Chapter 206 Preparations before the War: Heavy Artillery Regiment As the saying goes, when the number of soldiers exceeds ten thousand, they have no end. After receiving additional reinforcements from Yoshio Shinozuka, the Japanese Fourth Brigade, together with various logistical personnel, had already exceeded 10,000 troops. It is naturally impossible for an army of tens of thousands of people to gather together. Otherwise, a single artillery shell from the enemy could easily take away several of them. As a veteran general, Pinglu Yongfu would naturally not make such a low-level mistake. Under the arrangement of Pinglu Yongfu, the troops of the Fourth Brigade took the opportunity to occupy most of Tongshi Town. If you look down from the sky, you will find that the entire Tongshi Town is full of Japanese soldiers wearing yellow military uniforms and steel helmets moving around. After failing to contact Yamamoto Ikki, Hiraru Isamu conceded that Yamamoto Ikki's plan had failed. However, due to incorrect intelligence, Pinglu Yongfu did not think that the Eighth Route Army would take the initiative to attack the 4th Brigade. Therefore, all the preparations made by Pinglu Yongfu were mainly for offense. They were prepared to launch an attack on the Eighth Route Army simultaneously with the other two brigades after the 9th and 11th brigades arrived.
After arriving at Tongshi Town, Pinglu Yongfu also convened a military meeting with all the officers of the 4th Brigade for the first time. “Kasahara-kun, after the attack begins, your 22nd Regiment will immediately move towards the direction of Hegu Town, suppress the enemy forces on the other side of the river with firepower, and cover the engineering squadron in building a pontoon bridge. After the floating bridge is built, attack Hegu Town as quickly as possible." "Also, I'm reinforcing the mountain artillery brigade for you, Kasahara-kun. I need you to take over Hegu Town before noon. Is there any problem?" Hearing Pinglu Yongfu's order, Kasahara Koizumi immediately stood at attention and nodded in response. "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, I promise to capture Hegu Town before twelve o'clock!" Kasahara Koizumi felt no pressure at all to take over Hegu Town before twelve o'clock. Not to mention that his 22nd Regiment was itself a complete field regiment, so it could be said that there was no loss at all. Even if he was the only one with this regiment and no other support, taking a town would not be a big problem for him. Now Pinglu Yongfu has reinforced his mountain artillery battalion. With the firepower greatly increased, taking over the ancient town seemed like an easy task to Kasahara Koizumi. It doesn't take any effort at all. This is a very easy task. When Pinglu Yongfu saw that Kasahara Koizumi was fine, he turned around and began to assign tasks to the remaining troops. Although it is not believed that the Eighth Route Army will take the initiative to attack the Fourth Brigade, necessary preventive measures must still be prepared. "The First Independent Infantry Battalion is responsible for defending the east side of Tongshi Town and keeping an eye on the Eighth Route Army in the direction of Yuxi Town. The Second Independent Infantry Battalion defended the west side of Tongshi Town and paid attention to the Eighth Route Army in the direction of Baihuling. In addition, the Independent 2nd Infantry Battalion is ready to support Mr. Yamamoto at any time. Chief of Staff Taro Yonekura was responsible for leading the Independent 3rd Infantry Battalion to defend the Eighth Route Army in the direction of Shiquan County in the north...waiting for the 9th Brigade to break through the Eighth Route Army's defense line in Shiquan County and join forces with the troops of the 9th Brigade.
