Bright Sword's Bloody War of Resistance

Chapter 873 Tank Training Brigade

"Commander, I heard from the comrades that the Japanese invaded our base area in large numbers two years ago. How come I didn't see any of them?"

The soldier who spoke was called Li Yuhou. He was recruited from the Shandong Military Region to the 16th Brigade. There were nearly officers and soldiers like him. Although they were transferred across military regions, they did not get upset. Instead, they were all very happy.

Liu Guitang, a brutal bandit who had been rampant in North China for many years, captured and brutally killed several scouts of the 16th Brigade. After the war, Li Yunlong, regardless of the orders of the Shandong Military Region, directly beheaded him and displayed his head to the public, which really avenged the local people. The officers and soldiers of the Lunan Military Region who cooperated in the battle at that time all applauded.

The Eighth Route Army emphasizes discipline and obedience, but that does not mean they are inhumane. Li Yunlong dared to risk being punished by his superiors in order to avenge the tragic deaths of the soldiers. Which soldier would not be willing to serve such a superior?

Li Yunlong's style of doing things won the support of many commanders and fighters. Moreover, the 16th Brigade was one of the top troops in the entire combat sequence of the Eighth Route Army.

"Brigade Commander, do you think I have the talent to be a tank soldier?"

Li Yunlong's face fell when he heard this, and he immediately lost interest. It turned out that the New 1st Regiment was indeed equipped with several Japanese tanks, which Li Yunlong hid like treasures.

However, with the establishment of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Column, not only were the tanks requisitioned, but even most of the trucks used in daily life were transferred to the motor battalion for centralized use.

"You are obviously ignorant. What's so good about the Japanese tanks? They look like thin-skinned coffins. They are sitting ducks on the battlefield!"

"In today's world, people can suffocate to death in tanks. What's the good of being a tank soldier?" Li Yunlong said with a sneer.

Sun Yuhou said: "How is that possible? The Japanese tanks are good stuff. Just wait and see. We must get a few of them this time!"

It was noon at this time, and everyone was hiding in the shade in a thatched hut under the city wall, while Zhou Weihan had already led the column command to retreat to Yucheng.

Li Yunlong is both the brigade commander and the political commissar. Although he is not a political cadre, when it comes to building closer relationships with officers and soldiers, Li Yunlong also has his own ways.

In his opinion, it was nothing more than bragging and chatting with the soldiers, so he came to chat with the soldiers before the war, and the officers and soldiers from the Shandong Military Region were the top priority.

As they were talking, a group of people from the cooking squad of the 10th Regiment came over carrying food, and the squad leader, Lao Sun, shouted at everyone to get their meals quickly.

Li Yunlong took a quick look and was surprised to see that the soldiers in the kitchen squad were each carrying a box gun and looked more impressive than the guard company.

"Old Sun, your kitchen team is doing well? Where did you get the right tools?"

Hearing Li Yunlong's questioning, Old Sun chuckled, holding a pipe in his hand, and sat cross-legged beside Li Yunlong.

"Shengzi, what are you standing there for? Give one to the brigade commander first. If he gets upset, even the box gun might not work!"

Old Sun said something sarcastically, but Li Yunlong was still smiling. The two were actually very familiar with each other. The predecessor of the 16th Regiment of the 10th Brigade was the New st Regiment, and Old Sun was the cook squad leader of the New st Regiment at that time.

Speaking of which, Old Sun is nearly fifty years old and is the oldest in the 16th Brigade. He was originally a famous cook in Cao County, specializing in weddings and funerals. Later, there was a famine and the people could not even afford to eat, so he simply joined the Eighth Route Army with a group of apprentices.

"Brigade Commander, will this battle be difficult to fight? It seems to be quite a big commotion." Old Sun asked.

Li Yunlong narrowed his eyes and said, "What do you mean? Your brother can smell it?"

"Hey, Brigade Commander, although I am only the squad leader of the regiment's cooking squad, I am very familiar with the affairs under my charge. I have brought truckloads of flour to the city, and I have brought 3000 chickens from the base alone. When has there been such a big commotion?"

