Except for Nomonhan, the Seventh Division has never experienced so many artillery shells and bombs in one day. What's more, in Nomonhan, the Seventh Division only dispatched part of its troops and did not concentrate its main force to participate in the battle. To be honest, not many officers of the 7th Division who participated in the Battle of Nomenhan came back alive and intact.
As for those officers who had not participated in the Battle of Nomonhan, they did not know very well because the Japanese military leaders issued strict gag orders. They had not participated in the Battle of Nomonhan and had not experienced the Soviet army in that battle. The Japanese officers of Iron Fist still had such narrow vision.
In addition to the spirit of Bushido, they still have no regard for the armies of other countries. For those armies that place too much emphasis on firepower, they have no other evaluation in their eyes except fear of death. They have never participated in the Battle of Nomonhan. , on the Chinese battlefield, I was so accustomed to the weak firepower of the Chinese army that I almost thought that the Japanese army was the best in the world.
Facing the fierce firepower of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, Ichiki Kiyo was at a loss. At the same time, he felt that the 7th Division, should not be said to be the Kwantung Army, had really kicked the iron plate this time. It felt like it had been beaten on the Chinese battlefield. After so many years of fighting, we have not suffered as many bombs and artillery shells as we do today.
This is the first time I have experienced what a real fire strike is, what a real ground-to-air fire attack is, and I have also experienced the innocence of the Chinese army who was ravaged by Japanese ground-to-air firepower on the battlefield in the past. It was obviously an overreaction. , or it could be said that he overcorrected his previous behavior, because not only did he have something in his heart, but he was also frightened by the posture in front of him.
In order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the day, after receiving the latest order from the division headquarters, this guy directly changed the tactics issued by the division headquarters to use the squadron as the organization and the distance between marches. He also changed the distance from five kilometers to ten kilometers.
If it were not for the terrain restrictions and the over-dispersed troops making it difficult to concentrate, he might have directly widened the distance to a larger distance, and the marching ranks would have become more dispersed. It may not be impossible to continue to advance in a small team structure. , anyway, to him, as long as he can reduce casualties and keep his position, the rest doesn't matter.
Moreover, he believes that for the Japanese army, which has received strict training and has good communication equipment, there is no problem in dispersion and concentration. Unlike the Chinese army, once it disperses, it can basically be said that this unit will be lost. , the troops disperse and move forward without encountering more obstacles.
Anyway, in his opinion, the enemy forces in front of him focused their main energy on the two regiments on the left wing and the center line. It might not be too peaceful in front of him, but there would definitely not be a large group of enemy forces, even if they were There is a small amount of enemy troops coming to harass. As long as the troops under attack can resist for an hour, the distance of ten kilometers is enough for the rest of the troops to reinforce.
Ichiki Kiyonao has always stubbornly believed that the 7th Division is the most powerful in the Japanese army, and the 28th Regiment is the ace among aces. The 7th Division is the strongest force in the Japanese army. The 28th Regiment is the strongest unit of the 7th Division. In other words, under his leadership, his 28th Regiment can be said to be the number one ace regiment of the Japanese Army.
As for the Second Division and the Sixth Division, they are not as good as the Seventh Division. As for the Guards Division and the First Division, they are even more shiny on the surface, and their real combat effectiveness is incomparable to that of the Seventh Division. The Seventh Division he belongs to is the real first division of the Japanese Army.
As for the command ability and battlefield judgment ability that I have developed through many years of practice, I even think that I am the strongest among the three commanders of the 7th Division. In terms of actual command ability, I am better than the two The nerds who graduated from the Army University don't know how strong they are. Those two guys, regardless of whether they graduated from the Army University, are just good at studying.
As an officer, real commanding ability must be obtained on the battlefield, rather than reading a few books. If you can become a qualified soldier by studying, wouldn't those students at Tokyo Imperial University be even more capable? An outstanding soldier, Seinao Ichiki, who has never attended Army University, stubbornly believes that commanding ability and experience should be learned from the battlefield rather than from books. The actual experience of leading troops is not what those nerds who study for a few days can learn. Mastered and understood.
In his self-righteous opinion, judging from the combat effectiveness of his own unit, even at night, once a unit is attacked, there will be no problem in resisting for an hour. Even if the opponent's attacking force exceeds his own, There is no problem if the number of troops is more than doubled.
Regardless of the marching sequence of his troops, which was organized in a squadron, he believed that his squadron would have no problem dealing with a battalion of the Anti-Japanese Alliance. For the 28th Regiment, the most critical thing at the moment was how to avoid being attacked by a squadron. Air raids will certainly continue the next day to reduce losses.
This unit that came out of the mountains and forests was looked down upon by everyone from the commander of the Kwantung Army to the most ordinary Japanese soldiers. They no longer dared to treat the Anti-Japanese Alliance the same as bandits as before, and no one dared to treat them like bandits. They treat the Anti-League as if they were country bumpkins and look down upon them.
Long before this battle started in full force, the Kwantung Army was issuing combat orders to the various divisions participating in the war, especially the newly transferred divisions to the Kwantung Army that had never fought against the Allied Forces. Its combat effectiveness cannot be underestimated.
Its actual combat capabilities should be viewed in accordance with the Japanese army's own combat level. At the end, it was added that it should be treated in accordance with the Japanese ace division. As for those who were previously transferred back to the mainland for rest and did not participate in last year's summer and autumn battles, this battle became the Western Manchuria battlefield. The Kwantung Army Headquarters, which is the absolute main force of the Seventh Division, also gave special instructions separately.
