Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 299 Nightmare! Corpses Littered Everywhere

Through his binoculars, Zhang Datong could only see defensive fortifications made of stacked mud bags.

Unbeknownst to him, behind the fortifications, the Daqian army was adjusting the angle of their mortars.

Full firepower coverage!
The purpose of defensive fortifications is to prevent being hit by sniper fire.

Almost every elite soldier in the Ximen Hall was proficient in using a mortar.

artillery!

This is the basic course for the soldiers of the Ximentang.

If you don't know how to use a mortar, don't even think about going into battle to kill the enemy or earning military merit.

Behind the fortifications, groups of three and five hundred mortars were preparing.

Artillery tactics!

This is Ximentang's exclusive tactic, and also the most powerful new tactic in the age of firearms.

Although it consumes a large number of artillery pieces, it allows the user to suffer very little damage.

If the distance is right and there is a heavy machine gun for defense.

Then,

This artillery tactic is virtually invincible.

During a frontal assault, artillery is the primary weapon, while heavy machine guns provide defense.

With offense and defense combined, the soldiers on both sides will never have the opportunity to come into close contact.

Since artillery formations were used, the defensive fortifications made of stacked earthen bags were naturally not very high.

The helmet, just over a meter high, was just enough to block bullets, leaving only the head exposed.

Since the main target is mortars, as long as the line of sight is not obstructed, the power of the mortars can be maximized.

Chen Jie stood on a platform several kilometers away.

This platform was a temporary command post, which gave him a broad view.

For Zhang Datong, artillery tactics were a completely new field.

Although he had just acquired two hundred Japanese field guns from the Japanese, he had not yet figured out how to use them.

at this time,

When they saw Ximentang set up an arc-shaped battle formation.

He even inwardly mocked the generals of the Daqian army, saying they didn't understand tactics at all and were simply courting death.

As long as his cavalry launches a charge.

Then,

It can instantly break through the defenses of the Daqian army within ten minutes.

This arc-shaped battle formation offered absolutely no defensive capability when cavalry charged.

then,

Without any hesitation, Zhang Datong took a look at the battle formation the other side had set up.

He brandished his broadsword and ordered the rebel army's thousand cavalry to launch the first charge.

These cavalrymen were all heavily armored, and even their warhorses were covered in thick iron armor, capable of withstanding bullet attacks.

this moment,
Zhang Datong was full of confidence in his cavalry; he believed that a single charge would be enough to break through the defenses of the Daqian army.

Beep beep—beep beep—!
next moment,
Bugles sounded from among the rebels.

Wow——!
The cavalry began their charge in an arrowhead formation towards the arc-shaped battle line.

have to say,

Zhang Datong's combat mindset is still stuck in the era of cold weapons.

His cavalry charge tactics have been completely obsolete in the era of firearms.

Although the West also had this tactic of relying on cavalry charges.

but,

The Western coalition forces had long since improved this tactic, with artillery and heavy machine guns following closely behind to provide cover during the charge.

For example, Zhang Datong could simply send his cavalry to charge, with heavy machine guns positioned at a distance to fire.

Then,

The cavalry will be wiped out; the faster they charge, the faster they will die.

"Giddy up—giddy up—!"

A thousand heavily armored cavalrymen looked imposing and formidable.

in fact,

In the age of firearms, cavalry was not entirely useless.

The cavalry company also had its glory days during World War II.

but,

For cavalry to be effective, they must ensure that the enemy does not have heavy machine guns.

Furthermore, when launching an attack, the distance between the two sides should not exceed two hundred meters.

That is,

The optimal charging distance is to lie in ambush in the woods, and when the enemy is about 200 meters away, launch a sudden cavalry charge to catch them off guard.

In this situation, the fighting power of cavalry is terrifying.

In less than half a minute, they used the speed of the cavalry to break through the enemy's camp.

Then,

With the momentum of the charging horse, the swords in the hands of the cavalry warriors will become the most terrifying weapons.

However, for someone like Zhang Datong to use cavalry charges in positional warfare, with the two sides separated by several miles, is not much different from suicide.

Once the cavalry had closed to within 500 meters, it became clear that the warhorses were moving at a very high speed.

but,

Just then, dozens of heavy machine guns suddenly appeared from behind the defensive fortifications that were more than a meter high.

Simultaneously,

The five hundred 60mm mortars behind the fortifications have already been angled.

Zhang Datong observed the defensive formation of the Daqian army from a distance using a monocular telescope.

He laughed dismissively.

These Daqian troops were completely unfazed by their own cavalry charge!

Ha ha--!
They would soon realize how terrifying their cavalry was; once they charged into the enemy's defensive positions, it would be a massacre.

However, Zhang Datong soon felt a jolt in his heart.

because,

He suddenly saw more than thirty heavy machine guns through his binoculars.

in addition,

Perhaps it was because his position was now a little higher than before, allowing him to see the mortar behind the sandbags.

All that could be seen were countless cannon muzzles, each already adjusted to its angle.

The artilleryman placed the shell at the muzzle of the cannon.

hiss--!
"This is—a cannon!"

"How can there be so many cannons!?"

Zhang Datong was utterly astonished, his head spinning. "How could the Daqian army be equipped with so many cannons? Impossible—this is absolutely impossible!"

but,

He wanted to order the cavalry to retreat, but it was too late!
Da da—da da—!
Boom boom——!
The sounds of heavy machine guns and artillery rang out simultaneously.

