Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1485: Artillery in Place

It turned out that the 12th Army Artillery Battalion, which had received 75 US 4000mm mountain cannons and 10 artillery shells from Liuzhou, had arrived in Guilin for transit as planned, and then returned to Hengyang by special train.

This plan had already been approved by the 9th War Zone Command and reported to the Ministry of Military Affairs, but something went wrong in Guilin.

The First Artillery Brigade stationed in Guilin actually detained the artillery battalion and demanded that they transfer to the brigade on the spot.

The reason was very strange. He said that Hengyang was a dead end and 12 advanced mountain cannons must not be allowed to commit suicide. It would be better to join the brigade to prepare for a decisive battle in Guangxi Province and the Japanese army after the capture of Hengyang, and contribute their own strength.

The First Artillery Brigade is no ordinary artillery unit. They were originally under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs. Four years ago, in order to strengthen the firepower of each war zone, they were transferred to the jurisdiction of the war zone. The Major General of the First Artillery Brigade is the artillery commander of the 4th War Zone.

In 1942, the 1944st Artillery Brigade was dispatched to Langa, India to participate in the expeditionary force training. Its training assessment results ranked first among the artillery units participating in the training. It was commended by General Stilwell and had outstanding military achievements on the battlefield in Burma. In April 4, it was ordered to return to China to rest in Guangxi Province.

They dared to stop the 10th Army Artillery Battalion. Behind them, not only were they backed by the bigwigs of the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, but they also had the shadow of the Americans.

  In fact, even Admiral Stilwell, Chief of Staff of the China Theater, was not optimistic about China's plan to have a decisive battle with the Japanese in Hengyang. He believed that with the current deployment of Chinese troops, it would be more appropriate to deal with the Japanese in Guangxi Province. Placing 2 elite troops in Hengyang would most likely lead to the loss of all 2 elite troops, thus weakening the force against the Japanese. The loss would outweigh the gain!

In fact, he was not the only one who thought this way. In fact, most of the generals, perhaps including the commander-in-chief, also thought that Hengyang could only be defended for 3 or 4 days at most!

For example, at this time, there were several artillery regiments stationed in the Fourth War Zone and the Seventh War Zone along the Hunan-Guangxi Railway and the Guangdong-Hankou Railway. These artillery regiments had many artillery pieces, sufficient ammunition and elite soldiers, but until now no senior general had come forward to transfer these elite artillery troops who could arrive in Hengyang within a few days, but left them there to bask in the sun.

Because, in the eyes of these senior generals, a small place like Hengyang could not be defended for a few days, so there was no need to start a war for it. Not only would it not help the overall situation, but it would also waste precious artillery.

  You see, everyone is pretending to be confused even though they are sober!

However, he could not convince the commander-in-chief, nor could he convince Tang Dao, who could contact him through Laura.

"To know that something is impossible but still do it is called a benevolent person; to know that something is impossible and not do it is called a wise person. Tang Dao is not talented, and he wants to be benevolent but is not wise!" Not only did Stilwell not understand Tang Dao's reply to the telegram, even Laura, who was well versed in Chinese culture, consulted books for a long time.

After they understood what Tang Dao meant, the two Westerners, a man and a woman, one old and one young, stood in front of the window and stared at the night sky for a long time.

"Tang is the smartest Chinese I have ever met, but also the most stubborn. We already have the upper hand in the Pacific battlefield. The war will be won in two years or even a year at the latest. Is it worth it to fall in the darkness before dawn?" Stilwell spread out his hands, his face full of helplessness and incomprehension.

He thought he knew the Chinese very well, but at this moment he still didn't understand them. The commander-in-chief's thoughts were easy to understand. Hengyang was the gateway to the southwest, and he couldn't tolerate his capital being threatened by the Japanese army. But why would Tang Dao and his troops still throw themselves into the fire?

The 10th Army was fine because they were under military orders, but the Four-Line Regiment was an engineering corps, and it had the support of the Rockefeller Foundation and him, the Chief of Staff of the China Theater. The ambitious but incompetent commander-in-chief would not be able to do anything with them.

Her lover chose to seek kindness and might die in the war. Laura should have been full of sorrow, but she leaned against the railing and stared at the night sky with a smile on her face: "General Stilwell, now you know why Laura likes Tang so much! He is the William Wallace of China!"

