And even though these more than 100 Panzer IV tanks are equipped with 75 mm long barrels, the number of complete trophies handed over by the Soviet army and the US-British coalition forces is actually not very large. After all, this kind of tank gun will not be used until 1942.
It took half a year to begin equipping German troops in large numbers.
The amount of German equipment on the North African battlefield was not large, and the blood on the Soviet-German battlefield meant that despite the small amount of German equipment, not many complete trophies were captured. Among these German-made Panzer IV tanks, there were quite a few
Part of it was pieced together using the wreckage of destroyed German tanks brought back by the resistance forces from the Soviet-German war in North Africa.
The anti-resistance personnel sent to the Soviet Union were so careful on the battlefield. The tanks whose hulls were destroyed but whose turrets were intact were disassembled. The tanks whose turrets were destroyed but whose hulls were intact were reassembled.
.For tanks that are so badly damaged in battle that they cannot even be pieced together, all removable parts should be dismantled.
Even if there are only a few road wheels or a section of track, they should be dismantled. If the artillery is intact, it would be better to disassemble the artillery directly. Even if it is only a few rounds of artillery shells and the engine that has been beaten into parts
All usable parts were transported back intact.
In particular, the motor used to rotate the turret was dismantled as soon as it was found, regardless of whether it was damaged or not. After painstaking searches, the Anti-Alliance used to collect them from Kursk and other Soviet-German battlefields where large-scale tank battles broke out.
Using the parts they received, and with the cooperation of German prisoners of war, they pieced together nearly a hundred complete long-barreled Panzer IV tanks, and collected a batch of German original 75mm armor-piercing projectiles.
They also used the complete cannons from the destroyed tanks to replace the cannons of some of the old Panzer IV tanks. Together with the nearly a hundred complete Panzer IV tanks transferred from the Soviet Army and the US Army, two tank regiments were pieced together.
The No. 4 long-tube type was compiled. This battle was also the first time that this tank, which had the strongest firepower among all the tanks of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, was put into the battlefield.
Although Yang Zhen was mentally prepared to speed up the upgrading of his own tanks after the Japanese army discovered that the quality of anti-alliance tanks had greatly improved, he did not fully expect that the Japanese army would update its tanks so quickly and that they would be produced after full production.
The quantity is so large.
He instructed the Anti-Alliance personnel in the Soviet Union to collect disabled German tanks and assemble them. This was entirely because the tanks provided by the United States and Britain could not meet the needs. In particular, the self-produced output was low, and the number of medium tanks aided by the Americans was far from meeting the needs.
A gap formed by medium tanks with excellent performance.
Secondly, it was also to solve the shortage of self-propelled artillery and self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery sites attached to the armored forces. At the same time, it was used as a contingency measure to strengthen the troops' ability to repair battle-damaged tanks. However, I did not expect that his unintentional move would lead to
The anti-Union tank troops obtained a weapon that was sufficient to deal with any tank threat from the Japanese army.
Faced with the Anti-Japanese Alliance's defensive counterattack tactics, Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai, who suffered heavy losses after the first round of artillery fire, was unwilling to be beaten passively. He quickly deployed a field artillery squadron to launch two Type 92 Type 92 artillery pieces.
With the cooperation of cannons, they tried to use artillery firepower to disperse the anti-tank gun positions deployed by the Anti-Japanese Alliance in depth.
At the same time, he ordered his tank group not to estimate the losses, but to rush forward as quickly as possible to stick with the enemy in order to exert the power of his tank gun firepower. Considering the power of the anti-alliance tank gun, he did not hesitate to
The second tank regiment in hand also immediately entered the battlefield, trying to use its numerical advantage to take the lead in defeating the anti-alliance tank troops in front.
Facing a No. 3 tank battalion from the flank of the Anti-Japanese Alliance, he mobilized two tank squadrons and an artillery tank squadron from the reserve to launch a charge against the Anti-Union tank force that was detouring from the flank. Although it was a
Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai, a pure infantry general who did not want to be passively beaten, actually used the tactics of tank group charge in a decent manner.
As for whether the 17th Division could withstand huge battle losses, Lieutenant General Sakai Yasu didn't care. Because he knew that the 1st Tank Brigade stationed in Anyang was traveling north by train day and night. Now the 1st Brigade
A military column carrying two squadrons has passed Zhengding and will arrive at the Baoding battlefield tomorrow morning at the latest. At the same time, the subsequent military columns have also arrived at Shimen.
Once the tank brigade arrives, the armored strength of the 17th Division in Baoding will immediately turn from a disadvantage into an absolute advantage. Even if all two tank regiments are lost in this battle, the remaining first battle will be
The number of remaining tanks in the chariot brigade is sufficient to complete the infantry operations against the alliance.
Although during last year's battle, he was still serving as the planning director of the Army Ordnance Headquarters and did not participate in the war. However, as the person responsible for the development planning of the Japanese Army's weapons and equipment, he has been paying close attention to last year's battle, which was called the Japanese Empire.
The battle was an unprecedented defeat for the army.
The so-called Type 1 modified tank currently used by the Japanese army was developed during his tenure. He converted the German-made 50mm anti-tank gun imported by the Army into a tank gun because he ignored the Army's top brass because he was worried about it.
Increase the caliber to create confusion and opposition, and make decisions persistently.
He was deeply impressed by the Anti-Japanese League's tank clusters that swept through the Mongolian garrison in last year's battle. So after receiving the notification of the Anti-Japanese League troops moving south, his first determination was to solve the problem of the Anti-Japanese War first.
Even if the three tank regiments in our hands are all used up, we still have to do this.
