The attack on the enemy is the last thing Wang Guangyu wants to see, because the attack on the enemy is undoubtedly very disadvantageous for both the offense and the defender. Even if they win, the price paid will be high, but at the moment twenty The situation adopted by the Third Division was to attack every Japanese position bit by bit. The battle was extremely difficult. After three days of fierce fighting, the losses were heavy, but the results achieved were not great.
During the roundabout way until the battle was launched, Wang Guangyu repeatedly deduced the battle plan with the 23rd Division on the map. In his opinion, the organization is now complete, and there are three original infantry regiments and one artillery regiment. On the basis of this, it is additionally equipped with a strengthened infantry regiment, a heavy artillery unit, and armored units that are rare among the various divisions of the Kwantung Army.
The armored troops of the 23rd Division are not just searching for several squadrons of light tanks like other Japanese divisions. In addition, after the northern campaign started, the Kwantung Army Headquarters strengthened its accompanying forces, and the actual strength reached A tank regiment and a half.
Coupled with a series of light combat vehicles such as Type 94 armored vehicles and Type 92 cavalry fighting vehicles equipped by several search squadrons, the 23rd Division currently equips more than 100 tanks of various types. The overall number is, It is not much less than the 1st Armored Brigade that cooperates with its operations, and most of the main tanks used are Type 97 tanks with relatively good performance.
It can be said that the 23rd Division has now become the division with the largest number of troops, the best equipment, and the best attack ability in the entire Kwantung Army. The artillery and armored units attached to it are almost equivalent to the establishment of an entire corps of other Japanese troops. Coupled with the consistent training level of the Japanese army, the overall combat effectiveness of the 23rd Division is extremely strong.
Wang Guangyu originally thought that with the current strength of the Japanese 23rd Division, he would at least have a head-to-head battle with him, so before the battle was launched, he had repeatedly considered the tactics that the Japanese army might use in the battle. I have thought of almost everything I can think of and made corresponding preparations.
But the tortoise-like tactics and defensive formations that the Japanese army put in place were exactly what he least expected. For Wang Guangyu, this kind of battle was not just about the number of casualties. The biggest concern was also the time. Delay, as a commander, he clearly knows that in a battle, although a local battle cannot determine the outcome of the battle, it can change the course of the entire battle.
At present, three full days have passed since the roundabout troops were in full contact with the 23rd Division, and the battle started in full force. But so far, he is still fighting with the 23rd Division hilltop after hilltop outside Linxi County. Although Linxi County is already within the range of his own artillery fire, according to the current progress, it is not known how long it will take to truly capture Linxi County, the center of the Japanese army's entire defense line. This result, for Wang Guangyu It's hard to accept.
The extremely limited progress after three days of fierce fighting has brought the battle into a stalemate. If the current situation is maintained, the war is likely to be delayed indefinitely. What will this result bring to the headquarters' overall combat plan? As the current deputy commander of the Northeast Field Army, he is quite aware of this kind of influence.
Compared with the 71st Division in the north, which has relatively poor combat effectiveness and equipment, the 23rd Division is the biggest obstacle to the Anti-Japanese Alliance's direct connection with the pass. If this obstacle is not removed, the headquarters' original The plan to open up transportation lines is simply impossible to realize.
The headquarters did not take it lightly because this division had suffered more than half of its casualties from aviation bombings before. When forming the roundabout force, it made the most adequate preparations possible. All the troops were recruited, not to mention the artillery, etc. The allocation of auxiliary arms is also tilted towards the roundabout troops as much as possible.
If the battle with the 23rd Division in Linxi exceeds the scheduled time, it may delay the entire battle process. Also, if the battle cannot be resolved for a long time, it will also put a considerable pressure on his logistics. After all, he Now we are fighting alone, and all ammunition and food are dependent on the supplies we carried when we set out.
Once the battle is delayed, the consumption of supplies will also increase greatly, and every additional day of delay will increase the pressure on logistics. You must know that the daily consumption of gasoline and ammunition by your troops is a quite huge amount. Although Lin The West Airport was taken over, but he still knew the amount of aviation gasoline reserves held by the headquarters.
Although the current airlift of supplies to the customs has been temporarily suspended because the Soviet Union has closed all airports in Mongolia, judging from the amount of aviation gasoline reserves in the headquarters' hands, it may be possible to maintain the use of other aviation arms. Quite tight.
If the battle cannot be resolved on our side, it will not only be a big drag on the headquarters' overall combat plan, but the consumption of supplies will also cause the headquarters a headache. Looking at the battlefield with thick fighting outside the hidden department, listen The sound of gunfire resounded throughout almost the entire Linxi County, but Wang Guangyu shook his head and said nothing. It was so embarrassing that the battle was like this.
