diymy Chapter 196 Heavy Artillery Bombardment, Counter-offensive Begins, Motorized Infantry Detachment Ass
Chapter 196 Heavy Artillery Bombardment, Counter-offensive Begins, Motorized Infantry Detachment Ass
Finally, a sliver of dawn broke through the horizon, and the morning mist, carrying the smell of gunpowder, drifted over the ridges of Fujin Mountain.
The Japanese vanguard infantry regiment, which had been fighting fiercely all night, had just received an order from the division headquarters.
The order required them to consolidate their occupied positions, halt their advance, and await the arrival of the main force.
Regimental Commander Kamedaoka slammed the telegram on the table, his fleshy face turning red, his eyes filled with arrogance and dissatisfaction.
In his view, this hesitant order would only give the Chinese army enough time to deploy its defenses deep within the Fujin Mountains.
But military orders are absolute, and even though he was full of resentment, he could only grit his teeth and carry them out.
This order was made after Ogisu Rikihei and Iida Sadako discussed it all night and made it with gritted teeth.
The two had already discovered a fatal problem in the battle reports:
This advancing vanguard unit, like a dagger that has slipped from its grasp, has created a gap of five kilometers between itself and the main force behind it.
In plains areas, infantry units can arrive in an instant, covering a distance of five kilometers.
But this is the foothills of the Dabie Mountains, with towering peaks, dense forests, and complex terrain.
No one knows how many Chinese army ambush positions and how many loaded machine guns are hidden in those shady ravines.
At almost the same time, in the 71st Army headquarters deep in Fujin Mountain, Song Xilian was dressed in a crisp military uniform.
He glanced at the group of division commanders standing ramrod straight in front of him and issued the order to launch a counterattack in a deep voice.
"The 36th Division blocked the Japanese offensive from the front."
"The 88th and 89th Divisions were deployed on the flanks respectively."
"The 61st Division serves as a reserve force, with one part defending the flanks and the other ready to support the main battlefield at any time."
As soon as the order was given, Sun Yuanliang, the commander of the 88th Division, took half a step forward, his brows furrowed, and couldn't help but ask.
"Commander, something's not right."
Why wasn't there any unit in this deployment to cut off the Japanese army's retreat?
When he received the order, he thought this crucial task would be assigned to the 61st Reserve Division.
But in the end, not a single unit took on the task.
Song Xilian glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"A unit has already been assigned to this task."
"Is a military unit involved? Which one?"
Sun Yuanliang was taken aback and quickly pressed for an answer.
Song Xilian merely glanced at him coldly and didn't reply.
Sun Yuanliang was stung by that look and immediately shut his mouth, lowering his head dejectedly.
He was filled with doubts, wondering which unit could be so secretive to the commander.
It couldn't possibly be those ragtag troops from the Northwest Army, could it?
At eight o'clock in the morning, the morning mist had just dissipated and the sunlight had just spread over the mountaintop.
Breakfast had just been prepared at the camp of the Japanese advance regiment.
After a night of fierce fighting, the Japanese soldiers gathered in twos and threes by the fortifications, wolfing down their meals, their faces full of exhaustion and relaxation.
Inside the regimental command tent, Kamedaoka was holding a wine cup and talking boastfully to a group of officers.
Amidst the flying spittle, he raved about the previous night's advance as if it were divine intervention, boasting about the brilliance of his command and the bravery of his soldiers.
However, none of them knew that at this moment, the entire regiment's camp was within the range of the Third Column's heavy artillery.
The heavy artillery battalion of the Third Column, left behind by Li Jianghe, was equipped with 12 105mm howitzers.
At this moment, the dark muzzles of the cannons were already raised high, fixedly aimed at the Japanese camp below the mountain.
The shells had already been unpacked and the fuses checked. The gunners, following the commands, steadily pushed the bright yellow shells into the breech.
"rustle--"
"You were put in charge of Sihang Warehouse, and you trained a German-equipped division": The book has received rave reviews and overwhelming praise!
After the soft thud of the shell casing rubbing against the metal of the gun barrel, came the muffled sound of the breech closing.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the final instructions.
"put!!!"
A command that resonated throughout the valley was given.
The first 105mm grenade, engulfed in flames from the propellant, roared out of the gun barrel.
Inside the tent, Kameda Oka was boasting when a deafening roar suddenly erupted at the edge of the camp.
"Boom!!!!!"
The first calibration round struck the slope less than 100 meters from the Japanese camp, sending dirt and gravel flying everywhere in the blast wave.
In just a few seconds, the firing parameters at the gun position had been calibrated.
Immediately following was the roar of 12 heavy cannons firing simultaneously.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"
Kamedaoka shuddered, his sake cup slammed to the ground, his face turned deathly pale, and he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Enemy artillery fire!! Take cover!!!"
But his shouts were instantly swallowed up by the continuous explosions.
The shells came whistling in, falling like hailstones, instantly covering the entire Japanese regimental camp.
Explosions were heard one after another.
The shockwave, carrying scalding smoke, swept across like a tsunami, instantly engulfing the entire camp.
Many Japanese soldiers had just picked up their mess kits and hadn't even had time to react when they were thrown several meters away by the violent shockwave.
Even worse, some were torn apart by the blast wave, their limbs mixed with dirt scattered everywhere.
The high-speed projectiles, amplified by the shockwave, were like countless poisoned blades.
They tore through the Japanese soldiers' uniforms, skin, and muscles, pierced their organs and blood vessels, and finally embedded themselves firmly into their bones.
But these sounds were instantly drowned out by the deafening roar of another round of exploding shells.
Just as the artillery fire was in full swing, the Japanese rear defense line also welcomed their guests.
Jinzhuang was the rear choke point of the Japanese advance regiment, and only a company of troops was stationed there.
For the entire retreat route, this defensive force was practically useless.
It's just that Kamedaoka was too arrogant and didn't take the Chinese army's counterattack seriously at all.
He piled almost all his troops on the front line, single-mindedly wanting to break through the entire defensive line of the 71st Army in one fell swoop, never thinking that one day his rear would be outmaneuvered.
On the position, the Japanese company commander was using binoculars to look at the area in front of him that was covered by artillery fire.
"The troops are ready for battle; the enemy may launch a counterattack."
The Japanese company commander said with eyes as sharp as knives.
But just as he finished speaking, a roaring sound came from that moment.
"Report! Enemy armored forces spotted!!!"
"What?!"
The Japanese company commander turned his head and, sure enough, saw a large number of tanks roaring with engines and billowing dust as they charged toward the high ground they were defending from the dense forest.
Almost simultaneously, the field artillery of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Detachment had already slammed shells onto the high ground.
"Boom!!!!!"
Explosions erupted one after another, engulfing the Japanese-held high ground in the blink of an eye.
When the bombardment finally ended, the tanks were already in sight.
The Japanese company commander stood up from the position riddled with shell craters and corpses, only to see, behind the smoke, the 50mm cannons of the Puma armored vehicles already aimed at them.
"Soldiers, prepare for battle!!!"
He did not back down, but drew his katana and charged forward.
The world depicted by Wu Yun in his later years can be found in "I Let You Guard the Sihang Warehouse, and You Brought Out a German-Equipped Division".