Just as the interviewer who received Li He's order was busy teaching Miss Guo, who had made up her mind to join the army, how to use a submachine gun, the battle situation in Tongliao City had already taken a further turn with the successive input of anti-alliance troops. The changes and artillery's participation in the battle for the first time accelerated the advancement of various ministries.
By 11 a.m., the Anti-Japanese Alliance had successively captured some strategic points in Tongliao such as the power plant, Laoye Temple, Yuantong Temple, North-South Market, Xinkai Hutong, Puppet Manchukuo Police Station, Tongliao National High School, Women's Industrial School, and the Puppet Manchukuo Central Bank. , and divided the remaining Japanese defenders into three separate parts: the Puppet Manchukuo County Government, Dongtailong Shaoguo, and the enemy in front of Li He.
According to the current situation, there is basically no big problem in completely capturing Tongliao County by tomorrow at the latest. Kailu County has been fully captured around ten o'clock. As long as the remaining enemy forces in Tongliao County are eliminated, then the battle has already begun. The battle of Tongliao for more than half a month will be completely over, and the two battlefields of Tongliao and Linxi will be connected into one.
But just when Wang Jun was on the battlefield in Tongliao County, gearing up to deal the final blow to the Japanese troops in the city, the battle situation changed dramatically due to the sudden arrival of Japanese reinforcements. Although only part of these Japanese reinforcements arrived in Tongliao City, it caused pain in the city. The Japanese army, which had struggled to support itself, seemed to have returned the favor.
After all, compared with fighting alone, the arrival of reinforcements, even if they are small in number, has a great impact on morale. Moreover, after the arrival of Japanese reinforcements, the balance between the actual strength of the enemy and ourselves in the city has also undergone considerable changes. The Anti-Japanese Alliance was originally absolutely The military strength advantage suddenly dropped a lot.
Facing the new enemy situation, Chen Hanzhang had to adjust his deployment, including a battalion of the armored brigade infantry regiment, an armored reconnaissance company, and the column, which had completed the encirclement and annihilation of the enemy forces between Tongliao and Kailu and were replenishing fuel and preparing to move south as planned. A company directly under the guard battalion was thrown into the battle for Tongliao County as quickly as possible.
Even the battalion that escorted Wang Guangyu to replenish Chen Hanzhang's ammunition and supplies was detained by Chen Hanzhang as soon as they got off the car and thrown into the county battlefield. Behind them, more than 200 prisoners of the Puppet Manchukuo Army who had completed screening and mobilization were in higher health. Okay, weapons and ammunition have also been distributed, and they are ready to be incorporated into the troops and put into the battlefield at any time.
At the same time, the armored brigade and one infantry reconnaissance company from the last reserve group of the column, two companies directly under the reconnaissance battalion of the third division, the cavalry brigade directly under the reconnaissance company, and one tank company from the armored brigade were deployed to clear up their own depth everywhere. Japanese reinforcements even endangered the safety of field hospitals.
As the resistance of the Japanese army gradually collapsed, most areas of Tongliao County, which had gradually calmed down, once again heard intensive gunfire as new troops from both sides entered the battlefield, while outside Tongliao City, which had originally been completely calm, , intermittent gunfire also rang out.
Wang Guangyu understood Chen Hanzhang's seizure of a battalion that was transporting supplies. The reason was very simple. He, Wang Guangyu, had also encountered the problem of insufficient troops. But luckily, after solving the main force of the 23rd Division, , his direct line of communication with the rear has been established, and he can obtain additional troops.
Therefore, after receiving Chen Hanzhang's request for help in disguise, Wang Guangyu generously not only did not recover the battalion, but also transferred two more battalions to Chen Hanzhang from his own few reserve teams. It has a regiment, plus two attached 100mm artillery battalions, a 107 rocket launcher battalion and a field artillery battalion, as well as a cavalry battalion.
