Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

Seven kilometers west of the river, the temporary command post of the Second Armored Regiment.

For any army, including the Eighth Route Army, rivers and lakes are natural obstacles.

These special terrains not only limit the mobility of the troops, but also split the battle formation and create many difficulties in command, coordination, communication and logistics supply.

If you want to force a river crossing in a battlefield where the enemy is heavily fortified, the first problem to be solved is where to start and when to execute.

"Regarding the next action, have your engineering company and reconnaissance company surveyed the hydrological conditions clearly? Does the current water depth and flow rate meet the standards for building a heavy pontoon bridge?"

"By the way, don't forget the preparation plan, and various emergencies must be taken into consideration."

Whether it is to determine the location or timing of the river crossing, it is inseparable from the careful reconnaissance of hydrology, terrain and enemy deployment details.

After hearing the inquiry from their own regiment commander, the commander of the reconnaissance company and the commander of the engineering company looked at each other tacitly. Then the former took out a hand-drawn map and aerial photos from his bag, and stood up first to report on his work.

"Please see, this is the final choice made by our reconnaissance company after half an hour of secret investigation."

"The river here is narrow, shallow, and slow. The river bank bends towards us and there are fewer natural obstacles on the enemy bank, which is very convenient for the troops to cross the river and move in depth."

"The only problem is that although it is easy to cross the river here, it is also likely to be the direction of the enemy's key defense."

As the saying goes, knowing yourself and the enemy, you will win every battle.

The plan given by the commander of the reconnaissance company is the best choice analyzed through field investigation.

In order to understand the specific situation of the combat area, he not only personally led the team to visit the people in the nearby villages, but also learned the size of the enemy's troops and the position of the positions on the opposite bank through the air force.

Hearing this, Commander Liu and Chief of Staff Tian took the map and aerial photos. After confirming again and again, the two nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good, then start crossing the river from the location you chose. Don't worry about the Japanese defenders on the other side. The artillery support company in the regiment and the comrades in the air force will deal with the enemy."

"When the operation begins, the artillery will prioritize concentrated firepower to suppress the enemy's fortifications."

"The close support aircraft of the Second Air Division will deal with high-threat targets point-to-point."

With the mastery of a large amount of first-hand information, the problem of where to cross the river was solved. After selecting a specific crossing point, Captain Liu began to consider when to start the operation.

After thinking for a while, he cast his eyes on the commander of the engineering company.

"Is the pontoon bridge ready? After the operation begins, how long will it take you to build a bridge across the river?"

If you want to cross the river smoothly, the choice of tools is also very important.

The Eighth Route Army did not have standard crossing equipment in the past, so they could only build simple pontoon bridges or simply sail across. In very rare cases, even if there was only a sheepskin raft, they had to bite the bullet.

However, after the Second Taiyuan Campaign, the troops finally had a brand-new engineering equipment: the Type 41 pontoon bridge, also known as the GZQ010 heavy pontoon bridge.

This device was jointly developed by the Weapon Experimental Research Bureau and the Border Region Military Industry Bureau. The chief designer was naturally the ubiquitous Director Huang He.

From then on, river crossing operations were no longer a shortcoming of the troops.

Upon hearing the inquiry from his commander, the commander of the engineering company immediately stood up and answered decisively:

"According to calculations, our company needs one hour of construction time. If everything goes well, comrades will build a floating bridge with a maximum load-bearing capacity of 30 tons on the river."

As soon as this was said, everyone present showed a proud expression.

Perhaps compared with the exaggerated achievements of the PLA in later generations, such as 320 meters in 14 minutes and 1000 meters in 26 minutes, the construction efficiency of one hour is indeed a turtle speed.

But it is only 1942 now. Even if it is replaced by land warfare powers such as Germany and Russia, it is difficult for them to do better under the same conditions.

"Okay, then we'll start the action in forty minutes, and go back to prepare."

"We will win this battle! Dismissed!"

······

Forty minutes later, more than a dozen artillery pieces of different calibers opened fire at the same time on the positions on the west bank of the river.

Thanks to the range advantage, the artillery support company of the Second Armored Regiment did not worry about its own safety at all, and all the artillery groups were firing at full capacity.

Huge explosions resounded through the sky, and the firepower points that the Japanese defenders thought were very hidden were simply and crudely destroyed by the overwhelming artillery bombardment.

"Captain, the Eighth Route Army suddenly launched an attack on our positions! This must be a sign that they are about to cross the river!"

"Those damn bombers will definitely appear again, and the river defense fortifications will not last too long. The current situation is extremely urgent, please contact Major Nagashima as soon as possible!"

