Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 62 Planting the Flag on the Summit of Kemer (Seeking First Subscription)
"Boom boom boom!"

On the reverse slope on the north side of the summit of Mount Kemer, groups of heavy artillery from the Burma Army roared continuously, seemingly venting the deepest fears in Commander Haig's heart.

From 12 BL-MK1 9.2-inch heavy howitzers,

Up to 72 60-pounder guns (approximately 5-inch caliber).

Then there were nearly 200 18-pounder cannons (approximately 84 mm caliber).

The Burma army has deployed more than half of the expeditionary force's heavy artillery in the core battlefield of Mount Kemer, where the two sides fought most fiercely.

It was this massive artillery barrage that kept the enemy at the foot of the mountain for more than ten days, preventing them from breaking through.

On the southern slope of Mount Kemer, across a battlefield nearly ten kilometers wide, the deafening roar of rocks splitting and shattering echoed everywhere. Large chunks of rock were blasted apart, flying through the air before crashing and tumbling down, their thunderous echoes reverberating through the valley.

"We can definitely hold them off. Even though we can't see the enemy, as long as we bombard all the suspected lost positions with indiscriminate artillery fire, no matter how strong the enemy's assault teams are, they won't be able to infiltrate!"

In the headquarters of the 1st Army of the Burkina Faso Expeditionary Force, Lieutenant General Haig's face was ashen, and he kept giving himself this kind of self-suggestion.

Despite his subordinates' concerns that he might accidentally harm his own people, he ignored them all and only thought about stopping the enemy at all costs!
The heavy snow severely limited visibility. Despite having the advantage of high ground, the Bu army was unable to survey the overall situation and grasp the details of the front line, leaving them with no choice but to resort to this brutal method.

……

While the Burghers were furiously and incompetently bombarding the enemy, in Major Rundstedt's assault battalion, the newly infiltrated observation teams were hiding in the newly captured tunnels, using assembled artillery sonic detectors to fine-tune the direction and listen for the enemy's firing positions.

There are actually loud noises everywhere on the battlefield. The sound of the explosive charge at the point of impact is far louder than the sound of the propellant exploding when the shell is fired.

Therefore, without professional equipment, it is actually very easy to get confused, and you will not be able to distinguish east from west after listening for a short time.

But with the advent of specialized artillery acoustic sounding instruments, everything changed.

The two receivers on the artillery acoustic sounding instrument, which look like satellite dishes, can focus on collecting and amplifying the sound in the direction it is pointing, while suppressing or even ignoring the sound in other directions.

Therefore, as long as the two "satellite dishes" are roughly pointed towards the hillside, the sound of shells landing and exploding from behind can be almost completely blocked out, allowing the user to focus solely on collecting the sound of artillery fire.

Of course, this kind of eavesdropping still can't pinpoint the direction as precisely as radar. It can only tell you that enemy artillery is firing within a roughly 60-degree arc ahead.

Therefore, such crude listening methods are not enough to directly counter enemy artillery.

To achieve precise positioning, we need to rely on timing and multi-point ranging methods; only by combining these methods can we achieve a remarkable effect.

“A组观测点，350至50方位角内，监听到每隔两分钟一轮的四发极重声纹！疑似9.2寸超重型榴弹炮阵地！监听到声纹时间，为17时55分32.8秒、37.4秒、42.2秒、46.7秒……”

The listening team, hidden in the first tunnel, also carried a portable radio. The radio itself was concealed inside the tunnel, but the transmitting and receiving antennas extended beyond the tunnel entrance to ensure signal strength. After the listening operator announced the time, the transmitter immediately sent all relevant data to the rear.

Meanwhile, observation points B and C were doing similar things.

All the listening personnel wore the finest Swiss military-grade Seiko watches, accurate to 0.1 seconds and capable of estimating a single digit. While listening to the sound of gunfire, they also had to keep their eyes glued to their watches, noting down the exact moment they heard the sound.

Moreover, before setting off, each group's monitor checked their watches to ensure that everyone's watches kept the exact same time, with no error of even 0.1 seconds.

Because sound travels through the air in winter, it takes approximately 3 seconds to travel 1 kilometer. An error of 0.1 seconds could result in a distance measurement error of more than 30 meters when locating the enemy.

“B组观测点，监听到9.2吋炮群开火时间，为17时55分36.6秒、41.2秒……”

“Observation point C…”

All three sets of data were accurately reported to the rear 210mm heavy howitzer battalion positions and compiled by Battalion Commander Major William Keitel.

