Age of Conquest Reborn

However, the town of Antkan, with a few hundred households, was bombarded by ferocious artillery fire from the 35th Division of the Japanese Far East Expeditionary Force.

Razed to the ground.

"Yo Xi!" Lieutenant General Tsuruta, the division commander, put down his telescope with satisfaction. He believed that under such a fierce bombardment, there would be no surviving life in the town. "First Regiment, start attacking immediately!" Bombardment

After stopping, he gave the order.

A regiment of Japanese soldiers rushed into the town of Antkan, which was full of ruins, collapsed houses, and was still on fire. Of course, they found nothing except scattered bomb craters. Lieutenant General Tsuruta, who received the report,

Immediately sent a very short telegram to the commander of the army, Lieutenant General Mizuno Kenji, "Our unit has occupied the town of Antkan and the passage is open!"

The follow-up troops of the 45th Division began to pass through the town one after another. Behind them, there was an endless queue of marching soldiers from the Japanese Far East Expeditionary Force. The soldiers of the Division's Field Artillery Regiment, who had completed the artillery bombardment mission, began to busy dismantling the artillery pieces and packing them up.

Ammunition and ready to move on.

"It's our turn. The self-propelled artillery regiment and rocket launcher battalion attack!" Liu Hongzhang ordered through gritted teeth. Then, he shouted to the driver of the armored command vehicle: "Let's go!" Behind him, a roar of motors sounded.

, nearly a hundred self-propelled artillery and rocket launchers headed towards the Japanese army,

Speaking of which, Liu Hongzhang was brave enough. He did not follow the brigade headquarters, but went with the artillery. Because of this, Deputy Brigadier Gao Jingkun and Chief of Staff Liu Chenglin almost quarreled with him. Liu Hongzhang did not change.

Hongzhang's idea was helpless, and the three men simply divided up the work. Liu Hongzhang and Liu Chenglin followed the artillery, and the infantry was under the control of Gao Jingkun.

Liu Chenglin watched Liu Hongzhang's armored command vehicle disappear into the dark night, waved to the brigade guard battalion commander, and whispered: "We must ensure the brigade commander's safety and don't let him get too far forward! What?

If the brigade commander doesn’t listen to you, then you can use the division commander’s ban!”

North of the town of Antekan. The fire burning in the town is the most conspicuous target. The mobile artillery group of the first brigade is waiting here quietly. Most of Liu Hongzhang's body is exposed outside the armored command vehicle, raising his

Looking through the telescope, amid the blazing fire, the figure of the Japanese soldier appeared in the distance, "Five minutes to prepare for the bombardment!" he said coldly.

The Japanese soldiers who were marching were not mentally prepared at all. The dense artillery shells fell from the sky with a piercing scream and smashed down on their heads. "Boom! Boom! - Boom!" Nearly a hundred artillery guns fired in a salvo. Artillery bombardment.

The scope basically covers

The entire road was covered with explosion points. Dark red fireballs were rolled up, mixed with gravel and soil, and irregular shrapnel flew across the sky, mercilessly cutting into the bodies of Japanese soldiers. Piles of Japanese soldiers' bodies,

It fell apart in the explosion.

After the self-propelled artillery fires the third round of shells, it is followed by the first salvo of the "Thunder" rocket launcher, which is used to cover targets and blockade area targets. This terrifying weapon is the first choice. The first salvo fires, one

The rocket artillery battalion, with twenty-four thirty-two-tube rocket launchers and more than seven hundred 230 mm rockets, enveloped the bombardment area in a sea of ​​fire. The high temperature of thousands of degrees turned the groups of Japanese soldiers into

The ashes also created an impassable area.

"What? We were suddenly attacked by the artillery of the independent division! Baga!" Commander Tsuruta yelled angrily, his eyes red with anger and his hands trembling. He knew very well that the two regiments at the head of the division were

I'm afraid I have to pay a heavy price. Just listening to the sound of artillery, the independent division troops dispatched at least one regiment of artillery. Moreover, it is a large-caliber heavy artillery, and there is a narrow terrain. It is destined that our soldiers can only be bombed by artillery shells!

"Order, the division's field artillery wing to launch a counterattack immediately. Be sure to suppress the enemy's artillery fire until it is completely destroyed. Ask for help from the military headquarters and request additional artillery to support our division!" His eyes were fixed on the distinctive rockets.

, Commander Tsuruta Division, flying like a meteor in the night sky, issued a series of orders.

The response of the Japanese artillery was quite rapid. After receiving the order, they packed up the artillery and ammunition and walked less than ten minutes when the division commander gave an order. The Japanese artillerymen cursed and shouted bad luck and began to set up

Artillery position.

Liu Hongzhang looked at his watch and saw that the time was up. "Evacuate immediately!" He gave the order. Less than twenty minutes after leaving the original artillery position, the Japanese artillery began to counterattack, blasting the area into a blaze of flames.

Fighting and retreating, two days later, Liu Hongzhang, who was smelling of gunpowder smoke, led his artillery unit that had fired all the shells, and rumbled withdrew to the interception area of ​​the second brigade of the directly affiliated corps - Jigda. In two days

Inside, the artillery of the First Brigade caused the Japanese Far East Expeditionary Force to retreat at less than thirty kilometers per day and night. The distance originally planned to be covered in more than five hours took two full days and two nights.

Major General Ouyang Yishan, commander of the Second Brigade of the Directly Affiliated Corps, had listened to the sound of artillery fire in Jigda for more than two days. The Second Brigade was fully prepared to fight. When he heard the staff report that Liu Hongzhang had arrived, he was shocked. The first

Isn't the brigade's interception area in the town of Antkan, more than a hundred kilometers away? Could it be...

