"Tell the artillery battalion Pang Panghai to find for me an artillery position where the Japanese dare to move forward and kill him!" Tang Dao received a telegram from Leng Feng, commander of the third battalion on the flanking high ground, and his brows were filled with coldness.
There are only a few scout groups sent by the reconnaissance company that can carry field radios, and most of them are in the directions of Jingxing, HD, Yangquan, etc.
That is to avoid that if there is a problem on one side of the triangle defense line, the Four Corps will have to make new strategic adjustments.
Although Tang Dao has full trust in several friendly forces, Tang Dao is now the commander of thousands of troops. He must not just start from personal feelings and make full preparations to give himself time to respond in advance. I don’t know how to reduce the number of troops.
How many casualties.
Therefore, among the several groups of scouts on the front line of Niangziguan, only one group has a field radio. I don't know whether it is for concealment or because the signal is interrupted. There has been no movement since this reconnaissance group sent a message yesterday afternoon.
The Japanese artillery positions must have moved forward, but to the specific area, the forward artillery observers can currently only rely on the artillery observers in the front to calculate the approximate direction through the trajectory of the artillery shells.
"Don't say such unclear words to me, I need to know what the odds are!" Pang Panghai angrily threw the phone receiver.
If he had not personally commanded the mountain artillery battery, he, the current top commander of the artillery battalion, would have liked to have gone to the front line to observe the trajectory of Japanese artillery fire in person.
The Japanese artillery has been focusing fire on the flanking high ground for more than 20 minutes, but the calculation areas reported back by artillery observers at several points are all different. How can Dahai not be angry?
In fact, this really cannot be blamed on the observers sent by the artillery battalion. Instead, the Japanese artillerymen who already knew that the Four Lines Regiment had mountain artillery made sufficient preparations to prevent being retaliated by artillery fire. They formed a group of two guns and shot one.
After the base number, it was quickly moved, so that the artillery fire continued continuously, but the positions were frequently changed, so the observers of the artillery battalion of the Fourth Line Regiment were unable to come up with a consistent answer.
Of course, in addition to being unable to locate the Japanese forward artillery positions, Pang Panghai also had to guard against Japanese sneak attacks.
This extremely experienced artillery commander knew very well that the Japanese frontline artillery observers were also staring closely at his mountain artillery position.
7,000 meters away from the main defense line, the Japanese artillery group consisting of four 105 howitzers has been waiting for prey. Once the target is determined, tens of thousands of square meters will be turned into a sea of fire within one minute.
Although the mountain artillery company retreated 2,000 meters overnight after yesterday's shelling, the artillery position where it was re-stationed was surrounded by mountains, but it was still within the 10,500-meter range of the 105 howitzer.
However, the mountain artillery company also has a trump card that has not yet been revealed. The Japanese army only knows that the Four Lines Regiment has a 75MM caliber mountain artillery, but they do not know what type of artillery it is. If they regard it as a Type 41 or an imitation of the Type 41,
The 6,000-meter range of these two mountain cannons will cause them to misjudge!
The longest range of the Bofors Mountain Artillery is as high as 9,300 meters. Even if the mountain artillery battery is now 4,500 meters away from the Niangziguan front line, it still has sufficient striking distance against the Japanese artillery positions moving forward!
But what if the Japanese 105 howitzer has also moved forward? Or maybe they have experts who are proficient in global artillery and have judged it to be the Bofors Mountain Cannon through the explosion power or fragments of the shells?
Pang Panghai had no way of knowing, but he could only take a gamble!
If we didn't gamble, the mountain artillery company could only watch helplessly as our brothers on the high ground fought against the Japanese aggressors amidst heavy artillery fire!
This move of the Japanese is really cruel. They exchange casualties for the opponent's casualties, which is purely a waste of troops!
"Deputy Battalion Commander Pang, lock the Japanese artillery position, the probability is 70%, area 628263, repeat, 628263!" the artillery observer's voice came quickly on the phone.
"Okay! If it works, Xiong Aichun, I will mark you as a second-class meritorious service." Pang Panghai walked out of the temporary bunker and ordered sternly: "The mountain artillery company, 1st platoon, 2nd platoon, No. 1 to No. 8, prepare to fight with me and the Japanese artillery.
