Outside the east city of Mandalay, dozens of heavy artillery pieces from the 7th Heavy Artillery Brigade of the 15th Army were ready, waiting for Kanda Masane's order.
The Heavy Artillery Brigade of the 15th Army is a newly formed strategic-level unit of the Southern Army. Considering the poor traffic conditions in the Emerald Country, the 7th Heavy Artillery Brigade is not equipped with it. Other heavy artillery brigades are equipped with the standard 90-type 240mm heavy cannon and The Type 96 305-caliber heavy howitzer was changed to a 150mm heavy cannon and a 130mm heavy howitzer that are easier to maneuver.
There are two heavy artillery regiments with a total of 56 heavy artillery pieces. A few salvos can flatten the city wall of Mandalay. This is Kanda Masane's confidence.
In order to avoid the expeditionary force's aircraft bombing, they set the time for the artillery bombardment at five o'clock in the morning. The artillery position was set up ten kilometers away from Mandalay City, and the surrounding ten kilometers were surrounded by Japanese security forces;
This is to prevent the expeditionary force's artillery from sneak attacks, because they also know that the Independence Army has a heavy artillery that can hit several kilometers away, so the Wei Shen Cannon is not a panacea. After being used several times, it will cause the enemy to attack. of attention.
They set up heavy artillery positions in the rear area, and deployed the security troops ten kilometers away. It would be difficult for the artillery regiments of the expeditionary force to play their role. The Japanese heavy artillery attacked the city, and the first division defending the city could only bear it. Fortunately, they dug in A large number of tunnels are used to hide troops;
There are solid surface buildings above for buffering, and a large number of giant trees are used for support in the cave. Unless a heavy aircraft bomb weighing more than 500 pounds directly hits, any heavy artillery poses little threat.
Following Lieutenant General Kanda's order, the Japanese heavy artillery brigade began to launch fierce shelling on Mandalay City. The surface buildings in Mandalay City were damaged...
Those solid city walls were no different from tofu under the heavy artillery bombardment. Sections of the city walls were destroyed, and ancient buildings were blown into ruins. The whole city was shaking under the heavy artillery hammers. Watching the old devil Kanda's blood boiled with pride. Said proudly:
"Imai-kun, the firepower of the Empire's heavy artillery brigade is really fierce. Under such fierce artillery fire, how many defenders can be left in the city?
I have to admit that the combat effectiveness of Chu Xiong's troops is definitely second to none in the Chinese army. Compared with many second-class divisions in the empire, it is not worth mentioning, but it is not worth mentioning in the face of modern artillery, especially heavy artillery. of. "
Kazuo Imai’s Chief of Staff Kanda Masane was very interested and quickly joked:
"Yo Xi, what the division commander said is that with one shot of 150 heavy artillery, even the bravest warriors will be reduced to ashes. Under the siege of modern heavy artillery, no city can be defended;
When the bombardment was over, the infantry had to go up to collect their corpses, for fear that the corpses would be blown to pieces and they would not be able to be collected! "
As soon as Imai Kazuo finished speaking, the two old devils couldn't help but burst into laughter and came in, their pride beyond words.
Mandalay City, in a certain artillery cave, Deng Cheng, a soldier from the third squad of a company of the 101st Regiment of the First Division of the Independence Army, was huddled in a corner and shivering. He had never seen such fierce artillery fire;
Deng Cheng was one of the 20,000 strong men from Shu who were recruited by Spring City. It was not like he had never heard the sound of cannons before. Before wars between warlords, some people would fire off a few cannons to boost their courage, but it was similar to a firecracker.
The third squad leader, Gao Yaojun, is much calmer. He is from Gaojia Village, Liu Town. He joined the army when the Independence Army was still an independent battalion. He has participated in many fierce battles during the growth of the independent battalion. He has long been accustomed to the artillery fire thrown above his head by the Japanese. , it just makes my ears buzz.
He saw Deng Cheng, a recruit in his class, shivering in fear of the artillery fire. He did not look down on him because of this, but patted him on the shoulder, telling him not to be nervous, and said in a loud voice:
"Deng Cheng, don't be afraid. This is the little Japs setting off firecrackers for us. Our bomb-proof holes are strong. The Japs' cannons exploding on them are no different than scratching an itch."
Deng Cheng trembled and said:
"Squad leader, I'm not afraid, I just can't control my legs."
Gao Yaojun comforted him loudly:
"No, it's not a shame. It was the first time I heard about sex and I peed my pants."
When the people around him heard this, they couldn't help but laugh. They didn't expect that the bravest soldier king in the whole company also peed his pants, so they didn't feel so embarrassed.
"Monitor Gao, tell us how you were so frightened that you peed yourself."
A veteran yelled, saying that he had taken the opportunity to make fun of Lao Gao.
Gao Yaojun said disdainfully:
"Go away! Do you want me to tell my comrades about going to the battlefield for the first time today?"
Upon hearing this, the veteran immediately explained to the other recruits:
"It's nothing, it's a rumor! It's just a rumor!"
After the veteran finished speaking, he did not forget to make a gesture to Gao Yaojun to beg for mercy, which caused more laughter. Everyone knows this kind of thing, and no one wants to save face.
After the fuss between Gao Yaojun and the veterans, the nervousness of the recruits was greatly relieved, and Deng Cheng's legs no longer trembled much.
As Squad Leader Gao said, there is no way for new recruits to be nervous when fighting. After fighting a few more battles, they will become veterans.
Gao Yaojun listened to the sound of artillery. He knew with experience that the Japanese were about to join the infantry!
"Comrades, the enemy's artillery fire is about to end. Check your equipment and prepare to fight!"
Veterans are veterans. They know what to do at any time. They are always the cornerstone of an army. With them, the army's combat effectiveness and military spirit remain.
The thousands of veterans brought by the Independence Army from Hedong are the soul of this army. Coupled with the hundreds of backbones carefully trained by the teaching team, the more than 10,000 fresh blood added by Spring City have been integrated into the blood of the Independence Army. What is missing now is the tempering of actual combat. After a few victories, these more than 10,000 people will become new veterans of the Independence Army. This is the inheritance of an army.
Similarly, the Sixth Japanese Division also has a legacy. As long as his veterans are still there, the legacy of this beast army will be there, and their combat effectiveness will not be much different. This is why Chu Xiong would rather pay a high price to annihilate them all. the reason;
Either we don't fight, or we have to destroy their heritage and hurt ten of their fingers, it's better to cut off one of them!
As the Japanese artillery fire extended, whistles sounded one after another in the city. Under the morning sun, groups of independent soldiers emerged from the tunnels, seizing advantageous preset positions, preparing to fight the Japanese to the death.
Kanda Masane was also very generous and directly invested the remaining 2,000 Japanese soldiers of the 13th Regiment. This was intended to let them enter the city to collect the corpses.
This time, the leader of the team was replaced by Colonel Hashimoto himself. Looking at the ruins of Mandalay City, Hashimoto felt a sense of pride in his chest and couldn't help but sigh:
"The empire's artillery is so powerful that our infantrymen don't have many opportunities to perform. We are left to collect corpses for the Chinese on behalf of the artillery!"
Nearly 2,000 Japs from the 13th Regiment lined up in three huge echelons. Under the cover of infantry artillery and mortars, they quickly reached the ruins of the East City Gate Tower;
Looking around, it was all ruins, with almost no complete buildings visible, and not a single person in the entire city. Quietly, having experienced the cruelty of street battles before, he knew that this was just a superficial phenomenon, and the real battle had just begun...