He also took the initiative to propose that Chen Hanzhang send the prisoners of the Puppet Manchukuo Army to him, and after screening them, he would select a group as supplementary soldiers. If you can't borrow it, the number of political workers is quite sufficient.
Chen Hanzhang sent over the prisoners and laborers of the puppet Manchukuo army. He could complete the screening in a short time and add as many troops as possible. He could also effectively solve the problem of insufficient troops in both departments. As for the laborers, although it could not be done in a short time, He will be trained into qualified soldiers within time, but after all, he has a relatively stable rear area.
By sending it to him, Chen Hanzhang doesn't have to carry such a big burden to march and fight. The next operational headquarters of Chen Hanzhang's unit has not yet been determined. If there is an intervening mission, these tens of thousands of workers will have to be left behind. , and at the same time, the amount of materials at his side is more abundant than that at Chen Hanzhang's side. Transferring workers to him can also save the time and transportation capacity of the transfer.
Regarding Wang Guangyu's actual desire to get a share of the prisoners from the puppet Manchukuo army, Chen Hanzhang readily agreed. Under the situation where two divisions of the Japanese army were pressing down on the situation, he allocated the money to himself. A full regiment of troops, as well as part of the artillery and cavalry, is a huge favor.
Moreover, the total number of these puppet Manchurian prisoners is not small, and it cannot be digested by our side. There are not enough political workers on our side, and we cannot completely screen them in a short time. If we do not screen them, we will not be able to replenish the troops. Rather than doing this, it is better to send them to After the screening at his place, everyone was half happy, so everyone was happy.
As for Chen Hanzhang, who wants to focus all his energy on the changes in the battle situation, he doesn't have much time to argue with Wang Guangyu on this trivial matter. If he has that free time, he might as well think about how to deal with the changes in the battle situation, let alone this. This new enemy situation is not only a test for yourself, but also for the troops below.
The reason why the Japanese reinforcements were able to bypass Chen Hanzhang's cordon at Shuangliao, Horqin's left rear banner, and Kulun Banner this time was that not only did they suddenly appear in Tongliao County, but some of them even ran to the rear of the 18th Division, it was because they dispatched The military unit is somewhat special. It is neither armored, nor cavalry, nor infantry, but paratroopers who appeared on the Northeast battlefield for the first time.
Although the current Tongliao battle situation is already certain, Chen Hanzhang believes that it is a certainty. Not to mention a small reinforcement force cannot change the situation at all. Even if the entire fifth division is dispatched, according to the current development of the battle situation, when the Tongliao front line is reached, the 14th Division's troops will not be able to change the situation. The bones have long since become cold.
But now, after all, we are facing a new type of combat that we have never encountered before. How to deal with it requires careful consideration. Before this battle, the headquarters had issued a warning to the Japanese troops in Guan Nei during the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. The tactics used by a small number of paratroopers in combat remind commanders at all levels to take precautions against Japanese paratroopers during combat.
In order to remind commanders at all levels to pay attention to this new branch of the Japanese army, which has not been seen since the mobilization of Northeast China, the headquarters also issued several combat examples of German paratroopers on the European battlefield obtained through the Soviet Union, as well as the personal formula drawn up by No. 1 Paratrooper combat plan.
But because the Japanese paratroopers had not participated in the war before, Chen Hanzhang was a little careless and put more energy on the Japanese troops along the Zhongchang Railway in the east and the Fifth Division in the south, and even on the Japanese troops in Fengtian. I thought that the first time the Japanese paratroopers appeared, they would fall on my head.
At about 2 p.m. that day, Japanese aircraft, which had not been seen since the Battle of Tongliao began, suddenly visited the Tongliao battlefield in large numbers. However, these aircraft dropped neither bombs nor supplementary supplies for the Japanese army, but actual bombs. Heavily armed people.
