Twelve kilometers away, the remnants of the 108th Brigade.
During the pause in the shelling of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, Taketa Aihara, who was ordered to do so at the critical moment, had successfully gathered the remaining troops and could launch the attack only after reinforcements from the rear were in place.
However, the current state of their unit is extremely poor, with only two-fifths of the original nearly 3,000 combat personnel remaining.
The equipment rate of body-barrel artillery is even less optimistic. The number of mountain artillery, field artillery and Type 92 infantry artillery that can be scraped is less than fifteen. This is the result of salvaging as much as possible.
To use a professional terminology from a certain 7+ coloring game, the yellow and green bars of the army are on the verge of bottoming out, and they will disappear if they suffer another heavy blow.
"Baga! Why are there only these artillery pieces left? What on earth are you doing for food!"
"With these rags alone, how can you expect me to fight against that Republic man named Nie? Their artillery shells are more than the number of people in the regiment. Do you want the warriors to commit suicide?"
"Continue collecting, we need more heavy weapons!"
Aihara Taketa's roar silenced all the low-level officers present.
But the strict hierarchical system within the Japanese army gave them no courage to resist the temporary supreme commander.
What's more, after the war started, anyone with a bit of military insight realized that they had fallen into the enemy's trap.
The feeling in their mind that if they work harder, they can successfully capture the enemy's leader, it is completely a dream weaved for them by the division commander of the Eighth Route Army.
If you want to survive now, you must naturally collect as much military supplies as possible, otherwise you will not be able to fight at all.
After several squadron leaders left, Aihara Buta's adjutant stepped forward and suggested:
"Your Majesty Lieutenant Colonel, with our current strength, it is almost impossible to complete the tasks assigned by the division commander. If you and I want to secure the top spot in the regiment, we must make sufficient contributions."
"In my humble opinion, it is better to send some infantry to test the Eighth Route Army's firepower, and then use the heavy weapons we have on hand to counterattack as much as possible."
"In this way, it can not only shorten the artillery gap between the enemy and ourselves, but also help subsequent reinforcements launch attacks."
As soon as these words came out, Taketa Aihara fell into silence at first, and then he gritted his teeth and stamped his feet and accepted the adjutant's suggestion.
Today's 139th Wing is basically in a state of half-death. But as long as the 110th Division is not destroyed by the Eighth Route Army, it will definitely be supplemented by troops from the North China Front after the war.
This means that, in a sense, the remaining soldiers can become the capital for their promotion.
After all, as a person with an ordinary background and no background, the rank of Lieutenant Colonel was already the limit of his military career. If you have an opportunity to leapfrog your class before you, you will naturally do your best to seize it.
"good!"
"Pass my order. After the troops at all levels are ready, they will launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army positions ahead!"
······
Five minutes later, the 139th Wing cautiously began to advance toward Yuanping as a squadron unit.
At the same time, the artillery positions in the rear are also in standby. Once the infantry detects high-value targets, they will concentrate fire as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the Japs at the front of the queue noticed something strange. They raised their heads in horror and looked at the sky in the distance. There was a twin-engine fighter jet in a battle formation.
"Enemy plane! Hidden!"
"Our whereabouts have been discovered by the Eighth Route Army! Get ready for battle!"
Facts have proved that the handsome warrior left a big psychological shadow on the Japanese. After all, this thing used a fire to directly destroy the command system of his own brigade.
However, what all the infantrymen did not expect was that the twin-engine fighter jets in the sky did not attack them.
In the past, the aerial cannons that could beat people to pieces and the aerial bombs that could take away a squad with one shot were not among the ranks of the vanguard.
This situation made Takea Aihara frown in the background. He put down the telescope in his hand and said with confusion on his face:
"What on earth is the Eighth Route Army doing? Immediately dispatch the field air defense troops and try to shoot down those attack aircraft."
Before he finished speaking, a strange scream suddenly came from the distance. Although he didn't know what it was, the old devil still raised the telescope in his hand immediately.
