I'm killing enemies with my sword and exploding equipment

Just as Yang Yuanshan and his men hurriedly walked out of the south gate of Heyuan County, in Li Yunlong's temporary command center.

Telegraph operator Cai Xuan received the telegram sent by Han Yang at his order.

He hurried to report to Li Yunlong:

"Leader, the Special Forces called and said the Japanese in Heyuan County were defeated!"

"Okay! I said don't worry, right?"

Li Yunlong was happy.

This is another achievement!

"Leader, your judgment is so accurate!"

Cai Xuan gave a thumbs up, expressing his sincere admiration.

"Haha, of course.

A few thousand little devils dared to come to my territory and make trouble. They must be tired of living!"

Li Yunlong was extremely proud.

In fact, he was also a little surprised.

Even though he knew that there were members of the special forces regiment in Heyuan County, the Japanese would most likely not be able to break into the city.

But they never thought that it would only take a few hours for them to defeat this group of Japanese devils!

After all, it is also a brigade!

Back then in southeastern Shanxi, let alone a brigade, even the Sakata Regiment was a powerful opponent that rushed around recklessly and forced the division and brigade headquarters to shift their full strength!
So he rolled his eyes and asked Cai Xuan curiously:

"How did Yang Yuanshan fight this battle?

So neat?

Damn it, I can’t even fight this kind of battle!”

"The telegram from the Special Forces Regiment said that a large Japanese force rushed out from the mountains and forests, but was blown up by their machine guns, howitzers, and heavy mortars.

At least nearly two thousand people were lost.

Then they just ran away without even thinking about regrouping and fighting back."

Cai Xuan answered quickly.

"Good guy!

"The way these bastards from the Special Forces fought really left me speechless!"

Li Yunlong smacked his lips, feeling like he didn't know what to say.

It seems too harsh to scold them for not swallowing up all the Japanese.

After all, it was an army that had been fighting for a long time, with huge losses and exhausted soldiers.

But it seems a little hard to express my praise.

So the style of fighting that wastes artillery shells should not be encouraged.

Otherwise, if there are no more shells, there will be no war.

He could only continue to ask after his expression changed several times:
"What's the situation in Heyuan County now?"

"The telegram from the Special Agents Regiment said that Commander Kong of the New Second Regiment has dispatched troops from Heyuan County to pursue the Japanese..."

Cai Xuan quickly recounted the contents of the telegram.

……

Upon hearing that Kong Jie had actually run away from Shuiquan to Heyuan, Li Yunlong naturally couldn't help but curse at him.

After pacing around the headquarters for a few steps, he decisively ordered:
"Send a telegram to Ding Wei, asking him to lead the New 1st Regiment to head south immediately, and take the mountain road to cut off the retreat of these Japanese devils!

These bastards will definitely retreat towards Shimen City. We can’t let them get away like this!
The east of Heyuan County is his territory, Lao Ding, he knows the land well!"

"Yes!"

Cai Xuan didn't know when he took out his pen and notebook and started writing quickly.

Li Yunlong waited for him to stop writing, and then gave the second order:

"Order Kong Jie to gather his troops before dark.

Tomorrow morning, we will march westward with the Special Forces Regiment and prepare to take down the Japanese 26th Division!

Now their regiment is the only fresh force in Northwest Shanxi, and they have to shoulder the heavy responsibility!
As for the defense of Shuiquan, I will arrange for a reinforcement group to move in immediately!"

"Yes!"

……

Let’s talk about Heyuan County.

Yang Yuanshan led the soldiers of the 1st Artillery Battalion and marched quickly out of the city towards the southwest.

After walking about two kilometers, they saw four tracked armored vehicles and four cannons at the foot of a mountain. There were also many ammunition boxes and gasoline barrels in the grass next to them.

Suddenly everyone exclaimed:

"what is that?"

"Does our battalion have new artillery?"

"I knew that the leader would bring us here, there must be good stuff!"

……

Then they rushed forward and rushed towards the equipment.

As if afraid that these things would grow wings and fly away.

Battalion commander Gao Yuanzhi calmed himself and did not rush forward with the soldiers.

But he turned around with surprise and asked Yang Yuanshan:
"Captain, is this the new equipment you got for our battalion?

It looks really exciting!"

Yang Yuanshan smiled slightly:
"good!
This tracked armored vehicle, called the M4 high-speed tractor, is specifically used to pull artillery.

As for these four guns, they are M2A1 105mm howitzers.”

"Wow, there's a special tractor for pulling cannons?"

Gao Yuanzhi felt that he had really broadened his horizons.

As for the 105mm howitzer, he didn't feel much about it.

After seeing Miao Sanmu's four self-propelled howitzers, he felt that no other guns could surpass them.

After all, mobility is extremely important for the 1st Artillery Battalion, which now often bombards the enemy beyond visual range.

Only with sufficient mobility can their artillery use various tactics to reduce losses!

Otherwise, we can only use the line-up and shooting tactics against the enemy's artillery.

The results of the battle may not be small, but our own losses are also quite huge.

