Compared with the rapid adjustment of equipment of the artillery and infantry units, where the required equipment is already in place even after the units have just been formed, the adjustment and expansion of the armored units has been delayed for a period of time due to equipment and training reasons. It was not until the beginning of the campaign that all equipment was completed.
Although the expansion of armored forces is given top priority, as the Anti-Japanese Alliance is still unable to produce tanks, in addition to fully repairing the original battle-damaged tanks and transferring a hundred T-34 tanks from the Soviets Except for the two medium tank regiments that were organized into tanks, the remaining equipment required for expansion was insufficient and they could only wait for the British tanks to arrive.
Fortunately, the speed of implementing the agreement was very fast. The British, which was extremely unexpected by Yang Zhen, did not let the Anti-Japanese Alliance urgently need to replenish equipment and replenish the armored troops. In December, only two days after he returned to Harbin, On the third day, not only did all the tanks promised by the British arrive, but they also provided some extra ones.
The Anti-Japanese War used this batch of 250 British tanks, as well as the M14 tanks among the Italian tanks captured by the British, to temporarily fill the gap in equipment required for the expansion of the armored forces, but the British provided the largest number of tanks. The slow speed of the Matilda II tanks prevented the Anti-Japanese Alliance from gathering together a batch of 200 infantry tanks for use.
These 200 Matilda II infantry tanks were used by the Anti-Japanese Alliance because of their rough skin and thick flesh. They were equipped to three independent armored brigades that were not used frontally. They were used as assault means in non-main directions. Among them, they were prepared The Second Armored Brigade used for the breakthrough on the Xinjing battlefield was equipped with two battalions.
Of the other 140 tanks, except for 20 that were kept for training, the remaining 120 were organized into four independent battalions for use by infantry divisions as a means of breakthrough. None of the two armored divisions and the 1st Armored Brigade, which was to be used for rapid assaults on the Western Front, were equipped.
This kind of tank has thick armor and a fairly solid structure, but its biggest weakness is that its speed is 24 kilometers per hour on flat ground. It is too slow for rapid assaults. This kind of tank is worthy of its name as an infantry tank. Its 80 mm With thick armor and a speed of 24 kilometers per hour, it is perfect for infantry combat.
However, the movement is too slow, and it is even slower in cross-country conditions. As the main means of rapid assault, the attached armored unit is not as thin as the armor, but the speed is fully able to meet the needs of rapid breakthrough. The T-26 modified by the Anti-League Light tanks and Crusader tanks provided by the British are useful.
Taking into account the characteristics of this battle, Yang Zhen vetoed Chen Hanzhang's original decision, preferring to let an armored division continue to use Soviet-made light tanks. The independent second armored brigade, which was originally prepared to receive these Soviet-made tanks, and had already set up The third armored brigade of the Shenzhen Army first used old Italian tanks and French tanks to deal with it, and did not agree to use these slow-moving British tanks as the main equipment of the armored division.
What a joke, let these slow infantry tanks be used as the main equipment for fast long-distance raids or large-scale detours. If you are not careful, you will cause a problem of front and rear disconnection. Other types of tanks have already run very fast. Far away, they were still walking slowly behind.
The organization of the armored forces of the Anti-Japanese Alliance is different from that of the British. The British's usual tactics on the battlefield are to use infantry tanks to cover the frontal breakthrough of infantry, and fast cruise tanks to outflank them on both sides. Therefore, one of their armored forces , infantry tanks are equipped in large numbers.
This tactic has advantages but has greater disadvantages. The advantage is that the speed of the infantry tanks is exactly in line with the infantry's offensive rhythm. It can cover the infantry to break through from the front. Using the high speed of the cruise tank to break through on both wings, it can form a three-sided attack and make the opponent lose sight of one.
If the opponent lacks heavy anti-tank weapons or has no tanks that can compete with it, it will be relatively easy for these infantry tanks to break through the frontal position. Coupled with the fast cruise tanks outflanking them, as long as one point is broken through, This can destabilize the enemy forces across the board.
This tactic is very effective in facing armies that are not determined and lack large-caliber anti-tank weapons. When the British army faced the Italian army on the North African battlefield, this tactic was effective many times, but once it encountered a strong-willed army, , the tactics are flexible, the key is to use the high-power anti-aircraft guns as anti-tank guns to shoot flatly at the Germans. Their tactics can easily become out of touch.
The slow-moving infantry tanks in the middle will slow down the entire attack. These slow-moving infantry tanks that cannot run are far away from the German 88mm anti-aircraft guns and the Panzer IV tanks equipped with 75mm guns. In front of the shooting range are a bunch of living targets.
The high speed of cruise tanks, when used alone for flank assaults, makes it impossible for infantry to keep up with the pace of the attack. Once faced with a solid set-up position and a tenacious blocker, as long as the opponent has enough anti-tank artillery, a flank assault without infantry cover can The possibility of failure is high.
At the same time, using this tactic will consume a lot of tanks during the battle. Especially for infantry tanks that break through frontally, the losses will be huge. And once it is necessary to retreat, these slow-moving infantry tanks can only be defeated. Throw it away, the British have the foundation and don't care if they lose hundreds of tanks in one battle, but the Anti-Japanese Alliance don't have that kind of foundation.
What's more, although the Japanese army does not have anti-aircraft guns that can be used as powerful anti-tank guns like the German army, the crazy energy of the Japanese infantry is not comparable to the German army. The Japanese soldiers holding Molotov cocktails are a threat to these slow-moving infantry tanks. Bigger.
