Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Xuemazhuang, Jiyuan.

Outside this village with a permanent population of only a few dozen people, a company of Eighth Route Army soldiers were escorting the Japanese and puppet army prisoners that had just been captured.

The comrades had firm eyes and were full of vigor, and they did not look like a tired army that had experienced several battles.

After the cavalry units that arrived one after another took over all the "burdens", the entire 2nd Armored Regiment quickly completed the full set of preparations before departure, and then set off for the next combat target.

In the regiment's command vehicle, while checking the latest intelligence from the Air Force reconnaissance plane, Commander Liu pretended to ask casually:

"Old Tian, ​​how far has the first group broken through? Have they encountered any tough problems? If we compare their progress with ours, who is faster?"

Hearing the commander's question, the chief of staff of the 2nd Armored Regiment immediately smiled and shook his head.

The leader of our group is good in every way except that he is a little too competitive and wants to be the first in everything he does. This kind of situation is especially strong when performing tasks together with a group of the same sequence.

But this is not a bad habit.

As long as we don't get carried away and don't rush for quick success, it will be a calm and healthy competition, which is a good thing for the overall strength of the troops.

A high morale is always better than a stagnant state.

A moment later, the chief of staff took out a telegram from his bag and reported calmly: "What a coincidence, the rear headquarters just sent the latest news, and I was just about to tell you."

"The First Regiment directly burned to death the Japanese defenders around Kejing County. The battle plan proposed by the French is not bad. Crossing the forest is indeed a convenient option."

"Once the fire is a little weaker, they can move on to the next stage of their goal."

As soon as these words were spoken, Captain Liu's eyes widened immediately.

Without saying a word, he opened the military map, and began to calculate the time along the friendly force's attack route with his fingers. Anyone could see the desire to win in his heart.

"It's over, it looks like we're going to lose to the group in terms of speed!"

"Pass my order. Immediately contact the armored reconnaissance company ahead and ask them to find a way to avoid the river. We have limited time and cannot delay any further on the road."

"Yes!"

The terrain in the Jiyuan area gradually becomes flatter from west to east.

Special terrains such as mountains and hills that limit the mobility of armored forces are mostly distributed in the west, north and southwest.

Theoretically, the Second Armored Regiment, which is located in a plain and has the terrain advantage, should naturally have better breakthrough progress than its brother units.

but!

However, there are many tributaries of the mother river along their attack route. Unless it is necessary or urgent, the troops need to constantly take detours and maneuver to break through, otherwise they will have to pay the price to force a river crossing.

This is Jiyuan. In later generations, there were more than 20 reservoirs of various sizes, including the famous Xiaolangdi.

The water system is so dense that if the 2nd Armored Regiment crosses the rivers one by one, even with the continuous fire support from the Air Force, it will most likely lose everything it has.

Therefore, it is wise to adjust the attack route in real time according to the troop deployment of the Japanese defenders.

······
In combat areas with relatively flat terrain, Shandong Kongfuzi 222 is like a fish in water.

With mobility and passability far exceeding the average level of the Asian battlefield, the armored reconnaissance company under the Second Regiment "completed" the task assigned by its superiors in just over half an hour.

After getting off the vehicle, Captain Li sighed with a worried look on his face. Then he adjusted his mood and trotted to the regiment's command tank.

"Captain, according to our company's recent investigation, we now have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Hearing this, the Second Regiment Commander and the Chief of Staff looked at each other at the same time, and they both saw some uneasiness on each other's faces.

"Don't keep me in suspense. Let's talk about it together."

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Captain Li of the Armored Reconnaissance Company immediately took out a military map from his pocket. On the map, there was a river outlined with red lines.

"Our company has just fought back and forth between the source and end of the river ahead. The river is 29 kilometers long, with the widest part being 31 meters and the narrowest part being 17 meters."

"The bad news is that there is no way around it, because its upstream area is directly on the outskirts of Jiyuan County, which is already the absolute core area of ​​the Japanese defense circle."

"As for the end point, the river eventually merges into the mother river, and there is no area where the flow is cut off."

Having said that, the good news is self-evident. It's just that the width of the river is not too outrageous, and the overall difficulty of crossing the river is lower than expected.

After learning the truth, Captain Liu frowned, but immediately rekindled his fighting spirit.

It's just a small river with a width of only 17 meters. It is not even in the top ten in his military career.

When the large army crossed the Wujiang River, the river was turbulent and the ferry was washed away as soon as it entered the turbulent river. In desperation, the commander could only order the construction of a floating bridge by driving piles and pulling ropes in the water. The huge floating bridge was twisted like a centipede by the water.

