allonlinenovel Chapter 135 Cavalry vs. Tanks 5
Chapter 135 Cavalry vs. Tanks 5
Just when the Japanese Mongolian garrison troops were chased to the point where they had no way out by the 11nd Armored Division and the th Motorized Infantry Division.
After Zhangjia K was captured by the Eastern Route Army of the 78th Army, the troops on the Eastern Front of the 78th Army underwent a brief but necessary rest.
Subsequently, they used the 1st Armored Division as the vanguard, successively broke through the three temporary defense lines built by the Japanese army, and successfully broke into the Changping suburb of Yanjing.
This development caused a huge shock to the entire North China Expeditionary Army.
Okamura Neiji's deepest worries gradually became a reality, and he began to realize that the situation was out of control.
The originally expected defense line collapsed much faster than he had imagined, causing him to feel unprecedented pressure and anxiety.
However, the First Armored Division that rushed to Changping had reached its limit at this time. After all, this was an important area that the Japanese had operated for several years.
You know, although they fought their way here with great force, the number of enemies they encountered along the way was still quite large.
Moreover, many of these enemies were elite Japanese troops, so the intensity of the battles along the way was very high.
In addition, after two weeks of continuous raids and battles, many tanks have suffered failures or damages to varying degrees, and all need to be properly inspected and maintained.
Not only that, the gun barrels of some tanks are nearing the end of their life due to high-intensity combat in a short period of time and need to be replaced.
Other key parts such as tracks and engines also have some problems to varying degrees.
At the same time, as the war continued to advance, fuel supplies began to become scarce.
Finally they had to stop, and their original hope of rushing to the city of Yanjing in one go was dashed.
Some officers and soldiers of the 78st Armored Division began to blame the officials of the Logistics Department. In fact, the Logistics Department of the th Army was also wronged.
An all-out attack by an army of more than 100,000 troops, especially with two main armored divisions that were like logistical steamrollers.
In addition, after the Japanese army felt that Zhangjiakou could not be defended, they immediately began to destroy all transportation roads and railways leading to the Beijing-Tianjin area.
In the past, it was done by the Eighth Route Army or the Chinese guerrillas, but now Japan has to blow up the transportation lifeline that they have been trying so hard to maintain over the years.
Under heavy pressure, the Logistics Department had tried its best to hold on for a month, but ultimately it could not withstand the enormous pressure and had to truthfully report the difficulties it faced to its superiors.
Faced with this situation, Wang Chun had no choice but to order the 1st Armored Division on the Eastern Front to suspend its advance and rest.
After all, he only had one armored division and an accompanying motorized infantry division.
If we fail to wait for reinforcements in time, we might fall into an extremely dangerous situation if we are not careful in Beijing and Tianjin, the core area firmly controlled by the Japanese army.
When the explosive news that the 78th Army had broken through to the Beijing-Tianjin area came, the extremely depressing atmosphere throughout the country, which had been caused by the disastrous defeat of the First War Zone, was swept away.
Just as the 1st Armored Division's attack on the outskirts of Beijing shocked the whole of China, a decisive battle was also won on the grassland.
After destroying most of the 118th Division, the 200nd Armored Division received news from an Air Force reconnaissance plane: the Japanese had an armored unit mixed with about several thousand cavalry, located miles away from the st Armored Division.
It seems that this troop is most likely the Japanese reinforcements coming to reinforce the Mengjiang garrison troops.
The morale of the Second Armored Division, which had never encountered a strong opponent along the way, was high at this time. They were eager to have an epic armored duel like the First Armored Division.
After all, such a battle can not only test their own strength, but also demonstrate the strong combat effectiveness and courage of their Second Armored Division.
Zhang Jiaqi decided to take the initiative and not give the enemy a chance to breathe. He led the Second Armored Division to the enemy camp quickly, determined to give the enemy a fatal blow.
On the vast grassland, the Second Armored Division rushed like a steel torrent. Because of the loss of air superiority, the Japanese army lost its vital air reconnaissance capability.
It was not until the armored regiment commanded by Tang Tian appeared in an area ten kilometers away from the Japanese flank that the Japanese troops, who had been stationary for two days, realized the danger.
The two sides finally met and engaged in a fierce firefight instantly. More than 70 T34-85 tanks did not give the Japanese army any time to prepare.
The galloping tanks raised a cloud of dust on the grassland, and the armored columns galloped on this almost flat grassland, which was almost the most perfect armored battlefield.
The broad view and the vast grassland made it impossible for the Japanese army to hide.
Cannons roared, bullets flew, and the battlefield was filled with smoke. The T34 tanks advanced bravely and began a one-on-one battle with a tank regiment of the Japanese nd Tank Division that reacted hastily on this vast grassland.
The Japanese cavalry mixed in tried to engage in close combat, but these cavalry were purely to give Tang Tian's Sixth Armored Regiment a chance to win. At the beginning, these cavalry tried to use their mobility to try to outflank the armored regiment from behind.
Although they were a cavalry unit, they also carried a lot of grenade launchers, grenades, explosive packs and other equipment.
Reality gave them no chance at all, because just as he was making a detour to the rear, a motorized infantry regiment following the 6th Armored Regiment also arrived at the battlefield.
The heavy machine guns and 20mm machine guns equipped on those armored vehicles are much more lethal than the 34mm tank gun equipped on the T85.
The cavalrymen fell off their horses one after another in the hail of heavy machine gun bullets and artillery shells. Some Japanese cavalrymen tried to hide behind the corpses of their horses and fired back with grenade launchers.
The 20mm shells ruthlessly tore the bodies of the war horses into pieces of flesh, and the Japanese soldiers hiding behind them naturally did not suffer any better.
Zhang Jiaqi commanded calmly, ordering some tanks to form a cone formation. The T34-85 he was driving became the vanguard and spearhead of the entire regiment.
The regiment commander personally charged at the front line, and his soldiers were naturally no cowards. Most of the tanks equipped by this Japanese armored regiment were old Type 95 and Type 97 tanks. There were 20 Type tanks, and no Type tanks, the latest model of the Japanese army.
The T34 tanks aggressively charged into the defensive positions formed by Japanese tanks. The Type 57 tanks equipped with 97mm tank guns desperately rushed towards the T34s that were rushing towards their positions.
With a loud and deafening "bang", a Type 97 medium tank was hit on the turret by an 85mm armor-piercing shell.
The huge impact force caused the entire tank to shake, followed by a violent explosion.
Flames shot up into the sky and debris flew everywhere. The turret of this tank, which was already quite powerful in the eyes of the Japanese army, was instantly blown into pieces, flew high into the air, and then fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Classical Bunkyō's eyes widened, his face filled with fear and anger. He screamed madly, "Destroy that tank! Destroy it!"
He waved his arms, pointed at the Tang Tian tank in the distance, and issued urgent orders to his gunners.
The gunners nervously operated the gun barrels, adjusted the angles, and prepared to fire. With a command from Gudian Wenjing, a 57mm shell flew out of the muzzle with a sharp whistle and rushed towards Tang Tian's tank.
However, under extremely stressful circumstances, their shooting accuracy was greatly reduced.
The shell did not hit the target as expected, but exploded four or five meters in front of Tang Tian's tank. The shock wave from the explosion stirred up a cloud of dust and grass, forming a deep pit.
The splashing mud fell on Tang Tian's tank like raindrops, making it covered in dust.