At the same time as the 1st Cavalry Division made a breakthrough, the Tan 1st Division and the Tan 2nd Division on their left flank also began to open up the situation after some adjustments, and even achieved much more brilliant results than the 1st Cavalry Division.

The two tank divisions took advantage of the hazy morning darkness to quickly move forward, cut several large openings in the defense line of the Japanese 23rd Division, and at one point exchanged fire with some of the Japanese tank units assigned to the 23rd Division, our familiar old friend Petrovsky described this close battle:

"Comrade Rokossovsky was determined to launch an attack in the early morning, because during the day our tank units were constantly attacked by artillery from the depths of the Japanese army, and although the tank units were not too afraid of this kind of artillery bombardment, for the infantry brothers assigned to us to fight together, they would suffer very heavy casualties when they were exposed to artillery fire when fighting on foot, and if they could not keep up, the previous battle examples had proved that even if the tank units broke through the enemy's defenses, they could not hold the breakthrough......"

"I am well aware that Comrade Meretskov (commander of the 1st Tanian Division, Kirill. Afanasievich. Meretskov) why did the offensive task be entrusted to our regiment, compared to the BT-11 tanks equipped with the 12 and 26 regiments, the T-26 of our regiment was slightly more reliable. In previous battles, the BT-2 suffered frequent failures in field conditions, with about one-third of the BT-2's suspension system damaged or damaged, and some burned out due to spontaneous combustion of the engine. Let's put it this way, about 40% of the BT-2s in our division have lost their combat capability, and some of them have even been directly abandoned on the battlefield, because we have no qualified repair vehicles to tow them back, and the maintenance department of the division will not be able to repair them if they are towed back......"

“…… The 3 battalion of the 4 company, which was responsible for the main attack, had 5 T-26s left. It was crowded with infantry. Since the invention of the tactics of tank-mounted infantry combat. The fighters knew for themselves that they came to a conclusion - the T-26 was better than the BT-2! As an armored soldier, in my personal opinion, this result is unscientific, because in terms of performance, the BT-2 and the T-26 are not very different, and even the BT-2 has the advantage of mobility. It stands to reason that the BT-2 should be more popular, but why the opposite? I visited many companies. I personally consulted many tank crews and infantrymen, and the conclusions I came to made me laugh and cry. ”

"As far as tank crews are concerned, they prefer the BT-2, even if the BT-2 engine is bad, but this kind of tank support is easier, qualified tank crews can easily maintain the tank, and the BT-2 is very fast, for young people, this kind of car that can rush forward is very popular."

"But for the infantry, the conclusion is completely opposite. They agreed that the BT-2 was a terrible tank and that it was quite dangerous to go into battle on the BT-2. The reason is that the BT-2 is too fast. It is easy to throw off the infantry on the vehicle after rushing, especially when starting and braking. And because of its high speed, it is particularly bumpy when off-road, so there have been several tragic accidents. ”

"Of course, after carefully studying the information gathered, I came to a fairly objective conclusion that the performance of the BT-2 is still good, except that the dual-purpose design of wheels and shoes is not practical, it is very suitable for our fighters with low cultural qualifications. As for the problem of not being suitable for carrying infantry in combat, in fact, this is not a design problem, because at the beginning of its design, it was not intended to be used as a battlefield taxi. The solution to this problem is actually very simple, that is, to develop a tracked vehicle for mechanized infantry that can act with tanks, and it is really not possible to temporarily weld handrails on the body of the BT-2, at least some of our smart fighters have already begun to do so......"

"To get back to the point, the four companies of the main attack advanced along the continuous mound, and the enemy artillery fired only a few shots in a messy way on the way. Upon reaching the anticline of a large mound, the company began to make a sharp turn to the east, ready to begin the assault. At this time, the large-scale artillery bombardment of our army also began, and a curtain wall of iron and fire fell in front of the Japanese army in an instant, which looked so gorgeous! ”

At the beginning, the fourth company progressed very smoothly, breaking through the first line of defense of the Japanese army in one fell swoop, and just as they were about to strike with the hot iron, the Japanese chariot unit appeared!

