Chapter 80 Trouble encountered by the detour troops
Seeing the unkind look on the commander's face, the commander of the first brigade, who was also troubled by the failure of these tanks, could only shake his head and smile bitterly. These tanks had obviously been thoroughly overhauled before setting off. We are in the best condition, but we still have problems.
Isn’t it said that Soviet goods are all solid, but there are too many mechanical failures. The entire march is not even halfway through, and the entire journey is less than a hundred kilometers. There are dozens of tanks due to various reasons. The fault is gone, and there is still half the road left. If we continue like this, when will we be able to reach our destination?
It's just that the brigade commander never thought that the things produced by the Soviet Union were indeed relatively strong and durable. Although the human-machine functions were somewhat inferior, and although relatively few new technologies were used, their structures were relatively simple and more suitable for the Anti-Japanese War. At present, the overall cultural level is low, but the so-called leather is only new goods that have just left the factory.
Only one-third of the tanks in his brigade were supplemented after the Battle of Hailar. They were second-hand tanks that the Soviet army had stored in Mongolia after the Battle of Nomonhan. These tanks were used intensively in the Battle of Nomonhan. After that, the mechanical performance was no longer comparable to that of newly produced tanks.
Although it was sealed on site after the war, it was quite reasonable since it had been produced for some time, and it had been used on the battlefield, so it is reasonable that the mechanical performance would decline. In addition, the Soviet-style equipment was indeed relatively sturdy when it was just produced. , but due to mechanical processing problems, the service life is generally too short.
Moreover, during long-distance marches, it is normal for the tracks to fall off and the engine to rotate for a long time to cause overheating. These problems will not be completely solved in the next few decades, not to mention that the current mechanical processing equipment is far inferior to that of later generations of tanks, and there are some problems. It's also normal.
Moreover, when I was at the Fujin Comprehensive Training Base before, due to the limitations of fuel and maintenance capabilities, the tank unit practiced more coordinated operations with infantry and tanks, as well as comprehensive training of tanks and artillery. There was not much long-distance mobility training, and armored units were mobilized. They also relied more on railway maneuvers. Although they had some foresight about the problems that might arise when these Soviet-made tanks marched long distances, they had never actually encountered them.
It's easy to say that the tracks have fallen off. Just adjust the loose tracks. It won't take long. Especially the armored recovery vehicles and maintenance personnel in the brigade. They were all brought out this time. There are sufficient maintenance tools and manpower. It's enough, and it won't be too much of a delay to repair a minor problem like this.
As early as after the low-end of this batch of tanks, Yang Zhen used previously captured Japanese tanks with battle-damaged turrets but no problems with the chassis, as well as anti-Japanese tanks whose turrets could no longer be repaired after the same battle damage last year, and modified them. More than thirty armored repair vehicles are equipped with a field repair company for each brigade.
Coupled with the drills in daily training, repairing such problems is not a big problem and will not waste too much time. However, engine overheating problems or other mechanical failures, such as gearbox failure, The problem is that it is difficult to repair it in a short time, especially the failure of the gearbox and transmission device, which requires a long time to repair.
Although the first brigade was fully engaged in emergency repairs and not many tanks were left behind, the roundabout speed was reduced. In the end, Wang Guangyu had no choice but to use American-made trucks to tow the tanks that stalled due to engine overheating. Most of the cars attached to Wang Guangyu's unit have a carrying capacity of three tons, but it is not difficult to tow a ten-ton T-26 tank.
For those tanks that cannot be repaired in a short period of time, and it is impossible to give up all of them, Wang Guangyu can only leave one company of infantry and cavalry to cover all the repairs. As for the main force, he will continue to move forward, otherwise , if we wait for all the tanks to be repaired, it will take too much time, and we will not be able to reach the designated attack location as required by our superiors.
Fortunately, there are not many tanks that cannot be repaired in a short period of time. There are only more than 20 tanks. Although the number is not small, almost equivalent to the strength of two companies, for one tank that has been strengthened, it is equipped with a full tank. For an armored brigade with more than 180 tanks and more than 30 armored vehicles, this number will not affect the combat effectiveness of the entire brigade.
Looking at the faulty tanks abandoned along the way, the biggest reason for the delay was that they should not have hindered the entire army. However, Wang Guangyu, who was unusually annoyed, did not know yet that this was happening. This incident was just one of the troubles he encountered, and bigger troubles were yet to come.
Lacking qualified guides, the outflanking troops only had a map of the Mongolian army captured from the Hailar battlefield before the war, and a civilian version of the map obtained in Harbin that did not know the year of the monkey, horse and month. The entire territory of Mongolia was only roughly marked, which basically meant that there was nothing special. big effect.
