A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Under the cover of fierce artillery fire from the rear, the armored assault formation deployed its vehicles in triangular attack formations, advancing menacingly across the open plains with astonishing momentum.

Unable to fire their cannons while moving, the armored crews used their vehicle-mounted machine guns to suppress the defending forces' fire. When they encountered fortified positions, firing points, or exposed cover, the machine guns fired trails of tracer rounds to indicate targets to the fire support formation.

The Sd.Kfz.222 armored fire support vehicle is equipped with a 20mm autocannon. Although aiming is not easy while moving off-road, the vehicle speed is not fast and the autocannon has a high rate of fire, so the hit rate is acceptable.

The 20mm autocannon was also powerful enough to destroy simple earthen field fortifications. The autocannons of the six fire support vehicles in the armored formation blasted the exposed fortifications and firing points of the defenders to pieces.

The defending soldiers were dismayed to discover that the sandbags and earthen fortifications they had painstakingly built were utterly vulnerable to the highly penetrating machine guns. Even a three-layered sandbag wall could be shattered by a burst of machine gun fire, and the soldiers hiding behind it suffered heavy casualties. However, their own artillery fire was completely ineffective against the constantly moving armored targets of the Central Army.

The defenders' counter-fire was completely suppressed. Before long, the heavy machine gun positions along this trench line dared not fire again. The defenders lay trembling at the bottom of the trench, powerless to fight back.

Only the 82mm mortars, hidden in the trenches, occasionally fired counter-fire shells to demonstrate their resolve and presence. This meager firepower was utterly inaccurate against the armored formation and, of course, utterly ineffective. Instead, they had to anxiously pray that the enemy wouldn't discover their location, otherwise a barrage of counter-fire would soon rain down upon them with unbelievable accuracy!

The defending troops had no idea that several forward artillery observation and command groups of the Central Army, under the personal command of Song Hongfei, followed the assault formation, constantly marking the positions and guiding the attack targets. With the help of the radio station of the communication command vehicle, they promptly reported to the rear long-range artillery and the accompanying artillery of the fire support formation. Then the artillery forces launched a fierce and precise artillery strike. This was a very advanced tactic at the time.

The armored assault formation carried out a brilliant combined arms attack, which not only rendered the defending forces powerless to resist this unprecedented advanced tactic and caused them heavy losses, but also broadened the horizons and deeply impressed the officers of the Eastern Route Army who were watching the battle.

Liu Fangdu and several brigade commanders of the 105th Division, the defending force, were well aware that if the Central Army's armored formation broke through their rear and flanks, the entire Chishui River defense line would collapse. If the Central Army then seized the opportunity to break through Weicheng, there would be no more defensible terrain to the west, and they could advance all the way to Xi'an. The consequences were unimaginable, and no one could bear them.

Seeing that artillery interception was ineffective and instead resulted in heavy losses in the artillery battle, with several artillery positions being completely paralyzed, their own long-range artillery capable of counterattacking was now scattered and ineffective.

Liu Fangdu's face turned ashen, and he shouted sternly, "Send up the direct-fire artillery and block the Central Army's tanks!"

Under the strict orders of the division commander and brigade commander, the 2nd Regiment, which was responsible for the rear positions of the 1st Brigade, had no choice but to hold on and not retreat. The regimental commander of the 2nd Regiment mobilized the only flat-fire artillery company in his hands to the left fork of the "Y"-shaped main trench defense line on the Wei River bank north of Changmin Village and west of Ganjiazhuang.

The 9th Regiment of the 3rd Brigade, which was deployed behind the 1st Brigade in the Baijiacun and Tianjiacun area, also sent its regimental anti-tank artillery company to provide support.

The Liao 14 37mm flat-fire guns equipped by the Southeast Army's flat-fire artillery company are lightweight, with a combat weight of only a little over 100 kilograms. They are also very compact in size. Once positioned, their height is similar to that of a heavy machine gun, making them very easy to conceal.

However, this gun also has shortcomings such as short barrel, low muzzle velocity, low chamber pressure, low power, and short range. It can only penetrate 15mm thick tank armor at a range of up to 500 meters.

Unable to produce their own optical sights and with a low level of direct-fire training, the Southeast Army was only used to support frontline infantry against enemy light and heavy machine gun positions and simple fortifications. Of course, this was sufficient in the warlord era, as no one had ever witnessed armored forces conducting mobile assault operations before.

