nucmednet Chapter 125: Decisive Battle in North China 1
Chapter 125: Decisive Battle in North China 1
华北派遣军集合了第27师团、第110师团、第33师团、独立第15旅团、独立第7旅团、独立第8旅团。
另外集合了蒙疆驻屯军的第26师团、独立第2旅团，同时还有从太Y撤离的36师团残部，另外第12军的21师团、32师团。
There were a total of 7 Japanese troops, including 24 divisions, four independent brigades, a tank division, and a heavy artillery brigade, as well as a 400rd Air Brigade with nearly fighter planes.
In addition, nearly 60 North China Security Forces participated in this life-and-death battle.
The northern land in June had already begun to be hot and unbearable. For more than a month, there had not been a drop of rain from heaven, and drought was inevitable.
In fact, the Central Plains has been suffering from severe drought since last year, but it only started to spread to various parts of North China this year.
But now, these troops were supposed to participate in disaster relief, but now on this dry land, millions of troops from China and Japan are preparing to start a war here that will determine the final outcome of the Chinese battlefield.
If China wins, then Japan's strategy in China will completely collapse, and China's million-strong army will enter North China and sweep away the Japanese troops in North China.
The Japanese could only retreat outside the Great Wall, and the Japanese troops in South China would also face the armored corps of the 78th Army rolling in from the north.
If the Japanese army wins, then China can only continue to shrink and survive until the US military brings the war to the Japanese mainland and the Japanese surrender.
But China can only continue to rely on others and wait for the generosity of others.
When Chiang Ting-wen of the First War Zone received the order to launch an offensive against the Japanese troops in the northern part of Central Plains Province, he immediately refused to participate in the operation on the grounds that military rations had not been gathered and he could not rush into battle.
In fact, this was a counterattack against Wang Chun's attitude towards him when he embezzled military logistics supplies years ago.
The Second War Zone and the Fifth War Zone did actively send troops, but the Fifth and Second War Zones did not send many troops. The Second War Zone dispatched four divisions to attack the 4th Independent Brigade of the Japanese Army stationed in Anyang and Hebi.
The commander of the Fifth War Zone, Li Delin, dispatched 11 divisions to attack the northern part of Zhongyuan Province from northern Anhui.
Originally, the First War Zone should have mobilized all its troops. After the three war zones joined forces, it was left with less than 20,000 Japanese garrisons stationed in the northern part of Central Plains Province and 30,000 Imperial Army troops.
It was impossible to resist the attack of hundreds of thousands of Kuomintang troops no matter what, but the bad thing was that Chiang Ting-wen, a waste, actually allowed his soldiers to rob.
The people of the Central Plains, who had long been unable to survive, finally organized themselves under the oppression of such officials and began to launch large-scale attacks on the national government's army.
It is so ironic that even many people who cooperated with the Japanese opposed the bastard Chiang Ting-wen.
A commander of a war zone of the Nationalist government actually forced his subordinates to cooperate with the invaders rather than drive away one of their own.
The entire 78th Army Group in Datong (Tong) in northern Shanxi Province started the massive battle vehicle after paying tribute to the miners who were brutally massacred by the Japanese army.
After more than two years of construction, unlimited supplies, and the addition of countless soldiers and officers, the 78th Group Army is now the strongest in China.
The three armored divisions have basically been formed now. Of course, it is impossible for all of them to go into battle. Basically, each armored division can dispatch one and a half armored brigades.
Xu Ren, who was originally an armored company commander, has now become the major general brigade commander of the 78st Armored Brigade of the st Armored Division, the most powerful unit of the th Group Army.
Looking at the dark masses of fighter planes whizzing past overhead, Xu Ren chewed betel nut and stared ahead like an eagle.
Just 30 kilometers in front of them was Zhangjia K, where their First Armored Brigade's biggest rival was located.
