On the night of June 1, 1925, it was a night for artillerymen.

As soon as 8 p.m. passed, almost at the same time, bursts of orange-red fire erupted from the artillery positions of the Kuomintang and the Sichuan Army, followed by a loud thunderous sound that shook the earth. Dozens of cannonballs with long tails of flames swept through the dark night sky, roaring towards the opponent's position like meteors falling to the ground.

The moment the shell hit the ground and detonated, the ground trembled, and then there was a deafening roar, and waves of fire, waves of air, and columns of smoke swept across the ground with countless broken metal shrapnel. Turned the position of the Sichuan army into the blood prison of Asura. The artillery shells on the Kuomintang side smashed into the crowd of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the Sichuan Army, which was lined up to charge, and immediately drowned thousands of officers and men in a sea of fire. Hundreds of Sichuan infantry were smashed into pieces by the scorching waves of air and flying metal fragments, and those who had escaped were lying on the ground or seeking shelter in the nearest place after the initial panic.

Contrary to the huge results achieved by the [***] artillery bombardment, although the shells fired by the eight 75mm mountain guns on the Sichuan artillery position all accurately hit the [***] defensive position of Xiangshuitan, they also exploded one after another, kicking up puffs of smoke and dust, almost completely submerging the entire position. However, the results of the shelling were pitiful, because the vast majority of the officers and men were huddled in large and small anti-artillery holes and trenches, and unless they were directly hit by shells, they would not be injured at all.

The shelling of the Seventh Army lasted only one minute, and after firing nearly 700 rounds of 75mm shells, it was aborted. All that remained was the eight artillery pieces of the Sichuan army roaring incessantly, and the surprise attack of the [***] artillery just now did not hit the artillery position of the Sichuan army, so they were still able to tilt the shells to the [***] position of Xiangshuitan at a rate of more than 100 rounds per minute.

"Tell the artillerymen, give me a hard bang! Knock out these turtle sons! "Wang Laoran, who was supervising the battle behind the Sichuan army's position, was giving orders to the artillery like thunder at this moment.

The shelling of [***] just now just hit the first brigade of the Sichuan army that was preparing to attack, this is Wang Laochao's heart, Wang Laochao's army is a subordinate soldier, and the officers and soldiers are all Xichong people, all of whom are his fellow countrymen. Just now, in just one minute, at least three hundred shells exploded in the crowd of the 1st Brigade. It was an almost nightmare minute, with 300 75mm shells killing at least a thousand people in a minute, in addition to hundreds more seriously wounded and dying. Even the half of the people who survived the catastrophe had completely lost their fighting spirit, and they only knew that they were curled up in a ball and trembling, with an unbelievable hideous expression on their faces.

The shelling just now did not hit their artillery positions! Li Wenhua, who was sitting at the headquarters of the Seventh Artillery Regiment, heard that the artillery of the Sichuan army was still firing endlessly, and his heart sank. He didn't know that now his hands were covered with the blood of the people. Shooting artillery in the black light, no one knows what the shell hit? This is probably the reason why artillerymen always have no guilt after killing people and setting fires, right?

At this time, Liu Yongyao, the big boy with a bun face, walked in with a piece of paper with a lot of numbers written on it, he handed the paper to Li Wenhua, and said with a smile: "Brother Jixian, it's all settled, we have found their artillery position." ”

Liu Yongyao did not go to Germany to study, but made up classes in Huangpu for more than half a year, and is now the chief staff officer of the Seventh Artillery Regiment. What he held in his hand was the approximate location of the enemy's artillery position, calculated based on the data detected by the sound measurement platoon of the 7th Artillery Regiment.

Artillery is not just a matter of loading shells into the chamber and pulling the strings. This is a profound science, a high-tech arm of the military, and it will remain until the 21st century. In the 20s of the 20th century, the scientific and technological content of artillery was becoming more and more high.