Knowing full well the accuracy of the Central Army's counter-fire artillery, Shi Bijie, the company commander of the 2nd Regiment's direct-fire artillery company, dared not set up his guns in exposed high ground with a wide field of fire. However, since the anti-tank guns had a short range and needed to be fired directly, they had to be deployed as far forward as possible. He led his soldiers to dig firing positions, made some concealment and protection, and the entire company was hidden and ready to go.

"Now we have to shoot at moving armored targets, and the hit rate is up to fate." Shi Bijie felt helpless. As for whether he could hit the target, he himself had no idea.

The armored assault formation, consisting of more than 20 vehicles, deployed in an attack formation across a front several hundred meters long. Under the cover of artillery fire, they advanced, kicking up clouds of dust behind them. Closely following behind were the infantry company of the advancing sergeant battalion.

Looking out from the defenders' positions, one could see enemy tanks advancing relentlessly. The armored formation that had previously attacked the Qinglong Village position in the northeast had now turned to this defensive line and launched a fierce attack.

The defending troops felt the pressure increase dramatically. Shi Bijie, the commander of the anti-tank gun company, was secretly alarmed. The newly dug trench, more than 300 meters long, was quite rudimentary and had already been destroyed by artillery fire. At the forefront, there were only his company's four anti-tank guns, while the enemy had more than 20 tanks.

Shi Bijie looked around and saw that the soldiers all looked panicked and were trembling with fear. It was clear that the gunners had no confidence at all in firing at moving targets.

Shi Bijie relayed the order to each artillery position: "Keep your breath, listen to my command, and fire as close as possible!"

1000 meters, 800 meters, 600 meters... The Central Army's armored vehicles are getting closer and closer. The defending anti-tank gunners are on high alert, their expressions extremely tense.

"All vehicles accelerate! Vehicle-mounted machine guns fire freely!" Guo Hengjian, company commander of the 1st Company of the Central Army Armored Vehicle Training Battalion, issued the order to each platoon via the radio in the command vehicle.

"Forward!" the tank drivers roared, flooring the accelerator and kicking up clouds of dust. The machine gunners opened fire on any suspicious targets with their bow machine guns.

The Central Army tank formation suddenly accelerated its charge, causing the defending anti-tank gunners' hearts to race and their palms to sweat involuntarily in the cold winter.

Shi Bijie was helpless. Although he knew that it was not the best time to fire, he only had four cannons. The worst part was that the gunners had no skill in shooting at moving targets. If he could not stop them, the defensive line would be breached by the enemy immediately, and the division commander would probably kill him on the spot.

He could only think that if his marksmanship wasn't good enough, he should fire as many rounds as possible, and if he fired enough, he would eventually hit a few! At over 500 meters, that distance was about right, enough to penetrate the armor of a light tank.

Shi Bijie shouted, "All cannons, take aim and fire!"

The defending anti-tank gunners immediately began firing directly at the enemy tanks, but in the midst of the tense and chaotic situation, their accuracy was predictably poor, and the first round of direct fire had no effect.

"Damn it, what's the rush!" Shi Bijie cursed, then ordered again, "Aim properly before you fire!"

Song Hongfei grabbed the communicator and gave the order:

"Artillery, proceed with a comprehensive bombardment based on the target positions marked by the observation team!"

"Fire smoke grenades in front of the enemy position for cover, infantry maintain formation and follow the armored vehicles, accelerate and charge forward!"

A burst of artillery shells, distinctly different from the previous ones, came flying in. The Southeast Army defenders stared in astonishment as thick plumes of white smoke rose more than 100 meters from the front of their positions, then continued to expand, obscuring the entire battlefield's view.

The defending infantry company commander felt a chill run down his spine. 100 meters was precisely the distance from which the infantry would launch an attack; the Central Army's fierce automatic weapons would pin them down, leaving them unable to raise their heads. The anti-tank gun company commander, Shi Bijie, was utterly horrified. For a tank, it was only a matter of a few breaths; in such a short time, even a direct-fire gunner wouldn't have time to react.

A great fear gripped the hearts of the defenders. Hidden within the thick smoke were powerful, bloodthirsty enemies that could burst forth at any moment and devour them!