When the time entered March 1942, after the Anti-Japanese Alliance completed the final adjustments to its troops and equipment, all aspects had entered the final preparation stage for the war. All ammunition, materials, especially oil, had been transported to secret storage points in various directions on the front line. In the West
The reconnaissance force directly under the front-line activities has completed the reconnaissance of the offensive route across the Hunshandake Sands and identified the water source in the Hunshandake Sands. The width and density of the minefields in the Japanese front-line positions have been determined
Find out.
For the first time on the front line, the Japanese army used landmines on such a large scale to lay minefields for defensive operations. The Anti-Alliance Military Industry Department urgently manufactured a batch of demining equipment and distributed it to the engineering battalions of each division. They also mobilized each division and also
We make our own demining equipment using local materials distributed by superiors.
At the same time, the aviation force has also completed the final preparations for the pre-war flight transition. The secret site selection and establishment of field airports in various places in Chadong has been completed, and the wireless communication and navigation unit has made preparations to go south in advance. The health department has also made preparations to receive a large number of wounded.
Prepared and completed the construction of a field hospital.
Although these preparations for the Anti-Japanese Alliance were kept strictly confidential, it was almost impossible not to spread the news at all. Although the intelligence coming from the Anti-Japanese Alliance base area was limited, the Japanese army also sensed something unusual. Especially the front-line combat troops in the early stage
It was impossible to conduct terrain reconnaissance on the Hunshandake Sandy Land and Chanan Mountains without being noticed by the Japanese army.
The Japanese army also made great efforts to detect the movements of the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Although the internal intelligence collected from the base area was not very useful, the Japanese army's tactical reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance were always intensive in the frontline area where the two armies faced off.
They are all huge. Especially the North China Front Army, which can almost be said to have spent a lot of money.
All tactical reconnaissance operations conducted by the Anti-Japanese Alliance on the front line could not avoid the sight of the Japanese army under such circumstances. Especially the Western Front, which has a relatively special environment, was the earliest area of contact between the two sides. Since entering 1942, both sides have
The reconnaissance troops encountered many encounters.
Although the Hunshandake Sand Land at this time is not large in area, compared with the large deserts in northwest China, its small size can be directly ignored. However, the terrain and landforms here can be used as the most important water supply for desert operations.
It also allows a large number of troops to pass through, which is very important for the Resistance Alliance on the side that initiates the attack.
The war is imminent. It is impossible for the Anti-Japanese Alliance to launch an attack rashly without understanding the situation here. Especially the attack route in the desert must be chosen carefully. Even at this time, the area of Hunshandake Sands is far from chaotic.
The later generations of reclamation and animal husbandry were large. But the original environment here is now extremely well preserved, and it is much more complicated than the later generations.
The Hunshandake Sand Land is not only filled with sand. It is an interlaced area of grassland and desert. There are a large number of lakes in the desert. There are even large swamps on both sides of the main inland river, the Gaogestai River.
Land. In such complex terrain, if the roads are not surveyed first, major problems may easily arise in terms of troop attack and logistical supplies.
Driving and driving tanks in the desert is not something that just infantry can cross. Several tons or even dozens of tons of equipment may get trapped in the sand. Moreover, the troops can be replenished with water there, and the ground there can
To support the movement of large corps, where it can be used as a logistical supply line are all things that must be considered.
Although there is no shortage of water in Hunshandake Sandy Land, not everyone can drink the water there. A lot of water is either highly hardened and cannot be used as drinking water. It is also salty water or contains too much alkali.
It is too high to make any reference. When fighting in this sandy land, even if the area is not large, the choice of water source must be the first priority.
In the first phase of the battle, the troops led by Chen Hanzhang suffered a lot in the Horqin Sandy Land. The troops moved slowly in the sand, and the troops who entered the sand to fight could not find water sources. Moreover, in the windy and sandy areas,
In this area, the tank's engine power dropped significantly, and many vehicles were stuck in the sand.
That time in the Horqin sandy land, it was almost a march, and there were very few large-scale interspersed battles. If there really was a big battle, the troops who were almost unfamiliar with desert combat would have to suffer heavy losses. Having learned from the past, Yang Zhen
Naturally, we would not be careless. As early as January, the troops in the frontline confrontation area sent a large number of reconnaissance personnel to cooperate with the two squadrons of the reconnaissance brigade directly under the military region to conduct a thorough exploration of this area of sand.
Since March, as the battle gets closer and closer, the reconnaissance intensity of the front-line troops has increased a lot. Although the battle has not yet started, there is still a huge gap between the troops entering the sand for reconnaissance and the small groups of Japanese troops who are also conducting reconnaissance.
Fighting took place almost every day. Ambushes and counter-ambushes on both sides were carried out quite frequently.
There is also the mountainous area in Chanan. Although it is related to the cooperation of internal troops, heavy equipment can be passed there, it can be used as a assembly area, and it is more suitable as an attack launch area. All of them require re-contemplation by front-line combat troops. The equipment is different, and the combat
The required conditions are also different.
In order to understand these situations, during the confrontation between the two armies, the Anti-Japanese Alliance deployed a considerable number of reconnaissance troops and penetrated into the southern and western fronts to conduct extensive reconnaissance. In particular, the entire combat terrain of the Western Front was basically
It was a strange place. It was the first time for the Anti-Japanese Alliance to fight in a real desert. It was impossible for Yang Zhen not to act cautiously.
