Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Chapter 254 The general attack begins!
Taiyuan, Eastern Group Command Post.

As we said before, Taiyuan is a city built in a basin.

The average height of the main urban area is 785 meters, while the highest point in the east is 920 meters.This means that as long as you stand on the high ground in the east, you can have a panoramic view of the city.

Of course, the Eastern Group will make reasonable use of such a special terrain.

The artillerymen established several artillery observation posts on the high ground around the city.

Coupled with the detailed city defense map provided by the First Kong Division, the brigade commander had the confidence to end the battle in [-] hours.

At this time, there are still 15 minutes before the start of the general offensive.Brigadier Chen was standing on the top of the hill, his eyes slowly sweeping across the artillery positions below.

"Old Chen, are you nervous?"

"It's okay, no shame. After all, this is the first time to attack a big city. Other troops may not be as good as us."

"I talked to Fang Ziyi of the First Kong Division, and asked him to fire a few more rockets on the section of the [-]th Brigade's attack. Don't worry, hahaha."

After hearing the ridicule from his chief of staff, Brigadier Chen rolled his eyes angrily.

It is a fact that the Eighth Route Army lacks experience in urban battles, but advanced equipment and sufficient logistical supplies can completely eliminate the only disadvantage.

What's more, for this battle, my good brother has been thinking hard for two weeks.Almost all possible accidents have been counted, and multiple sets of response plans have been made.

"Nervous? How could I be nervous? Yoshio Iwamatsu is the one who has no idea!"

"Isn't it just a siege? Our brigade fought Yangquan last year. This Taiyuan is just a bigger county."

"Send me to obey orders! Get all artillerymen ready for battle!"

"Yes!"

Following Brigadier Chen's order, the artillerymen lifted the camouflage on their respective positions one after another.

A pair of M1897 75mm cannons pointed directly at Taiyuan City in the distance, and they began to pour out their anger as soon as the superior gave an order.

Fifteen minutes later, the perspective returned to the 15th Brigade.

After receiving replies from troops at all levels, the brigade commander issued an attack order without hesitation.

Today is a big day, the brigade commander specially put on his favorite leather jacket.At this moment, his eyes were full of passion, and he strode to the phone and shouted:

"The general attack begins!"

"Give me 10 minutes first! No one is allowed to stop without my order!"

As soon as the words fell, the entire southern group's position was filled with the sound of artillery roaring.

This wonderful voice made every comrade involved in the battle excited.

Of course, except for the logistics department.

In order to ensure sufficient firepower, the 129th Division not only took out all the wealth it had accumulated for a long time, but even borrowed 120 guns from the Jinchaji Military Region and the 200th Division.

In this way, only Zhang Wan and the injured world reached.

In this battle, there were four hundred M1897 75mm cannons participating in the battle.

Excluding the western group defending along the Fen River and the northern group that mainly feints, the eastern and southern groups can drop up to 29.2 tons of artillery shells on the heads of the devil defenders per minute.

The First Army now only has 31 mountain, field, and howitzers, which is less than one-twentieth of the Eighth Route Army.

In order to allow the soldiers to have sufficient shells, it is also to prevent TG's fear of insufficient firepower.Throughout May, the Yellow River only allowed the military factories in the system to produce Miss 75 and shells, and even the Hurricane production line was temporarily closed.

The Military Industry Bureau of the Border Region and the Jindongnan Logistics Department have also adjusted their production focus, and all projects must make way for the supply of shells.

A moment later, the stormy shells, with the sound of tearing the air, landed on the fortresses outside Taiyuan City from multiple angles.

Each artillery regiment did not test fire in advance, and it was covered by rapid-fire artillery fire as soon as it came up.The rate of fire of a single cannon is more than [-] rounds per minute, causing gunpowder smoke and explosive fireballs to rise above the enemy's position.

The city wall, which had experienced the baptism of war in 1938, groaned again under the bombardment of shells.

The artillerymen of the Eighth Route Army are no longer the novices of the past. Comrades use combat as training, and their skills have long since become proficient.Following the feedback from the observation posts, the fortresses were named one by one.

The devils who couldn't fight back could only wait to die in the weak fortifications.

Such a large-scale bombardment was not a fuss by the brigade commander, using anti-aircraft guns to fight mosquitoes.

As early as during the Hundred Regiments War, the war potential of the Eighth Route Army had deeply shocked Yoshio Shinozuka.