Boom boom boom!
In the field of view of Aihara Butai's telescope, huge fireballs were already rising in the attacking formation of his own unit, and explosions like landslides and ground cracking came almost simultaneously.
At this time, the 139th Wing had just begun to advance and was still far from the destination of the first stage.
However, the shelling just now was just the beginning.
Each of the Red Arrows designed by Huanghe can fire 12 rounds of 122mm rockets at one time. The self-propelled rocket artillery regiment of the headquarters artillery brigade is a three-battalion system with a total of 36 units.
This means that in this attack, the Japs need to physically carry 432 rounds, which is worth an average of two and a half gold per person.
Soon, the area where the Japanese infantry was located was directly shrouded in smoke and dust. However, the law of smoke without harm does not apply in reality.
The thinner wall allows the Red Arrow to increase the amount of explosive filling, so the power of the 122mm rocket is basically the same as that of the 155mm rocket.
Covered by a round of artillery fire, the 139th Regiment became a thing of the past and disappeared without a trace on the map.
"idiot!"
"What is this!"
In the command post at the rear, Taketa Aihara saw the power of the Red Arrow with his own eyes through the telescope. Thousands of soldiers were lost in just half a minute. It would be hard for anyone to accept this.
After a while, the old devil came out of his dazed state. For him, the most important thing to do now is to make up for his mistakes.
"Get me the division headquarters! Quick!"
"In the attack just now, the Eighth Route Army used the heavy artillery firepower of at least three field artillery brigades. An explosion of that level must be the French GPF155 cannon!"
"Even if we can only destroy a small part, the soldiers of our regiment will not be able to break the white jade!"
In the eyes of this book, the grassroots soldiers of all arms are disposable consumables to a certain extent, not to mention the ordinary infantry of the B division.
Otherwise, there won’t be any kamikaze agents, Sakura agents, or Kaiten torpedoes in the future.
If the total destruction of the 139th Regiment can be exchanged for a dozen GPF155 cannons, then they deserved their death.
After all, there were only six units of this level in the entire army even before the field artillery brigade was abolished.
"Hi!"
······
After the self-propelled rocket artillery regiment had fired all the ammunition, the artillerymen at the headquarters immediately began the transfer work, preparing to drive to the predetermined position for reloading.
Although the Red Arrow is powerful, the reloading time is a flaw, and it is impossible to regain combat effectiveness within a few minutes.
The 110th Division is equipped with large-range cannons, and if it stays in place, it is likely to encounter artillery counterattacks.
When the comrades were preparing to retreat, Huang He also closed his notebook and pulled the stunned Lao Cui into the car.
"Remember the news of the Red Arrow firing just now. After this battle is over, I will show you the photos taken by the artillery school shooting machine. When you return home, you can compare it with Katyusha.
"This thing should not be added to the Lend-Lease Act. As an ally, if you need it, we can sell it at cost price."
"One rocket is worth eight taels of gold tentatively. How about it? It's a good deal."
Obviously, Lao Cui has not recovered yet. Facing the noisy Huang He, this old man couldn't even refute a few words.
Just as Huang He was preparing to continue selling his products, several deafening explosions sounded from the position just now, followed by mud and fireballs flying all over the sky.
Boom boom boom!
It turns out that the artillery of the 110th Division still has two brushes.
Even in an unfamiliar environment without observation balloons, they found the position of the Eighth Route Army's self-propelled rocket artillery regiment in a very short period of time.
If the comrades had used the 13-ton GPF155 cannon, the attack just now might have caused heavy losses.
After the first wave of shelling ended, the second wave of five shells fell more than ten seconds later. Compared with the first five rounds, the impact points of these shells are farther away, which is obviously a trial of luck.
This situation made Huang He's mouth curl up involuntarily.
In the past, when facing the Japanese 105 cannons, the Eighth Route Army could only send close ground support aircraft to crack them.