Third row of gun positions No. 9 to No. 12, all retreat 1,000 meters!"
"Deputy battalion commander, you take the third platoon away, I will stay here to take command." The third platoon commander who was standing by said hurriedly.
"Your battalion commander and I, my battalion commander, listen to the order." Pang Panghai glared, ignored the third platoon leader, and picked up the microphone: "Everyone stays at the gun position and listen to my order. No. 1 to No. 4 gun position, target 628265 rapid fire
20 rounds, gun positions No. 5 to 8, target 628264, rapid fire 20 rounds, after completion, all gun positions will retreat 1,000 meters according to the previously formulated plan!"
Pang Panghai did not issue orders according to the grid area number reported by the artillery observer!
The reason is very simple. Since the Japanese army is constantly changing positions, the two minutes it takes for the entire mountain artillery battery to adjust firepower preparations such as firing range and firing range are enough for the Japanese artillery to run hundreds of meters.
Although the 21st Division is a Category B division, information from previous scouts showed that its artillery unit has a large number of trucks. Pang Dahai has reason to believe that since the Japanese commander dares to move forward at the risk of being retaliated by the opponent's mountain artillery,
To move the position, trucks would be used to drag mountain artillery pieces weighing no more than a few hundred kilograms.
Pang Dahai's calculations are absolutely correct.
2 minutes later!
"Boom! Boom!" Accompanied by the roar of the Bofors Mountain Cannon,
Bombs rose from the Japanese artillery positions!
The eight Bofors guns opened fire with all their might, and in less than 90 seconds, nearly 100 shells were poured onto the position of the Japanese artillery brigade, which was still pouring firepower on the flanking high ground.
For a time, smoke billowed from the Japanese artillery position!
However, it is unrealistic to expect that these 160 rounds of artillery shells can defeat 12 mountain artillery pieces of a Japanese artillery brigade.
The Japanese army is not fools. They have already made sufficient preparations for the possibility of retaliatory artillery bombardment. Not only did they quickly use trucks and packhorses to drag the mountain artillery to their positions, but the entire artillery position area was extremely vast, and the distance between each gun was
With a height of 120 meters, even if an artillery shell explodes, other mountain artillery teams will not be implicated.
The 8 Bofors mountain cannons were smashed indiscriminately, but the thunder was loud and the rain was small. The final result was to destroy one mountain cannon, and another mountain cannon was moved by a pack horse because the truck could not be retrieved. As a result, one shell was fired at 60
An explosion occurred meters away, and the frightened packhorse ran wildly dragging the mountain cannon. When the artillery lieutenant led by him had no choice but to kill the packhorse with the Southern Type 14 pistol he carried, the tortoise box jammed again...
.
Then, I could only watch helplessly as the frightened horse dragged the mountain cannon and fell into the ravine. Not to mention the difficulty in handling these hundreds of kilograms of iron lumps, if it fell into the ravine of more than ten meters, could the cannon still be used?
Pang Panghai's mountain artillery battery dispatched 8 mountain guns and spent 160 rounds of artillery shells. The results were pretty good, damaging 2 75mm mountain guns. More importantly, it reduced the pressure on the flanking highlands.
Without the falling artillery shells on the high ground where the sound of killing was loud, the infantrymen of the Four Lines Regiment with strong light firepower could pour bullets towards the Japanese troops down the mountain with all their strength with less scruples!
When Kameichiro Nagano, who was stationed at the headquarters of the 21st Division, heard that the artillerymen of the Fourth Army Regiment had begun retaliatory bombardments against the first artillery battalion that he had arranged to move forward, he was not surprised but overjoyed!
The prey finally appeared.
The bait of the 12 mountain cannons he spread was so sweet that even if the Chinese knew that they might be retaliated against, they had no choice but to swallow it in one bite.
As everyone knows, just last night, the other two artillery brigades also quietly moved forward to the area 3,000 meters from the front line of Niangziguan, and have been quietly holding back their troops, just for the fat prey of the artillery of the Sixings Regiment!
Moreover, the howitzer squadron that had been following the division headquarters was approaching a distance of 6,000 meters!