Upon receiving the order, the major immediately and decisively commanded: "Calculator! Immediately calculate the hyperbola based on the relative coordinate differences of the three sets of observation points and the time difference of hearing the cannon fire!"

Anyone who has studied junior high school math knows:

"The locus of a moving point in a plane whose sum of distances to two fixed points is a constant is called an ellipse."

"The locus of a moving point in a plane whose difference in distance to two fixed points is constant is called a hyperbola."

The locations of observation groups A and B, and the coordinates they report themselves, represent the "foci of the hyperbola" in this problem.

The time difference between the sound of the heavy artillery firing reaching these two points, multiplied by the speed of sound, is the "difference in distance to the two fixed points" of this hyperbola.

(Note: A simple method of locating the distance to an enemy artillery position by listening to the sound of gunfire is to measure the distance by visually estimating the time difference between the flash of the gun and hearing the sound of the gun. This method utilizes the time difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound, similar to determining the distance of lightning by "the time difference between seeing lightning and hearing thunder".)

In today's scenario, however, due to the heavy snow obscuring the enemy's muzzle flashes, neither side can see the other's. Therefore, a more advanced multi-focus hyperbolic algorithm is required to solve the problem. Furthermore, the German army must wait for the heavy snow to block the muzzle flashes; otherwise, the enemy, with their superior vantage point, will see both sides' flashes. Only in a combat environment where both sides are completely blinded and rely solely on hearing can the protagonist's side gain the upper hand. (To avoid misunderstandings and arguments due to the potentially overly complex mathematical nature of this problem, I've provided a detailed analysis.)
The calculation soldier quickly plotted the hyperbolas in pairs on the coordinate graph based on the parameters reported by the three observation posts:
"The sound of the guns firing from the same gun group arrived at point A 3.8 seconds later than at point B, and all four guns were 3.8 seconds later. This was confirmed in three rounds of testing. It can be basically determined that the distance difference between the two foci of the first hyperbola is about 1270 meters... Based on this, the hyperbola is constructed as follows..."

This process is certainly not quick, and it cannot be decided after just one round of listening; it also requires verification.

Fortunately, the snow was heavy and it was getting dark. The enemy kept firing, so there was plenty of time to calculate.

After several rounds, the computer engineer finally drew two sets of hyperbolas with AB as the focus and AC as the focus respectively. The intersection of these two sets of hyperbolas is theoretically the location of the positions of the four BL-MK1 9.2-inch super heavy howitzers!

The strategist reported the final focal coordinates to Battalion Commander William Keitel for his personal review.

After the battalion commander confirmed that everything was correct, he immediately ordered his 210mm heavy howitzers to adjust their firing data according to the target coordinates.

A few minutes later, after such a long silence, the German artillery finally spoke!
A barking dog doesn't bite.

In the snow and darkness, those trash who are impotently furious and fire wildly out of fear, and those animals from the Burmese country whose math skills are so bad they're practically nonexistent, often pose little threat.

The truly deadly ones are those patient individuals who have endured for a long time and held back their attacks.

However, no one can defy the laws of nature. The biggest problem with this mathematical positioning method for guiding firing is that it cannot be corrected based on the errors of the previous round. If the shot misses, it's impossible to know exactly which direction it veered off course.

Major Keitel's 210mm howitzer had done its utmost to counterattack the enemy artillery positions with the utmost accuracy.

He could only indirectly judge whether the enemy's heavy artillery had been destroyed by "whether the enemy stopped firing after the artillery was fired, and whether the enemy's subsequent artillery fire became sparse".

If it is destroyed, then move on to the next group of targets, select some conspicuous voiceprints, track, time, and report their location... and repeat all the above processes.

……

With a loud "boom!", a shell weighing more than 120 kilograms exploded on the BL-MK1 9.2-inch howitzer position on the reverse slope of the north side of Kemer Mountain.

Although the exploding shell wasn't as thick as our own 234mm shells, it was still 210mm, and its destructive power was equally astonishing. The explosive charge was equivalent to several tens of kilograms of TNT, making it a force to be reckoned with.

If it lands on an open artillery position, it would be enough to kill all the soldiers within a 30-meter radius.

Even steel cannons within 20 meters of the impact point cannot withstand the huge shrapnel flying from them; they will instantly twist and deform.

One of the 9.2-inch guns, weighing 27 tons, was located not far from the impact point and was blown to pieces.

Even more critically, the shell waiting to be loaded next to the 9.2-inch gun, as well as the shell already inserted into the barrel, were also affected and subsequently exploded.