What worries Wang Guangyu even more is that the 23rd Division, which is now fully equipped with troops and the most sophisticated equipment among the Kwantung Army's current field divisions, and can almost be described as unique, is now uncharacteristically acting like this. Is there any other intention hidden in the posture of passively being beaten?
You must know that this posture of passively taking a beating is not in line with the Japanese army's always offensive-oriented combat style. In previous battles, when did the Japanese army, which always advocated offensive, take the initiative to hand over the initiative on the battlefield to its opponents? Even if he is afraid of being beaten by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, he will not be so timid.
A well-equipped and well-strengthed division, which is just a reinforced division with one tank and one cavalry brigade, and currently has almost no backup, may not be capable of fighting, but it assumes such a posture of being passively beaten. It's hard not to wonder what kind of conspiracy is hidden in this.
After receiving information from the headquarters about the current strength and equipment of his main opponent, the 23rd Division, Wang Guangyu knew very well that in terms of military strength, even if he added a cavalry brigade, he was no more than his opponent. are roughly equal in quantity.
When it comes to individual soldier equipment, everyone is at odds with each other. Our troops all use automatic weapons with fast firing rates. Although the Japanese army is still equipped with manual rifles, they have the advantage of having a long range. Although they have a certain advantage in terms of the number of technical equipment , but the advantage is not obvious.
The only two things that can have an absolute advantage are cavalry and artillery, as well as various powerful large-caliber machine guns, and various direct-aimed firearms. However, this advantage is due to the fact that the Japanese army built a large number of fortifications and bunkers. Part of this was offset invisibly, but actually including logistical supplies, his own troops were still at a certain disadvantage.
But what kind of calculation does the Japanese army have behind this posture? Are they waiting for something, some change on the battlefield in Xinjing to the north, are they waiting for reinforcements from other quarters, or have other agendas? If we wait for the Xinjing battlefield to change, what will this change be?
Although the real intention of the Japanese army was not clear for the time being, Wang Guangyu was certain that one of the most fundamental reasons why the 23rd Division adopted such tactics was to delay time. But what was the real purpose of the Japanese army to delay time? , but he can't guess it yet.
After these three days of fierce fighting, although a small number of Japanese prisoners of war were captured, the information obtained through interrogation was too limited and could not be used by oneself at all. However, he could accurately judge the true intentions of the Japanese army, and because the Japanese army could not escape, The role played by various tactical reconnaissance is also not obvious.
After three days of fierce fighting, even the approximate location of the Japanese 23rd Division headquarters could not be found, let alone providing valuable information for judging the Japanese army's true combat intentions. Thinking of this, Wang Guangyu suddenly felt that he didn't like the current situation where he didn't know anything.
Wang Guangyu withdrew his gaze from the battle ahead and turned to the map in front of him. He suddenly remembered something and immediately said to the combat staff beside him: "Go and report the enemy situation in other theaters forwarded by the headquarters after we set off from Hailar. Find them all for me."
"Also, get me all the information sent by the headquarters about the mobilization of Japanese troops in Fengtian and Jinzhou. Remember, I want all of them and don't leave any behind. In addition, send a telegram to the headquarters and ask the headquarters to pay close attention. Monitor the movements of the Japanese troops in the two places and monitor the radio communications between the Japanese troops in the two places, especially the movement of high-power radio stations."
"In addition, you go tell the Chief of Staff and Li Mingfeng to pay close attention to the battle ahead and the mobilization of Japanese troops. If there is any situation, report it to me immediately without delay. Especially Li Mingfeng, the changes in the strength of every Japanese position on the front are very important. You must report it in time, and you must be cautious when taking action.”
Worried that this guy Li Mingfeng would ignore him, Wang Guangyu also specially explained to the combat staff who was with him. Although this guy's recklessness and impulsiveness were just superficial phenomena, in fact, this guy's thoughts were quite delicate. Otherwise, he would He would never have handed over the First Division, the first-class main division of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, to him.
But there are some things that need to be explained. Don't ignore his tendency to ignore them. Once he gets more motivated to use Northeast dialect, he has fallen into the trap of the Japanese army and tried his best to figure out the real movements of the Japanese army. Still need to be more cautious.
Although you can't lose your fighter opportunity because of being overly cautious, you can't be too impetuous. You must be careful when judging changes in the enemy's situation. That is, you can't lose big because of small things, but you can't make any reckless actions that cause serious losses to the troops. Going further Influence the development of the war situation.
Especially now that the aviation force, with the cooperation of an engineer battalion of the roundabout force, has completed the repair of the airport, and the aviation advance team has arrived on a transport plane, and will soon use the airport to replenish supplies and provide air cover for the advancing army, it is even more important.