Chapter 430: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 440 Xiyuan Yice's Plan: Request to Turn!

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Inside Pingyao City, at the Third Division Command Post, Lieutenant General Xiyuan Yice could no longer wait.

The Tank 5th Brigade deployed on the front of the Youth Army Armored Group had suffered a heavy blow from the Youth Army.

Having paid such a huge price, the Tank 6th Brigade, responsible for the flank raid, still had not arrived, nor had it launched an effective attack against the Youth Army.

At this moment, Lieutenant General Xiyuan Yice spoke directly to the Tank 6th Brigade via radio:

"Takagi! The 5th Brigade responsible for containing the front has already lost more than half! You must break through the blockade immediately, slice through the waist of Lv Muzhi's Armored Group, and deal them a heavy blow!"

"This is Emperor Tenghuang's Tank Division, not for you to play hide-and-seek with the Chinks there!"

"The Front Army Headquarters has already dispatched all Zero Fighters to fight the Youth Army's air force for air superiority."

"We have paid a huge price; we just need you to succeed in your flank attack!"

Major General Takagi Kazuo stood in the command post, gripping the radio handset tightly.

He looked up at the sky; the roar of fighters in the sky did not fade for a long time.

It was the fighters of both sides engaging in a dogfight, with Zero Fighters and BF109 Fighters fighting for air superiority.

These Zero Fighters were originally meant to protect the Beiping Headquarters of the North China Area Army, but now they had all been thrown into the Shanxi Battlefield.

This shows how high the expectations of the high command were for the Tank Division!

"Hai! I understand, I am advancing at full speed!"

The call ended.

Major General Takagi Kazuo looked at the wilderness before him; the front had already become an insurmountable battlefield.

Because the attempt at a flank raid was seen through, Takagi Kazuo's Tank 6th Brigade ran into a hard bone here.

Blocking him were forty-five 38T Light Tanks and thirty Panzer III Medium Tanks of the Youth Army.

Takagi commanded a tank brigade and a mobile infantry regiment.

He possessed nearly two hundred tanks of various types, including armored vehicles, of which more than seventy were Type 97 Kai Medium Tanks; he held an absolute advantage in numbers and was not behind in quality.

But in actual combat, he found this blocking force slippery as a loach and hard as an iron plate.

Those forty-five 38t Light Tanks used their extremely high mobility to dart left and right across the plain, constantly harassing his vanguard.

Meanwhile, those thirty Panzer III Medium Tanks advanced steadily, using precise long-barrel fire to mark Japanese tanks at long range.

"Brigade Commander, the Chinks' blockade is very stubborn; we cannot break through for now!"

Takagi Kazuo gritted his teeth in hatred; he looked down at his watch, and every second that passed made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Takagi Kazuo roared and turned to look toward the rear.

"Has the Artillery Regiment arrived? I want to use artillery to open a reinforcement channel!"

The staff officer beside him had an ugly expression: "Report to the Brigade Commander, the Artillery Regiment needs about an hour to reach its firing position."

"Damn it! An hour? In another hour, I can go collect the corpses of the Tank 5th Brigade!"

Takagi Kazuo slapped the hatch hard, his eyes bloodshot.

The staff officer explained: "Because our plan was a surprise attack, to ensure troop mobility, we did not bring the Artillery Regiment."

"The Artillery Regiment received your order and only just set out..."

Takagi Kazuo would not listen to explanations:

"Tell the Artillery Regiment Commander to discard unnecessary supplies; I want to see his shadow on the position within half an hour!"

On the blocking battlefield at this moment, the fierce battle had entered a white-hot stage.

Although the Japanese Type 97 Kai Medium Tanks had poor armor, their long-barrel 47mm guns were indeed powerful.

With a "clang," a Youth Army Panzer III Medium Tank that was firing was hit in the front, and its turret jammed instantly.

Not far away, a Type 97 Kai was also hit in the side by a 38t tank; its tracks broke, and it lay on the spot like a huge live target, smoking.

The wreckage of tanks from both sides was interlaced on the plain, and thick black smoke stretched into long lines in the cold wind—truly a fierce battle!

Takagi Kazuo was holding binoculars and fretting when he suddenly noticed the pressure ahead had lightened.

The Youth Army tank force that had been blocking stubbornly actually began alternating cover and slowly retreating toward the rear.

