Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

More than thirty minutes was neither long nor short, but it was definitely enough for the Armor Master to lead Li and Zhao on a tour of the base.

When a row of brand-new T-26 light tanks and a dozen refurbished T-34 medium tanks appeared in front of Li Yunlong, he almost drooled.

The "ugly" appearance of the accomplice made Political Commissar Zhao Gang shake his head in annoyance.

In order not to make a fool of himself in the camp of the brother troops, he nudged his brigade commander with his elbow and reminded him:

"Old Li, you are going to be the division commander next year, can you show some ambition? If the comrades in the 1st Armored Division saw this, they might think that our 1st Marine Brigade is a bunch of defeated troops."

"Besides, the advantages of airborne troops lie in their mobility and extreme assault capabilities. Equipment such as medium and heavy tanks are completely incompatible with the attributes of our brigade."

"Wake up. It's not a good habit to have your eyes on the pot while eating from the bowl. You should concentrate on studying the tactical application of military helicopters."

When these words came out, Li Yunlong was struck by lightning. His face turned red, and veins on his forehead bulged.

But even so, the handsome young man still tried to save his reputation with a stubborn attitude.

"Old Zhao, don't talk nonsense. How can you be greedy when it comes to airborne troops?"

Brigade Commander Li tried to make a few excuses, followed by a series of words that were difficult for others to understand.

He spoke of equipment names like heavy-duty airdrop, wheeled paratrooper assault vehicle, 03 parachute combat vehicle, and Lynx all-terrain vehicle, and finally even shouted the slogan "A real man should drive a Storm Red".

This series of strange nouns caused everyone to burst into laughter, and the entire 1st Armored Division's base was filled with a happy atmosphere.

Seeing that the meeting was about to begin, Armor Master Xu GD spoke in time to control the situation. He first waved to the guards on standby, signaling them to drive the jeep over, and then said to Li and Zhao who were traveling with him:

"Lao Li, Lao Zhao, it's almost time, let's go to the meeting. You all know the tempers of General Lin and Chief of Staff Liu. If you are late, you will definitely suffer the consequences."

"By the way, if you really want a KV2 heavy tank, I can transfer one to the st Marine Brigade after the war. Of course, the premise is that there are still stocks after the war."

"Anyway, the paratroopers need to be proficient in all the army's equipment, so having a heavy tank is not excessive."

For the current TG, neither the Eighth Route Army Headquarters nor the Weapons Experimental Research Bureau have plans to develop and form an independent heavy tank unit at this stage.

Even the KV2 tank platoon that was temporarily incorporated into the st Armored Division had to be sealed and stored after the Shandong Province campaign ended.

The reason is that the use of heavy tanks is too limited. Not only does it have rigid requirements on the logistics and maintenance capabilities of the armored division, but even whether it can be successfully deployed depends on the passability of the battlefield.

What's more, there is no need to use heavy tanks to deal with ordinary Japanese armies.

The BT series that will soon be put into service can be used as medium tanks. A big tank like the T-3485, which weighs more than 30 tons, is like a heavy tank in the Asian battlefield.

As for when the real heavy tank will be developed?

Let’s talk about the August Storm a year later. After all, the Kwantung Army in 43 still maintained hundreds of thousands of combat-ready troops, and even the current TG has to go all out.

The sudden good news cleared up Mr. Li’s worries.

His expression changed as quickly as turning the pages of a book, and his signature laugh soon echoed over the headquarters of the 1st Armored Division.

"Hey, good!"

"Then let's make an agreement."

"Let's go, time waits for no one, let's go to the meeting quickly."

······
As the trump card prepared by the tigers in the forest for this decisive battle, the 1st Armored Division has been close to the military district headquarters since the beginning of the battle so that it can enter the battlefield as soon as it receives the order.

Thanks to this, Xu, Li and Zhao arrived at the courtyard where the combat meeting room was located in just 20 minutes.

Before entering the house, they met the dusty monk Xu at the gate.

At this moment, the top force of the Shandong Provincial Military District was filled with murderous aura, and the strong smell of gunpowder on his body hit the mouths and noses of those around him. It was obvious at a glance that he had just retreated from the front line not long ago.

After seeing several comrades, he forced a smile and greeted them, then quickly took two steps at a time and crossed the threshold of the compound with everyone else.

"Damn it, this is really weird. I don't know what's wrong with the Japanese. They are so crazy and attacking at all costs without caring about the losses."

"After more than half a month of fighting, our division has suffered casualties among a main force regiment. If it weren't for the wave-by-wave blocking, the number of casualties would be at least 10% or 20% higher."

"It's so frustrating. I wish I could lead the team to launch a counterattack right now and drown those damn Kwantung Army in the cesspool."

Since the outbreak of the Shandong Campaign, the various units of the Eighth Route Army have relied on their equipment advantages, tactical advantages and solid fortifications to block the enemy's attacks, and have achieved a casualty ratio of 1:4.3 on the ground battlefield.