There is nothing more moving and tragic in ancient Chinese sayings than “knowing it is impossible but doing it anyway”. However, what is moving is not the words but the great masters in China’s long history who, knowing full well that correct propositions were at a disadvantage, just causes were at a disadvantage, clear thoughts were at a disadvantage, and their own strength was far from enough, still stood up with the determination to die and the estimation that they would inevitably fail.

What is a hero? This is a hero!

Looking through the history of Western civilization, perhaps only William Wallace, who fought for freedom, can barely meet this standard.

Stilwell felt sorry for the Tang Dao and the Four-Line Regiment, but as the chief of staff of the China Theater, Stilwell had to consider a series of operations after the defeat in Hengyang. The 12 new American mountain cannons were all equipment donated by the United States, and he naturally did not want them to be wasted in Hengyang. As the First Brigade was once his subordinate, after receiving his hint, it was naturally happy to incorporate the 12 mountain cannons and a well-trained artillery battalion officers and soldiers into their command.

With his support, not only were the generals of the 10th Army who were cursing and shouting helpless, even the equally angry General Xue from the 9th War Zone was helpless.

Tang Dao could only find Laura again and hope to persuade Stilwell to order the 12st Artillery Brigade to release them, but Laura's reply after o'clock at night was only the word "sorry".

  How could a general who was promoted from a brigadier general to a four-star general in three years change his strategic and tactical deployment of a battle involving the lives of millions of people because of personal feelings?

As a result, all efforts of the 10th Army, the 9th War Zone and Tang Dao failed.

The 10st Artillery Brigade controlled the railway traffic with its authority. Even without the use of authority or force, it would take an estimated 20 days for the officers and soldiers of the 10th Army Artillery Battalion to reach Hengyang by carrying the goods on their shoulders and hands. By that time, the goods would have been too late. If it weren't for a miracle, the th Army Artillery Battalion could only watch in Guilin as their comrades fought the Japanese in Hengyang and shed their last drop of blood, while they were powerless to do anything.

If things go wrong, they will be the only two complete units left in the 10th Army.

No, perhaps when the two main infantry divisions of the 10th Army were completely destroyed, the commander surnamed Xue, who had always been resentful towards the 10th Army, would most likely propose to his superiors to withdraw the troops and reduce their army-level organization.

The artillery battalion was naturally incorporated into the 10st Artillery Brigade, and the th Army, an infantry army that was awarded the title of "Taishan Army", disappeared in an instant.

Even Tang Dao frowned deeply and thought that this artillery battalion with certain strength would not be able to return to Hengyang, the gears of fate turned again.

If a drowning person does not receive any external rescue, he or she can only rely on himself or herself to survive.

The 10th Army Artillery Battalion did not sit still and wait for death. Major Zhang Zuoxiang, who graduated from the 13th class of Huangpu Military Academy, filed a complaint with the Military Commission: "It has been nearly three months since we went to Yunnan to change uniforms. All the comrades of the 10th Army are eagerly waiting. Commander Fang often leans against the door and waits. I and all the comrades in the battalion are looking forward to your return to Hengyang, just like a wanderer looking forward to your return.

Especially in Hengyang, which is flat on three sides and faces the river on one side, there is no strategic location to rely on. Artillery is scarce in the army, and comrades have no firepower cover. They can only exchange their flesh and blood for the enemy's fierce artillery fire. Whenever thinking of this, I and my comrades in the battalion shed tears.

If the job is to build another brigade, it can be borrowed if it is both public and private."

A telegram from an artillery major would basically be thrown into the trash for the highest-level command organization like the Military Commission, but the magical thing is that this telegram was actually seen by Minister He, the second-in-command of the Chinese military, who was deeply moved.

Even a blind man knows what the situation in Hengyang is now. It is the place where Xue, who made a big mistake due to his arrogance, was buried. Eighty percent of those who are there will die.

As a result, a small artillery battalion commander was so loyal and righteous that he was willing to die for his comrades in a safe place. He was truly loyal and brave.

Therefore, the Minister of Military and Political Affairs personally stepped in to coordinate, and on the afternoon of May 5, the First Artillery Brigade was finally allowed to pass, allowing the 25th Army Artillery Battalion to board the vehicle, and it was expected to arrive in Hengyang two days later.

