Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

Chapter 445 Fear of Insufficient Firepower

At the positions of the artillery battalions of the New 1st Regiment, large trucks were parked next to the artillery battalions and boxes of ammunition were being unloaded.

Before long, behind each gun position, there were piles of ammunition boxes like small mountains.

After the gunners unloaded all the shells, the motor vehicle driver quickly drove the large truck back to the Ping'an County warehouse to transport the shells.

The Blade Commandos operating alongside the 2nd Tank Battalion served as artillery observers.

The firing information was transmitted to each artillery position by radio or walkie-talkie.

About half an hour later, at three o'clock in the morning, all artillery positions were deployed.

Li Yunlong also adjusted the combat deployment. In addition to four artillery battalions and two tank battalions, this attack also included four infantry battalions transported by large trucks.

At the same time, the order for artillery preparation was issued at the front line of the new regiment.

As a series of red flares were launched into the sky, the sound of artillery instantly tore through the brief tranquility of the night sky.

The 105mm howitzer battalion, the 152mm howitzer battalion, the 75mm mountain artillery battalion, and the 120mm heavy mortar battalion launched artillery fire coverage on the Japanese positions from all directions.

In addition, the 52 tank guns of the two tank battalions were also firing simultaneously.

A total of six artillery regiment levels, including three heavy artillery regiments of firepower.

The first round of approximately 200 75mm high-explosive grenades fired from different directions hit the Japanese positions outside Heyuan County.

Because the Blade Commando uses precise methods to determine the shooting parameters.

Except for a small number of shells that missed the target in the first round, most of the shells landed accurately on the Japanese positions.

All the fortifications built by the Japanese outside the city were earthworks. There was a plain terrain outside Heyuan County, and there were no hills for the Japanese to build tunnels.

Ordinary earthworks are difficult to stop even 75mm high-explosive grenades.

Not to mention high-explosive grenades with a caliber of 105 or above, the power of 152mm high-explosive grenades is even greater. One explosion will create a big hole, and the Japanese around the impact point will be instantly killed.

Except for the first round of shells, the rest were free fire.

The orange-red trajectory of the shells was clearly visible in the night sky, drawing arcs like meteors falling to the earth.

The orange-red metal bullet, carrying the breath of death, cut through the air with a terrifying sharp whistling sound.

Boom, boom, boom…

Shells continued to fall, engulfing the Japanese positions in flames and smoke.

Li Yunlong stood on a small hill not far away, looking through a telescope. He saw that the sky in the direction of Heyuan County had been illuminated red by the exploding fireballs of artillery shells. Even ten kilometers away, he could hear the rumbling sound like thunder and the crimson light of the exploding fireballs.

Before the artillery preparation, the 1st Tank Battalion launched a feint attack and confirmed that there were many Japanese soldiers on the positions outside the city.

Li Yunlong looked through the telescope and vaguely saw the body of the Japanese being thrown high into the air from the firelight produced by the exploding fireball.

This was the location where the 152mm howitzer battalion bombarded the enemy positions. As the 152mm high-explosive grenades fell, not only did they create large holes, but they also tore the Japanese soldiers into pieces. The Japanese soldiers at the center of the explosion were instantly blown into powder.

"Yes, this is what we call artillery firepower."

Li Yunlong nodded with satisfaction.

The firepower of six artillery regiments continued to bombard the enemy, and Captain Li's fear of insufficient firepower was slightly reduced.

But Li Yunlong felt that it was far from enough.

To fight against a Japanese division, it would be enough to deploy the firepower of twenty heavy artillery regiments.

Anyway, Boss Lin will reimburse the ammunition, so Li Yunlong doesn't have to worry about running out of ammunition.

"The Eighth Route Army's artillery firepower..."

On a hill not far away, Chu Yunfei led the battlefield observation group of the 358th Regiment of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army. When the battalion and company-level officers of the 358th Regiment saw the Japanese being bombarded, their expressions were all stunned.

"How many guns did the Eighth Route Army deploy?"

"How many shells fall on the enemy positions every minute?"

"Can anyone of you calculate it?"

Chu Yunfei suppressed the fear and envy in his heart and looked at the battalion and company commanders.

As soon as the words fell, Liang Guoping, the artillery battalion commander of the 358th Regiment, said in shock:

"Commander, the Eighth Route Army should have mobilized six artillery regiments: one 75mm mountain artillery regiment, two 75mm field artillery regiments, one 1mm heavy mortar regiment, one 120mm howitzer regiment, and one 1mm howitzer regiment."

"About 200 artillery pieces, firing at least a thousand shells per minute, were landing on the Japanese positions."

Liang Guoping, a Lieutenant Colonel, graduated from the Artillery Department of the Baoding Military Academy and was sent to Japan for further studies. After returning to China, he started as an artillery company commander and has now risen to the position of Battalion Commander of the 358th Regiment. The battalion and company commanders around Chu Yunfei fell silent.