"So we need a weapon to defend ourselves. Although we are logistics personnel, we can also step up at critical moments, right?" Old Sun said as he patted the box gun on his waist.

"Yeah, that makes sense!" Li Yunlong took over the conversation and said, "Brother, you have to keep your heart in your stomach. No matter what the situation is, you have to make sure your comrades have enough to eat!" "Of course, don't worry about that. The entire 10th Regiment's cooking team was taught by me personally!"

In Dangshan, a large number of infantrymen of the Japanese 57th Division and dozens of tanks were advancing along the Longhai Line. From time to time, Japanese troops were stationed in batches in strongholds and artillery towers along the way.

"Stop moving forward and rest where you are!"

The radio in the tank received orders from their superiors, and a group of Japanese tank soldiers jumped out of the tanks impatiently. The anti-aircraft team that followed them immediately deployed anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns around them.

"Bakayarū, I feel like I'm about to be roasted!"

"Yeah, when will this kind of life end? I want to go back to Manchuria right away!"

"Mr. Matsutani, your wish will soon be fulfilled. The Imperial Japanese Army is advancing along the way, and we see small groups of Chinese armed forces harassing us. The Eighth Route Army is vulnerable!"

"I hope so. My baby is going to be born next month. I hope I can go back by then!"

Toshio Tojo was the captain of this tank team. He did not complain like the other Japanese soldiers, but just wiped his body with a towel soaked in cold water, but did not shout at his subordinates.

In comparison, Tojo Toshio, who had a strong background, had a deeper understanding of the current situation than ordinary Japanese soldiers. The Eighth Route Army in North China was not the Anti-Japanese United Army in Manchuria and was by no means an easy opponent.

The Japanese Army currently has a total of three tank divisions, which were originally deployed on the Sino-Soviet and Sino-Mongolian borders. After the Southern Army was formed, the 3rd Tank Division was transferred to the Pacific battlefield.

The tank training brigade dispatched by the Japanese army this time was previously stationed in the Siping area of ​​the puppet Manchukuo. It was specially equipped for teaching in the Siping Pingke School, similar to the National Army's teaching corps.

In addition to the different branches of the military, there are also substantial differences between the two. The Training Corps is the elite of the National Army, and its officers and soldiers are experienced in battles, while the Japanese Army's Tank Training Brigade has rarely had the opportunity to engage in actual combat since its establishment.

To put it bluntly, most of these young devils were student soldiers who had almost no practical experience. The Japanese army did not dare to send out the 1st and 2nd Tank Divisions, and they let the teaching brigade gain some practical experience under the pretext of it.

The Tank Training Brigade is composed of the 23rd and 24th Tank Regiments, the 12th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, the Mechanized Artillery Training Regiment, the Brigade Search Team, the Air Defense Team, the Supply Team, the Maintenance Team, and the Engineer Team.

The tank regiment consists of about 1070 people, including three medium tank squadrons, one light tank squadron, one artillery tank (self-propelled artillery) squadron, and one maintenance squadron.

The mechanized infantry regiment has about 3030 people and is organized into three battalions. Each battalion consists of three infantry squadrons, one heavy machine gun squadron, and a mountain artillery squadron directly under the regiment.

The search team consisted of about 700 people, including three squadrons of light tanks, one squadron of infantry, and several cavalry.

The rapid-fire artillery team consists of about 340 people and is divided into three squadrons.

机械化炮兵联队约为1500人，编有野炮1个大队(3个中队)，10.5公分口径榴弹炮一个大队(每大队也是3个中队)。

The air defense team has about 1010 people, including two anti-aircraft artillery squadrons and four anti-aircraft machine gun squadrons.

The engineering corps consists of about 1150 people, divided into three squadrons, and the maintenance corps consists of about 3 people, divided into three squadrons.

The total force is nearly 11000 people, equipped with Type 188 light tanks, Type medium tanks and artillery tanks, as well as a large number of half-track armored personnel carriers and trucks. It only has two tank regiments less than the tank division, so the tank training brigade is a well-deserved reinforced regiment.

(End of this chapter)