Semyon, a veteran of the battle, recalled: "Just as we were crossing the enemy's trenches, suddenly a dazzling flash of fire flashed in front of our eyes, accompanied by an explosion, and we were hit!" I don't know what enemy weapons hit us, but the tank immediately burned, and the order to abandon the car was not necessary, but our turret had to be turned away, because the barrel blocked the driver's hatch! Eventually, I was the last to escape from the tank, and before I could catch my breath, the turret flew out with a loud bang...... If I had been three seconds slower, I would have had to go up with the turret! ”

There were not many tank crews as unlucky as Semyon, because the 23 Division did not have many tanks, and in front of the sea of tanks of the Red Army, they were instantly drowned. By 11 a.m., Petrovsky's regiment had largely accomplished its objectives, and even his troops had the strength to launch another attack in the afternoon. And Meretskov also quickly let them go on the offensive!

This time, Petrovsky's target was the headquarters of the 64th Infantry Wing of the 23rd Division, which had been built into a "fortress" by the Japanese army, equipped with a large number of mortars, machine guns and infantry guns, and most importantly, the surrounding terrain was flat and uncovered. For the infantry to attack such a "fortress" alone was simply to send him to death, so Meretskov gave Petrovsky's regiment the task of attacking the fortification and transferred an infantry battalion and divisional artillery regiment to support him.

However, due to poor coordination, the 2nd Battalion of the 203rd Infantry Regiment, which was assigned to Petrovsky, arrived on the battlefield at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, so that the original attack plan had to be postponed.

Petrovsky later recalled: "It was a terrible plan, our troops had almost zero experience in night battles, and a sudden heavy rain at night also made the battlefield muddy, which turned the subsequent combat operations into a nightmare." ”

Petrovsky was right. Something went terribly wrong from the start. His tank regiment, which had never been coordinated, and the 203 battalion of the 2 regiment lost contact shortly after departure. While Petrovsky's tank regiment was struggling with the muddy roads, the 203rd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment overtook the cover of the tank units and rushed to the front.

So much so that when Petrovsky's tank regiment caught up, he thought that it was a reconnaissance unit of the Japanese army, and the Red Army tank crew, who had no experience in night fighting, punched his infantry, which not only caused a large number of unnecessary casualties to the 203rd regiment 2, but also completely bankrupted the night attack!

The enemy 64 Infantry Wing soon began firing, and the 203 Battalion of the 2nd Regiment was nailed to the ground by a net of fire from machine guns and mortars. It's not good. Petrovsky immediately made a decision and ordered his troops to attack in two directions, bypassing the infantry blocking the front.

However, the Japanese defense was indeed quite complete, and in front of Petrovsky was a cleverly arranged minefield, and several T-26s did not go far before the tracks were blown off by mines, and the tank crews had to brave the Japanese artillery fire to carry out emergency repairs.

At the same time, the 2nd Battalion of the 203rd Regiment saw that the situation was very unfavorable and did not continue to fight hard, but chose to retreat immediately, but they did not inform Petrovsky of the retreat, and the latter thought that the infantry was still on the battlefield. By the time he found out that the infantry had run away. His troops had already broken through the Japanese lines.

A soldier of the 64th Wing of the Japanese Army wrote down the scene: "Our line of defense has been breached, and there are tanks of Lucia's ghost animals everywhere. The enemy's artillery and machine guns had devastating consequences, and our cars were destroyed one by one, forcing our drivers to take cover everywhere. In order to avoid the rain of bullets, the driver Kyyoshi Shiro desperately reversed the car, and ran over directly from the squad leader Yoshino Ito and Yamada Yusaku Soldier Cao, this panicked idiot did not escape death in the end, and with the flash of fire, a grenade blew Kyoyoshi Shiro along with his car! ”

Petrovsky's tanks almost turned the forward positions of the 64th Wing into a sea of fire, but Petrovsky was not happy at all, his troops also paid a lot of money in order to break through the position, and the most important thing is that where did the 203rd battalion of the 2nd regiment go, without the support of the infantry, his troops simply could not hold the breakthrough!

