The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 271 Battle of Annihilation 4
"one two Three!"

"one two Three!"

Behind the 48th Division's position, more than a hundred officers and soldiers from the Howitzer Company of the 8th Artillery Regiment shouted slogans and worked together to push the four Type 38 150mm howitzers that had just been released from the horse pulling state. , pushing and pulling the huge and heavy single-legged gun mount of the Type 38 howitzer into the artillery position composed of sandbags and simple trenches.

"You damn bitch, push the sub-car loaded with artillery shells away!"

"Wheel, wheel, wheel is crooked!"

"Stop pushing, it's over."

A group of veterans with Northeastern accents loudly urged the artillerymen to urgently set up howitzer firing positions. Although the caliber of these four artillery pieces was large, their appearance was extremely inconsistent with their caliber.

The Eighth Artillery Regiment is the artillery of the former Northeast Army. It was originally designated as the Seventeenth Army Independent Artillery Regiment of the Northeast Army system. It is equipped with Japanese-made 38-type 150mm howitzers produced by Shenyang Arsenal, also known as A 14-year-old Liao-made 150mm howitzer.

The so-called Type 1902 02mm howitzer by the Japanese is actually a Japanese imitation version of the Sfh mm howitzer developed by the German Krupp Company in .

This howitzer weighs 2.25 tons, but the gun barrel is only 1.64 times the caliber, 0 meters long. It can fire high-explosive bombs, incendiary bombs, smoke bombs and other ammunition. Later, armor-piercing bombs were added, and the barrel was tilted The angle is 42°~5°, the direction adjustment is only 290°, the muzzle velocity of the artillery is 5900 meters per second, and the maximum range is only meters, which is not as far as the range of many mountain cannons. It requires more than a dozen horses to pull it during the march. It can be said that it is Quite bulky.

The overall technical and tactical performance basically belongs to the technical level of the late 19th century. It can be regarded as an early type of barrel-retracting howitzer in Europe after the rapid development of artillery technology in the late 19th century changed the artillery retraction method from the rack-retracting cannon era to the tube retracting cannon era. It has been more than thirty years since its prototype artillery was launched, and it is already getting old.

However, in the Chinese army whose technical equipment is extremely backward, this old artillery is still of great use value. Of course, in the Japanese Army, which is not very wealthy, this type of artillery is still in the equipment sequence of the Japanese Army. Historically, as the scale of the Japanese war expanded, some of this type of artillery was mounted on tank chassis and converted into self-propelled artillery, equipped with armor-piercing projectiles for anti-tank combat.

While the officers and soldiers of the Howitzer Company of the 8th Artillery Regiment were laboriously arranging the artillery pieces, not far from them, four 75mm Bofors Mountain Cannons from the Mountain Artillery Company of the Army Artillery School Training Team were already on the ground. The firing position was ready for battle. Compared with the old, heavy and bulky howitzers of the 8th Artillery Regiment, the Bofors Mountain Cannon with advanced performance could complete the transition from active to deployed state much faster.

In the firing command post behind the two artillery companies, the company commander of the howitzer company of the Eighth Artillery Regiment and several officers of the mountain artillery company of the artillery school training team gathered around an order in front of the marching table and carefully planned the two artillery companies. battle plan.

That order was a fresh combat order issued by He Wei. The order, which was issued by He Wei and printed in batches by the staff of the 48th Division, was still stained with black oil stains and was full of words. Densely packed small print, and a lieutenant from the mountain artillery company of the artillery school training team

"First, the basic situation of the enemy. Early this morning, the enemy carried out a surprise attack on the position of our 48th Division. Under the cover of fierce artillery bombardment and tanks, the enemy broke through our position and captured our 48th Division. The front-line position was immediately occupied. After our 48th Division's counterattack failed, the two sides faced off against each other. At this time, the enemy's artillery column of about a thousand people moved towards the direction of the lost position of our army. The tank company of our armored corps At this time, we launched a decisive attack and defeated the enemy's artillery. The main force of the Japanese army, which had lost its position, also divided its forces to reinforce us. "

"Now the enemy's main force, no less than 2,000 men, is guarding the position where our army has lost. There is also a Japanese army of no less than 1,000 men with tanks attached, which has moved to reinforce the area where the enemy's artillery was attacked by our tanks. Advance, its heavy army group has now been divided into two parts."

