Gritting his teeth, Chen Hanzhang still did not use the ambush troops. Instead, he mobilized all the aviation troops stationed at Datong Airport to carry out indiscriminate bombing of the 32nd Division. However, to Chen Hanzhang's expectation, although the Japanese air force invested Not much, but the attached ground anti-aircraft fire was extremely fierce.
The 32nd Division suffered a big loss outside Taiyuan City. The reason why it waited for such a long time in Taiyuan was that in addition to waiting for supplies and additional troops, it was also waiting for the arrival of air defense forces. The 32nd Division was in Taiyuan. During the battle, those who were bombed still have lingering fears.
After receiving the battle plan directly conveyed by the Chief of Staff of the Front Army, Lieutenant General Ide Tetsuzo, the commander of the 32nd Division, who had arrived in Taiyuan, directly telegraphed General Okamura Neiji to either send air cover during the battle or provide support for the 32nd Division. The division increased ground anti-aircraft artillery fire.
In fact, there is no need for Lieutenant General Ide Tetsuzo to raise it himself. Neji Okamura is already considering this issue. These newly added Japanese brigade and above units on the battlefield are equipped with a large number of anti-aircraft weapons drawn from other directions. From Central China As early as when the transferred troops were being assembled, Okamura Neiji repeatedly requested to increase the organization and configuration of anti-aircraft weapons.
When the 21st Division and the 48th Division were gathering in Southeast Asia, he also asked the base camp to equip these two divisions with as many anti-aircraft weapons as possible, whether they were anti-aircraft guns or anti-aircraft machine guns. It is best to equip them with as much as possible, and also find a way to mobilize a batch of anti-aircraft weapons from other garrisons.
Each of these two divisions is equipped with four squadrons of 25mm anti-aircraft cannons. Both divisions are equipped with 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft cannons captured from the battlefields in Southeast Asia, as well as a large number of 13 mm anti-aircraft machine guns, their anti-air firepower and air defense capabilities far exceed those of various divisions directly under the Chinese Expeditionary Forces by several times.
In particular, the Bofors anti-aircraft gun captured from the battlefield in Southeast Asia has almost become the world's standard anti-aircraft gun because of its exceptional performance. After the Japanese army captured it, it not only sent it back to the mainland for imitation, but also directly equipped it to these two divisions. Among them, this kind of anti-aircraft gun also became the strongest opponent of the Anti-Alliance aviation throughout this battle.
Although the 32nd Division was not equipped with as many anti-aircraft weapons as the two divisions transferred from Southeast Asia, during the rest period in Taiyuan, Okamura Neiji urgently strengthened three 25mm anti-aircraft gun squadrons and two squadrons of anti-aircraft guns. A squadron of Type 88 75mm anti-aircraft guns.
Even each regiment is equipped with 13mm anti-aircraft machine guns. All heavy machine guns are replaced with high-level dual-purpose gun mounts and transformed into high-level dual-purpose machine guns. The 25mm anti-aircraft guns and 88-type anti-aircraft guns used by the Japanese army Although the performance of the artillery is not very good, it is better because of its large number. With the cooperation of a large number of anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft heavy machine guns, a relatively tight anti-aircraft firepower network is formed at medium and low altitudes.
The terrain here is all complex and mountainous. Not only are the bombing targets quite scattered, but if the aircraft wants to hit the target, it almost has to dive between the two mountains. This makes it extremely vulnerable to the Japanese anti-aircraft firepower from both sides. After losing the aircraft, After more than ten British-made light bombers failed to delay further Japanese offensive, Chen Hanzhang had to give up this approach that was not worth the gain.
The front line at Ruyuekou had fallen into the most critical moment, and air support had suffered huge losses. At this time, Chen Hanzhang could no longer care that the 10th Division had only arrived at the division headquarters, and that the entire 10th Division had only two battalions to draw down after the Battle of Xingjing. The old troops, as well as two battalions of the Guard Regiment, and the rest of the troops arriving from the 10th Division, which is still being airlifted, are reinforcing in the direction of Ruyuekou.