  Railway traffic is still relatively smooth, which may be the only advantage of the Hengyang defenders at this time!

The Japanese 11th Army suffered little infantry loss in the capture of Tanzhou, but suffered heavy losses in its air force. Although the Chinese Expeditionary Army Command was still trying its best to coordinate replenishment, it could not pose a threat to the Hengyang airspace in the short term.

To ensure air superiority over Hengyang, China and the United States once again deployed more than 200 fighters to patrol around the traffic lines almost around the clock. Otherwise, if the Japanese fighters had full air superiority a few years ago, the trains frantically feeding supplies to Hengyang would only become live targets for Japanese fighters, and transporting to elderly, weak, women and children in Hengyang would be in vain.

Seeing that the artillery battalion was about to return, Tang Dao took stock of all the artillery pieces of the 10th Army. Before the war, there were 4 field guns and 16 mountain guns. As for artillery shells, the artillery battalion had 4000 rounds of its own, plus the 2 rounds of various types of artillery shells that the man promised to give, the artillery shells should be enough.

If the 24 artillery pieces of the 44th Regiment Artillery Battalion are added, the total number of large-caliber artillery pieces is , which is barely enough. What is lacking now is a qualified artillery commander.

Originally, Tang Dao subconsciously wanted to choose one of Pang Dahai or Cheng Tieshou as the artillery commander in Hengyang City, but he quickly rejected this idea.

This was because the main force defending the city was the 10th Army, and the Four-Line Regiment was only a regimental-level unit. Bai Sheng was already the second-in-command of the engineering corps, second only to Zhao Junmai. If there was another supreme commander of the artillery, someone in the 10th Army would have to say something strange even if they didn't want to.

He is now not only the head of a regiment, but also the chief of operations of a war zone. He cannot make decisions based on his own preferences, but also has to consider the acceptance of friendly forces.

Zhang Zuoxiang, the artillery battalion commander of the 10th Army who successfully saved himself, is indeed a character and can be a candidate for the artillery commander. However, it will take two or three days for them to come back, and it is already too late.

Now the artillery in the city needs to be integrated, and detailed measurements of the hills, mountains, intersections and other targets around Hengyang and all buildings that can be called landmarks must be made, the shooting elements must be set in advance, and a 1:20,000 punctuation map must be made. In this way, the efficiency of the artillery will be greatly improved, especially the mountains and hills in the south and southwest of the city, which will become the focus of artillery attacks by the Chinese and Japanese armies. The more detailed the punctuation, the more accurate the artillery fire will be and the greater the lethality will be.

Just when Tang Dao was having a headache and wanted to find Zhao Ziling to discuss something, someone suddenly came to report that a group of artillery reinforcements had arrived, led by Cai Rulin, the supervisory officer of the 9th War Zone.

When Tang Dao learned about this person's background, he was immediately delighted.

It turned out that this Army Lieutenant Colonel Cai Rulin was quite a figure. He had served as the artillery battalion commander of the 10th Reserve Division of the 10th Army, and was later promoted to deputy commander of the artillery regiment directly under the theater. His command of artillery was extremely famous throughout the 9th Theater. But somehow he came to Hengyang as a supervising officer and brought an artillery unit with him.

Not only is he a combat supervisor sent by the war zone, but he is also a former member of the 10th Army and possesses extremely high artillery command capabilities. Isn't he the best candidate for artillery commander?

Tang Dao immediately went out of the city to welcome him personally!

However, when Tang Dao saw the artillery commander of the Hengyang theater whom he had already chosen in his mind, he found that he was slightly different from what he had imagined.

He has two artillery officers under his command. Cheng Tie is hot-tempered, while Pang Da is a cunning but cunning person. Their personalities are completely different, but they have one thing in common: they are always neat and tidy during marches and attach great importance to their military appearance. Even when Pang Dahai gets excited during the war and takes off his military uniform and carries the shells to load the cannons himself, he always buttons his shirt tightly to never reveal his fat body easily.

In his words, a commander must act like a commander. If the commander is not well dressed, then everyone will follow suit and fight with their shirts off. Isn't that what the bandits do too?

After a few years, it was not only Tang Dao who grew up, his old comrades also began to act more and more like commanders.

