My client Li Yunlong

Early November.

In the southern Hebei plain, north of Chi County, the Yamato Regiment's defensive position.

"Why··"

Captain Yamato stood on the continuous position, looking at the deep anti-tank trenches that were seven meters wide and more than two meters deep, which stretched across the position, as well as the continuous strings of anti-tank concrete piers, and sighed silently.

Relying on the increasing depth of the position, the widening deep trenches, the increasing number of anti-tank mines, and the increasing number of anti-tank concrete piers, the Dahe Regiment held this position.

They blocked wave after wave of enemy offensives without losing any position, and kept the enemy's front line outside Chi County, preventing the Eighth Route Army from continuing to advance and threatening important towns such as Shimen.

Completed the mission entrusted by the Heavenly Locust,

Safeguarded the empire's interests in China.

but···

Facing each attack by at least fifteen tanks, including two obstacle-clearing tanks, three Sherman tanks equipped with anti-mine tank rollers, and the remaining ten normal Sherman tanks, plus more than a thousand infantry, under the cover of four 120 mortars, the Dahe Regiment suffered extremely heavy losses every time.

Carefully constructed positions would be severely damaged, large numbers of buried mines would be cleared, anti-tank concrete piles would be destroyed, and soldiers would be killed.

and,

The enemy suffered significantly fewer casualties.

Not tank casualties.

Since the thorn mine was put into service in the army, after half a year of exploration, the thorn mine tactics have become more mature.

Under the cover of firepower from all sides and lured by the bait troops, the Thorn Warriors who came out of the training camp, hiding in the hidden individual pits on the front line, were able to often destroy enemy tanks at close range.

But the power of the thunderbolt is too small.

It can only destroy enemy tanks, but is powerless against the tank soldiers inside the tanks. Most of the time, it is even unable to destroy the enemy tank's combat effectiveness and can continue to fight as a turret.

As for the new second-generation stinger mine with increased power, although it is extremely powerful and can not only completely destroy enemy tanks but also kill soldiers inside enemy tanks, it is twice as heavy as the ones currently in service and has a huge impact on tactics. It cannot be used at all and has not been tested in large-scale service.

After the enemy suffered losses in tanks, they would retreat in an orderly manner, leaving behind only some tank wreckage.

But the locust army...

"Why···"

Colonel Yamato looked at the Locust soldiers who were repairing the trenches, the soldiers who were repairing the anti-tank concrete suits, the Locust soldiers who were re-burying the mines, and... the body collection team who were carrying the corpses away, and he sighed deeply again.

Every time the enemy attacked, the Locust Army had to sacrifice hundreds of Imperial warriors, or possibly even more. The largest loss the Taiga League had ever suffered was 1,700 men.

There were no more than three or four enemy tanks left.

Because the number of casualties was so large, his unit organized a special body collection team.

It's not just the Locust Army that is making progress. The enemy's tactics are also becoming more mature, and their use of tanks is becoming more elite.

At first, the enemy could only organize attacks with three or four tanks. Because of their lack of tactical organization and unfamiliarity with the use of weapons, they were often defeated and repelled by the Empire by seizing their weaknesses.

Colonel Yamato also often saw enemies being crushed by their own tanks on the battlefield.

Even accidental injuries.

But now, every offensive starts with fifteen or even thirty vehicles. Every time, the empire has to pay the price of hundreds or even thousands of casualties.

As a result, even though the empire had more and more weapons and equipment, more and more supplies, and stronger positions, its casualties were still getting heavier.

How long will we have to persist?

Colonel Yamato looked blank.

The enemy's offensive became more and more fierce, and the tanks seemed to be endless. After destroying one, two were replaced, and there was no end in sight.

Of course he knew.
November 1st.

That is yesterday.

The Eighth Route Army brought out another 500 new tanks, and according to the information he heard from his fellow villagers in the General Staff, the Empire had only destroyed more than 150 enemy tanks last month.

Can this empire win?
Colonel Yamato didn't believe it.

Probably the only good news is that the Locust Army's barreled artillery still has an absolute advantage.

But how long can this advantage be guaranteed?
Colonel Yamato couldn't believe that the forces behind the Eighth Route Army didn't have any barreled artillery. The first 150mm caliber artillery appeared on the tanks south of Ze County.

The technical difficulty of artillery is much smaller than that of tanks.

Sudden.

call out···

boom···

Accompanied by a sharp whistle, a violent explosion rose in the position of the Dahe League.

"This is··"

Colonel Yamato's hair immediately started to stand on end.

Heavy artillery!

This is the power of heavy artillery.
Moreover, it is a heavy artillery with a caliber of more than 150 and a shell of about 50 kilograms!

Only one shot though.

