PFC Chapter 213: The Japs actually used cannons to fight with bayonets, we can't lose our momentum!
Chapter 213: The Japs actually used cannons to fight with bayonets, we can't lose our momentum!
"Your Excellency General, the artillery regiment is ready and has found the exact location of the Chinese artillery. We can now start counterattacking immediately!" Junichiro Hatoyama reported excitedly.
Katayama Ichiro stroked his mustache and replied with a smile: "Yoshi! Order the artillery regiment to counterattack immediately and destroy all artillery forces of the Chinese army! Order the mixed heavy artillery squadron to open fire immediately and eliminate the heavy artillery of the Chinese Independent Regiment!"
"Order the Harada Battalion to retreat immediately, and order the Makino Battalion to prepare for the attack. Once the Chinese troops' artillery is destroyed, launch the attack immediately!"
"This time we failed to fool the Chinese army with fake civilians. It seems that our acting skills are still not good enough. Fortunately, we have taken photos in advance. Then we can frame the Independent Regiment and ruin its reputation in northwest Shanxi. Only in this way can our next offensive war proceed more smoothly!"
"Notify Huang Jinbao and have him take people to spread the news immediately. Say that the Independent Regiment, in order to stop our attack, ignored the lives of the Chinese people and directly bombarded the oppressed civilians, causing a large number of casualties among the Chinese people. In short, you can smear them in any way you can."
Under the command of Ichiro Katayama, the artillery regiment immediately launched a counterattack. In order to achieve a better strike effect, the Japanese also took out 12 hidden 105mm cannon howitzers, and the first artillery battle between the two sides officially started.
"Bagayalu! Counterattack quickly and let the Chinese artillery see how powerful we are. We must destroy the Chinese artillery in the shortest possible time and cover the infantry battalion's attack!"
Under the command of Colonel Miyai, commander of the artillery regiment, hundreds of artillery pieces including mortars began to counterattack. The first artillery battle between the two sides reached a white-hot level from the very beginning.
Even though the number of artillerymen in the artillery battalion is not as many as that of the Japanese, all the soldiers in the artillery battalion are capable of super-artillery. The transportation and loading of ammunition are the responsibility of a special artillery transport battalion, which is a branch of the army specially set up after Li Yunlong and Lin Zhenhua discussed it. At the critical moment, personnel can also be transferred from other battalions. In fact, the difference in the number of people between the two sides is almost negligible. If you really count it, the independent regiment has more people helping the artillery battalion, adding up to four battalions. This also ensures that the independent regiment's artillery battalion will not lose the upper hand in this artillery battle.
But when Lin Zhenhua took a look at the situation on the battlefield, he was very dissatisfied. In terms of mountain artillery, the two sides were evenly matched, but in terms of heavy artillery, Zhuzi's command was completely nonsense. They fired three rounds of artillery fire, but not a single hit hit the Japanese position. The deviation was particularly large, which made Lin Zhenhua very annoyed.
"Zhu Zi, come here the fucking way. From now on you will be my messenger. For the convenience of command, 12 artillery pieces will be organized into a squad. We now have a total of 12 Type 36 infantry guns organized into the first squad, 75 105mm three-guns organized into the second, third and fourth squads. The 120mm heavy howitzers will immediately withdraw from the battlefield. Two 150mm howitzers will continue firing, and two mm howitzers will continue firing, organized into the fifth and sixth squads respectively. The remaining mortars will be organized into the seventh squad!"
"Now immediately follow my latest order. First, the second squad is responsible for attacking the enemy's artillery position on the left wing. Lower the elevation angle by two degrees and deviate 30 mils to the left. Third, the fourth squad is responsible for attacking the enemy's right wing. Raise the elevation angle by six degrees and deviate 6 mils to the right."
"The fifth squad is responsible for attacking the Japanese 105mm heavy artillery. Deflect 20 mils to the left and adjust the elevation to 45 degrees. The sixth squad is also responsible for attacking the Japanese 105mm heavy artillery. Deflect 30 mils to the right and adjust the elevation to 36 degrees. All of you use extended-range shells to destroy the Japanese heavy artillery. If we destroy the Japanese heavy artillery, I want to see what the Japanese can use to attack!"
"Team Seven will not make any adjustments for now. Continue firing from the current position and angle!"
Under Lin Zhenhua's command, the combat effectiveness of the artillery battalion increased dramatically, and it began to gain some advantages in the artillery battle with the Japanese artillery regiment. More importantly, with the protection of anti-artillery fortifications, the artillery battle had been going on for nearly half an hour. The losses of the independent regiment were not great, with not a single mountain artillery lost. Instead, the losses of mortars were relatively large, with 16 lost. This was mainly because they were not protected by anti-artillery fortifications.
In comparison, the Japanese suffered much greater artillery losses. They had hit the independent regiment's anti-artillery fortifications many times before, but because the caliber of the shells was relatively small, they did not achieve much results. They had already lost three 75mm mountain cannons and nine 80mm mortars. In this artillery battle, the losses of both sides were actually similar!
