Episode 95 The Night of the Brave

The Fifth Armored Division of the People's Guard Corps lived up to its high expectations, and once it tore a hole, it immediately gave full play to the advantages of the armored division, like a rapid torrent of steel, from Suqian County all the way to the east.

The defense line of the Qing army focused on the Shangqiu-Suqian line, with Xuzhou as the center. But the two sides are relatively weak. In particular, the Qing army was attacked during the major change of defense, and there was no coordination between the various armies, divisions, and regiments, and there was chaos. In addition, more than half of the second-line transfers were Han troops, and the quality of weapons was not comparable to that of the Eight Banners Division that was transferred. The "feast of unspoken rules" of the Qing army's military industrial system for many years finally blossomed on a large scale at this time.

For a time, some machine guns jammed, some rifles did not fire, some anti-tank guns blew up, and some mortar shells did not move for half a day after filling the barrels...... The most terrifying thing is the last one, the shell slipped into the bottom of the barrel, it was supposed to be a crisp explosion, and then the shell hit out in an instant, but now the bottom fire does not detonate, and there is no movement for a long time, and I don't know if it is the problem of the shell or the problem of the firing pin.

If it is a breech gun, you can also pull the breech open at this time to take out the shell. But the breech gun was in trouble. With mortars the most afraid of this situation. At this time, whether it is carrying the cannon body to dump the shells out, or lying on the side of the cannon to check it, it is all playing with life. None of the two or three people in an artillery crew had that awareness, and they usually shouted and fled in all directions, and even the artillery and ammunition were directly abandoned.

The Fifth Armored Division regained the feeling it had at the beginning of its launch, and rushed all the way behind the first line of defense of the Qing army, breaking through 30 kilometers in two hours and reaching Shuyang County at 3 p.m. Immediately after that, it broke through 30 kilometers in three hours, and at six o'clock in the evening, it directly hit Guanyun County. At this time, the 5th Panzer Division was only 50 kilometers from the sea.

……

The gap in the Qing army's defense line east of Suqian is getting bigger and bigger, and the current situation is that the Fifth Armored Division is alone in the depths, and even a motorized infantry division that follows up is left behind. Motorcycles are mainly composed of wheeled vehicles and are more dependent on roads. Although it is a military vehicle, its off-road performance is stronger than that of civilian vehicles, but its speed in the field is not comparable to that of a tracked vehicle after all. And now the Ming army has cut through the first line of defense of the Qing army, and between the first line and the second line, it is parallel and straight all the way.

However, the roads between these counties were occupied by the first-line Qing army defenders, and if the Ming army wanted to quickly outflank them behind them, they could not fight more, so they could only choose to advance in the fields. Otherwise, if the time drags on for a long time, the Qing army on the second line of Xinyi-Donghai-Haizhou will receive orders to attack the flank of the Ming army, which will be too dangerous.

The central command hall of the Nanjing Command Headquarters was in full swing all afternoon, and everyone's interest was very high, and even the few little female officers who were waiting for the huge map were also very energetic at the moment, and the little people who were climbing up and down the scaffolding were all happy, as if they were decorating their new home.

"Stand out!"

Tang Yunsheng was far away, raised his hand and shouted, and then continued to discuss with several generals.

Xiang Xiaoqiang agreed, and also said the last few words nervously with Li Gensheng, and then trotted all the way to the table of several old men. Now everyone is busy, and they all want to use one person for two people.

"It's pretty good," Zhang Zhao spoke first, "our army hasn't fought a night battle yet." ”

"yes, it doesn't seem to be yet. What," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "What does Ming Gong mean, continue to advance tonight?" ”

Zhang Zhaoxian nodded and said with a smile:

"Yes, I'm afraid we're going to continue tonight. Your armored division is okay, right? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang also nodded and smiled:

"I was thinking that I might have to attack continuously tonight, but I didn't expect Ming Gong to talk about me in front of me. The Panzer Division should be fine! We trained a lot for night battles. Guderian trained them not to be too fierce. Now it's time to pull it out and give it a try. ”

Zhang Zhaoxian nodded, very satisfied. Tang Yunsheng said with a smile:

"Hold on, immediately inform General Guderian and let the Panzer Division prepare to advance overnight. What division is Guderian in now? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"He's not in the Fifth Division. He is in the first division, and now he is in the direction of Xuzhou. However, these five armored divisions are under his command, and the fifth division must be no different from his personal leadership. ”

"Okay, make an order, order the Fifth Panzer Division to continue to advance, and not rest tonight. The Eighth Army in northern Jiangsu was ordered to transfer three motorized infantry divisions to quickly move closer to the Fifth Armored Division and cover it. In night battles, the armored division must be followed by an infantry division, otherwise it will be too dangerous. ”

"Students understand. Are we going to take Haizhou? ”

"Yes, our target is Haizhou. Advance 50 kilometers in 12 hours, and advance to the beach tomorrow morning, are you sure? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang pondered for a while, recalling Guderian's tank warfare books that later generations had read, and recalling his valuable practical experience in tank warfare in World War II.

"Advance four kilometers in an hour on average," Xiang Xiaoqiang said slowly, "...... in night conditions"

Zhang Zhao interjected first:

"Today is the 28th, which happens to be the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, the night of the full moon. Weather reports show that in eastern China, from southern Shandong to northern Jiangsu, it will be basically clear tonight, with slightly cloudy clouds. ”

This sentence immediately reminded Xiang Xiaoqiang. Tonight is the fifteenth full moon, and if there are not many clouds, the visibility is still ideal. As a condition of night fighting, can you ask for more?

