eurekapd Chapter 189: The Great Suppression of the Japs Begins
Chapter 189: The Great Suppression of the Japs Begins
Wang Dafu was overjoyed but also showed a hint of regret. The heavy artillery was like a needle hanging in his heart. If he didn't find it and pull it out, it would eventually become a huge hidden danger.
Fang Yue said, "It doesn't matter. Just follow the previous range and let the two helicopters continue searching. At the same time, send out all the ground reconnaissance troops. As long as the Japanese heavy artillery dares to show up, our artillery will respond!"
"Okay, the Japs' heavy artillery has poor mobility. Once they open fire, they won't be able to move in a short time. Communicator, go back and tell your division commander that if he dares to leave the unit without permission again, I will put him to military court!"
Fang Yue shook his head bitterly, thinking that only the young marshal could control that guy.
"The Japanese know their position has been exposed, so they will definitely try to move. We should act without delay and try to eliminate them before they move!"
Immediately afterwards, several staff officers of the entire temporary command began to divide the work and cooperate with each other, dividing the Japanese into several parts, and then distributing the combat tasks to each division and regiment according to different arms.
Fortunately, this was in Shanxi Province, where there are many mountains and there are only a few roads within 30 kilometers around Fenxi, so the Japanese and the 88th Army troops were dispersed relatively concentrated and found each other quickly.
At 3 pm, the 9 mechanized infantry battalions and 3 artillery battalions of the Motorized Infantry Division were divided into 9 routes to launch a large-scale crackdown on the Japanese.
The armored division also received orders to continue advancing towards Lingshi and Jiexiu.
The Mechanized Infantry Division went straight to Huo County, taking advantage of the empty rear of the Japanese to attack the county town, and in one fell swoop cut off more than 10 Japanese troops in Linfen!
For a moment, the entire 20-kilometer area west of Queshu Valley was engulfed in chaos. The artillery shells from the sky never stopped. It was so exaggerated that there was a battlefield every few steps.
In such a chaotic battle situation, most of the Japanese soldiers lost their way and lost contact with the headquarters.
The motorized infantry division was not much better off. As the fighting went on, there was only a company here, a battalion there, and in some places there was only one platoon left.
Fortunately, the motorized infantry division's communication equipment was countless times better than that of the Japanese. Only a very small number of company-level and below troops lost contact with the regiment headquarters. After all, the small Bayi radio station was only equipped at the battalion level.
It’s not that Xu Le didn’t want to equip the company with a radio station, but there was really no need for that. After all, the company was already a thorough combat unit, and the 88th Army did not fight guerrilla warfare, so he tried his best to reduce the burden on the company.
What's more, the armored vehicle has an onboard radio and in-car communication system, but due to geographical factors, communication will be impossible if the distance is too far.
The same is true for the 702 walkie-talkies equipped to each infantry squad. If they go deep into a canyon, the communication distance is only a few kilometers at most, and it is also difficult to contact the regiment headquarters.
The melee lasted almost until dusk, and the battalions and companies successively sent back reports of their victories in annihilating the enemy.
The 1st Armored Regiment had also arrived at the outskirts of Lingshi County, and the 1st Artillery Regiment was carrying out intensive bombing on the Japanese defense lines. After opening several gaps in the Tongpu Railway, the 2nd Armored Regiment took the opportunity to head north to Jiexiu to stop the Japanese reinforcements from coming south.
When it was getting dark, the five regiments of the mechanized infantry division successfully met in Nanguan Town and captured the Nanguan Railway Station in 5 minutes. They then split into two groups, with the main force moving towards Huo County and the other part heading north to feint an attack on the southern city of Lingshi.
At the same time, two Type 66 152mm howitzer battalions of the artillery brigade departing from Fenxi, led by the motorized infantry division, broke through the defense line of Shenfu Town west of Huo County. After setting up the artillery positions, they fired a salvo of bottom-bleed extended-range shells at 7 o'clock that evening, covering the defensive positions west of Huo County with firepower.
This is the consistent style of the 88th Army artillery unit. Since there are extended-range bullets with longer range, they will try to place the positions farther away.
I can hit you, but you can't hit me.
.....
It was inconvenient for both the Japanese and the 88th Army to fight at night.
After some sporadic battles ended in the first half of the night, each unit held its own position, rested and waited for the big battle on the second day. The only two areas that were not quiet were Lingshi and Huo County.
In order to cope with this operation and minimize the casualties of the troops, Xu Le purchased another 3000 million rounds of bullets and 80 million artillery shells of various calibers on top of the troops' original reserves of 5000 million rounds of bullets and 100 artillery shells.
He once again praised the generosity of the system. Bullets were still fired for 1 military merit point, and artillery shells were fired for 1 military merit points.
Since the battle began, the information about military merit points arriving to the system has never stopped.
When other people fought, their ammunition became less and less as they fought, but it was just the opposite for the 88th Army. Their ammunition became more and more as they fought.
The Logistics Department temporarily recruited several thousand able-bodied men and young women to transport ammunition and food.
Fortunately, the army has fully implemented motorization and is semi-mechanized as a whole, so transportation does not rely heavily on horses and people like other troops.
The able-bodied men only needed to load boxes of ammunition onto trucks at the Yan County military base, and then the trucks would deliver them to the front-line regiments in a steady stream according to the needs of each division.
Especially the armored regiments and self-propelled artillery regiments that carried out offensive operations.
They carried only a few dozen shells, but each tank and self-propelled artillery fired at least a hundred shells a day, and no company complained of a shortage of ammunition.
Wang Dafu looked at the battle reports sent by the staff officers of each regiment, his face full of excitement:
"Great! This Xiao Qiming is indeed an expert in the tank regiment!"
He threw all the battle reports to Fang Yue and praised: "This Xiao Qiming, he ordered his three tank battalions to attack in a stepped manner, and each battalion took turns to attack. When one battalion used up its shells, it would go down to replenish fuel and ammunition, and the other battalion would immediately replenish it. In this way, their regiment's firepower never stopped.
Doing so also gives soldiers and tanks time to rest, and prevents them from being damaged faster due to overheating of the gun barrel!
The self-propelled artillery regiment was also affected by this, and they took turns firing in coordination with the tank regiment, so no enemy soldier ever broke through our defense line!"
Fang Yue smiled and nodded: "Xiao Qiming is a veteran of the 176th Division. He joined Xu's army a few years ago. It was said that it was Xu Da who recommended him to the young marshal, so he served as the head of the armored regiment.
After many battles, he has indeed a talent for this. So far, none of his regiment’s tanks have been damaged and withdrawn from the battle.”
"Well, notify Liu Quanhua and ask him to calm down. The soldiers have been fighting all day, so they should have a good rest tonight. Tell him to tighten the encirclement by tomorrow morning and completely surround the Lingshi for me!
The Mechanized Infantry Division slowed down a bit and told Lu Biao that the traffic between Lingshi and Huo County must be completely cut off before noon tomorrow. Not a single enemy soldier from the two places can pass through!"
"Okay!" Fang Yue responded: "The Motorized Infantry Division also cleared most of the Japanese in the mountainous areas this afternoon, and is expected to completely control the entire area west of Queshu Valley by noon tomorrow! The positions of the artillery brigade have also been completed. Whether it is Lingshi, Huo County, or Linfen, as long as the Japanese dare to move on a large scale, they can provide fire coverage at any time!"