Chapter 347 Let the Ninth War Zone take the lead!
"Sir, this is the latest intelligence. It is suspected that the Japanese Kwantung Army has entered the pass. Commander Li and his men have begun to retreat." At the Changsha City Command Headquarters, Xue Yue looked at the map, thinking about the next strategy.

The offensive power of the Japanese Third Division was still very strong.

Although the Japanese 3rd Division was severely damaged last time, the Japanese army's combat effectiveness was partially restored after replenishment.

Of course, there is still some gap compared to the peak period.

But what I didn’t expect was that the Jiangcheng battle that was about to begin would be backed down again.

Yes, after receiving the intelligence, Li Zongren pulled his troops back.

The originally planned Jiangcheng battle ended hastily.

The five elite divisions and more than 100,000 Japanese troops frightened him.

These are not third-rate Japanese troops.

It's an elite division.

In this regard, Xue Yue could only sigh, and he was not surprised that the other party made this decision.

As soon as the Japanese army attacked, they hit Commander Li's vital point.

Unless Commander Li is willing to use all the troops of the Fifth War Zone to fight the Japanese to the death, he will definitely retreat in order to preserve his strength.

So, when he heard the news, he was not surprised at all.

But next, he will probably have to face all the elite Japanese troops.

"Ask officers above the division level to come to the division headquarters for a meeting." Xue Yue gave the order immediately after reading the telegram.

"Yes."

Soon, the headquarters was filled with officers at the division level and above.

Since they were all old acquaintances, Xue Yue was too lazy to waste time talking.

"Commander, are we going to launch an attack? My artillery regiment has been unable to hold back any longer." Huang Zhengcheng, commander of the 10th Artillery Regiment, said excitedly.

Speaking of the 10th Artillery Regiment, we have to give a detailed introduction to this artillery regiment.

Originally, twenty-four "10x cm heavy howitzers" were ordered from the Rheinmetall Factory, and the th Artillery Regiment was formed based on this.

Later, the Songhu Battle played a huge role. Peng Qichao, the company commander of the 10th Artillery Regiment, commanded the artillery company to attack the Japanese warships, hit and sank the Japanese warships, and Peng Qichao was awarded a great merit. During the retreat from the Songhu Battle, the 10th Artillery Regiment suffered heavy losses due to road mines and other reasons.

Later, a lot of artillery shells were lost in the bloody battle of Kunlun Pass.

Later, only four 150mm howitzers were left, and they were sent to the Changsha front.

Here, relying on the limited artillery shells, they inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese army.

After the shells were used up, it became nothing more than a firewood stick.

As the commander of the artillery regiment, he also became the major general director of the Education Department of the Army Artillery School.

But some time ago, Xue Yue got his hands on 24 155mm American howitzers.

He was recruited by Xue Yue to serve as the commander of the 10th Artillery Regiment.

This period of time can be said to be his most tiring and happiest time.

A total of twenty-four 155mm heavy howitzers. How many troops have a heavy artillery regiment of this size?
In fact, there are more than 24 guns. The artillery pieces that were originally promised to be sold to the Guangxi clique are now parked in Nanning.

In other words, if Xue Yue could stop the Kwantung Army from moving south, the 24 guns would probably become more.

According to Zhang Fakui, there are at least fifty or more.

Upon hearing the news, Xue Yue was stunned.

Even the former German-equipped division only had one artillery regiment, and the number of artillery pieces was only 24.

I used to worry about the lack of heavy artillery.

Now, he is only thinking about how to train more artillerymen and even where to recruit people.

Fortunately, he asked Huang Zhengcheng to come. With him, he didn't have to worry about the problem of insufficient artillery.

Because there was no artillery shells, there were few opportunities to fire live ammunition.

Now that they had artillery shells, Huang Zhengcheng got up early every day and worked in the dark with the artillery trainees to fire artillery.

Dozens of gun barrels were broken and hundreds of shells were fired.

These shells were used directly as training for the attacking Japanese 3rd Division.

As a result, the Japanese Army's 3rd Division, which had originally planned to launch a strong attack, was frightened and retreated more than ten kilometers.

The reinforcements are coming anyway, so why bother fighting?

At that time, these heavy artillery will be handed over to the Kwantung Army.

Under this high-intensity training, the artillerymen grew rapidly.

In fact, there is nothing much to learn. It is mainly about adjusting the muzzle, moving the shells and firing according to the coordinates sent back by the scouts.

Therefore, when Huang Zhengcheng heard that the fighting was about to begin, he was the happiest, as he could finally fire openly.

"What's wrong? Isn't the training during this period enough? Dozens of gun barrels have been broken, and there are hundreds of shells. Is it still not enough?" Xue Yue said with a smile.

