Rise from the sword

Chapter 584
mid-July.

Outside Chengde City.

Looking around, the scene outside the city at this time is completely different from the past. The bustling crowds disappeared, and the surrounding villages and buildings of various colors disappeared.

What came into view was only densely packed and continuous defensive positions.

There are anti-tank trenches that almost cover the ground, anti-tank trenches that are wide and deep one after another, ring positions one after another between the trenches, and traffic trenches connecting these positions.

After more than a month of construction, the defensive positions around Chengde have been fully formed at this time.

at this time.

Lieutenant General Hattori Kotaro, the supreme commander of the Chengde Japanese Army and the former head of the First Division, was standing on a high ground, holding a telescope and looking at the position in front of him.

Beside him, a devil major general is introducing:
"After supplementing the heavy artillery brigade, the strength of our artillery has greatly increased, but compared with the enemy, the gap is still very large. The enemy far exceeds ours in terms of number, caliber, and range."

"We have no chance of winning in a frontal artillery battle."

The confrontation lasted for more than a month, and experienced the baptism of terrifying firepower again and again. At this time, the Chengde Japanese army has completely recognized the reality, and if they want to take a frontal stance and fight against the independent regiment, they will think they are dead not fast enough.

If you want to win, you can only think of other ways.

"Ah."

Hattori Kotaro still held up the binoculars, but he also nodded and hummed in a low voice.

"so."

Major General Guizi continued:

"I disperse infantry artillery and mountain artillery in various circular positions to take advantage of mobility and participate in battles in the form of a single door. I rely on the position to shoot at close range and then move immediately to avoid being wiped out by the enemy's concentrated artillery fire."

"As for the heavy artillery, because of the poor mobility, I deployed them scattered in the rear ring position. If necessary, I can concentrate the artillery fire, and I can also fight alone."

"Yo Xi."

Hearing Major General Devil's report, Hattori Kotaro nodded in satisfaction.

"well-done."

Although the actual deployment of the positions was decided by him and the heads of divisions and brigades in a meeting, the specific implementation needs to be fine-tuned according to the actual situation. Obviously, Kotaro Hattori is very satisfied with the position in front of him.

As long as the independent regiment dares to launch a large-scale attack, even if the opponent's artillery fire is fierce and there are many tanks, the locust army will surely allow it to come and go without going back and forth, relying on a large and deep and complete position group.

Leaving the position, Hattori Kotaro came to his underground headquarters. Here, a huge sand table is in the center of the headquarters, on which is the terrain around Chengde and the reduction of fortifications.

Walking to the sand table, Hattori listened to the staff's report:
"No. 20 and 26 mixed brigades have been formed. They consist of two infantry wings and one anti-armor brigade. The total force is currently in Longhua and Hiraizumi is on standby."

"According to your order, we have deployed a large number of military horses from other troops to equip the 25th and 26th mixed brigades to enhance their mobility."

"At the same time, the anti-armor capability has also been strengthened, and a special anti-armor brigade has been formed, equipped with the latest 75mm anti-tank guns, and a large number of new anti-tank grenades have been equipped in the infantry wing."

He was trained by Ding Wei in actual combat every day, and Kotaro Hattori had been planning a counterattack every day, so he formed two mobile independent mixed brigades, intending to ambush a wave of counterattacks when the independent regiments attacked.

"but."

The staff officer paused, then said:
"There are only seven new 75mm anti-tank guns, and the number of shells is seriously insufficient, so we can only equip some 47mm anti-tank guns."

After being bullied by the tanks of the Independent Regiment for so long, the little devil also worked hard and finally produced a new anti-tank artillery. Compared with the first type, the caliber of the new anti-tank artillery was greatly improved, and it was set at 75mm.

During the development period, the experience of the German park41 was used.

The gun mounts are ready-made. Originally, the Devils planned to use cone-bore guns. However, this thing is difficult to manufacture and requires high gun steel. In the end, they can only use ordinary solutions to increase the penetration by increasing the charge.

Due to haste, less than ten have been produced so far, and there is a serious shortage of special shells. Seven of them were all assigned to the Kwantung Army.

and.