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded and said:

"If I am not met with massive and stubborn resistance, I am confident that the armored forces will advance to the sea before dawn."

"How likely do you think there is a massive stubborn resistance?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the map, looked at the little people who were climbing up and down the little ones, thought about it for a while, and said slowly:

"Because our army has never attacked overnight since the start of the war, the Qing army should not have expected us to attack overnight, which will be very surprising to think about it. In addition, the Qing army's first-line defense line had just been torn apart and fell into a panic, and it was difficult to reorganize a strong defense in a short period of time, let alone change the direction of defense...... As for the second line, the Xinyi-Donghai-Haizhou garrison is 10-15 kilometers away from our army, plus it is night...... On the one hand, it is unlikely to take the initiative to attack south, and on the other hand, even if it attacks, it will be too late in time. …… Ming Gong, Tang Gong, and the students thought that there was little chance of mass resistance tonight. The students had the confidence to advance to the beach at dawn. ”

"Good!" Tang Yunsheng nodded with satisfaction, and asked again, "The question of the enemy army can be put aside first." But the biggest problem with a long and fast march at night is to keep the direction right. Stand out, most of our tanks and armored vehicles are advancing where there are no roads. In the bare fields, how are you going to keep the troops in the right direction of attack at all times? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang is confident about this. This is described in considerable detail in Guderian's "Tank, Forward". After a great deal of practice in World War II, Guderian listed at least four of the most practical methods. Here, Xiang Xiaoqiang is ready to use the most handsome one. He is going to show a classic scene from a later movie on the spot:

"Tang Gong," he asked with a smile, "do you have a lighter?" ”

Tang Yunsheng was puzzled, took out his lighter and handed it to him. Xiang Xiaoqiang also took out his own lighter.

Xiang Xiaoqiang held a lighter in each hand, and with two "poofs", two flames rose and danced together.

"Ming Gong, Tang Gong, please look," Xiang Xiao smiled, placing the two flames on a baseline, "I plan to light two large bonfires behind the attacking troops every ten kilometers. The commanders of the various units could turn around and look at the two fires at any time during the attack. If the two teams coincide, it means that the attack is in the right direction. ”

Then, with the movement of his arms, he staggered the two flames:

“…… If the commander found that the two campfires were not on the same line, it meant that the attack was in the wrong direction. ”

Zhang Zhaoxian and Tang Yunsheng looked at each other and smiled, nodding again and again, very satisfied with Xiang Xiaoqiang's method.

"Very good, stand out, just do it."

……

Night fell.

In northern Jiangsu, on the land of Huaihai, bright lights flicked through the bright arc in the night sky, brushed overhead, and then disappeared into the distance. Immediately afterward, flashes of light frequently crossed in the distance, and after a while, a lot of muffled sounds came. From time to time, a black cloud drifted through the sky, obscuring the full moon. I don't know if it's clouds or gunsmoke.

On the second line of defense of the Qing army, 20 kilometers to the north, thousands of artillery pieces were firing in unison. The Qing army was pouring artillery shells into the area between the two lines of defense, trying to plug the gaps with artillery. But the distance was too far, and it was night, and there were no even basic observations. Although there were many Qing artillery pieces that participated in the shelling, they really brought few losses to the Ming army.

In a bare field, a giant pyre three or four meters high was erected. It was mainly small trees and firewood, and a lot of rubber tires that had been scrapped by bombing were piled up during the period.

Several Ming soldiers climbed up the big pyre with gasoline barrels and dumped them "dong dong". In the end, the remaining gasoline was attached to the pyre.

Then, they all climbed down and stood more than ten meters away.

A command shouted:

"Ignition ————"

A torch was thrown in a circle. Suddenly, with a "boom", the entire firewood pile was burning, the flames soared up more than ten meters high, and the surrounding hundreds of meters suddenly brightened as day. Even from a few kilometers away, the giant bonfire could be seen very clearly.

Immediately after, more than a hundred meters away, another pile of the same giant flame also burst up. Two large bonfires are like two giants dancing on the earth.

In the distance, a signal flare soared into the sky.

Suddenly, the whole earth seemed to be in a roar. Countless engines started at the same time, and thousands of tanks and armored vehicles, as if out of the ground, began to move forward. By the good moonlight and firelight, all the vehicles had no lights, but the commander was exposed outside the turret, looking into the distance with wide eyes, discerning every shadow in the dim field.

In this war, the first large-scale night offensive of the Ming army began.

At the same time, the overhead began to be enveloped in a roar. Many soldiers looked up at the night sky. I saw a large group of black shadows flying by under the bright moon.

This was to coordinate with the bombing campaign carried out by the Army Air Force in conjunction with this night offensive.

More than 100 Swan bombers flew to the north and south of the Fifth Armored Division to bomb the first and second lines of the Qing army. This night bombardment, of course, will not have many losses, but it will also have few practical results. In low visibility, not many Qing troops would be effectively killed.

However, the purpose of this bombing was not to kill or injure, but to increase the atmosphere of terror, so that the Qing troops in the north and south felt too busy to take care of themselves, fell into more panic and confusion, and could not effectively organize themselves to flank the attacking troops of the Ming army on both sides.

In the dark, all vehicles travel only one-third to one-quarter of what they do during the day, and the speed is less than ten kilometers per hour. Because visibility was so poor, almost every tank and armored vehicle had a crew member who got out of the car and walked on foot, acting as an extra eye for the vehicle.

On the night of early winter, breathing in the dry, cold air of the north, every officer and soldier was both nervous and excited. They invariably remembered what Xiang Xiaoqiang had said to them:

- The night is always with the brave!