Chapter 332 What Do You Call a Ground-Licking Machine During an Artillery Battle? Can't You Afford to Play with It!

At 10 a.m. on November 22, 1941, the artillery position of the Japanese 110th Division.

"Attention Squadron One and Squadron Two!"

"Target, northern suburbs of Datong! Coordinates xxx!"

Following the order of Artillery Chief Haruji Sagaguchi, the barrels of a Type 94 mountain gun and a Type 38 field gun were raised high, and the muzzles were pointed directly at the main position of the Eighth Route Army in the distance.

"put!"

After rigorous test firing, the Japanese artillerymen corrected and obtained the initial parameters of the effective firing by observing the impact point of the projectile.

A moment later, the command flag symbolizing the general offensive fell.

The entire regiment's mountain and field artillery began to roar, and 75mm artillery shells rushed towards their respective targets, striving to open an attack channel for the infantry in the shortest possible time.

Ten seconds later, an explosion of gunpowder smoke suddenly rose in the north of Datong City, rolling up overwhelming gravel and rubble.

Looking at the masterpiece of his team, Haruji Taniguchi, an old devil, nodded with satisfaction.

"Yo Xi! Keep shooting!"

"Let those damn people of the Republic of China see what real artillery doctrine is!"

"The artillery shells assigned by our superiors this time are of sufficient quality and quantity. We are fully capable of blowing up the entire Datong. It is your Eighth Route Army's honor to die under the fierce bombardment of my brother's country."

The 110th Division of the North China Front has long been responsible for guarding the headquarters.

Due to the special nature of the division's responsibilities, its subordinate regiments rarely have the opportunity to participate in large-scale battles.

This time Haruji Taniguchi led his troops to Datong, not only to support the troops stationed in Mongolia in their offensive under orders from superiors, but also to satisfy his addiction to war.

When the enemy's artillery roared wildly, the commander of the 1st Artillery Regiment patted the dirt on his hat unhappily in the underground command post.

With 75mm artillery shells alone, it is impossible to destroy the carefully prepared defense system of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region in a short period of time. Although the explosion outside was quite noisy, it caused almost no substantial damage.

"Damn it, the Japs are really making a lot of noise today."

"Compared with the battles in the previous two days, this new group of Japanese soldiers really have two skills. Not bad, not bad. They can barely be considered a capable opponent."

"Old Wang, is the data from the observation post in place? We cannot allow the enemy to continue making trouble, lest they make the position a mess."

Thanks to the North China Front Army Aviation's combat plan, the 110th Division suffered no losses while rushing to the front line, and their artillery unit arrived in Datong almost unscathed.

Coupled with its over-staffed configuration, the pressure on the main frontal position at this time was much greater than that of the previous two days.

Upon hearing the question from his regimental commander, the regimental deputy of the artillery regiment responded immediately:

"Not yet. After all, the enemy's shelling has just begun, and it will take time for the observation post to calculate the data."

"Let those devils who have never seen the world dare to be so arrogant with just a few dozen 75mm mountain and field guns. I really don't know how to write the word "death".

"After enduring it for two days, I can finally do something big!"

The tiger's combat plan in the forest can be summed up in eight words, which is to lure the enemy deep into retreat for a decisive battle.

This is not because the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region does not have the strength to confront the North China Front Army. It is mainly because the width of the battlefield outside Datong is extremely limited, which seriously limits the space for large groups to operate in clusters.

If you forcibly gather a large number of troops, put up a defensive stance inside and outside the city.

Then either the superposition penalty and the super-wide penalty are fully consumed, which will inevitably defeat the original intention of reducing casualties in a battle.

Or we can only let each column take turns to garrison in the position, and use the refueling tactic that was my favorite in the early stages of the War of Resistance.

In a sense, the Japanese took advantage of this battle. After all, three divisions and two brigades are the maximum strength they can produce at this stage, but in Datong it is neither more nor less.

Considering the above situation, the Tigers in the Forest divided the first phase of the city's peripheral warfare into two steps.

The first step is to rely on the pre-set positions to actively meet the enemy, and use a combination of infantry and artillery to kill the enemy's effective forces as much as possible.

The defense based on positions mentioned by 101 is different from the passive filling of lines formulated by preserved fruits in the early days of the Anti-Japanese War. Only a fool would let the soldiers bear the shells and be passively bombed.