"Second, the situation of our army. At present, the 48th Division of the original defenders of our position has suffered heavy losses due to the new defeat. The army is in urgent need of rest and reorganization. And the troops I came to reinforce now have the entire secret service battalion and the entire tank company. , a howitzer company of the Eighth Artillery Regiment, and all the mountain artillery companies of the Army Artillery School Training Team. The only troops currently sent by the 103rd Division are the 618th Regiment, and the remaining units of the division are being urgently transported. "

"Third, determination and deployment. Although our army's strength is currently insufficient, time counts against every second. We must also take advantage of the Japanese army's divided forces to launch a counterattack while it is not yet stable. To deal with the main force of the Japanese army that is still guarding our positions, our army We should be determined to annihilate them, and our army should be determined to stop and attack the Japanese troops who have divided their forces and left. "

"Fourth, the deployment of the troops. In order to achieve the purpose of annihilating the Japanese troops who broke into our position and blocking the Japanese troops who evacuated the position, our army is deployed as follows: It is composed of the tank company of the Army Armored Corps, the first infantry company of the special agent battalion and the artillery company. The mobile team consists of the entire 103rd Division, the remaining troops of the Special Agent Battalion, the Howitzer Company of the 8th Artillery Regiment, the Mountain Artillery Company of the Army Artillery School Training Team, and the available troops of the 48th Division."

"The mission of the mobile team is to block and contain the Japanese troops who have left our position to return reinforcements. The mission of the attack team is to annihilate the Japanese troops that have broken into our position. Each unit will immediately prepare for combat after receiving the order. The artillery of the attack team will be ready to fire after No need to ask for instructions, immediately carry out suppressive artillery fire on the Japanese troops who broke into our position."

The artillery lieutenant couldn't help but gasped after reading the order. It was one thing to hear He Wei briefly describe the order in the command post, but it was another thing to see the actual order on paper.

He Wei's intention is also easy to understand, that is, to use both encirclement, suppression and resistance to support, to block the Japanese troops who were dispersed and mobilized, and to encircle and annihilate the Japanese troops guarding the 48th Division's positions. And He Wei's appetite really put this group of artillery officers to death. Shocked.

These people knew He Wei's name to some extent, but no one expected that He Wei actually wanted to kill the Japanese troops who broke into the 48th Division's position in one go. He Wei's so-called target of encirclement and annihilation was not just a few hundred people. , a thousand people, but thousands of troops!

While the artillery officers were shocked, they were also a little bit excited because the artillerymen of their two companies were also incorporated into the battle order of the attack team by He Wei.

Moreover, He Wei's order also gave them the responsibility to fire the first shot of the attack without asking for instructions, giving these two artillery companies great autonomy.

Therefore, this group of artillery officers were gearing up to give it a try.

The howitzer company of the Eighth Artillery Regiment and the mountain artillery company of the artillery school training team actually fought very awkwardly in the previous battle to defend Jinling. They were assigned to various military divisions in the peripheral battles and were basically suppressed by the Japanese artillery. His existence has played a very limited role. Now that he has the opportunity to fight back, he is naturally holding back his energy.

Finally, the commander of the howitzer company of the 8th Artillery Regiment, who had the highest rank, spoke up and said: "Since the order has been issued, we will follow it. The performance of the four Japanese-made howitzers in our company is relatively backward, and the preparation time for firing is long. Since the friendly forces’ new mountain artillery is ready to fire, it’s better to fire first, and our company will join in the firing later.”

The company commander of the Eighth Artillery Regiment looked at several officers from the mountain artillery company of the artillery school training team and put forward his own suggestions, while a lieutenant of the artillery school training team shook his head and replied: "Sir, although your howitzer has high performance, It is lagging behind, but it is more powerful. Since we want to fight, it is better to catch the Japanese by surprise. After the two companies are ready to shoot, we will shoot together. Let's work together to give the Japanese a thunderous blow. "

"Okay, let's fight like this!"

The company commander of the 8th Artillery Regiment was no longer modest and accepted the suggestions of the officers of the artillery school training team.

After close discussion and planning, the main officers of the two artillery companies made a plan for coordinated operations, and combined the headquarters of the two artillery companies to form a unified joint command post.

The officers and soldiers of the two battle artillery companies began the final preparations for combat shooting, and ten minutes later, the four old 150mm howitzers of the Eighth Artillery Regiment also completed the final preparations for shooting. The four guns of the artillery school practice team The Menbofors Seventy-Five Mountain Cannon had already completed all preparations and was waiting for the opening order in the firing position.

After completing all shooting preparation procedures such as measurement, sighting and loading, the artillery platoon leader directing the shooting at the howitzer company of the 8th Artillery Regiment and the artillery school practice team position made a call to the firing command post. "The four howitzers of the Eighth Artillery Regiment are ready to fire!"

"The four guns of the practice team's Seventy-Fifth Mountain Cannon are ready to fire!"

In the shooting command post, the company commander of the howitzer company of the 8th Artillery Regiment and a lieutenant officer from the artillery school training team looked at each other, nodded to each other, and at the same time shouted the battle command to start shooting.

"open!"

"open!"

The open password was also transmitted to the positions of the two artillery companies almost simultaneously with the phone call. Immediately, their voices were drowned in a storm set off by the artillery positions.

