Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 131 Type Tank

North of Linyi, Tangtou Town.

The Second Division's command post is temporarily located here.

Okamura Neiji adjusted his glasses and frowned.

A group of Chinese troops suddenly crossed the Yishui River, directly threatening the division's rear supply line.

After quickly establishing a temporary stronghold, the resistance was so stubborn that it could not be overcome by the logistics and supply corps alone.

They could only mobilize the troops in Linyi City to return for defense and support.

Chief of Staff Asai Goro held a telegram and said, "Sir, through the deciphered telegram information, the Chinese troops coming to aid Linyi are mainly composed of the main forces that participated in the Huaibei Campaign, and their number is the New First Corps."

Okamura Neiji looked serious: "Newly formed First Army?"

The Huaibei Campaign was listed as the greatest humiliation in the history of the imperial army.

The two elite Type A divisions of the empire were defeated miserably by the Chinese local army.

Okamura Yasuji put away his contempt, and remembered clearly the painful lesson of his arrogant and reckless advance and his eagerness for quick success.

He had to deal with it carefully.

"Asai-kun, order the troops to shrink the battle line and urge the 29th and 30th Regiments in the rear to speed up their march!"

The division had been arguing with the navy for too long in Qingdao, and currently only two of the four infantry regiments under the division have arrived at the battlefield.

The 4th and 16th Wings.

These two troops, one has a supply military district in Sendai, and the other is in Shibata.

They are all elite troops of the Second Division.

Asai Goro nodded: "Ha!"

Okamura Yasuji continued, "Mobilize the heavy artillery brigade to launch an artillery attack on the Chinese troops crossing the river. The Third Army is already at the end of its strength. As long as we continue to besiege Linyi, we can completely annihilate it in three days at most."

"The newly formed First Legion is the main force of the enemy that we need to focus on dealing with!"

Asai Goro responded.

"Sir, General Isotani has ordered our troops to wait for the arrival of the 10th Division so that we can attack Taierzhuang together."

Okamura Neiji thought to himself.

In terms of command relations, Rensuke Isogai was the commander-in-chief of the front line, coordinating operations between the two divisions.

During the conflict with the navy, Rensuke Isogai helped him a lot, and the two had a close relationship.

"Reply, our department has received the order!"

The established battle plan was that the Second Division would attack Linyi and the Tenth Division would attack Teng County. After the two armies joined forces, they would attack Taierzhuang directly.

This place is the gateway to Xuzhou.

As long as Taierzhuang can be captured, Xuzhou will be within reach.

Now the Second Division has arrived at the combat position, but the Tenth Division is still on the way.

Asai Goro took out his notebook to take notes.

"Sir, according to the intelligence department, two Chinese army groups arrived in Xuzhou yesterday evening. The enemy's strength in the battle zone has increased greatly. Do you want to request reinforcements?"

Okamura Neiji was shocked: "Two armies?"

Asai Goro nodded.

"The Fifth War Zone has greatly increased its military strength and will definitely seek a decisive battle with our army. If we don't occupy Linyi as soon as possible, I'm afraid the next battle will be even more difficult."

Okamura Neiji frowned even more tightly.

Whether to attack Linyi has become a major issue facing us.

The intention of Rensuke Isogai's order was very clear.

We can attack Xuzhou slowly, as it will be ours sooner or later, but we must be steady and must not fall into the enemy's encirclement like the two divisions on the southern front.

But if we really hesitate here and wait for the four Chinese armies to arrive, they will build defensive fortifications between Tengxian and Linyi with more than 200,000 troops.

The situation is bound to fall into a protracted war of attrition.

The real strategic intention of conquering the Jinpu Line was not in Xuzhou, but in Wuhan.

Xuzhou is just a stepping stone.

Okamura Neiji adjusted his glasses and said, "Add one more thing to your reply. If our army finds that the Chinese army is gathering on a large scale, we will seize Linyi first and then advance to Tengxian."

Asai Goro saluted: "Hai!"

On the banks of the Yishui River.

The Fourth Battalion of the First Red Flag Corps gained a firm foothold here and built a tiered defensive position through rapid earthwork.

Yuan Yelin lay in the trench, raised his telescope and observed the enemy situation.

At least fifteen tanks appeared within the telescope.

The officer nearby was also observing. After putting down his binoculars, he asked curiously, "What kind of tank is this? I've never seen it before?"

Yuan Yelin explained: "If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Japanese Type 89 tank."

"Didn't we talk about this in the training class? Didn't you listen carefully?"

Hearing his superior questioning his studies, the officer smiled awkwardly and said, "I came late. I didn't attend that class."