Three heavy artillery shells exploded in succession, leaving the entire 9.2-inch battalion's position in a horrific scene of devastation, without even a cry of pain. All the artillerymen caught in the blast were killed instantly, their deaths swift and brutal.

The troops on the neighboring position were completely bewildered for a long time, not even realizing what had happened, and thought it was an accidental explosion of ammunition.

After all, in this heavy snow, with darkness approaching, our side was still hiding on the reverse slope of the mountaintop, firing from a high vantage point. We'd been fighting for so many days without incident, how could something suddenly go wrong?
"It should be an accident, right?" The brigade commander of the heavy artillery brigade directly under the army, who was in charge of the specific verification work, did not dare to report the enemy attack directly to Army Commander Hager, and decided to conduct a self-inspection as an accident first.

Such a serious accident could jeopardize one's career by giving a false report; it's better to verify the facts first. After a few minutes of delay, another volley of shells, fired at a high frequency, rained down on the same spot again.

The natural dispersion of the shells is slightly different, but the general direction is completely the same.

"Boom boom boom!"

At this moment, even the slow-witted Bu Jun realized what was happening, and a sudden fear of the unknown rose in his heart.

The German artillery bombardment had not stopped. After detecting that the first 9.2-inch heavy artillery position of the Burgundy had fallen silent, they quickly switched to a new target and began firing on another position 15 minutes later.

During World War I, the deployment of heavy artillery positions often took several hours, with heavier cannons taking even longer to deploy.

Similarly, the heavier the object, the more troublesome it is to gather or transfer it.

The 9.2-inch super-heavy howitzer takes two to three hours to retract. Even more daunting is its massive weight of 27 tons, making it difficult to move without specialized heavy-duty towing equipment.

Thus, before the army could adjust its deployment, all 12 super-heavy guns of the three battalions were destroyed by the counter-bombardment!
With these heaviest firepower destroyed, the pressure on the German forces was greatly reduced.

These 12 super-heavy artillery pieces were originally intended to block the railway at the foot of the mountain. Each shell, weighing nearly 200 kilograms, could blast a crater several meters deep into the railway embankment, and render a large section of the rail sleepers unusable, greatly increasing the difficulty of maintenance.

The reason the German army couldn't use the railway before was because the artillery bombardment was too intense. Even if the German army wanted to repair it during the day after it was bombed during the day, they wouldn't have enough time.

Now, all of that has become a thing of the past.

After confirming that their 9.2-inch super-heavy howitzers had all misfired, the Germans quickly began to adjust their targets and, through listening and calculation, located a regiment of 5-inch 60-pound artillery...

……

"Commander! Something terrible has happened! The enemy possesses an ability we cannot comprehend! In the darkness and heavy snow, they can bombard our heavy artillery positions directly from locations they cannot see, without even needing to observe with the naked eye!"
Brigadier General Rolf was also killed in action during enemy counter-battery fire! Another 60-pounder artillery regiment is suffering heavy losses from enemy suppressive fire!

The panicked artillerymen finally broke the bad news to Lieutenant General Douglas Haig.

"What?! This is impossible!" Haig was utterly stunned upon hearing the devastating news. He even rushed outside, instinctively glancing up at the sky before quickly turning around to look around. He even reached out and caught a few snowflakes.
"That's impossible! It's so dark! And it's snowing heavily! Even if it weren't dark, I couldn't see anything two kilometers away! Our artillery is firing blindly at pre-set coordinates! How could the enemy possibly know where our artillery is?"

In the critical moment, one of his artillery commanders even speculated: "Could it be that the enemy is using sound to pinpoint the exact location of our heavy artillery positions?"

But Haig didn't believe it at all, and denied it sternly: "Do you think the enemy's ears are blessed by the oracle? With so much chaotic artillery fire on the battlefield, how many times louder is the sound of the shells exploding when they land than the sound of the cannons firing? And the sound of the shells exploding is much closer to them. Tell me, how can they tell the difference by hearing!"

In this era, there were ideas of using hearing to distinguish and measure the distance of firing points. However, these ideas remained only at the theoretical level.

Or it can only be used in actual combat under extremely special circumstances where "the firing point is very close to the observation post, while the explosion point of the shell is very far from the observation post".

We must invent a directional amplification and reception instrument for artillery acoustic measurement in order to greatly expand the applicability of this mathematical warfare tactic and free it from the constraints of specific battlefield environments.

Haig was completely baffled and wanted to personally inspect the artillery positions to see the actual situation.

In the end, his subordinates dragged him back with all their might, telling him it was far too dangerous.

