Mid-July.

Outside the city of Chengde.

As far as the eye can see, the scene outside the city at this time is completely different from the past, the original bustling crowd has disappeared, and the surrounding villages, large and small villages, and various buildings have also disappeared.

What came into view was only dense and continuous defensive positions.

Anti-tank fortifications almost covered the ground, one after another large and wide anti-tank trenches, one ring after another group of positions between the trenches, and the communication trenches connecting these positions.

After more than a month of construction, the defensive positions around Chengde have been fully formed at this time.

At this time.

Lieutenant General Kotaro Hattori, the supreme commander of the Japanese army and the former commander of the 1st Division, was standing on a high ground, holding a telescope and looking at the position in front of him.

Beside him, a devil major general was introducing:

"After replenishing the heavy artillery brigade, our artillery strength has increased greatly, but compared with the enemy, the gap is still very large, and the enemy is far superior to us in terms of number, caliber and range."

"In a frontal artillery battle, our side has no chance of winning."

After more than a month of confrontation and a terrifying baptism of firepower, the Japanese army of Chengde had completely recognized the reality and wanted to put on a frontal posture and attack the independent regiment, which was because they were not dying fast enough.

If you want to win, you can only think of other ways.

"Hmm."

Kotaro Hattori was still holding the binoculars, but he also nodded and hummed lowly.

"So."

The devil major continued:

"I scattered the infantry artillery and mountain artillery in various circular positions, gave full play to the advantages of mobility, participated in the battle in the form of a single gun, and immediately moved after firing at close range relying on the position to avoid being destroyed by the enemy's concentrated artillery fire."

"As for the heavy artillery, because of its poor mobility, I scattered it in the rear ring position, which can concentrate artillery if necessary, and can also fight with a single gun."

"Yo Si."

Hearing Major General Devil's report, Hattori Kotaro nodded with satisfaction.

"Well done."

Although the actual position deployment was decided by him and a group of division commanders and brigade commanders at a meeting, the specific implementation still needs to be fine-tuned according to the actual situation.

As long as the independent regiment dares to launch a large-scale attack, even if the opponent's artillery fire is fierce and there are many tanks, the locust army will rely on a large depth and perfect position group, which will inevitably allow it to come and go.

Leaving the position, Hattori Kotaro made his way to his underground headquarters, where a large sand table was in the center of the headquarters, above which was the terrain around Seitoku and the reduction of the fortifications.

Walking to the sand table, Hattori listened to the staff officer's report:

"The twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth mixed brigades have been formed, consisting of two infantry wings and an anti-armor brigade, and the total strength is currently on standby in Longhua and Pingquan."

"In accordance with your order, we have drawn a large number of military horses from other units to equip the 25th and 26th mixed brigades and regiments to strengthen their mobility."

"At the same time, anti-armor capabilities have also been strengthened, with the formation of a special anti-armor brigade equipped with the latest 75-mm anti-tank guns, and a large number of new anti-tank grenades in the infantry wings."

Every day he was trained by Ding Wei in actual combat and his experience was brushed up, and Hattori Kotaro had also been planning a counterattack, so he formed two mobile independent mixed brigades, planning to ambush and counterattack while the independent regiment was attacking.

"Still."

The staff officer paused before saying:

"There are only seven new 75-mm anti-tank guns, and the number of shells is seriously insufficient, so only some 47-mm anti-tank guns can be equipped."

After being bullied by the tanks of the Independent Regiment for so long, the little devils were also angry and tried to be strong, and finally created a new anti-tank artillery, compared with the first type, the caliber of the new anti-aircraft gun was greatly increased, set at 75 mm.

During its development, the experience of the German PARK41 was drawn.

The gun carriage is ready-made, and the devil was originally going to use a cone-chambered gun, but this thing is difficult to manufacture and has high requirements for cannon steel, so in the end it can only be used for ordinary schemes, and the depth of penetration is increased by increasing the amount of charge.

Because of the haste, less than ten guns have been produced so far, and there is a serious shortage of special artillery shells, seven of which have been allocated to the side of the Kwantung Army.

And.

There is no spare barrel, the quality cannot be guaranteed, the total weight is also very large, the gun squad cannot be pushed at all, and must rely on animal power, or tractor traction.

