Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 473 Smoke Screen! Attacking Ezhou
After Xu Xiaodao led his troops to attack Ezhou.

The course of the battle took Xu Xiaodao by surprise.

At this time, Ozawa Kaiki, the general in charge of defending Ezhou, received a death order from Oyama Iwao, the commander of the Kwantung Army of the Japanese Army, that he must defend Ezhou at all costs.

Once Ezhou falls, all of Ozawa Kaiki's men will be punished according to Japanese military regulations, beheaded and displayed publicly.

The total number of Japanese troops in the entire city of Ezhou was 23,000.

Hong Chaoge's army numbered 28,000.

Therefore,
The elite troops stationed in Ezhou City numbered 51,000.

There were also nearly 30,000 soldiers, all of whom were former stragglers under the command of Prince Li Ben of Han.

Because Ezhou City was very close to Xianning Prefecture, the Japanese army cooperated with Hong Chaoge and, after occupying the city, began preparing to attack Xianning Prefecture.

The Japanese field gun fleet was equipped with over a thousand guns, including 100 long-range field guns with a caliber of 180mm and 200 heavy field guns with a caliber of 120mm.

In addition, there were more than 100 Maxim heavy machine guns and more than 10,000 platoon leaders.

Some of these junior Japanese commanders were Japanese officers who had been defeated by Ximen Tang in Qingdao and Songjiang Prefecture, Shandong.

Many Japanese military officers had already been dismissed from their posts.

but,

Now is the time to use people, so in order to improve combat power, Ozawa Kaiki asked these former defeated Japanese generals to redeem themselves through meritorious service.

Inside Ezhou City, Ozawa Kaiki announced to his 80,000-strong army that they would defend Ezhou City to the death and that retreat was not permitted.

Otherwise, kill without mercy!

To increase deterrence, Ozawa Kaiki selected a group of elites to form an inspection team.

Anyone who deserts on the battlefield shall be executed on the spot.

The eastern side of Ezhou City borders the Yangtze River.

Therefore, the stationed troops only need to guard the south and west sides.

Near the north, half of it is bordered by the Yangtze River, a natural barrier.

Ozawa Kaiki ordered that the south and west gates of Ezhou City be completely sealed off, leaving only the north gate open for entry and exit.

Simultaneously,

He then ordered all the ships that were moored in the Yangtze River to move to the north and anchor, leaving the entire section of the Yangtze River at the East Gate completely empty.

As a result,
The defenders' escape route was completely blocked, leaving them with no choice but to fight to the death.

Put yourself to death and survive!
While Ximen Tang was mobilizing troops, the Japanese army did not stop its expansion, nor did it waste precious time setting up defensive fortifications.

After capturing Ezhou City, Ozawa Kaiki began to strengthen the city's defenses.

Although on the surface the Japanese army was assisting Hong Chaoge's army, the real commander behind the scenes was always the Japanese army.

Thousands of gun emplacements were built on the south and west walls of Ezhou City.

and,

A large number of defensive tools, including siege engines, were deployed on the fortifications outside the city.

In order to broaden their view, they even demolished many buildings outside Ezhou city.

Sandbags filled with sand were stacked on the city wall, forming a sturdy defensive position.

in addition,

Ozawa Kaiki was also prepared for a street battle with Simondo.

Many streets in Ezhou City were fortified with numerous checkpoints, defensive positions, fortresses, arrow towers, and watchtowers.

Two lines of defense were also built at the city gate, like an impregnable fortress.

Even if Ezhou City were breached by Ximentang's cannons, the troops stationed in Ezhou City could still fight a defensive battle against Ximentang by relying on the fortifications they had built.

What's most unbelievable is that Ozawa Kaiki actually set up two trenches in the South Gate area.

This direction is towards Xianning Prefecture. If Ximentang launches an attack from the direction of Xianning Prefecture, then the South Gate will be the main direction of attack.

The two trenches were fifty meters apart.

Sandbags were stacked on both sides of the trench, forming a low wall.

Furthermore, heavy machine gunners and volley gunners were stationed in the trenches, ready to retreat to the city wall below the south gate at any time.

This smooth defensive tactic is Ximentang's forte in tactical gameplay.

I never expected the Japanese to learn so quickly.

The second trench was lined with numerous spikes.

The two trenches could limit the speed of Ximentang's charge, and together with the heavy machine guns and artillery on the city wall, they could form a crossfire suppression.

Ozawa Kaiki once fought with Ximentang in Xianning Prefecture.

He had suffered losses from the trench defenses of Ximentang and was very wary of Ximentang's artillery positions.

However, even after setting up trench defenses in Ezhou, he lacked confidence.

After all, he was just imitating Ximen Tang's defensive tactics.

More importantly, the artillery and various weapons of the Allied Forces of the East were far less powerful than those of Ximentang.

Therefore, it's hard to say how effective it will be to imitate Simon's fortress tactics.

Ozawa Kaiki knew very well that it would be extremely difficult to stop Ximen Tang's attack with only such defensive fortifications.