"Of course it's not enough. You asked us to hide our strength, and we dared not use all our strength at once for fear of scaring the Japanese away. So we only fired a few artillery pieces each time, which was not satisfying." Huang Zhengcheng smiled.

"Okay, I'll let you have your fun this time." Xue Yue didn't say much and began to explain the strategic goals and the combat tasks of each unit.

"The Japanese Third Division is in the front now, and the other directions are some second-line divisions with average combat effectiveness."

"The most important thing right now is that the Japanese Kwantung Army is coming. A total of five divisions are rushing south by train and are expected to arrive in ten days."

"So before that, we have to repel the Japanese troops in the front, so as to rearrange the defense line and wait for the arrival of the Kwantung Army."

The intelligence in Xue Yue's hands was collected at great cost and was very detailed. It detailed the personnel organization, weapons equipment, and character of the commanders of each Japanese division.

As Xue Yue explained, all the officers couldn't help but nod their heads.

"Whether we can inflict heavy damage to the Japanese Third Division again, or even completely annihilate them, depends on the 10th Artillery Regiment."

"Do you have any other questions?" Xue Yue looked at everyone and asked.

"No."

"Fight well and win this battle, and your artillery regiment will become an artillery brigade." Xue Yue looked at Huang Zhengcheng and said.

"Artillery Brigade?" Huang Zhengcheng was confused.

"Yes, there are 24 155mm howitzers waiting to be received. They were originally to be assigned to the Fifth War Zone, but Commander Li was scared." Xue Yue explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Huang Zhengcheng seemed to be thinking about something.

"Okay, adjourn the meeting, go back and get ready, and wait for the order to attack."

"Yes."

.........

"How are the preparations going?" About thirteen kilometers away from the 155rd Division, at a position, twenty-four mm heavy howitzers removed their camouflage, revealing their ferocious muzzles.

There are a total of 6 artillery positions like this.

There are four 155mm howitzers at each position, and a large number of artillery shells are piled not far away.

This time, according to Xue Yue's command, we should bombard as much as we can without being stingy with the shells and gun barrels.

After the battle, he replenished the artillery regiment.

As for why they are distributed in different places, the purpose is naturally fishing.

In fact, the maximum range of the 152mm howitzer is close to 14.6 kilometers, and now it is within the range of 13 kilometers. The purpose is to block the Japanese army's retreat route when necessary.

Since we had to severely damage the Japanese 3rd Division and rebuild our position before the Kwantung Army arrived, we had to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese army so that they would not dare to send any more troops.

"Still carrying ammunition." The officer next to him replied immediately.

"Speed ​​up, this time I'll let you fight to your heart's content. Didn't you complain before that you weren't satisfied? This time I'll let you fight to your heart's content. Do you see the shells behind? Today's requirement is to finish firing them all." Huang Zhengcheng ordered immediately.

"Yes!"

At the front line, the artillery commander who was in charge of directing the communication between the artillery positions began to stare at the Japanese positions opposite through a telescope, quietly waiting for the order to attack to be issued!
"How are the troops preparing?" Xue Yue asked after glancing at his watch. "Basically, they are all in place and can launch an attack at any time."

"Where's the 10th Artillery Regiment?"

"Everything is in place," the chief of staff responded immediately.

Hearing this, Xue Yue nodded.

"What about the Japanese troops on the opposite side? Are there any unusual reactions?" Xue Yue asked again.

Because this time it was an active attack, Xue Yue was naturally a little nervous.

Previously, many Japanese troops were eliminated by relying on the Tianlu tactics.

But that was passive defense, unlike now, where we are taking the initiative to attack, the mentality is naturally different.

"They must have noticed something and are reinforcing the fortifications, but I don't think it's of any use," explained the chief of staff.

Once the heavy artillery is used, no matter how well it is repaired, it will be useless.

Or I will destroy you with ease.

"Then prepare for the attack according to the scheduled time." Xue Yue glanced at his watch and said in a deep voice, there were still ten minutes left before the scheduled time.

"Yes."

.........

On the other hand, the commander of the 3rd Division, Lieutenant General Takahashi Tagaji, was very panicked. The 3rd Division had suffered a severe blow once, and even the original commander was ordered to retire.

Now that we have finally replenished some troops, our combat effectiveness has not yet recovered to its peak.

Who knows, he will be sent to the battlefield again.

The key is that this time the enemy's firepower has obviously increased.

The first thing is the appearance of a large number of American equipment.

The huge firepower made the Third Division a little confused at one point.

The second is the 155mm howitzer that appeared some time ago. One shell could kill nearly a dozen Japanese soldiers.

This really frightened him.

He was a little confused about how many heavy artillery the other side had.

If there are a lot of them, it will be troublesome.

