The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 202 Bloody Battle in Tangshan 3

Several red flares flew into the sky, then fell precariously from mid-air.

The 22nd Field Artillery Regiment stopped firing at the highland positions of the Chinese army, but it was not a total ceasefire. Only the Type 91 Howitzer Battalion with a range of ten kilometers stopped firing, and the three modified Type 38 Type 75 The millimeter field artillery brigade has a range of nearly 12 kilometers when using the latest Type 90 75mm sharp grenade.

Under the command of the artillery officers, the artillerymen of the three modified 38-type field artillery brigades adjusted the height and angle of the artillery, reduced the firing frequency, and extended firepower to the depth of the Chinese army's positions in a free-firing manner.

One after another, the 75mm field artillery flew over the high ground guarded by the 956th Regiment before landing and exploding, leaving behind craters with white smoke rising and steam rising.

Fortunately, the main force and the temporary artillery group of the special agent battalion were all hidden in the reinforced concrete structure on the reverse slope on the back side of the highland and were not damaged. The Japanese 75 field artillery shells and 105 howitzer shells suppressed and destroyed the high ground. Neither the shooting nor the extended shooting in depth hit the hiding place where the officers and soldiers of the secret service battalion were hidden.

Of course, even if it hits, it will not cause harm to the officers and soldiers in the shelter, because the 75mm and 105mm grenades cannot cause any decent damage to the permanent concrete fortifications reinforced with soil and sandbags.

The brothers of the whole battalion were hiding in the solid concrete fortifications to rest and standby. The soldiers of the infantry company, the special agent platoon and the signal platoon were sitting or lying down, hiding peacefully in the fortifications to rest. There were many veterans in the infantry of the special agent battalion. After helping people get ready for battle and clean their weapons, some chatted, some smoked, and some simply fell asleep with guns in their arms and the sound of cannons as a lullaby.

Only the brothers of the temporary artillery group were a little nervous. This artillery group, which is composed of brothers from the Cantonese Army Artillery Company and the Special Agent Battalion Artillery Company, as well as the Army Armored Corps Tank Defense Artillery Platoon, was naturally not ready for emergency situations due to insufficient running-in. It's a little nervous.

Two Type 41 75mm mountain guns, four Schnaider 75mm mountain guns, and two 37mm and 47mm tank defense guns were arranged in sequence in the large shelter. Artillerymen from different units Some of the officers and soldiers were wiping artillery shells, and some were holding working tools, just waiting for the order to rush out of the shelter and start the shooting mission.

The person responsible for temporarily commanding them was the captain of the mountain artillery company of the 66th Army assigned to the special agent battalion. The captain held a cigarette in his mouth and guarded the phone without daring to leave.

Because the commander-in-chief of this temporary artillery group, Lieutenant Chen Xinsheng, commander of the artillery company of the special agent battalion, had already led two artillery officers and several soldiers into the cement concrete fortifications on the high ground carrying telephones and artillery mirrors, and opened this In the temporary artillery observation post of the mixed artillery group, as soon as the phone rings, these artillery brothers have to rush out with the cannon and fire fiercely.

After the Japanese field artillery regiment changed its combat shooting mode, the overwhelming and continuous sound of artillery turned into scattered muffled explosions.

After receiving the order to attack, the Japanese infantry also jumped out of their attack positions and began to attack. The first to attack was the Ninth Infantry Regiment. Since the third brigade of the Ninth Infantry Regiment had been completely wiped out, in order to make up for the front-line battle Due to the shortage of infantry, all six infantry squadrons belonging to the First Infantry Brigade and the Second Infantry Battalion of the Ninth Regiment participating in the battle were dispatched. According to the standard infantry squadron battle formation, they launched an attack on the high ground ahead. It is the 20th Infantry Regiment that cooperates with the 9th Infantry Regiment.

Compared with the 9th Infantry Regiment, Colonel Nobuaki Ono's 20th Infantry Regiment can be said to be stronger and stronger. All units in the regiment are complete and well-organized. The three infantry brigades to which it belongs each have two infantry squadrons. , a total of six infantry squadrons coordinated with the six infantry squadrons of the 9th Regiment.

Twelve infantry squadrons with nearly 2,000 people jumped out from the attack launch line near the starting position, shouting to kill, and launched a charge with ghost screams. In this first charge alone, the two infantry regiments invested in the rest of the attack. Most of the infantry in the establishment,

"Onboard, kill."

