my scientific age

Chapter 435 Recapture the old pass!

Shock filled Huang Shaohong's mind. It was not because he was not good enough at cultivating his energy, but the content of the telegram was too explosive and made it impossible for him to remain calm.

The Eighth Route Army used artillery to counter artillery and annihilated the artillery units of the Japanese Army's Type A Division. The amount of information contained in this telegram message was enormous.

You know, the Eighth Route Army, which was reorganized from the Red Army, is known for its mud-legged people. It is located in the barren and desolate northern Shaanxi, with poor equipment and weak foundation. This is everyone's traditional impression. It has only been more than two years since they joined forces in Wuqi Town in 1935.

In just over two years, the Red Army developed such a powerful artillery unit?

If Huang Shaohong remembers correctly, after the Long March, his Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army had only a few outdated 75mm mountain cannons and no new artillery with a caliber of 75mm or above. The size of the artillery unit was limited to about one company, and the level of weapons and equipment was second only to that of the Sichuan Army.

But what did he hear now?
The artillery of the 129th Division destroyed the artillery of the Japanese 20th Division, using artillery to counter artillery.

Anti-artillery warfare is the top-level tactic in the artillery system. It is not something that ordinary artillery units can achieve. Even the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's artillery cannot do this, let alone destroy the artillery of the Japanese Army's Type A Division.

too exaggerated.

It was so explosive.

Huang Shaohong did not doubt the authenticity of the telegram, because Sun Lianzhong's 26th Army had previously reported that an explosion had occurred behind the Japanese army's Walnut Garden and that the army had lost its artillery support. The combined judgment of the two would allow them to distinguish the authenticity.

"It has been less than three months since the Red Army was reorganized. What happened during this period of time that could have caused a mud-legged army to transform into such a state? No wonder the Chairman repeatedly emphasized that northern Shaanxi was his biggest concern."

Huang Shaohong calmed down, took a deep breath, thought for a while, and then threw away these complicated thoughts. He looked at the sand table again with a firm and resolute look: "Reply to the 129th Division. I, Huang Shaohong, personally thank the friendly forces for destroying the Japanese artillery to save Jiuguan. I accept their proposal. The opportunity to recapture Jiuguan has appeared. I hope the friendly artillery units will immediately support the Jiuguan front and help us recapture Jiuguan."

It was important that the 129th Division's artillery destroyed the Japanese artillery, but the most important thing at the moment was to recapture the old pass and rebuild the Niangzi Pass defense system.

Huang Shaohong did not delve into other matters, nor did he want to.

"Yes!" The communications staff left quickly.

"Commander, do you want to report to the Chairman regarding the artillery unit of the 129th Division?" the Chief of Staff asked, standing nearby.

"There's no rush for now. If the report is submitted now, he will be very anxious and will send a telegram to interfere with my command. Now is the most important moment for the Niangzi Pass defense line. Report again after we recapture the old pass tonight." Huang Shaohong waved his hand.

As one of the three giants of the Guangxi clique, on par with Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren, although Huang Shaohong chose to surrender during the Chiang-Gui War, this did not mean that he was unconditionally loyal to Chairman Chiang. Northern Shaanxi was the Chairman's biggest concern, not Huang Shaohong's.

Huang Shaohong now only wants to fight against the Japanese and save the country, hold the Niangziguan defense line, and never let any Japanese pass.

The importance of the Niangzi Pass defense line has now reached a level that determines the outcome of the entire Taiyuan battle. The longer Huang Shaohong holds on here, the more reinforcements he will receive from the rear.

If Niangzi Pass was lost, it would mean the fall of Taiyuan. Once Taiyuan was lost, the Japanese army could drive south along the Tongpu Line and approach Xi'an. If the Japanese army then captured Xi'an and Hanzhong, they could invade the hinterland of Sichuan, and then move south along the Yangtze River, retracing the route that the Mongols took to destroy the Southern Song Dynasty.

By then, China will be destroyed.

