Since last winter, the Dachu Empire broke through new grenade technology and developed an 18-pound light howitzer, the Ordnance Department under the Military Academy of the Dachu Empire asked the Artillery Research Institute and major arsenal research institutes to develop and produce a series of howitzer.
There were four first batch of projects approved at that time.
They are large-caliber howitzers, namely the 18-pound howitzer, the 24-pound howitzer, and the 48-pound howitzer.
and a medium-caliber howitzer: the nine-pound light howitzer.
Among them, the 18-pound howitzer has a longer barrel than the 18-pound light howitzer, and the barrel diameter has reached ten times, which brings a heavier weight. The overall weight is almost that of the 18-pound light howitzer. Twice as many howitzers, but also brings greater range and greater accuracy.
Although there is an 18-pound light howitzer, the Army's assumption is that if you are fighting on flat terrain, you don't have to worry too much about the extra few hundred kilograms of weight, and you can choose the range and accuracy.
Twenty-four-pound howitzer. This type of twenty-four-pound howitzer has a caliber of 170 millimeters. However, because the barrel is relatively short, even if the caliber of this howitzer is larger, the weight is roughly the same as a nine-pound field gun.
Therefore, the twenty-four-pound howitzer can actually be used in regular combat together with the nine-pound field gun.
According to the assumptions of the Chu Army's top brass, the regular division and corps-level support firepower will be mainly composed of five-pound and nine-pound field artillery paired with 18-pound light howitzers or 18-pound howitzers and 24-pound howitzers.
Among them, conventional 18-pound howitzers are used in plain terrain, and 18-pound light howitzers are used in mountainous terrain.
As for the 18-pound light howitzer, due to its weight, this thing is actually more suitable for being directly assigned to divisional artillery regiments operating in mountainous areas.
After all, the weight of this thing is only slightly heavier than a two and a half kilogram field gun, and it can be split and transported, making it more suitable for areas with poor roads.
As for the 48-pound howitzer, this thing cannot be used in regular field battles. The caliber of this thing is too large and the weight is too heavy, so it can only be used in siege operations.
In addition to the above-mentioned three large-caliber conventional howitzer research and development projects, the Ordnance Department also requires the development of a lighter howitzer to be used as battalion-level support firepower. It is required to be lighter in weight and can be split and transported.
This is the nine-pound light howitzer.
This artillery was directly simplified from the 18-pound light howitzer. It was assigned to the Northern Front for the first time. To be precise, it was the 20th Division that was undergoing reorganization and refitting. So far, this thing has not actually participated in actual combat.
Now it is being sent to the battlefield in Yunnan, on the one hand, to test the practicality and reliability of this artillery in actual combat, and to provide support for subsequent large-scale equipment applications.
On the other hand, it’s because this artillery is really light!
The draft horse directly pulls the artillery, the gun mount and the wheels, plus the lead vehicle, the weight of the attached ammunition box is only more than 300 kilograms...
The weight of its array is less than the barrel of a five-pound field gun...
The light weight determines that this artillery can not only serve as battalion-level support firepower, but is also more suitable for fighting in mountainous areas.
With the limited production of eighteen-pound light howitzers and the urgent needs of various troops, the army's top brass simply sent a batch of new nine-pound light howitzers to the Yunnan-Guizhou battlefield to supplement frontline firepower.
The Fifth Division naturally obtained the first batch of nine-pound light howitzers.
The first batch has sixteen gates, which can be organized into four sentries.
The Fifth Division directly assigned one to each regiment and went into battle.
In order to further adapt and find better mountain combat tactics, the four nine-pound light howitzers of the 18th Infantry Regiment were also directly strengthened to Major Gan Xinrong's third battalion.
The 18th Infantry Regiment has a total of three battalions. Currently, only the third battalion has completed its reorganization and refitting. The other two battalions, one of which has ceased combat missions, are reorganizing and refitting in a small town more than ten kilometers away from the rear. It is estimated that they will be refitted. The installation time takes at least one and a half months.
There is another battalion, which is currently relatively dispersedly deployed in several logistics and transportation nodes, serving as a strategic reserve while maintaining logistics lines.
Therefore, the only one in the 18th Infantry Regiment that can really be assembled and participate in a relatively large-scale front-line battle is the 3rd Battalion.
After being strengthened by four nine-pound light howitzers, although his superiors had also assigned him a new task, he was asked to go to a small town more than 20 kilometers away to support the friendly forces of the 19th Regiment next door.
But Gan Xinrong did not rush over with his troops. Instead, he went to his superiors to apply for additional time for rest and recuperation.
On the one hand, it was the previous border combat effectiveness. It seemed that the battle lasted only an hour, but the ammunition consumption was relatively large. The infantry battalion, which all used flintlock muskets, had more than 800 flintlock muskets. The consumption of bullets under intensive shooting The quantity is more than ten times greater than that of troops using matchlock guns.
Even though the soldiers still carry a lot of ammunition with them, Gan Xinrong has always been a very cautious person. What if the ammunition consumption is very large when performing a new mission? If the bullets are gone, wouldn't it be necessary? Finished...
In addition, the previous continuous mobile food consumption was relatively large, and it was also necessary to replenish a batch of food for soldiers and concentrated feed for mules and horses.