It was at this time that the Japanese finally recovered from their initial panic, and soon the 13th Field Artillery Wing began to shell fiercely near the breach. And the 64th Wing also began to organize troops for counter-charge.

Petrovsky saw a constant stream of diminutive Japanese soldiers running with rifles and small steps, and from time to time raising their heads to shoot at his tank. Even the 64th Wing organized a roundabout back attack. This made Petrovsky, near the breach, jump to his feet in a hurry, and constantly yell into the radio.

And at this time, Meretskov in the rear also found out that the situation was wrong, obviously there was a fierce battle on the front line, how could the 203 battalion of the 2nd regiment that cooperated with Petrovsky run back? He quickly figured out the truth of the matter, and immediately ordered the 203rd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment to return to the battlefield immediately, not only that, but he also ordered the divisional artillery regiment to bombard the Japanese positions, and even directly requested Rokossovsky to let the 152-mm howitzers of the army's artillery regiment also join the bombardment.

With the return of the 203rd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment to the battlefield, and with the artillery of the Red Army and Petrovsky's insistence, the Japanese counterattack was finally repulsed. However, this did not mean that the next thing was to be done, in fact, the two armies fought fiercely around the headquarters of the 64th Wing, and it was not until dawn that the Japanese withdrew from the battlefield when Red Army fighters also came to help.

That is to say, a surprise attack was turned into a strong attack, and the command of the 64th Wing, which should have been annihilated, also fled, and in terms of the process, this was a military operation that was disorganized and the result was quite chicken. From Petrovsky's words: "From the very beginning, this was a mistake!" ”

The later Marshal of the Soviet Union, Meretskov, also recalled: "This battle taught me a truth: our Red Army was full of problems from organization to training, and quite a few orders and tactics were taken for granted...... For example, in the night battle, compared to our enemy, the Red Army's appearance in the night battle was quite clumsy......"

Of course, although the results of this night battle were not ideal, on the operational map of the First Army of Mechanized Infantry, there was not much left of the positions in the upper reaches of the Hellasten River that the Japanese had occupied, and Rokossovsky would soon break through the Japanese defenses. Walk through Normon Cambur Ao Bao towards Lake Ujur. Soon he will be able to join up with the 4th Cavalry Division. Complete the division and encirclement of the 23rd Division on the ground.

Rokossovsky gave the order for a new offensive the next day: the 1st and 2nd Tanzi divisions would concentrate with the 1st Moroccan Division for the final breakthrough of the enemy's 23rd division. 2. The 1st Tan Division was responsible for the main attack, the 2nd Tan Division was responsible for the deep breakthrough, and the 1st Motorcycle Division was responsible for sweeping the remnants of the Japanese army. 3. The divisional artillery units of all divisions must simultaneously launch a dense artillery bombardment of Normun Cambul Aobao with all their might, 4. The attack will begin at 3 o'clock on May 12.

In the early morning of the 12th, the Red Army launched an attack on time as ordered, but the Japanese resistance still exceeded Rokossovsky's estimates, and the Japanese army at Normun Cambur Ao Bao took the meat bullet tactics to the extreme, and Petrovsky's tank regiment took great effort to rush into the Japanese line. The 203rd Infantry Regiment, which followed closely, engaged in repeated tug-of-war with the Japanese near the breach, until finally engaged in a brutal white-knuckle battle.

The red-eyed Japanese would die with the Red Army with grenades and explosives packs, and the attackers had to constantly ask for tank and artillery support. After a series of fierce battles, the Red Army's infantry and tank coordination finally began to mature under the stimulation of flesh and blood:

Once the Japanese fire point is encountered, the infantry immediately covers the tank and allows the tank to knock out the enemy's fire point. When the Japanese armed with explosives tried to destroy the tank division, the infantry guarded around the tanks and killed the madmen one by one.