The 3rd Tank Division (established on June 1942, 6 in Bao T City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, based on the Japanese cavalry group stationed in North China. It was affiliated with the Japanese Army in Mongolia and the 24th Army of the Japanese Army at the end of World War II. Codenamed "Taki")
Organization: 5th Tank Brigade: 8th Tank Regiment, 12th Tank Regiment
第6战车旅团：第13战车联队，第17战车联队 第3机动步兵联队 第3机动炮兵联队等。
It is only one of the four tank divisions of the Japanese army that belongs to North China. It is said that another tank division has also been ordered to enter the country.
However, they can no longer catch up with this battle, and of course it may also be the case with the current stage of the battle.
Okamura Yasuji came to Zhangjia K in person. As the commander-in-chief of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army, he knew the significance of this battle.
He had already known from various intelligence what kind of monster the 78th Army in front of him was. In fact, Okamura Neiji had no idea at the moment.
The more he learned about the 78th Army, the more worried Okamura Neiji became, which is why he finally decided to launch the battle ahead of time.
If the Locust Army waits until two months later, when autumn arrives, to engage in a decisive battle with the Chinese army, the chances of winning will be even slimmer.
The 78th Army Group is growing at a speed that is so strange and terrifying. Two years ago, they were just a Class C division of the Imperial Army with only three to four thousand people.
But now the 78th Army has more than 30 troops, including three armored divisions, three mechanized infantry divisions, eleven infantry divisions, an artillery corps, and their direct flight brigade. Even the locust army has to retreat.
Not to mention those infantry divisions, the three armored divisions and the terrifying artillery corps were almost unsolvable for the North China Expeditionary Army.
Now they have not completed a thorough reorganization. If they are given another two or three months, once their reorganization is completed, the locust army will no longer be able to defeat them with its current strength.
Hundreds of fighter planes were fighting in the sky. The first wave consisted of only fighter planes, no bombers. This was a fight for air supremacy over North China.
Okamura Neiji knew that the more than 400 fighter planes of the 51rd Flying Squadron were no match for the Chinese Air Force, which had the P6 and FF land combat versions.
Therefore, as soon as the air battle broke out, the Japanese artillery took the lead in launching an artillery battle, and the heavy artillery brigade did join in.
The Japanese artillery strength has increased a lot, but they are facing the BUG army which has the most powerful and advanced artillery during World War II.
The artillery units of both sides are poorly equipped on one side, but the quality of their artillery is much higher than that of the other side. One side has all the most advanced artillery of this era, but the quality of its soldiers cannot yet be compared with that of the other side.
For a while, the artillery of both sides was evenly matched, and the fighting was very lively.
Fighter planes were fighting in the air and earth-shaking artillery battles were taking place on the ground. The Japanese army's more than 600 artillery pieces of 75 mm and above and the 78th Army's more than 1000 artillery pieces of 75 mm and above were desperately wasting their ammunition.
"Boom!" The main force of the Japanese Army's 8rd Tank Division, the 12th and 13th Tank Regiments of the 260th Tank Brigade, and the th Tank Regiment of the th Tank Brigade, a total of more than tanks of various types appeared on the battlefield.
The artillery and the air force were fighting fiercely, and the outcome had not yet been determined. In fact, the Japanese were using their lives to buy time for the 3rd Tank Division.
The current 7rd Tank Division is no longer what it used to be. More than % of the tanks they are equipped with are Type tanks (Japanese version of Panzer III) and Type tanks (Japanese version of Panther tanks).
But the Japanese only knew that their armored forces had been greatly improved, and the 78st Armored Division of the th Army had also completed its equipment replacement.
原本装备的T34-76，全部被全新的T34-85替代，同时还装备重型的70辆IS-4坦克。
This is a big guy that is not afraid of the King Tiger at all. Even the 88mm tank guns of the Tiger tank and the King Tiger tank cannot penetrate its armor.
Only after installing a larger caliber tank gun did we have the weapon to penetrate its heavy armor.
The tanks of both sides started the first large-scale armored battle on the Chinese battlefield 20 kilometers west of Zhangjia K City.