After the 5th Army advanced east along the river to occupy Yongfeng, a new offensive began. According to the campaign plan of the Corps Headquarters, after the 5th Army occupied Yongfeng, it attacked and advanced from Yongfeng to Daguan, Guicheng, and Qinchuan. The 6th Army advanced from Sinuiju to Yancheng and Dingju, and formed an attack posture from the east and west. He Zhi ordered the 7th Army and the 8th Army to enter Korea to participate in the attack. The 35th, 37th, 41st, and 52nd armies were provisionally organized as campaign reserves. The two artillery divisions of the Corps supported the attack on the left and right.

The 4 tank battalions of the tank regiment were divided into two, with the 1st and 2nd tank battalions for the right attack, and the 3rd and 4th tank battalions for the left attack. The special regiment, the mortar brigade, the light machine gun brigade, and the gun and grenade brigade under the corps were also divided into two. The regiment commander Lei Ming commanded the 1st and 2nd tank battalions to advance along the railway line towards Yancheng. The tanks and combat vehicles went all the way to Yancheng, and the resistance of the Japanese defenders intensified, and the tragic battle began to be staged.

Wang Ying, commander of the 1st Tank Company, led four tanks to open the road in front, while he was holding a telescope in the open turret to look ahead. In February, the spring breeze is like scissors, and the warm spring breeze from the south has begun to land on the coastline, and the ice and snow have melted where the sun shines, bringing a warmth in the gloom. The tank was rumbling forward, and suddenly a dozen Japanese soldiers appeared from the hole in the ground on the right, and the Japanese soldiers rushed fiercely with smoking explosive packs under their armpits.

The soldiers who followed behind the tank opened fire fiercely with their submachine guns in their hands, and the Japanese soldiers were knocked to the ground. The explosive bag held by a Japanese soldier exploded, obscuring the soldier's vision when the smoke of gunpowder filled, and another Japanese soldier rolled to the front of a tank on the right and was brought in by the tank, accompanied by a violent explosion, followed by a loud noise, the chain on one side of the tank was blown off, and the tank twisted 180 degrees to stop advancing. At this time, a Japanese death squad appeared on the left, and the Japanese soldiers threw grenades to block the soldiers who followed behind the tank on the left.

The soldiers following the tank were suppressed by grenades, and two Japanese soldiers got under the tank with explosives packets, and with two violent explosions, the tank was overturned, with all fours facing the sky, and the chain was still rattling and turning. Seeing this scene, Wang Ying ordered to stop advancing. In the blink of an eye, the two tank fighting vehicles were lying on their stomachs, and Wang Ying was a little dazed as they watched the tank crew climb up from the cockpit in embarrassment. "Company Commander Wang, my men are on the tank, so as to prevent the Japanese suicide soldiers from approaching the tank." An infantry captain platoon commander suggested. "No, it's too dangerous!"

Without waiting for Wang Ying's consent, the captain platoon commander and a soldier climbed onto the tank. "Company Commander Wang, we are located behind the turret, and the frontal fire will not hurt us, which can effectively prevent the Japanese soldiers from approaching the tank, don't hesitate!" "Pay attention to safety, if the enemy shells it down immediately!" Then Wang Ying told the crews of the two "lying nest" tanks to wait for the breakdown repair vehicles to come up. The tank fighting vehicle was restarted and continued to rush forward.

Less than 200 meters forward, two groups of suicide Japanese soldiers emerged from underground bunkers. The Japanese suicide soldiers repeated their old trick of suppressing the infantry following behind the tank with grenades, and the suicide soldiers rushed to the tank with explosives bags in their pockets. This time, the Japanese suicide soldier attack failed, and the suicide soldier was shot and killed by a dense rain of bullets before he could get close to the tank. In order to protect the tank from being blown up by the Japanese suicide soldiers, the soldiers of the special regiment changed their tactics of following the tank, but opened the way in front of the tank, and the tank covered the attack behind.

After learning about this situation, the commander of the 6th Army specially requisitioned a regiment as the pioneer of tank fighting vehicles. Immediately, the Japanese army's suicide attack changed the tactics of warfare, using trench fortifications to blow up tanks in a suicidal form. The Japanese army achieved the result of this move, destroying 35 Chinese tanks in one month, but the Japanese paid nearly 5,000 casualties. At the end of April, the Right Corps took Dingzhou, the Left Corps took Qinchuan, and the Japanese army was forced to retreat to the Datong River defense line.

Okamura Ninji's strategy of exchanging space for time has yielded initial results, and through a series of defensive operations, the Japanese army has not only accumulated experience, but has also found a way to deal with the impact of tanks and combat vehicles, that is, to resolutely carry out suicide attacks. Although the Japanese army paid a high price, it did not break the bones. The attack on the Eastern Front remained slow, with only 100 kilometers advanced in almost 3 months. Relying on the rolling hills, the Japanese army on the Eastern Front effectively contained the attack of the 3rd Corps.

At the end of April, Ge Yunfei ordered the attack to be stopped, because the Japanese army retreated to the line of the Datong River, and the attack of tanks and combat vehicles encountered obstacles. If the infantry is used to launch a battle to cross the river, it will inevitably pay a heavy price. With the expansion of the battlefield area, the number of troops was obviously insufficient, so Ge Yunfei ordered the requisition of Wu Peifu's unit of the 5th Corps of the Central Cluster to fight in North Korea, and at the same time ordered Zhang Zuolin's Northeast Frontier Army to enter North Korea from the Tumen River line.