As for the official map, the terrain in the areas connecting China and Mongolia is marked more accurately than in Mongolia. As for the terrain in Mongolia, only the terrain within fifty kilometers of the border is marked. Moreover, the clarity and accuracy of this map The degree can only be described as extremely poor.
Not only is there not a single town up there, but even the direction of the most basic roads and rivers is extremely unclear. There are only a few roads marked on the map that can be taken. On the map, opposite to the Alshan Mountains and to the west of the Halaha River is It was a flat prairie, but I didn’t realize until I left the country that it was actually a large swamp. If the cadres of the vanguard company hadn’t been too cautious, the entire company of BA armored vehicles serving as the leading company would have fallen into the swamp. Gone into the ground.
When we first broke through the border, it was a little better. Although the markings on the map were a little messed up, they were at least somewhat accurate. When we got deeper into Mongolia, we discovered that most of the things on the map didn't look the same at all. It's real. Even this map itself can be called a trap.
The simple road marked above obviously leads straight to the south. After walking for a while, I found that this road turns east. It is clearly marked as a river with a small flow of water and can be forded directly. Only there I discovered that it was actually a huge river that was not narrow at all, and there was no way to cross it.
What was marked on the map was a high hill. When we got to the place, we realized that it was actually a large flat prairie. It was marked with a lake that could replenish fresh water. Only when we saw it did we realize that it was just a hill of rocks. In a word, this The accuracy rate marked on the map can reach 10%, which is already very reluctant.
Wang Guangyu, who looked at the map and was a bit confused, could only curse the Soviets who made this map in his heart. He had no other choice but to fucking deceive people. If he marched according to this map, he would be damned. He knows where he can go, but he may not know if the roundabout force he leads will reach Ulaanbaatar.
No wonder No. 1 repeatedly reminded the troops before they attacked, not to put too much trust in the captured Mongolian maps, because these maps were all surveyed and mapped by the Soviets. Except for the originals in their own hands, few of them were authentic. Even the so-called Mongolian People's Army probably doesn't have a detailed map of its own country.
The Soviets' control over the Mongolian People's Army was not only the deployment of a large number of military advisers, but also the use of military maps. For the Soviets, these maps were extremely important for military operations. , there is absolutely no risk of leakage.
Even if they are their own puppets, they are not at ease. Except for the Soviet Army Headquarters in Mongolia, trying to find an accurate map of Mongolia in the entire Mongolia can only be in vain. This map was captured in the Battle of Hailar. The Mongolian army's map is probably so accurate that even they themselves don't believe it.
Many people have suffered great losses on this point. Even when the Anti-Japanese Alliance Air Force used the route in Outer Mongolia to receive the route map handed over by the Soviet Army, except that the route they must take was accurate, the rest There are no markings, not even ground reference objects. The rest of the locations are completely blank.
But apart from this map, Wang Guangyu didn't have a usable map. That civilian map, which was drawn in the Year of the Monkey and the Horse, and didn't even have contour lines, couldn't be used as a basis for marching operations. When breaking through the border, The few practical maps seized at the Mongolian army's border posts were only local ones.
The map was inaccurate, and the troops could only rely more on the compass. According to the plan, after crossing the Arshan border and marching thirty kilometers deep into Mongolia, the roundabout troops that should have turned to the southeast and plunged straight south actually... After traveling nearly a hundred kilometers south, we almost lost our way in the vast grasslands of Outer Mongolia and the Gobi.
If Yang Jicai, the headquarters operations staff who accompanied the roundabout troops, had not corrected the marching direction by calculating the distance and time of the march and observing that the sun was not in the right position, the roundabout troops almost did not go all the way to the southwest and directly killed the Matad line. go.
And this direction is exactly opposite to their goal. If they continue walking, it may be a big joke to reach the designated location of the headquarters. However, by the time they realize that they are going in the wrong direction, they have already veered far to the southwest. Out of dozens of kilometers.
The continuous incidents made Wang Guangyu extremely angry. Although his consistent self-control prevented him from getting angry on the spot, the combat staff officer who led the lead company was dismissed by him without hesitation. Even if there was no accurate map, the whole army was still above the company level. Cadres, even though they have a compass, can still make such low-level mistakes. This is so acceptable to Wang Guangyu.
If it weren't for the strict military discipline in the Anti-Japanese Alliance, and the responsibility for taking the wrong path cannot be entirely blamed on one person, Wang Guangyu is not the kind of person to shirk responsibility. If he were in an ordinary army, the one who committed such a low-level crime would The wrong company commander might have been shot long ago.
Although it was not too late to get lost this time and it did not cause any major consequences, it was so easy to turn around tens of thousands of people and thousands of armored vehicles. By the time Wang Guangyu led him, he had already strayed dozens of people. When the troops who had traveled 100 kilometers turned around and rushed back to the normal route, they wasted half a day in vain.