Because it is the strategic reserve of the entire North China Front, it was almost painstakingly armed to the teeth by General Okamura Neiji, and equipped with a large number of tanks, heavy artillery and other reinforcements. It has almost become the most powerful division in the entire Japanese Army structure.
Compared with the 17th Division of the Regiment.
It suffered heavy losses in last year's battle, and it was only rebuilt in four or three years. However, it caught up with the Japanese army's expansion of the front line, and the production of heavy weapons could not keep up with the increase in division numbers. Now it is mainly used as a security and garrison division.
The regiment can almost be said to be a pure infantry division.
In addition to the two Type 38 field artillery squadrons, the remaining artillery units are Type 41 mountain guns originally used as wing guns and 120mm howitzers. The artillery of this division is not large in number.
One is that they are all old-fashioned artillery. And the artillery, which was not strong in the first place, was turned into a light division before all of them were dispatched.
The combat area was on a typical plain terrain, and the battlefield was chosen too hastily. Not to mention anti-tank trenches and various fortifications. When the two armies started fighting, the 32nd Division did not even have a few field fortifications. Neither
Sufficient anti-tank firepower, but no ground-to-air firepower advantage. It was not a surprise that they were defeated in one round.
In this battle, it must be said that the underground party organizations in North China are indeed quite powerful. Originally, according to the orders of the North China Front Army Headquarters, except for one regiment of the 32nd Division to defend Yanzhou, the other two regiments
And all attached troops and heavy equipment were dispatched to the north for reinforcements.
However, the underground party in Yanzhou is quite capable. They took advantage of the opportunity of transporting horse feed to the 32nd Division Artillery Regiment and planted a unique local drug in the horse feed. No one except the locals could test it out. Even if
It is a unique herbal medicine that even a skilled veterinarian cannot detect.
As a result, in the winter when there were usually few infectious diseases, all the pack horses and draft horses of the 32nd Division Artillery Regiment collectively became diarrhoea. This resulted in a complete organic artillery regiment, and the horses that could be scraped together were not even enough to meet the needs of a squadron. Three
The Twelfth Division was able to dispatch three artillery squadrons this time, but they had to move here and there to do so.
Except for one squadron, which loaded the artillery onto the trucks originally used to transport supplies, the remaining two artillery squadrons loaded the artillery brigade of the participating troops, the pack horses of the rapid-fire artillery and ammunition, and the pack horses of the heavy machine gun squadron.
After collecting them all, we barely had enough horses.
As for the remaining ammunition for the 92nd Infantry Cannon, the 37th Rapid-Fire Cannon, and the heavy machine guns that should have been carried on horseback during long-distance marches. I'm sorry for the shells and heavy machine guns of these light artillery, you'd better carry them. Division
These horses were also used to pull the artillery.
The collapse of the always tenacious Japanese army in such a short period of time in the Battle of Cangzhou is absolutely inseparable from the quite effective work of the Yanzhou underground party. In the Battle of Cangzhou, half of the 32nd Division that had just been formed was lost, and the rest was shrunk.
Don't dare to come out of Cangzhou City. There will be no major threat on the entire eastern front in a short period of time.
In this battle, the Eastern Front Group commanded by Du Kaishan, in addition to defeating the resistance of the 32nd Division, also worked with the Shandong Military Region on the Cangzhou battlefield to coordinate with this battle.
The main forces of the Bohai Navy Region converged. Originally, Du Kaishan had the task of transporting weapons and equipment to the Shandong Military Region for this roundabout operation.
After this rendezvous with the troops of the Bohai Sea Region under the Shandong Military Region, Du Kaishan delivered to the Shandong Military Region 10,000 38 and 79 rifles, 2,000 7.62 submachine guns manufactured by the Anti-League, and 1,100 rifles planned by his superiors.
Japanese-made 65 light machine guns, 300 Type 92 heavy machine guns, and 100 MG 34 general-purpose machine guns.