Ouyang Yishan hurried over and saw Brigadier Liu Da, who was well-known in the entire independent division. He was covered in dust and unshaven. He looked like an infantry squad leader who had just crawled out of the trench. He seemed to have been beaten.

Although he was defeated, he looked satisfied and proud, so he asked doubtfully: "Brigadier Liu, are you...? Could it be that the first brigade was unable to withstand the Japanese attack and was forced to

Retreating?"

Liu Hongzhang rolled his eyelids and said dissatisfied: "What are you talking about, brother, my Liu Hongzhang's army will still be defeated? I am sending artillery to you! From now on, my two heavy artillery regiments will

, two self-propelled artillery regiments and a rocket launcher battalion belong to you, Brigadier Ouyang. However, there are no artillery shells, and they are all used on the little devils. As for Cheng Lin and I, we are just begging for food from you!

"

At the temporary headquarters of the Independent Division's Far East Campaign Headquarters, Liu Tiehan looked at the telegram sent by the 1st Brigade of the Directly Affiliated Corps, laughed and said to Zhao Yuhe: "Yuhe, this Liu Hongzhang is not simple. The artillery maneuvers will last two days.

Time forced the Japanese army to walk less than 60 kilometers, and the casualties of the troops were minimal. Well, the soldiers were eccentric and did not stick to routines. Fortunately, he came up with such a way of fighting, good!"

Zhao Yuhe was also happy, and his heart suddenly relaxed. The situation he was worried about did not happen. "The deputy division commander and the brigade commanders directly under the corps are all skilled in fighting. I also received a message from Ouyang, the commander of the second brigade.

A mountain of telegrams, now, Liu Hongzhang has led his artillery to the interception area of ​​the second brigade!" he said.

"If this is the case, the six intercepting brigades can delay the retreat of the Japanese army to the maximum extent at the minimum cost, and can effectively kill the Japanese army!" Liu Tiehan said with appreciation, "By the way, Yuhe, the two wings will be roundabout.

How is the situation with the outflanking troops and the pursuing troops?"

Zhao Yuhe said concisely and concisely: "The Japanese troops serving as rear guards resisted very tenaciously and often fought until the entire army was annihilated. The speed of the frontal pursuit troops was not very fast. The roundabout troops on both wings were limited by terrain conditions. At present, they are still unable to do so."

They did not rush to the front and sides of the main retreating Japanese army!"

Liu Tiehan shook his head slightly, obviously dissatisfied, "Yuhe, when will the aircraft fleet of the Northern Aviation Group's Outer Mongolia patrol area start to conduct air strikes against the Japanese army?"

"According to the report of Meng Qingpeng, the commander of the Outer Mongolia patrol area, air strikes can begin tomorrow morning when the visibility improves. Deputy Commander, you also know that this place is close to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and this season, it is relatively foggy.

More often than not!" Zhao Yuhe replied.

With such natural conditions, Liu Tiehan had no way to solve it. "Yuhe, send a telegram to Meng Qingpeng. The aircraft fleet in the Outer Mongolia cruising area must make full use of the fine weather to ensure the intensity and density of bombing. In addition, don't just focus on the Japanese army."

Is bombing bridges and key road sections also one of the methods for marching troops?"

"Also, order the frontal pursuit troops to increase the intensity of the artillery attack. You can mobilize the detour troops on both wings and the artillery left on Temple Street and assign them to the pursuit troops. To reach the maximum artillery density on the frontal battlefield, I think the little devil has

How many soldiers from behind can be filled in!" He said with murderous intent in his eyes.

From the first pass into the Zhugarzhu Mountains - Antkan Town, the Japanese Far East Expeditionary Force retreated all the way after being hit by Liu Hongzhang's troops of the 1st Brigade of the Directly Affiliated Corps with layers of artillery fire. The days of hardship began.

.

Following the example of Liu Hongzhang, commander of the 1st brigade, the five brigade commanders who subsequently intercepted the troops directly under the corps used their brains to catch the retreating Japanese troops. They did not dare to entangle them, let alone send troops to pursue them, and racked their brains.

Thinking about how to fight, he wanted to surpass Liu Hongzhang's record. He used various methods and tricks to recruit hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers. The retreating Japanese Far East Expeditionary Force had to pay every kilometer they walked.

cost.

Prince Zai Ren was almost driven crazy. Coupled with the East Point troops chasing behind him, they changed their previous tactics. More than a thousand large-caliber artillery pieces, self-propelled artillery pieces, and hundreds of tanks went into battle, blocking the Japanese troops behind them.

, not even the shadow of the Independent Division soldiers was seen at all, and disappeared into the overwhelming artillery fire.

The fierce bombing by the Northern Flying Group of the Independent Division Aviation and the aircraft fleet in the Outer Mongolia patrol area made the Japanese soldiers even worse and miserable. As long as it was a clear day, the bombers of the Independent Division would arrive in the sky above the Japanese soldiers on time and attack them.

one

Heavy aerial bombs poured down one after another, which made the Japanese soldiers hate the October sunshine in the Far East. Although the troops pursuing circuitously on both wings failed to retain all the Japanese troops, they were able to catch some of them and surrounded them to annihilate them.

Some Japanese troops.

In early October, after stumbling and bleeding all the way, the Japanese Far East Expeditionary Force finally saw the outline of Magadan Port on the blue waters of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk after paying a heavy price.

(To be continued) (To be continued..)