Yang Zhen put forward very high requirements for the investment of aviation forces in the Jizhong battlefield. The operational support for the Ping-Han Line and Jinpu Road must continue and gradually begin to be strengthened. In addition, the strategic focus in North China must be adjusted gradually from the current
From the Pingjin area to the deep Jizhong area.
However, it is still not suitable to open a forward airport in Jizhong in a short period of time. Yang Zhen asked the aviation force to use more brains in the selection of aircraft types, and must pay attention to being prepared to deal with a large-scale counterattack by the Japanese aviation force. And in order to
This battle in central Hebei is an opportunity to make adequate preparations for a comprehensive strategic counterattack.
At the same time, when it comes to ground tactical support, especially the use of aircraft anti-tank tactics, we should refer more to some tactics that have already appeared on the Soviet-German battlefield. When it is time to learn from other people's mature tactics, we should learn from them without any taboos or unwillingness.
We must ensure quality and quantity by cooperating with the interspersed troops, and complete the headquarters' planned combat plan within a short period of time.
After receiving Yang Zhen's order, the aviation force, which had completed familiarization and adaptability to the new battlefield, immediately dispatched more than ten light bombers to carry out air strikes on the Tanghe Bridge on the Ping-Han Railway. However, under the desperate counterattack of the Japanese ground firepower,
The bridge was never destroyed.
However, the aviation force of the Anti-Japanese Alliance accidentally blew up a Japanese military train south of the Tanghe Railway Bridge. Because it was close to the battlefield, it had removed the passenger train. It used airborne rockets to destroy more than ten people on the military train.
A Japanese tank and destroyed a large amount of fuel and ammunition carried by the column.
This military train carried the vanguard of the Japanese First Tank Brigade. The ammunition and fuel on the train burned and exploded all night. After the battle, the Japanese North China Front immediately ordered that the follow-up troops of the First Tank Brigade
After crossing the Shimen line, all columns were marched on crawler tracks. The march route south of Shimen no longer used railway transportation.
While carrying out large-scale bombing of the section north of Shimen on the Ping-Han Line, the aviation force also dispatched a large number of reconnaissance aircraft in accordance with Chen Hanzhang's request to carry out bombing raids on the southern section of the Ping-Han Line from the south of Shimen to the Xingtai line, as well as the southern Hebei District.
A large amount of aerial reconnaissance was carried out and a multi-type joint patrol system was formed to continuously patrol routes where the Japanese army might be reinforced.
The large number of activities of the Anti-Alliance aviation forces delayed the speed of Japanese reinforcements in Jizhong. The Japanese reinforcements did not dare to move easily during the day. At least until the Japanese aviation forces in China were withdrawn from the Changde battlefield and transferred north, and the Japanese reinforcements arrived in China.
Before the battlefield, considerable convenient conditions were created for the east and west to pass through the clusters.
Relative to the adjustment and deployment of the aviation force, preparations were made to begin large-scale operations in the Jizhong Plain. On the battlefield west of Baoding, according to Chen Hanzhang's order, the originally relatively peaceful battle line between Baoding and Mancheng quickly changed from relatively peaceful to peaceful in a short period of time.
Extremely hot.
As Chen Hanzhang expected, the Japanese army only had two under-equipped infantry brigades between Baoding and Mancheng. They used the Caohe river bed as a natural blocking position to defend the line of defense between Baoding and Mancheng. The force was not only thin, but also only one regiment.
Apart from its mountain artillery squadron and a few infantry guns, it has almost no supporting firepower, let alone any anti-tank weapons.
Chen Hanzhang took advantage of the attention of the Japanese troops in Mancheng, which was attracted by the Anxin War in the north and east of Baoding. A considerable part of his attention was distracted by the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei local armed forces in the mountainous areas in the west of Mancheng. He deployed troops to the west of Baoding and Mancheng.
Between the battle lines, tanks were used to cover the infantry to launch a sudden and rapid assault.