"Go ahead."

The onslaught of Japanese infantrymen ran and charged with howling like ghosts and wolves, and the 75mm mountain artillery shells carrying shock waves passed over the heads of the infantrymen and shot towards the obstacles and barbed wire fence in front of the Chinese army's position.

The Type 41 mountain artillery of each regiment's artillery squadron began to fire wildly to carry out destructive shooting. The 75mm mountain artillery shells fell one after another on the Luzhai below the Chinese army's position. In the barbed wire and high and low trip wire fortifications, several field artillery regiments The smoke from the ten field guns and howitzers bombarding the main position on the highland ridge had not cleared yet. The shells from the Qiwu Mountain Artillery followed one after another and began to wreak havoc in the obstacle area of ​​the Chinese army in a manner that was almost direct-aimed shooting.

The Type 92 infantry artillery of each brigade and the machine gunners of the heavy machine gun squadron dragged the cannons and carried the heavy machine guns and followed the infantry to form a second impact line, rushing over like a tide.

At this time, in the position of the 956th Regiment, He Wei held a telescope and looked at the attacking Japanese troops together with Cai Rubai, the commander of the 956th Regiment. Sharp whistles resounded throughout the position, and they had been hiding for a long time. The officers and soldiers walked out of the gun shelter one after another.

Orders with Cantonese accents came one after another. In the heavy machine gun fortification, the heavy machine gunners of the 956th Regiment removed the sandbags and shelters in front of the shooting port, and lifted the French-made Hotchkiss heavy machine gun to fire. Arm base, and insert rows of 7.92mm bullet protection plates into the heavy machine gun's ammunition inlet.

In the light machine gun fortification, the machine gun shooter placed the Czech light machine gun on the shooting arm stand and loaded it for readiness. In the mortar fortification, the mortar soldiers of the 956th Regiment set up six 82mm mortars. The platoon commanders of each mortar platoon began to raise their binoculars to calculate the distance to the Japanese infantry.

In several large and sturdy small artillery fortifications, the officers and soldiers of the 7th Company of the 42nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment pushed up six Sulothong 20mm machine guns. Several gunners shook the high and low machine guns to open the muzzles of the machine guns. Ping, then inserted twenty rounds of magazines sideways into the machine gun's ammunition inlet. The aiming hand aimed the circular cross sight at the swarming Japanese infantry. The shooter stepped on the shooting pedal of the machine gun and fired at any time. Ready to fire.

In addition to these light and heavy automatic firearms, more riflemen of the 956th Regiment rushed into the traffic trenches with their 21-year-old Guangdong-made equipment rifles, and entered the civil structure fortifications filled with shooting holes and the trenches set up. In the foxholes, their fighting weapons are not only the rifles in their hands, but also the new flying mine cannons they learned and sold yesterday from the officers and soldiers of the special agent battalion. On the position of the 956th Regiment, a line stretches across nearly a mile. With hundreds of simple mine cannon ejection pits, the Guangdong officers and soldiers of the 956th Regiment are about to use the new combat techniques learned from their comrades in the secret service battalion to attack the wolf-like invaders.

As the distance between the two sides narrowed, a brutal fire battle was about to begin around this high ground.

"Get ready, let go!"

Boom-boom

Combat firing commands came one after another in the firing position of the artillery squadron attacking the rear of the Japanese infantry. The gunners of the artillery squadron of the 20th infantry regiment pulled the match rope, and a ball of shells came out of the muzzle of the Type 41 mountain gun. Four 75mm mountain artillery shells came out in response and landed in the obstacle area below the high ground.

Violent explosions and scattered shrapnel blew seven or eight wooden deer villages and a large piece of barbed wire into the sky. The artillery squadron of the Ninth Regiment did not make much concessions, and the two Type 41 mountain cannons also opened fire continuously. Crazy practice of destruction shooting.

The artillery squads of each infantry brigade following the infantry assault also stopped advancing and began to set up artillery fire after they advanced to the effective threat range of the Chinese army's heavy machine guns and mortars.

