More than a thousand artillery pieces of various calibers roared at the same time. This scene was almost unprecedented in the entire history of China's Anti-Japanese War. Listening to the constant whistling sound in the air, I watched the Japanese army's forward positions in front of me, one after another.
The fireballs generated by the explosion of the artillery shells. The entire battlefield, not only the Chinese soldiers, but also the Japanese officers and soldiers defending in the subsequent fortifications were stunned.
I saw the forward position two kilometers away. Before the battle, it was still lined with bunkers. It exuded bursts of murderous aura and seemed to be an indestructible front-line position. In less than five minutes, it was completely enveloped in a sea of fire.[.
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The indestructible permanent defenses were torn to pieces in an instant like toys in front of the huge artillery shells. The imperial soldiers in the bunker were like scarecrows in the face of the fierce artillery fire.
It was thrown high into the sky. Immediately afterwards, it was torn into pieces by flying shell fragments, not even a complete body was left.
Looking at the scene in front of them, everyone was stunned by the bloody and shocking scene in front of them.
The south gate of Hankou was the main attack direction of the Sixth Corps of the East China Field Army. During this unprecedented bombardment, not only one howitzer regiment, three field artillery regiments, nine mountain and field artillery mixed battalions, and 27
An infantry artillery battery, plus large and small mortars, totaled more than 500 artillery pieces of various calibers. Not only that, the entire artillery group also obtained more than 50 artillery pieces with the support of the artillery column directly under the field army.
Support from large-caliber howitzers and cannons….
There are more than 500 large and small guns, including nearly a hundred heavy artillery with a caliber of more than 100 mm. They are all aimed at the Japanese front line, carrying out saturation bombardment on positions less than fifty meters deep and less than two kilometers long. Their shocking
The scene can almost be called unprecedented.
The commander of the Sixth Corps, Chen Geng, as a battlefield veteran, has always had a combat habit, which is to move his headquarters as far forward as possible, and Lin Jin enters the battlefield to command operations. Even now, Chen Geng has become a military commander with ten
As the commander of a corps with tens of thousands of troops, this habit has not changed.
At this moment, when the artillery fire cluster began to roar, on a hillside less than one kilometer away from the forefront of the battlefield. A group of people were holding telescopes, standing in a semi-underground bunker, watching motionlessly what was in front of them.
Shelling scene.
Seeing an artillery shelling scene that he had never seen before in his decades of military career, Commander Chen Geng could not help but tremble with his hands holding up the binoculars. As for the commanders standing behind him
, at this moment, I was already stunned by the magnificent shelling scene in front of me.
However, on this battlefield where hundreds of soldiers would pay the price with their lives almost every second, the commanders holding heavy troops adjusted their excitement immediately.
His old partner, Chief of Staff Han Liancheng, first put down the telescope in his hand and said excitedly to the commander beside him, Chen Geng.
"Commander, I never thought that I, Han Liancheng, would be able to see the little Japs beaten by our army's artillery fire in my lifetime. I saw the little Japs on the forward position, under the fierce attack of our artillery fire, I could only
Lying down in the trench waiting to die, I was extremely happy in my heart. This battle was so enjoyable..."
"Old Han, as an old partner, I won't hide it from you. Seeing this unprecedented bombardment, I only have one thought in my heart, and that is my admiration for the commander-in-chief. I remember that at the beginning, our East China Field Army had only a certain number of mortars.
, even mountain artillery is rarely seen. And now, even if I don’t tell you, you also know that in a word, it is still a sentence often heard in the army, you will never suffer a loss if you follow the commander-in-chief... "Commander."
Member Chen Geng said with a rare smile before the battle.
"The commander is right... I believe that after such fierce artillery fire, nothing will be left of the Japanese forward position except ruins and the minced meat of the little devil. I believe that what will happen to us later
The attacking troops could not find a single living Japs except a pile of scraps of meat on the Japanese positions..." Chief of Staff Han Liancheng replied with great approval. His face was also shrouded in excitement.
.
"The chief of staff is right. This time, although our artillery shell reserve is very sufficient, there are still many real tough battles ahead. Therefore, we can save as much as we can on these heavy artillery shells that we cannot produce ourselves. Pass it on to me.
Order, five minutes later, the artillery fire began to extend. Concentrate all artillery fire to create a fire zone between the Japanese forward position and the second position to block possible Japanese reinforcements. In addition, after the artillery fire began to extend, the first wave of attacks
Troops, launch an attack immediately and occupy the enemy's forward positions..." A sneer flashed across Chen Geng's lips. Then, he ordered Han Liancheng behind him with a murderous look on his face.