As long as you kill all the tank troops facing the Anti-Union forces first, you can create a fighter plane that can completely defeat the Anti-Union infantry for the first tank brigade that failed to arrive immediately due to the Anti-Union air strikes. In Sakai
Lieutenant General Kang believes that as long as the Anti-Union tank force can be defeated first, the scene where the Anti-Union tank group swept the Imperial Army last year will definitely be reversed.
What's more, the smooth terrain of the Jizhong Great Plains around Baoding is more conducive to giving full play to the advantages of tank group operations. Therefore, Sakai Yasu had already prepared the deployment when he left the city to counterattack, instead of waiting for reinforcements as required by the front army headquarters.
Prepare for the loss of all three tank regiments.
However, Yasu Sakai's plan was directly strangled in the cradle by the artillery of the Anti-Japanese Alliance. As soon as his artillery began to move their positions, they were stared at the Japanese artillery like wolves by the direct subordinates.
The special reconnaissance brigade dispatched personnel and guest-starred as the anti-alliance artillery reconnaissance instructor.
There is no way, the field artillery group is okay. But the weight of the two Type 92 105 cannons is really not light, and it is impossible to move the position without making any noise. And during this artillery battle, these two cannons,
Among the Japanese artillery equipment, the Type 92 cannon, which poses the greatest threat and has the longest range, is also a key reconnaissance target of the Anti-Japanese Alliance.
After immediately and accurately judging the Japanese army's intention to transfer artillery at this time, the anti-alliance front-line artillery commander immediately mobilized all available forces and implemented an intensive fire suppression of the Japanese artillery transfer to completely destroy the two ranges.
The 105 cannon has long range, high accuracy, and poses a great threat to the mobilization of coalition forces.
With the help of heavy howitzers to suppress the Japanese covering artillery fire, a rocket launcher company ventured forward two kilometers away from the Japanese artillery position, moving in the direction of the Japanese artillery transfer judged by the superior commander. After careful calculation of time, a volley fired
shoot.
Along with these rockets, which were originally enough to cover an infantry brigade of the Japanese army, a dense rain of bullets was formed. In this battle, at least in the first phase of the battle, the Japanese army faced off against the two Type 92 Type 1s that were the greatest threat to the coalition.
The Zero-5 cannon, along with the tractor and attached artillery, were beaten into parts.
The biggest threat was lifted, which made Chen Hanzhang somewhat relieved. These two cannons with a range of up to 18 kilometers not only have a long range, but also pose a considerable threat to an army like the Japanese army that has undergone rigorous training, especially in confrontation.
The alliance's artillery and supply points behind were extremely threatened.
The deployment position of these two cannons is quite tricky. In the previous artillery battle, the anti-alliance rocket launcher group tried many times to use the range and firepower density to destroy the two threats, but they always failed to do so. They cooperated in the battle.
A squadron of Blenheim bombers also dispatched many times but failed to do so.
Now that these two biggest threats have been eliminated, he no longer has to worry about the threat of long-range firepower from the Japanese army within a depth of 13 kilometers close to the front line. Especially in the deep supply depots, field hospitals and artillery positions, he no longer has to worry about being attacked by the Japanese army.
The threat posed by long-range artillery fire.
Although as the war progresses, the Japanese army may still invest in artillery with longer range. But for Chen Hanzhang, at least it will buy himself the most precious buffer time. But what Chen Hanzhang did not expect was that on the battlefields on both sides of the Hutuo River,
, then the Japanese army invested not only heavy artillery, which accounted for two-thirds of its total number.
There are also the entire China Expeditionary Force, almost all of the tanks, aircraft, and heavy artillery, combat aircraft and tank groups that have been rapidly reinforced from the mainland and the Southeast Asian battlefield. At the same time, nearly two-thirds of the China Expeditionary Force, which can be mobilized,
They were all swept in.
Correspondingly, the Anti-Japanese Alliance was also constantly mobilizing troops and heavy equipment from outside the Pass. Even in the later stages of the battle, 60% of the Anti-League's artillery with a caliber of more than 100 mm and 70% of the armored troops were transferred to the battlefield inside the Pass.
.At the same time, major strategic areas in North China, including the New Fourth Army, also invested a large number of troops in the war.
In order to make up for the gap left by the large amount of heavy equipment transferred into the customs, Yang Zhen used some of the M-4 medium tanks provided by the Americans at the end of 1943, and based on the Anti-Alliance Armored Forces Training Base and the Armored Forces First Command School, he established a tank in Northeast China in advance.
The third armored division of the Anti-Japanese Alliance formed three armored brigades at the same time.
The Battle of Baoding was the prelude to what would be called the bloody battle in Central Hebei decades later. In the next stage, the battlefields between the two armies would not only take place on the ground, but also in the air and even on the sea. It turns out that they were relatively The peaceful Jizhong Plain turned into a sea of blood and fire, with countless steel tombs buried in it. After this battle, the entire Jizhong Plain was covered with destroyed heavy equipment from both sides.
For Chen Hanzhang, who was slightly relieved, despite the setbacks at the beginning of the operation, Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai was not discouraged. Instead, he ordered two tank regiments to carry out the attack under the cover of three squadrons of self-propelled guns. Below. Speed up the action and get closer to the enemy at all costs in order to give full play to your firepower.
Unlike other Japanese army generals whose idols are Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful general during the Warring States Period, or Hojo Tsuna, the idol of Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai is known as the Dragon of Echigo, who is famous for his resourcefulness and fierceness. Kenshin Uesugi, a famous Japanese general during the Warring States Period, was known as an unparalleled general.
Therefore, he has always prided himself on being a wise general. Although he has inherited the fierceness of Japanese military officers on the battlefield, he has not gotten rid of the Japanese generals' usual reckless habits. He is absolutely not bad when he should be cruel. But at least he thinks that he prefers to capture Use the so-called fighter plane to defeat your opponent through tactical use.