Chapter 320: Teaching the Poor to Fight

With the orders of commanders at all levels, the battle on the front line officially entered a white-hot stage.

Compared with the slightly disadvantaged artillery, the Japanese infantry was in great pain. As early as the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, the basic infantry light weapons of the Eighth Route Army had crushed the enemy in all directions.

If we have to say what is missing, it is the lack of two powerful weapons: flamethrowers and grenade launchers.

"Comrades! Charge with me! Take back the third line of defense from the hands of the Japanese! Pave the way for subsequent actions!"

"60 forced, suppress the enemy's firepower points! 81 forced! Try to destroy the fortifications in front! Take a few more barrels, maybe there will be a chance to use them!"

"Kill!"

Seeing the commanders take the lead, the soldiers of the two battalions followed closely and jumped out of the trenches.

Everyone maintained a skirmish line during the charge, with a distance of ten meters on the left and right and twenty meters in front and back, and the overall formation looked very orderly.

At the same time, the artillery in the rear also shifted its target.

The best solution to the drum tactics is to bombard the enemy's rear echelon assembly area with powerful firepower, so that the subsequent charge cannot be connected together.

However, at this time, the offense and defense are switched, and it is our infantry attack. The primary task is to ensure that the friendly charge is not disturbed.

The artillery temporarily gave up the action of shelling the second echelon, and tried to suppress the enemy's mountain and field artillery with 75 and 120 guns.

Although the Second Independent Mixed Brigade deployed the artillery in a relatively hidden position, the experienced comrades still found the approximate area.

After all, the artillery company's position is set up on a small hill west of Lijia Village.

There is a perfect position to give full play to the artillery's firing range, where the entire front line can be seen at a glance.

"Position XXX, distance 7300 meters!"

"Open fire! Shoot all the shells! Even if the hit rate is very low, it can make the Japanese artillery hesitate!"

"The troops will be transferred soon, and the shells will only affect the speed of retreat! When we return to the county, the inventory in the warehouse will definitely be enough to replenish all the artillery groups!"

The company commander's idea is very arrogant and reasonable.

Now it is 1941, and the various resources of the book are about to run out. Every barreled gun is a treasure that needs to be cherished.

Moreover, Tianzhen is the first level of this battle. If the artillery equipment is damaged too seriously, the next battle will not be easy to fight.

After the order was given, eight M1897 75mm cannons and twelve 120 mortars fired at the same time, and the shells were divided into two waves and arced into the distance.

The first to land was the 75-millimeter shell, and a series of explosions rose in the predicted area.

Maybe the power of 75mm is not good enough, but the explosive rate of fire will never disappoint people, and the deterrence and shock to the enemy are directly maximized.

Next is the 120 mortar shell. Although the range of this weapon has been systematically enhanced, the problem of flight time has not been solved.

However, low initial velocity is not without advantages. Not having to bear great pressure means that the charge can be more brutal.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dense fireballs appeared out of nowhere.

This round of artillery bombardment is not only powerful, but also very satisfying to the bombers.

The destructive effect of mortars is stronger than that of howitzers of the same caliber. As a system with French ancestry, the 120 mortars of the Eighth Route Army are even more powerful than the 150 heavy howitzers of the devil.

"Keep shooting!"

"No subsequent explosion means you didn't hit it, keep shooting!"

"Today we will teach the devil a lesson and let them see how the rich suppress artillery fire!"

This situation is expected, and it is normal not to hit it.

Without specific coordinates, the artillery group did not conduct test firing. It was difficult to hit the first round even in the health bar world and magic thunder.

Reload and continue shooting.

If the accuracy is not enough, make up for it with quantity.

Rounds of shells fell like meteors towards the general area of ​​the distant Japanese artillery positions.

The artillery of the first division was already veterans, and they also conducted live-fire training on weekdays. As more and more shells were fired, their proficiency in the two new weapons became higher and higher.

······

Five minutes ago, the headquarters of the Second Independent Mixed Brigade.

"Yoshi!"

"It seems that the German tactics are very useful. The warriors have broken through three lines of defense in succession."

"As long as the positions of Lijia Village and Luojia Village can be completely occupied before dawn, the enemy on Panshan will inevitably fall without attack. According to the current progress, the brigade may not be unable to reach Julebao within three days."

