The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 321 Heavy artillery and factions

When He Wei first arrived, the first thing he did was naturally to smooth out the command relationship among the troops.

According to Ma Ji, on the south bank of the Yangtze River where the assault force is located, there are three units: the 385th Brigade, the 82nd Division, and the 18th Division. He Wei will not mention the command and coordination of this military division unit for the time being. The top priority is But first, the heavy artillery battalion and anti-aircraft artillery units that will be assigned to the assault corps must be received in place.

He Wei, under the leadership of Ma Ji, took a car with him and rushed to the Big Bear Mountain on the side of Banbi Mountain. The two mountains are called Big Bear Mountain and the other is Little Bear Mountain. The two mountains are closely connected, only at the junction. There is a long and narrow mountain stream area covered by vegetation.

From a military perspective, this terrain is an excellent natural air defense hiding place, and the heavy howitzer battalion and anti-aircraft artillery battery assigned to the assault corps are hidden in the mountain streams here.

After He Wei was taken to the mountain stream by Ma Ji, he finally saw the true face of the heavy artillery battalion and anti-aircraft artillery unit that would be assigned to the assault corps. He saw that the mountain stream was filled with large trucks, trucks, jeeps of various types, Crawler tractors, observation vehicles, two-wheeled motorcycles and three-wheeled motorcycles.

There is not a single horse to be seen in the mountain stream, and all the visible means of transportation are various cars and motorcycles. Obviously, this heavy artillery battalion and anti-aircraft artillery battery are completely mechanized troops (mechanized in the definition of the national army)

Thousands of officers and soldiers wearing German-made M35 steel helmets were resting and on guard in the open spaces on both sides of the mountain stream.

In the center of the mountain stream, there are eight majestic heavy howitzers and four very tall anti-aircraft guns that look like the German 18 guns of World War II. He Wei can tell at a glance that the eight heavy howitzers are from the German Rhineland. The sfh thirty-fold caliber mm howitzer manufactured by the metal factory was also the standard divisional artillery of the German Army in World War II.

The four anti-aircraft guns are Swedish Bofors Company's m1929 mm large-caliber anti-aircraft guns.

"Haha, Captain He, these are the heavy artillery battalion and anti-aircraft artillery battery that were originally assigned to our brigade, and are now under your command." Ma Ji pointed at the hidden troops in the mountain stream and said with a smile.

He Wei praised: "It's not bad, it's really not bad."

Not long after, the commander of the heavy artillery battalion and the commander of the anti-aircraft gun company came to report after being notified. He Wei only saw a relatively young captain officer and a lieutenant colonel officer in his thirties.

No need to guess, the captain must be the commander of the anti-aircraft artillery company, and the lieutenant colonel is naturally the commander of the heavy artillery battalion.

After the two officers arrived, Ma Ji introduced with a smile: "Captain He, let me introduce to you. This is Lieutenant Colonel Hu Rizhen, commander of the second battalion of the 10th Army Mechanized Heavy Artillery Regiment, and this is the anti-aircraft artillery battery of the Jiang Defense Army. Captain Huang Tiaoqi."

Ma Ji pointed at He Wei and said: "This is Captain He Wei of the Army Commando Corps. From this moment on, the command relationship of your unit will be officially transferred to Captain He."

"Hello, sir!"

The captain of the anti-aircraft gun company first saluted He Wei, and He Wei nodded and returned the salute.

Hu Rizhen, the lieutenant colonel commander of the heavy artillery battalion, felt a little embarrassed when he saw the lieutenant colonel rank on He Wei's collar. For a moment, it was neither saluting nor not saluting.

He Wei naturally saw the embarrassment of the battalion commander. Artillery units are assigned to infantry units for combat. Generally, low-level artillery units are assigned to high-level infantry units. For example, if an artillery battalion is assigned to an infantry division to strengthen operations, the artillery chief officer The military rank of the infantry unit is naturally much lower than that of the chief officer of the infantry unit, and the one who occupies the dominant position is also the officer of the infantry unit. Therefore, of course, the chief officer of the artillery unit salutes first when they meet.

Today, He Wei is at the same level as Hu Rizhen, which will certainly make Hu Rizhen uncomfortable.

So, He Wei first saluted and said: "Hello, Battalion Commander Hu, I am He Wei, the commander of the Assault Corps. I graduated from the 11th Infantry Course in Huangpu. We are about to fight together. Please take care of my artillery unit."

Hu Rizhen coughed twice and returned the greeting with a smile: "Lieutenant colonel commander of the second battalion of the 10th Army Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, a graduate of the sixth artillery department in Huangpu."

Ma Ji said: "I've called you two here. Firstly, I want to clarify the command relationship. Secondly, I also want you to report to Commander He on the specific situation of your two artillery units and coordinate the next operations. The question, Captain He, will be left to you."

