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Text Chapter 166 New Changes in the Enemy Situation

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    It's just that for Yang Zhen and the Anti-Alliance aviation troops who are performing airdrops, the most difficult thing is not the fuel and aircraft, but the serious shortage of parachutes used to airdrop supplies. In order to raise parachutes, the Anti-Alliance even used all the escape parachutes used by the pilots.  All used parachutes are collected.

    In order to ensure the safety of pilots during training and flight missions, except for the troops responsible for air defense operations, even the training of new pilots has been stopped.  Flying a plane is not like driving a car. Once you encounter any danger in the air, a parachute is the only life protection.

    Without a parachute, who can guarantee that those trainer aircraft will not encounter any problems in the air?  In order to ensure the safety of instructors and students, all coaching courses can only be temporarily suspended while all parachutes are allocated to the airlift troops.  Instead, focus on ground training according to Yang Zhen's method of training hard on the ground and flying well in the air.

    Even so, the number of parachutes is still insufficient, and the quality is difficult to meet the needs.  Although there is not much structural difference between a parachute for airdropping personnel and a parachute for airdropping supplies, the load-bearing capacity is completely different.  Can human weight be compared with cargo?

    ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Artificial silk lacks the raw materials for manufacturing, and the output cannot meet the needs.  He could only use three instead of one, and parachute these people into the airdrop.  Any ointment that can pull out pus is a good ointment, no matter what it is for treatment.

    Yang Zhen was so troubled that he even violated his usual principles and negotiated with Pearson. He promised not to interrupt the air strikes against Japan.  However, the Americans were asked to provide 10,000 parachutes to the Anti-Japanese Alliance by March 1942, no matter what.  Among them, 3,000 were personnel parachutes and 7,000 were parachutes used for airdropping supplies.

    Although Yang Zhen¡¯s actions afterwards were still symbolic.  However, this kind of practice of doing things first and collecting money later is unprofitable.  In his dealings with the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, he had always paid with one hand and delivered the goods with the other. This was the first time that he had done so.

    In order to reduce losses and pressure as much as possible, Yang Zhen repeatedly asked the central government to give underground orders to all parties, and all parachutes for airdrop supplies must be preserved.  In order to ensure that these parachutes were not damaged and could be recycled one day, Yang Zhen airdropped parachute breakers to several base areas behind enemy lines.  Specially preserve and recover the parachutes of those airdrop supplies so that they can be transported back to the troops at any time.

    However, during the frequent sweeps by the Japanese army, although some of these parachutes were recovered, most of them were eventually lost.  The parachutes that were finally transferred back to the base area through Yan'an and Jinsui were only one-third of the airdrop consumption.  In addition to fuel, parachutes are the most consumed material among all airdrop operations.

    As for the hundreds of aircraft of various types participating in the airdrop, their losses were not significant due to the effective organizational support and escort.  Of all the aircraft participating in the operation, only five were lost due to mechanical failures, collisions with mountains, or due to sneak attacks by Japanese fighter jets and loss of ground firepower.

    But among all the aircrew who lost their planes, except for one C-47 transport plane that crashed into a mountain and all the people on board died.  The remaining pilots were all rescued safely.  All base areas behind enemy lines are in mountainous areas, and the heights of Wutai Mountain, Taihang Mountain, and Taiyue Mountain are not low.

    In addition, in order to avoid the raiding Japanese troops, airdrops were mainly carried out at night.  With so many aircraft participating in the airdrop, there was almost no night vision equipment, and in an area with highly complex terrain, there were only a few fires and navigation and target designation equipment.  In such a large-scale operation, only one was lost due to hitting a mountain, which is already very good.

    This large-scale airdrop was carried out until the end of January 1942. In several base areas behind enemy lines in North China, several simple airports were built in small mountainous plains.  Under light load conditions, the Anti-League D-47 transport aircraft could land directly to unload cargo, and airdrops became a substitute method before gradually weakening.

    And by the end of February, the situation in the frontline confrontation area changed. The North China Front Army focused more of its attention to the north. Large-scale raids gradually stopped. The situation in North China improved, and the Anti-Japanese Alliance was able to breathe a little.  All airdrops and airlift operations continued until March, and were finally completely stopped on the eve of the start of the entire campaign.

    Although this airdrop and air transport consumed a large amount of fuel, they also suffered certain losses.  But in Yang Zhen's view, the harvest is even greater.  Not only did it beneficially support the North China troops to survive in a cruel environment, but it also ensured several reliable strategic and tactical support points for the next stage of the Anti-Japanese War on the front line of the Great Wall inside and outside.

    Especially the Heping West District in the Beiyue District of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, which is close to the front line of the Great Wall inside and outside. Although these two base areas were severely compressed by the Japanese and puppet troops' sweeps, they were able to persist and resist the next move of the Allied Forces.The battle will play a great role in tactical coordination.  Moreover, through this airdrop, direct radio links were established between the Anti-Japanese Alliance and several major base areas behind enemy lines.

    The most critical thing is that through this long-term, large-scale airdrop and airlift, the aviation force's large-scale battlefield organization support capabilities and airdrop material supply capabilities in complex terrain have been tempered, laying the foundation for the aviation force's development from a tactical air force to a strategic air force.  At the same time, by escorting air transport units, the escort capabilities of fighter units have also been exercised and improved.  Compared with the price paid, Yang Zhen believes that he gained more.

    By mid-February, as the situation in the North China base area improved.  As well as the changes in the enemy's situation in the east, and the countdown to the preparations for the second phase of the battle, the deployment of ammunition and supplies has been fully launched, Yang Zhen turned his main energy back to the upcoming battle.

