The first attack lasted for three hours.
The Wehrmacht advanced into the trenches and was driven back.
The two thousand attacking troops suffered heavy casualties. Three hundred and fifty people were killed, 600 were slightly injured, and 215 were seriously injured.
However, because everyone was mentally prepared, morale was not affected.
The original purpose of this attack was to test the enemy's strength and understand the status of the entire defensive position.
Just after the battle, Zuo Xuanyan and others went deep into the front line to discuss with the officers and soldiers.
"The damage effect of heavy artillery is not good. The Bukhara people are very smart and laid wood under the rammed earth, so the trench cannot be completely destroyed."
Li Yuan, the commander of the 14th Regiment, personally led the troops up. He was also injured and had the most say.
"In this case, the 155-caliber artillery is not enough."
Zuo Xuanyan frowned, most worried about this result.
The Wehrmacht's heavy artillery has always been extremely effective in siege cities, and even European bastions can be easily destroyed.
But when they encountered the trenches, their weaknesses were finally revealed.
After the cannonball flew through the air, it hit the ground diagonally. Although the impact was strong, the explosion wave was unable to overturn the compacted trenches, especially when wood, rocks, etc. were added inside.
Moreover, the heavy artillery and charges of the National Defense Forces cannot be compared with the artillery of the same caliber in later generations, and their power is far behind.
But they can't solve this problem.
Even if it is handed over to the headquarters and the military industry department develops larger-caliber artillery, it will not be able to produce results in a year and a half.
Furthermore, even if there are larger-caliber artillery, people from the Western Regions will not know the year of the monkey and the month of the horse.
They also have to start from realistic conditions.
"In fact, mortars and grenades are most effective, but our numbers are somewhat insufficient."
A veteran spoke.
"Yes, if there are fifty more mortars, we can definitely capture the first trench."
Although the soldiers were very nervous when facing the King of Qin, the long-term atmosphere still made them brave enough to speak out.
After all, how they fight is related to their lives.
Zuo Xuanyan has already observed the role of mortars before.
She made a quick decision.
"Immediately use all the mortars of all troops to ensure full firepower during the next attack."
The Fourth Cavalry Division plus the Seventh Cavalry Division have a total of more than 430 mortars.
If you really want to mobilize them all and use them, you can imagine their power.
Seeing that King Qin accepted the advice humbly, everyone became even more enthusiastic.
"Your Highness, our muskets are not calibrated. The trench is too narrow and cannot be used at all. We should be equipped with short weapons to make fighting easier."
The close combat of the Wehrmacht relied on muskets and bayonets.
This is of course no problem on flat ground, it is comparable to a spear, and the formation is extremely powerful. But in a trench that was only wide enough for one person, it was difficult to even turn around.
Zuo Xuanyan thought for a while and didn't completely agree.
"If we completely switch to short weapons, we will completely give up our advantage. When the time comes to fight with the Bukhara people in the trenches, even if we win, we will suffer heavy losses."
The empire has now developed a revolver, but it is very difficult to manufacture. It is only equipped by a few people and it is impossible to popularize it on a large scale. At least the soldiers on the front line cannot use it.
And if they give up their muskets, the Bukhara people will be even less afraid.
Zuo Xuanyan found another way.
"Let's do this. Send orders to all the ministries, and also ask the commander-in-chief for reinforcements and mobilize all the shotguns."
Since he couldn't completely abandon the muskets and wanted to gain an advantage over the Bukhara people in the trenches, Zuo Xuanyan thought of shotguns.
When this thing was used against the Qing army, it was called a trench sweeper, and it really helped the National Defense Forces a lot.
Although there are some in the army today, the number is not very large. At the very least, the attacking troops were only equipped with a small amount of equipment.
Looking at the vast network of trenches in front of her, Zuo Xuanyan decided to give the Bukhara people a surprise.
"That's it, deploy enough shotguns and concentrate all the grenades at the same time. Since heavy artillery is not easy to use, let's use artificial firepower to break these trenches."
"You can also use incendiary rockets to create an isolation zone. In this way, the Bukhara people's subsequent troops will not be able to come up, and we can put less pressure on our attack."
Zheng Chenggong was also among the first batch of attacking troops and now gave his own thoughts.
Although trenches can effectively avoid gunfire, they cannot avoid burning.
If incendiary bombs are really to be fired to separate the front and rear, the offensive pressure of the National Defense Forces will inevitably increase a lot.
"Yes, this is a good idea. Immediately notify the logistics department of the weapons and ammunition we need. Don't delay."
Weihan, the military and political officer of the 7th Division, liked Zheng Chenggong more and more. No wonder he was loved by His Majesty. It seems that he will be the one who can take the lead in the Seventh Division from now on.
"Captain Li is injured and needs treatment. Zheng Chenggong, are you confident that you will be the agent of the 14th Regiment?"
Zheng Chenggong was startled.
He is just a company commander now, suddenly he jumped several levels and became the acting captain...
"Military affairs, I'm still young..."
"Stop talking nonsense, this is an order. The next attack will be yours. I tell you, you can only win, not lose."
Fang Weihan looks serious, but his words are full of care.
Are all soldiers straight?
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Zheng Chenggong will definitely be the number one person in Zuo Xuanyan's team in the future. Although it is not clear what kind of relationship the two have at the moment, what will happen in the future if the relationship is not guaranteed.
If we don’t cultivate them quickly, when will we establish connections?
Zuo Xuanyan watched clearly from the side, but did not stop him.
She knows Zheng Chenggong's abilities best.
She also hopes that this big brother can take over quickly and help her a lot.
I don’t know what happened to Dahu, Shi Lang and others?
The whole army had no objections to Zheng Chenggong's promotion order.
This is a true portrayal of wartime, and it is also the reason why soldiers like to fight.
Otherwise, in peacetime, it may be difficult to reach the level of a school-level officer despite a lifetime of seniority.
Only by fighting in battles, demonstrating abilities, and gaining military merit can one be promoted like a rocket.
A gathering of heroes, the effect was very good.
In response to the problems exposed in the first attack, comprehensive rectification began.
Zheng Chenggong was promoted to acting leader. After returning home, he was not complacent and became more cautious. Gather everyone together again and add details again.
In view of the fierceness of the Bukhara bows and arrows, everyone brainstormed and decided to increase the number of shields.
If the distributed shields are not enough, then use local materials and use wooden boards to make them.
Anyway, the penetrating power of Bukhara's bows and arrows is average, and a three to four centimeter thick wooden board is enough for defense, but it can save the lives of many soldiers.
Five days later, the Northwest Strategic Cluster Command delivered a large number of shotguns, grenades and other supplies.
The 14th Regiment all completed the change of equipment and entered the starting position.
Even if the damage effect of heavy artillery is not good, it is still the first unit to fire.
Seeing the smoke filling the front and the earth shaking, the young Zheng Chenggong held a musket and walked at the forefront of the army, heading towards the spider web-like trenches.