The 4th Independent Infantry Battalion, the tank squadron and the remaining artillery remained in Tongshi Town until the 22nd Regiment captured Hegu Town and then moved to Hegu Town. The Engineer Squadron needs to make sure the pontoon bridge is built so that our tanks and heavy artillery can pass through." "Gentlemen, whether our 4th Brigade can continue to be listed as a field force depends on this battle. If we win this battle, our 4th Brigade will still be a field force. If we lose, our 4th Brigade will be reduced to a garrison force. Gentlemen, the future of the 4th Brigade rests on you, so please give it your all. The fate of the Fourth Brigade depends on this battle, so you must work harder! " "Hi!" After Ping Lu Yongfu finished speaking, all the Japanese officers in the command room stood up and responded loudly. "I wish you all good luck in martial arts!" "set off!" As Pinglu Yongfu's last order was issued, officers at all levels of the 4th Brigade quickly began to mobilize their respective troops for preparation in accordance with Pinglu Yongfu's order. Boxes of ammunition were taken away from the ammunition storage area by various troops, and artillery pieces were re-hung on trucks in preparation for transfer. The Japanese tank squadron located in the central area also started to start their tanks and conduct final inspections on them to ensure that the tanks would not stop in place and become sitting ducks due to mechanical failures when they went to the battlefield. …… "Hide the guns for me! If they are discovered by the Japanese planes, they will drop an aerial bomb on us and all our guns will be destroyed!" In a village near Tongshi Town. Under Qin Yangming's order, Li Erhu was leading the headquarters heavy artillery regiment to hide the six 105mm howitzers. The 105mm howitzer's barrel was too large, and there was no time to dig a shelter to hide it. Therefore, the artillery could only be hidden in the village, using houses to cover up the traces of the artillery. In addition, the village where Li Erhu chose to hide the cannon is very close to Tongshi Town. Firing here is enough to hit the Japanese positions. That's why Li Erhu chose to hide these six 105mm howitzers in this village. “What is the truck still doing outside?! Drive the truck away, drive it away!" "The truck is parked here. Isn't this telling the Japanese that there is something in this village? Do you want to be bombed by Japanese planes?" "What the hell are you all standing there for? Are you fucking deaf?! Didn’t you hear what Captain Li just said? Drive the truck away now!" When Xu Yuanpeng, the commander of the heavy artillery regiment of the headquarters, saw that Li Erhu was commanding his troops without any courtesy, he did not have any complaints in his heart. Instead, he cooperated with Li Erhu to the utmost. The reason why Xu Yuanpeng was willing to obey the orders of Li Erhu, the battalion commander, as the regiment commander and let Li Erhu command his troops.
First of all, all the artillery in the heavy artillery regiment was provided by the Vanguard Regiment, and even the shells belonged to the Vanguard Regiment. It can be said that the heavy artillery regiment was completely supported by the Vanguard Regiment, and these artillery pieces were snatched back from the Japanese devils by the soldiers of the Vanguard Regiment at the cost of their lives. From this point of view, regardless of whether it is an order from the headquarters or not, as long as the Pioneer Group has a request and the request does not violate any regulations, then Xu Yuanpeng must help the Pioneer Group from any angle. In addition, if Qin Yangming had not refused to release the prisoners even if he was beaten to death, and Li Erhu had also firmly refused, Li Erhu would now be the commander of the heavy artillery regiment of the headquarters. There was nothing else, it was just that Li Erhu's artillery skills were too high. No one could compare to Li Erhu in the use of various artillery and artillery tactics. Especially the infantry-artillery coordinated combat tactics of Xu Jin's barrage that Qin Yangming and Li Erhu came up with were even more surprising. On the Chinese battlefield, except for a few elite troops, even when the Japanese used artillery to cooperate with infantry combat, they basically bombarded with artillery first and then charged with infantry. In order to capture positions, the more ruthless Japanese would still fire their artillery during the infantry charge, bombing both their own people and the enemy. But the situation was different for the Vanguard Regiment. The Xu Jin barrage created by Qin Yangming and Li Erhu of the Vanguard Regiment meant that the infantry charged at the same time as the artillery bombarded, while ensuring that their own artillery shells would not fall on their own people. To put it simply, it is to use artillery shells to open a path for the infantry to charge, and use artillery shells to eliminate all obstacles that block the charge! The artillery fired from behind, and the infantry followed closely where the shells landed and charged forward. It can be said that the infantry was charging forward closely following the explosions of their own artillery. If the infantry rushed a little faster, or the artillery fired a little slower, their own artillery shells would fall into the charging ranks of their own troops. When Qin Yangming first used this operation when fighting the Goryeo League, he was immediately scolded by the brigade commander. This was possible only because the Vanguard Regiment had enough artillery pieces, the artillery and infantry had a high level of tacit understanding, and Li Erhu had strong artillery skills. If the two sides just swapped sides, no one would dare to do this. Including Xu Yuanpeng, Xu Yuanpeng believed that he could not achieve the level of Li Erhu, and no military commander of any unit was so brave as to let the troops charge forward under the artillery fire of their own people. Even though this effect is really amazing, it is very useful. Even if there are hidden bunkers on the enemy's position, as long as the bunkers dare to open fire, they will be immediately blown away by the following artillery shells. The effect of Xu Jin's barrage is very good, but it is also really scary. It not only tests the coordination and technology of artillery and infantry. It also tests the psychological quality of artillery and infantry. Those who do not have the psychological quality to meet the standards will never be able to use this tactic. Think about it, as an artilleryman, if you know that the shells you fire will land only 20 to 30 meters away from your own people, or even closer. If you are a little slower, the shells may fall on your own heads. If you are a little faster, they will have no effect. In this situation, do you dare to fire? If you change to infantry, you know that when you charge, there will be artillery shells exploding twenty or thirty meters in front of you at any moment. As long as you move a little faster, you will enter the killing range of the artillery shells. Or if the artillery is a little slower, the shells will fall in front of you. In this situation, do you still dare to charge forward? Can you still charge forward without any scruples? If you rush faster, you will be injured or killed by your own artillery shells. If you charge slower, those shells will be wasted.