It was only after the 10th Division troops to reinforce Ruyuekou set off that Chen Hanzhang calmed down and realized that he had made a fatal mistake. He had a large number of tank troops in his hands. In the many battles in Datong, Jining, and Guisui, a large number of tanks had been use.
However, on the battlefield in northeastern Shanxi, he only invested a small number of tank troops. Compared with the strength of the huge armored troops under his subordinates, it was a fraction at best. Regarding this, the Japanese army, which has always been keen on smell, would never notice it. See the anomaly in this.
Not only did he not use tank troops on the battlefield in northeastern Shanxi, but the rest of the mechanized troops basically did not participate in front-line operations. The Japanese army was not stupid, and the terrain was not very favorable. They knew that the enemy had a large number of tanks and armored vehicles. But he still ventured north.
In other words, in order to encircle and annihilate the 21st Division, I am currently on a covert standby. In addition, I was initially concerned that the terrain in northeastern Shanxi was complex and not suitable for tank troops, and there were no tank troops that appeared on other battlefields. , now it has become a factor in the Japanese army's delay in advancing northward.
When he was the commander of the Eleventh Army, he used hundreds of tanks in the Battle of Nanchang and became the first person in the Japanese army to use tanks on a large scale. He was also very aware of the power of large-scale tank cluster assaults. , if a large number of tanks do not show up, it will be difficult for the Japanese army to be fooled.
In other words, the two Japanese divisions involved in the attack knew very well what the tank troops that they had never shown up were waiting for, and they were always on guard against using the rapid assault capabilities of the tank troops. In the twenty-first century of the Datong Basin Squadron, The first division carried out an armored assault.
Because compared with the complex mountainous terrain along the Ruyuekou line, the area south of Guangwu after leaving Yanmen Pass is located at the southern end of the Datong Basin. In addition to the Hongtaoshan line, there are some small basins suitable for tanks to exert their power. In this way, The Japanese army can roughly judge where their ambush circle is.
In this counterattack, the Japanese army adopted a tactic of attacking from the east and defending from the west. It should be that the 32nd Division was preparing to use the Ruyuekou line at the junction of Hengshan and Yanmen Mountains, which was extremely unsuitable for tank operations. Attack, attract your own tank troops there, and create a condition for the 21st Division to the west to penetrate deeper.
Chen Hanzhang, who realized that his judgment was wrong, decided to take a gamble after much thought. Since the 21st Division had discovered its strategic intention and was unwilling to be fooled, he sent all the tank troops participating in the ambush except for the 1st Armored Division. In addition to the 1st Armored Regiment and the two companies of the 2nd Regiment, all tanks and mechanized troops were mobilized to reinforce the direction of Ruyuekou.
However, Chen Hanzhang repeatedly warned Yi Liangpin, who led the team on this mission, that his action was just a bluff. Once the 21st Division moved north, he immediately commanded the entire army to use the excellent off-road performance of the BT fast tank to leave Malankou and from Fanzhi. Attack the flank of the 21st Division with Dai County and cut off the connection between the 32nd Division and the 21st Division.
The speed of this westward reinforcement must be firmly controlled. It must not only attract the attention of the 32nd Division, but also ensure that when necessary, it can quickly turn around in the shortest time. The key thing is that they must not be entangled by the 32nd Division and ensure that they penetrate to the side and rear of the 21st Division.
After explaining Yi Liangpin, Chen Hanzhang hesitated for a while, and with the support of his boss, he gave an order to Mu Changqiu, who was on the front line of Ninghua Fort, ordering the two regiments under his command to immediately cross the clouds. Zhongshan, seize Pingdiquan and Guoxian, cut off the retreat route of the 21st Division, and block possible Japanese reinforcements.
Chen Hanzhang tried his best to make preparations as much as possible, but the development of the battle did not go as he expected. Just as Yi Liangpin commanded the tank troops to advance along the highway from Shanyin to Yingxian, the two battalions of the Tenth Division had just When entering Yingxian County, the battle situation at Ruyuekou was deteriorating rapidly.
