There are 36 large and small anti-tank guns deployed on the defense of the third regiment. However, despite the calm command and proper handling of the regiment commander, there are only 2 47mm anti-tank guns and 8 37mm anti-tank guns firing. However, the opposite side is overwhelming.
There were hundreds of tanks coming over.
The ten small cannons that were alone on the position of the Third Regiment of the Second Red Division were firing one after another, and the sound of the tank gunfire on the opposite side could no longer be described as "one after another." There were several cannons firing every second, and it had become a continuous fire.
A great chorus.
The red team's gun crews were severely undermanned. They either ran away or were "killed". But the remaining soldiers who stood firm and fired at the gun positions were all soldiers with strong will and good psychological quality. Just like this, their expressions
Pale, with their heads lowered, they were hurriedly moving shells, loading, unloading, observing, and aiming. One person did the work of two or three people. They had never seen such a formation, and had never faced such a torrent of steel.
The shock and tension are simply indescribable. This feeling has never happened before in the Battle of Nanjing. If I didn't know that this was a drill, I would not only be nervous at this moment, but also extremely frightened.
Not only the artillerymen, but also the exercise referees wearing white steel helmets and armbands, who were served by military police, were standing nearby and were stunned. If they were not stunned, these poor 10 small cannons at this moment,
I'm afraid that it will be declared that there is no one left.
If the Red Army's defense line standards are set according to the Ming Army's defense line standards, such as the Yangtze River Defense Line, then these artillery must be tightly protected by concrete and armored permanent fortifications. Then don't say there are a hundred tank guns on the opposite side, even if there are
Ten thousand tank guns and the red anti-tank guns will remain unscathed.
But now the Red Army's defense line standards are set according to the Qing army's defense line standards. And the Qing army is traditionally on the offensive. There is no defense line in Jiangbei, but it is more or less symbolic. Most of the defense lines are just sandbags.
Temporary fortifications with wooden planks, and "permanent fortifications" made of bricks. Even a small number of real permanent concrete fortifications are mostly cut corners: thin thickness, less steel bars, poor quality steel bars, poor cement quality, and poor pouring quality.
Therefore, most of the anti-tank guns of the Red Army now only have a few sandbags piled in front of the gun body. Under such intensive artillery fire from the Blue Army, they should have all been destroyed long ago.
The drill referees on the red square position all reacted and immediately went into their duties. As a result, all the 10 anti-tank guns of the third regiment that were firing immediately went silent.
…
It was basically daylight. The Blue Army launched a ground attack at 4:10 and completely broke through the Second Red Division's defense line at 5:00. The defense line opened a 5-kilometer gap, which is now continuing to expand to both sides.
During these forty minutes, the Red Second Division's command system at all levels and various combat units were in a state of chaos and fragmentation, and as the Blue Army armored forces continued to cut and outflank, the organization became increasingly chaotic.
A large number of officers and soldiers were captured or "killed" before they understood what was going on. Now the entire division has no ability to fight back.
To this extent, it can be said that the Second Red Division has been basically defeated.
Now at the initial breakthrough point, the blue military police are directing traffic, directing the tide of tanks, armored vehicles, cars, and self-propelled artillery. At the same time, they must leave roads for the large number of captive teams, separate people and vehicles, and prevent them from mixing together.
, to prevent the already congested traffic from becoming even more congested.
There were more than a dozen planes in the sky flying over one after another. The roar in the sky, coupled with the roar on the ground, turned the entire battlefield into a huge symphony orchestra.
…
The attack point chosen by Rommel was not a weak area of the Red Army. On the contrary, it was a strong area. Because there are three highways within two kilometers here. One is the main intercity highway from Nanjing to Shanghai, called "Shanghai".
"Nanjing Highway" is a very wide and good asphalt road. The other two are small roads not far from the Shanghai-Nanjing Highway and running parallel to it. One is from Changzhou to Jintan, and the other is from Changzhou to Danyang, which are also asphalt roads.
It's just not as wide as the Shanghai-Nanjing Highway.
Because the highway conditions here are the best, the Red Army's defense focus is also here. However, Rommel was not generally courageous. He had previously chosen this place to break through despite all opinions. Facts have proved that even though the Red Army was the "defense focus",
It was not designed to defend against such an attack at all. A hundred or dozens of tanks swarming over a short stretch of 5 kilometers was not something that defenders of this era could accept.
Rommel left a tank battalion and the Second Blue Division to clean up the mess of the Second Red Division. He led the First Blue Division to turn north and outflank the Third Red Division stationed on the northern defense line from behind.
When attacking the defense lines of the Second Red Division, the Third Red Division in the north was not much better, because it was constantly bombarded by aircraft and its organization and command system could not be organized at all, let alone go south.
Movement, attacking the right flank of the Blue Army. The entire division went from sleep to chaos instead of combat. The soldiers clambered out of the tents and looked at the dive bombers above them howling down.
, several small "bombs" hit their heads, they were so frightened that they covered their heads and ran away.
What everyone is thinking about is that they must not let this thing hit them. It is useless to have a helmet. If it is thrown down from such a height, it will be smashed to death.
