On the morning of August 17, fierce fighting on the Eastern Front officially began. When the Russian army began to get busy, the officers and soldiers of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army discovered the anomaly. After the situation was reported to Admiral Zhang Wei, he immediately realized that the battle was about to start. As a result, General Zhang Wei ordered all units to immediately enter the position and prepare to resist the attack of the Russian army.

The 20th Infantry Corps and the 26th Infantry Corps of the Imperial Army, which were stationed in the front-line positions, were the first to enter the positions and were ready for battle. The 1st Infantry Corps and the 3rd Infantry Corps, which were stationed in the positions of the second line, also entered the positions. Originally, there were two cavalry corps under the command of the 1st Army. It's just that these two cavalry corps are currently assigned to the direct command of the General Staff. The cavalry army will no longer participate in the front-line offensive, so that the 1st Army currently has only 4 army groups, plus the troops directly under the group army, the total strength is only 160,000 people.

The artillery of the 1st Army also entered the artillery positions that had already been constructed. One cannon after another had raised its muzzles high and was aimed at the north. At the same time, the observation balloon has also been lifted into the air. Once the battle begins, they will provide the artillery with the most intuitive guidance on the target.

"Send a telegram to the airfields and the fleet stationed on the Volga that we are about to be attacked by the enemy, and prepare them for battle. In addition, a telegram was sent to the 4th Army, and this time the Russians were menacing. Let them be ready to reinforce us at any time. "Admiral Zhang Wei issued a series of orders in succession. He knew that this time the battle would be a bloody battle. Therefore, it is necessary to be prepared.

"Yes, Commander," the communications officer immediately went to deliver the order. The entire Volgograd Line was busy.

The airfield of the Air Force was built on a plain just thirty kilometers from Volgograd, and it was a field airfield. Two fighter groups of the 1st Air Wing of the Imperial Air Force were transferred here a week ago. Other than that. The 2nd Air Wing also had a group of bombers transferred to this field airfield. A total of 80 Haidongqing fighters and 40 Falcon dive bombers were deployed here. They will be fully engaged in providing air support for the Volgograd Line.

Each air wing of the Imperial Air Force had one hundred and twenty aircraft. Of these, the singular aviation wing is the fighter wing. And the even-numbered wing is the bomber wing. In addition to the Hongyan bombers, the bomber company is also equipped with Falcon dive bombers. But. The General Staff is planning to assign dive bombers and attack planes under development to the army and establish an army aviation unit. The Air Force is mainly equipped with fighters and long-range bombers. to further subdivide by function. It's just that the plans of the General Staff have not yet begun, and the war has begun. Therefore, this plan can only be suspended and continued after the war is over. In this way, we will avoid confusion in command caused by the change in the establishment and affect the current war. After all, winning this war is the most important thing. All the work has to be done around this.

The fleet stationed on the Volga was a small flotilla of the Caspian Flotilla, consisting mainly of three small frigates and six gunboats. If the Russian army wants to launch an attack on Volgograd, they can launch an artillery attack on the Russian army on the same river to support the defenders to resist the Russian attack.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The rumbling of cannon rang out as if it were thunder. Nearly 2,000 artillery pieces of the Russian army were divided into hundreds of artillery positions and launched a fierce artillery bombardment of the Imperial Army's defense line along a 30-kilometer long line.

When the sharp sound of breaking the air came, the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Army on the front line immediately turned into the anti-artillery hole. Avoid being injured by the shelling of the Russian army. Only a handful of observers were left on the position.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "Violent explosions rang out over the position, and clusters of fireballs rose on the position. The positions of the 1st Army of the Imperial Army. In an instant, it was enveloped in artillery fire and smoke.

"The artillery will return fire immediately!" Admiral Zhang Wei's face did not change and he gave the order to fight back. For a time, the heavy artillery brigade under the 1st Army, the heavy artillery battalion under the four infantry corps. As well as artillery battalions under various infantry brigades, a total of more than 100 155-mm heavy howitzers and heavy cannons, and more than 100-mm 105-mm light howitzers. Several hundred 75-mm field guns, the shelling began. The 1st Army had only more than 700 artillery pieces with a caliber of 75 mm or more. It's only a third of the Russian army. This was also the first time that the artillery firepower of the Imperial Army was inferior to that of the enemy on the battlefield. Of course. And this is just the artillery under the 1st Army.

The heavy artillery brigade of the 4th Army, 5 heavy artillery battalions and 25 field artillery battalions also opened fire. This brought the number of Chinese artillery on the Volgograd Line to more than one and a half hundred. It is only about 500 less than the Russian army.

