Chief of Staff Ishida Kinzo Daizuo said to Lieutenant General Hirata Kenkichi with great concern: "Your Excellency, Division Commander, judging from the current situation, the imperial army can retake the city wall in ten minutes at most. You have not slept for 2 days. Do you want to rest first?"
one time?"
"No need." Kenkichi Hirata waved his hand and said, "Have the 1,000 artillerymen been issued weapons and ammunition?"
"The artillerymen were queuing up to receive weapons and ammunition ten minutes ago." Ishida Kinzo said, "Now, we have 1,000 more infantry."
"The division commander is wise, I admire him."
Ishida Kinzo did not forget to flatter him.
Hirata Kenkichi said: "Immediately report to Commander Shinozuka that the current situation in Changzhi County is stable and our unit will hold on for three days without any problems."
"Hi!" Ishida Kinzo immediately walked up to the telegraph soldier and dictated to the telegraph soldier the telegram sent to the First Army Headquarters.
However, Ishida Kinzo had just finished dictating the telegram.
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a violent explosion suddenly came from nearby, and the shock wave of the explosion was violently transmitted from the ground.
Hirata Kenkichi suddenly staggered and quickly stretched out his hand to hold the table, while Ishida Kinzo next to him sat down on the ground.
"Bagayalu, division commander, move quickly!"
Ishida Kinzo's expression changed drastically. He thought that the location of the division headquarters was exposed and that the Eighth Route Army was shelling the division headquarters.
The shell just now was definitely a 105 howitzer. The explosion was so close that it was only one street away from here.
"Don't panic, it might be a stray bullet." Hirata Kenkichi was very calm, "The location of the division headquarters cannot be exposed."
Another artillery shell fell and exploded nearby, but further away from the division headquarters.
This made both Hirata Kenkichi and Ishida Kinzo relieved. It seemed that the target of the artillery shells fired by the Eighth Route Army was indeed not the division headquarters.
"Have a break, have a break..." However, before they could put their hearts back in their stomachs, there was another sharp whistling sound in the sky.
In an instant, the expressions of Hirata Kenkichi and Ishida Kinzo changed, and the Eighth Route Army artillery group was covering the city with artillery fire.
The two shells just fired were obviously test fires.
"Rumble..."
Huge explosions rang continuously in my ears.
"Why do the Eighth Route Army dare to fire artillery fire into the city?"
Ishida Kinzo Daizuo shouted in disbelief.
"Bagaya! Apply to the headquarters immediately!" Hirata Kenkichi said sternly, "We need air support. Even if the aviation force cannot destroy the Eighth Route Artillery position, it must hover in the air to prevent the Eighth Route Artillery Group from firing!"
"Hi!" Ishida Kinzo suddenly lowered his head and stood at attention, then turned around to prepare a telegram.
The communications staff officer hurriedly walked in and reported: "Your Excellency, division commander, the artillery brigades of the artillery wing were attacked by eight directions at the same time. Please ask for tactical guidance!"
"Bagaya Road!" Hirata Kenkichi said angrily, "Order each artillery brigade to take cover immediately and push the artillery to the concealed position as quickly as possible, quick!"
"Hi!" The communications staff member suddenly lowered his head and stood at attention, then turned around and walked away quickly.
Watching the communications staff officer leave, Kenkichi Hirata's expression suddenly became extremely ferocious.
Only then did Hirata Kenkichi realize that he still underestimated the quality of the Eighth Route Artillery. How did the Eighth Route Army achieve such precise artillery fire?
In Kenkichi Hirata's opinion, as long as the Eighth Route Army's artillery positions can be eliminated, the situation will turn around. It is impossible for the Imperial Army to defeat the Eighth Route Infantry. The only thing that poses a big threat to the Imperial Army is the Eighth Route Artillery!
The mopping up troops reported heavy losses under the Eighth Route Artillery bombardment, and now the Eighth Route Artillery played a vital role again.
If the Eighth Route Army did not have the 75th Mountain Cannon and the 105th Howitzer, it would be difficult for them to even approach the city wall, let alone attack the city!
