Just on the reinforced battalion of the 1st Armored Brigade heading north, the Japanese army deployed a large number of heavy machine guns, plum blossom-shaped machine gun fortifications, and dozens of bunkers on the offensive route advancing north, plus four two-pound cannons.
Two Type 97 20mm infantry automatic cannons, and one of the latest Japanese Type 1 anti-tank guns.
Although most of the Japanese positions within the territory of the White Flag were almost destroyed in the carpet bombing, the Japanese fortifications in the areas to the north that were not bombed were still relatively intact. This force crossed from the breach to the north, but
They were fighting right at the core of the Japanese army's undamaged firepower network.
Moreover, the Japanese army's fighting will and strong independent combat capabilities put the armies of most countries to shame. Even the defenses in the main defense area on the southern front of Zhengxiangbai Banner are already on the verge of collapse. However, the Japanese army in areas not affected by bombing
, still desperately resisting. Its resistance has not been affected by the southern front.
These machine guns and anti-tank guns, together with the Japanese artillery squadron equipped with 38-type field guns deployed in depth, and the fire support at all costs from the two British 3.7-inch mountain guns, allowed the reinforced battalion to move north to support
The battle almost immediately fell into a bitter fight shortly after setting off.
The shooting accuracy of the Japanese artillery is extremely high, and the impact point of the artillery shells almost follows the northward assault troops. Although the artillery in the rear used a field artillery battalion to suppress the fire and cover the northward movement of the assault troops, in order to protect the assault troops,
It was never possible to completely defeat this sudden Japanese artillery force.
From the breach that had been opened, the reinforced battalion supporting the 1st Armored Brigade advanced northward, together with the attached tank company. Less than a kilometer in advance, it suffered fire attacks from all directions. After just three hours of fierce fighting, the attached tank company
The ten tanks of the T26 tank company assigned to this regiment were all destroyed by fire from the side under the surrounding fire.
Although with the fire support of the artillery behind them, they used strengthened recoilless rifles and equipped rocket launchers to destroy a large number of Japanese fortification groups. They also destroyed more than ten Japanese machine guns and almost all anti-tank guns. However, in the
The Japanese army also suffered heavy casualties under fire.
After a night of fierce fighting, although they advanced more than ten kilometers to the north in one go, the reinforced battalion that launched the attack also suffered one-third casualties. The instructor and deputy battalion commander died one after another, the battalion commander was injured, and nearly half of the entire battalion cadres were injured. It was no longer able to continue.
An assault to the north can only be transferred to a defensive position.
The frontal offensive of the 1st Armored Brigade was thwarted across the board. The troops heading north to support suffered heavy casualties but were unable to open up the situation, which gave Chen Hanzhang a headache. Judging from the battle reports of the 1st Armored Brigade and the troops heading north, Chen Hanzhang had an inexplicable feeling in his heart.
, I recommended Liu Changshun to succeed me, did I choose the wrong candidate?
In order to better allow Liu Changshun to use actual combat to practice his command ability before taking over, Chen Hanzhang transferred him to the northern front to command operations. In order to prepare for the next step of grasping the overall situation according to the battle situation as soon as possible. But at present, it can be said that
Liu Changshun's performance disappointed him very much.
But when it came to the ability of an old comrade-in-arms, Chen Hanzhang hesitated for a long time and finally withdrew him from the headquarters. Instead, he replaced him with Chief of Staff Wang Minggui to command the Northern Front Combat Group. He also sent Yang Jicai, Chief of the Operations Division of the headquarters, as his own
Representatives strengthened the command on the northern front.
In fact, Chen Hanzhang did not know that the reason for the slow progress of the northern front offensive was not only because Liu Changshun was too conservative in the use of tactics, but also because the Japanese northern fortification group did not suffer a major blow. More importantly, the Japanese army
The anti-tank tactics previously formulated were almost tailor-made for the T-26, the main tank of the Anti-Japanese Alliance in the first phase of the battle.
After carefully considering the experience of the Linxi and Tongliao battles in the first phase of the battle, the North China Front Army found that the Japanese anti-tank guns in their hands, even with a large number of captured British two-pound guns, were difficult to attack from the front.
Destroy the modified T-26 tank of the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
Except for the captured British two-pound guns and the new, very few Type 1 rapid-fire guns, the remaining anti-tank weapons in the hands of the Japanese army were almost unable to penetrate the modified Anti-Union T-26 tanks even if they were fired at close range.
Frontal armor and turret.
If you want to contain the possible armor offensive of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, you must concentrate your firepower on the sides of the tank, especially the weakest engine part. Find the weakest point in this Soviet-made tank. Or use anti-tank mines.
First blow up the tracks of the Anti-Union Tank, then approach with infantry and use cluster grenades or Molotov cocktails to destroy the Anti-Union Tank.
Therefore, in addition to the frontal defensive positions, the Japanese army put a lot of effort into the construction of deep fortifications. Compared with the linear defenses on the front, a large number of inverted firepower points and shooting positions were built in the deep areas.
The entrance faces the bunker on the flank.
It will also equip the reinforced British Vickers heavy machine guns, as well as its own Type 92 heavy machine guns, as well as more than half of the anti-tank firepower, in such fortifications. These fortifications have two firing ports. In the front-line position
After being broken through, cross fire can be used to block the infantry following the tank assault, and at the same time, the anti-alliance forces penetrating in depth can be dealt with from the flanks.