He didn't want to continue like this from the bottom of his heart!

……

Yang Yuanshan heard his amazement and immediately gave him a brief explanation:
"This 105mm howitzer weighs more than 2 tons each, so it's not impossible to use mules and horses to tow it.

Six horses should be able to pull it.

But if you add artillery shells and other things, one cannon would need at least twenty or thirty horses to serve it, and they would have to be rotated after all.

Many of the large number of war horses we got this time were used by the Japanese to tow those 105mm and 150mm heavy artillery.

However, with more horses, the number of people to take care of the horses will have to increase accordingly, which will lead to a reduction in the number of combat personnel in the army and a weakening of combat effectiveness.

Moreover, the artillery pulled by mules and horses moved too slowly, making it impossible to achieve convenient battlefield transfer.

It is also for this reason that you were able to easily destroy the Japanese heavy artillery in Huangping Town this time.

Therefore, for heavy artillery, this kind of high-speed tractor is extremely necessary.

If the road conditions are good, this thing can tow the artillery and move forward at a speed of 50 to 60 kilometers per hour, allowing one artillery battalion to play the role of two or three!"

Gao Yuanzhi nodded repeatedly after hearing this:
"oh, I understand now."

……

As they were talking, the two of them had already walked up to the equipment.

Looking at the tractor truck covered with soldiers, it was as if the Indians were performing performance art.

The four howitzers were also surrounded by people. Yang Yuanshan quickly gave a loud order:

“Those who can drive, get on that tractor and see if you can get the car moving.

Everyone else, get down here and move the ammunition boxes!

Prepare to transport these cannons and shells back to the city!

Stop watching the Western scene here!"

Hearing his order, the soldiers immediately took the order:

"Yes!"

……

Seeing that the soldiers were busy, Gao Yuanzhi couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Captain, aren't we heading to the base right away?
Why let the soldiers transport the cannons back to the city?
Can't we just head west and move slowly?
It’s a few miles from here to the city!”

"You know that the road conditions near Heyuan County are much better than those to the west, right?"

Yang Yuanshan rolled his eyes at him.

"Roads? That doesn't matter, does it?

We have walked this road from Qixia Town to Heyuan County more than once or twice.

Very cooked!"

Gao Yuanzhi was still a little confused.

"Humph, these drivers are all rookies, and this is their first time using this tractor. Shouldn't you let them practice first?

Otherwise, if something goes wrong in a place where there is no village or store, wouldn’t it be troublesome?”

Yang Yuanshan explained patiently. After hearing what he said, Gao Yuanzhi could only nod and say:

"Captain, you are right!"

……

At this moment, they had already walked to the front of the four 105mm howitzers.

Yang Yuanshan patted the shiny gun barrel and said:

"Yuanzhi, I want you to seize every moment to figure out these four cannons.

Before returning to Qixia Town, you must master how to use it.

I don't ask whether I can hit the target accurately or not.

But you must guarantee that once you encounter the main force of the Japanese 26th Division, you will be able to fire efficiently and destroy their artillery regiment.

Understand? "

"clear!
Don't worry, Commander. This gun seems to be similar to the self-propelled howitzer used by Sanmu. I am sure I can teach the gunners how to operate it as soon as possible!"

Gao Yuanzhi certainly felt a lot of pressure to use the limited time he had to travel to learn how to operate the cannon.

But since Yang Yuanshan had given the order, he could only pat his chest and promise it.

I thought to myself: At worst, I can just turn back on the march and let the soldiers recite the operating instructions.

Then every night, let the soldiers take turns to rest.

Those who don’t have the turn to sleep will be responsible for learning the operation.

There are at least two or three nights along the way that can be used to do this, I guess!

……

Yang Yuanshan still believed in his promise.

However, the strength that the 26st Artillery Battalion can exert is very important for the subsequent disposal of the th Division.

So he had to continue typing:
"That's good!

Later, I will ask your First Artillery Battalion to phase out all those 75mm mountain cannons and use this kind of howitzer instead!

If you fail to bring out the power of these cannons, I will dismiss you, Gao Yuanzhi!"

"What? Switch all of them to this kind of gun?
"Captain, this cannon looks like a good one. Where did you get it from?"

Gao Yuanzhi was surprised and happy.

What was surprising, of course, was that the entire battalion had switched to this type of artillery, which put a lot of demands on the gunners. It was a huge challenge.

The good news, of course, is that once the entire battalion is equipped with new gear, its strength will surely be greatly enhanced.

He no longer had to envy Wang Gensheng's 120mm heavy mortars.

Yang Yuanshan didn't care what he was thinking. He slapped him on the shoulder and ignored him:

"Don't worry about it. Just figure out how to use these cannons!"

"Yes!"

Gao Yuanzhi nodded quickly.

Yang Yuanshan thought of another thing and quickly explained:
"By the way, when your entire battalion is reequipped, you'll have to get at least 10 or 20 of these cannons.

But we only have four tractor trucks.

Even if you tow two doors at a time, it is still not enough.

So next, you must train more tractor drivers to facilitate rotation operations.

