Age of Conquest Reborn

Zhao Yuhe issued the order to attack, and the combat staff standing by the telephone immediately issued the order to the combat units in charge. At the same time, the headquarters of the Outer Mongolia Field Corps and the Corps Chief of Staff, Colonel Wang Jun, also reported to

The subordinate troops issued the same order.

The dawn in the grasslands and Gobi Desert could no longer be calm. Countless artillery shells flew from the north and south directions. The metal projectiles rubbed the air, making a piercing scream, and overwhelmingly hit the Kwantung Army border guard position.

, the rumbling explosions echoed in the pre-dawn sky.

In order to eliminate the effective strength of the Kwantung Army to the greatest extent, Zhao Yuhe and Sun Zhenbang deployed all their artillery. In addition to the heavy artillery regiments of each brigade, the offensive artillery brigades directly under the corps, the artillery battalions of each regiment, and the self-propelled artillery regiments

, all joined the ranks of the shelling. The scale of the shelling exceeded the imagination of the Kwantung Army soldiers. In the first round of shelling, more than 10,000 artillery shells hit the Kwantung Army's position.

When the huge explosion that shook the sky, with shock waves, spread to the entire battlefield in all directions, he felt the earth tremble. Although he was mentally prepared, Lieutenant General Yoshinaga turned pale. He knew that he would be bombarded by the independent division, but

scale like

This is so large, but it is unexpected. Originally, I wanted to use the artillery fire of the six field artillery regiments of the Border Guards to tear apart the position of the Outer Mongolian Field Corps of the Independent Division in the north. But now it seems that the number of artillery on both sides is...

The caliber of the artillery is not in the same weight class at all!

The Kwantung Army Border Guard Headquarters is located in the center, and no artillery shells from the Independent Division's artillery have fallen yet. But Lieutenant General Yoshinaga knows that it won't take long for the headquarters to be hit by artillery shells from the Independent Division's artillery.

Covered, his hand holding the phone began to tremble.

Lieutenant General Yoshinaga was struggling fiercely in his heart, hesitating whether to order his field artillery regiment to fight back against the artillery of the Outer Mongolia Field Corps. He also knew that once his artillery started to fight back, it would attract ten times or even dozens of

The retaliation of the independent division's artillery fire was more than twice that of the independent division, not counting the enemy's artillery fire from the south. Perhaps, in less than an hour, all our own artillery would be lost?

Lieutenant General Yoshinaga convinced himself. "Retreating to the Far East is a long-distance march. These bulky field artillery will definitely affect the marching speed of the troops and are a burden. Why not let the artillery contribute to the hundreds of thousands of imperial soldiers?"

All of it!"

Undoubtedly, it was very painful to make this decision. Lieutenant General Yoshinaga gritted his teeth and made a call, "Artillery Commander Yamaguchi-kun? I am Commander Yoshinaga. Now I order your artillery group to go to Baogada Mountain immediately.

direction, the direction of Ulan Nur, the direction of Harzan! Remember, don’t save artillery shells!”

On the other end of the phone, the voice of Major General Yamaguchi, commander of the artillery of the Border Guards, was heard, full of fighting spirit, "Commander, please rest assured that the artillery of the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan will give these inferior Chinese soldiers a taste of the power! Imperial Samurai

We will let the broken corpses of Chinese soldiers cover the grasslands and the Gobi Desert!"

Regarding Major General Yamaguchi's confident and impassioned words, Lieutenant General Yoshinaga did not make any comments. He just put down the phone with a wry smile. If before the artillery of the independent division started bombarding, Lieutenant General Yoshinaga would definitely appreciate the confidence and fighting spirit of this artillery commander.

But now... He even doubted where Major General Yamaguchi's confidence came from?

"I hope Yamaguchi-kun's artillery can tear a gap wide enough in the independent division's position to open a passage for hundreds of thousands of Kwantung Army soldiers! As for the future, that is..." Lieutenant General Yoshinaga

I thought to myself.

The three targets he ordered the artillery to bombard, who had the purpose, were not the main directions of the artillery positions of the Independent Division's Outer Mongolia Field Corps, but the three key areas where the troops broke out, including Ulan Nur and Halzan.

, is the direction in which the main force of the garrison breaks out, while the direction of Baogada Mountain is the direction of the feint attack of more than 10,000 people by the independent second garrison, which is used as a suspect to attract the attention of the independent division troops.

Amidst the rumbling sound of artillery, Zhao Yuhe's mood calmed down. However, he was surprised that it had been twenty minutes since the artillery of the directly affiliated corps started bombarding. Why did the artillery of the Kwantung Army not fight back?

, in my own impression, the Japanese are not the ones who do not fight back when being beaten. If the Kwantung Army artillery does not show up, it will be a troublesome thing. Could it be that when the troops start to charge, there will be a sudden bombardment?

If this is the case, this Kwantung Army commander is a figure not to be underestimated. He is quite clever and has hidden the sharpest artillery, holding back and making a sudden attack at the critical moment. "Director Wu, I found the Kwantung Army artillery."

Did you fight back?" Zhao Yuhe asked Wu Zhengmin.

Wu Zhengmin shook his head and said, "Chief of Staff, we have not discovered yet that the artillery forward observation post is under strict surveillance!"