"Yes, Commander..." Han Liancheng replied with excitement.
Looking at Han Liancheng who left quickly, the entire former enemy headquarters once again set their sights on the battlefield not far away. At the same time, a look of expectation appeared on each individual's face.
After all, this is the first round of attack in the entire Wuhan battle, and its success or failure is related to the morale of the entire siege force in the future.
A few minutes passed in a blink of an eye, and the artillery fire covering the Japanese forward positions slowly stopped. Just when everyone stared through the binoculars, wanting to see the specific situation of the Japanese forward positions after the shelling.
A loud charge trumpet sounded very timely on the battlefield.
Suddenly, the first round of more than 2,000 attacking troops, under the cover of a large number of light and heavy machine guns behind them, quickly jumped out of the attack position, with shining bayonets, and launched a charge towards the ruined forward position.
In an instant, everyone's eyes on the battlefield were attracted by the attack scene in front of them.
After ten minutes of intense shelling, the Japanese frontline positions, whether they were strong permanent bunkers or machine gun bunkers hidden everywhere, had already been reduced to ruins under such fierce shelling.
As for the Japanese brigade stationed in these bunkers, except for some lucky people who stood on the ground with dull expressions, being blown into fools and unable to react for the time being. The remaining soldiers, with no doubt exceptions, were all turned into minced meat.
It was scattered all over the entire position, leaving no place for anyone to stay.
As a result, facing the overwhelming East China Field Army in front of the position, the entire Japanese forward position had almost no counterattack firepower. Of course, the Japanese commanders on the second line of defense had already seen the tragic scene in the forward position through telescopes.
As the captain of the regiment, he believed that if the forward position was not protected, his second-line position would follow closely behind and be violently bombarded by the East China Field Army. At that time, not only himself, but also an infantry regiment around him, including three thousand
All the soldiers will be turned into minced meat just like the infantry brigade in front.
Thinking of this, the captain no longer hesitated. He immediately got over his nervousness.
In the middle of the force, a brigade was deployed to reinforce the forward position.
However, an infantry brigade had just rushed out of the position less than 500 meters when it was intercepted by unprecedented artillery fire from the East China Field Army.
The first round of artillery fire interception, a total of more than 500 artillery shells of various calibers, fell without any warning around the nearly a thousand soldiers. For a time, the soldiers' stumps, broken arms, and internal organs were like rain, one after another.
It fell from the sky. An infantry brigade lost more than half before it could reach the forward position...
"Baga, the cunning Chinese people, how can they have such fierce artillery fire, my first brigade, my first brigade..." Seeing the tragic scene in front of him, the captain was heartbroken while his face
, already flushed red, he cursed loudly at the subordinates in front of him.
"Your Excellency, Wing Commander, what should we do next..." Facing the heavy losses of the First Battalion, the Chief of Staff was equally anxious. As soon as the Wing Captain finished speaking, the Chief of Staff followed closely and asked.
After all, his troops have limited strength and have to defend a very wide second-line position. Even a small loss now will have a fatal impact on the upcoming battle.
"Baga, why are you still standing there? Haven't you seen that with the remaining strength of our reinforcements, we can't break through the artillery fire of the Chinese people? Quickly, order the reinforcements to retreat immediately, retreat immediately.
Do you want an entire infantry brigade to be wiped out? Hurry up and retreat..." After glaring hard at the chief of staff in front of him, the regiment captain roared loudly.
"Ha Yi, your Excellency, the captain is wise..."
A few minutes later, under the watchful eye of the chief of staff, the attacking troops successfully retreated. However, after the second round of artillery fire interception by the East China Field Army, only less than one-third of the entire infantry brigade withdrew.
It can be said that in this attack, the Japanese troops who stood on the second line of defense not only failed to achieve any results, but also suffered heavy losses. It can be said that they stole the chicken but lost the rice.
Of course, all of this was due to the sudden and unprecedented artillery strikes from the East China Field Army.
"Commander, the Japanese attacking troops have retreated. We have also occupied the enemy's forward position. As expected, in the entire forward position, except for dozens of Japanese soldiers who were blown up and had no ability to fight back, all the rest were
Turned into a pile of minced meat..." Chief of Staff Han Liancheng reported excitedly as he rushed into the headquarters.
Faced with the huge victory, Chen Geng did not show any excitement, but said with a serious face: "Old Han, this has just begun. According to the headquarters report, we must stop the attack before dawn. Therefore, the Japanese troops left
We don’t have much time left. Order the troops to rest for half an hour, and then continue the attack after half an hour.”