Chapter 224: Sudden heavy rain, launch the general attack in advance! "Captain?" "No, Captain, how did you get up here?!" On the top of the mountain, at an artillery observation point of the Vanguard Regiment, Wang Daniu, who was in charge of commanding the Vanguard Regiment's mortar artillery battalion, saw Qin Yangming coming to the top of the mountain and hurriedly led his men forward. "Captain, it's too dangerous up there. The Japanese cannonballs can hit this place. You should go down first. I'll be here for you." Listening to what Wang Daniu said, Qin Yangming glanced at Wang Daniu, then walked to the place where Wang Daniu was just now, picked up the telescope and looked at the Japanese position. "Why, you, Wang Daniu, are not afraid of bombardment, but I, Qin Yangming, am afraid of it? If the Japanese use artillery to attack, we must be able to push the artillery over first!" Qin Yangming held a telescope, looked at the flat terrain of Tongshi Town, and spoke with disdain. "With this kind of terrain, unless the Japanese hide their artillery behind their positions in advance.
Otherwise, as long as the artillery moves, even if it is the Type 92 infantry gun, as long as it moves, our observers will immediately be able to discover the Japanese artillery. If under this circumstance you, Wang Daniu, cannot knock down the Japanese artillery in time, the Japanese artillery will fire the shells in front of me. Then you don’t have to be the mortar battalion commander anymore.” "Captain, what if the Japanese bring heavy artillery this time and also launch beyond visual range attacks? I've calculated that we can only observe up to three kilometers ahead from this hilltop. It’s too far to see, not to mention whether the Japanese have heavy artillery, even if they use the Type 41 mountain artillery, they can hit us... If something happens to you..." Listening to what Wang Daniu said, Qin Yangming looked helplessly at the heavy mortar position located on the reverse slope behind the hillside. "No, Wang Daniu, what are you afraid of? There is a reverse slope behind us. Don't tell me that the Japanese Type 41 mountain cannon is different from ours. The Japanese Type 41 mountain cannon can directly penetrate the mountain and then land on our reverse slope position?" "Hahaha, Captain, please stop teasing Wang Daniu. He is also concerned about your safety." Zhangye, who was standing by, was listening to Qin Yangming's words. Seeing Wang Daniu, who didn't know what to say for a moment, he spoke to Qin Yangming. "Alright, alright, the Japs' main force is approaching. Wang Daniu, I have handed over all the regiment's mortars above 80mm to you. You now have eight 120mm medium and low mortars and twenty 82mm medium mortars. These mortars are the last remaining treasure of our vanguard regiment. You must use them well. If the Japanese in front of you charge, don’t save your shells and hit them hard! " Listening to Qin Yangming's words, Wang Daniu patted his chest confidently. "Hehe, Commander, don't worry, with the Japanese's small force, we may not even need our mortar battalion to attack. The light mortars and grenade launchers of the first battalion can deal with the charging Japanese." What Wang Daniu said was not groundless. Although the 82mm mortars of the first battalion had been transferred away, the two Type 92 infantry guns and the two Type 94 37mm anti-tank guns were still there. Each company had four 60mm mortars. In addition, Qin Yangming no longer included grenade launchers in the organization, and simply let the troops carry as many as they could. So now the firepower of the front-line positions alone includes twelve 60mm mortars, more than thirty Type 89 grenade launchers, two Type 92 infantry guns, and two 37mm anti-tank guns.