This is more important than the gunner, understand?"

"understand!"

……

After spending nearly an hour trying, the drivers of the 4st Artillery Battalion finally managed to drive the M high-speed artillery tractor in sweat.

Although I didn't dare to step on the accelerator, I could still drive on the road.

Yang Yuanshan did not waste any time and immediately ordered them to tow the four 4mm howitzers and slowly drive towards Heyuan County.

Of course, he also climbed onto the roof of the tractor and enjoyed the long-lost feeling of a ride.

It’s a pity that the speed is too slow and the wind is too weak!

……

On the city wall of Heyuan County, some soldiers from the supplementary regiment were standing guard.

When they saw the members of the special forces regiment who had left the city earlier coming back driving iron carts and mule and horse carts, they were stunned.

Especially with that iron cart pulling such a huge cannon behind it!
They couldn't help but talk to each other:

“This special forces group is too powerful, isn’t it?

Where did they get such a powerful cannon? "

"Why doesn't this iron cart have wheels?

It looks a bit like that tank!

There is no gun barrel!"

"The soldiers of the Special Forces Regiment are so impressive!
If it weren't for my mother who still needs my care, I would have begged Captain Yang to let me join the Special Forces Regiment as a soldier!

This militia is not satisfying at all!"

……

Of course, Yang Yuanshan would ignore these discussions.

He led his men and continued to advance towards the special forces regiment’s base in the city.

Ten minutes later, they met Kong Jie and his men riding towards them.

From a distance, he shouted:
"Captain Yang, I heard you guys brought artillery into the city again?"

Yang Yuanshan jumped down from the roof of the tractor and said in surprise:
"Captain Kong, you are well-informed!"

Kong Jie laughed and quickly explained:

"I have sent out all the troops that can fight. I am worried that the Japanese will cheat, so I happened to come here when I patrol the city."

Of course Yang Yuanshan didn't believe what he said.

It is obvious that Kong Jie received the report from the sentry.

However, he also understood that since Kong Jie had taken on the responsibility of defending Heyuan County under Li Yunlong's orders, it was reasonable for him to set up guard posts in various places inside and outside the city.

There's no need to mind.

So he smiled and answered casually:
"We lost a lot of heavy artillery in Huangping Town, and we just picked up four 4mm howitzers."

"What? Picked up four... 4mm... howitzers?

Good boy! Your luck is incredible!"

Kong Jie took a deep breath, his expression was very complicated.

I don’t know if I believe it or not.

But Yang Yuanshan didn't care, because he believed it anyway.

Nodding perfunctorily:

"Yes, our group has always had good luck."

Kong Jie knew very well that since his superiors had not investigated the source of the special forces regiment's weapons, there was no need for him, a small regiment leader, to get to the bottom of it.

So I decided to give up making things difficult for myself.

Pointing at the four tractors pulling the artillery, he asked curiously:
"Captain Yang, what the hell is this?
It looks like a tank, but it doesn’t even have a heavy machine gun?”

"This is an M4 artillery tractor, which is specially used to pull artillery, not for combat, so naturally it is not equipped with weapons..."

Seeing that he was staring at his car with burning eyes, Yang Yuanshan could only help him introduce it.

After hearing this, Kong Jie couldn't help but drool with envy.

However, he also knew that the artillery in his regiment did not need this thing to tow, so he did not pester Yang Yuanshan to ask him to give him one.

Instead, he continued walking forward and looked at the four 105mm howitzers.

Yang Yuanshan also introduced to him the performance of this American howitzer.

I heard that this thing can fire 30-pound grenades at a rate of about 10 rounds per minute, but its range is over 11 kilometers.

With one shot, everything within a radius of thirty to fifty meters would be blown to pieces.

Kong Jie couldn't bear it any longer and quickly said:
"Captain Yang, do you have any extra howitzers?

Give me one or two!

How about I trade my soldiers with you?"

How could he not know that this thing was several times more powerful than the Japanese Type 41 75mm mountain cannon!

Yang Yuanshan chuckled:
"Captain Kong, I think you should give up on this.

I don't even have enough cannon for myself!
Moreover, each door of this thing weighs two to three thousand pounds, and it is not convenient to disassemble. Even if I give it to you, how can you drag it?

Once your troops move into the mountains, this cannon will have to be discarded, which is a waste."

After hearing what he said, Kong Jie had no choice but to nod.

The base of their New Second Regiment was not like Yang Yuanshan’s Qixia Town, which was located right next to Zhengtai Road.

If we really get a cannon like this, I’m afraid we won’t even be able to return to our base.

He could only sigh in great disappointment:

"Well, it's a pity that I, Kong Jie, don't have the conditions to use such a good cannon!"

Yang Yuanshan quickly comforted:
"Captain Kong, don't be discouraged!
When we launch a full-scale counterattack against the Japanese in the future, your regiment will definitely be able to get whatever you want!
These howitzers are nothing!"

Kong Jie was instantly overjoyed when he heard this and laughed out loud:
"Haha, I, Old Kong, will lend you my good words!"

...(End of chapter)