The words of his own chief of staff brought a smile to Goro Mano's tired old face.

The drum tactics have begun to take effect, which has greatly changed the breakthrough ability of the troops.

This is a great thing. As long as the retreat of the Eighth Route Army in Datong is cut off and the enemy is cut off from the most critical supply, this battle is basically half won.

Although the current casualties are somewhat beyond expectations, most of the casualties are cannon fodder such as the puppet army. The five most elite infantry battalions have not been hit to the point of breaking bones.

Just as the two were about to continue discussing the next tactics, a telephone staff officer rushed in.

"Brigade commander, there is news from the artillery position."

"The artillery of the Eighth Route Army has just carried out several rounds of artillery fire, and it seems that their approximate position has been discovered."

"The enemy's artillery unit is not small in size, and there are also large-caliber 120mm mortars. Major Yamaguchi called to ask whether to counterattack or transfer."

As soon as these words came out, Mano Goro felt a chill running down his spine.

As a powerful general in the Mongolian army, he certainly knew that the Eighth Route Army was equipped with a large number of French 75mm artillery, but he never expected that the other side would actually come up with something new.

The situation on the battlefield is now gradually out of control, which is very dangerous.

"Nearly ten 75mm French field guns, and a suspected 120mm mortar?"

"Baga, why am I so unlucky? Just by attacking a small county, I encountered the Eighth Route Army's new weapons?"

"Hurry up and let the artillery move their positions! We must give priority to ensuring the safety of the independent artillery team. Those thirty-odd mountains and field artillery are our brigade's last trump card. We must rely on them to attack the enemy in subsequent operations."

Now the mountains and field artillery of the Independent Artillery Corps are the few remaining assets of Mano Goro.

If he lost all his troops on the first night of the attack, he wouldn't know how to fight the rest of the battle. What's more, the enemy occupies the air superiority, and they may lose a few more doors on the way.

When the commander of his own brigade gave the order, the chief of staff on the side showed a suspicious expression.

"Mano-kun, I have good news and bad news now."

Without waiting for the other party to answer, the old devil continued to speak:

"The good news is that we seem to be able to avenge the brigade and finally have a chance to avenge the previous brigade commander. The bad news is that the enemy is very powerful, and the next attack will definitely be difficult."

Hearing this, Mano Goro fell into thinking.

It is not difficult to understand the words of my colleagues, because the operation difficulty of the barrel gun is not low at all, and it often requires systematic training and a large amount of live ammunition training.

This thing is not like a mortar. If you can hit 60 mortars, you can drill a 120 mm large tube without any instructions.

To be able to train a mature artillery force in a short period of time, this unit must have a profound foundation.

At the junction of the four provinces of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei-Sui, there is only one team that meets the above conditions, and that is the Eighth Route Army Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Division 1.

"I see, they are indeed evenly matched opponents."

"It seems that I have another reason to win this battle, and it can also be regarded as an opportunity to be promoted to lieutenant general division commander."

"Give me the order to let the infantry brigade in the position defend as appropriate. If that doesn't work, temporarily let go of the defense line. Now we need to fight steadily and not let the enemy seize any chance of a comeback."

In the Battle of Huangtu Ridge that year, Norihide Abe was bombarded to pieces.

The death of a lieutenant general shocked the entire military. The commander named Yang also became famous overseas with the battle.

If you can kill the other party, your career will definitely be smooth, and even being the commander of the lieutenant general division will not be the end. If your commander is killed in battle or makes a big mistake, it is not impossible to take the position of commander of the Mongolian Army.

"Hi!"

······

"Baga! Where's the artillery cover we agreed on?"

"Why is the enemy's firepower so brutal? If we keep fighting like this, we may lose our position!"

"Hurry up and ask Major General Mano for help. We need the support of the 4th Infantry Brigade. Hurry up and let the next level of friendly forces attack alternately."

Under the cover of powerful artillery fire, the offensive of the two battalions was devastating.

Faced with the combination of rifle + submachine gun, the shortcomings of the 38 Great Gai in terms of firepower are clearly exposed.

With grenades and light and heavy machine guns alone, the Japanese could not form a powerful firepower point, not to mention that there were dozens of 60-guns accompanying the counterattack team.