Yuan Yelin snorted coldly: "Don't miss such a good opportunity. If you study outside before, your whole family will be exhausted!"

"But this tank is indeed rare, it really deserves to be the Kwantung Army!"

The officer at the side said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, I have learned this. The main task of the Kwantung Army is to garrison the Northeast and defend against the Soviet Union. The tank force is very large!"

"Say, did we disturb the enemy's lair? Why are there so many people here all of a sudden?"

Yuan Yelin spat: "The Japs are not stupid. We have destroyed their supply lines so many times, they must have learned their lesson."

"I think the friendly forces in the city should be able to breathe a sigh of relief."

"Now we just have to wait for the main force of the corps to arrive and kill those damn Japanese devils! Let our Fourth Battalion gain face in front of the commander!"

"Where are the infantry guns? Pull out all the infantry guns, lay the barrels flat, and knock out the two tanks first!"

The officer nodded: "Understood, I'll notify them right away!"

This long-distance raid carried four Japanese Type 92 infantry guns.

Compared with the Type 94 mountain gun, this one is more popular among officers at all levels.

It is easy to disassemble, light in weight, has a large shooting angle, and can be bent or flat. Although the caliber is a bit small, only 70 mm, the actual power is not much different.

Yuan Yelin continued to observe the front.

The Type 89 tank is much larger than the small bean tank. When the rumbling sound of the engine is heard, a strong sense of oppression comes over you.

Yuan Yelin was shocked.

The First Red Flag Corps had seen all kinds of storms and waves, and a few broken iron shells could not scare them.

"If I capture this thing and bring it back, won't my commander personally treat me to a couple of drinks?" Yuan Yelin thought to himself.

Up to now, the entire newly formed First Corps has not had any precedent of capturing Japanese tanks.

Previously, the tank regiment of the 18th Division had been plowed several times by heavy artillery.

When the soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield arrived, the scene was in a mess, with only a pile of severely bent steel plates left.

Three or two minutes later.

boom!
There were several gunshots from the position.

The four Type 92 infantry guns opened fire!

Another advantage of this model is that the gun body is low and can be easily covered by obstacles such as bushes.

The problem is that the gun body is too low, making it inconvenient to operate.

It is more suitable for the dwarf-like body type of the devil.

Several shells landed in front of the tanks, and the sudden explosion interrupted the Japanese advance.

The Type 89 tank stopped in place and slowly turned its turret, trying to find out where the sound of the artillery fire came from.

Taking advantage of this gap, the skilled artillerymen quickly loaded ammunition and launched a second round of shooting.

boom--

A 70mm grenade hit the front armor of the Type tank.

The 17mm thick, surface carburized nickel-chromium steel armor offsets most of the explosion power.

Only a black mark was left.

The crew members in the tank were shocked, and the loader hit his head on the ammunition rack and fainted. "Artillery fire!"

"My car was hit by artillery fire!"

The commander suppressed his dizziness and pushed open the top hatch. He did not dare to stick his head out and could only yell towards the outside.

Like the Douding tank, the Type 89 tank is not equipped with on-board radio communication equipment, so if it wants to communicate with friendly forces, it can basically only rely on shouting.

rear.

The Japanese soldiers quickly sent out flag signals, and the infantry behind them deployed, walked in front of the tanks, and slowly advanced towards the enemy positions.

boom--

After a moment of hesitation, the third round of salvos arrived.

Due to the deployment of specialized anti-tank guns, a grenade was discovered and it was impossible to destroy the Japanese tanks at a long distance.

The artillery officer locked the target of the four infantry guns on one spot.

If one shot doesn’t solve the problem, then shoot four!

The flames of the explosion shot up into the sky. A Type 21 tank numbered "" was hit by four grenades from different directions and was instantly covered by the dust and smoke.

The front armor is 17mm, and the side and rear armor is only 15mm.

No matter what material is added, it will not survive an explosion of this magnitude.

A large hole was blown out on the right front of the tank, and the armor steel was noticeably bent.

The four crew members were lying in the car in a twisted state, bleeding from all their orifices.

He was not killed by the explosion, but his internal organs were shattered by the strong impact.

Seeing that their own tanks had suffered losses, the Japanese soldiers, under the instruction of the officers, quickly sent out flag signals: "Keep advancing!"

The conductor quickly passed on the information he received.

The driver pulled the operating lever, and more than a dozen Type 89 tanks continued to roar forward.

Inside the position.

Yuan Yelin suddenly felt something was wrong.

The killing efficiency of the four Type 92 infantry guns is too low.