Moreover, for the long-distance attack and large-scale tank interleaving operations that will be carried out in this battle, this kind of slow-moving tank is really incapable of doing so. Yang Zhen does not want this tank to drag down the entire interspersed and detour armored unit's intersecting attack. speed.
The tactics and organization of the British were not suitable for use by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, so Yang Zhen believed that these British infantry tanks were actually more suitable to be assigned to the infantry. In fact, this kind of British infantry tanks were used in the British army and another In the large Soviet army, they were all strengthened for use by infantry.
After careful consideration, Yang Zhen still did not agree with Chen Hanzhang to integrate these British tanks into the armored force. Instead, he independently formed several tank battalions to be used as mobile forces for infantry use in frontal assault operations. This kind of tanks can be used to coordinate The infantry's high attack speed and relatively thick armor provided cover for the infantry to attack the Japanese frontal positions.
The 1st Armored Division, which was to be used as the main force in the westward assault, had two tank regiments all equipped with Soviet-made tanks. Except for ten of the one hundred T-34 medium tanks handed over by the Soviets After being transferred to the training base, the remaining ninety vehicles were all incorporated into the 1st Armored Division.
The division's two tank regiments are each equipped with forty-five T-34 medium tanks and thirty-five T-26 light tanks. The division's direct armored reconnaissance battalion is equipped with Soviet-made BA armored vehicles and BT fast tanks, that is to say, the 1st Armored Division, except for the cars, which are made in the United States, all the main battle equipment are all Soviet goods.
As for the two tank regiments under the Second Armored Division that were originally planned to attack the main force of the Japanese Kwantung Army along the Zhongchang Railway in front of Xingjing and contain the main force of the Kwantung Army, one regiment was equipped with fifty Crusader cruise tanks and forty Crusader cruiser tanks. One Italian Type 14 tank was equipped with a British two-pounder gun, and the ninety tanks belonging to another regiment were all equipped with Soviet-made T-26 light tanks.
Among the two independent armored brigades, the First Armored Brigade is still equipped with Soviet-made T-26 light tanks, while the Second Armored Brigade is currently only equipped with two BT tank battalions, and the remaining two battalions are Old French tanks and Polish-made tanks are still used as temporary equipment.
As for the newly formed Third Armored Brigade, there is only one battalion of T-26 tanks temporarily used for training. Each of the three independent tank regiments has only one company of equipment. The rest of the troops are still empty-handed for the time being. On the contrary, Yang Zhenwei The two independent tank regiments formed by the advancing army have been fully staffed under priority care.
The reason why the Second Armored Division is also equipped with Soviet-made light tanks and Italian tanks, as well as a mixture of British cruise tanks, is because Yang Zhen is still waiting. He is waiting for the end of the Moscow Defense War, when the Soviet army has begun a full-scale counterattack. , the Soviets transferred captured German tanks to the Anti-Japanese Alliance in accordance with the agreement signed with the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
According to his plan, if the German tanks captured by the Soviets arrive, the Second Armored Division will all be replaced with German equipment. The Soviet-made light tanks, except for each regiment retaining one company for reconnaissance, will all withdraw from the armored division. establishment, and the Italian and British tanks were all replaced.
Although he had made a detailed replacement plan, Yang Zhen still did not dare to take the risk of letting the Second Armored Division wait for the Soviets to transfer the captured German equipment. Instead, he adopted the existing Soviet, British, and Italian light tanks. , temporarily used as main battle equipment.
Because he didn’t know how many tanks the Soviets would capture in the upcoming battle to defend Moscow, and how many of the Soviet trophies would be transferred to the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Even if the Soviets fully fulfilled the agreement, Can all the German trophies they captured be transported to the Allied Resistance Base to ensure the re-equipment of the Second Armored Division before the start of this battle?
These issues, at least for now, are still unknown. There are only three months left in the preparation stage of the campaign. Yang Zhen does not dare to take this risk easily. If the Soviets breach the contract, how long will this division have to wait? To form combat effectiveness, situation waits for no one, and time waits for no one.
To be on the safe side, after careful consideration, Yang Zhen preferred to risk the trouble of making adjustments at that time, and did not let the Second Armored Division have personnel and other equipment, let alone the Matilda II tank equipment handed over by the British. division, this division was still equipped with Soviet-made tanks and British and Italian tanks.
Rather than letting the Second Armored Brigade and other equipment that had originally planned to receive this batch of Soviet-made light tanks, Yang Zhen did not dare to let the Second Armored Division, which was preparing to serve as the main breakthrough method on the Eastern Front, wait. At least until the spoils provided by the Soviets were in place, this The division can form combat effectiveness first, and the formation of the troops and even the investment in the campaign will not be affected by the little thoughts of the unreliable Soviets.
As for the dozens of German tanks provided by the British, Yang Zhen did not directly integrate them into the army. Instead, he used these tanks to form two training battalions. In addition to equipping them for the Second Armored Division, which was preparing to replace them with German tanks, Yang Zhen In addition to one, the other is equipped for the armored training regiment that has been upgraded to an armored training base.
These German-made tanks are used to train German tank operators and maintenance personnel, and prepare to receive German tanks and self-propelled assault guns transferred from the Soviet Army and the United States and Britain in the future, so as to form new armored forces in the future and prepare advanced technologies. preparation,