If you blindly act as a living target, no matter how solid the positions and fortifications are, it will be impossible to defend them for a long time.

Squatting in the trench without thinking will only allow the enemy's artillery to slowly test fire, correct, hit and hit again.

The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region's combat methods are much more scientific and advanced. Soldiers use civil fortifications to reduce the damage of enemy fire while directing their own artillery to actively counterattack.

With more and more accurate artillery shells, it can block the enemy and kill the Japanese infantry.

At night, troops at all levels continued to organize small-scale counterattacks. Using the tactic of frontal containment and flanking breakthroughs, multiple batches of enemy artillery positions and command posts were attacked.

This is why the 26th Division and the Cavalry Group suffered huge casualties in just two days.

The above arrangement seems simple, but it is a bit troublesome to execute. Because each column needs to know the scale of counterattack.

If you hurt the enemy all at once, the opponent is likely to lose confidence in attacking. We should not release the water too seriously to prevent unnecessary casualties on our side.

Just the right amount can give the North China Front the illusion that they can break through the defense line with hard work.

Only in this way can the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region successfully lure out the snake and let the devils take the initiative to mobilize the reserve troops waiting in the rear.

The second step is to release news that is enough to drive the devils crazy, so that the enemy will attack Datong at all costs.

At this stage, the columns do not need to let go, and the previously hidden firepower and equipment can be fully utilized. Anyway, the Japanese army at that time is definitely in a state of superiority.

In the eyes of the three lieutenant generals, as long as the senior commander of the Eighth Route Army can be captured, it doesn’t matter how many grassroots soldiers are sacrificed.

······

Let’s get back to the point. Just as the commander and deputy commander of the first artillery regiment were talking, the observation post on the city wall finally transmitted the data to the artillery command post.

"Commander! The enemy's position has been confirmed!"

"I will organize a counterattack now, and you stay in the command center to coordinate the overall situation!"

"Okay! Be safe!"

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region has been stationed in Datong for half a year. The soldiers are very familiar with every tree and grass here, and the troops at all levels also have topographic maps surveyed in advance.

With the above advantages, the observer standing on the watchtower of the city wall can find the approximate position of the enemy's artillery position with only a pocket watch.

The specific steps are also very simple. Comrades first estimate the approximate distance based on the time difference between the shooting and landing of the Japanese artillery shells.

After knowing the distance, the final answer can be locked by changing the position and the intersection of the two points.

Although this method is more or less backward, as long as the firepower reaction is fast enough and the number of shells is large enough, there is a chance to kill the Japanese mountain and field artillery regiments in one wave.

"Comrades! Our task is to completely suppress the enemy's artillery!"

"I have only one request for everyone, that is, to hit all the shells on the enemy's head! Send those damned little Japanese to see their locusts!"

"Attention, all guns! Start shooting in one minute! Cover the target area at full speed!"

As soon as this was said, each artillery group immediately invested in intensive preparations.

The war has begun, and the enemy's shells may fly over at any time, so naturally we must seize the time to catch up early rather than late.

A moment later, forty-eight M18 cannons and thirty-six 120mm mortars were ready.

That's right, the 1st Artillery Regiment is still a reinforced regiment.

Although war is never a simple addition of numbers, there are many factors that can determine victory or defeat. But for artillery, the thicker the tube, the better the number.

"Boom boom boom!"

The entire artillery regiment began to pour out shells in units of company level, and the two types of French artillery roared loudly, as if to vent the grievances accumulated in the past two days.

Mortars and rapid-fire guns demonstrated their advantages to the fullest, and large and small shells fell like raindrops.

On the artillery positions of the 110th Division, fireballs suddenly rose.

The most exaggerated one was naturally the 120mm mortar. Almost every shell would blow a big hole in the Japanese position, and the scattered shrapnel continued to harvest lives.

If the devils had not arranged the artillery positions strictly according to the manual, the first round of attack would have been enough to cause them heavy losses.

"Colonel! The artillery of the Eighth Route Army has appeared!"

"The enemy has assembled dozens of artillery pieces and is bombarding our positions! Among them, there are suspected 105mm howitzers!"

"Our positions have suffered heavy losses under their bombardment!"

