Chapter 166: The Jinsui Army Took the Blame

Five minutes ago, when Asakawa Masazou started to speak on the radio, Wang Chengzhu led the artillery company to prepare for the battle.

As long as the commander of his own regiment gave an order, the soldiers who had been waiting for a long time would pour out their anger on the enemy in the shortest time.

As a curved fire weapon, the mortar position is usually set in a location with natural cover.

The landing point of the new second regiment can be said to be a good frontier observation post, but once it is fired at the airport, the devils have a high probability of easily discovering this artillery position.

Considering that the enemy's counterattack speed must be fast after the battle starts.

Wang Chengzhu did not just find a place to line up the seven mortars in a row as in later film and television dramas.

Instead, after getting the permission of his own commander, he dug a shooting pit fifteen meters in front of the landing point in the early morning yesterday and made concealment.

The prerequisite for building such a position is that there are no trees or obstructions above, which is the most stable way that Zhuzi can think of at present.

The seven 82mm mortars of the new second regiment are all arranged in seven oval firing pits with a size of 240X180cm.

Such a position can not only achieve 360-degree shooting, but also more or less play a concealing role.

There is a small trench on each side of the firing pit that can accommodate one soldier. Although it is uncertain how strong the enemy's counterattack is, it is always right to protect the precious artillery group.

Wang Chengzhu, the empty son who firmly believes that only when alive can there be output, also asked the soldiers to build a 25-centimeter breast wall.

Behind the mortar is a passage reinforced with vertical wooden boards. This trench, which can accommodate two people walking side by side at the same time, leads to the ammunition storage point.

There are neatly stacked ammunition boxes stacked like mahjong tiles.

In order to bring these 3.8 kg shells to the periphery of the airport, the soldiers of the third battalion suffered a lot.

Because the recoil of the mortar when firing will hammer the bottom plate into the sand, the soldiers also considerately put the lid of the ammunition box under the base.

It can be said that everything is ready now, only the east wind is missing!

At this time, our commander Li climbed up a tree, holding a telescope and staring at the brightly lit airport in front.

Patience is a quality that hunters must have. As an experienced commander, he is waiting for the enemy to reveal a fatal flaw.

When the Japanese had loaded all the bombs and machine gun bullets and began to refuel the Type 97 fighter. Li Yunlong on the tree branch shouted to the artillery position diagonally below:

"Zhu Zi! Get ready! The opportunity is coming!"

After hearing the order, Wang Chengzhu nodded. The first round of shelling is the most important. At this time, the enemy is not only unprepared, but the fighters have not yet driven to the runway one after another.

Even the ground crew did not leave the apron in time. The aviation oil barrels on their carts are good things.

Once these flammable and explosive items can be hit or implicated, the entire apron will cause a chain explosion, unlocking the achievement of all acquaintances.

It is worth mentioning that this airport of the Japanese has no walls. During the first round of shelling, Wang Chengzhu could adjust the parameters of the mortar in time according to the landing point of the shells.

However, it doesn't matter if you can't shoot accurately.

If the technology and accuracy are not enough, then use quantity to kill the enemy. Under the coverage of artillery fire, all beings are equal.

"Attention, all guns! Check all parameters and prepare to shoot! We can't take any of these shells away, otherwise they will become a burden for us when we retreat!"

"The first round must be fired rapidly for one minute, and the more shells fired, the better!"

"Don't stop before you see my flag!"

Under Wang Chengzhu's powerful command, all the soldiers of the artillery company were excited and their blood boiled, and everyone seemed to have a blazing fire in their hearts.

Mainly because of such an exciting way of playing, no one had ever thought about it before.

The artillerymen who can participate in this mission are all veterans who have passed layers of screening.

These soldiers with more than three years of combat experience have survived the most difficult days and almost engraved the word thrift in their bones.

When fighting with the devils, they wished they could split a shell in half. When you kill a certain enemy firepower point, you will regret it for a long time if you don't kill a few infantrymen at the same time.

It is because of the pitiful reserve of artillery shells in the past that the artillerymen pursued single-shot accuracy, and there was no concept of artillery coverage.

This time, there is no need to consider so much. The shooting parameters are all calculated in advance by the company commander, and everyone just needs to fire mechanically.