    According to the new changes in the enemy's situation, Yang Zhen, Guo Bingxun, and Chen Hanzhang are constantly adjusting their combat plans.  Through front-line reconnaissance and intelligence transferred from the center.  The Anti-Japanese Alliance has learned that the Japanese army has built a large number of field fortifications at the planned breakthrough site and mobilized a large number of anti-tank weapons, field heavy artillery, and armored combat troops.

    Watching the intelligence returned by the frontline reconnaissance troops on the area where the Japanese army built fortifications in Chadong, especially the photos of the area where the Japanese army built new fortifications taken by reconnaissance aircraft.  Chen Hanzhang could tell almost immediately that this was a strengthened and extended version of the Japanese fortification area that he encountered in northern Tongliao during the first phase of the battle, which had caused serious losses to the Second Armored Brigade responsible for the breakthrough.

    "It's just that the fortification area built by the Japanese army in the Chadong area is larger and wider in depth.  At the same time, the area of ??the minefield is much larger than the fortification area in the battle of Tongliao.  Only in the area in front of the white flag in Duolun Zhizheng, four large-scale minefields were discovered.

    There are not only anti-infantry mines in the middle, but also the Japanese standard anti-tank mines were discovered for the first time.  The number and scale of anti-tank trenches also exceed that of the fortification area in the direction of Tongliao.  The most critical thing is the firepower density, which is far from comparable to the firepower density of the Japanese army encountered during the Battle of Tongliao.

    ¡°What has been identified so far is that the density of anti-tank firepower deployed by the Japanese army was almost twice the amount it encountered on the Tongliao battlefield.  In particular, the number of Type 94 37mm anti-tank guns far exceeded that of the Tongliao battlefield at that time.  These can only be said to be approximate figures, and the actual number may be much higher.

    Faced with the increase in Japanese firepower in the breakthrough area and the deployment of a large-depth defense system, Chen Hanzhang repeatedly revised the combat plan based on his experience and lessons learned on the Tongliao battlefield.  There is nothing to say about flanking tactics. Basically, it is just some fine-tuning based on the depth deployment of the Japanese army.

    The key is to face the attack directly on the fortification area where the 26th Division is located. This is the top priority of Chen Hanzhang's plan adjustment.  However, the results of several revisions were never satisfactory to me.  The Battle of Tongliao was a relatively painful lesson for Chen Hanzhang, which made Chen Hanzhang very hesitant in finalizing the final plan.

    In order to come up with the best and most reliable combat plan, Chen Hanzhang has ventured to the confrontation area between the two armies in Chadong several times since mid-February to personally inspect the deployment adjustments of the Japanese army.  With Yang Zhen's approval, some heavy artillery and bombers were used to carry out multiple fire reconnaissance and sabotage operations against the fortification areas built by the Japanese army in the Chadong area.

    But the results of multiple fire reconnaissance tests did not satisfy him.  In addition to finding out that the number of anti-aircraft guns deployed by the Japanese army in the Chadong area far exceeded the results of previous battles, it also proved that the Japanese army's emergency repair capabilities for battlefield fortifications were quite strong.  As for the rest, very little was gained.

    When the Japanese army conducted fire reconnaissance during the Anti-Japanese War, in order to maintain maximum secrecy, they would rather passively receive artillery fire than engage in any counterattack.  When the infantry battlefield was under fire, the heavy artillery positions deployed in depth remained silent.  For all its firepower points, even if the frontline troops launched tentative attacks, they basically only responded with rifle machine guns.  All equipment above infantry artillery must remain silent.

    Limited intelligence shows that the Japanese army has deployed a large number of artillery in Chadong, especially heavy artillery units, which are still being mobilized one after another.  But now the Japanese army had adopted a posture of standing firm to be beaten and resolutely not fighting back. Instead of letting Chen Hanzhang relax his vigilance, it actually deepened his worries.

    In addition, since mid-February, the flat-covered line has been extremely busy.  The density of Japanese troops arriving from Peiping, Shimen, and Tianjin is increasing.  Despite the constant air attacks by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, the intensity of Japanese railway transportation has not significantly weakened.  Based on Chen Hanzhang's understanding of the Japanese army, it would be strange if there was nothing fishy here.

    Looking at the somewhat impatient Chen Hanzhang, Yang Zhen said nothing, not even a word of criticism.  In the context of formulating an overall combat plan,He worked with Guo Bingxun to help him research a breakthrough plan.  A US-made light twin-engine advanced trainer aircraft was also specially assigned to him, specifically for him to practice tactics at the armored training base.

    In fact, the Japanese army mobilized a large amount of anti-tank firepower in this direction, which did not surprise Yang Zhen.  As a choice of breakthrough direction, the flat Chadong area is more conducive to tank group operations than the Chanan area.  Especially in the first phase of the battle, when the Anti-Japanese Alliance had already carried out long-distance tank raids, the Japanese army would not fail to consider changing their tactics.

    Taking into account the terrain of Chadong, the possible breakthrough points chosen by the Anti-Japanese Alliance, and the tank cluster tactics adopted, the Japanese army wanted to contain the Anti-Japanese Alliance from attacking Chaxi and Suidong areas, so they tried their best to strengthen anti-tank in a short period of time.  Firepower is an inevitable choice for the Japanese army.

    Based on the Japanese military¡¯s usual response speed, this change is not surprising.  Although the Japanese army overemphasized its own characteristics in equipment adjustment, its strategic vision was also too narrow and paranoid.  But this does not mean that the Japanese army really cannot see the problems exposed on the battlefield and does not know how to work around them.  Clinging to past experiences will lead you to the dark side.  Although major adjustments are unlikely, some fine-tuning will still be possible on certain local issues.

    Chapter 166: New changes in the enemy¡¯s situation:
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