If he went to the front line without bringing enough ammunition and food, he would be afraid of an accident.
It is not easy to supply supplies in the mountains. Now that we are gone, who knows when the logistics force will be able to deliver the supplies.
In addition to waiting for the logistics troops to come up for replenishment, he also wanted to take advantage of these short few days to get familiar with the four nine-pound light howitzers that had been strengthened for him.
Although he had received combat cooperation from the 18-pound light howitzer before, the 18-pound light howitzer was directly under the jurisdiction of the campaign headquarters, and it was not his turn to dictate. After the border battle, these four 18-pound light howitzers He was transferred.
There are only twelve 18-pound light howitzers in the entire Yunnan direction, and they are waiting for them in many places.
However, these four nine-pound light howitzers are directly assigned to the 18th Infantry Regiment, and his third battalion is the only remaining main force in the 18th Army Infantry Regiment. If nothing else, these four The nine-pound light howitzer will directly strengthen his third battalion's operations for a long time.
In this case, it is naturally necessary to get familiar with it clearly.
It is not only necessary to understand the various performances and advantages and disadvantages of these four artillery pieces, but also to make the infantry under his command familiar with this kind of artillery.
This will make it easier to cooperate during the fight.
Infantry and artillery coordination is a very important subject in the Chu army. Whether it is a field battle or an offensive operation, infantry and artillery coordination is very important.
Gan Xinrong reported and applied for three days of rest.
Using these three days, he waited for the logistics supply team, replenished bullets, ammunition and other supplies, and also received a newly transported nine kilograms of new grenades.
At the same time, during the past three days, he personally conducted several live-fire training sessions with the infantry and the nine-pound light howitzer.
After three days of rest, Gan Xinrong rushed to the front line with the third battalion and two two-and-a-half-pound field guns, four nine-pound light howitzers and a baggage sentry that had been strengthened for him. The entire army rushed to the front line with more than a thousand people.
A battalion-level combat unit with thousands of people is also an important feature of the new organization.
The establishment at the battalion and regiment levels is larger than the old establishment, with more troops and more firepower.
Gan Xinrong, who set off with his troops, took two full days to arrive at the scheduled town to join a battalion of the friendly 19th Infantry Regiment.
The reason why there is only a curve of more than ten kilometers, and a straight line is only separated by two mountains, but the road of only three or four kilometers has been walked for two days. It is not that the enemy encountered and delayed the formation, it is simply that the marching speed is very slow in the deep mountains and dense forests. .
The roads here are almost impassable for carriages, and they are all small mountain roads. Gan Xinrong's six artillery pieces, all kinds of ammunition and grain, all rely on mules and horses to transport them.
Fortunately, the Chu army had plundered a lot of southwest horses in various southern provinces, especially in Sichuan, Chunan, and Yunnan and Guizhou. Otherwise, it would really be impossible to organize such a large-scale frontline transport.
Southwest horse is a general term that generally refers to the dwarf horse breeds found in the southwestern provinces, among which the more famous one is the Yunnan horse.
Although these southwestern horses are short in stature and not suitable for use as cavalry horses, they have relatively good endurance... Alas, in fact, it doesn't matter whether they have endurance or not.
The important thing is that the Chu Empire can only obtain southwest horses in large quantities at present, so you have to use them if you don’t need them!
Therefore, the Chu army used a large number of southwest horses as draft horses. Many of the draft horses in the artillery units were southwest horses. Although they were a little weak, one southwest horse was not strong enough to draw, so they added another one... In the end, Better than nothing.
However, when the army entered the Yunnan-Guizhou Mountains to fight, Southwest Mali showed a very important advantage.
This kind of horse can adapt well to plateau terrain!
Many people may not know that the Yunnan-Guizhou region is actually a plateau, that is, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Ordinary horse breeds are not well adapted to this plateau terrain.
On the plateau, in addition to strong ultraviolet rays, what’s more important is the lack of oxygen!
The local southwest horse can perfectly adapt to the local terrain. Therefore, the southwest horse was a very important logistics transportation tool for the Chu army in the Yunnan-Guizhou Campaign.
The transportation of artillery, ammunition, grain and other materials is inseparable from their presence.
Even the cavalry units made extensive use of southwestern horses.
This time, Major Gan Xinrong led his army westward to reinforce friendly forces, and he also brought a large number of southwest horses. In this way, he could smoothly carry artillery and a large amount of baggage, climbed over two mountains through mountain trails, and arrived at the destination after twists and turns: Jingu Gorge.
This name is both the name of a long local canyon and the name of a small town at the east end of the canyon.
The First Battalion of the 19th Infantry Regiment had captured this town eight days ago. They originally planned to pass directly through the Jingu Canyon, but the scouts discovered that the enemy had secretly built several fortresses in the middle of the canyon. There are even short cannons deployed.
The terrain selected for the enemy's fortress was very clever. It could not only block the passage in the canyon with short artillery, but also avoid being bombarded by the Chu army's direct firepower.
In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, they did not choose to attack by force, but requested reinforcements from more friendly troops and indirect firepower from the rear.
The people above sent the third battalion two hills away to reinforce them.
What surprised them even more was that the third battalion actually brought four nine-pound light howitzers.
