"Fire!" Yoshikawa Saki was finally forced to give the order to fire.
Although Yoshikawa knew that the Eighth Route Army might have been prepared and had countermeasures in this regard, on the one hand, he could not imagine what method the Eighth Route Army would have, and on the other hand, Yoshikawa Saki could not bear the crime and pressure of using the "iron and stone troops" as cannon fodder.
, and finally chose to provide fire cover for the "Iron Stone Troops".
The 39th Division has made sufficient preparations in this regard. It is equipped with two artillery regiments with hundreds of howitzers... The Japanese's normal organization is one division with one artillery regiment, and 48 artillery pieces with a caliber of 75mm or above.
But in order for the 39th Division to be able to block the Eighth Route Army, Naosaburo Okabe strengthened it with an artillery regiment, so there were two.
This is one of the reasons why Naosaburo Okabe put the "iron and stone troops" at the front: the two artillery regiments in the rear are outside the artillery range of the Eighth Route Army, so strictly speaking, the artillery detection radar of the Eighth Route Army does not work... The artillery detection radar can
It was useless to detect and calculate the location of the artillery positions, as the Eighth Route Army's artillery could not reach them.
As a result, the two artillery regiments of the 39th Division were able to form cross fire on the left and right to inflict large-scale destruction on the Eighth Route Army's attacking troops.
This tactic was originally correct, but even now, the artillery shells made a piercing scream in the air and hit the open ground hundreds of meters in front of the iron and stone army's defense line, beating the attacking Eighth Route Army to the ground and unable to raise their heads.
Later, the half-track vehicles on both wings that were using firepower to cover the infantry attack also suffered certain losses.
However, this is only a temporary phenomenon.
Li Yunlong had been waiting for this moment. As soon as he heard the enemy's artillery fire at the headquarters, he immediately ordered the communication soldiers: "Get me the missile troops and let them beat me hard!"
"Yes!" the communications soldier responded and passed on the order.
The missile force is temporarily under the command of Li Yunlong. This is because of the needs of frontline operations... The frontline commander has the most timely and accurate understanding of the situation. It is impossible to send a telegram to wait for Wang Xuexin's order at this critical moment.
The missile force had been prepared for a long time. As soon as Li Yunlong's order came, the first batch of more than fifty missiles soared into the sky and took off towards the enemy's artillery positions.
It is easiest to attack the artillery position at this time, because the Japanese artillery has just finished firing or is even still firing, and the fire and smoke from the enemy's muzzle can be clearly seen in the TV guidance image.
So the missiles burrowed into the enemy cannons one after another as if they had eyes. In fact, they did have eyes, but they were replaced by cameras.
Then there was only a loud "boom" sound, and the Japanese artillery position was bombed into ruins without any surprise.
Of course, the Japanese would still be surprised, especially Yoshikawa Saki.
After hearing the explosion from the artillery position, Yoshikawa Saki screamed in horror: "What's going on? Where did the artillery shells come from? The Eighth Route Army actually has artillery with such a long range?"
The first thing that Saki Yoshikawa thought of was cannons, because only cannons and cannons combined with artillery detection radar could achieve such accuracy.
As for missiles, the Eighth Route Army has not used them for a long time since someone in the empire used them.
Because it is obvious that the Eighth Route Army's missiles are not as accurate as the Empire's manned missiles, so the Eighth Route Army cannot win in the missile war.
Therefore, Yoshikawa Saki never thought of this possibility, but the staff officer's answer made him stunned on the spot.
"Your Excellency, Major General!" the staff officer said, "Major Imaizumi reported that the Eighth Route Army fired missiles, and they used missiles to bombard our artillery positions!"
The speed of the missile is relatively slow, only 300 to 400 kilometers per hour. Frontline infantry can clearly see it flying in the air and recognize it.
"Missile?" Yoshikawa Saki was shocked. He immediately realized that the Eighth Route Army had probably solved the accuracy problem.
This also means...the artillery of the 39th Division is going to be finished.
On the other side, I, Naosaburo Okabe, who is always paying attention to the battle situation on the front line in the headquarters, have the same idea.
"There is no longer any need for our army's artillery!" Naosaburo Okabe sighed.
Oshiro Sanji understands why Okabe Naosaburo said this.
This is not to say that artillery is not important. The importance of artillery is unquestionable. The absence of artillery in many battles means that the infantry has to spend a lot of lives.
However, it seems that the imperial artillery is no longer necessary.
Because the Eighth Route Army has the absolute ability to suppress the imperial artillery regardless of distance:
If you are far away, you can use missiles.
If you are close, you can use artillery detection radar and artillery.
No matter which method is used, the imperial artillery will only be beaten.
So, does the empire still need to spend so much manpower and material resources to produce a bunch of artillery that is destined to be beaten and killed?
But that's not what Sanji Oshito is worried about. After all, this is still far away, and the battle in front of him is urgent.
"Your Excellency, General!" Ojoto Sanji asked, "Then, do you want to order the Iron and Stone troops to retreat?"
Naosaburo Okabe looked gloomy, and after a while he replied: "This is a decision Yoshikawa has to make, he knows what to do!"
What Naosaburo Okabe said was not entirely about kicking the ball to Yoshikawa, but rather the front finger knew best what the situation was like on the front line, and the rear should not interfere too much.
The Tieshi troops did propose to retreat. Nan Boyan shouted nervously on the phone: "Your Excellency, Major General, the enemy's attack is very fierce. We have suffered heavy casualties. Please retreat..."
But Yoshikawa Saki did not agree to Minami Boyan's request.
"No retreat!" Yoshikawa Saki ordered through gritted teeth: "We must fight until the last moment!"
Because Saki Yoshikawa knew very well that if the Iron and Stone troops retreated at this time, all would be lost.
In the past, if there was artillery cover from the 39th Division, it would be no problem for the Iron and Stone Troops to retreat, because the artillery fire would block the Eighth Route Army's pursuit, and the Iron and Stone Troops could retreat calmly and leisurely.
But now the artillery fire of the 39th Division has been exhausted. A retreat without the cover of artillery fire is not a retreat, but a rout.
Once the iron and stone troops retreat, their defeated troops will break up the defense of the 39th Division, and even the tactics of the 39th Division's chariots and cavalry will not be able to unfold... By then, there will be escaping iron and stone everywhere in front of the tanks and cavalry.
Troops, how do they advance and form?
After thinking about it, Yoshikawa Saki added an order: "You can relax the defenses on both wings and release the Eighth Route Army's mechanized troops!"
"What?" Nan Boyan couldn't believe what he heard: "Relax the wings? Doesn't that mean that the Eighth Route Army will surround the Iron and Stone Forces?"
Nan Boyan's words were said politely, but what he was actually thinking in his heart was: The iron and stone troops are indeed cannon fodder!
But Yoshikawa Saki gave an unquestionable order: "Execute the order!"