The Japanese tank troops continued to advance. If this continued, the hidden infantry artillery might be exposed at any time.

After thinking it over again and again, he called the signalman: "Retreat immediately!"

"Retreat to the west bank of Yishui, quickly!"

He was particularly careful when building his position.

Trenches were built on both sides of Yishui, so that people could be ready to escape at any time if the situation went wrong.

Separated by a river, no matter how powerful the Japanese tanks were, they were powerless.

The power of the 57mm tank gun is not as good as that of the Type infantry gun.

Calculating the time, if we hold on for a while, the main force of the corps will be able to arrive smoothly.

"withdraw!"

Yuan Yelin shouted.

There was fighting on the Linyi front.

Wang Feng was also busy, sitting in the jeep and checking a telegram coming from behind.

The communication between the newly formed First Corps and Changzhi has always been a dedicated line communication, using a different code book from the Fifth War Zone, and therefore was not affected by the Japanese telegraph war.

Having said that, the reason why he was able to detect that the Japanese army had deciphered the war zone communication telegrams was still due to the system panel.

After ten hours of rapid march, the distance between the headquarters and Linyi was only 45 kilometers.

It is just possible to use a three-dimensional combat map.

After switching the perspective to the bird's-eye view, Wang Feng went straight to the Japanese army's forward command post.

The Japs deployed it very secretly and divided it into several parts, which were far apart from each other.

It seems that the Japanese army learned the lessons from the Huaibei Campaign. Although they did not understand why the command post was bombed for no reason, they did take certain precautions in their actions.

Every failure is a learning experience!

Wang Feng really wanted to curse those anti-Japanese dramas he had watched in his previous life, which portrayed the Japanese army like fools.

The fact is that both sides learned experience and lessons from the battle.

After suffering a loss once, it will be difficult to be cheated again next time.

Turn the view and enter the Japanese command post.

After switching several locations in succession, he successfully discovered the Japanese communications unit.

Here, Wang Feng discovered some clues.

I couldn't help but be surprised!
I am!

The Japanese signalman was translating the telegrams between him and the Third Corps.

During this period of free time, he learned some Japanese military terms.

I can understand one or two.

The newly formed First Corps supported the forced march and asked for help
After realizing that something was wrong, he immediately cut off contact with friendly forces.

Electronic warfare had already begun to take shape at this time.

The National Army's encryption system was very poor, and it was common for telegrams to be intercepted by the Japanese army.

It seems that next time we unlock technology, we should pay more attention to information encryption.

anyway.

The telegram from the rear was indeed a happy event.

Zhao Fangyuan sat in the co-pilot seat, unable to hide his smile: "Sir, the batches of equipment you imported from Europe have been a great help to us."

"I never thought that the artillery would be developed so quickly!"

"It's really good to have a self-produced .75mm artillery! Now we don't have to be controlled by others anymore. We have always relied on captured artillery, which is too unstable."

Wang Feng folded the telegram and put it in his pocket.

This kind of top-secret information must not be leaked.

The newly produced 75mm caliber artillery used World War I technology.

But everything that should be there is still there.

Like the Japanese Type 94 mountain gun, it can be disassembled into nine parts.

With the gun shield removed, the total combat weight is only 600 kg.

Not only can it be quickly transferred with the front-line troops, but once an air force is developed in the future, it can also be airdropped directly into the battlefield behind enemy lines.

It is simply a weapon for interweaving warfare.

Wang Feng: "Please urge that other supporting industries should not be left behind, especially the steel mills."

At present, the iron-making industry in Changzhi area is still in the stage of decentralized development. After the Arsenal developed the material technology, several iron-making plants operated independently, lacking a large centralized steel enterprise.

This is absolutely not allowed!
He has already conveyed the resolution to integrate the steel industry to Song Wenjie.

It’s called Jindongnan Iron and Steel Plant!

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "Okay!"

"By the way, sir, let's give our new artillery a name!"

Wang Feng thought about it and realized that naming was a difficult problem.

Currently, weapons are mainly named after years.

It is not yet time to iterate and name it with numbers.
"Type 38 gun?"

"No, no, it's easy to get mixed up with the Japanese's Type 38 rifles."

"In the 27th year of the Republic of China, we might as well just call it the Type 27 Field Gun!"

Zhao Fangyuan muttered, "Type 27 field gun. Sounds good!"

Wang Feng nodded: "That's it, call back to the rear."

"Five minutes later, the troops will continue to march and strive to reach Linyi before tomorrow night!"

Zhao Fangyuan: “Yes!”

(End of this chapter)