"Bearing 158, distance 6860, fire disk timing 8, rapid fire of three shrapnel rounds."
After receiving the distance reported by the observer on the reconnaissance balloon, Zhuang Mancai, commander of the 2nd Artillery Battalion wearing headphones, immediately used the shooting vernier to calibrate the firing elements of the shrapnel. The gunner who received the order then lowered the M2 105mm howitzer.
The gun body uses a direct sight to aim at the position in front of Qianqiu Bridge several kilometers away.
"Boom!"
As the gun bolt is opened, the loader pushes the 15-kilogram shrapnel shell into the gun barrel and closes the gun barrel. The two ammunition handlers behind the gun position each hold a shrapnel shell, ready to hand the shell to the loader at any time.
.
"Fire!" Zhuang Mancai shouted angrily while holding the headphones.
Following Zhuang Mancai's roar, twelve 105mm field guns roared from the artillery position of the Second Artillery Battalion. The neat sound of artillery shook the earth with violent recoil. The thunderous sound of artillery tore through the silence. Immediately, flashes of light appeared on the position.
There were clouds of black smoke and orange-red muzzle flashes, accompanied by the sharp sound of artillery shells piercing the air, flying directly to the forward position of Buyi Battalion several kilometers away.
The Japanese troops who were attacking the 1st Battalion position immediately heard the "swish, swish" sound of the harsh shells tearing the air, which was the roar of death.
"Quickly... lie down..." The officers in the attacking team shouted.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Only about a hundred meters away from the front of the position, the roaring artillery shell exploded in the air just before hitting the target. Immediately, more than ten explosions were heard in the sky above the Japanese offensive formation, and more than ten clouds of black smoke rose. This was when the shrapnel exploded.
In the smoke generated by the explosion, each 105mm shrapnel contains more than 400 small steel bullets with a diameter of 18mm. The very small amount of explosive in the middle of the shrapnel only explodes the thin wall of the bullet, and at the same time scatters the steel pellets.
Under the action of force and inertia, more than 400 steel pellets scattered into a barrage several meters wide and flew towards the target.
This kind of shot grenade is actually also called an air burst bomb. The biggest difference between it and traditional artillery shells is that it will explode before landing to achieve greater lethality. The principle is that the missile body is equipped with a radio height detector to ensure that it detonates at a certain height.
The Japanese soldiers who came out of the open area were decimated at this moment.
The moment the first round of twelve shrapnel shells exploded, more than 4,800 projectiles with a diameter of 18 mm formed a dense barrage. They exploded accurately less than ten meters from the ground. The rain of bullets instantly covered a building that was being built.
As the Japanese brigade attacked the 1st Battalion's position, the fragile bodies of countless Japanese soldiers who had no time to evade were immediately torn apart by high-speed flying steel projectiles. Suddenly, a shrill scream rang out from the entire front of the position.
Those Japanese soldiers who were lying in the bunker and narrowly escaped death could see corpses and wounded who had been hit by steel pellets and shrapnel, their skulls were shattered by projectiles, and their brains were splattered.
The originally dry land at the forward position was now completely dyed reddish-brown by the blood flowing from the wounded and corpses. The wounded soldiers hit by shotguns lay on the ground struggling in pain and howling.
A black-gray steel ball rolled to the feet of the captain who was hiding in a bomb crater. This captain was the squadron leader who launched the attack. He picked up the steel ball with trembling hands. The surface of the cast-iron steel ball was very rough.
The steel ball in your hand even carries residual heat from your body temperature.
Before he could take a closer look at the appearance of the steel ball in his hand, another whistling sound of bullets tearing through the air was heard in the sky. Several steel pellets identical to those in his hand hit his body, and the steel pellets entered from the back of his head.
His eyebrows rushed out and his brain was pulled out several feet away. He could not let out the scream that was stuck in his throat until he died. The left hand that was broken by the steel ball still held the steel ball that radiated residual warmth.
The same steel shot took his life.
"This... what kind of cannonball is this? Why did it explode in mid-air?"
Major General Tatsumi Kusaba, commander of the 19th Japanese Brigade, who was supervising the battle in a bunker at the rear, looked at the heavy casualties of his own soldiers who were bombed in front, with a look of shock and disbelief on his face.
The captain of the 9th Regiment, Colonel Katagiri Goro, yelled out, "Baga... what kind of shell is this? It actually explodes in mid-air?"
Caochangchen said with a gloomy face: "This should be the latest air burst bomb, but what I don't understand is that this latest air burst bomb should be the most advanced technology in European and American countries, and it is said that because the cost is too high, even European and American
The country has not equipped it on a large scale, so how do the Chinese have such artillery shells?"
Standing next to Soucha Tatsuki was Colonel Nobuaki Ohno of the 20th Regiment, who said distressedly: "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, after today's battle, our brigade has suffered at least a thousand casualties. Even if we continue to fight like this, we can
If the Chinese named Gao Hongming on the opposite side is eliminated, our division will probably suffer heavy casualties."
"There is nothing we can do about it." Caochang Chen already sighed, "The division commander said that Gao Hongming poses too great a threat to the empire. The strength of just one regiment can compete with our two divisions here.
If he is allowed to develop further, he will definitely become a serious problem for the empire, so we must nip him in the bud."
The two captains stopped talking. They also knew that what Ishihara Wanji said was right. If any threat is not nipped in the bud as soon as possible, when it grows up, the difficulty of eradicating it will increase exponentially.
.
Seeing that the two captains acquiesced to his words, Tatsumi Kusaba pointed to the position of the Rentai militia group in front and said: "Don't forget that we have suffered thousands of casualties today, but according to my observation, the casualties of the Chinese people are not much better.
Moreover, their artillery also suffered a lot of casualties under the bombing of the Army Air Force. I estimate that in another day or two, their artillery will be exhausted. Without the support of artillery fire, how long can they withstand the imperial army's offensive?
"
"Yo Xi, your Excellency, the brigade commander, is wise."
The two nodded repeatedly. Tatsuki Kusaba's analysis was very accurate.
Although the Japanese army suffered a lot of casualties today, a large part of them were caused by artillery fire.
And according to their estimates, today's battle has only been one day, and the opponent has consumed at least two thousand rounds of artillery shells. According to this style of fighting, their artillery shells will be almost exhausted tomorrow. Without the support of artillery fire, they will face two
The division's offensive might not be able to last even half a day with the infantry on the ground alone.
Caochang Tatsuki's words are actually what worries many people in the Liantai Militia today.
When it got dark and the first day's battle was over, Wu Chengfeng ran to the regiment headquarters as soon as possible and saw Geng Changshun and Zhuang Mancai, who had also just arrived.
"Lao Geng, Lao Zhuang, you two tell me, how many shells are left in your artillery battalion now? You are just talking... why are you so anxious to death!"
Seeing both of them muttering without speaking, Wu Chengfeng felt a chill in his heart.