He Wei took over the initiative, nodded to Ma Ji to express his gratitude, and his affection for this man doubled.

Although this man was not born in Huangpu, but was an old officer of the Beiyang Warlords, he was very measured and knowledgeable about things. When He Weifu arrived here, Ma Ji ignored the age and seniority gap and fully cooperated with He Wei, even He Wei was regarded as the superior.

Combined with his past record, He Wei felt that this person was really not simple, and he had three complete field infantry regiments under his command. Therefore, He Wei made up his mind to make good friends with Ma Jiduo, and wait until Japan If someone comes to fight, this will be a great help.

Immediately, He Wei said: "Everyone, this time our assault team went to Banbi Mountain in Tianjia Town to take over the frontline defense under the order of Li Feng. I have just arrived, and I don't know much about the upcoming deployment of the entire army and Commander Li Yannian. I also need to Brigadier Ma, please explain the current situation."

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, Ma Ji said: "Currently, several armies of the Guangxi Army are guarding the front line of Tianjia Town and Huangmei Guangji on the periphery of Banbi Mountain, while those guarding the front line of Tianjia Town and the core position of Banbi Mountain are Li Yannian, commander of the 11th Army Corps. Currently, the 11th Army Corps consists of three armies: the Second Army, the Eighth Army, the 54th Army, the 57th Division, the 82nd Division, our brigade and the Army. Assault Corps, in addition to various independent artillery units, artillery groups and various fortress garrison units are formed and assigned to the Eleventh Army.”

"Currently, the Second Army, our brigade, the Assault Corps and the 82nd Division are stationed at the line between Tianjia Town and Banbishan. The Eighth Army under Li Yutang is defending Jiujiang, and the 18th Division of the 54th Army is defending at Fuchikou. ”

He Wei nodded and said: "It seems that our army's military strength is strong. Several key points have been controlled. I'm afraid we will suffer some hardships when the Japanese come."

After He Wei finished speaking, Ma Ji smiled bitterly and said with a grimace: "Captain He, the Eleventh Army Corps is indeed strong in strength, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not about some of the inside information about the Eleventh Army Corps? "

Seeing Ma Ji's suddenly changed expression, He Weiqi said: "Commander Ma, just say it."

So, Ma Ji told He Wei the inside story of the so-called Eleventh Army. Only then did He Wei learn that although the Eleventh Army was superficially strong and well-deployed, the Eleventh Army was The actual number of troops that Chang Li Yannian could command was far less than what appeared on the surface.

Li Yutang's Eighth Army was defending Jiujiang, and Huo Kuizhang's 54th Army was defending the south bank of Fuchikou. These two armies were only nominally under the command of Li Yannian, but in fact they acted independently and did their own thing. On the south bank of the Yangtze River, the 82nd Division guarding the river bank flanking Banbi Mountain was not much better.

Ma Ji also explained to He Wei the factional relationship between these troops. It turned out that although Li Yutang's Eighth Army and Huo Kuizhang's 54th Army were both troops of the Central Army, Li Yutang and Li Yannian were both from Huangpu. As a first-year graduate, Li Yannian cannot command at will.

As for the 54th Army, it was Chen Cheng's civil engineering department. It had always been Chen Cheng and Chen Cixiu who followed the lead, and did not take Li Yannian seriously at all.

The 82nd Division is a local unit of the Guizhou Army system. It is hostile to the Central Army and is quite xenophobic. It is probably difficult for Li Yannian to command it.

In other words, the only actions that Li Yannian could actually command were the 9th Division of the Second Army, Shi Zhongcheng's 57th Division, Ma Ji's 385th Brigade, and the fortress artillery unit originally in Tianjia Town!

After He Wei listened to Ma Ji's explanation of these twists and turns about the conflict between the Lao Shizi factions, He Wei was immediately speechless, his eyes were filled with sparks, and he was cursing in his heart.

In a word, factional fighting kills people!
Let’s not mention the situation in Jiangbei for the moment. Take the south bank where the assault corps is located. The 18th Division of the 50th Army, a civil engineering department, is guarding Fuchikou on the east side of Banbi Mountain. The 80th Division is guarding the river bank on the east side of Banbi Mountain. The Second Division is a unit of the Guizhou Army. These two units may not even obey the orders of the regiment commander Li Yannian.

When the war finally breaks out, He Wei will have to put a big question mark on whether the various departments can work together to fight.

He Wei really didn't know what to say when this damn enemy was still engaging in all this messy strife and internal fighting.

Ma Ji looked at the frowning He Wei and continued: "Captain He, Commander Li Yannian has informed me that he has asked you to organize troops to station and set up defenses before heading to Jiangbei. I am not lying. Commander Li called You came here just to find out your background and meet with you to see if you obey the command."