There are 3 million rounds of bullets for 65 and 79 each, and 1 million rounds of bullets for the 77 Japanese machine gun. There are also a large number of grenade tubes and accessory ammunition, grenades and explosives. Forty 12mm anti-aircraft machine guns made by the Anti-Japanese Alliance
, one hundred 57 recoilless rifles, and twenty 92 infantry guns were all handed over to the Bohai Navy Region.
After the end of last year's campaign, the Shandong Military Region was the only major strategic area in North China that had no direct ground communication with the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Air transportation alone was not only insufficient in quantity, but also expensive, and also faced Japanese military aircraft.
interception. Therefore, in the replacement and replenishment of armed equipment, ammunition has always been the main focus as much as possible.
When Du Kaishan went south to fight this time, Yang Zhen had already thought of a roundabout route on the eastern front that would intersect with the base area of the Shandong Military Region. Therefore, in the preparations before the war, he specially mobilized a batch of weapons and ammunition. Du Kaishan's
In the march sequence, mainly among the logistics supply trucks, there were fully 200 trucks loaded with these equipments.
This batch of equipment is somewhat miserable for Du Kaishan. Such a large batch is enough to equip two armies. Although there are a large number of trucks transporting it, it is undoubtedly a very troublesome thing. Naturally, it is a troublesome thing in the base area.
It's okay, but we are on the battlefield right now. If a shell falls into the convoy, the damage caused is unimaginable.
No one would be too happy if they had to protect such a large amount of equipment and fight in the enemy's den under the circumstances of having to make circuitous and interspersed operations. It was just that when the mission was deployed, Yang Zhen repeatedly
Tell him that the equipment requires a spare part and a lot of bullets to be delivered. The roundabout mission must also be completed to the letter.
Now that he was converging with the troops of the Bohai Sea Region, Du Kaishan didn't care what others thought about how he would transport such a large batch of equipment back. He immediately threw away the hot potato, using the excuse that his troops would continue to intersperse, and directly sent the two hundred vehicles
The truck's equipment and supplies were all thrown in front of a deputy commander and a deputy political commissar who were specially sent by the Shandong Military Region to coordinate the combat relations between the two armies and came to greet him.
At the same time, a tank battalion and an infantry regiment were left to cooperate with the two brigades of the Bohai Navy Region and two independent regiments to continue to monitor the remaining forces of the 32nd Division trapped in Cangzhou, and the director of the Cluster Political Department was left to negotiate with the Shandong Military Region.
Outside, he commanded the troops and rushed towards the river where they were scheduled to meet Chen Hanzhang.
The two deputies of the Shandong Military Region who came to greet him were stunned. He also left the director of the Political Department to coordinate with the Shandong Military Region, and the political commissar of the Second Branch of the Logistics Department who escorted this batch of equipment.
The two of them were also very dissatisfied.
Your brother is going too far. At least everyone has to sit down and discuss how to transport these equipment to the final destination. What does it mean if you become the hands-off shopkeeper of this stall? Well, even if you
Brother, the war is urgent and we can't stay here long, but at least you have to be considerate. You just ran away without saying a word. What's going on?
It's just that these two people are dissatisfied, but there is nothing they can do against Du Kaishan. He has already escaped, so what else can be done to him? Fortunately, the one who came specially to greet him was transferred to Shandong from the post of deputy commander of the New Fourth Army.
He served as the first deputy commander of the military region and participated in the Wuchang Uprising. The veteran general, who was older than Du Kaishan in military service, just smiled at Du Kaishan's rude behavior and didn't care.
Compared with the overwhelming momentum on the eastern front, an encounter pushed the blocking 32nd Division back to Cangzhou City without daring to come out. Chen Hanzhang commanded the group to weave through the group in a roundabout way, and the battle they encountered was much more tragic. Although the 17th Division was on Pinghan Road
The three lines of defense built to the north were quickly broken through one after another.
