Age of Rebirth

Zhao Yuhe gave the order to attack, and the combat staff officers standing by the telephone immediately sent the order to their respective combat units. At the same time, Colonel Wang Jun, Chief of Staff of the Outer Mongolia Field Corps Headquarters, also sent The unit to which they belonged issued the same order.

The dawn on the grassland and the Gobi Desert could no longer be calm. Countless shells flew from the north and the south. The metal bullets rubbed against the air, making piercing screams, and smashed into the Kwantung Army's border guards' positions overwhelmingly. , The sound of the rumbling explosion echoed in the sky before dawn.

In order to wipe out the vital forces of the Kwantung Army as much as possible, Zhao Yuhe and Sun Zhenbang used all their artillery, except for the heavy artillery regiments of the brigades, the offensive artillery brigades directly under the regiments, the artillery battalions of the regiments, and the self-propelled artillery regiments , all joined the ranks of the shelling, the scale of the shelling exceeded the imagination of the soldiers of the Kwantung Army. In the first round of shelling, more than [-] shells fell on the positions of the Kwantung Army.

When the huge explosion that shook the sky, carrying shock waves, spread to the entire battlefield in all directions, and felt the ground tremble, Lieutenant General Yoshinaga paled despite his mental preparation, knowing that he would be bombarded by the independent division, but The scale is so large, but it was unexpected. Originally, I wanted to use the artillery fire of the six field artillery regiments of the border guards to tear apart the positions of the independent division of the Outer Mongolian Field Corps in the north, but now it seems that the number of artillery on both sides , artillery caliber, not in a heavyweight at all!

The headquarters of the Kwantung Army Frontier Garrison is located in the center. For the time being, no artillery shells from the independent division artillery have fallen, but Lieutenant General Yoshinaga knows that it will not take long for the headquarters headquarters to be surrounded by artillery shells from the independent division. cover.His hand holding the phone began to tremble.

Lieutenant General Ji Yong was struggling violently in his heart, hesitating whether to order the field artillery regiment he belonged to.Artillery of the Outer Mongolia Field Corps.To fight back, he knew it.Once your own artillery starts to fight back, it will attract retaliation from the artillery fire of the independent division ten times or even more than ten times, and this is not counting the enemy artillery fire from the south, maybe.It took less than an hour to lose all of your artillery?

Lieutenant General Yoshinaga convinced himself, "Retreating to the Far East is a long-distance march. These cumbersome field artillery will definitely affect the marching speed of the troops, which is a burden. It is better to let the artillery contribute their own to the 10,000+ imperial soldiers in the end." All of them!"

Undoubtedly, it was very painful to make this decision, Lieutenant General Yoshinaga gritted his teeth.I want to make a call, "Commander Yamaguchi-kun, artillery commander? I am Commander Yoshinaga, and now I order that your artillery group immediately bombard in the direction of Baogeda Mountain, Ulan Nur, and Harezan! Remember, Don't save shells!"

On the other end of the phone, Major General Yamaguchi, the Artillery Commander of the Frontier Garrison, said in a voice full of fighting spirit, "Please rest assured, Commander, the artillery of the Imperial Japanese Kwantung Army will let these inferior Chinese soldiers taste great! Imperial Samurai We will let the fragmented corpses of Chinese soldiers cover the grasslands and Gobi Desert!"

Regarding Major General Yamaguchi's confident and impassioned words, Lieutenant General Yoshinaga did not make any comments, but just put down the phone with a wry smile. Lieutenant General Yoshinaga would definitely appreciate the confidence and fighting spirit of this artillery commander before the artillery of the independent division started shelling. But now? . . . . .He even wondered where did Major General Yamaguchi's confidence come from?

"I hope that Yamaguchi-kun's artillery can tear a hole wide enough in the position of the independent division and open a passage for 10,000+ Kwantung Army soldiers! As for the future, that is..." Lieutenant General Yoshinaga secretly said thought.

The three targets he ordered the artillery to shell, who has the purpose, are not the main direction of the artillery positions of the Outer Mongolian Field Corps of the Independent Division, but the three key areas where the troops broke through, including Ulan Nur and Harzan. , is the direction of the main force of the garrison to break through, while the direction of Baogda Mountain is the direction of the feint attack of more than 1 people from the independent second garrison team, which is used as a suspicious soldier to attract the attention of the independent division troops.

Amidst the rumbling cannons, Zhao Yuhe's mood calmed down instead. However, he was surprised that the artillerymen directly under the corps had started shelling for more than [-] minutes. Why did the artillerymen of the Kwantung Army not return fire? , In my own impression, the Japanese are not the masters who will not fight back when they are beaten. If the artillery of the Kwantung Army does not show up, it will be a troublesome thing. Could it be that when the troops start to charge, there will be a sudden shelling?

If so, this commander of the Kwantung Army is a person not to be underestimated. He has a lot of strategy and hides the sharpest artillery. Did you fight back?" Zhao Yuhe asked Wu Zhengmin.

Wu Zhengmin shook his head, "Chief of Staff, I haven't found it yet. The forward observation post of the artillery is under strict surveillance!"

"Oh!" Zhao Yuhe nodded in disappointment, and said, "Forget it, don't worry about the Kwantung Army's artillery. When the artillery fire starts to extend, don't you believe it won't come out?"

