On the battlefield, the layout of heavy machine guns is also very particular. In the case of position defense and guarding camps, machine gun positions are generally deployed in higher terrain.
Of course, if the battle is fierce, there are also cases where a heavy machine gun is directly deployed on the front line.
Now the brothers of the first detachment were considered veterans of the camp. In the darkness, each group reported the situation of the Japanese camp through the intercom to Chen Wanli of the second detachment who was following behind.
At this time, the mountain artillery company and mortar company of the second detachment had already set up their artillery, and were waiting to determine the target of the artillery attack based on the direction reported by the first detachment.
Since Zhu Jinhui was responsible for commanding the artillery group of the Model Brigade at the main position of Lengkou Pass, the artillery group of the second detachment was commanded by Zhong Qibao and Tang Jian respectively.
To say who has the most talents in the mercenary group now, it is actually not the soldiers of the first unit, but the artillery commanders who have the most. Even temporarily, there is a surplus of talents.
Marshal Feng of the Northwest Army suffered from the fact that the Northwest Army was not only poor, but also had too few professional talents, especially professional artillery officers. As a result, the artillery unit of the Northwest Army was the weakest among the major forces at the time. Of course, it suffered from the warlord melee.
Painful.
Therefore, he learned from the painful experience and when selecting officers to study in the Soviet Union, they mainly majored in artillery.
Therefore, there were as many as six artillery officers recommended by Marshal Feng to join the mercenary regiment. With so many artillery talents, only in a mercenary regiment with only two artillery companies would there be professional artillery officers who graduated from higher military schools of the Soviet Union.
, and can only settle down to the position of artillery company commander or even platoon leader.
Otherwise, given their talents, even in the Central Army they would have started as majors and battalion commanders, and maybe they would all be artillery regimental commanders now.
In terms of various professional talent reserves, Zhou Wen has been sparing no effort to recruit as many as there are in Zhang. The level of professional officers in the mercenary group now makes even Marshal Yan and Zhao Changshu drool with envy.
Therefore, in this battle, at Zhao Changshu's request, Zhou Wen assigned several of the artillery officers to various units of the model brigade to serve as artillery commanders.
In fact, the main purpose of Zhou Wen leading the mercenary group to attack the Japanese army's western positions was because the Japanese artillery positions were concentrated on the west side of the camp, and Zhou Wen also wanted to try to directly capture the Japanese artillery before the Japanese army had time to destroy the artillery.
The Japanese artillery brigade of the 14th Brigade has 2 Type 41 field artillery squadrons and 1 Type 92 Infantry Artillery Squadron. There are a total of 12 75mm field guns and 6 92 Infantry Artillery. In addition, there is the 1st Battalion
Together with the remaining artillery squad of the second battalion, there are a total of 4 92 infantry guns.
The reason why Zhou Wen wanted to capture the Japanese artillery was to prepare for the hard battle when the main force of the Japanese 6th Division came up.
Although the Japanese 92 Infantry Artillery has superior performance and is light in weight, compared with the existing Schneider Mountain Cannon in the current mercenary regiments and model brigades, there is a big gap in power, range and accuracy.
Moreover, the Japanese artillery shells have been consumed a lot in the past few days of fighting. There is no inventory of these 70mm artillery shells in Shanxi and cannot be replenished. The captured artillery shells are one shot less and will not have much effect.
But just because Zhou Wen doesn't like it doesn't mean it's useless. These cannons can be given to Commander Huang's 139th Division for use. For the 32nd Army and other miscellaneous troops who lack guns and ammunition, the 92nd Infantry Cannon is simply a coveted treasure, at least in
During the Anti-Japanese War, the Great Wall could provide considerable assistance to the 139th Division's defensive battles.
What Zhou Wen really likes is the Japanese Type 41 field artillery.
The characteristic of the Type 41 75mm field gun is its relatively light weight. Among artillery of the same caliber, its weight is second only to the French Schneider Mountain Cannon. Two soldiers can push it around. It has good maneuverability and can be used in various terrains.
All very convenient.
Moreover, the accuracy and range of up to 6 kilometers are good, and it is the main suppressive firepower of the Japanese military wing and even the brigade level.
In addition to being used to suppress artillery bombardment, the Type 41 75mm field gun is often pushed onto the flat ground and used as a level gun during street fighting and plain warfare, aiming directly at the opponent's fire points.
The most important thing is that because the Type 41 field gun is very suitable for China's mountainous terrain, several major arsenals in China have copied it in large quantities. The one with the largest number of copies is the Taiyuan Arsenal, which is called the Jin 13-year-old 75mm mountain gun.
The total number reaches thousands.
Moreover, Zhou Wen did not intend to use it for the mercenary group, but gave it all to the Model Brigade for use.
Once Zhao Changshu's model brigade is equipped with Type 41 75mm field guns, its artillery firepower will increase exponentially, and there will be no shortage of gunners.
You must know that most of the artillerymen in the model brigade are experienced veterans. They may be a little unfamiliar with operating the Schneider infantry gun, but they are familiar with the Type 41 field gun, which is almost exactly the same as the Jin 13-year-old 75mm mountain gun.
, can be controlled with eyes closed.
And there is no need to worry about the supply of artillery shells. There are many artillery shells of this caliber in Marshal Yan's arms warehouse. All he has to do is ask the Marshal to replenish a batch in the near future.
Moreover, Zhou Wen also considered that if the Northern Front Group launched an attack on the Japanese positions, it would inevitably be hit by the Japanese artillery fire, and the losses could be imagined.
Therefore, giving priority to eliminating the threat of Japanese artillery is the top priority of this encirclement and annihilation campaign.
Of course, the location of these artillery positions had already been detected by a detachment and reported to the various artillery groups in the rear. In particular, the two German 105mm howitzers set up behind Lengkou Pass could reveal the location of the Japanese artillery positions at any time.
Locked, as long as Zhou Wen gives an order, the two heavy cannons can destroy it within a few minutes.
The power of the 105-caliber howitzer is not comparable to that of mountain artillery. A high-explosive shell weighs about 20 kilograms. One shot can blast a crater with a diameter of 2 meters, and the killing radius is as high as 20 meters.
According to the rate of fire of 8 rounds per minute, the two heavy artillery can release 16 high-explosive bombs in one minute, which can basically completely destroy any target within the area of a football field.
In other words, in theory, it only takes one minute for the entire Japanese artillery position to cease to exist. If there are still Japanese artillery that slip through the net, it will take another minute.
However, Zhou Wen had the intention to capture it.
This requires that the Japanese artillery positions be completely controlled before the Japanese artillery feels threatened, that is, before they have time to destroy the artillery.
Therefore, the order for the northern cluster to launch an attack was to wait for Zhou Wen and the others to get into position to launch a surprise attack first.