It was truly a case of a pillow arriving just as one felt sleepy, exactly suiting Major General Takagi Kazuo's wishes.

"Brigade Commander! The Chinks can't hold on! They are routing!" a tank regiment commander shouted excitedly.

Seeing this, Takagi Kazuo was overjoyed.

Although he was actually somewhat worried deep down, the division commander's order was right in his ear, and the leaders were still waiting for him to stab the Youth Army Armored Group in the kidney!

Thus, Takagi Kazuo could only comfort himself: the Youth Army's blocking force was ultimately thin in numbers and could not withstand the Empire's armored flood.

"Order the entire brigade to advance at full speed! Don't give them a chance to catch their breath; charge through in one go!"

More than a hundred Japanese tanks rearranged their formation and roared in pursuit.

However, Takagi Kazuo did not know that this was not a rout, but actually a deadly invitation.

The retreating 38t Tank Battalion and two Medium Tank Companies were orderly driving into a slightly undulating area.

Here, the follow-up reinforcement troops dispatched by Lv Muzhi had completed their final pre-battle preparations.

The retreating tank force was there to lure the Japanese into pursuit and, along the way, link up with the reinforcement troops.

This was a composite slaughter formation composed of a Mechanized Infantry Regiment, an Anti-aircraft Battalion, an Anti-tank Battalion, and tank forces.

When the retreating Youth Army tankers saw the dense gun barrels pointing at the sky, the anxiety in their hearts completely settled.

On the Anti-tank Battalion's position, neatly arranged were a large number of 37mm Anti-tank Guns, as well as Bazooka rocket launcher teams specifically for dealing with tanks, and several 88mm Anti-aircraft Guns.

The anti-aircraft battalion's firepower was equally ferocious; besides the regular 20mm and 40mm anti-aircraft guns, the core was those 88mm anti-aircraft guns one after another.

Besides this, the anti-aircraft battalion's Type III Medium Anti-Aircraft Tanks were also in position.

These vehicles were loaded with Quad 20mm Machine Cannons, and their dense rate of fire was enough to turn the Japanese Army's light tanks and infantry into sieves.

Further back was a complete Youth Army Infantry Regiment, with nearly four thousand soldiers constructing the defensive line.

The Japanese Army vanguard tanks led by Takagi Kazuo soon rushed within a thousand meters of the defensive line.

The tank commander of a Type 97 Kai Medium Tank was greedily searching for the figures of Youth Army retreating soldiers when he saw an unbelievable scene through the periscope.

Boom—!

A dull, thunderous bang came from ahead.

The shell fired by an 88mm gun mounted on a truck chassis arrived in an instant at a muzzle velocity of nearly one thousand meters per second.

The Japanese Army's Type 97 Kai Medium Tank had no time to react; the entire tank was punched straight through from the front.

The shell's enormous kinetic energy not only pulverized all the members inside but also directly detonated the ammunition rack.

The entire tank exploded into two pieces before everyone's eyes, and the turret was flung ten meters into the air like a tattered hat.

Immediately after, the dull booms of the 88mm guns merged into one, each bang representing the possible destruction of a Japanese Army tank.

"Eight Gua! So much heavy firepower, we've walked into an ambush!"

Takagi Kazuo observed ahead through binoculars.

All he saw was that on the originally open plain, countless slender tongues of fire were madly sweeping toward him.

The 37mm Anti-tank Guns were firing madly, bazooka teams were shuttling through the dry grass, and that damn 88mm gun was simply a tank killer!

Takagi Kazuo watched his own tanks explode into fireballs one after another, and despair rose in his heart.

"Report to the Brigade Commander! The China Men have constructed an extremely solid defensive circle ahead!"

"The enemy's anti-tank force is beyond imagination, and there are large numbers of infantry... our flank raid plan has almost failed!"

Takagi Kazuo slumped to the ground; his Tank 6th Brigade had originally intended to strike the weak point of the Youth Army Armored Group.

But now, he hadn't even seen that Youth Army Armored Group, yet was beaten black and blue by the enemy's blocking troops.

"Send a message to the Division Commander! The Tank 6th Brigade is being stubbornly resisted by the Youth Army and cannot provide flanking support to the Tank 5th Brigade in time!"

"Request... to turn around!"