Of course, this exchange ratio is more or less different from the actual situation.

After all, whenever the Japs attacked, they would send out a large number of cannon fodder as human explorers. They turned the main battlefield of Jiaolai Plain into a bloody meat grinder by their own strength.

I'm afraid that except for the top leaders of each division, even the old devil Okamura Ningji didn't know exactly how many troops the front-line units had lost. In such a chaotic situation, the Eighth Route Army at all levels could only make rough estimates. The true casualty ratio would have to be carefully counted after the war.

As for the reason why Monk Xu was depressed?

It's very simple. Since the core goal of the first phase of this battle was to lure the enemy into retreating deep into our territory for a decisive battle, the First Division was forced to give up many opportunities to counterattack.

Although the Japanese army often had to pay a heavy price in the process of attack, the feeling of "passively taking a beating" was not pleasant.

As a commander with a strong character, how could Monk Xu not feel aggrieved?

Hearing their comrades' complaints, Xu, Li, and Zhao were all silent. The 1st Armored Division and the 1st Marine Brigade had not yet joined the battle, and they had no idea how to comfort their colleagues.

His brain was working rapidly, and finally it was the Armor Master who spoke first to break the silence.

"Lao Xu, I know you are holding your breath. But I firmly believe that all endurance is for a better future. The Japanese troops who fall into the trap will definitely be defeated."

"So, cheer up."

"Hmph, Kwantung Army, in the next battle, I will make sure they never return."

Hearing this, Monk Xu nodded silently. His face was extremely serious, like a volcano about to erupt, which could erupt at any time.

"Okay! I will make the enemy pay the price!"

······
After a while, Li Yunlong and his entourage filed into the military district's operations meeting room.

Because the previous visit delayed them for some time, by the time they found their seats and sat down, the rest of the commanders attending the meeting had already arrived.

While the commander-in-chief of the battle had not yet taken office, everyone sat around several round tables, discussing the recent battle situation and the results of their respective troops.

After chatting for a while, a weak voice suddenly came from outside the house.

"Everyone is here? Then let's start the meeting."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a sallow-faced forest tiger slowly walking into the room with the help of a guard.

103 behind him was still wearing the black leather jacket, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was not in good condition either.

However, even though they were not in good condition, their style was still as efficient as ever. They didn't say any nonsense, but went straight to the strategic situation map and asked directly:

"GD Xu, what is the combat readiness of your 1st Armored Division? Can they directly participate in the next battle?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the armor master, who had been prepared for a long time, stood up. Facing the gazes of many comrades and superiors, he suppressed the excitement in his heart and said:
"Reporting to General Lin, our unit has a total of 200 tanks of various models and 99 combat-ready tanks. Wheeled and half-track armored vehicles, trucks and other auxiliary vehicles are all fully staffed."

"As for logistics, we have prepared sufficient fuel reserves and ammunition this time, as well as spare parts for maintenance and a range of other supplies."

"The maintenance battalion under the division headquarters was ready for battle a month ago. The problems encountered in Xinkou last time will never happen again in this battle."

As we all know, the more advanced the combat unit is, the more it relies on logistical support.

When the Eighth Route Army's armored forces faced the 3rd Tank Division, they exposed many problems in the battle, especially logistics and maintenance.

Adhere to the principle that it is never too late to mend.

The reorganized 1st Armored Division conducted many summaries and targeted training on the last battle, which was the main reason why GD Xu dared to make such a guarantee.

Hearing this, Forest Tiger and LYL nodded at the same time. After receiving the eye signal from the former, 103 directly picked up the teaching stick and began to explain the general outline of tactics.

"Next, it's time for our Lu Province Military District to counterattack."

"When the enemy launches its next attack, the 1st Armored Division will immediately attack and break through the Japanese positions head-on by means of a central breakthrough."

"After the breakthrough, your unit must turn around and attack as quickly as possible, divide and encircle the enemy, and cooperate with the subsequent infantry regiments to annihilate them."

After explaining the mission to the armored unit, LYL moved his target to the direction of the 1st Marine Brigade.

"Li Yunlong, your mission is very simple, that is to completely cut off the Jiaoji Railway and cut off all routes for the enemy to retreat."

"This time the military district is going to fight a war of annihilation. You can bomb all the bridges, railways and roads along the way. You don't need to think about any subsequent problems."

"Considering that Okamura Neiji might use the reserve forces, I will give you the command of the entire Shandong Province militia and guerrillas."

"You have done similar missions in Zhongtiao Mountain and Houtao area. I believe in your command ability. You have been learning from General Xu for so long. Now is the time for you to make a splash!"

"Yes! Promise to complete the mission!"

In the next few hours, the military zone operations meeting room was constantly being deployed, and even late at night the lights were still on. (End of this chapter)