The first is the development of artillery observation technology, and the artillery depends on various artillery observation methods, such as optical and acoustic measurements. Photometry is to use the eyes to see through various photometric instruments, of course, you can also directly visually inspect without instruments, but this error is too big. The light survey is divided into several types, one is to establish an artillery observation post, the second is to observe the advance of the artillery, the third is to observe the artillery behind enemy lines, and the fourth is to observe the artillery through aircraft and airships. The means of artillery sound measurement is to establish a series of outposts, sound measurement posts and a central station, and use formulas to calculate the approximate location of local artillery positions by recording the time gap of enemy artillery sound in different positions. In various photometric and phonological methods, complex formulas are generally used to calculate. In addition, there are other surveying and mapping work such as measuring wind speed and surveying and mapping terrain, which are all required for artillery detection. Basically, an excellent artillery officer should be a combination of a soldier and a mathematician and a field investigator and an athlete, and he has very high requirements for his mind and physical fitness.

The second is that the scientific and technological content of the artillery itself is getting higher and higher, and due to the progress of artillery observation means, the bulky artillery of the past can no longer meet the needs of war. In World War I, the artillerymen of the Western powers could calculate the approximate position of the opponent's artillery in 5 minutes! I can do that myself. Therefore, without an overwhelming firepower advantage and efficient artillery detection means, it is simply unrealistic to carry out long-term artillery bombardment of a truly strong enemy. The current artillery is already a hit-and-run service, and the mobile surname and firing range of the cannon have put forward a double high standard! In fact, it is the metallurgical industry that puts higher demands on it, and the artillery needs lighter, but longer range and more durable cannons! The value of that kind of bulky old artillery other than being a live target is really lackluster. At the beginning of the 20th century, 75mm caliber field guns were almost more than 1.5 tons, and by the end of World War I, the weight of 1.5 tons was already the weight of the new 105mm howitzer.

……

The artillery position of the Sichuan army finally calmed down, and thousands of shells were fired out in 10 minutes, and more than half of the ammunition storage was exhausted. After the artillery shot, the artillery of the Sichuan army was gathering together in twos and threes, fantasizing about how much damage the shelling had caused to the opponent just now. Looking at the fires in the distance, it is estimated that those hateful rebel bandits have now got their due end, and tonight's battle must end with a complete victory for the Sichuan army. In this way, they will soon be able to get the arrears from Yang Huishuai, and then go to the last Qinglou Records Museum in Yucheng City to find a fan and live happily for a few days. As for the timely transfer of positions and the avoidance of enemy artillery counterattacks, well, will there be such a thing? Please, here is the Chinese Civil War, not the European World War.

However, now, the use of artillery in the Chinese civil war has obviously risen to a higher level, and the Seventh Artillery Regiment of the National Revolutionary Army is about to set a record for the first artillery counterattack after obtaining the accurate position of the artillery fired through sound measurement for the first time in actual combat. After a period of busyness, the 48 mountain guns on the position of the 7th Artillery Regiment were reloaded with shells and adjusted the Zhuyuan.

"Each artillery company, 30 rounds of rapid fire, ready, release!"

After the order was given, the ground trembled again, and eight artillery batteries fired 240 shells in less than a few seconds. In the night sky, there was another gorgeous "meteor shower", with 240 orange-red ballistic trajectories streaking across the night sky, dragging a beautiful tail flame and whistling into the distance.

"Boom-" A burst of explosions like muffled thunder came from a distance, which was the sound of a cannonball hitting the ground and exploding, and the continuous explosions were obvious for about a few tens of seconds. Then there was a loud bang, "boom", a huge orange-red fireball rose up a few kilometers to the northeast, lighting up half of the night sky, followed by a series of loud noises, dozens of fireballs rose one after another, as if they were putting fireworks to illuminate the distant sky red.

"Hit! Banzai! Banzai! "There was a burst of jubilation on the position of the 7th Artillery Regiment, everyone knew that this was the ammunition stored by the enemy artillery that was killed after being hit, looking at this huge fireball, it seems that at least a thousand shells were detonated. This means that the opponent's artillery position is now a huge pit, and all life there has been reduced to ashes.