At the same time, taking into account the advantages of the Anti-Japanese Alliance in ground artillery fire and armored troops, the entire Japanese defense line in Chadong focused on the second line of defense and the joint between the first and second lines of defense. However, it was not known that the Anti-Japanese Alliance had
Okamura Neiji, who captured a US-made strategic bomber, did not expect that the Anti-Japanese Alliance would use carpet bombing on him.
The depth of the first and second lines of defense is not too far. Although it is farther than the distance between the two lines of defense in typical tactics of the Japanese army during defensive operations, considering the shooting distance of the weapons, it is still not too far.
.But each line of defense is said to be a line of defense, but it is actually composed of three close-range fortification groups.
In this way, whether the Anti-League is detouring from the front, or making detours and penetrations after opening a breakthrough, there is almost no way to speed up the attack except for a little bit of hard work. And even if the breakthrough is opened and the penetration is deep, other
Tanks and infantry will also encounter a large amount of anti-tank fire from the flanks, as well as machine gun fire.
Under the personal supervision of Okamura Neiji, the Japanese defense positions were renovated, and the painstaking efforts paid off. A large number of machine guns and anti-tank gun positions with extremely tricky design angles and crisscrossing firing lines gave the resistance to the enemy.
The alliance poses a considerable threat.
This General Okamura was planning very carefully. The only thing he failed to calculate was that the Anti-Japanese Alliance would actually launch a carpet bombing of 100-ton bombs on his defensive position within the Zhengxiangbai Banner.
His two lines of defense within Zhengbai Banner were all blown to the ground. Most of these fortifications, which he considered to be like a hornet's nest, were destroyed before they had time to function.
And the Anti-Japanese Alliance is actually equipped with Matilda II tanks, which are somewhat slow in action and have poor off-road capabilities. However, the thinnest part of the armor is 50 millimeters, and the whole body is like a lump of iron. Those of his were modified for the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
The tactics prepared by the Soviet-made T-26 tanks had almost no effect against this Lady of Steel.
Even the most powerful Type 1 rapid-fire cannon cannot penetrate its flank armor within the effective range. But except for the Matilda II tank, which can run rampant due to its thick skin and thick flesh, the 26th light tank, for the Japanese army
There are almost no countermeasures to this defensive tactic.
Unlike the Matilda II tank, which has a strong skin and thick flesh all over, the last modification has greatly reduced the maneuverability of the T-26 tank. The structural wear of the tank is quite severe, and the maneuverability has also been reduced too much. This time, we have learned a lesson.
During the battle, in addition to the reinforcement of the frontal armor and the additional armor on the turret, all the armor on the tank body was removed.
This is to ensure that the fragile engine of this tank can support the weight of the tank and maintain the performance and reliability of the original 91-horsepower engine as much as possible without replacing the engine. But in this way, this
Although the maneuverability of this tank has increased compared to the original, except for the front, the protective capabilities of the vehicle body are no longer comparable to those in the previous stage of the battle.
After the North China Front Army learned that the tanks equipped by the Anti-Japanese Alliance were mainly Soviet-made T-26 tanks, they did everything possible to transfer two tanks of the same type captured from the Chongqing Army from the headquarters of the Chinese Dispatch Army and the mainland.
Using these two Soviet-made T-26 tanks, we conducted some painstaking training.
These two early T-26 tanks purchased by Chongqing from the Soviet Union were abandoned in desperation after their running gear was hit by Japanese anti-tank fire. However, the tank body was basically intact and there was no major damage to the armor. Although it had been
The ability to move has been lost, but it is still perfectly acceptable as a test target.
Of course, with the combat experience in Tongliao and Linxi, the North China Front Army would not be fooled into thinking that the armor of the same model tanks of the Anti-Japanese Alliance had not been improved in any way compared with the two captured tanks. They did not use these two tanks.
, as a test of the power of anti-tank guns. They have already accumulated enough experience to deal with this tank that Chongqing has used extensively.
These two tanks were brought in specifically for research. Although the armor may have been strengthened, they are both improved models of the same model, and the structure cannot be changed. Finding the weaknesses of this tank after the armor has been greatly enhanced is the key to the task.
Murura Ningji did not hesitate to use all his connections to get these two tanks.
After figuring out the structural weaknesses of this Soviet-made tank, the Japanese North China Front strictly trained its anti-tank artillery. When shooting, they specifically targeted the weakest and most deadly part of this tank, the joint between the turret and the body.
, and the tank's engine.
Even when firing from the front, the first shot is required to hit the joint between the turret and the vehicle body. For the side, it is also required to concentrate the firepower hit area within the narrow range of the t-26 tank's flanks and vehicle body, or the driving wheel, towing
Even after the armor is strengthened, the wheels, engines and other parts of the tank are still the most vulnerable.
And using the anti-tank experience of Linxi battlefield and Tongliao battlefield, these two tanks were modified. Their armor was increased to the acceptable limit to test the British two-pounder gun and the Type 1 rapid-fire gun, both of which are very important for the current North China.
Front Army, the most powerful anti-tank weapon, can destroy such tanks at the maximum distance.
As for the other Type 94 rapid-fire cannons that can be used for anti-tank, the Taisho 11-year-old infantry cannon, and the Type 97 20mm automatic cannon, Okamura Neiji never thought that these old guys could destroy the anti-tank head-on.
Allied tanks. Instead, these old equipment were placed directly on the flanks.
After many experiments, the Japanese army determined the firing range of various types of anti-tank artillery in their hands. According to various types of anti-tank weapons, they considered the penetration distance and location of the anti-alliance main battle tanks to be different.
Tank weapons are arranged in a trapezoidal configuration.