Anti-Japanese War: I have unlimited assistance

"Boom boom…"

In the distance, the 105mm howitzer group, 120mm heavy mortar group, and 105mm howitzer group of the 129th Division took the lead in opening fire according to the predetermined firing data.

The flames from the cannons and the sound of cannons firing blended together.

One after another, cannonballs soared into the air, tracing arcs as they landed in the Niangziguan Fortress.

"Boom boom boom..."

Huge fireballs erupted, accompanied by shockwaves that spread outwards, accompanied by deafening explosions.

There was no probing attack; they immediately unleashed a barrage of cannon fodder!

Under the cover of artillery fire in the distance, the B4 heavy howitzer, located 400 meters from the Niangziguan Fortress, also opened fire.

The commotion was significant, but the booming explosions inside Niangziguan Pass drowned out the sound of the B4 heavy howitzer firing.

Under the first round of artillery bombardment, Niangziguan Station was destroyed, and some brick and stone watchtowers and bunkers, as well as the puppet troops inside, were blown to pieces in the blast wave.

at the same time.

The headquarters of the 108th Brigade inside Niangziguan Fortress.

Inside a mountain tunnel, a deafening roar could be heard overhead, and debris from the soil kept falling down.

It looked as if the entire tunnel was about to collapse at any moment.

"idiot."

"How come the Eighth Route Army's firepower is so strong!"

A Japanese staff officer spoke with alarm.

"How many cannons did the Eighth Route Army actually use?"

The other staff officer looked grave.

"Approximately 300 guns," Major Shibata, the mountain artillery battalion commander, said in a deep voice. "All of them are heavy artillery pieces of 105mm or larger, with an error margin of no more than 20 guns."

After the Eighth Route Army gained air superiority over North China, its artillery units could bombard the enemy with confidence and without worrying about their artillery positions being bombarded.

The two extremes have reversed; now the Japanese artillery units are terrified of the Eighth Route Army's bombing raids and dare not show themselves easily.

Just seconds after showing up.

Mengxian Airport in Jinzhong is very close to Niangziguan Pass. After the Eighth Route Army called for air support, it could arrive in just over ten minutes.

This amount of time is not enough for the Guizishan artillery unit to relocate its artillery positions!

"Nani!"

"300 heavy artillery pieces!?"

The faces of the Japanese staff officers immediately turned solemn, and some of the officers even had a look of despair in their eyes.

The 108th Brigade's two infantry regiments and mountain artillery battalion were equipped with only 20 mountain guns in total, and these were just mountain guns, not even considered heavy artillery.

Although it still has four 150mm fortress-type cannons, its firepower is not weak.

However, compared to the artillery firepower of the Eighth Route Army, the gap was not small.

"What's the panic?" Major General Yoshitaro Hayashi, the brigade commander, sneered. "All the Japanese troops are hiding in fortresses, artillery shelters, and tunnels. Even if the Eighth Route Army deploys 150mm howitzers, they won't be able to destroy our fortifications. The Eighth Route Army is just wasting their ammunition."

"Tell the soldiers."

"Once we withstand this wave of shelling, we will teach the Eighth Route Army a lesson with our 75mm mountain guns, 150mm cannons, and light and heavy machine guns."

Yoshitaro Hayashi forcefully boosted morale.

Just then, several huge shockwaves came from the ground, and several Japanese officers and staff officers were knocked off balance. Even Yoshitaro Hayashi was almost knocked to the ground.

"What?!" Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe exclaimed, "Was it an earthquake?"

"It might be the Eighth Route Army blowing up the Locust Army's fortifications," a staff officer speculated, his mind still unsettled.

Hayashi Yoshitaro was also somewhat surprised and uncertain. Could it be that the Eighth Route Army had dug tunnels under the Niangziguan Fortress so quickly?

To prevent the Eighth Route Army from using tunnels to blow up fortresses, the Japanese also formed an anti-tunnel unit to monitor underground activity 24 hours a day.