"Damn it! The Chinese army has too many artillery pieces, which exceeds the firepower of one of our artillery regiments. Plus, they have solid anti-artillery fortifications. If we want to make a contribution, we can only bombard them with 105mm heavy artillery. But the enemy also has artillery pieces with a range far exceeding that of the 105mm heavy artillery. This is really a difficult choice!" Adjutant Yoshino said with a worried look on his face.
The smile on Colonel Miyata's face had long disappeared. He had not expected that the independent regiment would have so many artillery pieces. This was seriously inconsistent with the intelligence he had obtained before. Without the help of air force, it was not easy to destroy the enemy's artillery. This made Colonel Miyata's face full of worry. Just now, in order to be able to attack the Chinese artillery, he had risked moving the artillery battalion forward, which resulted in the destruction of three artillery pieces. But if he had not done that, the distance between the two sides exceeded the range of the mountain artillery, and the non-contact artillery battle would only be a waste of ammunition.
"Order the mixed heavy artillery squadron to target the Chinese army's mountain artillery and destroy their anti-artillery fortifications. At all costs, we must knock out some of the Chinese army's artillery. Otherwise, the infantry battalion will not be able to launch an attack!"
"Notify the mortar squadron and tell them to continue advancing at risk. The minefield in front of us has been cleared by artillery fire. Tell them to find cover and immediately launch a counterattack against the Chinese artillery!"
After some consideration, Colonel Miyata decided to continue shortening the distance between the two sides, because only in this way could the artillery of the independent regiment be eliminated.
Lin Zhenhua saw through the observation and aiming equipment that the Japanese artillerymen were actually rushing up under fire, and his face became increasingly ugly. The Japanese artillery commander on the opposite side was really a tough guy. He actually used the artillery as a suicide squad. How cruel was his heart!
However, this move of the Japanese commander really worked wonders. Just now, two mortars of the independent regiment were destroyed, and even the second and third squads that were firing were hit by Japanese heavy artillery. This time, the Japanese even used armor-piercing explosive bombs. Cracks have appeared in the fortifications of two artillery positions. If the fighting continues like this, those two artillery positions may not be able to withstand it.
"Zhu Zi, let the seventh squad move forward. The Japs dare to fight, and our independent regiment dares to fight as well. The artillery of our independent regiment is not a coward! Order the third and fourth squads to change the battle plan and continue to attack the Japs' artillery! The second artillery squad will immediately move the artillery position to the front-line position and hit them hard. Let the Japs' artillery have a taste of our power! We dare to fight with bayonets!"
"The Sixth and Seventh Artillery Teams, readjust the angle and direction. I just calculated this. Have them adjust the artillery immediately!"
Lin Zhenhua made adjustments based on the situation on the battlefield. This time, his major adjustments finally achieved great results. Two 150mm heavy howitzers of the 105th Artillery Team, two extended-range shells hit one of the enemy's 105 howitzer positions. The violent explosion directly overturned the enemy's 20 howitzer into the air, and the barrel was twisted into a knot, causing more than casualties.
"Haha, the Seventh Squad is doing well. Fight at this pace. This is the new data I calculated. Send it to the Seventh Squad immediately and tell them to fight hard. Today we have to keep all of the Japanese's 105mm cannons!"
Since Lin Zhenhua placed the 120mm and 150mm howitzers relatively far back, they were out of the range of the Japanese 105mm guns. In addition, with the use of extended-range shells, the distance difference between the two sides was even greater, which made the Japanese 105mm guns gradually become sitting ducks. In just over 20 minutes, three of them were knocked down one after another. Including the previous one, it was equivalent to directly losing 1/3 of their weapons. For the Japanese, it was a heavy blow.
Lieutenant Colonel Miyata looked at the situation on the battlefield and knew that he could not go on like this, so he immediately ordered the withdrawal of the 105mm howitzers, leaving only the 105mm mountain guns and mortars to continue the artillery battle with the independent regiment. Lin Zhenhua saw the withdrawal of the Japanese mm howitzers and ordered the sixth and seventh squads to suspend the shelling.
"Zhu Zi, immediately mobilize 12 105mm heavy howitzers for me in the shortest possible time. Damn it, you should know how to get some electric winches beforehand, so that the guns can be pulled back easily. Next time, I will make the position more solid and hide the guns underground so that they can be used at any time!"
"Zhu Zi, bring up as many guns as you can, and immediately bombard the Japanese infantry battalion. We must stop the Japanese offensive momentum today. As long as we win the artillery battle and the infantry battle, the Japanese will not dare to act rampant in front of us, and we will be able to defend more easily!"
As soon as Lin Zhenhua finished speaking, Li Yunlong ran over in a hurry and asked in a hurried tone: "College student, you guys were really bad at the artillery battle this time. We firmly held the advantage in the number of artillery, but the final losses of both sides were almost the same. The puppet army and the Japanese infantry have already launched an attack. Don't just focus on fighting the Japanese, quickly provide artillery support for the defending troops, and fight off this wave of offensive by the Japanese. I don't want to let the Japanese rush into the first line of defense on the first day of the battle. I really can't afford to lose this man! What are you still doing, why don't you give the order to counterattack!"