It can be said that the firepower on the frontline is no worse than that of a battalion of the Japanese devils, even if we compare them in terms of artillery. The first battalion was equipped with more artillery than an entire battalion of the Japanese devils. After all, a battalion of the Japanese was only equipped with two or three Type 92 infantry guns and some grenade launchers. That's why Wang Daniu said that if the Japanese had fewer people charging, they wouldn't even be able to break through the artillery blockade of the first battalion's grenade launchers and 60mm mortars. "We can't be careless. Look at the Japanese soldiers coming from behind. They are all wearing leather shoes, while the original Japanese soldiers were wearing rubber-soled shoes. This means that the Japanese soldiers coming over from behind are most likely the veterans of the 22nd Regiment, and they are the elite troops of the Japanese soldiers. " "Don't worry, Commander. As long as the Japanese planes don't come, I promise to bomb as many Japanese as they come... hm?" As Wang Daniu was talking, he suddenly noticed something was wrong. Not only Wang Daniu, Qin Yangming also noticed something was wrong. "Why is the wind blowing?!" Qin Yangming felt a little strange as he felt the wind blowing from his side. It was normal to have wind on the top of the mountain, but Qin Yangming keenly felt that there was a hint of moisture in the wind. Wang Daniu looked at the sand and gravel on the ground being blown by the wind with some dissatisfaction. "Damn it, if the wind blows, then let it blow. Why not blow with the wind, damn it, blow side wind. I hope this wind will stop soon!" Wang Daniu looked at the tiny pieces of sand and gravel being blown towards the south by the wind, and immediately began to calculate the wind speed. The Japanese are already gathering. If they really launch a large-scale attack in a moment, and if the wind has not stopped by then, all the mortars will need to recalculate their coordinates and reset their parameters. At first, Wang Daniu took into account the possibility of wind, but he never expected that the wind would suddenly become strong at this moment. If the mortar does not correct the parameters, it will not be able to hit the pre-aimed area. So at this moment Wang Daniu needs to hurry up and calculate the impact of the current wind speed on the artillery shells, and then tell the gunner the parameters that need to be corrected. If the wind has not died down after the Japanese launched their charge, they will immediately use the corrected parameters to bombard them. "Captain, Captain, look over there! It’s going to rain! ” At this moment, Zhangye pointed in the direction of Shiquan County and spoke anxiously to Qin Yangming. "rain?!" "what happened? Didn’t we arrange for someone to check the weather last night? Didn’t they say there would be no rain in Tongshi Town today? !” "Which bastard checked the weather last night?"
"Which bastard in the group checked the weather?! This is the clear sky he reported!!” Looking at the extremely thick cumulonimbus clouds floating over from Shiquan County in the sky, Qin Yangming became so angry that he started cursing. Weather is very important in war. Any one of the three factors, namely, the right time, the right place, and the right people, can determine the outcome of a battle. Sometimes changes in weather can directly determine the outcome of a battle. In ancient times, a sudden east wind started a fire at Chibi, and a generation of heroes lost the Battle of Chibi. A sudden heavy rain put out the fire in Shangfang Valley, and the prime minister's plan to march north failed. Now, the four regiments of the Eighth Route Army have surrounded the Japanese Fourth Brigade and trapped it in Tongshi Town, which can be said to be a geographical advantage. The Eighth Route Army was in high spirits from top to bottom, and the people in Linyuan County, Shiquan County and other places were united with the Eighth Route Army, helping them to dig roads, transport ammunition, and occupy people's territory. The Eighth Route Army already had two of the advantages: time, place, and people. Although the sky was clear, the Japanese planes were able to easily aim and bomb. But at the same time, the clear sky also made it easier for the Eighth Route Army to spot the Japanese's movements. It is easy to detect the Japanese troop movements and take targeted measures. It can be said that neither side had the right timing, but both sides also had the right timing. However, the Eighth Route Army had the advantage of geographical location and human resources over the Japanese, and the Eighth Route Army troops that surrounded the Japanese Fourth Brigade were no weaker than those of the Japanese Fourth Brigade. Qin Yangming really couldn't think of a reason to lose this battle. But now the heavy cumulonimbus clouds over Shiquan County were drifting towards Tongshi Town. This is a big trouble. The light was blocked, so it was not a big deal that we could not observe the movements of the Japanese troops. The most important thing is that all the nearby mountains are bare loess ridges! Once it rains, the rain will carry mud and sand all the way down. Once a mudslide blocks the road, it means that the troops cannot be mobilized to various areas in a timely manner. At the same time, as the rain falls, the surrounding soil will become loose. It's easy for the defending side, but the attacking side has to step on the wet mud and charge with half a foot of mud under each step. At the same time, softened soil is not conducive to artillery firing. Without hard ground to remove the recoil of the artillery, the artillery will not be able to fire accurately. And muddy roads would also limit the transfer of artillery. Especially those 105mm howitzers. Even dry land is difficult to shift, let alone now that the land has become muddy. Zhangye, who was standing by, was also frightened when he saw the bulging blue veins on Qin Yangming's neck. This was the first time he saw Qin Yangming so angry in all the time he had been working with him.