Nearly eighty Japanese transport planes and bombers entered the sky above Tongliao from the direction of Shuangliao in three batches. Although the anti-aircraft artillery under Chen Hanzhang responded extremely quickly, they were ready for battle after receiving the notification from Shuangliao, and Fierce anti-aircraft artillery fire and anti-aircraft machine gun fire shot down eleven transport planes and bombers carrying paratroopers flying at an altitude of 1,500 meters along the way.
However, because the anti-aircraft guns under Chen Hanzhang are all team-owned 23mm small-caliber anti-aircraft guns and 14-mm anti-aircraft machine guns, although the rate of fire is fast, the range is not too high. In addition, the Japanese aircraft have never been used before. Having appeared on the battlefield, most of the troops below the division level, and even some of the anti-aircraft weapons of the division-affiliated anti-aircraft artillery units, were pulled to the front line to participate in the battle as ground support firepower.
And although the Japanese aviation has not appeared overhead since the Tongliao battle started, its absence does not mean that there is no need to take precautions. The Tongliao battlefield is not just a Tongliao county, but also the territory of Horqin Left Wing Middle Banner. Ammunition and material storage points, the Kailu battlefield, the artillery cluster due north of Tongliao County, and the air defense needs of the troops moving south.
Therefore, the anti-aircraft artillery under Chen Hanzhang, in addition to the anti-aircraft artillery regiment affiliated to the headquarters, which also has certain mobile units, most of the anti-aircraft artillery are organized into companies and are scattered throughout the battlefield. The deployment is also very scattered. In the short term Concentration is not an easy thing.
Despite receiving notifications from Shuangliao in advance, the only anti-aircraft artillery units that had time to participate in the battle were a pair of 23mm anti-aircraft artillery batteries from the 18th Division anti-aircraft artillery battalion originally deployed along the highway from Shuangliao to Tongliao. The column was directly under the anti-aircraft artillery regiment 37 One company each of the anti-aircraft guns and the 57th Anti-aircraft Gun, and one platoon of the 14mm anti-aircraft machine gun company of the 54th Regiment.
As well as two double 23mm anti-aircraft gun platoons of the 18th Division deployed around Tongliao County, one consisted of two captured Japanese 13mm anti-aircraft machine guns, a Type 98 20mm anti-aircraft machine gun and a Type 88 75 anti-aircraft guns, a temporary anti-aircraft gun battery, and a twin fourteen anti-aircraft machine gun platoon.
Moreover, these anti-aircraft artillery units deployed around the entire Tongliao County are themselves very scattered. Therefore, although the anti-aircraft firepower was extremely fierce due to equipment factors, the number of Japanese aircraft shot down was not large, and it was not possible for the Japanese to give up the airdrop. attempt.
After the eleven shot down, the remaining 62 bombers and transport aircraft dropped more than 700 paratroopers in the entire area south of the Xiliao River, with Tongliao County as the core. However, under the interference of anti-aircraft artillery fire, , only a little more than half were parachuted into Tongliao County.
During the landing process, a considerable number of them were killed by ground fire. However, although the total number of Japanese troops who landed safely in Tongliao County was only a little more than 300, and because of the parachuting, the landing range was scattered everywhere inside and outside Tongliao County. Yes, but the impact on the battle situation cannot be underestimated. It is not just a simple matter of increasing the strength of the Japanese defenders and reviving the originally depressed defenders.
The important thing is that the arrival of new Japanese troops delayed the end of the battle. The most important thing is that it had a big impact on the entire battle situation. What's more, the Japanese paratroopers who are reinforcing Tongliao have not yet been found out. There are only these in front of them. , there is still a follow-up second echelon.
If there is a second echelon, then these new enemy situations that may appear at any time will involve the adjustment of Chen Hanzhang's overall troop deployment. At the same time, if these paratroopers are just a prelude to the Kwantung Army launching a full-scale counterattack, their appearance heralds the Japanese army's full-scale counterattack on the Tongliao front. To begin with, it will also involve Chen Hanzhang’s deployment of the next battle.