There is no spare gun barrel yet, the quality cannot be guaranteed, and the total weight is too large. The gun squad cannot be pushed at all, and must rely on animal power or tractor traction.

"Ah."

Hattori nodded expressionlessly.

The weapons are worse, but the casualties are higher, not a big problem.

····
the other side.

Ping County.

The branch of the independent regiment led by Ding Wei, inside the headquarters.

Commander Ding is lying on the map at this time, planning today's 'offensive' with the staff, because most of them are newcomers, so every combat operation, even if it is just actual combat training, has been carried out dozens of times As much as the troops are not familiar with, he also treats them with a [-]-point attitude every time, without the slightest carelessness.

"Our actual combat training has been going on for a month."

"Each time, two armored battalions, two artillery battalions, and three infantry battalions launch an attack. Under the cover of heavy artillery or aircraft, they break into the devil's position for more than ten kilometers, and then retreat."

Captain Ding said:

"The little devil is not a fool, and his own strength is still there. What's more, the devil in front of us is the Kwantung Army, known as the flower of the locust army. After being beaten for so long, he must be formulating a counterattack plan."

"Everyone, tell me, if you were little devils, what kind of counterattack plan would you make?"

Ding Wei looked around at the new and old staff officers of his headquarters.

The rapid expansion of the army, the high frequency of powerful new equipment, and the sufficient supplies that are completely unnecessary have greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the army, but also have higher requirements for the ability of the army commanders.

After all, the tactics of an army are determined by its equipment level and supply level.

Now the independent regiment has a fully mechanized combat system, including tanks, aircraft, transport trucks, armored vehicles, and pontoon engineering vehicles. It is the top unit even in Europe and the United States.

Such a force, even those senior staff officers who have been on the battlefield, come out of the grassland, or even studied abroad, are somewhat powerless.

Combat with mechanized troops is a new knowledge even in foreign countries.

Commanding such a force requires not only sufficient actual combat experience and a keen sense of the battlefield, but also a very deep understanding of new equipment and the combat level of the troops, as well as a spirit of daring to think and innovate.

Because a mechanized force synthesized by these equipments, how to fight and win in the land lacking infrastructure in the Republic of China requires a new set of combat command concepts.

For this reason, Ding Wei has been vigorously cultivating his staff recently.

Newcomers and old people are mixed together, experience is stable and bold and innovative, and Ding Kongli and Li Sanfang also organize exchange meetings for cadres at the battalion level and above from time to time to exchange experiences and improve command capabilities.

"The best defense is the offense."

A young 24-year-old staff officer said, his tone was smooth:

"But the battle has been fought so far, and the strength of both sides is already known."

"The little devil is very clear that we have built a large number of concrete fortifications around the position, established fire positions at all commanding heights, and deployed night reconnaissance equipment. Whether they attack during the day or at night, they have no chance of winning."

"This point has been proved by many actual battles. The little devil has launched as many as nineteen attacks in this month, during the day, at night, in rainy days, and in foggy days. The scale ranges from the division to the team level. Every time he failed miserably. return."

"So it's impossible for the little devil to attack."

"In front of us, who have absolute armor and mobility advantages, the chances of winning in the plains will be even lower."

"The rest, there is only one possibility."

After a pause, he emphasized his tone:

"During our regular combat training, we will mobilize superior forces, set up ambushes, and use solid positions to cut and annihilate part of our attacking troops."

"I agree with Staff Officer Wang's point of view. The devil's current situation can only use the position to consume our strength."

After the words fell, everyone expressed their agreement.

"Anything else to add?"

Ding Wei looked around and continued to ask.

"Actually, the best way for the little devil to deal with it is to retreat."

Someone starts speaking:

"The terrain around Chengde is flat, which is suitable for mechanized troops to fight. The chances of the devils winning here are very low. However, according to the intelligence, the devils' base camp ordered a ban on retreat, which also cut off the possibility of the Chengde devils retreating."

"..."

Everyone spoke freely and analyzed the current situation in many ways.

"Hahaha····"

The lively scene in the command room made Ding Wei very happy.

Watching this group of rookies grow up step by step, Ding Wei felt happier than winning a big battle.

