gun The second infantry artillery continued to provide fire support for the front, and transferred the main artillery fire from the front to the flanks.
The reason why he did not take advantage of He Fangnen's opportunity to concentrate his main forces on the flanks was to continue to invest troops on the front in order to break through the front in the shortest possible time, complete the division of the resistance forces facing them, and cooperate with the attacking troops on the flanks to flank the enemy. The reason why the flank attacking troops launched a counterattack was because they knew that if they continued to invest troops in the front, they would definitely encounter a stubborn resistance from the defenders in the front.
Once the roundabout troops on the flanks are under siege by the opponent's main force and are unable to support a frontal breakthrough, the troops invested from the front will not only be unable to change the situation, but may also be bitten by the anti-alliance forces who have turned around. He had experienced the rate of fire of a short rifle that was even shorter than the medium-sized rifles used by the Chinese government forces last night.
Moreover, this kind of weapon not only has a fast rate of fire, but also has high accuracy. Within 400 meters, it can almost hit anywhere. Once within 400 meters, not to mention the 38-type rifle in your hand is like a fire stick. Likewise, they are no match for them in a shootout. Even the Taisho 11-year-old light machine gun in their hands is no match for them. Plus, with their two terrifying machine guns, one person can carry them all over the ground. Roiling artillery pieces.
Once the flanking attack troops are completely surrounded by them, it is almost difficult to hold on for too long in this situation where the opponent has consciously created a close combat situation. Otherwise, they may collapse before a frontal breakthrough, and for Seto Kei As for the Second Major, he knows the background of these railway police guards very well.
These railway police guards were reorganized by Koreans, veterans of the Kwantung Army in the Northeast, and Japanese police officers from various parts of Manchuria. Compared with the previous railway police guards composed of Manchurians, they were much more loyal. A huge improvement, but it is still far incomparable to the regular Kwantung Army. When the battle situation gains the upper hand, it will certainly fight to the death.
But if the battle situation is at a disadvantage or goes against him, only God knows how it will behave. He cannot use this police squadron as the fulcrum of the entire battlefield, nor dare to really trap these people. A desperate situation.
Moreover, in his opinion, since the main force of the Anti-Alliance forces facing them is concentrated on the flanks, if the current superior forces are concentrated to defeat the Anti-Alliance forces on the flanks, the remaining enemy forces on the front will not be afraid. You can attack them however you want, even with just cannonballs, you can consume them bit by bit.
The most important thing is that Major Seto Keiji, like He Fangren, also dislikes putting the main effective forces on the frontal attack. In his view, since the opponent has adjusted its deployment and put the main effective forces on the flanks in an attempt to attack him with all his strength. An attack from the flanks would be a rare opportunity for him to gather his strength and encircle and annihilate them in a short period of time, especially before the resistance reinforcements arrived.
So when Major Keiji Seto saw that the Anti-Japanese Alliance had withdrawn most of its troops from the front and moved them to the flanks, he adjusted his deployment almost at the same time. In addition to leaving a squadron of the regular Kwantung Army, he would All the effective forces were thrown into the flank of the enemy in front of them.
Of course, he himself would never rush to the front line to command in person. As the supreme commander of Tao Laizhao's front-line defenders, he did not have the habit of holding a saber and personally charging on the front line. Since the Manchukuo Railway Police Guards were in Tao Laizhao Isn't there a regimental commander who is equivalent to a third-class police sergeant with the rank of major? It just so happens that he can replace him and command the battle on the front line.
Although the major commander is also an authentic Japanese and a retired captain of the Kwantung Army, for the Kwantung Army, the military and police ranks of the Puppet Manchukuo are useless. Even a second lieutenant of the Kwantung Army, after seeing The so-called colonel of the Manchukuo Army is also a third-level official.
Major Seto Keiji would not admit that the regiment commander was equivalent to the actual police rank of major. For him, that guy's real military rank was a captain. Since his military rank was major, that person's military rank before retirement was Captain, naturally his rank is higher than his, and it is only natural to obey his command.
Not to mention that he is a small retired captain, but he is also a serious major captain in the division. He can only choose to obey his status as a combat staff officer. Doesn't he know that the Kwantung Army's combat staff officer? Is it always the case that people get promoted by one level at the last minute? It's the same for regular serving majors, not to mention that he is a small captain and he is retired.