Once a sound is detected coming from underground, the Japanese will immediately take countermeasures. But if it's the Eighth Route Army using explosives, judging by the sound of the explosion, the amount of explosives used seems far too small.
"Brigade Commander."

Just then, a staff officer rushed in:

"The concrete fortifications in the south of the fortress were blown up."

"What did you say?" Hayashi Yoshitaro grabbed the Japanese staff officer by the collar. "The concrete fortifications were blown up?"

"Yes, sir." The Japanese staff officer bowed his head.

"Baga, what the hell is going on?"

"Could it be that the Eighth Route Army has been equipped with the Type 45 240mm heavy howitzers of the Locust Army?"

Yoshitaro Hayashi is starting to have a mental breakdown.

However, right now, shells are raining down all over the Niangziguan Fortress. Going out to check the situation in the south of the fortress now would be suicide!

……

On the B4 heavy howitzer position.

Soldiers from the 1st Company of the heavy howitzer battalion directly under headquarters loaded a 203mm armor-piercing shell into the gun barrel using a crane.

The 203mm armor-piercing projectile weighs 110 kilograms.

Using a crane to load shells not only greatly saves the gunner's physical strength, but also greatly increases the rate of fire.

In actual combat, it can fire one shell every two minutes, and with rapid fire it can fire one shell every one minute.

The shells for the Japanese Type 4 and 5 240mm howitzers required four to six large Japanese men to lift them into the breech, and in actual combat, it took 6 to 8 minutes to fire one shell.

The soldiers pushed the shells into the breech, and then stuffed the propellant charges into the breech one by one, close to the bottom of the shell.

The gunner rotates the breech handle to close the breech, checks for a seal, and prevents gas leakage.

The two gunners, with their glasses close to the sights, coordinated to adjust the firing parameters and aimed at the main position of the Japanese fortress 450 meters away.

The main position of this Japanese fortress was built with concrete and steel bars, with the thickest part reaching 3 meters. Machine gun ports and artillery positions were built on top of it.

If we rely on soldiers to form a demolition team to carry out the attack, it will be almost impossible to take the city.

"Aiming complete!"

"The soldier in charge of aiming shouted."

"Fire!"

The squad leader gave the order to fire.

The soldier in charge of firing the cannon pulled the fuse in his hand back.

"Tom!"

The deafening roar of the cannons was deafening.

Meanwhile, the other gunners bent over, opened their mouths wide, and covered their ears to avoid the blast.

If operated improperly, the artilleryman responsible for firing the cannon will be hit by a powerful shockwave, causing bleeding from his ears and nose, or even severe cases of immediate deafness.

However, this cannon had been in the hands of the squad for half a year, although this was its first time in actual combat.

However, this firing technique has long been mastered, and there have even been many live-fire exercises with it.

A kilometer away, Commander Liu raised his binoculars and looked at the Japanese fortress position.

Just then, they saw a platoon fire a shell at the Japanese fortress. A 203mm howitzer shell went down, and a huge explosion roared. The whole Niangziguan seemed to tremble. As the smoke dissipated, Commander Liu saw the spot where the Japanese fortress's concrete main structure had been hit, where a large hole had been blasted in.

"What kind of shell is this?" Commander Liu's eyes widened behind his black-rimmed round glasses. "It's incredibly powerful."

As for the pillboxes and bunkers in front of the main body of the Japanese fortress, they had already been destroyed in the first two rounds of shelling.

Commander Liu did not expect that even the Japanese concrete fortifications, which were 3 meters thick, could not withstand the shelling.

The heavy howitzer battalion commander immediately reported: "Reporting to the division commander, it's called a chromium-vanadium alloy shell. It can increase the penetrating power of the projectile. This kind of shell is specially designed to attack the Japanese concrete fortifications. With the addition of a special fin-stabilized shell, it can basically hit wherever it's pointed at."

"Haha, not bad!" Commander Liu laughed, then glanced at his pocket watch. "After the shelling, there will be another wave of air support." (End of Chapter)