"Hmm."

Hattori nodded expressionlessly.

The weapon is a little worse, it's just that the casualties are a little bigger, and the problem is not big.

····

The other side.

Ping County.

The branch of the independent regiment led by Ding Wei is within the headquarters.

Regiment Commander Ding was lying on the map at this time, planning today's 'offensive' with the staff personnel, because most of them were newcomers, so every combat operation, even if it was just actual combat training, had been carried out dozens of times, and the troops were not familiar with it, and he also showed a 12-point attitude every time, without the slightest carelessness.

"We've been training for a month."

"Each time, two armored battalions, two artillery battalions, and three infantry battalions launched an attack, and under the cover of heavy artillery or aircraft, they broke through the devil's position for more than ten kilometers, and then retreated."

Head Ding said:

"The little devil is not a fool, and his own strength is still there, not to mention that the devil in front of us is the Kwantung Army, known as the flower of the locust, and after being beaten for so long, he must be formulating a counterattack plan."

"Let's talk about it, if you are little devils, what kind of counterattack plan will you make?"

Ding Wei looked around at the new and old staff officers of his headquarters.

The rapid expansion of the troops, the frequent appearance of powerful new equipment, and the supply of sufficient supplies that do not need to be considered at all have greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the troops, but they have also set higher demands on the capabilities of the troops' commanders.

After all, the tactics of a unit are determined by its level of equipment and supply.

At present, the independent regiment has a fully mechanized combat system, tanks, aircraft, transport trucks, armored vehicles, and boat and bridge engineering vehicles, and it is the top unit even in Europe and the United States.

Such a unit, even those senior staff officers who have endured the battlefield for a long time, walked out of the grassland, and even studied abroad, are somewhat inadequate.

Mechanized troops are a new discipline even abroad.

To command such a unit, it is necessary not only to have sufficient experience in actual combat and a keen sense of smell on the battlefield, but also to have a very deep understanding of the new equipment and the combat level of the troops, and also to have the spirit of daring to think and innovate.

Because a mechanized unit composed of these equipment, how to fight and achieve victory in the land of the Republic of China, which lacks infrastructure, requires a completely new set of operational command concepts.

For this reason, in recent times, Ding Wei has been vigorously cultivating his staff.

The newcomers and the old people are mixed together, and the experience is stable and bold and innovative are integrated with each other, and the three parties also organize exchange meetings with cadres at and above the battalion level from time to time to exchange experience with each other and improve their command ability.

"The best defense is offense."

A young twenty-four-five-year-old staff officer said, his tone smooth:

"But the battle has been fought so far, and the strength of the two sides is already known."

"The little devils know very well that we have built a large number of concrete fortifications around the perimeter of the position, established fire positions at all commanding heights, and arranged night reconnaissance equipment, whether it is an attack during the day or at night, they have no chance of winning."

"This point, many actual battles have proved that the little devil has launched as many as nineteen attacks in this month, day, night, rain, fog, and the scale ranges from division to squad level, and each time he has returned with a fiasco."

"So it's impossible for the little devils to attack."

"And in front of us, who have absolute armor superiority and mobility superiority, the victory in the plains will only be lower."

"The rest, there is only one possibility."

After a pause, he accentuated his tone:

"During our regular routine combat training, we will mobilize superior heavy troops, set up ambushes, and cut and annihilate a part of our attacking forces with the help of strong positions."

"I agree with Staff Officer Wang's point of view, the devil's current situation can only be to use the position to consume our strength."

When the words fell, everyone agreed.

"Anything else to add?"

Ding Wei looked around and continued to ask.

"Actually, the best way for the little devil to deal with it at the moment is to retreat."

Speakers began:

"The terrain around Chengde is flat, suitable for mechanized troops to fight, fighting here, the devil's chance of winning is very low, but, according to intelligence, the devil's base camp ordered a ban on retreat, which also cut off the possibility of Chengde devil's retreat."

“·····”

Everyone spoke freely and analyzed the current situation in many aspects.

"Hahaha..."

The lively scene in the command room made Ding Wei very happy.

Watching this group of rookies grow up step by step, Ding Wei felt happier than having won a big battle.