When Li Yunlong saw that the Japanese ground crew had finished all the preparations, he slid down from the tree and shouted to the soldiers below:

"Third Battalion Commander! Cut off the power!"

"Quick! Fire!"

Under the scorching eyes of the artillery company soldiers, Wang Chengzhu waved the flag in his hand fiercely, and at the same time picked up the telescope hanging around his neck and began to observe.

"Fire!"

After receiving the order, the soldiers of the artillery company let go of their hands like a conditioned reflex, letting the shells hanging above the barrel slide to the bottom.

After letting go, the shells fell into the barrel, and the gunners immediately lowered their heads and covered their ears.

In the dark night, a puff of green smoke rose from the muzzle, a little flame burst out, and a cloud of dust rose around the gun mount.

Bang × 7!

Because the initial velocity of the shell was only more than 400 meters per second, this round of shells had not fallen in the air, causing Wang Chengzhu to not be able to see the landing point.

But the tactic this time was artillery fire coverage. He continued to wave the flag on the side of the artillery position, signaling the soldiers not to stop the action.

The artillery veterans did not live up to the trust of the company commander. The gunners kept taking the shells handed over by the ammunition handlers.

The action was so skillful that even laymen would say good things.

In the trenches behind, there were several ammunition handlers running back and forth. A gun crew was served by five ammunition handlers in turn, delivering a steady stream of shells to the position like an assembly line.

The theoretical rate of fire of the 82mm mortar is 20 rounds per minute, but full-speed shooting cannot last too long, depending on the material of the gun barrel.

The gun crew of the New Second Regiment can maintain about 17 rounds per minute. In just one minute, 119 3.8 kg shells flew to the devil's airport one after another.

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In this era, pilots from any country do not like to go out at night. After all, weather is the most important factor in air combat.

However, with air superiority, the Japanese soldiers of the Army Aviation could barely do something at night.

After all, neither the Eighth Route Army nor the preserved fruit troops had large-scale anti-aircraft weapons.

Such a comfortable combat environment gradually turned their daily lives into mindless paramecium licking the ground, without even the least respect for the ground crew.

At the airport, several Japanese soldiers wearing summer jumpsuits were denouncing the ground crew, asking them to quickly prepare the next wave of 7.7mm machine gun bullets.

Although Shinozuka Yoshio asked the 29th Independent Flying Squadron to put safety first and not do anything too radical.

But it is obvious that these Japanese soldiers who have long forgotten that bombers are offensive weapons and fighters are only defensive and tactical support don’t care whether the enemy can threaten them.

After all, previous combat experience tells them that the chance of being shot down by a machine gun is very small. Akiyama Haruta’s crash is like a joke in their eyes.

Suddenly, Asakawa Masaru’s heart skipped a beat and he had an ominous premonition. This feeling is like being bitten on the butt by that I-16 back then.

The major of the aviation army suppressed his uneasiness and looked up at the sky. It turns out that staying on the battlefield for a long time will make your intuition very sharp.

Just as he was trying to analyze the panic that flashed by, the searchlights and lights at the airport all went out, and a familiar and unfamiliar voice came from the distance.

No one thought that the airport would be attacked at this time, after all, the airport was near Taiyuan. No matter how brave the enemy was, it was impossible to run to the territory of the First Army Headquarters to make trouble.

"Did you hear any sound?"

After hearing the words of their captain, the Japanese stopped cursing at the power system, all quieted down and began to listen to the sudden sound.

The shells of the Type 20 82mm mortar fly at a speed lower than the speed of sound. If the target is at the maximum range, there is often a reaction time of about two seconds.

When these Japanese just realized what was about to happen, the shells in the sky had already landed in the area of ​​the apron.

"Mortar!!"

Just three words, no need to say anything more, all the little things started to move.

The pilots ran towards their fighter planes with the weak moonlight, while the ground crew pushed the carts and ran towards the underground bunker.

Unfortunately, they were too slow, even if they had two more legs.

The original 7 mortar shells in the first wave were going to be ineffective.

But sometimes it is better to catch the shells than to shoot them well. A ground crew member ran to a place only two meters away from the landing point during the evacuation.

What's more, there was still half a barrel of unused aviation fuel on his cart.

