The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 254 Taking advantage of the situation 1
Early the next morning, in the temporary command post of the Sasaki detachment, the artillery major who had explored the Chinese army's shelling scene last night, with two dark circles under his eyes, reported the results of his overnight research and judgment to the two detachment captains, Major Generals Ruiichi Sasaki and Noboru Kunisaki.

"Two sirs, based on my on-the-spot investigation of the site where the Kunisaki detachment was shelled yesterday, it can be determined that the Chinese have at least 100 mm or more and 200 mm or more artillery in their hands, and the total number will not be less than two field guns. Artillery Squadron, and I also found an unexploded ordnance on the battlefield. Through research and judgment on this artillery shell, I can confirm that this artillery shell was produced by the British Armstrong Company forty years ago, that is, in 1897. Artillery shells, at that time, our country was still in the Meiji period."

Sasaki showed a look of astonishment and said, "Meiji period?"

The artillery major nodded and said: "Yes, this shell has been manufactured for forty years. I also found a fuse on the shell, but the fuse was produced by the arsenal in Songhu, China in the past two years. I estimate that this shell The shells must have been too old and too old, so they did not explode. This kind of artillery is actually a kind of artillery equipped on warships."

Kunizaki Noboru said: "That means that it was a Chinese warship that bombarded my men. Could it be that the Chinese drove the warship onto the river?"

The artillery major shook his head and said: "It's unlikely. The Chinese navy has been almost wiped out by us. I think the Chinese removed the artillery from the warships and installed them on land to be used as ground artillery."

"I see."

Kunizaki Noboru said thoughtfully.

"The Chinese actually took out all the old cannons produced decades ago. They are really at the end of their rope. So, can our artillery destroy these old Chinese naval guns?"

Sasaki asked.

The artillery major shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Although it is an old gun, it is a naval gun after all. If I remember correctly, this eight-inch caliber naval gun has a range of nearly 20 kilometers. Whether it is the modified Type 38 of our detachment, Neither the 75mm field gun nor the Type 94 75mm mountain cannon of the Kunisaki Detachment can match it. Unless the heavy 150mm cannon directly under the dispatched army is transferred, it is possible to directly kill those ships. Artillery, if we want to suppress or even destroy the Chinese naval guns with the artillery we have now, we must let the infantry break through first and shorten the distance to the firing positions of those artillery pieces."

Sasaki nodded at one point and said, "Thank you for your hard work. You can go out first."

"Yes!"

The artillery major saluted with a standard military salute and then left Sasaki's command post. After the major left, Sasaki's expression immediately darkened. He looked at Kunisaki Noboru and said: "Kunizaki-kun, you failed. It’s not unjust, the Chinese people were well prepared.”

Looking at Kunizaki Noboru's puzzled expression, Sasaki Toichi continued: "Kunizaki-kun, you must have seen our coastal defense forts along the coast of Japan. Although those large-caliber artillery are powerful, the conditions for shooting are also very strict. They must With complete shooting equipment and shooting platforms, the Chinese dare to disassemble naval guns from warships and install them on land, which shows that fortifications must have been prepared near Xiaguan in advance, and even the artillery has excellent shooting fortifications, so China It is very likely that people began to build fortifications in advance in Xiaguan a long time ago, and it is very likely that they are very strong semi-permanently prepared or even permanently prepared fortifications, and the Chinese infantry units are also likely to be the same."

"The Chinese, I'm afraid, have already made arrangements in Xiaguan. This is a tough nut to crack."

Sasaki sighed and said, Noboru Kunisaki on the side also looked solemn and sighed: "Then what do you mean by Sasaki-kun for the next battle?"

"As usual, although the enemy is much stronger than we expected, the exploratory attack and reconnaissance I planned yesterday are still effective. No matter how strong the position is, there will definitely be weak points. As long as we find this weak point, our two detachments will Attack them in groups and concentrate our strength to break open their positions. As for the Chinese heavy artillery, as my subordinate said, as long as our infantry makes a breakthrough and breaks into the enemy's position, it is actually possible to use field artillery and mountain artillery. They can be suppressed.”

Seeing that Sasaki seemed to have a plan, Noboru Kunizaki, who was eager to make a breakthrough in Shimonoseki to reduce his guilt for losing an entire infantry brigade, said readily: "Sasaki-kun, let's do it. Since you have already decided, let go." Go ahead and do it, and our detachment will also obey your command."

Sasaki got up and walked around the command post. Finally, he seemed to have made up his mind and nodded to Kunisaki Noboru.

