The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 36 Fortifications and Firepower

It would certainly be difficult to operate two full-strength battalion-sized cannons with less than a battalion's staff, or even just one sentry. Liu Changfa eliminated almost all the auxiliary personnel that could be streamlined, and only then was there enough operators for each artillery piece.

After Liu Changfa's artillery regiment selected its personnel, several troops began to reorganize at the same time. However, it took more than half an hour to distribute the weapons and ammunition before the entire army started to eat.

Although this late dinner was sumptuous, the reorganization of the troops took some time, so the three platoons of the 1st and 2nd Regiments and some student officers of the Artillery Regiment were required to finish their meals within ten minutes and then leave the camp immediately.

Although the student officers of the artillery regiment do not need to move forward with Teng Yuzhao and the main force of the vanguard battalion tonight, they still have to seize the time and try to measure the shooting parameters in more places before it gets completely dark, so that they can provide timely fire support to the front troops when necessary tomorrow.

Teng Yuzhao also hurriedly finished his meal, then took Wei Jinghai and several other staff officers and his guard squad, and hurriedly followed the troops back to the grove.

The temperature in July in the north is already very hot, especially in Tianjin.

In Tianjin, July is not only the hottest time of the year, but also the calmest time of the year, with almost no wind.

The officers and soldiers of the vanguard army were tense and busy almost the entire day. When they arrived at the woods near the Beiyang Military Academy, everyone was already sweating profusely. However, due to the strict military discipline of the vanguard army, no one dared to unbutton their clothes to cool off.

Fortunately, at this time, the sky had begun to darken and the temperature began to gradually drop, which allowed the sweaty officers and soldiers to catch their breath.

Teng Yuzhao ordered the first regiment to rest in the woods, and the third platoon of the second regiment to stay behind the woods one mile away to build fortifications. They were not only Teng Yuzhao's reserve troops, but this position would also be the covering force behind Teng Yuzhao, and also the support force for the vanguard army to retreat if the situation became unfavorable.

Because of the trees blocking the view, the woods were even more stuffy inside, and the cicadas in the trees kept chirping, which made people feel even more irritated.

However, Teng Yuzao did not pay attention to these things. Instead, he took out a sketch drawn with a pen from his pocket. This was a map of defensive fortifications that Teng Yuzao had hastily drawn while eating.

With the help of the flashlight turned on by Chief of Staff Wei Jinghai, Teng Yuzhao pointed to the four heavy machine gun bunkers on the sketch and said to Liu Yuzhi and Li Xianzhe who followed in to check the defense arrangements of the regiment.

"This is a sketch I drew of the fortifications here. The four heavy machine gun bunkers are the tactical support points of the entire defense line. The specific configuration of the Maxim heavy machine guns is to place three Maxim heavy machine guns in each bunker on both sides and one Maxim in each bunker in the middle."

"The top of this heavy machine gun bunker must be thickened. Two or three layers of logs must be stacked alternately, and the middle must be filled with sacks filled with sand. Then, another layer of sacks filled with sand must be added on top, and then covered with soil. The purpose of doing this is to prevent artillery fire. They are large targets, and the coalition forces on the opposite side will definitely focus on shelling them."

"Also, the heavy machine gun bunkers must have firing holes on all four sides. There are trenches extending to both sides of the four machine gun bunkers. An anti-artillery hole must be dug at regular intervals in the trenches. Specifically, every person who stays in the trench must have such a hole."

"The hole doesn't need to be too big, nor does it need to be too deep. It just needs to be big enough for one person to hide in."

Liu Yuzhi looked at the positions of the four heavy machine gun bunkers and asked in confusion, "Sir, why are these four machine gun bunkers not in a straight line but protruding on both sides?" Teng Yuzao nodded. He had expected Liu Yuzhi to ask this question. "Listen carefully, all of you. When arranging defensive positions in the future, you should also arrange them like this as much as possible. The purpose is to form cross fire. In this way, the attacking enemy will always have a complete or partial side exposed to our firepower. It is not difficult for the enemy to find a cover in several directions in a hurry, but it is impossible."

"As for the three Maxim guns placed in the two outermost forts, you should know the reason."

Li Xianze nodded and said, "After the enemy's attack is frustrated, they will definitely try their best to avoid the front and choose to attack from one side."

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "That's right."

Li Xianze asked again, "Sir, I understand that the top of the machine gun bunker is thickened, but the anti-artillery hole in this trench is not reinforced at all, and we are almost all covered with thick soil. Can such a small hole withstand a shell?"

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "It depends on the caliber of the shell. If it is a 75mm shell, even if it hits the cave roof directly, whether it is a howitzer or a field artillery, it will be fine. At most, it will collapse the cave roof and knock people unconscious or bury them inside. This is why I emphasize that this kind of anti-artillery hole cannot be dug too deep."

"Once the cave collapses, the people outside can easily dig the people inside out, or even the people inside can climb out by themselves. But if the artillery wants to directly kill or injure the people in the cave, it can only be done if the shell falls directly into the trench and explodes right at the entrance of the cave."

Li Xianze also nodded excitedly and said, "Yes, this inconspicuous little hole is indeed very useful."

Liu Yuzhi slammed his right fist on his left palm and said excitedly, "That's right, the shells directly hit the top of the cave and the entrance to the trench. Both possibilities are very small. In this way, when the foreign devils charge again, our people will get out of the cave and continue to shoot at them in the trench without any damage."

Li Xianze also nodded excitedly and said, "Yes, this inconspicuous little hole is indeed very useful. My Lord, please give it a name."

Teng Yuzao pointed to the shape of the anti-cannon hole he had drawn on the sketch and said, "This hole doesn't need to be big. In fact, the smaller the hole, the better the effect of cannon fire. Its shape is like a cat's ear, so let's call it a cat ear hole."

Wei Jinghai scratched his head and said, "Sir, this name is very appropriate, but it is not majestic enough."

Liu Yuzhi smiled and said, "As long as it works, it's fine. The name is Cat Ear Hole, which is not only appropriate but also very descriptive."

Li Xianze said with some regret, "It's just that we don't have enough time. Otherwise, it would be much better if we built these machine gun bunkers with cement!"

The "cement" that Li Xiangze mentioned is cement. "Cement" is the domestic name for this thing invented by Westerners. Ten years ago, when Li Hongzhang served as the governor-general of Zhili, he built a cement factory jointly run by officials and businessmen in the Kaiping Mining Bureau, called the "Kaiping Fine Cotton Soil Factory". It is not difficult to find cement in Tianjin.

Thanks to: Love to joke, Yin Yangwuxing, 20210101172928180, Shenlan and other book friends for their support!
Your support is the driving force of Zuima!
(End of this chapter)