Episode 90 Tank Charge

After 40 minutes of continuous bombing, 180 Swan bombers were escorted by 40 fighters, and the remaining 150 dive bombers remained, except for 35 bombs that ran out, the remaining 115 remained over the battlefield, and under the protection of 40 fighters, continued to suppress the Qing army's Shanxi Corps without interruption.

The Shanxi garrison of the Ming army was already advancing synchronously at the time of the attack (5:00). When the Ming army stopped in Shanxi and accepted negotiations, the forefront had advanced to Xiaoyi County. Now, after an hour and a half of rapid mechanized advance, when the first bomb fell on the head of the Qing army (6:35), the Shanxi Ming army had advanced to the area of Qingxu County and Taigu County.

By the time the Ming army bombed the large group of planes and returned home, leaving only the dive bombers to maintain suppression (7:15), the vanguard of the Ming army had already appeared in the south of Taiyuan City, only a few kilometers away.

Now that it is in the middle of the war, the high command in Beijing has been in a state of operation, so the reaction will not be like on D-Day, which will be reported to Guangwu only a few hours later. About an hour after the bombing began, Guangwu had learned the news.

By now, when the vanguard of the Ming army drove to the city of Taiyuan, Guangwu had already learned that the Southern Ming had attacked for an hour and fifteen minutes.

Guangwu had passed the initial state of shock at this moment, and now he was holding his forehead and staring at the various reports and recitals in front of him with red eyes. The generals in the command room were busy, and there were phone calls one after another, each of which seemed to be a needle pricked in Guangwu's temple.

At present, only the situation of the attack on the eastern battlefield is relatively detailed, and the situation in the western battlefield, that is, Shanxi, is still unclear.

The telephone system in Taiyuan City was destroyed by Nanming spies, and now the telephone cannot be contacted, only by telegram. The problem was that the telegram was not clear, and the Taiyuan side only said that a large number of planes flew overhead, and then they heard the incessant explosions in the north outside the city, and the ground and window glass trembled. A large amount of smoke was blown into the city by the north wind, choking people out of breath.

No matter how detailed the situation is, I don't know.

As for the eastern battlefield, the reported information is relatively accurate. Because after all, the Central Plains Corps has been preparing here for a long time, and all kinds of basic position fortifications and facilities are relatively in place, and what they do every day is to prevent a sudden attack by the Ming army. So now it has really been attacked by the Ming army, and it must be much more violent than the western battlefield, but the Central Plains Corps has not yet become a mess.

Guangwu is now puzzled, how did the Ming army know that his Shanxi Corps was hiding in the dense forest north of Taiyuan?

Could it be yesterday's so-called "Taiyuan intelligence"? Apparently not. This is obviously a long-planned attack by Nan Ming, and now looking back, everything yesterday was just Nan Ming's play. The hateful thing is that he was actually fooled and accompanied Nanming to be a fool for a while. In front of the whole world, his government spokesman swore solemnly and solemnly to "refute the rumors," saying that the Qing army did not have a single soldier in Shanxi...... Now it's equivalent to slapping yourself in a big mouth, and then you have to knock out your front teeth and swallow it in your stomach:

- He was obviously attacked by a sneak attack, but he became a sneak attacker in front of the whole world; And the Ming army was obviously a sneak attacker, but it became a legitimate defense in front of the whole world.

……

Guangwu thought hatefully, and at the same time, he finished approving an order twice and threw it to the staff officer standing aside:

"All airfields conceal aircraft, preserve strength, and prohibit engaging the enemy except for necessary reconnaissance forces! Take it and send it! ”

Then, after signing another order, he threw it to another staff officer:

"Order the Central Plains Corps to pay attention to air defense concealment, stabilize the troops at all costs, stick to the defensive line, and not be allowed to retreat! We must stabilize the troops, stabilize and stabilize again! This is the top priority! Take it and send it! ”

Then, after signing another order, he threw it to the third staff officer:

"Order the Beijing-Tianjin Corps to immediately dispatch 8 Manchurian Eight Banner Divisions to move south along the Jingnan Line within three hours, and establish a defensive line along the Jingnan County in Baoding-Shijiazhuang to prevent the Shanxi Ming Army from attacking the Zhili Plain from west to east! Take it and send it! ”

"Send the Central Plains Corps Headquarters and order its headquarters to transfer about 100 large-caliber anti-aircraft guns to strengthen Jinan's air defense ring and closely protect the Yellow River Bridge!"