"Oh!" Zhao Yuhe nodded disappointedly and said, "Forget it, don't worry about the Kwantung Army's artillery. When the artillery fire starts to extend, don't you believe it can't be fired?"

Sun Zhenbang was awakened from his good sleep. Wang Jun, chief of staff of the Corps, had to call out to the commander, "Commander, wake up! The Kwantung Army has behaved abnormally!"

Sun Zhenbang stood up unhappily and asked: "Chief of Staff, what's the unusual behavior? What other tricks can the little devil who fell into the pot do?"

Wang Jun said: "We received reports from the troops in the directions of Ulan Nur and Halzan that they were violently shelled by the Kwantung Army's artillery. In addition, the direction of Baogada Mountain was also a key area of ​​the Kwantung Army's artillery. However, our

Artillery position, but there was no counterattack, I doubt there is any trick in it!"

"Oh?" Sun Zhenbang became interested immediately and lost all sleep. He walked a few steps to the map. After a moment, he laughed loudly and said, "Chief of Staff, a big deal has come to your door. Look, Ulan Nur and Halzan are two

area, just entering Outer Mongolia

The nearest location within the territory does not have dangerous terrain, and it is not our key defense area. I judge that hundreds of thousands of little devils want to get out of our place. Okay, think of Sun Zhenbang's hundreds of thousands of troops as soft persimmons.

?”

"Chief of Staff, convey my order. The 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th brigades in Ulan Nur and Halzan will immediately withdraw 20 kilometers and set up defenses from Halegh to Menghehan.

The troops used in the directions of Daliganga, Nalan, and Bayandelchagan were transferred to these two areas. The remaining six brigades immediately assembled in these two directions. In addition, the first tank

The Brigade and the Second Brigade also turn in this direction!"

"It seems that our regiment's plan to leave as soon as possible is unlikely. I want to build a big bag for the little devils on the line from Haleg to Menghehan. It can hold at least tens of thousands of little devils. This is called

Blessed people don’t have to be busy! The little devil came to your door to beat him, but he was disrespectful! Chief of Staff, please report our plan to Chief of Staff Zhao!”

Wang Jun reminded, "Commander, this is an act of changing the division commander's order. Also, the artillery of the Kwantung Army is also shelling the direction of Baogeda Mountain. It may not be one of the areas where the Kwantung Army breaks through. After all, through Baoge

If you go to Ulagai Gol, you can reach Aershan, and you can run faster by taking the train!"

"Impossible!" Sun Zhenbang categorically rejected Wang Jun's judgment, "Running towards Aershan? That little Japanese commander named Ji Yong has been dealing with us for a year or two. He is not stupid. He took the train from Aershan to the south.

, ran back to the hinterland of Northeast China, he was throwing himself into a trap. Can the division commander spare him with more than one million troops deployed in the western Liaoning and Western Manchuria areas? After the attack by our corps and the directly affiliated corps, how many troops can the little Japanese have left?

?Vulnerable!"

"What's more, in the direction of Baogda Mountain, there are two mechanized infantry brigades of the directly affiliated corps blocking the front. How can the little devils escape? As long as they are blocked for a day, the wolf-like tiger soldiers of the directly affiliated corps can pounce on them.

, tear the little devil to pieces! Go, hurry up!"

Wang Jun couldn't help but believe in the commander's judgment. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by Sun Zhenbang, "Wait a moment, Chief of Staff, send a few more heavy artillery regiments over and knock out the little devil's artillery. In addition, in the telegram

Tell Chief of Staff Zhao that the Japs’ artillery is working hard towards us! Also, don’t issue the order just now. We still need to ask Chief of Staff Zhao for instructions!”

Sun Zhenbang's telegram came very timely and solved Zhao Yuhe's inner doubts as to why the Kwantung Army's artillery did not fight back. He also agreed with Sun Zhenbang's judgment, but he did not agree with the plan he proposed.

As a result, the Outer Mongolia Field Corps will stay on the battlefield for at least five more days, which is inconsistent with the division commander's orders and will further affect the campaign plan in the Western Manchuria area.

Therefore, when Zhao Yuhe called back to Sun Zhenbang, he tactfully but firmly rejected his idea of ​​setting up a big bag for the Kwantung Army border garrison on the line from Haleg to Menghehan. He only agreed with one point. Sun Zhenbang's Corps was originally

The six brigades that were determined to stay in Outer Mongolia immediately took advantage of the favorable terrain to block the Kwantung Army troops trying to break out on the line from Haleg to Menghehan. The remaining troops must carry out the planned plan of the division commander!

After receiving Zhao Yuhe's order, Sun Zhenbang was very frustrated. He muttered to Chief of Staff Wang Jun: "Oh! Your plan is ruined. Chief of Staff Zhao, why doesn't he agree with my battle plan?"

It’s really inexplicable! Chief of Staff, order the artillery troops to capture the Japs’ artillerymen and beat them to death. We can’t wait until they charge and let him bite us!”

The asymmetrical artillery battle soon ended with the Kwantung Army's six field artillery regiments of the border guard almost annihilated. In terms of the number, caliber, range and explosion power of the artillery shells, the field artillery equipped by the Kwantung Army was unmatched.

There is no comparison with the large-caliber howitzers equipped by the independent division troops.

Just like a thin boy fighting a strong man, raindrops of artillery shells fell on the Kwantung Army's artillery position, immediately drowning it in a firework!

(To be continued)