If he reported the news about the 129th Division's artillery unit now, Huang Shaohong believed that an urgent telegram would be sent from Nanjing in ten minutes. It was not difficult to guess the content of the telegram, which was definitely an order to interfere with his command of the troops.

The chief of staff nodded and stopped talking.

"At this critical moment of life and death, we need to work together and there must be no more internal disputes. The stronger the combat effectiveness of the 129th Division, the more beneficial it will be for defending Niangzi Pass..." Huang Shaohong stared at the sand table, thinking in his heart.

Tonight, we will take back the old pass.

……

Shimen, headquarters of the 20th Division.

A depressing atmosphere permeated the entire command center. The battle report of the annihilation of the joint artillery unit on the Jiuguan front had been reported back. A total of ten field artillery pieces were damaged and more than 20 people were killed. This was a heavy blow to the th Division.

8 75mm field artillery pieces and 2 105mm field howitzers.

The importance and preciousness of artillery is second only to the aviation branch in the Japanese Army's combat system. Although ten artillery pieces and more than 20 people may not seem like a lot, they already account for % of the entire division's artillery strength!

If one is not careful, the division's artillery force will suffer 20% casualties. How terrible is this situation?

The most important thing is that our joint artillery unit was annihilated in an organized manner. If the Walnut Garden front-line troops had not noticed the abnormality and sent troops to conduct reconnaissance, the division command would probably still be kept in the dark.

This situation is simply a nightmare.

The commander of the 20th Division, Army Lieutenant General Fumisaburo Kawagishi, leaned his hand on his command sword, his eyes fixed on the military topographic map of Niangzi Pass hanging on the wall. His sharp gaze was locked on the old pass, his brows were furrowed, and he said nothing.

Twenty minutes had passed since the battle report arrived. Looking at the appearance of the division commander Kawagishi Fumisaburo, no one in the command center dared to breathe. Some grassroots officers were even uneasy and nervous, feeling a terrible pressure.

"Your Excellency the Division Commander." At this time, Chief of Staff Hisazo Kitamura walked in from outside with a document and stood next to Fumisaburo Kawagishi.

Kawagishi Fumisaburo turned to look at Kitamura Hisazo and asked, "Any news?"

"I have urgently contacted the Fifth Division to inquire about the situation. Yan Xishan has placed more than 80% of the 75mm field artillery and all the 105mm mountain artillery in the Xinkou area. He has not sent any additional artillery reinforcements to the Niangziguan area. The defense forces in the Niangziguan area mainly come from warlords from various places. Although they have artillery, they do not have professional anti-artillery combat capabilities."

Kishura Hisazo quickly reported all the intelligence at hand, and then gave an assessment of the enemy artillery in this incident: "And the artillery unit that annihilated our army, according to the analysis of the damage to the artillery positions, is completely a heavy artillery unit, with a caliber of 105 mm and a battalion size of about to guns. The shells are very powerful, and they have very good anti-artillery combat capabilities."

After he finished speaking, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

105mm caliber, twelve to eighteen guns, a real heavy gun...

This series of information is not friendly to the entire 20th Division.

The Japanese Army's tactics were very simple: artillery bombardment and infantry charge, and the two were repeated in a cycle until the enemy's positions were occupied. This tactic was tried and tested in China and was almost invincible.

The reason for this situation is very simple. There is a generation gap in the performance of the artillery equipped by both sides, and the gap in artillery skills is even greater. Their opponents have no way to counter and can only passively take the beating.

Relying on excellent artillery performance and rich combat experience, the Japanese artillery never took the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's artillery seriously. The artillery positions were often deployed in a location close to the front-line positions but out of reach of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's artillery, just to fight more efficiently.

However, with the news that the Old Seki Joint Artillery Unit was completely annihilated, everything changed...

As Hisazo Kamura gave the enemy artillery assessment information for this incident, Kawagishi Fumisaburo's breathing suddenly stopped, and the others' hearts tightened. Everyone understood the seriousness of this information.

The war room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

Kishura Hisazo didn't say anything, his eyes were on Kawagishi Fumisaburo. Now, it was time to make a decision.

(End of this chapter)