Looking around, there are endless plains with not a single mountain in sight. This was the first time that the Ming and Qing armies launched a large-scale head-on confrontation on the North China Plain.
The sky was gray, and through the thick smoke and dust, the rising sun was blood red, and there was a gloomy mist. The dive bombers screamed strangely, drilling up and down in the fast-moving black smoke.
The ground was devastated. The tanks roared, puffing smoke from their buttocks, and formed loose formations, struggling to move forward in the bumpy farmland. The wide tracks were shaking the soil quickly, and the gun barrels were pressed low.
Point forward and fire a cannon at the Qing army's position from time to time.
In the middle of the tank formation, huge columns of smoke rose one after another. Every once in a while, a tank shuddered, then stopped, and then burst into flames. It was unknown whether it was hit by a mine or an anti-tank gun.
Now is the time for the artillery of the Qing army to pour in. On the battlefield of the Central Plains, the Qing army concentrated about 50,000 artillery pieces of various calibers, almost forming a large-depth echelon defense firepower system.
In the first stage of the war, during the Battle of Jianghuai, the Ming army made a sudden attack and the Qing army had no time to deploy. Therefore, they basically existed in a "point" shape. Personnel and equipment were concentrated in cities and counties according to their usual status.
In the nearby permanent military camp, when the Ming army launched an air attack, they went straight there without any special search. The personnel were annihilated in the military camp and the equipment was blown up in the warehouse. The effect was very ideal.
But now, the Qing army has entered a state of war and spread out in a "face" shape. The Central Plains Corps has too many artillery, they are spread too far apart, and they are well hidden. Before this attack, the Ming army conducted aerial reconnaissance to obtain the precise location.
Heavy artillery only accounts for about 20%. Now
Half of these 20% heavy artillery were destroyed in the initial bombing. In other words, 90% of the heavy artillery of the Central Plains Corps is currently intact. As for other small and medium-caliber artillery that is easy to conceal, except for those lost in the Ming army's firepower preparation
, and is almost lossless.
It can be said that the time has come for the real test of the Ming army.
…
The defense line of the Central Plains Corps of the Qing Army relies on the Yellow River in the west and the Yellow Sea in the east, running through Heze, Dingtao, Shangqiu, Yongcheng, Suxian, Suining, Suqian, Guanyun, and Haizhou from west to east, with a total length of about 520 kilometers, and heading south
A slightly gentle arc-shaped convex surface is formed, which can also be called a gentle "protrusion".
On this defense line, the Shangqiu-Suxian-Suqian section is the key defense section of the Qing army. Because it is directly behind Xuzhou, and there is the only north-south artery in the east: the Jinpu Railway. The Ming army was in other areas
If a breakthrough is made in this direction, the pressure on automobile transportation will be greater. But if a breakthrough is made here, the existing railway will be put into use immediately. Therefore, the Ming army is most interested in making a breakthrough here.
On this key defense line, the Qing army's artillery average reached 45 guns per 100 meters. In the area closest to the Xuzhou and Jinpu railways, the artillery density reached 60 guns per 100 meters. This is only various anti-tank guns, forcing
Artillery and howitzers, not including anti-aircraft guns.
Behind the first line of trenches, anti-tank guns were lined up densely, with one gun every few meters away. Along the long trenches, the muzzle fire kept flashing intensively. From the sky, it looked like a long firecracker exploded on the ground. In the anti-tank position
, behind the infantry position, the Qing army's howitzer position was also like a boiling pot, pouring shells into the Ming army tanks like water.
In the sky, the Ming army's dive bombers flew in groups of three, braving intensive anti-aircraft fire and rushing down like crazy. The Ming army spent their capital on this battle and deployed 630 dive bombers. But the battlefield was too vast.
In the first few dozen minutes, there was guaranteed to be about one bomber per square kilometer on the battlefield. However, as more and more dive bombers returned due to ammunition, fuel, malfunctions, etc., plus those that were shot down, the entire
The number of bombers over the battlefield dropped sharply.
Two hours after the attack, only a quarter of the dive bombers were still over the battlefield. These quarters were those who had gone through the first round of bombing, refueled, loaded bombs, and returned to the battlefield after the pilots took a short rest.
.From this time on, throughout the entire battle, 150-200 dive bombers were often maintained over the battlefield - this was already the most ideal situation.
Now each of these 150 dive bombers has to face an average of more than 50 anti-aircraft guns. The danger can be imagined.
By 8:30 in the morning, after paying the price of 42 dive bombers being shot down, 65 tanks and 70 armored personnel carriers being destroyed, the Ming army advanced two kilometers north and was still about 10 kilometers away from Suxian. Ming Dynasty
The army once again encountered fierce resistance from the Qing army.
…
The Ming army was obviously not used to the fierce resistance of the Qing army. They were used to charging and then capturing prisoners all over the mountains and plains. Now they suddenly encountered a tough battle. Although they would not be beaten and ran away, from officers to soldiers,
, everyone was confused while fighting hard. They didn't know what happened to the Qing army, and why they were suddenly so capable of fighting.
Tank Regiment of the Second Division of the People's Guard, Field Regiment Headquarters.