"Since Kunizaki-kun trusts me so much, I will be disrespectful. However, in the trial attack stage, there is no need to send out the main force of Kunizaki-kun's troops. Please take a good rest, Kunizaki-kun, and use the maximum combat power when the general attack is launched. The fallen warriors want to take revenge and avenge their past humiliation. Of course, I still need to lend you your artillery."

Kunisaki Noboru looked at Sasaki Tsuichi gratefully, stood up sincerely, and bowed 90 degrees to Sasaki Tsuichi.

"Thank you, Sasaki-kun!"

Later, Sasaki ordered several staff officers around him: "Pass me a battle order. The three infantry brigades of the 38th Infantry Regiment of this detachment will each draw out an infantry squadron to strengthen the infantry artillery squads of each infantry brigades. Conduct a tentative attack on nearby enemy positions. During the attack, pay careful attention to the firepower and solidity of each enemy position. The field artillery battalion of this detachment and the friendly Kunisaki Detachment Noyama Artillery Battalion will attack the enemy forces in the lower pass. Conduct interference shots!”

Sasaki's exploratory tactics against the Shimonoseki defensive circle were quietly launched.

At the same time, in the military police headquarters in the Xiaguan Defense Circle, He Wei and a dozen artillery officers gathered around a table to discuss the newly determined artillery shooting map. These dozen officers were from the Xiaguan Defense Circle. The various artillery units within include gunnery officers from the Naval Ship Gun Artillery, officers from the Bofors Mountain Artillery Battery of the Army Artillery School's practice team, and artillery officers from the Eighth Regiment of the Army Artillery, which are also in the defensive circle.

Under He Wei's suggestion, in order to ensure that the firing of naval guns and various artillery units would not be interfered by physical conditions such as weather and smoke, these officers from various artillery units worked together to measure from yesterday afternoon to this morning, and finally completed the test. Determination of this artillery fire command map.

And this geodesic mission can be regarded as a great unity of the national army. Among them, the Bofors Mountain Artillery Company of the artillery school training team is a unit of the Central Military System. The officers are all students of Huangpu Military Academy, which can be regarded as direct relatives. The gunnery skills of the naval force Almost all the officers are Fujianese. They are the standard Fujian maritime warlord force inherited from the late Qing Dynasty. Most of them graduated from Mawei Naval Academy.

The Eighth Army Artillery Regiment also has a company in the Xiaguan defensive circle. This artillery regiment was originally the Northeast Army artillery unit of Northeast Marshal Zhang Xiaoliuzi. Most of the officers in the company are graduates of the Northeast Martial Arts Lecture Hall.

These officers from various factions who used to have their own agendas and fought openly and secretly now face a common enemy in Xiaguan, and they have become a rope in order to find a way out.

"Battle Commander He, according to the German-style geodesy method, the measurement work in front of each troop position in the Xiaguan defense circle has been basically completed. The scope of the measurement is from the front of each troop position to the three kilometers in front of its position. We will Different zones in these fire ranges are divided into different grids. When each unit needs fire support, it only needs to report the numbers of different areas to open fire."

Zheng Chongcheng, the young second lieutenant observation officer of the artillery school training team, pointed to the measured map and said.

He Wei nodded and patted Lieutenant Zheng on the shoulder.

"Thank you for your hard work. This fire command map must be printed out immediately and distributed to each unit on the front line according to the different garrison areas of each unit." "Understood!"

Second Lieutenant Zheng said.

He Wei breathed a sigh of relief and said to a group of artillery officers from different units: "Artillery is the god of war. Whether we can last longer in this battle depends entirely on you. I, He, and the officers and soldiers of each unit would like to thank you in advance. I’ve passed you all.”

Second Lieutenant Xi Shixiang, another second lieutenant officer of the artillery school training team, smiled and joked: "What did Battalion Commander He say? It is the responsibility of our soldiers to protect our home and country. Besides, we cannot let all your infantry units fight in wars. We are all from the 11th phase of Huangpu, and so are you, Commander He, but you are already a major, and we are still second lieutenants, so we should be given a few chances."

Everyone burst into laughter, but the second lieutenant officers who graduated from the 11th phase of Huangpu's artillery school training team looked at He Wei's major collar badge, and their eyes were indeed full of envy.

"Captain He, I am also from Liaoning. My brothers and I are looking forward to returning to our hometown in Northeast China as soon as possible."

said a lieutenant from the 8th Artillery Regiment.

After chatting and laughing for a while, He Wei smiled and nodded: "Please split it up as soon as possible, distribute the shooting command map to each unit, and work together to teach them how to use it."