On this day, at the Fengtian headquarters, Wu Peifu, commander of the 4th Corps, walked into the headquarters in the dust: "Report, Wu Peifu, commander of the 4th Corps, came to report, please give instructions to the commander-in-chief!" "Commander Wu, you have asked Ying several times to be satisfied this time!" "The commander-in-chief gives me a chance, my subordinates will never disgrace you, please ask the commander-in-chief to issue a combat mission!" Ge Yunfei said with a smile: "Originally, I was going to recruit Wang Kun's 4th Corps, but President Duan called, hoping that I would open the net." "Thank you, Chief."

Ge Yunfei walked to the map and said, "Your 4 armies secretly entered the court from Chushan, and assembled in Songyuan to wait for orders!" "Yes, my subordinates!" Wu Peifu was overjoyed when he heard this, and it was obvious that this was going to be a big battle. After Wu Peifu left, Cai Yi, the deputy commander and chief of staff, said: "Commander-in-chief, Okamura Ningji's retreat to the Datong River line on the Western Front has indeed created difficulties for our offensive on the Western Front. Aerial reconnaissance found that the Japanese army had built strong fortifications on the line of the Datong River. ”

At the end of April, Ge Yunfei transferred Cai Ye to Fengtian as deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff, and Ge Yunfei would hand over the command to Cai Ye in the next step. The European war is coming to an end, and Ge Yunfei will show his strength on the international stage in the next step, so it is imperative to let Cai Ye command the war in North Korea. "The commander of the Japanese army, Yoshimasa Oshima, apparently listened to Okamura's advice. The Japanese used suicide attacks on the Western Front, although costly, but not broken. ”

"Chief, what do you mean by letting Wu Peifu secretly assemble in Songyuan?" "In mid-May, the 2nd Tank Regiment entered the DPRK to fight, and since the tank fighting vehicles have little effect on the Datong River moat, let the tank troops move eastward." Cai Ye looked at the map and said with great joy: "Commander, I understand, use the rapid assault ability of tanks and combat vehicles to occupy the strategic points of Daxing, and Wu Peifu's corps will follow up, and then eat ······." Subsequently, Ge Yunfei ordered to hoard a large amount of combat materials on the front line to meet the needs of the front-line troops for two consecutive months of high-intensity operations.

The Japanese Army Headquarters in Seoul, Chief of Staff Okamura Ninji, said: "Your Excellency, the base camp has affirmed our defensive tactics, and in view of the bravery of the enemy's tank troops, it is wise to use the Taedong River as a barrier for the defense of the western front. The enemy's offensive on the eastern front was slow, and the next step was to form a new and solid defensive line with the Hamgyong Mountains, the Wo Zhanling Mountains, the Gaima Plateau in the east, the Wo Ji Peak, the Langlin Mountain, and the Miao Heung Mountain in the middle, and the Taedong River on the eastern front. Ge Yunfei is not a fool and will not take risks, and the defensive front can be stabilized. ”

Seeing that Okamura Ninji was full of confidence, Commander Oshima Yoshimasa seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said: "If the Datong River defense line cannot be defended, we have no choice but to retreat to the Han River defense line, and the southern part of the peninsula is flat and there is no danger to defend, and the enemy's tank troops will be like a tiger with wings." Fortunately, God gave us Datongjiang. There are two natural barriers on the Han River. The European competition is coming to an end and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. "Your Excellency, China's military strength is becoming stronger and stronger, and the European powers may not be able to balance China."

"Okamura-kun, tell me what you think?" "Westerners admire the strong, so we have to plan for the worst, and Ge Yunfei will never stop if he doesn't achieve his goal." "Do you mean that it is possible to agree to China's conditions and return the independence of Taiwan Island, the Penghu Islands, and the independence of the Korean Peninsula?" "What will we do if the great powers come forward to mediate and put pressure on us?" Yoshimasa Oshima thinks that Okamura Ninji has a point: "We are soldiers, we don't have any choice, let the politicians solve these troublesome things." ”

However, Okamura Ninji, as a sober soldier, had already seen that Japan was about to face the fate of overthrow, and he had an obligation not to let this tragedy happen. Okamura decided to write to the Emperor and the Cabinet, even to a military tribunal, to persuade the Cabinet to end this terrible war and preserve the security of the Japanese archipelago. He knew better in his heart that even if the allies won the European war, they would not send troops to the Far East for Japan, and it was a foregone conclusion that Japan would be abandoned by the allies.

In mid-May, tank units secretly assembled in Qinchuan. Lei Ming was promoted to commander of the tank brigade, and the 3rd tank regiment is currently being formed in the country. Wang Ying, commander of the Pioneer Tank Company, was promoted to commander of the 1st Tank Battalion because of his bravery and good command. All the officers knew in their hearts that the tank unit was secretly assembled in Qinchuan, and what they meant. At present, the Yalu River Bridge has been repaired and opened to traffic by the railway department, and a large number of military materials and resources have been continuously delivered to the front line, and a major war is imminent.

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