After ten hours of fierce fighting, the 1st Mechanized Infantry Corps completely broke through the Japanese positions at Normon Camble Obao, and the remnants of the 64th Japanese Wing had to retreat hastily with their tails between their legs. At this time, the firepower of the Red Army artillery also reached its peak, and even many shells fell on the heads of friendly troops who were rapidly penetrating in depth.

Mazov, a combat hero of the 203rd Battalion of the 1st Infantry Regiment, recalled: "The sudden heavy rain in the morning made the roads under our feet extremely muddy. Almost every step was a foot high and a foot low, mixed with mud and mud, and on the long front the various companies entered their respective positions, and we cursed the mud as we staggered forward exhausted. From time to time, the people at the front of the line disappeared into the morning mist of dawn. I don't know how long it took, but finally the order to stop the advance came. I immediately sat down weakly and closed my eyelids for a moment. After about ten minutes, I was woken up, and when I opened my eyes, the morning fog had basically disappeared, the sun was high in front of me, and my comrades around me were silently munching bread or enjoying the last cigarette before the quiet ended......"

Soon the order came down, we packed up and moved quickly, and soon we heard the sound of engines and guns of the tank units rushing to the front, and when we rushed to the battlefield, the whole battlefield was already open, a dozen machine guns were spraying bullets, and mortar shells were falling from time to time to blow up large pieces of dirt or stones into the sky...... In the face of a hail of bullets, we started to charge at full speed, and the muddy ground kept us tripping, and after getting up from the mud, we continued to rush forward, and then the next time we fell......"

"I landed at the back of the line as I rushed to the first dirt bag, because the explosion of a mortar shell knocked me into a fight, and I staggered forward with mud all over my body. When I climbed the small mound, I saw a Japanese dwarf, and when I was about to raise my gun to shoot, my comrade-in-arms Laminsky jumped past me and stabbed the little devil in the stomach with a bayonet, and this tenacious devil did not die immediately, but endured severe pain and was ready to pull the grenade on his waist, at this time I reacted, and without hesitation, I fired three shots in a row, and smashed the devil's brain......"

"The first murder made me a little uncomfortable, those red and white brains made me gag, and just when I bent over and vomited, the mortar shells fell again, and then I didn't care about vomiting anymore, picked up my rifle and rushed into the devil's trench with Laminsky......"

"After a few minutes, the mortar bombardment stopped, but the strange cries of the devils came into my ears again, and I cautiously poked my head out of the trenches, and at a glance I saw a horde of devils rushing towards us with guns, and I looked at Laminsky for a moment, and then without hesitation began to raise my gun...... Crackling, I shot all ten bullets in the chamber of the SKS20 gun in one go, and then pressed a clip of bullets to continue shooting, and so on two or three times, I can't remember how many devils I killed, because this group of madmen is not afraid of death at all, and blood will only make them more crazy......"

"When I emptied the magazine again, the nearest devil was already ten meters away, and I didn't have time to reload, just when I was a little overwhelmed, the company commander Valentin raised his pistol and began to shoot at the devil, I suddenly came to my senses, opened my holster and pulled out my pistol, and began to shoot at the devil like a company commander. And the other comrades also loaded their guns and began to rush towards the devil! ”

"Miserable, after the first round of white-knuckle fighting, all I had left was that word. The company commander was disemboweled by a devil while loading the bullet, his intestines flowed to the ground, and Laminsky was also stabbed in the thigh, and it is estimated that he can only walk with a limp for the rest of his life...... I lit a cigarette with trembling hands, looked at the blood-stained battlefield, and shivered, until the platoon commander Vladi slapped me on the shoulder: 'Comrade instructor, the company commander has died, according to the regulations, you should take over the command!' ’。 I swallowed a mouthful of spit, glanced at the remaining comrades of the whole company, and felt a lot of pressure......" (To be continued......

PS: Bow and thank you to hzwangdd, pig dashing 2 and comrade Juventus!