Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

As the sun began to set, the artillerymen of the 3rd Regiment of the 55th Division were still firing at full power, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder mixed with dust.

Suddenly, a peculiar tremor came from the southwest, causing some of the soldiers who were carrying artillery shells to look up abruptly.

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, a column of gray-green steel behemoths slowly emerged near the horizon. It was the 4th Self-Propelled Artillery Company of the 2nd Armored Division; six of the latest PLZ-42 models were about to arrive on the battlefield.

"Artillery! It's our division's self-propelled artillery! The support troops have finally arrived!"

When the first PLZ-42 drove into the position, the entire light tank battalion instantly erupted in cheers.

The soldiers, who had been listless because they could not participate in the battle for the time being, were now full of energy as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

They waved their submachine guns and repair tools frantically, and some even pulled out military-grade cigarettes from Limin Tobacco Factory or Pegasus cigarettes from Fourth Master, preparing to reward the support troops who had come from afar.

The comrades of the 3rd Regiment of the 55th Division stared wide-eyed.

As infantrymen, they had seen friendly forces' T-3485s and the division's artillery regiment's Schneider M1929 155mm howitzers, but they had never seen the perfect combination of the two.

Seeing his comrade standing atop the lead vehicle, map in hand, goggles on, and radio headset in hand, coolly directing the convoy's advance, the light tank battalion commander hurried forward, greeting him with extreme excitement:

"Old Zhao! Old Zhao! Why are you taking so long to get here? I was so worried!"

"Quickly give everyone a heads-up: how many 155mm high-explosive shells did you bring this time? Are they enough to blow the Japanese devils in Dushikou to smithereens?"

"Quick, pull me up! Let me get on the bus and see our division's precious treasure!"

Seeing his old comrade panting and running at full speed, keeping parallel to his lead vehicle the whole way, Company Commander Zhao shook his head, both amused and exasperated, and leaned out halfway to pull him up.

After the other person caught their breath, he pointed to the rear of the open fighting compartment and the 155mm tube firmly secured by the marching harness, and said in a serious tone:
"Due to limited space in the fighting compartment, each vehicle in our company carried only 20 rounds of ammunition for this operation, all of which were high-explosive shells."

"But you don't need to worry about ammunition. Another batch of supply trucks will arrive soon. Adding the 240 shells carried by the convoy, that's a total of 360 shells."

"360-degree shot at 155mm, let alone a mere infantry regiment of Japanese soldiers. Even if an entire brigade came, I could plow them up three times over, and scatter their ashes while I'm at it!"

Upon hearing this, sparks flew in the eyes of the light tank battalion commander, and he slammed his fist into the frontal armor of the self-propelled gun's fighting compartment. His fighting spirit ignited like wildfire.

360 shells—this number doesn't sound like much; it would only take a few minutes to hand them over to the artillerymen of the Third Regiment.

But this is 155mm ammunition! Against a group of Japanese soldiers who weren't even equipped with 75mm mountain guns, that's pure overkill.

I'm afraid that after a volley of fire, the colonel who's been lying in wait on the city wall will have to start writing his suicide report.

At this thought, a premonition of victory surged through his spine like an electric current, and the light tank battalion commander seemed to already hear the sound of the tracks crushing the enemy's position.

He slammed his hand heavily on the reconnaissance company commander's shoulder, kicking up a cloud of dust, and pointed his oil-stained fingers straight to the northeast as he spoke:

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get moving! The area you just pointed to is the artillery position that the Third Regiment Commander and I have reserved for your company."

"The firing range here is wide and unobstructed, making it convenient for the soldiers to observe the trajectory of the bullets. There are also trees on the left and right flanks to provide cover, so even if the Japanese send out bombers, their aerial reconnaissance will have a hard time detecting them."

"See that gentle slope ahead? The supply trucks will arrive in ten minutes via the dirt road. We don't need to worry about ammunition."

"Great! As expected of you, you're very well prepared!"

······
A well-developed contingency plan leads to greater efficiency.

Just five minutes later, the six PLZ-42 artillery vehicles of the 4th Self-Propelled Artillery Company successfully drove into the artillery position.

Upon entering the position, the two platoon leaders immediately began directing the deployment of spades on each vehicle. The self-propelled artillery pieces lowered their hydraulic systems at the rear, pressing them into the ground to prevent recoil from shifting the vehicles.

At the same time, the marching restraints that held the gun barrel in place were removed by the soldiers, and the 155mm gun barrel was raised from a negative angle to a firing elevation angle, ready for battle.

Considering that the Japanese might resort to desperate measures and call in their remaining army air force planes for a suicide bombing, the comrades of the 4th Company also set up special air defense lookout posts, just in case.

Just as the observers and forward scouts were transmitting the coordinates of the Japanese forces at Dushikou via field telephone, the light tank battalion commander nudged his old comrade's arm with his elbow and said mysteriously:

"Old Zhao, I heard that the Z-240 project of the Weapon Experimentation and Research Bureau has completed all tests, and there are even two mass-produced models ready for combat deployment. Is that true?"

