Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 163 This artillery firepower is awesome!

After Captain Zhao voluntarily joined the Red Army, he fought bravely and made many outstanding achievements.

During the 25,000-mile Long March, he played a significant role in famous battles such as Wujiang, Zunyi, Loushanguan, Dadu River, Anshunchang, Luding Bridge, and Lazikou with his accurate shooting skills, especially in cooperating with the 17 brave warriors in the battle to force the crossing of the Dadu River.

He personally operated the gun and used the only three shells, and all of them hit the enemy's core position. His contribution was indispensable, and the person who personally awarded him the title of "God Gunner".

Since the Red Army period, the troops have always emphasized the need for precise artillery bombardment, with the goal of ensuring that every shell hits the enemy and the target.

The artillery companies of the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army have always used "precision strike" training as their guideline, destroying several enemies with one artillery shell.

but!

To fire an artillery, one needs either talent or sufficient ammunition feeding and training to cultivate elite gunners.

There were very few talented gunners, and both the newly formed Eighth Route Army and the former Red Army were in urgent need of artillery shells for combat, not to mention training shells.

Of course, the Eighth Route Army artillery now has sufficient training ammunition, but the training program is also mainly based on precision strikes.

Saving ammunition is something that is ingrained in the bones of our army's artillery commanders and fighters, and ammunition cannot be wasted.

but!

Captain Zhao, who has rich experience in artillery combat and the title of god gunner, knows this very well.

Only when all artillery firepower is concentrated together can the maximum power of artillery be exerted. Short-term artillery coverage can cause heavy casualties to the enemy and cause panic in their hearts, making them confused and their morale low.

Not only can it make the battle go much more smoothly, but it can also greatly reduce the casualties of our soldiers.

The Japanese were carrying heavy baggage and their marching speed through the Zhuozhang River Valley was not very fast.

The two main regiments of the Eighth Route Army, 771 and 772, quickly seized the high ground on the north bank of the Zhuozhang River.

"Immediately ask where the 689th, 769th, and New Third Regiments are?"

Seeing that all the troops had entered the positions, Brigade Commander Chen asked in a deep voice in the temporary command post.

The 689th Regiment is part of the 115th Division, and the 769th Regiment and the New 385rd Regiment are part of the th Brigade.

There were a total of 4 main regiments and 1 basic regiment participating in the battle. Fortunately, the 386th Brigade arrived in time, otherwise the Japanese would have passed through the Zhuozhang River Valley.

"Yes!"

The radio operator immediately set up the radio and called:
"Zhang Zhuang, Zhang Zhuang, I'm Li Zhuang. Please answer if you hear me. Please answer if you hear me..."

Brigade Commander Chen raised his binoculars and looked towards the Zhuozhang River valley. "The main vanguard of the Japanese is about to arrive at Mazhuang. By the time their regiments arrive, the opportunity will be gone. We don't need to wait for them anymore. Let's fight first and crush the Japanese in the Zhuozhang River valley!"

The Japanese vanguard had obviously conducted reconnaissance on both sides of the Zhuozhang River, but the two main regiments of the Eighth Route Army arrived later, and the Japanese obviously did not know that they had entered an ambush circle.

The people in the brigade headquarters were obviously well aware that opportunities for battle were fleeting, and they immediately gave the order to open fire.

More than 2400 Japanese soldiers, carrying a large amount of baggage, formed a team stretching for several kilometers in the Zhuozhang River Valley.

After all, the vanguard had already passed, and the main force of the Eighth Route Army had fled to the mountains, so the Japanese never thought that they would be ambushed.

The brigade's order was relayed to the regimental headquarters, which immediately issued the order: "Open fire!"

"Da da da……"

The dense gunfire was as intense as popping beans, without a break. The marching Japanese troops were caught off guard and fell like dry grass encountering a sharp sickle. Some were shot down, while others reacted quickly and immediately crawled to avoid it.

"Boom boom boom..."

The 60mm mortars equipped by each regiment opened fire, and the shells exploded in the Japanese formation, emitting clouds of explosive smoke.

However, there are not many 60mm mortars, and the power of 60mm mortar shells is average.

Moreover, the 79th Infantry Regiment, after all, was the elite of the Type A Division. It quickly reacted, crawled on the ground and began to fight back towards the north bank.

The Japanese set up Type 92 heavy machine guns, Type 99 light machine guns and grenade launchers, and the two sides started shooting at each other. The Eighth Route Army also suffered some casualties.

The sounds of gunfire and artillery fire filled the air.

"Order the 1st Mortar Regiment to open fire immediately and suppress the Japanese firepower."

Seeing that the enemy not only refused to surrender but also dared to fight back against us, the brigade commander snorted coldly.

At this time, the artillery positions of the 1st Mortar Regiment had been prepared, and 36 82mm mortars were distributed in battalion units.

Captain Zhao personally used the one-handed ranging method to visually estimate the distance from each artillery position to the Japanese in the Zhuozhang River Valley.

Behind each mortar position, the gunner slowly placed the shell close to the dark barrel. Behind the gunner were ammunition boxes piled up like a hill, and ammunition handlers holding shells in their hands.

Regimental Commander Zhao received the order to fire. Under the expectant gazes of the artillerymen, he slowly raised his right hand, then suddenly lowered it: "Target the Japanese troops in the valley. Prepare, fire!"

In an instant, the gunner behind the gun position put the shell weighing more than 4 kilograms into the gun barrel.

After the shells were placed into the barrel, the gunners knelt on one knee, bent over, turned their heads and covered their ears.