Fierce artillery battles suddenly began, and the 155-mm heavy howitzers and heavy cannons of the Imperial Army became the main firepower against the artillery positions of the Russian army. Under the reconnaissance of the observation balloon, the artillery positions of the Russian army were all exposed. These positions became the main targets of the Imperial Heavy Artillery Forces. So much so that at the very first moment of the artillery battle, the artillery of the Russian army began to pay heavy casualties.

This is mainly due to the fact that the Russian artillery is aimed at the infantry positions of the Imperial Army, and the Imperial Artillery is trying to suppress the Russian artillery. It can be said that the different goals of the two sides made this large-scale artillery battle enter a high tide from the very beginning.

Shells whizzed through the air and then slammed into the ground, sending up a ball of fire, leaving a huge crater. Shrapnel was everywhere, harvesting a qiē life. It's just that almost all the soldiers of the Imperial Army have entered the anti-artillery holes. Although the heavy shelling of the Russian artillery bombarded the positions of the Imperial Army, it did not cause many casualties to the Imperial Army. The anti-artillery holes built by the Imperial Army are not comparable to those tofu scum projects built by the Russian Army. Even under shelling from 155-mm heavy shells, it was able to hold up.

However, the destruction of the fortifications on the positions still caused considerable losses to the Imperial Army. Large sections of the trenches were blown up, and a lot of barbed wire was blown up. The mines planted in front of the positions were also detonated a lot by the shelling. Some machine-gun firing points were blown into the sky. It can be said that the shelling of the Russian army was still very successful.

It's just that the counterattack of the imperial artillery also made the Russian army pay a huge price. Under the suppression of the Imperial heavy artillery units, the artillery positions of the Russian army were eliminated one after another. The bombing of one cannon after another, especially the detonation of those shells piled up around the cannons, caused heavy losses to the Russian army. Only twenty minutes into the start of the shelling, the Russian army lost more than 100 artillery pieces. When the commander of the Russian army Alexander . When Marshal Baryatinsky got the report on the battle damage, he couldn't help but have a headache.

Immediately, Alexander. Marshal Baryatinsky ordered the artillery to change tactics, and part of the artillery continued to shell the lines of the Chinese army. The other part of the artillery, especially the heavy artillery units, engaged in artillery battles with the artillery of the Imperial Army. Thus, the tragic artillery battle began.

The artillery equipped by the Russian army is mainly 75 mm field guns, and the number of howitzers and cannons with a caliber of more than 105 mm is very rare. This kind of artillery is too heavy, and it is difficult for the Russian army, which relies on accumulation, to take advantage of this heavy artillery. So they were armed with 75-mm field guns. The Imperial Artillery, on the other hand, was towed by trucks. As long as the roads are passable, there is hardly much impact on the transfer of artillery. Compared with these two aspects, the artillery of the Russian army is completely at a disadvantage.

"Whew! Shout! Shout! "A sharp whistling sound came from the air, and the sound of a cannonball cutting through the air at high speed seemed to burst a person's eardrums.

On an artillery position of the Russian army, more than 20 105mm light howitzers are deployed, and the performance of German-made howitzers is very good. It's just that this artillery position has been targeted by the heavy artillery units of the Imperial Army. 24 155-mm heavy cannons of a heavy cannon battalion, guided by observation balloons, carried out a heavy shelling of this artillery position.

The range of the cannon was much longer than that of the howitzer, which allowed the cannon of the heavy artillery units of the Imperial Army to carry out artillery strikes on the positions of the Russian artillery deployed in the rear.

When the sharp whistle sounded, the Russian artillerymen who were manipulating the artillery on the position couldn't help but raise their heads and look at the sky. In their eyes, small black dots are rapidly approaching. These artillerymen, of course, know what this thing is.

"Ahh Shelling, hide quickly! Some Russian artillerymen immediately shouted loudly.

However, it was too late. Shells fell with a whistling and exploded on the artillery positions. A blazing fireball rose, and a huge shock wave swept away in all directions, blowing the artillery directly away, like fallen leaves in the autumn wind. One cannon after another was overturned, and even the barrels were twisted. Shrapnel was everywhere, harvesting the lives of the Russian artillery on this position.

"Boom!" A loud explosion sounded, and it turned out to be a shell on the artillery position of the Russian army. The tremendous power directly swept the entire artillery position.

By the time the explosion was over, the artillery position was in shambles. There were stumps or minced flesh everywhere, and the cannons were even more crooked. More than two dozen artillery pieces on the entire artillery position, all of which were destroyed. Hundreds of artillerymen, more than half of them were lost, and the rest of the men fled in wolves. (To be continued......)

PS: The second update arrives, asking for subscriptions, monthly passes and recommended tickets! Thank you for the book friend Blue Fantasy for the reward and monthly pass! Thank you to the book friend Situ Jingming and the monthly ticket of No Sansheng!