The 28 artillery pieces were already on the alert, waiting for the artillerymen of the Fourth Line Regiment to appear.
Now, they finally show up!
"Youxi, destroy them!" accompanied by the command of the Japanese left artillery regiment commander.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" In the mountains of the Taihang Mountains, bombs rose one after another.
The Japanese army's counterattack resolutely exceeded everyone's imagination. The concentrated fire bombardment of 28 artillery pieces lasted for more than 20 minutes. The artillery fire extended from 2000 meters behind the defense line to nearly 1500 meters, and nearly 1300 artillery shells were thrown. The trees on the two hills were destroyed.
Completely smashed!
Looking at the thick smoke less than 500 meters away from the headquarters of his artillery battalion, a courageous old artilleryman like Pang Panghai couldn't help but wipe his hands in a cold sweat.
As expected, the Japanese were holding back their energy to use dirty tricks, and the main force of their artillery regiment quietly moved forward, waiting to be swallowed up in one bite.
If the Japanese army didn't know enough about their own artillery models and miscalculated the range, the extended round of artillery fire just now would have enclosed most of their mountain artillery battery.
All I can say is that in addition to strength, luck is also required on the battlefield!
Now it seems that the Four Troops' luck is at least better than that of the Japanese army.
The Japanese major general, who lacked sufficient understanding of the heavy firepower of the Four Lines Regiment, had a smile on his face at this time, but he did not know that the more than 1,000 rounds of artillery shells he fired with all his strength only exploded some rocks and flowers in the Taihang Mountains, just a few meters away from the target he really wanted to destroy.
500 meters difference!
The tragedy is that his two artillery brigades, whose positions have been completely exposed and are still fighting happily, are still within the range of the mountain artillery battery.
When a hunter goes all out to hunt, would he still think that his prey would be so ferocious, and that he would be able to come back with a carbine even after being beaten to a pulp?
Therefore, the two artillery brigades are lined up closely, and the distance between each gun is no more than 30 meters, which is even lower than the regulations of the Japanese Army Drill Code!
"Damn it, did you feel good about the fight? If you feel good about it, it's my turn to fuck you." Through the reports of the artillery observers, Pang Panghai had already locked the area of the two mountain artillery brigades near the defense line of the Japanese army, but there was no one there.
Fire.
He was waiting for the Japanese army to start to relax!
When it was discovered that the last shelling position of the Japanese 105 howitzer was about 1,000 meters in front of its own position, Pang Panghai finally judged that it should still stay 6,000 meters away from the defense line, which was their ultimate firing range. Pang Panghai finally ordered a counterattack.
This time, it was no longer just 8 guns, but the entire mountain artillery battery of 12 guns concentrated fire together!
Moreover, it is no longer just 20 rounds of rapid fire, but 100 rounds of shells for each gun, all of which are required to be empty.
It’s disrespectful to come back but not reciprocate! If you send over 1,000 and I don’t send back 1,000, how can we embody the Chinese military saying that “when friends come, they have good wine, but when the jackal comes, he is greeted with shotguns?”
The song "My China" co-written by Tang Tuanzuo and Tantai Mingyue Company Commander has recently become popular throughout Southeast Shanxi!
"A big river has wide waves
The wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers on both sides of the bank
My family lives on the shore
I'm used to hearing the boatman's slogans
I'm used to seeing white sails on boats
This is beautiful China
It's where I grew up
in this vast land
There are beautiful scenery everywhere
The girl is like a flower
What a big heart this guy has
To fight against the invading jackals
Awakening the sleeping mountains
Let the river change its appearance
This is heroic China
..."
A female nurse from Pingbeicheng sang the song "My China" with tears in her eyes while gently wiping the blood stains on the young face with a towel!
"Da da da!" The soldiers on the high ground roared "kill" and tried their best to shoot the furious bullets in the barrels at the charging Japanese soldiers!
"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" Teams of heavy soldiers carried the shell boxes, even if there was blood on their shoulders, and even if their faces were scratched by branches and thorns, they kept walking to deliver the shells needed by the artillery company to the position.
.