“Boom boom boom boom…”

Muzzle flames flashed, and amid a short burst of continuous artillery sounds, one 82mm shell after another suddenly soared into the air, drawing an arc in the sky, and the sharp whistling sound went straight to the Japanese troops in the Zhuozhang River Valley!

"Keep going!" Before the first round of shells fell, Captain Zhao's rough voice rang in the ears of the gunners.

The gunner took the shell handed over by the ammunition handler at the rear, put it into the barrel again, bent down, turned his head and covered his ears to avoid the muzzle blast.

“Boom boom boom boom…”

There was another series of muzzle blasts, a strong wind swept across the artillery position, smoke and dust rose, and 36 shells rushed out of the gun barrel.

Without Captain Zhao giving any more orders, the gunner took the shell again and put it into the 82mm caliber gun barrel with smooth movements.

The 1st Mortar Regiment's team is an artillery company team personally trained by Commander Zhao during the Red Army period, and it has a group of elite gunners.

In addition, during this period, the artillerymen had sufficient training ammunition, and in one month they fired the same number of ammunition as in previous years, which greatly improved their level.

Moreover, the shooting parameters were adjusted personally by Captain Zhao, a master gunner who never missed a shot, so there was no need for a test firing in advance.

At the same time, Captain Zhao raised his telescope and looked towards the Zhuozhang River Valley. Most of the first batch of shells fell into the Japanese formation.

Fireballs and smoke rose up in the Japanese formation, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.

Captain Zhao's eyes lit up like light bulbs and he shouted loudly:
"Keep going, don't stop!"

82毫米迫击炮弹比60毫米迫击炮弹的威力大了3到5倍，而这又是36门迫击炮的炮火覆盖。

The first round of artillery shells killed many Japanese soldiers and machine gunners.

This was the most profitable battle Captain Zhao had ever fought in his military career.

but.

The 82mm mortar is also a big consumer of ammunition. One base unit contains 1 rounds of shells, which can be used up in just a quarter of an hour.

The Eighth Route Army currently does not have the ability to produce this type of artillery shells. It seems that it needs to get closer to Commander Li Yunlong. Only Commander Li can get the artillery shells, and in large quantities.

It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

"Haha... this artillery firepower is awesome!"

At the brigade headquarters, Brigade Commander Chen couldn't help laughing out loud as he saw through the telescope that at least half of the Japanese troops in the Zhuozhang River Valley were shrouded in smoke from artillery fire.

In this battle, the 1st Mortar Regiment brought 36 82mm mortars and a basic amount of artillery shells to assist the 1th Brigade in the battle.

This battle was also a fruitful one in the brigade commander’s military career!

Deputy Brigade Commander Chen, Chief of Staff Zhou and other officers from the regiment headquarters all smiled.

There's something good to watch now!
Brigade Commander Chen suddenly thought of Li Yunlong and thought to himself, this guy is really amazing. If Li Yunlong hadn't gotten so many mortars, even if they won the battle, who knows how many soldiers would have been sacrificed.

I don’t know how Li Yunlong is doing on the Zhengtai Railway?

Did he lead the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment to ambush the Japanese army train?

……

Colonel Kobayashi Tsuneichi led the 79th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Infantry Battalion towards Xiangyuan County.

Having learned the lessons from the Pingxingguan, Wangdongbao and Guangyang ambushes, the old Japanese soldier Kobayashi Hengyi did not dare to stay with the logistics troops.

The logistics unit was an important target for the Eighth Route Army to ambush the Japanese army.

So Kobayashi Tsuneichi led the regiment headquarters and crossed the Zhuozhang River Valley together with the vanguard 1st Infantry Battalion.

However, baggage is very important to a unit, so Kobayashi Tsuneichi ordered the 2nd Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Infantry Battalion to protect the baggage unit.

Before passing through the Zhuozhang River Valley, Kobayashi Tsuneichi also ordered the reconnaissance cavalry to conduct fire reconnaissance on both sides of the valley.

Hearing the dense gunfire and artillery fire coming from behind, Kobayashi Hengyi turned his head and saw a large amount of smoke rising from the Zhuozhang River Valley. His face turned very ugly in an instant!
Even with careful preparations, the baggage train was still ambushed!

"Your Excellency, the Captain?"

The adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi Kuramatsu, called out to Kobayashi Tsuneichi, who was standing there in a daze.

Is it possible that the Captain has been frightened silly?
Kobayashi Tsuneichi came to his senses and cursed loudly. Before setting off, Kobayashi Tsuneichi made a military order to the brigade commander, Major General Takagi Yoshito, that if he could not eliminate Li Yunlong and the New 1st Regiment, he would commit suicide by cutting his stomach to thank God.

But up to now, the 79th Infantry Regiment has not even seen the shadow of Li Yunlong and the New st Regiment.

Kobayashi Tsuneichi also wanted to use the merits of capturing Xiangyuan, Licheng and Changzhi county towns in southeastern Shanxi to offset the military order and make up for his mistakes.

However, what if the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Battalions, as well as the baggage train, were wiped out by the Eighth Route Army here?

He's afraid he'll have to commit seppuku!
No one can save him.

Even if we capture these counties, we will still die.

What's more, without the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Battalions, as well as food and ammunition, what would he use to attack the county town?
After all, Kobayashi Tsuneichi was a veteran of many battles, so he quickly adjusted his attitude and said coldly, "Report the situation to the brigade headquarters immediately and request tactical guidance and air support!"

"The personnel of the regimental headquarters are to remain on standby. The 1st Infantry Battalion will immediately attack the enemy and reinforce and rescue the surrounded troops."

After quickly issuing two orders, Colonel Kobayashi Hengyi personally led the 1st Infantry Battalion and rushed towards the Zhuozhang River Valley with murderous intent.

(End of this chapter)