"So, is there a way to deal with it?"

Ding Wei continued to ask.

"It's simple."

A new staff officer stood up and replied:

"In the face of absolute strength, all intrigues and tricks are nothing."

"The little devil will definitely draw forces to form a mobile force to divide and encircle our attacking forces, so as long as we increase the strength of the offensive troops, we can make the little devils unable to eat and walk around."

"For example, we doubled the troops that originally attacked, attacking the devil's position from two directions at once, so that the little devils would lose sight of the other."

"Our staff has withdrawn from the exercise, and launched a two-sided attack at the same time, and our materials and troops are fully capable of doing it."

"This is our battle plan."

As he spoke, the staff officer handed Ding Wei a copy of the battle plan and explained:

"The 77th, 78th, and 79th Infantry Battalions, the 50th and 51st Armored Battalions, and the 51st and 52nd Artillery Battalions are all the way to attack the devil's position in the left flank area of Chengde, that is, in the Longhua area."

"Infantry, 83rd, 84th, 85th battalions, 54th and 55th armored battalions, and 55th and 56th artillery battalions are all the way to attack the devil's position in the right flank area of Chengde, that is, the Pingquan area."

"In this way, the skills can effectively deal with the division and encirclement of the devils, and it can also speed up the training of the troops."

"In addition, in order to prevent accidents, the 5th, 6th, and 7th A battalions are ready to support as reserves."

"Okay."

After reading the battle plan, Ding Wei's tone was pleased:

"Just follow this plan."

······

At the same time that Ding Wei was preparing for daily military training.

772 Regiment, regimental headquarters.

Cheng Shifa received an order.

"Drills?"

Cheng Shifa was a little flustered.

Now his 772nd Regiment is strong and strong, but all along, he has almost no work, at most he bullies and bullies the puppet army, encircles and suppresses some bandits, or makes some preserved people who can't see the situation clearly sober up.

"Yes."

The brigade commander who came to deliver the order said:

"Also participating in the exercise are the 773rd Regiment, the 775th Regiment, as well as the artillery regiment, the flying regiment, and the cavalry regiment."

"Such a big show?!"

Cheng Shifa was stunned.

The 773rd Regiment and the 775th Regiment, like his 772nd Regiment, are the newly changed main regiments, with a total strength of 5,000 troops, equipped with independent heavy artillery battalions, strong combat effectiveness, and a brigade of tough devils casually.

As for the three directly subordinate regiments, this is even more remarkable,

Directly under the artillery regiment, the word "directly under the command" means that it is directly under the command of the superiors, follows the actions of the superiors, and is equipped with the latest 125 howitzers and 203 self-propelled heavy howitzers.

The total number of planes is expected to be as high as 138 directly under the flight regiment and the large regiment equipped with transport planes, attack planes, and fighters, although there are only 54 planes at present because of the lack of pilots, but they are still strong in combat effectiveness, especially the latest air gunboats, each of which can withstand the firepower of a battalion.

Directly under the cavalry regiment.

Nowadays, the cavalry is outdated, and riding a horse can basically only deliver a letter and go through the motions, so this cavalry regiment, in fact, is an armored regiment, equipped with seventy-two tanks, and armored vehicles of the same size.

These seven regiments have a total strength of more than 30,000 people, and the total number of artillery pieces exceeds 1,000, including 300 artillery pieces of more than 100 calibers, more than 100 tanks and armored vehicles, and more than 50 aircraft.

Such a big show,

Could it be...

Cheng Shifa had a possibility in his heart.

"The location of the exercise is."

The brigade commander who came to deliver the order said:

"Fuping."

"The brigade headquarters orders you to assemble your troops at once and go to Phu Binh by rail."

"Fuping."

And sure enough... Cheng Shifa's heart was suddenly in his heart.

Fuping, a small county town in the northwest, has no name, you have to look for it on the map for a long time, and this is also the end point of the border railway, of course, this is not important, it is important.

This county seat is only 50 kilometers from (west) Chang'an.

And (west) Chang'an, a large number of mountain city troops were stationed.

"Okay."

Cheng Shifa picked up his matching gun:

"I'll gather my troops at once."