"Begin to play the Emperor!" A staff officer hurriedly ran over, and a Qian'er went down, and then said, "Lord Wuyingshou of Xuzhou has called, asking for instructions on whether to shrink the 20 divisions along the coast of the Shandong Peninsula to the middle of the peninsula?" ”

Ulanara - Youngju? Commander of the Central Plains Corps?

Guangwu pinched his forehead, waved his hand and asked:

"What does he mean? How so? ”

The staff officer repeated:

"Your Majesty, what Lord Wu means is that these 20 divisions are placed on the Shandong Peninsula to prevent the Ming army from landing, but if the Ming army lands, its naval artillery firepower will definitely far exceed that of our defenders, and if we directly defend the port, our defenders will inevitably be overwhelmed and unable to raise their heads, and they will suffer heavy losses before the Ming army lands. In addition, there are more than 10 large and small ports along the Shandong coast that meet the landing requirements, and these 20 divisions are scattered and garrisoned, and the troops in each place are too weak, and once they are attacked by the Ming army, it may be difficult to hold them.

"What Lord Wu means is that these 15 divisions will be transferred from various coastal ports to the interior, and in the center of the peninsula, they will not only avoid the superior naval and air firepower of the Ming army, but also occupy the advantage of the inner line, so that they can quickly concentrate on the port where the Ming army landed, and meet the Ming army with superior forces. And if the direction of Xuzhou is tightened, these 20 divisions will be closer to reinforcement......"

Guangwu waved his hand and frowned:

"No, tell him that the troops in the direction of Xuzhou are enough. Now the question is not how many more divisions there are, how many divisions are less. As long as his soldiers can fight, it is enough to take out dozens of more divisions. Those 20 divisions were placed in Shandong, specifically to prevent landings. Where to put it if it is not put in the port? …… He still wants to concentrate inland? Or 'inside line advantage'? You ask him for me, if he doesn't have air supremacy, he will concentrate inland, will he still be transferred back?

"Naval guns? I don't know that the Ming warship artillery is powerful? But the naval artillery only bombarded for a while, just dodge in the trench, and then they could directly meet the Ming army. If they are all concentrated inland, it will be bombed non-stop, let alone marching, can he ensure that the troops will not be blown up? Go ahead, just say it to him! Let him fight well, focus on the direction of Xuzhou, and leave Shandong's affairs alone. ”

"Huh!"

Then came another Air Force staff officer:

"Your Majesty! The reconnaissance planes sent to the Taiyuan front were all shot down! Lord Bai, please instruct, isn't it ......?"

"Keep pieting!" Guangwu said angrily, "If you shoot it down, you won't send it?" What do I want him to do? What is the purpose of raising so many pilots? I asked him to save his strength and not to fight with the Ming army planes, that is the air battle I am talking about! Didn't say no scouting! Tell him, if you don't do anything today, how many planes are lost, how many people die, you have to find out the losses of the Shanxi Corps for me! Take all the pictures back to me! Go ahead! ”

"Huh!"

After giving a series of orders, Hirotake collapsed weakly in his chair and stared blankly at the large map on the wall.

…… The Beijing-Tianjin Corps has already begun to be used.

He never thought that the battle would be fought like this. 5 Praetorian Divisions, 14 Full Eight Banner Divisions. There are so many troops left in the Gongwei Jing Division now. Now 8 have been transferred to the southern border defense, and there are still 11 left near the Jingshi. Five of them were pampered Praetorian Guards. The level of equipment and the quality of the soldiers of the Praetorian Guard Division are not said. But who knows if these sons and brothers can fight? He came to power in a coup d'état, and he still knows a lot about the situation of the various armies around Jingshi. When it comes to the Praetorian Guard, he is not as optimistic as others.