The loud banging sound first came from the position of the howitzer company of the Eighth Artillery Regiment. A cloud of white smoke came out of the muzzles of the four 150mm howitzers. These four artillery pieces produced by the Shenyang Arsenal and The former Northeastern army officers and soldiers who operated these artillery also lost their hometowns, and they all worked as slaves of subjugation for six years, and as "cannons of subjugation" for six years.

Now, at the moment when the artillery fires, both the artillery and the gunners, whether they are the subjugated slaves who have lost their hometown, or the "subjugated artillery" that has lost its original factory, all roared in unison and fired cannonballs of revenge. .

Due to the backward retraction device, the four Japanese-made Meiji 38-type 150mm howitzers all bounced off due to the excessive recoil the moment they fired.

What followed was the four Bofors 75mm mountain guns of the artillery school practice team. These four mountain guns also began to pour firepower on the Japanese army after the four howitzers opened fire.

The shelling sequence of the two artillery companies was very well connected, and white smoke suddenly billowed from the artillery position. Due to the low muzzle velocity of the artillery shells in this era, the shells fired by the four 150mm howitzers and four 75mm mountain guns were in the air. As they roared towards the positions occupied by the Japanese army, the trajectory of the flying artillery shells in the air was clearly visible, and the rumbling sound was like waves, forcing them towards the positions occupied by the Japanese army.

In the position occupied by the Japanese army, the Japanese army in the communication trenches were consolidating their defenses and cleaning up the piles of corpses and various debris of the Chinese army in the messy position, as well as all kinds of ammunition left behind.

Suddenly, a sudden whistling sound came quickly from the distant sky, covering the ears and heads of every Japanese soldier in the position.

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

Immediately afterwards, the sudden roar turned into a violent explosion.

Since the shooting distance was not far, the four 150mm explosive grenades accurately hit the target and fell into a traffic trench adjacent to the hidden part of the position. Four 150mm blasting grenades hit the target one after another. In the hidden part of the traffic trench, four grenades exploded one after another after landing.

The fire flashed, and the Japanese soldiers who were guarding and transporting supplies near the concealment were instantly enveloped in dense shrapnel and smoke. Suddenly, the traffic trench was full of torn, scattered, and blurry flesh and blood, and the air was filled with shrapnel. The sound of flight tearing apart.

Under the fierce bombardment, the fortifications left by the 48th Division withstood the test. The hidden parts in the traffic trenches were not destroyed by the large-caliber heavy artillery grenades, but the explosion of the 150mm heavy howitzer shells produced a powerful shock wave. It was quickly passed to the hidden department.

Directly hit by a 150mm caliber grenade, the ground in the concealed part shook left and right as if it was about to crack. Some wounded Japanese soldiers who were resting against the wall or lying on the ground in the concealed part were shaken by the violent shock wave on the spot. The more seriously injured Japanese soldiers were so shocked that they vomited blood and even bleed from their orifices and died on the spot. The Japanese soldiers who were not killed also lost consciousness and hearing in an instant, and there was a buzzing sound everywhere. sound.

Although the artillery of the Eighth Artillery Regiment is too old, the projectiles it fires are still 150 mm caliber projectiles, and their power cannot be underestimated.

The shells fired by the Bofors 75mm mountain gun also hit the target accurately. All the shells hit the communication trench where the Japanese army was located. The hit of this round of mountain artillery shells not only caused a large number of Japanese soldiers to fall in a pool of blood. Among them, a pile of ammunition left by the 48th Division was accidentally hit.

Due to the large number of new recruits and poor tactical quality, the troops of the 48th Division engaged in many behaviors that violated general tactical principles during defensive operations. One of them was piling ammunition in one place for convenience.

This batch of ammunition that was hit included not only 79-caliber bullets used in rifle machine guns, but also many 82mm mortar shells used in Jinling-made 82-mm mortars and some Gong-made long-handled grenades.

As a result, this convenient behavior of the 48th Division actually caused trouble for the Japanese army at this time.

A Bofors 75mm mountain gun accurately hit several 82 mortar shells that had been equipped with fuses. As the Bofors Mountain shells exploded, these shells were also detonated. Then, nearby Dozens of 82 mortar shells and some grenades piled up exploded immediately.

With a loud bang, a small mushroom cloud suddenly appeared in the position occupied by the Japanese army. The explosive ammunition produced a very spectacular explosion effect, and also took away the lives of more Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese army was completely unprepared for the sudden firepower attack by the Chinese army, and suffered heavy losses in the first round of shelling, and this was only the beginning of the shelling.

Rumble

Rumble

A small artillery group composed of four 150mm howitzers and four 75mm mountain guns, did not hesitate to project shells at the positions occupied by the Japanese army.

The fierce bombardment of this small artillery group was also the prelude to the annihilation war planned by He Wei.

(End of this chapter)