Therefore, in the current situation of the Eighth Route Army, apart from the lack of equipment, only the Vanguard Regiment can be used, and dares to use the Xu Jin barrage tactic. So, from a technical point of view, Xu Yuanpeng knew in his heart that in this situation, he should listen to what Li Erhu said. Professional matters should be left to professionals. If someone is more professional than you, then of course you have to listen to him. You just need to obey his orders and do your work honestly. What's more, the headquarters now has orders for the heavy artillery regiment to cooperate with the vanguard regiment in combat and obey the vanguard regiment's orders. With all these reasons, it was impossible for Xu Yuanpeng to have any friction with Li Erhu, or to pretend to obey but actually disobey. "Captain Xu, when the time comes, have the heavy artillery regiment's transport team drive the horses and cattle over here and tie them up inside the house. The trucks need to be moved away, and if the heavy artillery needs to be moved a short distance, we can only rely on cattle and horses. Remember, don't worry about whether the cattle and horses will be exhausted to death. I only need to give the order when the time comes, and the heavy artillery can be transferred to me as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter even if all the cattle and horses are exhausted to death! The cavalry company of the vanguard regiment will be here soon. If your cattle and horses die of exhaustion and it takes a while for the replacement cattle and horses to arrive, let the cavalry company use the war horses to pull them!" When Li Erhu saw the soldiers of the heavy artillery regiment using hemp ropes as thick as their arms to pull 105mm howitzers into various houses, he quickly asked Xu Yuanpeng about the transport team. Due to speed reasons, the artillery of the heavy artillery regiment, like the artillery of the vanguard regiment, is directly pulled by trucks. The transport teams of both sides, driving their mules and horses, were still behind. It is quite difficult to pull the 105mm howitzer with mules and horses. So someone suggested using cows to pull the 105mm howitzer for short distances. But now the 105mm howitzer has arrived at the artillery position that was originally preset, and the truck needs to be driven away. If it is moved at that time, it will rely on people to pull it, and even if they are exhausted to death, they cannot pull it very far. It is not a problem for someone to pull a two-ton gun for ten meters. But if it is pulled for dozens or hundreds of meters, even after someone pulls the gun into place, they will not have the strength to lift the shells and fire. Xu Yuanpeng listened to what Li Erhu said and nodded quickly. "Well, Captain Li, don't worry, I will take care of things here. When the time comes, everything will be done according to your instructions. If there is any accident, I will send you a telegram!" “Well, fine, I’ll go to the mountain artillery position ahead. Captain Xu, please remember to arrange for everyone to have a good rest. I have seen that one or two cows in your heavy artillery regiment are out of energy and walk too slowly. That kind of cow should be killed directly, so that everyone can eat beef today and have enough energy to move the shells at night. " Li Erhu looked at the soldiers of the heavy artillery regiment who were carrying artillery shells and were panting, and reminded Xu Yuanpeng. Tell Xu Yuanpeng not to be too economical with supplies. Today, the soldiers of the heavy artillery regiment, especially the 105mm howitzer battalion, must be well fed and watered so that they can replenish enough energy. Xu Yuanpeng understood what Li Erhu meant and nodded immediately. "Captain Li, don't worry. This time, not only did the 386th Brigade provide us with a batch of food, but the Pioneer Regiment also provided us with a batch of dried meat. I will have the kitchen team prepare all of it today." "Well, Captain Xu, the 105mm howitzer battalion is now in your hands. You just need to take care of this part now. My vanguard regiment will be responsible for providing food for the other two mountain artillery battalions." "Well, Captain Li, don't worry. I guarantee that there will be no problems with the 105mm Howitzer Battalion that will affect Captain Qin's combat plan." "Okay, see you tonight!"
Li Erhu nodded after listening to Xu Yuanpeng's answer, and then rode his horse to the mountain artillery position in front. The 105mm howitzer did not need to be used immediately. Under Qin Yangming's arrangement, at most a few mountain cannons would be used during the day, and everything else was mainly based on Type 92 infantry guns and mortars. The 105mm howitzer had to wait until night when the Japanese planes could not take off. Otherwise, with the firing speed and weight of the 105mm howitzer, it would probably be discovered by the Japanese planes before it could fire a few shots. With the transfer speed of the 105mm howitzer, even if there were interference from anti-aircraft machine guns around, it would be impossible to escape the bombing of the Japanese aircraft. When the Japanese planes drop a few shells, the 105mm howitzer battalion will be destroyed. That's why Qin Yangming decided to use the 105mm howitzer only at night. (End of this chapter)