Although the current Seventeenth Division suffered heavy losses in the previous battles, it was already quite confident, so that most of the Seventeenth Division's vitality is still there. Let the commander of the Seventeenth Division, Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai, even
Three lines of defense were defeated one after another, but we still have the confidence to organize a large-scale counterattack.
Especially after the defense at the southern end of Jinpu Road on the eastern front had been taken over by the First Division of the 32nd Division. He was able to quickly mobilize the forces of two regiments in the Anti-Japanese Alliance in the shortest possible time. Together with the main force of the Baoding defenders,
Attached to three tank regiments, they went out of the city to counterattack in an attempt to stop the anti-alliance offensive.
In the rear areas of southern Hebei and Henan, as well as the North China Front in Shandong, there are two tank brigades and three tank regiments. On the one hand, they are monitoring the first and fifth theaters of Chongqing. On the other hand, they are also
As the reserve force of the North China Front that can be mobilized at any time, part of it is rushing towards the Baoding battlefield at starry night.
It was precisely with these backings to rely on that before Xushui was lost, Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai was in Baoding personally to command his troops. Interspersed with the Anti-Japanese Western Front, in the triangle of Baoding, Xushui, and Mancheng,
In the zone, a tank battle of unprecedented scale took place.
Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai’s meaning was very clear. The main force of the Anti-Alliance assault group was its tank unit. As long as their tank units were defeated, it was still possible to block the Anti-Alliance East Group in Baoding. The battle in Tongzhou proved that
Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai was very confident that he had experienced the Japanese army's latest tank, which could compete with the Anti-Japanese Alliance tanks.
Compared with the Baoding Battle, a series of tank battles between China and Japan, as well as large-scale air battles, broke out on the Jizhong Plain. In the battle in Tongzhou North, both sides invested more than 100 tanks.
A battle can at best be considered an opening, or simply an appetizer.
The tank battle that broke out around Baoding this time far exceeded the fierce battle between the armored troops of the two sides in Tongzhou North, both in terms of the size of the troops invested and the tactics used by both sides, as well as the cruelty and battle losses on both sides.
The outcome of this battle also determines the final direction of this battle.
Chen Hanzhang, who commanded the Western Cluster, obviously accepted the lessons of the Tongzhou Battle. After discovering that the Japanese army not only invested a large number of troops north of Baoding, but also concentrated no less than three tank regiments, an almost unprecedented scale of more than 200 tanks.
After increasing his troops, Chen Hanzhang did not act hastily.
He ordered the cavalry brigade operating west of Pinghan Road to bypass the Japanese defenders all over the city, and with the Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu Military Region troops, penetrate directly into Baoding from the side and rear. They also launched along the Ping-Han Railway and attacked the troops who might be along the Ping-Han Railway.
The enemy with railway reinforcements implements delay and delay to cover the frontal troops and quickly complete the battle process.
Although the west of Pinghan Road is the Taihang Mountains, the cavalry brigade is far more convenient than the tank group and has sufficient mobility. Moreover, the mountainous area to the west of Mancheng is the base area of Shanxi, Hebei and Shandong, and it is quite convenient to pass through the Mancheng line.
, penetrating directly into Baoding can distract the attention of the Japanese army in the front, and contain and delay the Japanese reinforcements.
Order Xiong Botao, commander of the 1st Armored Division, to command the entire 1st Armored Regiment and one battalion of the 13th Independent Tank Regiment. The merged division is directly under the Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, attached to the 1st Armored Division Mechanized Infantry Regiment, and the division is under the 1st and 3rd companies of the 17th Independent Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun Battalion.
First row. One battalion each of 150 heavy howitzers and 122 rocket launchers, and two motorized infantry regiments.
Forced to cross the Cao River east of Baoding, first defeat the right-wing Japanese defenders and break through the flanks of the Japanese defense posture in the Baoding battlefield triangle. Cooperate with the frontal attack troops and adopt a two-wing pincer offensive to defeat the Japanese front-line troops in Baoding before the Japanese reinforcements arrive.
defense.
And he personally commanded an infantry division, reinforced the second armored regiment, the main force of the thirteenth independent tank regiment, two battalions of the sixth independent heavy howitzer regiment, the second company of the seventeenth self-propelled anti-tank gun battalion, and the third platoon of the third company. With the front
A brigade reorganized from the original Jizhong Military Region troops, plus an independent regiment, came to join together to contain the main force of the Japanese 17th Division from the front.
Chen Hanzhang, who wanted to take the initiative on the battlefield into his own hands, took the lead in launching an attack with the support of artillery. However, his first wave of attacks was not a true all-out attack, but a tentative offensive.
Faced with Chen Hanzhang's first attack, Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai naturally did not hesitate.
In addition to two tank squadrons, one armored vehicle squadron, and one mountain field artillery squadron, he strengthened six 50mm anti-tank guns. Attached to the two independent infantry brigades of the Second Mixed Infantry Regiment, he dispatched from Xin'an to contain the anti-alliance flank offensive.
, in addition to ensuring the safety of your own flanks.
He himself commanded two main tank regiments, in an independent field heavy artillery brigade, eight Taisho 4-year-old 150mm howitzers, two 92-type 105mm long-range cannons, and four 91-type 10
Under the cover of five howitzers and a field artillery brigade, they fought an offensive battle with the offensive forces of the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
What kicked off the Battle of Baoding was an earth-shattering artillery battle involving large-caliber artillery from both sides. In addition to the two Type 92 cannons, the Japanese Taisho 4-year-old howitzer had a large caliber and was quite accurate.
High. However, due to the disadvantages of range and quantity, they were suppressed in the artillery battle.