The artillerymen of the Fourth Row Regiment on the mountain artillery company position had already taken off their upper body clothes, exposed their chests, and were sweating profusely as they stuffed heavy cannonballs into the barrels!
The Sihang Tuanshan Artillery Battery, for the first time since its establishment, opened fire with full force!
...
The entire battlefield was stunned by the artillery battle in which both warring parties opened fire with all their might.
From the main defense line to the flanking high ground, the infantrymen who were still fiercely competing between China and Japan seemed to have become supporting characters at this moment.
The trajectory of the artillery shells invisible to the naked eye was not clear, but the sharp screams of the artillery shells passed back and forth from high in the sky, making the infantry completely lose their judgment.
Even veterans of the Four Lines Regiment who have experienced countless battlefields don't know if a row of bombs will hit their heads at a certain moment.
Life and death are not in your hands at all, and that feeling is really terrible.
No military orders, no bravery, no sacrifices, at this moment when the roars continued, they seemed to be of no importance, especially to the Chinese and Japanese armies on the main line of defense.
But no one knows how much our artillery has suffered in those mountains where there are continuous thunderstorms, except those who are among them.
Anyway, the artillery commander of the Japanese 21st Division, who was leading two artillery brigades, was dumbfounded at that time!
When the overwhelming artillery shells hit him, he was only 500 meters away from his temporary unit headquarters, and then his hole turned red.
That's the continuous fireball that makes it red!
It's a pity that this is the first time for him to see such a grand scene, but he can't last long!
Soon he was thrown to the ground by several soldiers behind him!
The conscientious guards fought so resolutely that the distinguished Japanese Army Chief left a mouthful of ashes!
But this saved his life!
The 12 mountain cannons of the Four Lines Regiment fired with all their strength and soon began to fire. The scorching air waves even swept away an unlucky child lying on the unbelievable left body of the Japanese army.
But at least the Japanese army leader was fortunate that he managed to save his life.
But those of his subordinates who had not yet withdrawn their troops were not so lucky.
Because the formation of the two artillery brigades is too concentrated, once a shell hits the area, or even causes the stored shell to explode, it will often sweep in the artillery or artillery dozens of meters away.
Moreover, the artillery of the Fourth Line Regiment, which was completely unloaded this time, poured out more than a thousand rounds of artillery shells, even though the four 105 howitzers kept firing back.
"The Chinese 75MM mountain artillery has a range of more than 8,500 meters! It is an excellent artillery from the Western world!" This was the conclusion drawn by the awakened Japanese artillery commander.
The summary is very correct, but don’t summarize it next time!
Because, it’s really too late!
The Four Lines of Tuanshan Artillery Battery opened fire for half an hour, completely beating the two Japanese artillery brigades that they regarded as hidden hunters into little sheeps!
This artillery battle was initiated by the Japanese army, and both sides exchanged blows with all their strength, similar to a bayonet-style artillery battle. It did not end until about 9 o'clock!
The data compiled by the Japanese army were presented to Nagano Kameichiro, whose face was ashen. He only glanced at it and almost vomited it out.
That is the result of the Japanese army major general having done enough psychological construction. Otherwise, in this artillery duel, one more person will be added to the Japanese casualty list.
The kind of internal injuries.
Of the 24 artillery pieces, 6 were destroyed, 7 were damaged, 13 transport trucks were destroyed, and more than 300 pack horses were lost. It seemed that the loss was only half, but the unprotected artillery suffered huge losses!
A total of more than 2,000 artillerymen were killed in this shelling, more than 400 people were killed, 60 people were missing, and the injured were not counted!
The missing ones were naturally destroyed by intensive artillery fire. If they want to pick up a piece of bone as a souvenir, no, if it is a souvenir, considering the current situation of everyone in the artillery regiment being injured, it is probably impossible.
Including the poor captain of the artillery regiment at the left level, he was also missing one of his front teeth. In addition, he had been pressed for a long time and was somewhat deprived of oxygen. The blood-red color on his face gradually faded in the evening.
"The Chinese are so cunning! Damn the Germans." Nagano Kameichiro, who was about to hold back his internal injuries, slumped in his chair and gave this bitter and helpless summary of the battle.