The sudden attack caught Taniguchi Haruharu off guard. But as the artillery commander of the strongest Type B division, he naturally has some real skills.

The old devil first sent out a big army ancestral force to keep the staff in front of him calm, and then ordered the signalman:

"Baga, you idiot!"

"What 105 howitzer? How could the poor Eighth Route Army have such a weapon! It's a 120mm mortar!"

"Pass my order! Let the 105 howitzers in the rear join the battle! Use the range advantage to knock down all the exposed firepower points for me."

Since the 120mm mortar was used in the battle by the First Division of Jizhong, the devils began to focus on collecting basic data on this new weapon.

After all, according to past experience, whenever the Eighth Route Army takes out a new weapon, it won't take long for the whole army to equip it.

Collecting data early will definitely benefit the next war.

The range of the Japanese Type 91 105mm howitzer is 10,900 meters. This thing has the bloodline of the French Schneider and is one of the few fine products in the Japanese army.

Judging from its various performances, it can completely beat the two uncle-level weapons that are also French products.

"Hey!"

"But Colonel, we don't know where the artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army are!"

As soon as these words came out, Taniguchi Haruharu almost hurt himself.

In previous battles, the actions of their artillery regiments were often accompanied by an observation balloon. That bulky balloon is the eyes of all artillerymen.

Even now, the southern troops can still suppress the artillery of the preserved fruit with observation balloons.

But on the battlefield in North China, their own land aviation had already lost air superiority. Most of the observation balloons were either blown up by the Eighth Route Army fighters or used as targets by the anti-aircraft artillery units on the ground.

The 110th Division had long lost its eye in the sky.

"Baga! I don't care what method you use! You must find the enemy's artillery position within three minutes!"

The staff officer who was slapped again felt very aggrieved. In his opinion, he was just doing his job conscientiously according to the regulations, and there was no reason for him to be a punching bag for his superior.

But the higher the rank, the more powerful he was. He could only leave the position with the order of his superior.

In the end, the Japanese artillery still found the approximate area of ​​the target with experience. Although this data is not accurate, it is much better than just being beaten without fighting back.

Twelve Type 91 105mm howitzers fired at the same time, and the grenades weighing 16 kilograms flew to the main position outside Datong.

The attacking artillery regiment was suppressed by firepower, and the number of shells fired per unit time was significantly reduced. Taniguchi Haruharu finally breathed a sigh of relief, wandering back and forth on various positions to adjust the troops, preparing to suppress the enemy artillery in one go.

·······

When the Japanese Type 91 105 howitzer fired, the observer on the Wuding Gate Watchtower first marked the location on the map, and then picked up the phone next to him.

"Enemy large-caliber artillery positions have been discovered!"

"Repeat, Japanese large-caliber artillery positions have been discovered in the main battlefield in the north of the city!"

"Request the headquarters to call for air support, our artillery range is too short to pose an effective threat!"

"Received! Support will arrive later!"

The moment the phone was hung up, the field airport far away in Huairen received the telegram almost simultaneously.

Since this telegram for help went through the emergency channel, the radio operator sounded the airport's combat readiness alarm before even starting to interpret it.

In an instant, a harsh sound resounded over the airport.

At the same time, sixteen pilots rushed out of the dormitory, got on the three-wheeled motorcycle waiting at the door and ran towards the apron.

"Lao Wang! Today is still the same old rules!"

"Help me load two 227-kilogram bombs, rockets and machine guns must also be loaded!"

"There is no tiger in the mountain! Monkeys dare to claim to be the king? A cannon from ten years ago is so arrogant, and they don't even ask if our air force agrees!"

"Okay!"

After receiving Fang Ziyi's notice, the entire ground crew immediately started to act.

As the first local ace pilot of the Eighth Route Army, the ground crews who partnered with him were naturally the most experienced ones.

Although the North China Eagle often used bombs of different specifications, there was only one type of rocket and machine gun available. So when the combat alert at the airport sounded, the comrades started working, greatly shortening the preparation time before the attack.

Five minutes later, sixteen Typhoon fighters took off and headed straight for the Datong battlefield 40 kilometers away.

It is worth mentioning that at this time, there were already seven bright red solid five-pointed stars on the wings of the fighter numbered 192, each of which represented a successful shootdown. (End of this chapter)