However, there is no better way now. Many of the tactics of the Oriental Army Academy are far inferior to the fortress-style defensive tactics of the Ximeng Hall in this offensive and defensive tactic.

Therefore,
He followed suit and directly adopted the defensive tactics that Ximen Tang was best at.

Regardless of whether it's useful or not, let's set up the defensive fortifications first.

Even if Ximentang's artillery eventually breaches the defensive positions and forces them into Ezhou City for street fighting, Ozawa Kaiki believes that Ximentang's army will not be easily defeated.

Xu Xiaodao was completely stunned when he saw the defensive fortifications of Ezhou City through his binoculars.

He never expected that the Japanese army would learn and apply what they learned so well, imitating Ximen Tang's defensive tactics so effectively.

Not only were trenches dug in the direction of the south gate, but crossfire was also formed.

but,

For the defense of Ezhou City, attacking from the south gate is the best option.

therefore,

After Ximentang arrived at the outskirts of Ezhou City, he could only attack from the south gate.

If we attack from other directions, we would have to take a long detour, which would be counterproductive.

No matter how well the Japanese learn Ximentang's defensive tactics, they must break through their positions.

Without first breaching the trenches and fortresses, it would be impossible to approach the city walls of Ezhou.

then,

After receiving full authorization from Chen Jie, Xu Xiaodao led 20,000 elite Ximen Hall troops to launch an attack on Ezhou City.

After the battle began, Xu Xiaodao quickly sensed that something was amiss.

The Japanese learned the tactical suppression and impenetrable defensive fortifications that Ximentang had always maintained, which allowed them to win with fewer troops.

Ximentang's offensive encountered great trouble.

Boom—boom—!
Ximentang launched the first saturation bombardment, using the advantage of artillery to bombard the ground from five kilometers away, and carried out the first round of fire coverage.

This overwhelming artillery barrage was Chen Jie's favorite tactic.

Xu Xiaodao had received rigorous training at the Ximentang Military Academy and was adept at this tactic.

Taking advantage of the superior range and power of the Ximentang cannons, he directly bombarded the Japanese defensive positions with artillery fire.

The goal is simple.
Using the power of artillery, they directly flattened the Japanese fortifications outside the city, forcing the Japanese army into Ezhou.

but,

To Xu Xiaodao's great surprise, the artillery barrage had very little effect.

Trench defense tactics are the most efficient defensive tactics summarized from the experience of two world wars during the era of firearms.

Trying to break through with artillery is not that easy.
This was the most robust defensive tactical approach in modern warfare, before the advent of data-driven combat.

Although the Japanese army did not fully understand the tactical principles of trench defense.

but,

The final result was that, despite having the advantage in range and power, and possessing powerful incendiary shells, the artillery of the West Gate was defeated.

Faced with the defensive fortifications of the trenches, the soldiers of the Japanese Allied Forces all hid inside the trenches, their entire bodies underground.

As a result,
The lethality of artillery shells was greatly reduced. They could only cause effective damage if they landed precisely inside the trenches.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to bomb the Japanese Allied Forces soldiers at all from outside the trenches.

Therefore,
The once-unstoppable artillery fire of the Ximen Hall was actually blocked by the trench defenses.

After two rounds of artillery bombardment, the soldiers of the Allied Forces were too afraid to show their heads.

However, the actual damage was extremely limited, and a lot of shells were wasted.

of course,

This artillery bombardment tactic, which involved covering the entire area with firepower, was not entirely ineffective; at least it prevented the Allied Forces of the East from retaliating.

only,
Relying on supplies from Xianning Prefecture, this full-firepower coverage tactic would result in insufficient ammunition supply and unsustainable consumption.

Although Ximentang's supply corps had already departed from Jinling, transporting a large number of artillery shells to Xianning Prefecture for support.

However, for the remote Hanzhong region, such overwhelming artillery bombardment tactics were destined to be unsustainable.

Intensive firepower strikes require careful timing.

Therefore,
After the artillery battalion of Ximentang bombarded the area three times,

Xu Xiaodao quickly realized that relying solely on the powerful artillery barrage was simply not enough to completely breach the defenses of Ezhou City.

Therefore, he decisively ordered the special forces regiment to launch a surprise attack on Ezhou City under the cover of artillery fire.

At this time,

Ozawa Kaiki and his commanders were standing on the city wall of Ezhou, watching the battle from inside the fortifications.

The Japanese army had suffered heavy losses against Ximentang's trench defense tactics and had never been able to break through them.

Besides launching a fierce attack using human lives, perhaps they would use heavy cavalry charges.

But each time, despite heavy casualties, the results were not very good.

therefore,

He also wanted to see if his trench warfare tactics could withstand Ximentang's strong attack this time.

He was very wary of Ximentang's tactics and wanted to learn how Ximentang broke through trench defenses.

then,

When Xu Xiaodao ordered the special operations regiment to launch a surprise attack.

Ozawa Kaiki also decisively ordered the crossfire on the city wall to launch a fierce attack on the Ximentang Special Forces Regiment.