But today is different. The M1936 of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region has a range of 20 kilometers, which can definitely catch the enemy by surprise.
······
"Your Excellency Lieutenant General, do you think the information reported by the 139th Wing is true?"
"I don't believe that the Eighth Route Army already has such strength with three field heavy artillery brigade-level artillery units. They are not from the north, and there is absolutely no way they have such a strong industrial base."
"In comparison, I think the enemy must have used some trick!"
In the forward command post, the major general chief of staff of the 110th Division was putting forward his ideas to Iimorinuma.
Although he had just witnessed what happened to the vanguard, the old Japanese still refused to believe that the Eighth Route Army had hundreds of 155mm heavy cannons.
Let’s not talk about the weight of those things, which are more than ten tons. What kind of carrying capacity is needed to move freely in Shanxi Province.
Let's just say that if your Eighth Route Army really had this kind of strength, it would have been able to defeat the entire North China Front Army long ago. There would be no need to use any tactics to lure the enemy deeper.
The words of his chief of staff made Iimorinuma nod with satisfaction.
Whether it's the GPF 155mm cannon or any other mess of heavy weapons, it must have been hit by one's own artillery fire.
Unless your Eighth Route Army develops a 155mm self-propelled artillery, then I will consider myself unlucky!
"Okay, let's notify the artillery positions and ask them to move quickly."
"Although the Eighth Route Army's air force is probably still carrying out preparation work at the airport. But we still have to be careful to avoid any losses due to a moment of negligence."
Facts have proved that Shanxi is a rather evil place, and whatever you fear will come to you.
As soon as Iimorinuma's order was conveyed, several artillery shells flew past with a whistling sound in the sky, followed by a muffled thunderous explosion.
This situation immediately made the old devil jump up from his stool.
The firepower of our own artillery is inherently inferior to that of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region of the Eighth Route Army. If the large-caliber artillery position was knocked out, he would have to consider retreating now.
Thinking of this, he grabbed the phone himself and began to shake the handle vigorously.
"This is the command post! Report the situation of the artillery position immediately! What happened to you over there!"
The communications soldier on the other side of the phone was about to report, but a 105mm artillery shell directly cut off the phone line, causing him to choke back his words.
When the two tried to talk, another round of artillery shells flew towards the artillery position of the 110th Division.
In the loud explosion, a cannon was hit in the center of the target, and a dozen Japanese artillerymen around it were directly blown into pieces of meat flying in the sky.
The Japs who have survived to this day have very high personal military abilities and qualities. They knew in the first round that the location of their own artillery positions must have been leaked.
But these heavy artillery are the division's trump card. The artillerymen are unwilling to give up and dare not give up.
Even at this time of life and death, they still want to move with heavy artillery.
But the large-caliber cannon is not a gadget like the Type 92 infantry gun. After it was dismantled, several artillerymen directly carried it away.
The 105mm cannon fixed at the gun emplacement could not be removed within a few minutes.
With skill, the artillery brigade at the headquarters could fire more than a dozen volleys. With the help of artillery school shooting machines, the Japanese had to be buried with heavy artillery even if they didn't want to die.
······
The perspective returns to the forward command post of the 110th Division again.
After learning that the heavy artillery unit he had carefully cared for was destroyed by the Eighth Route Army, Iimorinuma suddenly collapsed on the stool in the communication room, and even looked ten years older.
After losing a regiment and all large-caliber artillery, the Japanese lieutenant general had already begun to think about retreating. There are only a dozen 75mm mountain and field guns left, so why should we fight against the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region?
But at this moment, the Major General Chief of Staff on the side exclaimed, as if something terrifying had appeared.
"Your Majesty Lieutenant General! Something bad is happening!"
"Tanks! Lots of tanks! We're surrounded!
After luring the enemy deep, it is natural to surround and annihilate them.
It took so much effort to lead the 110th Division to the decisive battle site, so of course it was necessary to annihilate them all as much as possible! (End of chapter)