Seeing a signalman crawling into the command center, the Japanese squadron leader Nagasugi Tokuo panicked.

That was a joint attack by the armored forces and the air force. With only one squadron and hundreds of troops from the Imperial Army, there was no chance of winning.

Faced with the surging offensive, the remaining firepower points became timid and kept changing their positions, not daring to stay in the same place for too long.

But even so, the number of Type 92 heavy machine guns and grenade launchers continued to decrease, and they were shot and executed by the Eighth Route Army one after another.

After a moment, the old devil took a deep breath and decisively ordered:

"Let the first and second squads take the Imperial Army to the front line immediately, and the rest of the troops should be prepared to take over."

"All artillery, including infantry's grenade launchers, cease fire, wait for the enemy's engineers to show up before starting to fight back, and make sure to blow up the Eighth Route Army's pontoon bridge first!"

Hearing the word artillery, the signalman's face changed again and again, and fear and panic were almost written on his face.

With the idea of ​​dying early and being reborn early, he simply gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, and replied in a desperate tone:

"Report to the captain, our firepower points have been destroyed by 90%. The enemy's artillery accurately hit our high ground in the first wave of attack."

"Samurai, we can't hold on!"

Hearing this, Nagasugi Tokuo was stunned. After listening carefully, there was only the sound of artillery fire from the other side of the river.

"We have to hold on even if we can't. If we lose our positions along the river, we will all die. Tell the front line that the support from the rear will be in place soon. As long as we hold on for another fifteen minutes, the first wave of reinforcements will arrive at the scene!"

"Hi!"

After destroying most of the Japanese river defense works, the engineer company of the Second Armored Regiment decisively began to act.

At the same time, the artillery changed their offensive and released a large amount of smoke at the scheduled ferry, providing visual cover for this crossing.

With the help of smoke, the comrades pushed the pontoons to the river. Some of them were used to build pontoon bridges, and some were used by the commandos to cross the river.

The pontoons used in the Type 41 pontoon bridge are welded from 1.5 mm thick steel plates. Before being assembled, the equipment is divided into two parts: the bow boat and the tail boat.

The former weighs 950 kg and has a maximum load of 6,100 kg.

The latter weighs 100 kg more than the bow boat due to the addition of functional components such as a grid frame, a hand-cranked crane, and an outboard boat maneuver, but its own load capacity has also increased.

When the two are successfully assembled and used alone to cross the river, they can carry up to fifty soldiers or a 2.5-ton howitzer.

Thanks to the technical support of the Weapons Experimental Research Bureau, the floating boat can move quickly at a speed of 18 to 22 kilometers per hour while maintaining the maximum load.

Such a capacity and speed are enough to rank among the best in the world, and this does not include the paddling team composed of eight engineers.

Soon, the commando successfully crossed the river under artillery fire and air cover. The soldiers quickly opened up and stabilized the landing site, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent large-scale attack.

The reserve team followed the commando across the river, and after landing, they quickly launched an attack on the enemy's depth and flanks.

"Engineer Company! You continue to build pontoon bridges! Others, immediately use the fortifications left by the enemy and transform them into our beachhead positions! Always pay attention to the devil's counterattacks and artillery fire!"

······

On the east side of the river bank, the Japanese Third Infantry Battalion.

When the bad news reached his headquarters, Nagashima Ryuya was like an eggplant hit by frost, and he slumped on a short chair like a lost soul.

The old devils expected that the enemy's hard power would be strong, but they never expected that the enemy's pre-war preparations would be so thorough, and even equipment such as pontoon bridges appeared on the battlefield.

Heaven and earth are conscience, the Eighth Route Army had a hard time crossing the Taiyuan moat before.

Who would have thought that in just one year, they would have made up for another shortcoming.

Confused, Nagashima Ryuya couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Why, why should I be the first person to face the enemy's new equipment."

"I said, 3,000 people can't defend a river of more than 20 kilometers."

Seeing that his commander was in a low state, he was about to lose his fighting spirit. Staff officer Tsuchiya Nobuhiro could not sit still, and then comforted him:

"Major, we are not without a chance. As long as the second squadron can successfully launch a surprise attack and destroy the tanks and armored vehicles of the Eighth Route Army with mines and explosive packs, then who wins and who loses is another matter."

"After all, in terms of the elite level of infantry, our great Japanese brother country is not afraid of anyone."

As if thinking of the foreshadowing he had arranged before, Nagashima Ryuya regained his spirits. But the good times did not last long, and the battle report sent by the signalman once again kicked him to the bottom of the valley.

"Report! The second squadron encountered the enemy's tanks head-on, and now all of them have been destroyed!" (End of this chapter)