About 50 kilometers away from the west side of Baotou, there is a small market town, which is one of the main passages from Baotou to the west. The market town of Urad Qianqi is more like a village to be exact. A few days ago, a Japanese armored unit had been deployed here, and the battle-torn market town was once again shrouded in fear. In the past, most of the troops seen by the people in the town were cavalry, but this time there was a monster full of iron rumbling, and it was the Japanese who controlled this steel monster.

The people in the market town have been isolated for a long time, and they are lonely and unheard of the outside world. The powerful and brutal Japanese wanted to turn this place into a battlefield of slaughter, and the people in the market town were terrified, and many merchants fled the market town. Major General Kameda Toshio, commander of the 18th Tank Brigade of the Japanese Army, led the steel army to the front banner of Urat for fortification. The 18th Tank Brigade is composed of two tank wings, a baggage unit, an anti-tank artillery brigade, a communications team and a medical team. The two tank wings have 120 tanks and 36 armoured vehicles, and the baggage wings are equipped with wheeled trucks.

The 18th Tank Brigade of the Japanese Army is under the 6th Tank Division, and the 6th Tank Division of the Japanese Army is located in Zhangjiakou, which is the battle sequence of the 3rd Army. In the following year after the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese army was deeply influenced by the German armored forces, and considering the actual situation of the Chinese battlefield, six integrated armored divisions were formed. The 6th Panzer Division was formed in 42 and was all equipped with the new Japanese 97 tanks.

The Type 97 tank is the most successful tank developed by the Japanese army, and the tank was established in 37 years and began to equip the troops in 38 years. According to the needs of the battlefield, the Japanese army constantly upgraded the Type 97. By the 42nd year of the Japanese Army's Type 97 tank, a more advanced Type 1 appeared. The total weight of the tank is 17 or 2 tons, the gun is a long-barreled 57-meter gun, and the 1200-meter can penetrate 50 mm armor, and the crew is changed from 4 to 5 people. However, compared with foreign main battle tanks, this tank is still a light tank.

The 97 Type 1 tank traveled at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour and used a 240-horsepower engine. Frontal protective armor is 50 mm, the weakest protective armor on the sides is 10 mm. In fact, the Japanese army's 97 change to Type 1 was mainly adapted to Chinese battlefield operations, and its protective armor coped with the blows of anti-tank guns and rockets. The 18th Tank Brigade of the Japanese Army was all equipped with the most advanced Type 97 Type 1 medium tanks, which were first deployed in the prairie adapted to tank operations.

Nowadays, it is necessary to compare the Cheetah-1 main battle tanks equipped by the tank brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and it is clear which of the two sides is better and which is inferior in the data. The Cheetah-1 tank is basically a copy of the later "59" tank, with differences in gun caliber, on-board instruments and weight. The Cheetah 1 tank, with a total weight of 25 tons, has a 75 mm long-barreled gun with armor-piercing shells that can penetrate 1,300 x 60 mm of protective armor. The vehicle-mounted machine gun was 7, 62 mm each, and the crew was 4 people.

Cheetah-1 tank with a 420 hp engine. The thickness of the frontal armor was 80 mm, and the weakest point of the side was 20 mm. There is no doubt that in terms of protection performance and strike firepower, it completely surpassed the Japanese Type 97 tank. According to Ouyang Jian's plan, the Xi'an Tank Factory of the Eighth Route Army will launch the Cheetah-2 tank next year, with a total weight of 36 tons and an artillery caliber of 100 mm. For the Eighth Route Army, the development process of the Cheetah 1 tank can be described as a hardship.

In 34, Ouyang Jian secretly established a tank research institute in the Jiujiang base area. At that time, it was poor and white, and in the early days, through the study of foreign tank prototypes, and repeated tests on the tractor body. After 8 years of exploration, failure and imitation, it has successively broken through the engine technology, and after the heart problem was solved, it has successively broken through the smelting of special steel. At present, the tank arsenal of the Eighth Route Army is unable to produce tanks on a large scale, mainly due to the constraints of special steel. Because the tank steel of the Eighth Route Army can only be obtained from new smelting by using scrap steel, this restricts the large-scale production of tanks.

Since it is impossible to form a scale in quantity, it is necessary to find a gap in quality, so Ouyang Jian wants to make the armored troops of the Eighth Route Army a sharp knife-type assault force, and give the Japanese army a fatal blow at a critical moment. The Battle of Baotou is an important link involving the counteroffensive against Shanxi, and if the Battle of Baotou is to be carried out smoothly, the elimination or defeat of the 18th Tank Brigade of the Japanese Army is an important link. At present, the strength of the Japanese army in Baotou is: an infantry brigade, a chariot brigade, and a puppet army of 30,000 people.

Li Yunlong ordered his tanks to advance with great fanfare, which was done intentionally. Sure enough, the news was soon learned by Kameda Takeo, and the Japanese army was shocked and immediately studied countermeasures. On this day, intelligence was collected in the Japanese army headquarters one after another, and after repeated reconnaissance by reconnaissance and cavalry, the situation of the tank unit of the Eighth Route Army was generally ascertained. "Your Excellency General, at present, the tank unit of the Eighth Route Army is about 70 kilometers away from the front banner of Ulante, and the speed of their advance is very slow. The sudden dispatch of tank units by the enemy must have come to deal with us. The chief of staff of the Japanese army analyzed.