In less than three days, the anti-alliance tank troops on the Western Front had reached Baoding, a city 140 kilometers away from Beiping City. However, the Western Front roundabout group commanded by Chen Hanzhang encountered heavy casualties in Baoding, Mancheng, and Xushui.
The main force of the 17th Division resisted tenaciously, and it could even be said to be a life-threatening counterattack.
Baoding's strategic position is extremely important. For the Japanese army, once Baoding is lost, Shimen will be difficult to hold. If Shimen is lost, then the Zhengtai Railway will be completely paralyzed. The First Army will become a truly lonely army. Baoding's
The strategic position determined that the Seventeenth Division did not dare to take any risk of losing Baoding.
However, compared to the 32nd Division that hastily entered the battle, the 17th Division, which is the general reserve of the North China Front, is much better equipped. It is not only equipped with a large number of Type 1 rapid-fire guns, but also equipped with four squadrons of 16 guns.
50mm anti-tank guns. And the several tank regiments remaining in the hinterland of central Hebei are all under the command of the 17th Division.
However, Okamura Neiji had repeatedly warned him not to send the tank regiments of these last mobile units of the front army to the battlefield if something unexpected happened in the battle. Although they had been broken through along the Peking-Tianjin Railway, the anti-alliance tank clusters had already
Enter the Jizhong Plain along the Ping-Han Railway.
However, Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai, the commander of the 17th Division, did not rush into the battlefield with several tank regiments at the first time. Instead, he used the anti-tank guns equipped by the division on three hastily established lines of defense.
As the main anti-tank weapon. However, although the two anti-tank guns also caused considerable losses to the anti-tank group during the battle.
But it was never able to intercept the rapid assault of the Anti-Union Armored Group. Instead, the Anti-Union Western Group took advantage of its maneuverability to adopt frontal feint attacks and roundabout flanking tactics, and defeated its three lines of defense in a row. It took only three days.
, and then hit Baoding, the capital of Hebei Province.
In order to prevent the Anti-Japanese Alliance tank group from continuing to move south, Baoding, known as the northern control of three passes, the south of nine provinces, the four prefectures, and the crown of Zhongzhou, has been a strategic center in North China since ancient times and is currently the seat of the pseudo-Hebei Province capital. And he is in
The headquarters of the Seventeenth Division in Baoding is safe and the control of Shimen and the front army over the Jizhong Plain is ensured.
Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai, the commander of the 17th Japanese Division, ignored the order of the front army to stand still and wait for reinforcements. When the roundabout troops on the Western Front of the Anti-Japanese Alliance broke through his second blockade line, he quickly transferred the main force of the division of 50 from Xiong County and Renqiu.
The third regiment, an independent mixed second regiment, carried all the anti-tank guns and artillery assigned to it, and built a third line of defense between Xin'an in the east and Mancheng in the west, with Baoding City as the core.
The reason why the 17th Division was left alone in the Jizhong Plain area is because the 17th Division not only had three integrated infantry regiments under its jurisdiction. In order to ensure that if anything abnormal happened in the Pingjin area, the Japanese army would attack the Jizhong Plain in North China.
Control of the largest grain-producing area.
With the efforts of Neiji Okamura, the Japanese base camp added two independent mixed regiments to the 17th Division, which served as the general reserve of the North China Front. Although these two independent mixed regiments did not have official designations, they
What really matters is the size of the two reinforced wings.
After adding these two independent mixed regiments, the 17th Division became the largest in the entire North China Front and the division with the largest number of troops under its jurisdiction. The five infantry regiments, together with engineers, heavy supplies, and search regiments,
team, as well as several tank regiments assigned to the division's command, an independent field heavy artillery battalion, and a cannon squadron.
Its equipment and strength are enough to be called the best in the entire North China Front. This allowed Okamura Neji to finally rest assured that he would stay in Jizhong alone and control the northern section of the Ping-Han Railway. In order to ensure control of the Jizhong Plain, even if
No matter how tense the war on the northern front was, Okamura Neiji did not deploy any heavy equipment attached to the division.