He Wei sighed and said: "It is the bounden duty of soldiers to obey orders. Since our assault corps has been assigned to the battle order of the 11th Army Corps, it is our duty to obey the command of Commander Li, and we should abide by his restraint."

After finishing speaking, He Wei looked at the several officers around him and thought that he would not care about the troops of the 54th Army and the 82nd Division for the time being, but he would definitely take care of Ma Ji's brigade and these two artillery units. To collaborate well.

Ma Ji's 385th Brigade has three infantry regiments. These two artillery units also have powerful firepower. As long as they are coordinated with them and the strong capital of the assault corps, the situation will not be much worse. It can be completely eliminated. The Japanese soldiers who came over had a good drink.

Knowing something in his mind, He Wei looked at the two artillery unit chiefs again and asked: "Since Commander Li has summoned me, we should deploy our defenses as soon as possible. Battalion Commander Hu and Company Commander Huang, please report to you two." An overview of the strength of this artillery unit.”

As soon as He Wei finished speaking, Ma Ji said: "Captain He, let's talk in the car. Your department is scheduled to deploy at Banbi Mountain. We should also go to the mountain to see the position."

He Wei said: "What Chief Ma said is absolutely true, and it should be so."

So, the four of them took a car and started driving towards Banbi Mountain. On the way, He Wei learned about the status of the artillery unit assigned to the assault corps.

Hu Rizhen's unit belongs to the 18th Mechanized Field Heavy Artillery Regiment of the Army. It is the earliest mechanized heavy artillery unit of the Chinese army. Before the war, it was equipped with the -fold caliber version of the SFH mm specially made for China by the German Rheinmetall Company. Howitzer.

Not long ago, the 18th Artillery Regiment temporarily changed its equipment to the ordinary version of the -caliber SFH mm heavy howitzer just bought from Germany.

This large-caliber howitzer has a range of 13.3 kilometers and is towed by vehicles. Hu Rizhen's Second Battalion of the th Artillery Regiment has a total of two howitzer companies. Each company is equipped with four howitzers of this type. The whole battalion has a total of eight howitzers. Each gun Equipped with rounds of grenades.

The Swedish Bofors 75mm anti-aircraft gun of the Huang Diaoqi anti-aircraft gun company is an anti-aircraft gun developed by the Swedish Bofors Arsenal with the help of German engineers. Its performance is also quite good, with a maximum shooting height of 10,000 meters and a 300-meter It has a sixty-degree all-round range of fire, is equipped with a complete set of shooting directors, searchlights, and air listening devices, and uses a crawler tractor for mobile towing.

In general, whether it is Hu Rizhen's heavy howitzer battalion or Huang Tiaoqi's 75th anti-aircraft artillery battery, they are weapons with excellent performance.

The Eleventh Army deployed this heavy artillery battalion and anti-aircraft artillery battery near Banbi Mountain. Its intention was to take advantage of Banbi Mountain's geographical advantages to guard the Yangtze River and block the Japanese troops advancing along the Yangtze River by sea and land.

Therefore, after knowing the situation of the attached artillery, He Wei, accompanied by Ma Ji and others, climbed half of the mountain where the assault team was about to deploy.

On Banbi Mountain, He Wei was blowing the biting river wind, holding a telescope at the top of Banbi Mountain and looking around.

When he first arrived at the foot of the mountain, He Wei couldn't feel anything, but when he reached the top of the mountain, He Wei was deeply aware of the danger of Banbi Mountain. It can indeed be called Banbi Mountain, a solitary peak lying on both sides of the Yangtze River. Although the altitude is not high, it is only It is more than 100 meters wide, and the width of the river in front is only 500 meters. He Wei can even see scattered national army sentries in the Tianjia Town Fortress on the other side through the telescope.

Banbi Mountain is not a big mountain, but the terrain is extremely important. It can guard the river and attack Japanese warships going up the river. It can also support land operations on the side. At the same time, it can also communicate with the Tianjia Town Fortress on the opposite side to support each other. .

He Wei put down the telescope and sighed: "It is indeed a dangerous place to lock the river with the mountain."

Immediately, He Wei asked Ma Ji again: "Commander Ma, you are here early. How is the fortification on Banbi Mountain?"

Ma Ji pointed to a fortification on the mountain and replied: "I have surveyed the terrain of the mountain before. Banbi Mountain has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. A fort was built in the late Qing Dynasty, and it was repaired by the Chinese General Staff Headquarters before the Anti-Japanese War. , There are currently 4 permanent field artillery bunkers, 1 observation post, 1 personnel concealment unit, 10 heavy machine gun bunkers, and some unfinished semi-permanent field fortifications on the mountain."

He Wei nodded, and then inspected the condition of the fortifications on half of the wall. After thinking for a moment, he had a rough idea of ​​how to deploy the defenses.

(End of this chapter)