At that time, the main force of the First Army was still fighting against the Guofu defenders near Zhongtiao Mountain. He was afraid that his headquarters would be besieged in his dreams.

In case the three bases of the Eighth Route Army launched a surprise attack with 105 regiments.In the case that the opponent does not count losses, Taiyuan's troops alone may not be able to defend.

The threat of death made the First Army very active in repairing the tortoise shell.

This old devil began to recruit civilian husbands in September last year, and strengthened the defense of Taiyuan City a lot, covering the whole city with a thick layer of armor.

Under his operation, Taiyuan City built a huge fortification group around the castle.There are more than 30 masonry fortresses every 400 meters inside and outside the city walls.

There are also foxholes and shelters between the fortifications, and they are connected by communication trenches and roads.

Just in case, the devils also arranged a large number of mines and barbed wire around the perimeter.

In the entire city, there are only eight checkpoints left for daytime access.At night, all traffic other than the military is cut off, which can be described as heavily guarded.

After Yoshio Iwamatsu took office, 27 reinforced concrete fortresses were expanded at key positions, which once again strengthened the overall defense strength.

Facing a big city with tens of thousands of troops and abundant supplies.If the 129th Division was still at the level of the artillery towers before 1939, Taiyuan could defend almost indefinitely.

If the First Army is allowed to hold firmly, it is hard to say whether the North China Front Army can come back, but there is a high probability that the recovery of Jin Province will be delayed.

It's a pity, because Shinozuka Yoshio seriously miscalculated the speed of the Eighth Route Army's equipment iteration.

Those seemingly solid fortification groups were all built in accordance with the firepower standards of the 129th Division during the Hundred Regiments War.

They must have no problem with anti-81 infantry guns and 1897mm mortars, but they can only do nothing in the face of the M75 [-]mm cannon.

The only thing that can be used is the reinforced concrete fortress built during the Yoshio Iwamatsu period.

What's more, our army is not what it used to be. In this battle, we can not only send a large number of artillery, but also mobilize a large number of aircraft and engineers to participate in the tough battle.

If you count the mortars and the Type 129 infantry artillery captured before, then the 500th Division has concentrated a total of 970 artillery pieces of various types on a breakthrough width of [-] meters.

Watching the fortresses collapse under the artillery, the brigade commander even let out a Li Yunlong-style laugh.

"Notify the First Division of the Air Force and ask Captain Wang Hai to set off in five minutes to help the infantry clean up the battlefield."

"Especially those reinforced concrete fortresses, they are not so easy to be pulled out by artillery. But aerial bombs are different, no one can carry a 227 kg big guy."

"Let the soldiers also get ready to fight with the First Air Division and artillery!"

"Yes!"

······
In Taiyuan City, the headquarters of the First Army of the North China Front Army.

Listening to the earth-shattering explosions resounding through the sky outside the city, both devils and ordinary people trembled, for fear that a shell would fall on their heads.

Although Yoshio Iwamatsu had heard about the existence of the Eighth Route Army Artillery Group long ago, there is still a big difference between what he heard and what he saw with his own eyes.

"boom!"

Just as the old devil was still carefully observing the battlefield, a huge explosion came from the left rear.

Looking back, his headquarters has disappeared.The opponent's artillery seems to have opened the eyes of the sky, and accurately sent the shells to a fixed area.

Even if a very small part deviated from the trajectory, it did not cause accidental injury to civilians.

After all, within a radius of one kilometer, no citizen of the Republic of China dared to approach.Fortunately, the other party seemed to be afraid, and stopped shelling as long as the landmark building was destroyed.

After a while, screams and calls for help brought Yoshio Iwamatsu back to reality.

At this time, he was full of fear, if it wasn't for better observation of the battlefield, he would move to the roof of a higher building.With that shot just now, he could definitely send himself to see the locust.

Looking at those French guns plowing his carefully prepared defensive positions over and over again, the old devil still showed an exaggerated expression of disbelief.

Now he even began to doubt his previous ambitions. Facing an attack of this intensity, could the First Army really last for a month?
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, except for the west side, all the fortifications around the castle have been disconnected from the headquarters."

"According to the forecast of the combat staff, if the Eighth Route Army can maintain the current shelling intensity, we will lose more than 5% of our defenses in five minutes."

"Do you need warriors to prepare for street fighting and destroy equipment and finished products in major factories?"

As soon as these words came out, Yoshio Iwamatsu's face was completely darkened.

Losing contact with the front line is expected. After all, the enemy's artillery fire is so fierce that no matter how deep the phone line is buried, it will be blown off.