This crossfire attack is extremely powerful and is also a tactical approach employed by Simon Tang.

have to say,

Ozawa Kaiki is a very intelligent commander.

He was adept at replicating Ximentang's tactical arrangements and enjoyed studying them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Japanese field guns on the city wall launched a fierce bombardment at the attacking troops at Ximentang.

Large-caliber heavy artillery, with considerable power.

quickly,

The Ximentang Special Operations Regiment suffered casualties, and its losses began to increase.

This is the price that must be paid when launching an attack.

Xu Xiaodao suddenly panicked and quickly adjusted his offensive rhythm.

Standing on the city wall, Ozawa Kaiki immediately noticed that Ximentang's attack method was very different from before.

S-shaped battle formation surprise attack!
Originally, Ximentang was most skilled at using arc formations.

However, the arc formation is suitable for defense, while the S-shaped formation is still needed for offense.

The battle lines began to stretch out and spread out, with the distance between each soldier just enough to avoid the angle of the artillery's attack.

The key point is that all the special operations soldiers were wearing thick bulletproof vests and steel helmets, and they charged forward at a very fast speed while bending over.

Perhaps it's because the people are spread out that they appear to be a large number.

Originally, the special operations regiment only had two thousand men in this assault.

However, it looked like there were more than five thousand people; the entire south gate area of ​​Ezhou was densely packed with people.

After the S-shaped battle formation was deployed, although it appeared to be dispersed, the firepower was not dispersed.

When subjected to artillery fire from the Japanese field guns, the area affected by the impact was much smaller.

In the past, if it had been hit by artillery fire and blown apart, there would have been at least three casualties.

Now that the personnel are dispersed, the damage is limited unless the shot hits within three meters of the special forces soldiers' feet.

Even if someone is killed in the explosion, it will only result in one casualty and will not affect the soldiers nearby.

More importantly, the rear of Ximentang was covered by artillery, making it not so easy to hit the formation.

in fact,

Ximentang's attacks have always been conducted with a wide-spread battle line, never concentrated in one place.

However, the Japanese Allied Forces adopted trench defense tactics at this time, which disrupted Ximentang's offensive rhythm.

have to say,

Xu Xiaodao changed tactics, having the Ximentang Special Forces Regiment launch a surprise attack using an S-shaped battle formation, which greatly reduced casualties.

The most important reason was that the Japanese cannonballs, which used black powder, were far less powerful than those of the Ximentang cannonballs.

Moreover, the trenches in the direction of the south gate of Ezhou City, as well as the area in the direction of the city gate, are flat.

Once the elite special forces of Ximentang adapted to the defensive tactics of the Japanese Allied Forces, they immediately crawled forward to minimize the damage.

therefore,

In less than fifteen minutes, Ximentang's soldiers had charged to within about 800 meters of the Japanese Allied Forces' defensive position.

This distance puts them within the range of the Japanese army's volley fire formation.

Cough cough—cough cough—!
The Allied Forces of the East Japan Army began to fire fiercely.

At this moment, the entire battlefield was filled with thick black smoke, obscuring visibility.

Moreover, all the elite soldiers of the Ximentang Special Forces Regiment advanced on their stomachs.

As a result, the Japanese Allied Forces' volley fire had almost no effective casualties.

The crawling assault method is essential for special forces and is the result of rigorous training.

Although they were advancing while crawling on the ground, their speed was not slow under the cover of artillery fire.

Because they were lying on the ground and the personnel were scattered, the power of the Japanese field artillery was reduced to a minimum.

not to mention,
As the Ximentang area approached the trench defenses, the Japanese field artillery was restricted and could no longer bombard the area indiscriminately, otherwise it would be easy to accidentally injure their own troops.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the front of the position, Ximentang's smoke grenades kept exploding.

Within the area in front of the city gate, smoke filled the air, obscuring the battle situation.

This is the cover provided by smoke grenades, which can significantly reduce casualties in the Ximentang Special Operations Regiment and disrupt the enemy's vision.

at the same time,

Everyone in the Ximentang Special Operations Regiment wore anti-fog masks.

Smoke bombs, also known as smoke screen bombs.

It can create a smoke screen by continuously emitting smoke after an explosion, thus interfering with the enemy's observation and firing.

Simultaneously,

To cover the assault troops' charge.

The pungent smoke bomb contains a special irritant.

Not only does it cause a strong irritation to breathing, but the smoke also makes it impossible to open one's eyes, causing tears to flow continuously.

Therefore,
As smoke bombs enveloped the city walls outside the south gate of Ezhou, the Japanese Allied Forces soldiers lying in the trenches couldn't help but cough and struggle to breathe.

Xu Xiaodao was a little late in choosing the timing for launching the smoke grenade.

Otherwise, the elite special operations regiment wouldn't have suffered such heavy casualties just now.

Ozawa Kaiki, who was watching the battle from the city wall, felt a chill run down his spine after seeing this scene.

What kind of shell is this?
How could it emit such thick gunpowder smoke with such a pungent garlic smell that it makes it impossible to open one's eyes?

(End of this chapter)