1000 rounds per minute.

Seventeen shells fell every second.

Moreover, the Japanese army's civil engineering works could not withstand artillery shells larger than 105 caliber.

It won't take long, at most half an hour, for the Japanese positions outside Heyuan County to be destroyed, and the Japanese soldiers on the positions will suffer heavy casualties. If it takes forty minutes, even the city walls might be blown down.

Fang Ligong pushed his glasses up, his expression and tone were shocked:

"Two of the field artillery regiments should be equipped with tank artillery. From this, we can infer that the Eighth Route Army's tank forces are in two regiments. In addition, the Eighth Route Army's new tanks are much larger than the Japanese medium tanks, so they should be heavy tanks."

Chu Yunfei looked at Liang Guoping and said, "Captain Liang, if one day I asked you to command an American 105mm howitzer division, could you handle it?"

Liang Guoping immediately said, "Commander, if you let me command an American 105mm howitzer division, you'll be my dad. Not to mention calling me dad, even if you let me, Liang Guoping, call you Grandpa, that's fine!"

A 105mm howitzer division has at least four 105mm howitzer regiments and 144 105mm howitzers!
Chu Yunfei's face turned dark. If that was the case, shouldn't he call Li Yunlong dad or grandpa?

Qian Bojun's expression was full of anticipation: "Commander, can you get a 105mm howitzer division?"

……

at the same time.

In Heyuan County, at the headquarters of the Japanese Army's 14th Division, a group of Japanese officers, including Jingguan Changlong, listened to the rumbling and continuous artillery fire outside the city, and their faces became more and more solemn.

Generally speaking, new recruits are afraid of cannons, and old soldiers are afraid of bullets.

The 14th Division was mostly composed of elite veterans, with a very small proportion of new recruits. Many veterans were able to survive the enemy's bombardment.

but.

Under the cover of artillery fire, all beings are equal.

Faced with the enemy's indiscriminate use of mountain artillery and heavy artillery fire, it was difficult for both veterans and recruits to survive.

Lieutenant General Jingguan Changlong paced back and forth in the division headquarters with a sullen face, his right hand tightly gripping the hilt of the general's sword bestowed by Tianhuang, showing his anxiety at the moment.

It was the first time since he set foot on the Chinese battlefield that he felt fear, the fear of the locust army's insufficient firepower.

Jingguan Changlong, a veteran of many battles and a professional soldier, could naturally judge the number of artillery pieces deployed by the Eighth Route Army from the sound of the exploding shells.

According to the Japanese artillery organization, the Eighth Route Army had at least 75 artillery regiments firing cannons with a caliber of 6 mm or above!
At least half of them are large-caliber heavy artillery with a caliber of 105 mm or above!

His field artillery regiment did not dare to fire to suppress the enemy at this time.

Because the field artillery regiment's position was exposed, it would immediately be suppressed by the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery positions, resulting in heavy losses.

Suddenly, Jingguan Changlong stopped and looked at Ishihara Zhangzo: "How long has the Eighth Route Army been firing?"

Ishihara Shozo glanced at his watch. "It's three minutes to half an hour. Based on the Eighth Route Army's rate of fire of 3 rounds per minute, they've already fired 1000 rounds at the Locust Army's positions outside the city."

Inside the division headquarters, the Japanese staff members looked increasingly solemn, and some even looked desperate.

The ferocity of the Eighth Route Army's artillery fire was simply despairing.

"The locust army's artillery firepower is too weak."

A Japanese staff officer said bitterly:
"We need at least one more heavy artillery brigade to compete with the New 1st Regiment of the Eighth Route Army."

"How is this possible?" another Japanese staff officer asked, "The Locust Army only has seven heavy artillery brigades. How could they possibly give our 14th Division a single heavy artillery brigade?"

The Japanese staff officer who had spoken just now said in an even more bitter tone: "That's why I said that the Locust Army's artillery firepower is too weak."

At this moment, Colonel Miyagawa, commander of the field artillery regiment, walked in and reported, "Your Excellency, Division Commander, according to your order, the field artillery regiment has been deployed on the city wall."

The Japanese engineers dug gun positions halfway up the city wall, intending to use the wall as a gun emplacement and aim directly at the Eighth Route Army attacking the city.

In an artillery battle, the 14th Division, which only had one field artillery regiment, was certainly no match for the New st Regiment.

Jingguan Changlong narrowed his eyes, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "The Eighth Route Army is always reluctant to waste ammunition in battle. The shelling will stop in two minutes at most. After the shelling stops, their tanks and infantry will definitely attack the city. Order the artillery and machine gunners to prepare. We must inflict heavy casualties on the Eighth Route Army!"

The Japs were stunned. In just one artillery attack, the Eighth Route Army fired almost all of the 14th Division's artillery reserves.

Is this called being reluctant to give up ammunition?
However, since it was the order of the division commander, the Japanese had no choice but to obey.

"Hayi!"

(End of this chapter)