"So, is there a way to deal with it?"

Ding Wei continued to ask.

"It's simple."

A new staff officer got up and answered:

"In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are nothing."

"The little devil will definitely mobilize forces to form a mobile force to divide and annihilate our attacking force. Therefore, as long as we increase the strength of the attacking force, the little devil can't bear to go around."

"For example, we doubled the original attacking troops, attacking the devil's position from two directions at once, so that the little devil can focus on one thing and lose another."

"Our staff department has deduced and launched an attack on two fronts at the same time. Our materials and troops are fully capable of doing it."

"This is our battle plan."

With that said, the staff officer handed Ding Wei a battle plan and explained:

"The 77th, 78th, and 79th Battalions of the Infantry, the 50th and 51st Battalions of the Armored Battalions, and the 51st and 52nd Battalions of the Artillery Corps formed a road to attack the left wing area of ​​Chengde, which is the devil's position in the Longhua area."

"Infantry, 83rd, 84th, and 85th Battalions, 54th and 55th Armored Battalions, and 55th and 56th Artillery Battalions form a road to attack the devil's position in the Chengde right-wing area, that is, the Hiraizumi area."

"In this way, the skills can effectively deal with the division and encirclement of the devils, and it can also speed up the training of troops."

"In addition, in order to prevent accidents, the 5th, 6th, and 7th Armored Battalions serve as reserves and are ready to support at any time."

"it is good."

After reading the battle plan, Ding Wei said in a relieved tone:

"Just follow the plan."

······
Just as Ding Wei was preparing for daily training.

772 regiment, regiment headquarters.

Cheng Shifa received an order.
"exercise?"

Cheng Shifa was a little taken aback.

Now his 772 regiment has a strong army, but all the time, he has hardly any work. At most, he bullies and bullies the puppet army, encircles some bandits, or wakes up some people who can't see the situation clearly.

"Correct."

The brigade personnel who came to convey the order said:
"The 773rd Regiment, the 775th Regiment, and the Artillery Regiment, the Flying Regiment, and the Cavalry Regiment also participated in the exercise."

"Such a big show?!"

Cheng Shifa was taken aback.

The 773 regiment and the 775 regiment, like his 772 regiment, were newly reorganized main regiments, with a total strength of [-], equipped with an independent heavy artillery battalion, with strong combat effectiveness, and they were as tough as a brigade.

As for the three directly affiliated regiments, this is even more remarkable.

Directly under the artillery regiment, the word "directly under" means directly belonging to the superior command, following the superior's actions, and all the equipment is the latest 125 howitzer and 203 self-propelled heavy howitzer.

Directly under the flight regiment, equipped with transport aircraft, attack aircraft, and fighter jets, the total number of aircraft is expected to be as high as 130 or eight. Although there are only 54 aircraft due to lack of pilots, they are still powerful, especially the latest air gunboat, a Just top the firepower of a battalion.

Directly under the cavalry regiment.

Today, the cavalry is outdated, and riding a horse can basically only send a letter and go through the motions. Therefore, this cavalry regiment is actually an armored regiment equipped with 72 tanks and armored vehicles of the same size.

These seven regiments have a total strength of more than 3 troops, a total of more than 100 artillery pieces, including 50 artillery pieces with a caliber above [-], more than [-] tanks and armored vehicles, and more than [-] aircraft.

Such a grand exercise,

Is it...

A possibility emerged in Cheng Shifa's mind.

"The location of the exercise is."

The brigade personnel who came to convey the order said:
"Ping County."

"The brigade headquarters ordered you to assemble your troops immediately and go to Ping County by railway."

"Ping County."

Sure enough... Cheng Shifa was stunned.

Ping County, a small county in the northwest, is not well-known, and it takes a long time to find it on the map. This is also the end of the border railway. Of course, this is not important, what is important.

This county seat is only fifty kilometers away from (west) Chang'an.

And (West) Chang'an has a large number of troops stationed in the mountain city.

"it is good."

Cheng Shifa picked up his own gun:

"I'll gather my troops immediately."

　Recently, I have enough time to write seriously.

　　There is one more chapter in the evening (before the clock turns).

　　
　
(End of this chapter)