Some cooperated with the wing artillery to use grenades to shoot at the obstacle area in a direct aiming and shooting manner. Some adjusted the pitch of the artillery to the maximum and fired at the mountain ridge. These Japanese 92 infantry guns that fired at the mountain ridge used All of them were shrapnel shells with a large number of prefabricated steel ball fragments built into them. The Japanese officer who directed the shooting wanted to use the dense steel ball shrapnel flying horizontally to kill the Chinese officers and soldiers in the ridge position. The abacus was very good, but it had almost no effect.

The shrapnel shells of the 70mm infantry artillery equipped with air explosion fuses exploded in the air above the high ground without landing, exploding a large number of steel balls, but the officers and soldiers of the 956th Regiment on the position Almost all of them were hiding in solid defense fortifications and civil structure bunkers. Even the officers and soldiers deployed in traffic trenches and foxholes had cat-ear holes and temporary shelters set up at the corners of the trenches to protect themselves. Therefore, the Japanese army in 1992 The infantry artillery's firing on the ridge of the highland was just in vain. Not only did it make a sound, but it could only be said to be better than nothing.

Compared with shooting at the highland ridges, the destructive shooting at the obstacles of the Chinese army was much better. It didn’t take long for the obstacle area set up by the 956th Regiment at the foot of the mountain to be blown apart by mountain artillery shells. of the mouth. Under the absolute advantage of artillery fire, facing the explosive power of 70mm caliber and 75mm caliber grenades, obstacles such as barbed wire fences and wooden deer villages are still slightly fragile. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers of the 956th Regiment understand that quality is not enough and quantity is not enough. To make up for it, a large number of various obstacles were deployed. Therefore, even if the Japanese army fired directly with artillery, they could only blast a few holes but not destroy them all.

Just as the artillery of the Japanese infantry wing and infantry brigade were conducting destructive shooting, the attacking Japanese infantry also completed its deployment.

Although twelve infantry squadrons were invested at one time, the Japanese army did not charge in a dense skirmish line, but faithfully implemented the skirmish group battle formation.

The twelve infantry squadrons were adjacent one by one and spread out in a battle formation of three rows and three advances, forming a low-profile attack battle formation with a front and depth of 200 meters each. The twelve infantry squadrons attacked together, forming exactly two formations. Kilometers of impact front.

Their attacks were sharp and powerful, and their combat discipline was tenacious. There were many lakes and small puddles of various sizes on the open ground where the Japanese launched their attack. The Japanese infantry who charged in a low posture with one hand holding a gun wanted not to squeeze them. Other squadrons and other brigades were divided into battle lines, causing confusion. Once they encountered lakes and puddles, they all chose to ignore them and jump in directly to continue their straight-line attack.

In the command post of the 956th Regiment on the high ground, Cai Rubai used a telescope to look at the approaching Japanese army, and said to He Wei: "The Japanese are really willing to spend money on us. Songhu fought so hard, and I didn't even think about it." I have never seen the Japanese invest so many troops at once."

He Wei also agreed and said: "It seems that they want to defeat us in one breath, but they are very powerful. Commander Cai, go to the artillery first."

Cai Rubai nodded: "The artillery is yours. You have the final say. Attach the regiment to the artillery observation post."

The Major of the 956th Regiment connected the phone to the artillery observation post. He Wei took the transmitter, and the voice of the artillery group commander Chen Xinsheng immediately rang on the phone: "Battalion Commander, the Japanese infantry is completely It is a broad frontal attack. The front is too wide, and the troops are not dense, but there are many troops. I only have six mountain cannons in my hand. The number is too small, the range of mortars is not enough, and the efficiency of tank defense against infantry is too low. The two mortar platoons in my company are not used, and such a small number of artillery fires on the Japanese infantry will definitely not be able to stop them."

"It doesn't matter, you can shoot as many as you can. Once you get within the shooting range of the mountain cannon, you'll hit me."

"Yes."

He Wei issued the firing order to the artillery. In the artillery observation post on the high ground, Chen Xinsheng immediately connected the phone to the temporary artillery group and shouted into the microphone: "All mountain artillery immediately enter the shooting position, immediately enter the shooting position , prepare to fire."

The artillerymen who had been waiting for a long time quickly took action.

"Each artillery piece enters the firing position immediately! Hurry up, hurry up!"