What really made him angry was Hua Guzheng in front of him.

As the Chief of Staff of the First Army, he was thinking of breaking the boat just five minutes after the battle started.Judging from his 5 years of experience in the army, he has never seen such a wonderful senior commander.

If I said what I just said in front of the soldiers, I don't know how much morale will be lost.

But now there is no time to complain about pig teammates. If you can't counter the artillery of the Eighth Route Army in time, there will be no need to fight the next battle.It would be better to commit seppuku directly, at least without being tortured.

After glaring at Hua Guzheng, Yoshio Iwamatsu ordered:

"Raise the observation balloon and look for the artillery positions of the Eighth Route Army. Remember to remind our artillery that they must move their positions after each counterattack. The enemy must have detection methods, and everything must be careful."

"Let the rest of the fighters and dive bombers go, they know what to do."

"Now is not the time to prepare for street fighting, we still have hope!"

"Hi!"

After stupidly forcing the Chief of Staff to leave, Yoshio Iwamatsu sighed helplessly.In previous wars, the Artillery Observation Balloon was the First Army's deadly weapon.

The enemy's field forces had neither medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns, let alone fighter jets.

On a battlefield where air supremacy is in control, there is no danger at all in using observation balloons, and your own artillery really shoots where they want.

But now, the former big killer has been reduced to a one-time consumable.

Wusu Airport fell first, and the opponent's air force was ready to attack at any time.There is a high probability that the remaining observation balloon can only last for about 10 minutes.

As for the remaining fighter jets and dive bombers, Yoshio Iwamatsu didn't feel bad at all.

Instead of being found by the enemy's observation post, it was blown up by artillery or aerial bombs in a temporary hangar.

It's better to let the Army Aviation members launch a suicide attack to destroy several artillery positions while the opponent's air force has not yet entered the field.

"I hope that Lieutenant General Shigetaro Kanan and General Neiji Okamura can give some strength. Our First Army is really at the end of its rope."

"Give me an order to let that trash Jia Gui come out to patrol! Don't let the suspicious elements in the city make small moves, and strengthen the defenses of the major factories!"

······
In the city, Wenying Park.

This is the oldest park in Taiyuan. After 1938, the devils renamed it Xinmin Park.They destroyed many buildings and facilities in the park to make room for training recruits.

At this time, nine devils in flight suits stood in front of a temporarily remodeled apron.They each had a bowl of sake, chattering and discussing tactics.

This attack is doomed to never return, and this field airport can barely take off.But even the most skilled people can't guarantee a smooth landing.

"My lords, I think everyone already knows. Taiyuan is at stake, and North China is about to break away from my brother's control."

"Although we can't control the situation of the battle, we can at least buy some time for Lieutenant General Yoshio Iwamatsu. In this battle, our task is to eliminate the artillery units of the Eighth Route Army!"

"Drink the wine in your hand! Get ready to attack!"

As soon as the words came out, the eight members of the Army Air Forces wearing ointment flag hoods drank the sake in the bowl in one gulp.Then they slammed their bowls on the ground, with fanaticism in their eyes.

Ice + wine, the magic power is boundless.

While the ground crew was preparing the plane, the last Army Aviation Major of the First Army began to tell the story.

"In 1934 and 1941, the evil Yuan launched a war of aggression against us."

"Fortunately, with the blessing of the Godly Locust, a divine wind was set off on the sea to repel the Yuan army, which saved our country from the fate of being destroyed."

"Right now, everyone is the wind of His Majesty Tianlocust! I demand that one person, one machine, one bomb, at least five artillery positions must be killed! Do you understand?"

"Hi! Long live His Majesty Tianlocust! Long live the brother country of Great Japan!"

Amid the cheers of Army Aviation, dozens of ground crews pushed three Type [-] fighter jets and six Type [-] singles out of the hangar.

These nine planes are already the last planes of the First Army.It is also a pity that Yoshio Iwamatsu saved his hand and gave up the airport to dismantle the plane in advance.Otherwise, you won't even be able to make one.

Under the expectant eyes of the ground crew, the nine planes took off one after another in a very Showa style, and flew towards the artillery positions of the Southern Group.

"Everyone's plane is the last bomb. We can't return and we can only die together with the enemy!"

　Originally, I wanted to get more shells, so I fired them for half an hour first.

　　But after counting the weight, Miss 75 is too expensive, it is almost catching up with the European battlefield
　　
　
(End of this chapter)