Nearly dozens of kilograms of fuel were detonated instantly, and exploded into a beautiful fireball with a bang near the apron, perfectly proving what explosion is art.

The first drop of blood appeared!

When the Japanese were about to approach their fighter planes with the light of the fire, the second and third waves of shelling fell one after another, and the explosions, smoke and wailing filled the entire airport again.

The shells symbolizing death will not let someone go because of their status.

Whether it was the ground crew or the pilots, they were like paper in front of the shrapnel, and they would die if they were touched.

Some shells even hit the oil depot, and the noise was so loud that the residents of Taiyuan City could hear it. Fortunately, the Japanese ammunition depot was built underground, otherwise the entire airport would be destroyed if it exploded.

The enemy's reaction was quite fast. Half a minute after the power outage, the Japanese major in charge of the airport defense rushed out of his lounge.

Looking at the Type 97 fighter struggling in the flames, Fujimoto Tsuyoshi's legs softened and he almost couldn't stand, feeling that the sky was about to fall.

He grabbed a soldier who was running and asked him to notify everyone to assemble!

At this moment, a squadron leader ran over and kept shouting on the way:

"Major! We were bombarded by an unknown enemy!"

Looking at the useless subordinates in front of him, Fujimoto Tsuyoshi felt that he was going to be angry to death. The Japanese kicked the other in the stomach and roared angrily.

"I'm not blind! Go find the enemy! Mortars can't reach far! Search for me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a shell accurately hit a fighter plane that was preparing to take off, and the fully loaded fuel tank and all the weapons released huge energy.

Even other planes on the runway were affected, and the two closest ones were swallowed by the explosion.

Since the destruction of Yangmingbao Airport, the Japanese have been upgrading their garrison at the airport. The three squadrons now are infantry drawn from the 33rd Division.

Although the shooting pits arranged by Wang Chengzhu temporarily blinded the enemy's eyes. But after careful observation by the Japanese on the sentry post, the position of the artillery company of the New Second Regiment was still exposed.

After receiving the intelligence, Fujimoto Tsuyoshi did not set off immediately because he was waiting for all the soldiers to gather.

In Shanxi Province, the enemy that can launch such an intense attack is either the Shanxi Suiyuan Army or the Central Army. The latter are now hiding in the Zhongtiao Mountain area, so the enemy to be faced must be the Shanxi Suiyuan Army.

The Eighth Route Army? Sorry, even if they are rich, they can't be so wasteful, and it is not within the scope of consideration.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously glanced at the airport being bombarded.

The dense shells seemed to be free of charge. The interval between one wave and another was no more than ten seconds. At least more than 100 shells were fired in just one minute.

Although he had not participated in the Battle of Xinkou, it was well known that the infantry and artillery of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army were strong in close combat. If it were not for their insufficient air force, the eight artillery regiments would definitely cause a lot of damage to the brother country.

The Shanxi-Suiyuan Army had been planning to attack the airport for a long time, and there must be a lot of enemies on the opposite side. If they rushed out before all the troops were assembled, wouldn’t it be a tactic of adding fuel to the fire!

Looking at the soldiers of the three squadrons, they began to gather quickly under the leadership of the squadron leader. Fujimoto Tsuyoshi took a deep breath and prepared to order everyone to attack together.

The airport had been bombed beyond recognition. Just from what he saw, 7 fighter planes were destroyed by the enemy. And the remaining four were also riddled with holes, and it was questionable whether they could be repaired.

The runway and apron were no different from being scrapped. If these attackers could not be eliminated, his own commander would definitely not let him go.

"Leave a small team behind! After the enemy's bombardment ends, cooperate with the ground crew to rescue the scene."

"The rest of you, charge! If any enemy escapes, none of us will live to see tomorrow's sunrise!"

After all the orders were issued, Fujimoto Tsuyoshi immediately went into the communication room.

Since the airport is not far from Taiyuan, cutting off the telephone line will alert the enemy, so the devil can still contact the garrison in Taiyuan City.

In this situation, the loss has already occurred. If you don't report it in time, you will be courting death.

"The airport was attacked by the Shanxi Suiyuan Army! They have artillery! A large number of heavy artillery! We need support!"

"The enemy has at least two thousand people!"

In fact, it should be the Jinyan Army, after all, the Seventh Route and a Half has been working alone since 1938.