The captain of the Guangdong Artillery Corps who was in charge of position command suddenly burst out in the hidden department, spit out the butt of his cigarette, and loudly called for the artillery troops to attack with a Cantonese accent. The officers and soldiers of the artillery company of the Secret Service Battalion in the hidden department and the officers and soldiers of the Mountain Artillery Company of the 66th Army of the Guangdong Army They shouted slogans together, pushed the mountain cannon, and rushed out of the hiding place carrying ammunition.

"Pull the cannon up, pull it from the front and push it from the back."

"hurry up."

Bullets continued to rumble at the top of the high ground, and yellow dust billowed. From time to time, Japanese artillery shells fired continuously from the top of the high ground, bringing bursts of wind. More than 200 artillerymen shouted slogans and fired four French-style artillery shells. The Snaid 75mm mountain gun and two Japanese-made Type 41 mountain guns were pushed and pulled to the artillery position at the bottom of the inverted slope of the highland.

Needless to say, the four Schnaider mountain cannons were all operated by the officers and soldiers of the 66th Army's mountain artillery company, while the two Japanese-style trophy mountain cannons were used by the improvised grass platform team of the secret agent battalion's artillery company.

Although the combat performance of these two types of mountain cannons was inconsistent, fortunately they were both mountain cannons and relatively lightweight. The officers and soldiers reached the designated firing position without much effort.

In order to avoid the Japanese anti-artillery operations, the artillery position was set up at the bottom of the reverse slope on the back side of the highland, so it was tilted at a considerable angle. Setting the artillery position here not only provided a safer shooting environment for the shooting position, but also brought An unexpected surprise is the increase in the range of the artillery.

Whether it is the Type 41 mountain cannon or the French-made Schneider light mountain cannon, its maximum range is just over six kilometers. Although lightness is an advantage, it can also bring about shortcomings in the range of the artillery and the power of the artillery shells.

And He Wei wants the artillery to expand the firing range and increase the killing range as much as possible. To achieve this goal, the elevation angle of the artillery when firing must be increased as much as possible. Artillery with strong charges and large elevation angles can make the trajectory longer. , increasing the shooting distance; howitzers with weak charges and high elevation angles can make the trajectory more curved and increase the destructive power.

However, there is a limit to the artillery elevation angle, which is that it cannot exceed the recoil length of the gun barrel. If the elevation angle exceeds the limit, the gun barrel will recede after firing due to the recoil force generated when the shell is fired. The artillery when firing at a large elevation angle The greater the angle between the barrel and the ground, the smaller the distance between the tail of the barrel and the ground.

In this case, when the artillery body is in the rear seat, it will hit the gun mount or the ground, and the entire artillery will jump up. In order to avoid this situation, He Wei and Chen Xinsheng simply asked the artillerymen to add support under the gun wheel. Pad, use soil to build it up, stuff it with several layers of wood or stones, and pad the gun body to leave more space for the gun barrel in the back seat. The maximum range of these six mountain cannons has also been increased to seven Kilometers or so.

The six mountain artillery pieces were arranged one after another in the strange artillery array position. The six gun barrels were raised high into the sky. Following the instructions from the commanders of each gun to complete the array, the Cantonese captain in command returned to Chen Xinsheng. , and Chen Xinsheng, who was in the highland observation post, was staring at the Japanese assault queue, and began to calculate the shooting parameters based on what the artillery mirror observed.

About half a minute later, when the attacking Japanese forward was still about eight kilometers away from the high ground, Chen Xinsheng issued a combat shooting order on the phone: "Full artillery group, No. 3000 charge, grenade, firing fuse, steering wheel 9, high and low." -, wait for the order to fire!"

On the artillery position, the Cantonese Army artillery captain recited Chen Xinsheng's battle command. The gunners of the six mountain guns immediately adjusted the height and pitch angle of the artillery, and loaded the shells. The four Sernaider mountain guns were all loaded with 75-mm caliber grenades. Two Type 41 mountain guns captured from the Japanese army were loaded with 75mm caliber shrapnel used to attack infantry.

The Japanese army's shouts of killing were getting closer and closer. The gunner of the six mountain cannons held on to the match rope tightly. Chen Xinsheng on the high ground stared at the forward of the Japanese attack queue almost without blinking in the artillery mirror. Finally, under the Japanese infantry When the forward was seven kilometers away from the high ground, the order to fire was shouted.

"open!"

(End of this chapter)