"In my opinion, our General Nie was just too focused on the big picture. There was absolutely no need for him to go to such lengths to deploy new weapons to the Hebei-Central battlefield."

"After all, the operational value of the Chahar Campaign cannot be ignored."

The so-called Z-240 project is a super self-propelled artillery design based on two T-34 chassis, and it is another high-tech weapon unlocked by the "Awaken the Brave Tiger" game after the version update. The design of this self-propelled artillery is not complicated. Simply put, it is to connect two T-34 chassis horizontally in parallel and weld them into a single platform by reinforcing steel beams.

Compared to the original Russian U-19 project, the dual-chassis platform reinforced by the kitten solved reliability problems such as easy breakage during firing and difficulty in synchronizing the two independent transmission systems in one fell swoop.

Although the weapon's design is somewhat greenish, at first glance it gives off a similar vibe to the Power of Imagination.

However, having undergone numerous extreme environment tests and hundreds of live-fire verifications, it has already passed the acceptance test with its real performance and firmly secured its position as the TG's first heavy suppression firepower platform.

As for what kind of gun the Z-240 Super Self-Propelled Howitzer uses?

That's of course the same model used by Henry IV, the Schneider Mle 1939 with a diameter of 240 mm and 55 times the diameter.

The deployment of land-based artillery on ships was a last resort, but the deployment of naval artillery on land was simply outrageous. The People's Liberation Army (PLA), which originated from the army, certainly wouldn't allow its own army to suffer.

Faced with his old comrade's question, a hint of helplessness flashed in Company Commander Zhao's eyes. Was it that he didn't want to take the Z-240 to the battlefield?

It is clear that the road conditions and logistical support on the Chahar battlefield were simply insufficient to support the mobility requirements of such heavy equipment.

"Old Liu, you're supposed to be the commander of an armored battalion, how can you have such wild ideas?"

"The Z-240's hull is 4.8 meters wide, and there are no bridges in Chahar that can allow it to pass smoothly. An ordinary river can block it."

"Besides, the 240mm shells on that thing require an external crane to assist in loading them, which is very troublesome."

"To deal with the Japanese at Dushikou, 155mm self-propelled artillery is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. Why expose our military region's trump card in advance? You're not really a 'Hun' trying to settle a personal score, are you?"

"Fine."

Just as the two were talking, the 4th Self-Propelled Artillery Company finally completed its pre-battle preparations. Looking at the city wall being ravaged by the M1897s, Company Commander Zhao gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and directly gave the order to fire.

"Azimuth 2-7-0!"

"All company! Load grenades! Full charge!"

"put!"

The moment the first six 155mm shells burst from the cannon barrel, the whole world seemed to fall silent for a few seconds.

Soon, a deafening explosion tore through the air, the blast from the cannon muzzle kicked up dust, and the shockwave made the nearest soldiers instinctively shrink back.

But then came ecstasy.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Hit! All six shots in the first volley hit!" The observer's voice trembled with excitement. "Keep firing! Flatten the entire position!"

The Japanese position, which was hit by a salvo from six PLZ-42 guns, was instantly engulfed in a sea of ​​fire.

In a series of orange-red flashes, trucks rolled in the explosion, artillery was blown into twisted scrap metal, and Japanese soldiers vanished instantly in the flames.

In theory, the 4th self-propelled artillery battery only needs to bombard five or six rounds to complete its support mission.

However, adhering to the principle that since they had already come all this way, Company Commander Zhao did not hesitate to order each vehicle to fire all its spare ammunition, and absolutely not to return with any burden.

For the next period of time, the entire area of ​​the city wall where the Japanese 16th Infantry Regiment was located was plowed up.

Even if Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Qizhen, and the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu Town were to come to Dushikou now, they would not recognize that this was the border pass they built back then.

Half an hour later, the shelling stopped. The entire position was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder, and the 155mm gun barrels were even slightly red from continuous firing.

"All platoon members, mission accomplished! Prepare for relocation!"

With the order from Company Commander Zhao, the engines of the six PLZ-42s roared up again. These self-propelled guns, which resembled wasps but were more in line with Chinese aesthetics than German tanks, slowly reversed, preparing to withdraw from the battlefield in order.

There was no other way; they hadn't brought many medium-level air defense systems this time, and it would be a huge loss if they were spotted by enemy land aviation.

Before retreating, Company Commander Zhao leaned out halfway and returned a perfectly formal salute to the infantrymen who rushed to thank him. In the instant he turned and pulled back into his armor, he jokingly said to Company Commander Liu, who was seeing them off:
"Old Liu, I'm sorry, we accidentally lost control of our strength, so I guess you won't be able to capture many prisoners to repair the city wall."

"But it's not a big problem. Japan has no shortage of war criminals on its own soil. We'll figure something out together!" (End of Chapter)