Mancheng belongs to the upper reaches of the Cao River, and it is now the dry season in winter, and is in a period of drying up. Taking advantage of the excellent off-road performance of the M-4 medium tanks, with the cooperation of tank firepower and fire-breathing tanks, the attacking troops
, it took only one and a half hours to reach the front line from Baoding to Manchuria, and the Japanese army tore a big hole in the thin defense line.
After breaking through the Japanese defense line in western Baoding, the assault force used only one force to encircle and annihilate some of the separated Japanese forces. The main force immediately turned to follow Chen Hanzhang's original plan to launch a rapid offensive from the Japanese flank on the Baoding battlefield. Using
In the last period of daylight, the Japanese army cluster north of Baoding was completely eliminated.
On the frontal battlefield, after three hours of fierce tank battles, the two tank regiments invested by the Japanese army were effective. Although they achieved partial results, they caused considerable losses to Chen Hanzhang's armored assault group. However, in the fight against
With the overwhelming advantage of tank guns and self-propelled anti-tank guns on the front, the Union itself also suffered losses.
After more than three hours of fierce fighting, the Japanese armored group, which was already in decline as a whole, invested more than 140 tanks in two tank regiments, and now only had less than 20 remaining tanks. The two Japanese troops participating in the battle on the flanks
All the tanks of the squadron have been destroyed.
Faced with the favorable outcome of this tank battle, Chen Hanzhang immediately launched a full-frontal counterattack without any hesitation. Except for leaving two battalions of the 17th Independent Tank Regiment as reserves, he invested all the remaining effective forces.
to the battlefield.
Chen Hanzhang's intention is very obvious, which is to take advantage of the last two hours of daylight today to completely eat up the last remnants of the tank troops invested in the Baoding North Battlefield, and to make the final preparations for a full breakthrough of the Japanese defense line in Baoding.
preparation.
At the same time, Chen Hanzhang began to distribute armor-piercing projectiles to each participating unit and divisional 76mm cannon battalion based on half a base number for each gun. According to the number of three guns allocated to each 76mm cannon battalion, Baoding
With the depth of the northern battlefield, an ambush circle was set up for the Japanese army.
After completing the destruction of the Japanese tanks participating in the battle, he will also mobilize all self-propelled anti-tank guns to the periphery of the ambush circle. At the same time, he will mobilize some recoilless rifles and rocket launchers along both sides of the Baoding-Xushui highway.
, formed into two echelons with deep anti-tank guns, creating a serial ambush circle for the Japanese army.
As for the tank troops fighting fiercely in front, except for leaving some to attract the enemy's attention, the main force will all retreat. They will gather in the direction of Anxin and no longer wait for Xiong Botao to completely solve the Japanese defense cluster on the Anxin front line. Rely on the armored cluster.
With the advantage, they forcefully break through the Anxin line, avoid the Baoding line which is likely to become the main battlefield, and continue to attack southward.
For Chen Hanzhang, even if he completely wiped out the Japanese tank troops in front of him, he still had no interest in attacking the city. Stationing troops under the fortified city to attack the fortified city was a tactic that wasted a lot of energy and time.
He won't use it as a last resort.
Although doing so would not completely annihilate the enemy in Baoding, Chen Hanzhang did not want his tank troops to suffer too much losses in the next stage of the battle. With many years of experience in fighting on the battlefield, Chen Hanzhang had already foreseen the Japanese army.
Reinforcements are arriving soon.
Previous aviation reports have proven that the speed of Japanese reinforcements is not slow. Chen Hanzhang judged that what the aviation forces destroyed on the Tanghe line was only the vanguard of the Japanese reinforcements. But for Chen Hanzhang, the vanguard has arrived, so with the usual Japanese reinforcements
With the speed, the main force is probably not far away.