When the heavy cavalry charged to within 300 meters, it was as if there was a wall in front of them.

Then,

The heavens and earth seemed to tremble, and Zhang Datong felt a chill in his heart.

The thirty heavy machine guns of Ximentang opened fire simultaneously.

At the same time, five hundred mortars also began to fire fiercely.

The deafening roar of artillery fire echoed throughout the heavens and the earth.

The earth is shaking!

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings were enveloped in artillery fire.

The cannons in Ximentang are all high-explosive shells specially made by the arsenal, which have a completely different explosive force from those black powder bombs.

These are all filled with TNT explosives, and they are extremely powerful.

A round of artillery fire lasts one minute, with an average of five shells fired by each mortar.

That is,

After one round of artillery bombardment, 2,500 shells will land.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The shells made a 'whooshing' sound in the air, falling in a parabolic arc like hailstones.

Simultaneously,

Thirty heavy machine guns opened fire simultaneously, bullets raining down on the rebel cavalry like a meteor shower.

Because the rebel cavalry charged in a very dense, arrow-shaped formation.

Therefore, when faced with the overwhelming firepower of heavy machine guns, they were quickly riddled with holes.

For a while,
The thousand cavalrymen were instantly routed, with almost no chance of fighting back.

The sounds of ghosts howling and wolves howling echoed from all around, their mournful cries resounding throughout the surrounding area.

Any rebels hit by heavy machine gun bullets fell to the ground and were quickly trampled to death by warhorses.

In the ensuing battle, amidst the fierce artillery barrage, the surrounding area was littered with severed limbs and the ground was stained red with blood.

After the first round of attacks.

The rebel cavalry was almost completely wiped out, and their warhorses lay scattered on the ground.

Simultaneously,

The rebels suffered more than half their casualties in the battle.

The artillerymen at Ximentang didn't seem to care about the effects of the shelling.

After the first round of shelling ended, they began preparing for the second round.

Zhang Datong was completely dumbfounded; he still hadn't come to his senses.

"Ah—run—!"

The rebels were thrown into chaos and were completely routed by artillery fire.

They no longer cared about attacking and scattered and fled at top speed.

this moment,
Everyone hoped to take advantage of the second round of artillery fire to escape the artillery's range as quickly as possible.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just then, the second round of artillery fire from Ximentang began.

Prior to this, the artillerymen of Ximentang had already adjusted the coverage area of ​​the mortars.

After the first round of artillery fire ended, there was a one-minute interval before the second round of artillery fire began immediately.

The dense bombardment sound gave one a sense of the end of the world.

Zhang Datong finally experienced the helplessness of the Western Allied Forces.

When Simon Tang recaptured the Cangzhou canal wharf, he fought a fierce battle with Johnson of the Western Allied Forces.

Zhang Datong feels the same way Johnson did back then.

Moreover, the power of the artillery at this time was even greater than when Ximentang attacked Cangzhou.

To know,
The current troop strength is three times that of when they attacked Cangzhou.

Although a thousand cannons did not fire simultaneously in order to conserve ammunition, the simultaneous firing of five hundred mortars still inflicted a terrifying blow on the rebels.

In a short time, the gains continued to expand.

The rebel soldiers who were hit by the bullets were either killed instantly or seriously wounded, lying on the ground and groaning in pain.

Some of the uninjured rebel soldiers were stunned by the bombing, lying on the ground trembling.

The entire rebel formation was thrown into complete chaos.

Only after two rounds of artillery bombardment did Ximentang begin its operation.

The same method of cyclical fire coverage was still used. The first batch moved forward 100 meters, stopped, and then fired artillery.

Then,

The second group passed the position where the first group stopped, and stopped 100 meters ahead.

The cycle continued, and the marching speed never stopped!

The entire rebel position was completely destroyed.

Faced with the overwhelming firepower of Ximentang, Zhang Datong's rebel army had almost no chance to fight back.

After suffering heavy losses, no one dared to charge forward; they only thought about fleeing the battlefield as quickly as possible.

but,

Zhang Datong made a fatal mistake: the rebel army's formation was extremely dense.

It was too late to escape the artillery's range at that moment.

When Ximen Tang's army fought their way to the rebels' positions.

All that could be seen were corpses everywhere, lying strewn across the field.

Some wounded soldiers, who had escaped the shelling, lay on the ground and screamed in agony.

Of Zhang Datong's 15,000 elite troops, less than 3,000 remain, including the wounded.

Fortunately, after Simon began his charge, the mortars were out of range.

and,

In order to conserve ammunition, Chen Jie ordered all mortars to be put away.

The rebels' heavy machine guns and field artillery have been destroyed, so continuing to use artillery barrage tactics would be too wasteful.

These cannons aren't cheap!

Each shell cost about one silver dollar to produce.

Only when you're in charge do you realize how expensive daily necessities are; continuing this kind of bombardment is too costly.

This is why Chen Jie only deployed 500 mortars into the battle.

this moment,
Zhang Datong felt a chill run down his spine; everything that had just happened felt like a nightmare.

That's right,

Such scenes only occur in nightmares.

However, the pervasive smell of blood and gunpowder, along with the remaining scene of utter defeat, constantly reminded Zhang Datong of these lingering grievances.

Everything that just happened!
—It wasn't a nightmare!
(End of this chapter)