Chapter 146: Crushing by Artillery Fire (Ninth Shift)
"Yaga! Damn the Chinese people, they are so despicable and use warplanes against us. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info" Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya roared angrily. Since the formation of the 18th Division, their artillery has never suffered such great losses!
Major General Ichida Jiro's face was also very ugly. He knew that his artillery brigade was finished this time. The strength of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army was beyond his expectations, and it actually destroyed their artillery directly with fighter planes.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, our artillery has suffered heavy losses, and there are not many artillery left. I'm afraid this battle won't help much. The artillery wing of the 18th Division of the Japanese Army, Taro Eguchi, said with a sad face.
"Without artillery, wouldn't there be no war? Pick up a rifle and fight. Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya ordered with a dark face.
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander." Taro Eguchi nodded hurriedly, not daring to say anything more.
The bombing of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army Air Force was over, and those B-25 medium bombers were evacuated. However, those P-51B fighters, did not leave. These fighters have a longer stay in the air and can continue to stay and fight. Although, the rockets as well as the fight is finished. However, the bullets of aviation machine guns can still kill!
What's more, these fighters are also responsible for providing artillery data for the artillery regiments below.
"Fire!" The commander of the artillery regiment, Lu Shan, ordered.
12 155-mm howitzers and 36 105-mm howitzers, firing fiercely. One shell after another, whistling towards the Japanese artillery positions.
It's just that after the bombing by the air force, it is clear that there are not many valuable targets left on the artillery positions of the Japanese army. This made Lu Shan's face not look good. If they had known, they would have let the air team guide them to fire first. It would not be like now, when the air team ate the meat and left them with only some soup and water.
A violent explosion once again rang out over the Japanese artillery position. The Japanese artillerymen, who had managed to escape the bombardment and had not had time to retreat, were once again unlucky.
The shells that fell from the sky completely blew up their artillery, and even their artillery was torn to pieces in the explosion.
The faces of Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya and others have changed again. They are all veterans, so they can naturally hear that these cannons, which have just started shelling, have a larger caliber and seem to be more powerful.
"Yaga! Is this a heavy artillery with a caliber of more than a hundred mm? Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya, his face was gloomy as if he could drip water.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, there are also some heavy guns with a caliber of more than 150 mm." Taro Eguchi, the commander of the artillery wing, said with a pale face.
"Bastard! Those Zhina, how many cannons are they equipped with in an infantry division! Even if the Americans are so wealthy, they can't let the people of China mess around like this! Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya was furious. In his anger, he was also full of helplessness.
Because the Japanese army lacked resources, their artillery was not strong among the world's top armies. It is only possible to bully the Chinese* army and the colonial armies of Southeast Asia.
Now, the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army has received strong support from the United States, and it has undergone radical changes. Powerful artillery alone was enough to make Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya and others envious and jealous.
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, what should we do now?" Major General Jiro Ichida was a little shaken.
Originally, he, like Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya, thought that this battle would be easy to win. But now it seems that the situation is not good!
"Now do we have any other way? I can only resist the attack of the people of China as much as possible. Let the warriors, give full play to the spirit of bushido, stick to their positions, and fight to the death. What if the people of China are strong in artillery? If you want to defeat us and take Hommarin, it will be impossible. We're going to make them pay a heavy price in front of our defenses! Lieutenant General Mutaguchi Ryoya said through gritted teeth.
Indeed, even though the artillery fire of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army was very strong. But can't they retreat?
Lieutenant General Shigesei Aoki's order was for them to hold back the 1st Infantry Division of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army. If they were defeated, it would be possible for the 1st Infantry Division of the Anti-Japanese Salvation Army to return to Morey. In this case, it will be very difficult for the main force led by Lieutenant General Shigesei Aoki to defeat the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army and take Morey. When the time comes, the commanders of those units that have not completed their tasks and have not been able to hold back the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army will have to bear the responsibility for this.
"Hi, Your Excellency, Division Commander." Major General Jiro Ichida nodded. He also knew that there was indeed no way back for them now.
The artillery regiment of the 1st Infantry Division was completely destroyed after several rounds of artillery fire.
Fighters in the sky, let the artillery regiment divert the shelling target, do not waste shells anymore.
"Change the target of the shelling, shell the positions of the Japanese * himself, and crush all their fortifications!" Lu Shan ordered.
"Yes, Captain!" The commanders of all four artillery battalions replied.
A few minutes later, 36 105-mm howitzers and 12 155-mm howitzers of the artillery regiment again began shelling. The target of this shelling, like the artillery battalions of the infantry regiments, was the position of the Japanese garrison.
Shells rained down on the Japanese positions, constantly exploding, causing even greater casualties to the Japanese troops.
"Boom!"
A 105-mm shell exploded on the Japanese position, blowing up a large crater. A section of trenches was directly blown up. Several Japanese soldiers were killed.
A 75-mm shell hit one of the Japanese machine-gun fire points. This reinforced machine-gun fire point was destroyed in an instant. The Type 92 heavy machine gun was blown into parts.
Inside an anti-artillery hole, dozens of Japanese soldiers were nesting inside, praying that shells would not fall on their heads.
As the shells continued to explode on the Japanese positions, the entire anti-artillery hole seemed to tremble. On the heads of the Japanese soldiers, dust kept falling, making those Japanese soldiers disgraced one by one. However, no one cares anymore. It's better to eat some dust than to prevent the gun holes from being blown up and bury them alive.
"Boom!" A 155-mm shell fell on top of the Japanese anti-artillery hole. The entire anti-artillery hole shook.
"Jun Cao, this anti-artillery hole won't collapse, right?" A young Japanese soldier asked with a look of horror.
"Yaga! With the blessing of Amaterasu, the anti-artillery hole will not collapse. Jun Cao looked affirmative.
However, immediately after that, another shell hit this anti-artillery hole. Cracks appeared on the top of the anti-artillery hole, and large chunks of dirt fell from above.
The Japanese soldiers hurriedly ran towards the entrance of the cave, but were unable to succeed. The anti-artillery hole collapsed all at once, and all the dozens of Japanese soldiers were buried alive inside. (To be continued.) )