Confrontation?

It is not easy to keep the front from collapsing.

But just when the two battalions of the Lao San Regiment occupied the forward position and prepared to launch a general attack on the third line of defense, the Japanese reinforcements finally arrived on the battlefield.

Boom boom boom.

Shells suddenly soared from the rear of the defense line and landed near the soldiers' positions.

What fired was the Type 97 90mm mortar, which is a light support weapon for the Japanese infantry and is generally equipped with subordinate troops of field divisions/brigades.

It is a magic weapon for dealing with machine gun positions and trenches. If necessary, it can also be used with mountain and field artillery for battlefield suppression.

With fresh troops and artillery support, the Japanese in the third line of defense gradually stabilized their formation and began to counterattack with the help of the remaining bunkers and fortifications to delay the Eighth Route Army's attack as much as possible.

Faced with the sudden shelling and the crossfire caused by the Japanese machine gun fortifications, the battalion commander commanding the front line immediately ordered the troops to stop the attack.

"Old Xu! Use your cannon to help me with another round."

"The stupid little devils have come to reinforce us, and there are more than a thousand enemies directly in front of us."

With the upgrade of weapons and equipment, the current Eighth Route Army has changed its overall combat style.

In the past, when attacking, the soldiers had to charge against Japanese artillery fire and machine guns. In order to reduce casualties, everyone had to flank as much as possible.

Now?

If a strong attack encounters obstacles, call for artillery support.

The superiors have purchased so many new portable communicators and radios for the troops. These are not just decorations. If there is an emergency, just call the artillery as soon as possible.

If artillery can't solve the problem, call the air force. Anyway, there are airports in various military locations throughout Shanxi.

At the speed of the close support aircraft, the mission can be achieved within half an hour. It is just a matter of how many sorties are dispatched.

If you are poor, you will be interspersed with tactics, if you are rich, you will be bombarded by me.

It’s best to cover with firepower, and sophisticated tactics should be left to opponents with equal firepower. Japs? Not worthy yet!

"receive!"

"Give me some time, we just moved to the reserve position."

In order to prevent the Japanese artillery counterattack, the artillery company decisively moved its position at the end of the first round of the general attack.

Three minutes later, the artillery in the rear opened fire again.

Unlike the blind firing during the artillery battle, this artillery attack was very accurate, and the shells went straight to the third line of defense as if they had eyes.

After all, that was the position built by their first division. The artillery knew where there were bunkers and civil engineering works, and they just had to bombard according to the elements prepared in advance.

Dense shells fell, and various fortifications in the defense line were destroyed one by one.

The 120mm mortar was absolutely supermodel-level when clearing the position. There were no temporary fortifications in the whole country or even in Asia that could withstand the top blow.

"Go ahead, it should be almost cleared."

"We still have a base number of shells, and we can contact you at any time if you need it."

After hearing the words of the artillery company commander, the first battalion commander carefully observed the battlefield with the tubular periscope in his hand.

Compared with the dark positions of our own side, the Japanese side was full of fire and full of familiar people. We could vaguely see a few lucky people running around with their bodies on fire.

It was early winter now, and if the cotton clothes were burned, they would definitely be burned.

"Go! Commando, follow me."

"Everyone remember, don't fight for a while! Don't chase after the enemy after driving them away."

"Damn it, I really hope that I can equip that kind of portable rocket launcher earlier, so that I can save the time of calling artillery."

"Yes!"

When the two battalions of the old third regiment began to attack, the Japanese had already sacrificed the retreat version of the Liao brand French roller.

After all, it was a very stupid act to defend the broken position with inferior firepower and not much advantage in manpower.

What's more, the order to retreat was issued by his own major general himself, so when would he retreat!

Twenty minutes later, the soldiers recaptured the third line of defense, and the infantry of the second independent mixed brigade also withdrew to the second line of defense.

"Ten minutes later, everyone will leave the battlefield as planned! Keep your eyes open and report immediately if you see the enemy!"

"Do the whole show! Plant mines in the trenches before leaving! Don't waste the grenades you can't take with you. Pull out the strings, pile them together, wrap them with trip wires, and leave breakfast for the enemy."

"Yes!"

Sleep, wake up and correct the typos