Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

"I won't say more. I'm a big idiot."

"Heavy artillery with a caliber of no less than 150 mm?"

"Or a massive artillery group numbering hundreds?"

Hearing the above two key words, Onodera Kazuto's face suddenly became extremely solemn. He had expected the Eighth Route Army to be very brutal, but he never expected that the other side would be so arrogant.

Doesn’t gun steel cost money?

We are both people of the Republic of China. Steel mills in Guoju are closing down one after another. How come you, the Eighth Route Army, have endless steel? You really have to use artillery shells to kill people!
That is equivalent to the firepower of several independent heavy artillery brigades!
Using this kind of campaign-suppression-level offensive means, just to deal with a second-tier brigade-level infantry unit? Don't you think it's a bit of a waste of talent?

However, despite being surprised, the old devil's fighting spirit was not defeated. He quickly adjusted his mentality and then ordered the communications staff beside him:
"Quick! Notify the frontline troops!"

Before Onodera and Deng could finish their words, they were rudely interrupted by a loud noise like thunder.

In the air, one could see curved trajectories extending towards the fortifications deep within the Maginot Army.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The shells exploded when they hit the ground, creating a scene of fireworks.

Under the watchful eyes of the Japanese high-ranking officials in Jiyuan, the Eighth Route Army's bombardment became more and more intensive, and the targets of the bombardment changed from scattered small dots to a dazzling sea of ​​fire.

Such a magnificent war scene made the Japanese realize the gap between the enemy and us.

"Damn it, it really is a large-caliber heavy artillery! This amount of projection is really weird!"

"The Special High Technology Department is a bunch of rubbish. They actually allowed the enemy to gather hundreds of heavy artillery without them noticing. What use do I have for you?"

To be honest, as one of the first senior commanders to land in the Republic of China, Onodera and Deng had a fairly rich personal resume.

During the peak period of his military career, he had participated in many large-scale battles with several Type A divisions. Naturally, he knew that heavy artillery had the ability to determine the outcome of a war.

In the current situation, the old Japanese immediately realized one thing, that is, they were in big trouble.

The various types of fortifications on the first line of defense in Jiyuan were basically arranged according to the power of 105mm artillery. In the previous experiments, they would not be directly damaged even if they were hit head-on by artillery shells.

But now.
The enemy's artillery bombardment has exceeded the defensive capabilities of the defense line. If it is not quickly suppressed and eliminated, the gateway to northern Henan will soon be occupied by the Eighth Route Army.

This will greatly affect subsequent combat plans, and the above situation must not be allowed to happen.

Thinking of this, Onodera Kazuto forced himself to calm down. While the staff officers were stunned, he quickly issued a combat order.

"Notify the combat troops on the front line and tell them to find the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery positions at all costs. They must get the specific coordinates!"

"Contact Xinxiang Airport again and order the Army Aviation to dispatch all fighter planes at hand! Even if we can't destroy the enemy's artillery, we can't let them attack recklessly!"

"Finally, report the current situation truthfully to Lieutenant General Shigeta Tokumatsu and Commander Tsuchihashi Ichi, and ask for tactical guidance from the two generals!"

"Hi!"

Considering the security of the command system, the old Japanese sent out the combat orders one by one, and then hurriedly led his staff to start the transfer.

Arriving at the underground bunker, he slumped in a chair and began to curse the navy idiots. At this point, Onodera and Deng did not hate their direct superiors who sent them to the front line, but they were full of resentment towards the theoretical friendly forces.

"Baga, if the Navy's fleet hadn't taken up so many resources, how could the Great Japanese Army lose to the Republic of China's Army in terms of firepower!"

"We shed blood and sweat for His Majesty the Heavenly Locust in a foreign country, but we don't even have 105 guns larger than mm. On the other hand, they live in hotels on the sea and drink imported coffee, but the gun barrels on their warships are getting thicker and thicker."

"If the money for building the Yamato and the Shuanghe could be given to the army, the Republic of China would have been in our hands long ago!"

In fact, since Japan’s army has few artillery pieces, we can’t really blame the navy for snatching resources.

Thanks to the special matching mechanism of the Asian battlefield, before the Eighth Route Army officially rose, large-caliber heavy artillery was not an absolute necessity when the Japanese fought against any Asian or Asian-based army.

Even if it was to deal with Marshal MacArthur, the battalion-level Type 75 infantry guns and the regiment-level mm mountain and field guns were sufficient to cope with the intensity of the war.

What's more, the infrastructure of the Republic of China was already very backward, and most of the roads in the provinces were dirt and gravel roads.

Once the rainy season arrives, the mud on the road can reach tens of centimeters deep. Any artillery weighing more than two tons is basically impossible to pass.

The Japanese are not the Eighth Route Army. They have never had the tradition of building roads before fighting or building roads wherever they fight.

The above reasons have resulted in the embarrassing situation that the entire 12th Army has no heavy artillery available.

······
Onodera and Deng's order was quickly delivered to the front line. At this time, the artillery commander of the Manchuria-Mongolia Youth Corps had completely lost the confidence he had in the preparation stage.

Under the artillery fire of the Eighth Route Army, the artillery battalion led by Takeshi Kobori suffered heavy casualties in personnel, and more than 60% of their equipment was destroyed without even firing a single shot.

What's even more tragic is that due to the gap in range and performance, they can only hide in fortifications and tremble in fear, without any way to fight back.

The infantry had no advantage and there was no chance of winning an artillery battle. It seemed that the battle had become a board game from the very beginning.

With the helpless mentality that those who can't kill me might as well kill me directly, Takeshi Kobori directly ordered the observation balloon in the rear to take off.

The commanding view, coupled with the strong observation skills developed by the elite observers, allowed the Japanese to quickly discover the approximate location of the Eighth Route Army's artillery positions.

No matter how hidden the hundreds of large-caliber artillery pieces were, the earth-shaking noise of the firing could not be concealed, especially since it was still daytime.

"The enemy's heavy artillery group has been located."

"Direction xxx, distance."

Halfway through the reporting period, the Japanese observer suddenly stopped moving.

This inexplicable change made the squadron leader who was waiting for data below very anxious.

After losing air superiority, an observation balloon launched alone was basically a sitting duck, not to mention that the opposing Eighth Route Army Air Force was known for its elusiveness.

Without this balloon, at least half of their artillery battalion would be blind in subsequent battles.

"Lieutenant, distance is no longer important! I see the enemy's armored forces!"

"Huh?" (End of chapter)