Not only the dive bombers, but also the fighter jets, also came in groups, taking turns to pounce down. The four bright spots on the nose and wings of the aircraft flashed and breathed flames. The soldiers were not very afraid of this, after all, it was not like
Just like a dive bomber, if it fails, it will kill people. Many soldiers looked up blankly, watching the fighter jets swoop down from a high place and "strafe" them close to their scalps.
Soldiers often squat down subconsciously when the plane passes by their foreheads, then stand up again, watching blankly as the fighter jet pulls up and flies away. Few strictly follow the training and lie down on the spot.
.
But then they would be unlucky. The drill referees who reacted rushed over from behind and ordered them to take out the "killed in action" signs, put them on, and then lie down.
Soon, the position was covered with "corpses".
Dozens of dive bombers took turns descending on a position more than 20 kilometers long, and even strafed and dropped bombs. From the sky, it was already filled with smoke and smoke columns. Around each smoke column, there would be an exercise referee giving orders.
The soldiers who escaped in time "lyed down and pretended to be dead." Near the smoking bombing sites, "dead bodies" lay scattered everywhere.
But just like the situation in the Second Red Division, there are also a large number of soldiers in the Third Red Division who are "unconscious" and are still running after bombs were thrown around them. If there were real bombs, they would have turned into pieces and flown into the sky.
…
Nanjing, Red Square Headquarters.
Tang Yunsheng looked at the map expressionlessly and at the pile of frontline reports in front of him.
These reports are fragmented, incomplete, and contradictory, and new reports are being sent in all the time.
Half an hour ago, I received calls from Danyang and Jurong airports almost at the same time, saying that they were suddenly attacked by Blue Army bombers, and most of the planes were judged to be "destroyed."
In other words, there are only a dozen red planes left, and the sky has been completely lost.
The command room outside turned into a noisy mess. A large row of communications staff wore headphones and held microphones. They shook the handle and shouted angrily:
"Hey, hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey!"
"I am Dayan! I am Dayan! Tiger, please reply!..."
"Falcon please reply! Falcon..."
"How many casualties do you have? What, I don't know?..."
"I am an elephant, I am an elephant..."
"What kind of troops does the other side have?"
"...What do you think this is? How do you want me to report it?"
"Okay, I'll write it down..."
"Hey, damn, the phone is off..."
"Hey, where is your regiment leader? What? I don't know?...What unit is yours? Ah? Cooking class?...How did you get there...Where is your regiment headquarters?"
…
A staff officer came in sweating profusely and complained:
"Sir, please suspend the exercise. What is this? The blue team attacked early and was obviously cheating..."
Tang Yunsheng raised his head and said in a gloomy voice:
"Attack in advance? What does attacking in advance mean? In a real war, can the enemy tell you at what point and what time to attack?... Go back to work! Stop talking nonsense and fight the battle well!"
The staff officer left angrily.
Tang Yunsheng held his forehead and thought for a moment, then grabbed the phone on the table and said hesitantly:
"Fetch me from the palace... Hello, I am Tang Yunsheng, Chief of General Staff. Has Your Majesty gotten up? Ah, that's great. Please fetch His Majesty."
After a while, Zhu Yourong's voice came from the other end:
"Tang Qing?"
"Ah, Your Majesty, you are the humble minister."
"Haha, is there anything wrong with Tang Aiqing so early?"
"Your Majesty," Tang Yunsheng said calmly, "at eight o'clock tomorrow, you may not have to come to the headquarters to announce the start of the exercise."
"Oh why?"
Tang Yunsheng briefly explained the fact that the Blue Army had launched an attack.
Zhu Yourong kept pondering on the phone without speaking. After a while, he said:
"Tang Qing, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I think that from the perspective of the Blue Army, there is nothing wrong with what we have done. After all, the official exercise bulletin only states that the exercise will start on June 1st, but does not specify what time it is. As for your Majesty's schedule today, it was yesterday.
It was just decided. We can assume that the Blue Army did not know that you were going to announce the start of the exercise at eight o'clock this morning. They chose a time that they thought was the most suitable... In addition, I feel that if it is our real attack on Qing Dynasty,
It is absolutely impossible to tell Qinglu the exact time in advance. Not to mention what time it is, it is impossible to tell even the day of the month. At present, Chen's red side already knows the date of the opponent's attack, and it is already very early.
Not bad.”
Zhu Yourong was quiet for a while and said with a smile:
"Tang Aiqing, I am very pleased. Because my Army Chief of Staff is a responsible person and did not come to make a fuss with me just because he encountered any unfairness...Tang Aiqing, I will still come to your place in the morning.
.But you don’t have to worry about me anymore and concentrate on directing the drill."
Tang Yunsheng put down the phone and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Listening to His Majesty's tone, the blue team attacked in advance and took a side kick. His Majesty knew in advance and had already acquiesced. Fortunately, those few words he said were loud and clear. Now, Your Majesty should feel very good about himself.
He let out a long breath and looked down at the map. The dissatisfaction caused by the Blue Army's undeclared war was now mostly relieved.
However, he decided to beat Xiang Xiaoqiang.
Just as Tang Yunsheng was about to pick up the phone again, the phone suddenly rang. He grabbed the phone and said:
"I am Tang Yunsheng."
"Hey, Mr. Tang, I am... I am a student! Mr. Tang, listen to me..."