The so-called regiment headquarters is where several armored command vehicles are parked. The staff officers and communications officers of the regiment headquarters are crowded inside, shouting into the microphone, and are extremely busy.
In the distance ahead, there was smoke and dust that covered the sky. The ground beneath our feet couldn't help shaking. Occasionally, one or two grenades landed nearby, shaking the ground and shaking the mountains. The roofs of several armored vehicles clanked.
"The soil fell for a while. The officers in the car did not react much except holding on to the table and squatting down subconsciously. After the explosion, they still had to make noises, shouts and give orders.
Give orders.
Shi Shengli felt that the diameter of the periscope on the roof of the armored vehicle was too small and the field of view was too narrow, so he had a large-caliber gun scope placed outside the vehicle. There were not even sandbags around it, so he squatted there in person to observe the battle ahead.
This is a commanding height where you can observe far away.
Another artillery shell exploded dozens of meters away, and some soil fell on Shengli's head. However, he was wearing a steel helmet and felt nothing.
The staff officer next to him couldn't stand it anymore and had to pull him back to the armored vehicle.
"Commander!" The staff officer was also anxious and spoke harshly. He pulled him and shouted, "Are you planning to die in battle?"
"Wait! Wait!" Shi Shengli pressed close to the gun scope, waved his hand to drive him away, and shouted, "I'll take another look! Wait... Go! Go! Get away!!"
Another artillery shell exploded, this time it landed closer. Shi Shengli and the staff officer both fell to the ground subconsciously, covered in dirt. Now Shi Shengli could no longer hold on, and was "hijacked" by the staff officer back to the armored vehicle.
.
"This kind of battle," Shi Shengli waved his hand with unfulfilled interest, "is what every soldier with a sense of honor longs to fight!... Damn it! Directly opposite our section, there are at least 30 genuine Eight Banners Divisions! Eight Banners Divisions
Behind, there are at least 30 more
Han divisions! The ratio of Manchus and Hans is one to one!... Damn, we only have 3 armored divisions and 12 infantry divisions... There are not as many people as others, as many cannons as others, not as many tanks as others, that is to say, there are more planes than others...
...Bah, what a mouthful of dirt..."
Below the high slope of the regiment headquarters, there are various broken barbed wire fences that have been broken open by tanks. The winding trenches are filled with corpses of Qing soldiers. Every other section of the trench is either filled with sandbags or paved.
The wooden boards were removed. Military trucks carrying Ming army soldiers drove through the trenches, swaying in the bumpy land, and moved forward with difficulty. There were constant shell explosions in front, back, left and right.
Every once in a while, a military vehicle would be hit by a bullet and explode. Amidst the thick smoke and fireballs, severed arms and limbs would be thrown everywhere.
Shi Shengli stood at the door of the car, using his binoculars to examine the corpses of Qing soldiers in the trench. He wanted to find the reason: why the Qing soldiers were suddenly so capable of fighting.
Although the numbers on the military uniforms and flags of those corpses showed that they were the Eight Banners Division, what about the Eight Banners Division? It was not like the Ming Army had never fought against the Eight Banners Division. Whether it was the People's Guard or Shi Shengli himself, they were all veterans of the Eight Banners Division.
The Eight Banners Division is powerful, but it is only compared with the Qing Army and the Han Army. In terms of combat effectiveness, it is at the level of the Ming Army Army Division at best. Even if some may be a little stronger than the Ming Army Army Division, it is not
It would be so exaggerated.
What's even more outrageous is that from the start of the fighting in the early morning to now, not many prisoners have been captured.
Some of those who have been captured were surrounded on all sides and could not break out at all, so they surrendered as a last resort. The situation of voluntary surrender in the past is completely non-existent today.
Even the Eight Banners Division was not that brave during the battle to defend Nanjing! After more than a month, the Qing army seemed to have suddenly turned into a "normal army" with a sense of honor.
"Damn it, we can't afford to fight like this from now on!"
Shi Shengli looked at the map, looking at the length of more than 700 kilometers from here to Beijing, and said harshly.
…
In the headquarters, a group of generals were also looking at the big map, as if they had not yet recovered from the discomfort of encountering a tough battle.
"Damn it, we can't afford to fight like this from now on!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang also pinched his chin, looked at the map, and said harshly.
"Advance two kilometers in two hours! One kilometer in one hour!" He continued to grit his teeth and cursed secretly, "Damn it, are we getting weaker, or is the Qing army getting stronger?"
…
But on the contrary, in the Shanxi battlefield in the west, the Ming army advanced with great success, maintaining the "blitz war" style since D-Day.
At about nine o'clock in the morning on the 27th, Taiyuan was restored.
Taiyuan City was stuck between the passes of two mountains. The Ming Army's mechanized divisions could not bypass it, so they had to pass through the center of the city and reluctantly entered the city.
Everything is a familiar scene. The ecstatic people, the smoke-filled firecrackers, the citizens on both sides of the road eating pots of pulp, the tanks and armored vehicles constantly throwing cigarettes, apples, and cooked eggs... But what is different from the previous entry into the city is that
, this time the Ming army rushed through Taiyuan City impatiently, so that they could capture prisoners all over the mountains and plains in the northern suburbs, and could not give the Shanxi Corps a chance to recuperate and breathe. They had no time to waste time.