But the first shot is usually a test shot, followed by...
"hidden····"

Just as I reached this point in my thoughts and the order to respond had not yet been issued, dense artillery shells fell on the position like raindrops. Dense explosions rose up, instantly covering the entire position of the Dahe Regiment.

boom!
The wide anti-tank trench was actually destroyed and filled up directly.

boom!
The carefully constructed anti-tank concrete piles were blown up, and debris flew everywhere.

boom!
The foxholes used to hide the suicide squad were destroyed, leaving only a huge crater.

boom!
The trenches, communication trenches, and machine gun positions that could withstand the enemy's 120mm heavy artillery were also destroyed and cut off, losing their integrity as positions.

"What?" Colonel Yamato stood in the command center, staring at the scene in a daze.

He looked at the dense artillery fire, his whole body cold and stunned.

What caliber of artillery is this?

It could actually directly destroy his carefully constructed fortifications and fortresses? Even the fortifications that could block the direct fire of enemy tanks could not be blocked? Even the wide trenches could be directly destroyed.

and also.

Although he expected the enemy to have artillery.

But there are artillery?

And too fast.

The accuracy is too high.

The first calibration shot hit the position, and the subsequent intensive artillery bombardment delayed only fifteen seconds, leaving no time to react - the locust soldiers who had dug the position were still there, and had no time to enter the anti-artillery cave.

The soldiers were caught in the crossfire.

The casualties were unprecedentedly heavy.

Although he had also anticipated that the enemy's artillery would be more advanced than the Empire's, he still found it difficult to accept it - this meant that the Imperial Army's last advantage was gone.

"Colonel? Enter the shelter quickly."

The Japanese guards quickly reminded their captain to take cover.

"Why···"

Before hiding in the anti-gun cave, Colonel Yamato sighed softly again.

Because he is a domestic university professor and the brother of a military technician, he knows some confidential information.

To this day, the Empire still cannot imitate the Eighth Route Army's small 60mm mortar. Looking at the entire Empire's ordnance, and even the ordnance of its allies, the Germans are one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but they are still unable to imitate that small 60mm mortar.

Even if we imitate it in the laboratory at any cost, it is impossible to do it.

The power and technology behind the enemy are so powerful that they are beyond everyone's expectations.

so···

Can the Empire really win?

The answer is actually obvious.

The Empire cannot win.

There is no possibility of winning.

The shelling lasted for an hour and a half, during which time the carefully constructed positions of the Dahe Regiment were almost completely destroyed, including several anti-tank trenches that were seven meters wide and more than two meters deep.

In fact, this depth is not suitable for use as an anti-tank trench.

Even a 120mm mortar could cause serious damage to a trench more than two meters deep. Even if there was no persecution, even an underpowered Sherman, with the assistance of infantry, could dig some auxiliary passages and escape at a relatively fast speed.

But it was not that the Japanese did not want to dig deeper, but that they no longer had the ability to do so. Digging trenches in an era without mechanization was not easy with an ordnance shovel.

The deeper the trench, the harder it is to dig!
Even if the imperial warriors' hands were broken from wielding the ordnance shovels, they would not be able to dig trenches three meters deep, seven meters wide, and hundreds of meters long during repeated enemy attacks.

"Colonel, the enemy is attacking."

The bad news continues to come.

"There are thirty tanks."

"Thirty!"

Colonel Yamato's face was as gloomy as the bottom of a pot.

Not to mention that the enemy's new artillery destroyed the position, even if the position was intact, he would not be able to stop this number of tanks.

···
Early November.

The South Hebei Base Area dispatched three main regiments, including the 772nd Regiment, which, with the support of eighteen FH70 155mm howitzers, completely cleared the Japanese positions near Ze County and achieved the encirclement of Chi County.

During the battle, the FH70 155mm howitzer demonstrated amazing combat effectiveness.

It's not just about power.

In fact, during World War II, the Japanese also had 240-caliber howitzers, whose shells weighed more than 70 kilograms, much heavier than the 155-kilogram shells of the FH48 -caliber howitzer.

Even if the FH70 155mm howitzer's shell is charged with Octojin explosives, it is still inferior to the 240mm heavy artillery.

The development of artillery technology in later generations actually increased its power very slowly, and the progress of chemical explosives technology was limited.

What's really advanced is the burst shooting speed.

That is to say, the amount of ammunition that is densely fired at the moment of firing, before the enemy hides in the bunker and while the enemy is still outside the position.

as well as,

Precision!

First-shot accuracy brought by artillery ballistic computers!

This is also the reason why the troops took out the eighteen FH70 artillery pieces only a month later.

Advanced technology brings difficulties in mastering and using it.

Eighteen artillery pieces from the late 1980s, with the first round of salvos lasting fifty seconds and using only more than two hundred shells, almost defeated a battalion of the Yamato Regiment and deprived it of its combat effectiveness.

Afterwards, three regiments of infantry, plus ninety tanks, easily occupied the positions around Chi County and encircled Chi County.

The subsequent counterattack by the Japanese was also easily defeated by the 155th gun of the th gun.

The artillery, which the Japanese considered their only advantage, was either out of reach or destroyed in the first round. (End of this chapter)