Sun Zhenbang's good sleep was awakened, and Wang Jun, the chief of staff of the Corps, had to call out to the commander, "Commander, wake up! The Kwantung Army is acting abnormally!"

Sun Zhenbang got up unhappily, and asked: "Chief of Staff, what unusual behavior, what tricks can the little devil who fell into the pot do?"

Wang Jun said: "Received reports from the troops in the direction of Ulannaoer and Harezan that they were heavily shelled by the Kwantung Army artillery. In addition, the direction of Baogeda Mountain was also the key area for the Kwantung Army's shelling. However, our Artillery positions, but no counterattack, I doubt there is any trick in it!"

"Oh?" Sun Zhenbang immediately became interested, without any sleepiness, and walked to the map in a few steps. After a while, he laughed loudly, "Chief of Staff, there is a big business coming. Look, Ulan Nur and Halezan two This area is the closest point to the territory of Outer Mongolia. There is no dangerous terrain, and it is not our key defense area. I judge that 10,000+ little devils want to get out of us. Well, when my hundreds of thousands of Sun Zhenbang Troops, are you a persimmon easy to pinch?"

"Chief of staff, convey my order that the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth brigades in Ulan Nur and Harezan should immediately retreat [-] kilometers and deploy defenses along the line from Halege to Menghehan. The troops used in the direction of Daliganga, Nalan, and Bayandelchagan were transferred to these two areas, and the remaining six brigades were immediately assembled in these two directions. In addition, the tanks first Brigade and Second Brigade, also turn in this direction!"

"It seems that our regiment's plan to leave as soon as possible is unlikely. I want to spread a big bag for the little devils on the line from Harleg to Menghehan. At least tens of thousands of little devils can be filled in. This is called Blessed people don't need to be busy! The little devil sent to the door to fight, but he was disrespectful! Chief of Staff, report our plan to Chief of Staff Zhao!"

Wang Jun reminded, "Commander, this is an act of changing the order of the division commander. Also, the artillery of the Kwantung Army is also bombarding the direction of Baogeda Mountain. It may not be one of the areas where the Kwantung Army broke through. From Dashan to Ulagaigol, you can reach Aershan, take the train and run faster!"

"Impossible!" Sun Zhenbang categorically denied Wang Jun's judgment, "Run in the direction of Aershan? That little devil commander named Jiyong has been dealing with us for a year or two. He is not stupid. He took the train from Aershan to the south. , ran back to the hinterland of the Northeast, that was a self-inflicted trap, the division commander placed more than 100 million troops in the western Liaoning area and the Ximan area, can he be spared? After the attack of our army and the army directly under it, how many troops can the little devil have left? Is it vulnerable!"

"What's more, in the direction of Baogeda Mountain, there are two mechanized infantry brigades directly under the Corps blocking the front, allowing the little devil to escape? As long as they block it for a day, the gang of wolf-like soldiers directly under the Corps can pounce on it , tear the little devil to pieces! Go, hurry up!"

Wang Jun couldn't help but disbelieve the commander's judgment. Just as he was about to leave, Sun Zhenbang called to stop him, "Wait a minute, chief of staff, send a few more heavy artillery regiments over there, and knock out the little devil's artillery. In addition, in the telegram Tell Chief of Staff Zhao that the artillerymen of the little devil are attacking us! Also, do not issue the order just now, and you need to ask Chief of Staff Zhao for instructions!"

Sun Zhenbang's telegram came in a very timely manner, and solved Zhao Yuhe's inner doubts. He also very much agreed with Sun Zhenbang's judgment as to why the artillerymen of the Kwantung Army did not fight back, but he did not quite agree with the plan he proposed. In this way, the Outer Mongolian Field Corps will stay on the battlefield for at least five days longer, which is inconsistent with the division commander's order, which in turn will affect the campaign plan in the Ximan area.

Therefore, when Zhao Yuhe called back to Sun Zhenbang, he euphemistically but resolutely denied his idea of ​​putting up a big bag for the Kwantung Army border guards on the line from Hareg to Menghehan, but only agreed with one point. The six brigades that were scheduled to stay in Outer Mongolia immediately blocked the Kwantung Army troops trying to break through on the line from Halege to Menghehan, relying on favorable terrain, and the rest of the troops must carry out the established plan specified by the division!

After receiving Zhao Yuhe's order, Sun Zhenbang was very frustrated, and grumbled to Chief of Staff Wang Jun: "Okay! The plan to eat a piece of fat is in vain, this Chief of Staff Zhao, why doesn't he agree with my battle plan? It’s really inexplicable! Chief of Staff, order the artillery unit, catch the artillerymen of the little devil and beat us to death, we can’t wait for the charge, let him bite us!”

The asymmetrical artillery battle soon ended with the result that the Kwantung Army's border guards had six field artillery regiments almost wiped out. In terms of the number, caliber, range, and explosive power of the artillery, the field artillery equipped by the Kwantung Army There is no comparison with the large-caliber howitzers equipped by the Independent Division.

Like a thin boy fighting a strong man, the rain of shells fell on the artillery positions of the Kwantung Army, immediately drowning them in a sea of ​​fireworks!

(To be continued)