"Captain, commander, if it rains, the Japanese planes won't be able to take off... it's still good for us." Zhangye didn't think about the impact the heavy rain would have on the Eighth Route Army for a while, but he also thought that if it thundered and rained, the Japanese planes would not be able to fly over. "I'm afraid of the Japanese planes?! What if the Japanese planes can fly over? ! The worst that can happen is that I can hold out until night and then launch a general attack! Even if it doesn't work, the Japanese can fight me if they can! I can kill the Fourth Brigade with my own strength!" "But it's raining now, how can our tanks move? How can the troops launch a charge? ! Can the artillery be left fixed in place to fight against the Japanese artillery? ! " "Zhangye, who arranged to check the weather last night!" "Captain... the weather, the weather is determined by the brigade..." “But Captain, we both checked the weather last night. We are all very sure that it won't rain in Tongshi Town today? ! "Captain, calm down first, calm down!" Seeing that Qin Yangming seemed to be very angry and had lost his composure, Zhangye quickly took out a cigarette and lit it for Qin Yangming, which helped Qin Yangming calm down quickly. "Captain, calm down, calm down. The rain has an impact on us, but it must have an impact on the Japanese as well. The worst, worst outcome is that we will fight the Japanese. Haven’t we considered this situation? Commander, I know you think this rain will cause more casualties in our Eighth Route Army. But that's how war works, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. Just like this sudden heavy rain, none of us could have predicted it, and none of us wanted it to rain. Captain, I believe in you, you can definitely come up with a new solution!" Qin Yangming took a deep puff of his cigarette and stopped thinking about why it suddenly rained. Instead, he began to think about how to deal with this situation. "attack!" "Launch the attack in advance!" "Before the rain starts, let's launch a general attack!" When Qin Yangming calmed down, he immediately sorted out his thoughts. Isn't the reason why we have to wait until nightfall to launch the general attack because we are worried about the Japanese planes? The sky is about to be covered with dark clouds, so it is impossible for the Japanese planes to come over. In this case, what is the difference between this and night? As long as we launch a general offensive before the heavy rain starts to fall and before the rain softens the soil, we can destroy the Japanese Fourth Brigade or eliminate the large forces of the Japanese Fourth Brigade. Then this heavy rain will have no impact on the battle situation in Tongshi Town! "Notify the entire regiment to prepare for the general attack!" “The mortar battalion should provide good artillery coverage.
Wang Daniu, I want you to use mortars and rocket launchers to cover all the front positions of the Japanese as soon as possible! " "Yes! Guaranteed to complete the task! " "The mountain artillery battalion and the heavy artillery regiment are ready to provide support and be prepared to locate the Japanese artillery positions and destroy their artillery at any time! Tell Li Erhu that after destroying the Japanese artillery positions, immediately extend the artillery fire to cover the infantry and tank company's charge! " "Yes!" As Qin Yangming issued orders one by one, the soldiers in various positions of the Vanguard Regiment began to work rapidly according to the predetermined program like a tightly connected machine. The artillerymen lifted the covers on the mountain cannons one by one. The soldiers carried the shells out from the anti-gun holes and piled them behind each cannon. One mortar after another began to correct the parameters according to the coordinates newly calculated by Wang Daniu and prepared to open fire. It was not just Qin Yangming who issued the order for a general attack based on the current situation. Just as Qin Yangming sent telegrams to the Independent Regiment and the New 1st Regiment respectively, saying that the weather had changed and that a general attack needed to be launched immediately. The New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment sent telegrams almost at the same time, saying that the weather had changed and that a general offensive needed to be launched immediately. …… Heavy artillery position. "Don't bring out the cannon, just tear off the roof and demolish the house!" "Captain, this is a civilian house! It's the people's house. If you demolish the house, where will the people live?! Whose order is this?!" “This is my order, demolish the house! After the war is over, I will build them a new house!" After receiving the order from Qin Yangming to prepare for the general attack, the commander of the heavy artillery regiment, Xu Yuanpeng, did not hesitate at all and quickly ordered the soldiers to pull out the heavy artillery. However, because time was too tight, Xu Yuanpeng directly ordered the soldiers to tear down the house and set up artillery in the yard. …… "Hurry up, hurry up!" “Damn it, why is it suddenly raining in Tongshi Town?! Who checked the weather last night?! He should commit suicide by disembowelment! Quickly move all artillery to the preset positions!" The heavy rain not only affected the Eighth Route Army, but also the Japanese invaders. If the Japanese want to break through, they must charge. Then the Japanese will also encounter the same situation as the Eighth Route Army, and it will be even more troublesome. The mudslide would block the Eighth Route Army's march, but it would also hinder the Japanese from breaking through. Therefore, Pinglu Yongfu also decided to launch an attack before the rain and break out by force.
(End of this chapter)