But even so, it still failed to stop our brave and warlike comrades.

Nowadays, the Eighth Route Army has close ground support aircraft and bombers in the sky, and professional engineering support companies on the ground. It is just a small tributary of the Yellow River, not worth mentioning.

With his thoughts connected, Captain Liu no longer hesitated. He picked up the communicator on the command vehicle and said in the regiment-wide channel:

"Comrades, do you remember what the deputy commander-in-chief and Director Huang once said? The two leaders emphasized several times that every river crossing battle should be regarded as a rehearsal for future river crossings."

"When we go south, the armored forces will definitely not be absent."

"Then today, let's test the results of our past training and, by the way, break the stereotype that northerners are not good at naval battles!"

"Everyone, get ready to cross the river!"

"Yes!"

Due to the strong intrusion of Mr. Huang, the current combat effectiveness of the Fourth Master and the Eighth Master can be described as rapid and rapid.

As their power surged, the vision of the bigwigs in the border areas naturally became broader. This led to everyone discussing the strategic trends in the next few years in their spare time.

Going south is one of the hot topics.

Considering that the troops will most likely have to cross rivers in the future, elite units such as the armored forces and the 1st Marine Brigade have added targeted training in their daily lives.

This is why Captain Liu is full of confidence in the next action.

······
On the east side of the river bank was the Japanese Army's 8th Independent Mixed Brigade and 3rd Infantry Battalion.

Compared with the high-spirited 2nd Armored Regiment, the atmosphere on the Japanese defenders' side almost reached freezing point.

The command center in the rear was in an even more dejected mood. Except for the major and the captain of the staff, no one else dared to speak.

There is no way around it, because they are short of manpower and the pressure on river defense is too great.

Since he was unsure of the direction from which the enemy's armored forces would cross the river, Captain Nagashima Ryuya could only divide his limited forces into several parts, mix them with the Imperial Army, and set up a long snake formation along the river to passively withstand attacks.

In the absence of accurate intelligence, the only way the Japanese could come up with was to rely on the mobility of trucks.

"Alas, there is only one battalion and two thousand Imperial Army troops defending a river area of ​​more than 20 kilometers. The hearts of the brigade commander and the division commander are really huge."

"Notify all levels of troops to strengthen their reconnaissance capabilities. Even if we can find the enemy's tracks just one second in advance, our chances of winning will increase."

"Hi!"

Hearing the complaint of his own lieutenant colonel, the staff officer Tsuchiya Nobuhiro hurriedly spoke to comfort him:
"Nagashima-kun, we are not without a chance in this battle."

"After all, crossing a river has always been a difficult task for the attacker in land warfare. At the same time, it is also an important opportunity for the defender to strike a strong opponent."

"There is an old Chinese saying, 'Attack the enemy when they are halfway across the river.' As long as we deploy our troops properly and prevent the enemy from taking advantage of their equipment, we will be able to hold our ground and successfully block the enemy."

Hearing this, Nagashima Ryuya shook his head helplessly.

Everyone understands this principle, but the gap between us and the enemy is too big. The Eighth Route Army has 105 howitzers and bombers, while our river defense works don't even have a few semi-buried bunkers.

Once the battle started, all he could count on were three hills and four 75mm mountain guns.

As if he could see that his commander was in a bad mood, Staff Officer Nobuhiro Tsuchiya had an idea and tentatively expressed his inner thoughts.

"Nagashima-kun, when I was studying at the military academy, I happened to see a battle similar to the current situation, which was experienced by the predecessor of the Eighth Route Army."

"If the enemy wants to cross the river, they will definitely send light infantry to the other side to establish a bridgehead. In this way, the enemy's tank units will be disconnected from the infantry, leaving a lot of gaps in the formation."

"If we had taken the risk of sending a part of our elite troops across the river and charged directly at the tanks that lacked infantry protection, we would have definitely gained a lot!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Nagashima Ryuya's eyes suddenly lit up, and his mind was filled with various ideas of changing homes and giving it a try despite the disadvantages.

Once the above battle plan was successfully implemented, the infantry of the Eighth Route Army would not have time to return to support even if they turned around. This tactic of using small forces to win big was very much to his liking.

What to do if you fail?
Sorry, Nagashima Ryuya really doesn't care. Anyway, it's already at the bottom, how much worse can it get?

"Okay! He crossed the river! I'll cross the river too! Today, my Third Battalion will put our past honor on the line and give it a try!"

"Pass on my order. Have the First Squadron take 500 Imperial Army soldiers and set off immediately. Cross the river and head east of Qiangou Village to wait for orders! Whether the mission will succeed or not depends entirely on them!"

"Hi!" (End of Chapter)