"understand!"

Just as everyone dispersed to prepare to split the map, suddenly, there was a violent tremor on the ground, and a violent explosion came from outside the command post. He Wei ran to the observation port of the command post, raised his telescope, and saw the following. Intense artillery shells suddenly fell everywhere in the Guan defensive circle. Obviously, the Japanese army started shelling.

"It's nothing, nothing. Let's continue. It's the Japanese shelling. They may launch an attack!"

When everyone heard that it was an artillery attack, they all relaxed and continued their work. After several days of fighting, the officers of various departments had become accustomed to and even somewhat immune to Japanese artillery shelling and even air strikes.

As a result, the officers and soldiers in the headquarters continued their work calmly amidst the rumbling sound of artillery. He Wei also thought that this was a routine artillery preparation before the Japanese attack, so he also waited calmly in the military police headquarters. Reports from the frontline troops, and speculation on which unit's defense area the Japanese army's next attack will focus on.

In the Shimonoseki defense circle, rumbling artillery sounds were heard one after another, and dense artillery shells fell like raindrops. The joint reconnaissance and attack operations of the Sasaki detachment and the Kunisaki detachment had begun.

In order to interfere with and confuse the Chinese defenders in the Shimonoseki defense circle, Sasaki sent a modified 38-type 75mm field artillery brigade under the Sasaki detachment and two equipped 94-type 75mm mountain guns under the Kunisaki detachment. The mountain artillery brigade joined together.

Including the eight Type 41 75mm mountain guns of the 38th Infantry Regiment to which the two detachments belong, and the two artillery squadrons directly under the 41st Infantry Regiment, a total of 44 75-caliber guns The mountain field artillery launched a bombardment on the Xiaguan defense circle.

Although the bombardment was fierce, it was very irregular and without focus. These more than 40 artillery pieces implemented almost a line-line bombardment tactic, forming a long line of fire, pushing down the line of defense along the line. Shooting was extended within the circle. When the firing distance of the artillery reached the limit, the Japanese artillery fired without hesitation from the extreme shooting distance. Under the fierce bombardment of the Japanese army, everywhere in the Xiaguan defense circle Almost all the positions were deserted, and dozens of smoke pillars rose from the positions.

Before the bombardment was over, several attack and search teams sent by Sasaki to No. 1 also started taking action. ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ．

In the military police headquarters, He Wei was using an artillery scope to observe the location of the bombs dropped by the Japanese artillery shells and the intensity of the shelling. After observing for a while, doubts gradually arose in his mind.

According to normal logic, once the Japanese army wants to launch an attack on a certain position, it must prepare artillery fire and concentrate all artillery fire to attack the position where it is trying to make a breakthrough. However, although the Japanese army's artillery fire is now fierce, it is very scattered and basically Can't see the point.

What kind of medicine do the Japanese sell in their gourds?

Just as He Wei was muttering, a harsh ringtone rang from the phone station of the Military Police Headquarters. He Wei looked over and saw that the phone had the logo of the 88th Division on it. A staff officer quickly took it. He picked up the receiver and answered the phone.

"Hello, hello, yes, it's the Military Police Headquarters, sir, okay, Commander Sun, I understand."

The staff officer hung up the phone, ran to General Xiao who was looking at the map, and reported loudly: "Sir, Commander Sun Yuanliang of the 88th Division called, and a Japanese army is launching an attack on the 88th Division's position. .”

After hearing the staff report, He Wei thought to himself, could it be that the Japanese used shelling as a cover-up to achieve a breakthrough in the 88th Division's position?
何炜稍稍放心了一些，第八十八师的战斗力在金陵卫戍军中也是名列前茅的，在金陵外围雨花台和中华门一带的战斗中展现出了十分强悍的战斗力（作者注：历史上的八十八师在金陵保卫战中打的非常牛x，疑似击毙第14重炮联队长井手龙男（中华门附近的金陵兵工厂）、确认击毙独立山炮兵第2联队第1大队长永山在知（将军山）、19联队代理第3大队长藤井伊之助（雨花台）、23联队代理第1大队长金田高秋（雨花台）、150联队第2大队长儿森高槌（雨花门））。

If the Japanese army launches an attack on the positions guarded by the 88th Division, then He Wei will have to rest assured.

However, just as He Wei was thinking, the phone rang again.

After the staff member hurriedly answered the phone, urgent reports to General Xiao also followed.

"Sir, the commander of the 87th Division, Shen Fazao, reported that Japanese troops are attacking the 87th Division's positions."

"what?"

He Wei asked loudly.

(End of this chapter)