  The straight backs and solemn and neat appearance of Chinese soldiers are not just for show; they represent the spirit of an army!

When Tang Dao saw this war supervisor, Cai Rulin was wearing three Zhongzheng rifles across his shoulders, with a yellow bullet bag hanging from left to right on his chest, a blue fried rice bag hanging from right to left, and a bunch of miscellaneous observation and communication equipment hanging behind him, including a telescope. He was in a hurry and sweating profusely. He didn't look like a lieutenant colonel war supervisor at all, but a civilian laborer who was temporarily assigned to do an assignment.

When he saw the colonel with a Tang sword coming over, he immediately raised his hand to salute, but he had too much equipment on him, so the salute was horrible.

"I am Tang Dao, the commander of the Four-Line Regiment, and this is what you are doing, Inspector Cai..." Tang Dao returned the greeting while smiling gently.

"It turns out to be Captain Tang. Well, to be honest with you, Captain Tang, my trip to Hengyang this time was really..." Cai Rulin almost shed tears at that time.

At the same time, a series of "cooing" sounds were heard, which were very clear even in the relatively noisy military camp.

"My brothers and I haven't eaten for a whole day and night." Cai Rulin's face turned red, but he told the truth without disguising it.

"Dayu, ask the kitchen staff to prepare food for the artillery brothers. No, send the canned beef and instant rations over immediately." Tang Dao ordered immediately. "Brother Cai, how many people do you have?"

"We have 433 people! They are all brothers I brought from the 2nd Regiment of the rd Artillery Brigade." Cai Rulin said hurriedly.

After Cai Rulin wolfed down two cans of food and a bag of instant rations, and listened to his detailed story, Tang Dao finally understood how this man became a war commander and led an artillery corps from near Tanzhou to Hengyang.

It turned out that the lieutenant colonel deputy regiment commander was ordered to lead two mortar battalions to deploy on the flank of Yuelu Mountain. As a result, the Japanese army took an unconventional approach, avoiding their attack range and attacking directly on the field artillery positions of Yuelu Mountain. In addition, the two infantry divisions collapsed unexpectedly when crossing the river, and the infantry strength of Yuelu Mountain was insufficient, which led to a rapid collapse.

Cai Rulin could only move quickly south with two mortar battalions. Later, when Tanzhou fell, Cai Rulin, who had nowhere to go, initially planned to return to the war zone headquarters with the mortar battalion. However, after he finally contacted the headquarters, the headquarters gave him the title of a supervisory officer and ordered him to rush to Hengyang overnight.

From the perspective of Admiral Xue, two mortar battalions would not be of much use on a large battlefield, but they were also his support to the Hengyang defenders. It could help him deal with the Military Commission and give explanations to the 10th Army.

The order was easy to give, but Cai Rulin and his artillerymen had to run themselves to death. They had more than 400 people and carried a total of 32 mortars and 800 artillery shells, but only 20 pack horses.

Not counting the nearly 40 kilograms of gun barrel, there are 800 shells alone. Each shell weighs 6 jin, so 800 shells weigh 4800 jin. A box of shells contains 5 shells, weighing 30 jin. A total of 160 wooden boxes are needed. A horse can carry at most 250 jin, which is 8 wooden boxes. The 26 pack horses are weak, and the artillerymen are afraid of tiring the horses to death, so they only put 6 wooden boxes in at most. A total of 120 wooden boxes are transported by pack horses, and the rest have to be transported by manpower.

It takes four people to carry a mortar body and gun carriage. If divided into three shifts, that would be 4 people. 12 guns require 32 ​​people to take care of them, and the remaining 360-odd people have to carry 70 artillery shell boxes and other supplies.

No wonder Cai Rulin, the lieutenant colonel and deputy regiment commander, was covered with all kinds of equipment. Fortunately, he took a train for most of the day, which saved them 200 miles. Otherwise, he, the theater commander, and more than 400 artillerymen and 32 mortars would not have been able to reach Hengyang.

Even so, they had to survive for 24 hours on a small amount of fried rice, which was the only food they brought down from the battlefield.

Not to mention the ability, just based on the attitude and perseverance, Tang Dao knew that he had chosen the right person.

A good artillery commander and the unexpected addition of 32 mortars have enabled the artillery output in Hengyang City to reach the passing line.