On the 8th of February, after five to six days of gathering, the 217th Brigade left Xiang City and headed towards Nanzhang.
The 217th Brigade was a full fledged exploration team of the Japanese army. Although the 217th Brigade was not considered an A-class exploration team, it was highly mechanized. All the soldiers rode on trucks and motorcycles.
Outside of Xiang City, the 217th Brigade's vast march stretched for one or two miles. The vanguard was made up of 24 Type 94 light tanks.
Don't think that the Japanese army was very strong. In fact, they were not very strong. An ordinary exploration team like the 217th Brigade was only equipped with 24 Type 94 light tanks, which was the size of a tank battalion.
In this period of time, tanks, the king of land warfare, had just been developed. The armies of various countries had not yet developed tanks, which were the type of armored torrent-level offensive troops.
The Type-94 Light Tank should not be called a tank, but a Type-94 Armored Vehicle, because the tank weighed 3.45 tons, was 3.08 meters long, 1.62 meters wide, and 1.62 meters tall. The passengers were only the captain and the driver.
Since the mass production of this type of tank began in 1935, the Japanese army had been equipped with a total of 370 Type 94 light tanks.
The Japanese army also produced another type of tank, the Type 97 medium-sized tank. Its combat weight reached 15 tons and was evacuated by four crew members. It was also equipped with a 57mm cannon with a firing rate of about 10-15 rounds per minute.
This type of tank with thicker armor and stronger firepower was the mainstream tank that the Japanese army was quickly installing.
Of course, the Japanese army's Type 97 medium tanks were also very rubbish. In the last battle of World War II, the Japanese army and the Soviets broke out in a tank group battle.
However, the Type 95 light, Type 97 medium, and Type 1 medium tanks equipped by the Japanese Kwantung Army were directly wiped out by the Soviets 'T-34 medium tanks. It was a joke!
Therefore, the strength of the Japanese army could only be reflected on the battlefield of China. If the Japanese army were to fight against the first-class armies such as the Su army, the US army, the Eagle army, and the Fa army, the Japanese army would not be able to defeat them at all.
Although the Japanese army's individual combat quality was not inferior to the armies of these countries, under the gap in weapons and equipment, individual combat quality was useless. The number of people could no longer determine the victory or defeat of modern wars. Firepower was the key to victory.
During the whole of World War II, the most powerful army was definitely the Army of Death. Otherwise, the man with the mustache would not have dared to challenge the entire continent. He even almost won and became the victor of World War II instead of a defeated country.
At this moment, the Major General of the 217th Squadron, Yoshiki Yamamoto, was standing on a high slope and staring at the marching troops.
Behind him, two staff officers of the Japanese army unfolded a map of Xiang, and Nanzhang County was circled in red.
"Brigade leader, Nanzhang County is only 150 miles away from Xiang City. In two days at most, we will arrive outside Nanzhang County!”The 217th Brigade's chief of staff, Oban Masao, looked at the unfolded map and said coldly.
The destruction of the Kawasaki Brigade had brought shame to the entire 101st Division. As the Chief of Staff of the 217th Brigade, Oban Masao naturally wanted to wash away this shame.
According to what he heard, the news of the destruction of the Kawasaki Brigade had already spread to Japan and was deliberately publicized.
In the cabinet meeting a few days ago, the Imperial Navy Department even used the destruction of the Kawasaki Battalion as an excuse to reduce the military expenditure of the army and increase the military expenditure of the navy.
The air force had not become a single branch of the army. The Japanese army currently only had the navy and the army.
However, the Japanese navy and army did not see eye to eye with each other because of the issue of military expenditure. Both sides thought that the other was trash and wasted the Empire's financial and human resources.
In some military meetings, the generals of the Japanese army and the navy often scolded each other.
"A few days ago, the 9th Battle Area Command added 3000 new recruits to Li Yan's 108th Division. The total number of people in the 108th Division has reached 5520. Since the 108th Division can destroy the Kawasaki Brigade, we can't underestimate the combat power of the 108th Division!”Yamamoto Yoshiki's eyes were cold and looked terrifying.
Yamamoto Yoshiki graduated from Japan's Army University. He had a very high level of command. He would not underestimate any opponent. It was a taboo for military strategists to underestimate the enemy. Yamamoto Yoshiki would not commit such a mistake.
"Brigade Commander, the training time for the new recruits in China is very short. Some of them have not even fired a bullet. They are just a group of newbies who have just picked up a gun and cannot have strong combat strength.”Oban Masao couldn't help but mock him. He continued,""The 217th Brigade has been through hundreds of battles. We have the advantage in numbers and are equipped with tanks and heavy artillery. I'm afraid that Li Yan's troops will be defeated in just one round!”
The tanks and heavy artillery that Oban Masao mentioned were the Type 94 Little Bean Tank and the Type 105 Medium Howitzer.
The strongest firepower of the entire 217th Brigade was none other than the 12 Type 105 Howitzers and 24 Little Bean Tanks.
Due to the lack of steel resources in Japan, cannons like the 105 medium howitzer were considered heavy artillery in the eyes of the Japanese army!
"The commander of the army dispatched by the Xia army, General Jun Liu, is planning to attack Chang City in Xiang Province. Commander Jun Liu has already taken out four divisions and six exploration regiments to gather in the Xiang area. Our mission is not only to destroy Li Yan's troops, but also to contain the national army in the northwest of Xiang Province, so that the 9th Battle Area will not be able to send more troops to Chang City.”Yamamoto Yoshiki spoke slowly, his eyes revealing a trace of helplessness.
As the regiment commander of the major general's regiment, Yamamoto Yoshiki wanted to participate in the Battle of Changsha. Unfortunately, the 217th Brigade was not an A-grade exploration team, so they could not participate in such a large-scale battle.
"Mr. Brigade Commander, our army has gathered more than 100,000 people for the battle at Chang City. The 9th battle area can only gather 250,000 people at most. According to the combat strength of both sides, the 9th battle area cannot hold Chang City. Once the 9th battle area is defeated in Chang City, the entire Xiang Province and E Province will be occupied by us!”Oban Masao was predicting the outcome of this battle.
Obviously, in Oban Masao's opinion, the 9th Battle Area needed at least 350,000 soldiers to be able to defend Changshi. 250,000 people would not be able to stop the army sent by Xia Zhong!
"The battlefield is ever-changing. Who can make a conclusion until the last moment?”Yamamoto Yoshiki shook his head and said,"The 9th Battle Area has the two trump card armies of the Xia Army. They are the Tiger Troop and the Mount Tai Troop. These two armies cannot be underestimated!”
"Brigade Commander, you overestimate the combat strength of the Chinese army!”Oban Masao said disdainfully. He had never put any of the Xia Country's troops in his eyes.
"Little Boss, you have to know that it's better to look high than low. Even tigers and lions use their full strength to hunt rabbits, let alone war!”
Yamamoto Yoshiki threw down this sentence, got into a car, and followed the mighty Japanese army.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。