Devil's Army

After more than half an hour of fierce fighting, most of the Japanese planes dispatched from Baotou Airport were shot down.

Commander Amakasu Shigeki of the Baotou Headquarters was drinking tea, listening to the good news from the air force that the demonic troops, the Eighth Route Army barracks and headquarters had been razed to the ground. Unexpectedly, he received a telegram from the air force asking for help.

He had not yet contacted the air forces at other airports. With only a few air forces left at Baotou Airport, he did not dare to fight with the air forces of the devil's army.

After annihilating the Japanese Baotou Air Force, Captain Shi originally wanted to destroy the Japanese Baotou Airport in one fell swoop. However, the commander-in-chief advised him not to advance rashly, as the situation of the remaining Japanese aviation and anti-aircraft artillery units in Baotou was unclear, and a blind advance could easily lead to heavy losses.

Commander Amakasu Shige, who suffered a heavy blow, immediately contacted the air forces at several other airports and was ready to provide support at any time.

At the same time, speed up the reorganization of the 3rd Tank Division.

Soon, the Eighth Route Army's underground couriers brought news:

Japanese tanks and armored vehicles continued to arrive at the Baotou military camp.

Upon receiving the news, Brigade Commander Du immediately ordered the tank regiment that was resting and on standby in Xinghe County to rush to Siwangzi Banner and stand by.

After receiving the order, the tank regiment of Xinghe County split into two groups and rushed to Kulun Sumu Town and Hujitu Township of Siwangzi Banner like two long dragons to wait in secret.

Such a large-scale deployment of the tank regiment could not completely avoid the eyes of Japanese scouts.

Soon, Commander Amakasu Shigeki learned that a large number of tanks from the Devil Force had arrived at the Four Princes Banner.

He increasingly felt that his position as commander of the Mongolian army was in jeopardy.

He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the tank soldiers of the devil's army were not yet firmly established and give them a fatal blow.

At around 3:200 p.m. the next day, nearly tanks and armored vehicles of the Japanese rd Tank Division, which had not yet completed assembly, split into two groups and rushed towards Hujitu Township with great momentum.

The First Army had only four tank companies stationed in Hujitu Township, and they were stationed in the western part of Hujitu Township. There was a vast grassland that stretched as far as the eye could see, making it suitable for the Japanese tank divisions to maneuver and encircle them on a large scale.

The situation was very unfavorable for the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Tank Regiment.

The third battalion commander made a prompt decision and ordered the tank battalion to move to the eastern part of Hujitu Township and called for aviation support from Shangdu Airport.

The eastern part of Hujitu Township was hilly, and the tanks of the Third Battalion guarded the various intersections leading into the hills. Although the Japanese Third Tank Division had many tanks, they had nowhere to exert their power.

The Japanese 97rd Tank Division in Baotou was mostly equipped with Type 57 medium tanks, with a 80mm gun, 40 grenades, and armor-piercing rounds.

The gun's power was lower than the 34mm short-barreled gun of the First Army's "Kuaishou" tank. However, its armor-piercing shells had strong penetrating power and could easily penetrate 100mm tank armor at a distance of 500 meters.

Although the armor on three sides of the First Army's tanks was 50mm thick, twice as thick as the 97mm frontal armor of the Japanese Type 25 medium tank, it still could not withstand the attack of armor-piercing projectiles.

Therefore, the primary goal of the tank soldiers of the Third Battalion was to use the advantages of their large-caliber artillery to suppress the Japanese tanks outside the range of 500 meters.

(Note: The Qukou tank has double armor on three sides, with a 45-degree angle design, which can effectively withstand attacks from Japanese tank armor-piercing rounds at a distance of 500 meters.)

The Japanese 3rd Tank Division soon learned that the Devil Unit tanks had retreated from the grasslands west of Hujitu to the hilly area east of Hujitu. They immediately divided their troops into three groups and encircled the hilly area east of Hujitu.