Before the troops commanded by Yi Liangpin arrived at Ruyuekou, the 32nd Division had broken through the entire line and launched an attack on the corresponding county. The two battalions of the 10th Division were integrated into the two battalions of the division's headquarters security regiment, and The troops that had withdrawn from Ruyuekou were relying on Yingxian County to block the attack.
Yingxian County is now in a critical position. Once Yingxian County is lost, the entire inner Great Wall line to Datong will no longer be defendable. Fortunately, the Tenth Division moved a step faster and entered Yingxian first. The troops of the Tenth Division arrived Although it wasn't much, it arrived in an unusually timely manner.
As soon as the 10th Division entered Yingxian County, the leading infantry brigade of the 32nd Division broke through the blockade of the 14th Jinsui Brigade on the outskirts of Yingxian County and appeared due south of Yingxian County. If the 10th Division troops arrived late, even if Within an hour, the county seat of Ying County was lost, and the consequences would be disastrous.
Facing the overwhelming advantage of the Japanese army, Yingxian County, which had not yet had time to build fortifications, had only four battalions of troops, but the division commander did not hesitate. According to the Anti-Japanese Alliance, once put into the battlefield, they would never look back. The habit and style of bargaining and carrying out orders to the end even if the battle is fought to the death.
Even though the enemy was outnumbered and we lacked the support of artillery fire, the troops of the 10th Division that entered the county relied on the simple fortifications of the county and launched a tenacious and fierce battle with the Japanese army on the spot. A US-made mountain cannon with less than 200 rounds of artillery shells With the company's fire support, more and more Japanese troops were held back around Ying County.
It's just that although they entered the county first, the 10th Division with limited strength, although relying on the county to hold back the main force of the 32nd Division, could not hold back the entire 32nd Division. With the strength of four battalions, and in In the previous blocking battle, the casualties reached 70% and they could only be reduced to four platoons. Now that the two battalions have lost their combat effectiveness, they can only hold on to Yingxian County under the siege of the Japanese army.
As for the two brigades of the Jinsui Military Region that participated in the war, they could only withdraw to the Hunhe River line northeast of Yingxian County to perform the task of cutting off the connection between Yingxian County and Hunyuan. After breaking through Ruyuekou, the 32nd Division attacked The location is exactly at the junction of the battlefield in northeastern Shanxi and the battlefield in northern Shanxi.
This position is crucial. Once the 32nd Division draws out a force to attack northeast, the entire anti-alliance forces on the periphery of Laiyuan will be surrounded by the Japanese army, and the entire deployment of the battlefield in northeastern Shanxi will also be completely destroyed. All previous efforts were in vain. Although the troops were insufficient, Chen Hanzhang could only allocate one force to protect the flanks of the battlefield in northeastern Shanxi.
While besieging Yingxian with all its strength, the 32nd Division used one force to attack the front line of Shanyin, trying to join the 21st Division on the left, and began to forcefully cross the Sanggan River with one force, trying to cut off the route from Shuoxian to Datong.
On the highway, as soon as Yi Liangpin's troops crossed Shanyin and entered Yingxian County, they encountered a regiment of the 32nd Division of the Japanese Army and immediately fell into a melee.
When Yi Liangpin commanded troops and encountered the Japanese regiment, he knew clearly that he was already facing a severe situation. The war situation took a turn for the worse, and Yi Liangpin's feint could only quickly turn into a real fierce battle, because
If the Japanese army is allowed to continue to advance westward, even if Chen Hanzhang's ambush circle is completed, it will still face the situation of being attacked from both sides.
The drastic change in the situation forced Chen Hanzhang to temporarily give up his original idea of letting Yi Liangpin turn around at any time and quickly outflank the 21st Division. Instead, he would do whatever it takes to entangle the regiment.
Before the reinforcements arrive, they must at least not be allowed to enter Shanyin County.