After all, if the Eighth Route Army did not have mountain artillery groups and highly qualified artillerymen, the Eighth Route Army would probably still be fighting the imperial army's mopping up troops in the base area at this time, and it would be impossible to reach Changzhi.
"Baga, the aviation force is a bunch of rubbish, a bunch of rubbish!" Kenkichi Hirata yelled angrily.
…
When the Japanese artillery observers called for artillery firepower, they mainly provided the distance and direction to the rear, and the artillerymen calculated the shooting elements.
The shooting parameters calculated by this method often have a large error between the impact point and the target.
The shooting elements calculated by the Eighth Route Army using the precise method were calculated by observers and passed directly to the rear artillery.
Therefore, if you are not hitting a precise target, you don't need to test fire, just come up and cover it with artillery fire.
If you are hitting a precise target, you also need to pre-fire, and then adjust the shooting elements according to the impact point of the shell.
When Duan Peng called for precise artillery fire.
There are also swordsmen on the other three walls who are also calling for precise artillery fire.
In less than 5 minutes, most of the more than 30 mountain guns and field guns set up by the Japanese on the street were lost.
The headquarters in the city also turned into a sea of flames in the artillery fire.
Hirata Kenkichi listened to Shinozuka Yoshio's arrangement and had transferred his headquarters beforehand, so he was spared the disaster.
"Division Commander, Division Commander!"
The captain of the 37th Regiment, Narita Ozuo, whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, had bandages on his hands, and hurriedly ran into the division headquarters with an extremely ugly face.
"Narita-kun, how is the situation in the artillery regiment?" Kenkichi Hirata asked in a deep voice.
"Division commander, the artillery regiment is finished!" Narita Daizohui reported, "The 75th Mountain Artillery and 75th Field Artillery of each brigade were attacked by the Eighth Route Artillery Group, and most of them have been lost."
"How many cannons are left?"
Narita Daizuo said: "There are only five guns left. The test firing interval of the Eighth Route Army is very short. We have no time to move the mountain guns and field guns. The Eighth Route Artillery shells hit us, causing the shells to explode again. Most of the artillerymen who are operating the cannons
Broken jade!"
The Qiwu Mountain Cannon and the Qiwu Field Cannon are heavy and not as easy to move as the 60mm mortar.
What's more, the county town is so big, even if the Japanese push all the field artillery into the house, the Sharp Sword Squadron can still call for artillery fire to accurately bombard it.
The Japanese artillery was helpless against the Eighth Route Artillery Group.
"Bagaya road!"
Kenkichi Hirata felt that his heart was bleeding. The artillery regiment was his heart and soul, but he did not expect that it would be completely lost within a few minutes.
[To be honest, I have been using Yeguo to read and catch up on books recently. I can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds. www. Android and Apple are available.]
What's more, he also hopes that the artillery regiment will shine in the subsequent street battles. Without the street battles of the artillery regiment, can it still defeat the Eighth Route Army?
"Call Commander Shinozuka immediately and ask for tactical guidance!" Hirata Kenkichi looked at Ishida Kinzo and spoke urgently.
"Hi!" Ishida Kinzo suddenly lowered his head and stood at attention, then turned around to prepare a telegram.
…
Outside Changzhi City, the Eighth Route Army headquarters.
Li Yunlong's vision through the artillery mirror, and Zhao Gang and Kong Jie's vision through the telescope.
After Duan Peng called for artillery fire to hit the city, there was a rumbling sound of artillery.
Immediately afterwards, the Japanese artillery fire on the city wall immediately decreased until it finally disappeared completely.
"Haha." Kong Jie said happily after seeing this scene, "The Japanese headquarters and the Japanese artillery positions should have been destroyed."
Li Yunlong said: "It would be great if this wave of shells killed that old devil in Pingtian, so that we can make a fortune."
At this point in the battle, it can be said to have severely damaged the Japanese 37th Division.
Because in addition to killing 45,000 Japs in the field, today they also inflicted heavy casualties on the Japs. The artillery regiment of the 37th Division was also killed, and the battle continued.