Although Guangwu ordered continuous reconnaissance and found out the situation of the Shanxi Corps. However, he ordered the Beijing-Tianjin Corps to establish a defensive line along the Baoding-Shijiazhuang line, which made it clear that Shanxi would be lost to the Ming army. …… In fact, this is also the most realistic choice to make when there is no way to return to the sky.

Shanxi now has only those 20 divisions of the Shanxi Corps. Now that it has been bombarded on such a large scale by the Ming army, and it is in the woods and the density of troops is so large, the losses must have been quite heavy. In December, the mountains and forests of Shanxi were so dry that they could almost drill wood for fire...... Under the double attack of bombs and wildfires, Guangwu estimated that the casualty rate of the Shanxi Corps would not be less than 30%. If it is not optimistic, it is estimated that half of the casualties will be lost.

Even if the casualty rate is only 25%, then it is difficult to expect them to be able to restore the formation, organize defenses, and meet the Ming army.

After fighting with the Ming army for so long, Guangwu can almost guess now: at the same time as the bombers took off, the mechanized and motorized troops of the Ming army in Shanxi were already advancing northward on wheels. At this time, they may have already arrived in Taiyuan. In other words, as soon as the half-burned soldiers climbed down the mountain, they were about to face the surging tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled guns of the Ming army.

Therefore, the Shanxi Army can no longer be counted on. …… Then Shanxi can only be lost to the Ming army first. What needs to be ensured now is the North Zhili Plain, as well as the Beijing-Tianjin Defense Circle.

……

The eastern battlefield, Suzhou-Suining-Suqian, is the first line of defense of the Qing army.

The soldiers of the Qing army are now huddled in the trenches, their eyes closed, their ears blocked, shivering in the tremor of the landslide, and they feel the apocalypse.

The Ming army began to attack at six o'clock in the morning, and until now, they have not seen a shadow of the Ming army. In the middle of two hours, the position was an explosion except for an explosion. Tons and tons of dirt were lifted into the air. No one dared to look up. Otherwise, you will never see the sun, only the billowing smoke and the black dirt that is constantly being lifted into the sky.

Bombers covering the sky and the sun were still flying in a roaring formation, dropping dense "hail bombs." These bomblets are designed to deal with trenches. Although the power is relatively small, it is expensive in high density, and there are always many that fall directly into the trenches. Moreover, it is said that it is "not very powerful", but it is "relatively small", which is compared with several hundred kilograms of aerial bombs. These "bomblets" are also converted from 100-mm mortar shells, which are themselves a heavy shell.

Once a "hailstone" falls into the trench, it can immediately kill all the Qing soldiers in the trench nearly ten meters long. At the same time, if it is a narrow trench, then this section is no longer a trench, but a large-diameter crater. In addition to the bombs, on the positions of the Ming army in the south, artillery shells that also covered the sky flew over. Most of the earth-shattering explosions on the Qing army's positions were the masterpieces of these artillery. Every time these 150-millimeter shells land, they have the effect of a meteorite.

This time, the Ming army changed the previous practice of directly advancing with tanks and carried out long-term firepower preparations. The Ming army command knew that the Qing army's Central Plains Corps was fully prepared this time, and both the strength and firepower density were quite large, and if the Ming army did not prepare for firepower and directly advance with tanks, I am afraid that the losses would be relatively large.

Although this kind of long-term bombardment and then charge is the standard style of fighting in the European War in 1914-1918, the Ming army has never used it against the Qing army since the start of the Ming and Qing wars. This style of play, although traditional, is also very classic. Long-term firepower preparation is a very effective way of fighting that mankind has explored for a long time in the hot weapon war. Not only can it kill and injure as many enemy troops and destroy fortifications as possible before charging, but it can also inflict great mental torture on enemy troops hiding in trenches. If the enemy army is loosely disciplined and not strong-willed, it is likely to have a nervous breakdown. Therefore, this method of warfare should still be very useful against the Qing army. What's more, when the Ming army charged, it was not flesh and blood that faced the enemy's machine guns and barbed wire, but tanks.

At eight o'clock in the morning, after three hours of fire preparation, the Ming tanks began to charge.