After a long while, Lieutenant General Takahashi Tagaji turned around and said to his subordinates behind him: "Mr. Ueno, the Chinese should launch an attack. Are the positions ahead ready?"

Major General Ueno Kanichiro said respectfully: "Don't worry, your Excellency the division commander. The warriors are ready. As long as the Chinese dare to attack, we are sure to defeat them!"

"beat?"

Lieutenant General Takahashi Tagaji smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"We can't let our guard down this time. Haven't you noticed? The Changsha defenders' firepower has obviously been strengthened, and a large number of American weapons and equipment have appeared. In just a few days, two battalions have suffered heavy losses, and the artillery has also suffered losses."

What he was mainly worried about was the heavy artillery, after all, this thing was not meant to be used for nothing.

"Hai, it should be the rice and livestock aid sent to Changsha from Myanmar." Major General Kanichiro Ueno responded quickly.

Before the two finished their conversation, they suddenly heard a dull whistling sound coming from the front.

Veteran artillerymen all know that the duller the sound, the larger the caliber. Obviously, such a dull sound means that the other side has used a 155mm heavy howitzer.

More importantly, the number this time is greater than before.

There are twelve gates in total.

Lieutenant General Takahashi Tagaji couldn't help but gasp.

This is three times more than we knew before.

Based on previous experience, the defenders in the city had at most four 155mm howitzers, which posed a threat but not that great.

It's different now.

Twelve Gates, the threat this poses is too great.

"Mr. Ueno, I'm afraid we have to make a tactical shift." Lieutenant General Takahashi Tagaji murmured.

.........

"Transport all these heavy artillery to Changsha?" This was the solution Cun Yunsheng came up with after much thought.

That is to stop more than 100,000 elite troops of the Kwantung Army in Changsha.

"Yes, not only that, the American equipment of three divisions have also been transported there. I believe Xue Yue will not retreat." Cun Yunsheng said.

Once Changsha is lost, Xiangbei’s grain-producing area will also be gone.

And it will bring about a series of chain reactions.

Therefore, Cun Yunsheng had to let the Ninth War Zone defend Changsha.

However, it was unrealistic to rely on the small number of troops under Xue Yue's command to stop the more than 100,000 Kwantung Army.

It is not realistic to transfer two regiments there.

The best way is to strengthen the strength of the Ninth War Zone.

How to strengthen it is to send the equipment that was originally to be shipped to the Fifth War Zone to the Ninth War Zone and hand it over to Xue Yue.

Believe in these three American-equipped divisions, plus 48 155mm heavy howitzers, and an artillery regiment consisting of 48 105mm howitzers, plus artillery shells.

The ammunition was prepared according to the quantity of one thousand rounds for each artillery piece.

With such a huge firepower, he didn't believe that Xue Yue could not defend Changsha?

As time goes by, the Japanese army's mentality will change as they are unable to capture the city.

Moreover, the daily expenses of eating, drinking, defecating and urinating of more than 100,000 elite soldiers are astronomical figures.

He didn't believe the Japanese army could hold out that long.

Even if there is no shortage of food, it takes time to transport weapons and ammunition.

As long as they can hold on, the Kwantung Army will be the one to fail in the end.

Because he is getting stronger and stronger.

Even in the end, he could directly donate a batch of fighter jets.

After all, those obsolete fighter planes are no longer of much use to him.

It would be better to use these fighter jets to exchange for something.

He believed that Xue Yue would not refuse.

“Isn’t this too much? With this batch of equipment, the strength of the Ninth War Zone will probably increase dramatically.” Lin Yi said.

"This is what they deserve. As long as they really believe in the anti-Japanese war, I can give them some support. Besides, American weapons are very dependent on logistics. When they run out of ammunition, do they need to buy more? It's not too much to double or triple the ammunition, right?"

"Don't worry, when have I ever done business at a loss?" Cun Yunsheng chuckled.

Are you kidding me? He would do business at a loss?

He didn't believe it. After being used to American equipment, how many people would be able to stick with the old International brand?

Even if he could insist, the soldiers would never agree.

"You are the one who thinks so far ahead. Are you going to give away these weapons for free? It costs a lot of money." Lin Yi hesitated.

"Just sell it half and give it away half to recover the cost. Making money is still to come. Don't just focus on the immediate benefits. More than 100,000 elite Kwantung troops are coming to attack us. With the limited forces we have, who can stop them?" Cun Yunsheng said, shaking his head.

"Yes, I understand. Then who should I take care of this arms deal?" Lin Yi asked.

"Well, leave it to him. I trust him to do the job. Tell the commander of the Ninth War Zone that as long as he holds on, he doesn't have to worry about weapons. We will provide continuous support." Cun Yunsheng reminded again.

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)