And even though there was not much intelligence inside the Anti-Japanese Alliance as usual, the Japanese army could still clearly detect the busy night traffic on the Sitao Railway. Especially the fully loaded T-26 tanks equipped by the 1st Armored Brigade that the Anti-Japanese Alliance consciously exposed
When the military columns and a large number of oil tankers passed through Shuangliao and Tongliao and were transported to the western front, the Japanese army could see clearly through high-power telescopes.
And although all the pedaling operations of the troops during the mobilization period are all at night, it will inevitably have a certain impact on the entire railway transportation. At least all freight trains need to adjust their timetables and organizations according to military operations.
With such a large-scale railway transportation, it is almost impossible for no news to be leaked.
In March, after discovering that the Anti-Japanese Alliance's activities on the front lines were becoming more and more frequent, and a small amount of internal intelligence, it was not clear whether the Anti-Japanese Alliance's attack was focused on the southern or western front. Compared with the slow movements of some aspects,
As far as the military is concerned, the Japanese army's reaction speed this time can be described as extremely fast.
At almost the same time that the Anti-Japanese Alliance began its general mobilization, the Kwantung Army and the North China Front Army were also immediately on high alert. The entire Kwantung Army and the North China Front Army, as well as all the frontline troops confronting the Anti-Japanese Alliance, were put into combat status in the shortest possible time.
Ammunition and combat supplies began to be distributed in large quantities to the front-line combat troops, and the artillery positions also began to undergo final camouflage. Engineers continued to make final additions to the density and width of the minefields. At the same time, various Japanese field divisions were forward
, reconnaissance of the anti-alliance forward positions is also becoming more and more frequent.
A large number of military columns have also been mobilized at several large railway hubs such as Siping Street and Fengtian in the northeast, Beiping, Tianjin, Zhangjiakou, and Taiyuan in North China, ready to mobilize troops at any time. The Japanese army has also successively completed its raids on major bases behind enemy lines in North China.
, all the troops participating in the mopping-up began to enter a centralized state. In order to reduce the number of troops, they even voluntarily gave up some of the strongholds they occupied in the mountainous areas during the mopping-up.
Entering March, both the Anti-Japanese Alliance and the Japanese Army in North China, the two major strategic groups, were making final preparations for a war. Especially starting from March 10, the frontier areas of the confrontation between the two sides were already tense. The air was tense.
The strong smell of tension can be detected by even a fool.
Although this war was a key battle for China's Anti-Japanese War and the future fate of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, it was just an ordinary battle for the world war that had spread all over the world. However, this war was still
There was no real start, because the timing of the launch had already attracted a lot of attention.
At this time, on the battlefield in Southeast Asia, the British army in Myanmar replicated the great rout in Malaya. In March, the British, who lost the capital of Myanmar, Rangoon, retreated all the way to the interior of Myanmar. Three armies of the expeditionary force organized by Chongqing
, is also making a concurrent journey into Myanmar.
In the southwest Pacific, the Japanese army is continuing to capture cities and territories. The American, British, Australian, and Dutch coalition forces in the Dutch East Indies have disintegrated. All the defenders in the Dutch East Indies have stopped resisting. All U.S. troops in the Philippines have withdrawn to Bataan.
The peninsula is making its final death struggle.
At the same time, the Japanese army has successively captured Rabaul, a strategic location in the southwest Pacific, and captured the entire Bismarck Islands. The resistance of the Australian defenders almost collapsed at the first touch. In order to ensure the safety of Rabaul, the Japanese army, which has tasted the sweetness, is moving towards the Solomon Islands.
Launch an offensive.
Throughout the Asia and Pacific battlefields, in order to preserve the last external communication line, troops have been sent to Burma. The Chongqing side is currently bargaining with the Americans over the amount of US aid. The United States and Britain, which are distressed by the worsening situation, have just concluded the Moscow Battle.
, the Soviets who drove the German troops out of Moscow. And for this war, there was also Yan'an, which was also mobilizing troops to cooperate with the anti-alliance war.
At this moment, whether it is domestic eyes or international eyes, or because of conflicts of interests, or because of future development, or because of the current unfavorable war situation, they are paying close attention to North China. Intelligence agencies in all aspects are almost
Everything moved quickly.
Especially at this time, Chongqing, who has all kinds of emotions in his heart, and even doesn't know what it is like, whether it is in the Northeast or Pingjin, whether it is the Central Command, the Military Command, or a certain theater intelligence agency, is fully engaged in trying to collect all information about the mobilization of the two armies.
information.
Yang Zhen ignored the looks from the outside world that expressed expectations or mixed feelings. He was still making final preparations before the war step by step. For Yang Zhen now, the more critical the moment, he
The calmer his mentality became. Regarding this battle that was related to the fate of the Anti-Japanese Alliance and even the entire China, Yang Zhen had almost no disturbance at all.
On March 10, after all combat plans were finalized and all material preparation and transfer work was completed, on March 11, Yang Zhen convened a meeting with cadres above the level of the Anti-Union Division, advancing army columns and above, as well as various services and arms of the Anti-Union.
A joint meeting of cadres at level 2 and above from the three headquarters issued the entire combat plan and deployed all aspects of action plans.
In accordance with Yang Zhen's request, on March 13, all participating troops began to mobilize on a large scale through the railway in accordance with the mobilization plan issued by the headquarters. In strict accordance with the mobilization plan issued by the headquarters, they pedaled at designated locations and designated stations.
All must arrive at the combat area within the specified time.
In order to keep the mobilization of troops as confidential as possible and to meet the deadline, all the departments that transported by railway adopted the method of boarding the trains at small stations around the station and driving in one by one at night. While the departments that moved by road,
Adopt a regiment-based organizational structure, march separately and concentrate in designated areas.