Chapter 534: It Seems that There Is No Need for Reconnaissance

Erwin was organizing a counterattack from beginning to end.

He believed that "the best defense is offense", which was especially true for artillery battles.

There is no way to defend against artillery shells, and the casualties they cause are fixed wherever they hit: the artillery fortification is there, there is no way to move or hide, no way to hide or escape, no one can decide whether it will be blown up.

The most critical thing at this time should be to fire artillery shells at the enemy in return. Only in this way can the enemy's artillery fire be reduced and the number of artillery shells our own side needs to withstand will be less and less.

The German artillery was well trained and well prepared.

The artillery observers immediately observed the data on the enemy's artillery positions and passed them to the command headquarters without waiting for the order.

(Note: Calculating the location of enemy artillery positions requires at least two groups of artillery observers separated by a certain distance. The principle is very simple, it is just a junior high school math problem, as shown below)

(The picture above shows the height of a tree. In the same way, distance and orientation can also be measured. The problem is that artillery observers often do not measure special angles, so the calculation is not that simple.)

The headquarters calculates the various elements and then transmits the data to the artillery positions.

The frontline commander announced to Zhu Yuan with a rapid and clear shout:

"Target No. 102 (preset location on the map)."

"Sight ruler 356! (Vertical angle in mil system)"

"Direction left 0-50. (horizontal angle in mil system)"

"10 rapid fire rounds for all members!"

The subordinate commanders each repeated loudly (repeated the Zhu Yuan reported by the superior), while the artillerymen nervously turned the muzzle according to the Zhu Yuan during the bombardment of artillery fire.

The whole process only took 10 minutes, which was quite fast in the era when radio was not popular and most people relied on telephone calls and shouting.

Finally, as the frontline commander shouted: "Fire!"

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

…

Dozens of surviving artillery pieces instantly roared towards the enemy artillery positions.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom boom"

…

The German artillerymen were worthy of being battle-hardened veterans. The artillery shells accurately hit the target position. The artillery observer responded on the phone with an excited voice: "Hit the target! Hit the target!".

Erwin felt it was not enough, so he fired five more rapid shots.

"Boom boom boom!"

This time the impact point of the bomb was more concentrated, blasting out clouds of fire and smoke at the target location.

However, after the sound of gunfire and explosions, there was nothing.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the cold wind blowing and the smoke swirling around. Occasionally, the wails and cries for help of the wounded could be heard. They were artillerymen injured by enemy rockets.

At least a dozen artillery pieces around were damaged in the bombing, and fires were still burning in some places. If they were not extinguished in time, it might cause a bigger accident.

These are handled by my own subordinates.

Lieutenant General Nicholas and Erwin looked at each other in the headquarters, which was too abnormal.

Once the artillery battle begins, most of the time the two sides will go back and forth to explode, and whoever moves faster will have the upper hand, until the other side can no longer hold on and escapes.

But now, there is no chance of anyone fighting back.

"Did they escape?" Erwin looked across with his binoculars, but saw nothing but smoke and trees.

"Impossible." Lieutenant General Nicholas shook his head: "10 artillery regiments, there is no need for them to escape."

The hit-and-run tactic does exist.

But if you have an absolute firepower advantage, such as 10 artillery regiments against 3 of your own artillery regiments, it is your own side that has to escape, not the enemy.

However, the fact is that there is no sound from the other side, and there is no subsequent shell.

After hesitating for a while, Lieutenant General Nicholas ordered: "Send someone to conduct reconnaissance."

Although it was behind the French defense line, the scouts could get up close and observe the situation with binoculars.

"Yes, General." The staff officer responded, turned around and went down to deliver the order.

Soon, intelligence came back from the front line: "General, there is nothing in the target area except bomb craters."

This means no results.

"This is impossible!" Lieutenant General Nicholas cast a questioning look at the staff officer, with a hint of anger in his eyes.

10 artillery regiments, such a huge force and artillery fire, even if they were not covered by artillery fire and blew up a few cannons, there should at least be some traces.

Moreover, it is impossible for them to withdraw from the target area within 10 minutes.

(Note: An artillery battalion with 12 artillery pieces requires a strength of 500 people, and 10 artillery regiments have at least 15,000 people. It is impossible to withdraw at the same time)

The staff officer replied helplessly: "We have repeatedly confirmed that there is indeed nothing in the target area."

Lieutenant General Nicholas still couldn't believe it: "No, there must be something wrong. The scout found the wrong location, or the artillery observer made a miscalculation..."

"General." Erwin interrupted Lieutenant General Nicholas: "What if they are all right?"

"What do you mean?" Lieutenant General Nicholas looked at Erwin in confusion.

Erwin looked pale and replied slowly: "Did you notice that the rockets hitting us were rockets instead of artillery shells."

Lieutenant General Nicholas nodded, that was obvious.

"So." Erwin replied: "There are no 10 artillery regiments. What we are facing may be Charles's new equipment, which can fire a large number of rockets instantly and then transfer them in a short time."

Lieutenant General Nicholas suddenly realized, and then his eyes widened, showing deep fear.

God, if that's the case, we'll just be bombed the whole time. The reaction speed of the artillery can't keep up with their evacuation speed, and all the shells will hit the empty space!

Erwin nodded gently, indicating that Lieutenant General Nicolas was right.

But they said nothing tacitly.

These words can't be revealed. No one wants to "just be bombed". This will seriously affect the morale of the artillery. They may choose to escape at all costs, which will also affect the entire army and make everyone lose interest in fighting!

Lieutenant General Nicolas sent the staff away. He took Erwin to the observation window, pretending to look across the river with a telescope, and asked in a low voice: "Now, what should we do?"

"That's just my guess, General." Erwin said: "The first thing we have to do is to confirm this guess."

"How to confirm?"

"We need to send more scouts." Erwin frowned and answered hesitantly: "It's best to send a reconnaissance plane."

Lieutenant General Nicolas looked stern, but still said "um".

It is not realistic to send out scouts. The battle line is too long and wide. If scouts are sent out everywhere, even an infantry division may not be enough.

As for the reconnaissance planes, the enemy fighters are probably waiting in the sky.

At this moment, there was a sudden "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound in the sky, and another wave of rockets rolled in.

Lieutenant General Nicolas and Erwin looked at each other, and it seemed that there was no need for reconnaissance!