He also repeatedly asked them to be cautious in their actions on the battlefield and not to move blindly or disperse their activities. They were absolutely not allowed to appear on the battlefield in China. A large group of troops dared to run into the enemy's hinterland without any scruples. On the Northeast battlefield, everything must be done with caution, because once it is surrounded by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, it means that this unit will basically be lost.
Even before heading to the battlefield, Chief of Staff Yoshimoto Teiichi personally sat in charge of the 7th Division, which the Kwantung Army had high hopes for, and specifically discussed the matter, requesting the division commander, Lieutenant General Kunisaki Noboru, to the various group captains below, to Be careful to prevent damage from anti-coalition firepower.
But for this man who participated in the July 7th Incident and fought against almost all factions of the Chinese army in the Guanci Civil War, including the Northwest Army with the strongest combat effectiveness, the Central Army with the best equipment and training, the Northeast Army, and the Shanxi-Sui Army. Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, who had dealt with them all, stubbornly believed that all Chinese armies were a bunch of rabble and were no match for the Imperial Army of Japan.
Although they caused a lot of losses to the Kwantung Army last year, that was the responsibility of the Kwantung Army's nerds who were taught by the Army University, and not how strong the enemy's combat effectiveness was. Although before this battle, they had already I learned that the Anti-Japanese Alliance was at least partially ahead of the Kwantung Army in terms of equipment, and in some aspects, such as the use of tactics, it was even higher than the Kwantung Army.
But knowing it is one thing, and admitting it in his heart is another thing. This Colonel has always been unwilling to admit that in China, there will be an army that can surpass the Imperial Army of which he has always been proud. In his opinion, in terms of equipment, The advantage is only in equipment.
Advantages in equipment cannot really affect the outcome on the battlefield. The real solution to the battle and victory on the battlefield ultimately depends on infantry. Otherwise, why would countries around the world have so many infantry troops? Let artillery, aviation, and other troops go to the battlefield. As long as you have armored troops to deal with the enemy, why spend so much money to feed the infantry, which has the largest number of all arms?
In terms of infantry, the Imperial Japanese Army, supported by the spirit of Bushido, is definitely the best in the world. Whether it is the quality of the soldiers or the spirit of death, including infantry tactics, it cannot be compared with those despicable Chinese people. Therefore, he still stubbornly believed that as long as he avoided the weapons superiority of the Anti-Alliance and relied solely on ground combat, his 28th Regiment could compete with all the Anti-Alliance forces on the entire Linxi battlefield.
In this regard, he is quite confident. Let alone a squadron, it can not fall behind when facing a battalion of the Anti-League. Even when facing a regiment of the Anti-League, under his actual command ability, he will not fall behind. He was absolutely confident that he would be defeated within a short period of time, so the captain of the Colonel-General, who was conflicted and confident at the same time, came up with such a nondescript marching sequence.
The commander of the regiment, who had actually reached the point where things must be turned against each other, didn't know that he had just done this. Because the Japanese regiments on the center line and the left wing were marching too densely, he wanted to find a place to take a bite of fat, but he couldn't. Wang Deyao, who had nothing to say, and was a little depressed, found an excellent opportunity.
In fact, Wang Deyao, who never wanted to passively defend with peace of mind, did use the favorable terrain to deploy certain blocking forces on the left wing and center line, but he always had two and a half battalions in his hands as mobile forces, trying to find opportunities to launch a defensive counterattack, that is, It is said that the guy who was assigned to chew the bones was always thinking about finding meat to eat.
Unwilling to carry out the passive defense order, he used the landmines issued by the headquarters to make up for the lack of troops on the defense line before the battle started. He concentrated part of the troops and prepared to take advantage of the Japanese army being brought down by heavy artillery and air strikes. Take a handful out of the chaos.
It was just that in the afternoon battle, the 7th Division was a veteran division of the Japanese army. Under the indiscriminate bombing by aviation and heavy artillery at all costs, although it suffered heavy losses, its position was not disordered. Although the marching sequence was carried out, They were properly dispersed, but a fixed distance was always maintained between the various units, and he was never able to find an opportunity to bite.
In fact, during the afternoon battle, it was not just the Japanese troops who were suffering under artillery fire and intensive bombing. They were looking forward to the withdrawal of the Anti-Japanese bombers at night. Wang Deyao, who actually never found the opportunity to attack, was also looking forward to the day. Black, so as to give yourself a chance to find a fighter jet.
When it got dark, Wang Deyao, in addition to leaving a reinforced battalion on the center line and a left wing to block the attack, gathered up the main force of the remaining regiments and concentrated them on the Baichengzi front line to look for fighters. Just because the 26th and 27th regiments Although the troops were slightly spread out, there was no gap for him to take advantage of.
Although Lieutenant General Noboru Kunizaki organized his troops into brigades, he either advanced in tandem or formed a long snake formation, and the distance between marches was only five kilometers. Once he attacked one point, the Japanese troops from other directions would immediately sweep in. , taking advantage of the strength of his troops, he used the little strength he had at hand to eat up even the bones.
Although Wang Deyao is not willing to defend passively, he is not the kind of reckless guy who doesn't know the heights of the sky. He is still very cautious about the headquarters giving him the entire flank of the Linxi battlefield. Although he is not the kind of person who fights to the death. Although he is a good person, he can still clearly distinguish the importance of responsibilities.