1,000 tons of weapons and ammunition and 1,000 tons of food have been obtained.
Next, if he wants to make a bigger fortune, he has to kill Hirata, an old devil.
Of course, none of the devils in the city can escape.
"Report!" Huang Erhu put down the high-power walkie-talkie and turned around to report, "Duan Peng of the Sharp Sword Squadron reported that artillery fire has been called to destroy the enemy's artillery position and headquarters."
"Not bad!" Kong Jie said with a smile, "Old Li, you just hit that old devil Pingtian within seven inches."
"It's nothing." Li Yunlong turned around and said, "Telegraph soldiers, send a message immediately to inquire about the battle status of the 1st attack group and the 3rd attack group."
"Yes!" The telegraph soldier immediately sent a telegram to the 1st attack group and the 3rd attack group.
Not long after, Ding Wei and Cheng Shifa each called back. The contents of their replies were similar, saying that the artillery had blown down the city wall, and the infantry had entered the city and started fighting with the Japanese in the streets.
Now Kong Jie became anxious and picked up his walkie-talkie to direct the troops to enter the city from the north and west walls and attack in a roundabout way along the walls.
After summarizing the telegrams from the 1st attack group and the 3rd attack group, Li Yunlong asked Zhao Gang to draft a telegram to report to the headquarters, and then sent it to the headquarters.
…
Taiyuan.
First Army Headquarters.
The 37th Division sent a telegram saying that the current situation is stable and there will be no problem in holding on for three days.
Less than 15 minutes later, another telegram was sent, requesting the aviation force to dispatch immediately to destroy the Eighth Route Artillery position.
However, only a few minutes later, another telegram was sent, saying that the 37th Artillery Regiment of the 37th Division had suffered total losses and requesting tactical guidance.
Seeing these three telegrams, Yoshio Shinozuka's lungs almost exploded with anger.
"This idiot Hirata just moved the headquarters and actually ignored the concealment of the artillery regiment!"
If Kenkichi Hirata were in front of him at this time, he would probably pull out his sword and stab Hirata a few times to bleed him.
The Eighth Route Artillery can destroy your headquarters, but can't it blow up your artillery positions?
"You can make such a fatal mistake and still have the nerve to ask for tactical guidance?" Shinozuka Yoshio shouted angrily.
All the combat staff members hurriedly lowered their heads and got busy. At this time, no one dared to offend the commander.
Kusuyama Hideyoshi said: "It should be that the Eighth Route Artillery observers on the city wall reported the position and distance of the 37th Artillery Regiment to the rear artillery group and guided the artillery group to attack. This led to the 37th Artillery Regiment being severely damaged. Unless the imperial army could
Defend the city wall from being breached and prevent the Eighth Route Army from occupying the city wall."
Shinozuka Yoshio's mood stabilized a little after hearing this. He also knew that under the cover of the artillery group of the Eighth Route Army, it would be difficult for the imperial army to hold the city wall.
"Kusuyama-kun, why didn't the aviation force destroy the artillery emplacement on the 8th Route?" Shinozuka Yoshio asked.
All the pilots of the 9th Flying Squadron of the First Army have been killed by the Sword Squadron, and there are only about 10 aircraft left.
The air support called by Yoshio Shinozuka is the 8th Flying Group directly under the control of the North China Front. It is currently stationed at Xincheng and Takesu airports.
Kusuyama Hideyoshi said: "According to the report from the 8th Flying Team Captain Mizutani Daizuo, the Eighth Route Army has set up hundreds of fake artillery positions within a few kilometers of Changzhi, Licheng and Xiangyuan County..."
"Baga!" Yoshio Shinozuka said in an angry and helpless tone, "Cunning Eight Road!"
After a pause, Shinozuka Yoshio said: "Order, the 2nd Guards Division speeds up and attacks toward the sky, and all fighter planes take off to assist the 37th Division. In addition, the 37th Division is ordered to hold on to the two sides no matter what.
Days’ time, wait until reinforcements arrive!”
"Hi!" Kusuyama Hideyoshi suddenly lowered his head and stood at attention, then turned around and walked away quickly.