Moreover, there is only a short time before dark, and the arrival of night has considerable restrictions on the actions of tactical aviation. This night is likely to allow Japanese reinforcements to arrive and gain a whole night. Under this situation,
You must be fully prepared.
Therefore, after defeating most of the armored troops invested by the Japanese army, Chen Hanzhang even withdrew some of the tank troops without advancing and retreated. He began to retain his strength appropriately and prepared to face the newly invested troops of the Japanese army. If the spearhead was broken, what would happen next?
How to fight interspersed battles?
His task for the Western Group was to join up with the Du Kaishan Division on the Western Front who was currently forcibly crossing the Ziya River, and to encircle the entire anti-Japanese combat circle north of the Hutuo River, instead of entangled with the First Division of the 17th Division here. If he
If all the main forces are detained in Baoding, then the entire blockade circle will not be completely encircled. The line from Raoyang to Xin'an in the entire encirclement circle will be delayed, which will affect the completion of the headquarters' strategic intentions.
Lieutenant General Yasu Sakai in front of him, although he had invested his capital, took advantage of the narrow terrain between Baiyangdian and Pinghan Railway to try to drag his entire army to the north of Baoding City.
If you are pulling the strings, then you have really fallen into his trap.
On the battlefield in Baoding, one reinforced infantry division and some armored forces were left in the troops in hand. As for the remaining two infantry divisions plus the main force of the 1st Armored Division, they still followed the original plan to bypass Baiyangdian and attack southeast. Baoding was far away from itself.
The final destination is less than a hundred kilometers away, and he should not be held back by the small city of Baoding.
Solving the two Japanese tank regiments in front of them means that when your East Group attacks towards the river, the biggest threat to the flanks has been eliminated. On the Baoding battlefield, you can switch from offense to defense and shift the strategic focus to other directions.
Now that the tactical support of the aviation force is in place, even if the Japanese army adds some new tanks and mechanized groups, it will not pose a big threat.
However, taking into account the development of the entire battlefield situation, Baoding, which is already at a critical node, may become a key target for the two armies. Chen Hanzhang will not only leave one infantry division, but also one battalion of the 17th independent tank regiment, and one regiment of the first armored division.
In addition to the No. 4 Tank Battalion, plus a No. 3 Tank Battalion, it was decided to stay on the Baoding battlefield and command it personally.
All the rest of the troops were transferred to Xiong Botao, who was currently commanding the main force of the 1st Armored Division. He had already defeated a Japanese tank regiment in front of him and was tearing apart the Japanese defense system in Anxin.
After that, immediately bypass Xidian and pass through Gaoyang and continue towards Hejian County.
As for the original plan to turn around in Xinle and use part of the force to suppress the enemies of Zhengding and Shimen, Chen Hanzhang has simply given up because the situation has fundamentally changed. He still decided to use Baoding City as a key node.
This situation restrained the Japanese reinforcements along the Ping-Han Line at the foot of Baoding City.
The old base of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, which is adjacent to Yixian County in the west and in the mountainous area west of the city, takes Baoding and Hejian as the two main points, with Gaoyang as the central axis in the middle, forming an overall front in the southwest of the Jizhong Plain.
It forms a blocking line with Cangzhou east of Hejian, along the north bank of Hutuo River and north of Cangshi Highway.
With the cooperation of the aviation force, the bottom of the entire blockade was constructed. With Baoding battlefield as the main battlefield on the western front, and the Hejian where the Japanese army controlled the entire highway in the central Hebei plain, two key points in the east and west were formed in the western part of the central Hebei battlefield, attracting and
Disperse the Japanese reinforcements and reduce the pressure on the Pingjin battlefield from possible Japanese reinforcements.
The situation was urgent. Chen Hanzhang did not wait for instructions from the headquarters before taking action. Instead, he reported to the headquarters and took action at the same time. After the report, Chen Hanzhang even took the initiative to divide the troops. The troops that continued to go south were under the unified command of Du Kaishan to ensure the unity of the Hejian line.