Although the enemy's artillery accuracy could not compare to the daytime artillery fire, it was still relatively accurate in the dark.

The high command of the military was in a state of confusion for a while, unable to figure it out, and even the emergency meeting could not reach a conclusion.

Finally, after another 60-pounder artillery regiment was severely damaged, Haig's mental state began to break down.

He hysterically issued two orders:
All artillery positions on the north slope of Mount Kemer were immediately moved, relocated, and redeployed in batches to other locations.

At the same time, order the infantry troops defending the front line to immediately launch an assault down the mountain! We must retake the positions that were captured today!
Although he didn't know why, his intuition told Haig that there must have been something fishy about the outer positions that had been lost before. It was because of those changes that the enemy's artillery was suddenly able to detect the precise location of their own artillery.

Following the scientific approach of using a "control group," if we change the other variables back, will everything return to normal?
He's like a programmer whose code has encountered a catastrophic bug. Although he doesn't understand the bug's mechanics, his first thought is to restore all the modified code to its original state, hoping the bug will disappear.

So he simply and bluntly ordered his infantry to launch a counter-offensive in the darkness! They charged down the mountain!

The feeling was like Ma Su, cornered and desperate, suddenly ordering that they could no longer defend the mountain and should instead charge back at the enemy besieging Jieting Mountain.

Several regiments of the Bu army, under the command of their corps commander, launched a blind counterattack in the darkness, but their own artillery was unable to provide precise support.

……

On the position below the mountain, Duke Rupprecht stayed in his headquarters, not daring to sleep all night. He wanted to see how effective the artillery counter-attack would be that night.

Because they couldn't directly confirm the results of the battle, they could only hear that "another enemy heavy artillery position on the back slope of the mountain has fallen silent," but they were completely in the dark about how many people were killed and how many cannons were destroyed.

All they knew was that the enemy's firepower density was indeed decreasing, and their artillery suppression was becoming increasingly ineffective.

The Duke didn't let Lelouch sleep either, making him stay up all night watching the battle and providing real-time strategic advice. Finally, unable to stay awake any longer, he pulled out some high-end Jamaican coffee he'd previously captured to perk himself up.

Just as the battle was raging into the latter half of the night, the frontline combat troops finally reported news that shocked everyone:
"Commander! I don't know what's going on, but the troops on the mountain seem to have gone mad!"
They were just holding their ground and holding out against us, but just now they tried to charge down and retake the position that the assault battalion had infiltrated and taken this evening!

Our forward units have immediately switched to defense, but require fire support!

The division commander in charge of tonight's frontal attack made a phone call to headquarters, informing them of this momentous change.

"Such a thing actually happened?! Lelouch, is this also a miracle created by your new tactics? Has the enemy been driven mad by us? Definitely! They definitely can't understand why we have such incredibly accurate artillery firepower even in the darkness and heavy snow! Definitely!"

The Duke was overjoyed and even picked up a high-powered telescope to look towards the distant mountain assault position.

Lelouch also picked up the binoculars, his hands trembling as he looked through them.

On the distant hillside, the MG15 light machine guns fired in a crossfire, creating a web of fire that swept down rows of Bu army soldiers who were charging down the hillside.

The German artillery also received precise radio signals from the platoon-level radios assigned to the front-line units, allowing them to adjust their gun barrels and redirect the cannons originally intended for counter-battery missions towards the hillside where the enemy counter-attacking forces were located.

Heavy artillery, mortars, and grenade launchers exploded alternately in front of the lines, annihilating all the Bu troops who were counterattacking down the mountain; not a single one managed to escape.

One regiment of the 1st Army was almost wiped out, and two regiments of the ANZAC were also completely wiped out in the middle of the night.

More importantly, the enemy defenders on Mount Kemer were completely bewildered. They couldn't comprehend this kind of combat where their own heavy artillery was being bombarded unilaterally, while they didn't even know where the enemy's heavy artillery was.

At any time, a battle where you can only take the beating and have nowhere to fight back is the most demoralizing.

The German army held out until the early hours of the morning, when the Burgh troops finally gave up and their morale plummeted.

Seeing that the situation was very favorable, the German army finally ordered a full-scale counter-offensive and launched a strong attack on Mount Kemer.

Mount Kemal, which had been held by the Burgundian army for more than ten days, especially the main peak, Hill 155, was finally captured by the German army after dawn.

Major Rundstedt's 2nd Assault Battalion was the first to charge up the main peak, tear down the tattered flag of the Burgh people from the Heg headquarters, and plant a Demanian Empire flag on Hill 155.

-

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