Kameda looked at the picture of the US tank on the wall and said: "Now we can clearly judge that the tank equipped by the Eighth Route Army is an M3 medium tank produced in the United States. It seems that the American M3 tank has been improved, but there is nothing to fear. "In Kameda's eyes, German tanks are first-class, Soviet-style tanks are cheap and good, only American tanks are garbage. It is also true that in the early days of World War II, the tanks produced by the United States were inferior to the Japanese tanks in terms of fame and combat capability.

It is not that the United States does not have the ability to develop advanced tanks, but that the battlefield does not need US ground forces to participate in the war for the time being. Therefore, the United States devoted its main energy to warplanes and warships, which was the reason why the Japanese army did not look down on American tanks. Li Yunlong's fanfare to expose the target was to make Kameda Takeo misjudge and be fooled. There is no doubt that Kameda identified the tanks of the Eighth Route Army as M3 tanks produced in the United States. The difference lies in the fact that the M3 tank originally had two guns, and this improved version is nothing more than the removal of one gun.

"The biggest drawback of the American tank is that the protective armor is weak, and I want to use anti-tank guns to hit it hard and eat this armored unit of the Eighth Route Army. A report was immediately sent to the Taiyuan Command, and it was also ascertained that the tank unit of the Eighth Route Army, which suddenly appeared, was an M3 medium tank produced in the United States. The number of tanks of the Eighth Route Army is 105, and our department decided to eat this tank unit of the Eighth Route Army! Soon Itatsuko Seishiro called and agreed to meet Kameda Takeo. Itahima Seishiro believed that although the Eighth Route Army was equipped with American-style tanks, the number was limited, and the tank units of the Eighth Route Army must be nip in the bud and must not be allowed to become full-fledged.

Receiving the order of Itayo Seishiro, Kameda decided to decisively decide to fight a decisive battle against the tank troops of the Eighth Route Army on the west side of the Urad Front Banner. The deployment is: the Type 97 tank is located at the front, attracting enemy tanks to attack, and allowing the rear anti-tank howitzers to strike, which can play a concealed role. Armored combat vehicles are located at the rear, and when the enemy tank collapses, the armored combat vehicle uses its high-speed cross-country ability to strike at the enemy's logistics forces.

When night came, about 20 kilometers away from the Urad Front Banner, Li Yunlong ordered to stop advancing. Tents were erected on the steppe, and the tank crews began to rest. A bonfire was blazing, and the officers above the company sat around the bonfire. Li Yunlong looked around at the generals and said: "According to the reconnaissance, the 18th Tank Brigade of the Japanese Army has set up a posture to meet the battle, which is the result we expected, presumably the Japanese army believes that the tanks we are equipped with are American-style tanks." In the eyes of the Japanese army, American tanks were vulnerable, so the Japanese commanders would adopt countermeasures against American tanks. ”

"The commander of the 18th Tank Brigade of the Japanese Army is called Kameda Takeo, who is familiar with the theory of tank warfare, and this person has been trained in armored operations in Germany, and will definitely adopt the mode of combat of German armored forces. Our tanks were superior to the Japanese tanks, but in order to avoid battle damage and destroy this Japanese armored force. How to win a single blow is to take advantage of the fact that the Japanese army does not know the truth and no one is arrogant in their eyes, and in one fell swoop to play the prestige of our Eighth Route Army tanks. ”

"According to our understanding of the Japanese Type 97 tank, its Type 97 to Type 1 tank does not pose a mortal threat to us, but the Japanese army's anti-tank howitzers pose a great threat to me. How to restrain the power of the Japanese anti-tank howitzers is the key to tomorrow's engagement. Liu Xiaofeng! "Here!" "You set out at midnight with six tanks. and fought in a roundabout way from the south flank. You are required to appear on the south side of the Urad Front Banner at 10 o'clock tomorrow, and your mission is to storm the Japanese anti-tank howitzer positions from the south side and eliminate their threat! ”

"Please rest assured that the brigade commander will complete the mission!" The firelight reflected Liu Xiaofeng's cheeks, and passion flickered on his face. "Gu Jun!" "Here!" "Tomorrow the assault, your battalion is in the middle of the assault position, launch an assault. The 2nd Regiment followed up as a supporting assault force, do you understand? "Understood!" All the officers replied loudly. "Now that the combat mission is clear, let's go back and take a break, and start pulling out in the morning! Liu Xiaofeng, you stay! ”

At midnight, Liu Xiaofeng set off with six tanks and a cavalry detachment. The cavalry detachment had about a platoon of strength, which was specially sent by Fu Zuoyi to assist in the battle. They are familiar with the local terrain and act as guides. The sound of the dark savannah was deafening, the tanks were illuminated by headlights, and two oil drums were strapped to the back of each tank, which could be refueled on the way. The front cavalry detachment led the way, and 6 two tanks were following up. The stars twinkled in the sky, sometimes blinking and peeking.

Liu Xiaofeng retracted his body and said: "Everyone changes shifts to drive the tank, the others are fully rested, we have to drive continuously, we must maintain strong energy." After he finished speaking, he picked up the walkie-talkie and gave the order to the other tank crews to take turns to rest. The driver, under his orders, reluctantly gave up his driving position. Despite the rolling grassland, the terrain is very flat, which is ideal for tank driving. After daybreak, according to the report of the cavalry detachment, they reached the southern switchback.