The German-made 150mm howitzers of the Anti-Japanese Alliance and the 105mm howitzers of the 1st Armored Division's Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment cooperated with the 122 rocket launchers. A combination of long and short distances and a trapezoidal configuration were adopted to carry out firepower on the Japanese artillery positions.
Suppression. Especially the twelve German-made 150mm howitzers that participated in the battle played a decisive role in the artillery battle.
Although the Japanese army suffered certain losses due to the long range of the two Type 92 cannons, it relied on its own range advantage over the Japanese heavy artillery to suppress the Japanese army's most powerful eight 150mm howitzers.
After an artillery battle, the Japanese heavy artillery, which lost more than half of its troops, had the courage to fight back reciprocally at the beginning, but in the end could only remain silent.
Except for the two Type 92 cannons of the Anti-Japanese Army, the artillery attack of the Anti-Japanese Army almost all maintained the advantage in range against the Japanese artillery. In addition, except for the 150mm heavy howitzer, the armor was
The artillery and rocket launchers equipped by the division have mobility advantages.
Even the artillery of the infantry division far exceeded the range of the Japanese artillery. In the artillery battle, these advantages were very advantageous. The Japanese artillery that participated in the war lost one-third in one artillery battle.
Half of the artillery was lost in the battle. This laid a good foundation for the final victory of the battle.
Just the failure of the artillery battle did not stop Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai's counterattack. He was so angry that he gathered all more than 70 tanks of one tank regiment to launch a counterattack against the coalition's offensive forces. Another tank regiment
, then serve as a reserve team, ready to enter the battlefield at any time.
Faced with the Japanese tank swarm charge, Chen Hanzhang was not in a hurry. He took advantage of the good sighting accuracy of the German tanks and kept a distance of 700 meters from the Japanese tank swarm. He used the No. 4 tank for sighting.
The system is excellent and the artillery has the advantage of long range. Together with the sixteen 76mm self-propelled cannons belonging to the self-propelled anti-tank battalion, it can destroy Japanese tanks from a long distance.
At the same time, the Panzer III tanks were concentrated to bypass the Japanese tank cluster from the flanks. Using the maneuverability and shooting accuracy of the Panzer III tanks, a flanking fire attack tactic was adopted to first destroy the Japanese tank clusters whose performance had lagged behind and were unable to fight back.
Type 97 tanks and No. 1 gun fighting vehicles.
Chen Hanzhang's tactics played a great role. His tank cluster and the 76mm self-propelled cannon attached to the rear destroyed a Japanese tank regiment that launched a counterattack in the first round of fire, including more than 70 vehicles.
Half of the tanks are the latest Japanese tanks.
Although the Japanese 50mm tanks are very powerful, at a distance of 700 meters, they basically pose no threat to the modified Panzer IV tanks. Although the Japanese tanks continue to try to get close to the anti-alliance tanks at maximum speed,
troops, and other melee combatants.
But at least on the frontal battlefield, faced with the huge power of the 75mm tank gun's long-range fire, the Japanese army's attempt was simply to fight with the weak. When the Japanese tank regiment rushed to the front of the anti-alliance tank troops, it was 500 meters away.
At the optimal firing distance, more than half of the more than 70 tanks it invested in a regiment had already been lost on the charge route.
If it weren't for Chen Hanzhang, in order to save precious 75mm tank shells, he asked his men to try their best to hit a Japanese tank with an armor-piercing shell, and put the Japanese tank group within 700 meters before opening fire. As much as possible
It is guaranteed to destroy a Japanese tank with one shot, but it limits long-range shots that are not very accurate.
With the performance of the tank gun equipped on the Type IV D tank, the German tanks have always had excellent sighting systems. In addition, the battlefield is flat and there is not even a ditch. In the first half of the year, the Anti-Alliance Armored Forces made special efforts
, practiced long-range shooting ability.
Even if it fires from 1,200 meters away, it can still achieve a first hit. The distance of 700 meters from 1,200 meters to 500 meters is enough for the anti-alliance tank cluster and the self-propelled anti-tank behind it.
Several rounds of firepower were fired. With the power of the 75mm tank gun and the Soviet 76mm cannon, it was even possible to keep a tank regiment of the Japanese army's first attack on the charge route.
However, considering that each vehicle is equipped with only one-third of the armor-piercing shells, and each vehicle is only equipped with twelve rounds of capped armor-piercing shells. Moreover, the troops are in the midst of roundabout operations, so it is difficult to supply artillery shells. Chen Hanzhang still chose
Mainly focus on a more reliable firing distance of 700 meters.
As the focus of the army's armored force construction, tanks of the 1st Armored Division have always been equipped with priority. The medium tank battalion of the 2nd Armored Regiment on the front is equipped with No. 4 tanks, but they are not the self-produced Soviet-style VIII tanks used by the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
The 16mm tank gun was replaced by an old model equipped only with a very low-power short-barreled tank gun.
Instead, they are all very powerful. They are all equipped with 75mm long barrel tank guns. This tank gun can destroy T-34 tanks at a distance of 1,200 meters. It only takes 50mm to deal with the new Japanese tanks.
The thick armor is far more powerful than the 76mm tank gun of the T-34 tanks.
Coupled with the extremely excellent sighting system, there is no problem in penetrating the 50mm frontal armor of the new Japanese tank from a thousand meters away. Coupled with the 80mm thick frontal armor, Chen Hanzhang used this
The use of tanks as the main frontal force can be regarded as finding an opponent for the Japanese tanks.
It's just a pity that the number of Type IV F, G, and H equipped with the astonishingly powerful long-barreled 75mm tank gun in the Anti-Japanese Alliance is not very large. The entire army adds up,
There are only more than a hundred vehicles. In addition to the 60 vehicles assigned to the 1st Armored Division, an independent tank regiment was also formed.