boyutpedia Chapter 156 Crossing the River
Chapter 156 Crossing the River
At 6:30 in the morning on April 28, the artillery positions of the First Division were ready two kilometers north of the Qingyang River.
"Ready, fire." As the artillery commander gave the order,
10门75口径山炮，10门105口径山炮，10门75口径野战炮，10门105口径榴弹炮。5门155口径榴弹炮，5门155口径加农炮，5门203口径榴弹炮，5门203口径加农炮。
A total of sixty cannons launched indiscriminate bombardment on the 92nd Division’s base outside Qingyang City.
As early as a few days ago, the artillery began to measure the position, and had already marked the positions of the Ninth Army's positions, and the artillery parameters had already been debugged.
"Boom boom boom."
Faced with the sudden artillery bombardment, the soldiers of the 92nd Division were stunned and ran around in panic.
The commander of the 92nd Division also quickly hid under the table in the headquarters and ordered the staff officer beside him: "Quick, go and pass the order, let all the units hide."
After hearing this order, the staff officer beside him was a little confused, and then felt aggrieved. Are you kidding me? Under the enemy's artillery attack, they asked them to pass on the order. Is this to pass on the order? No, this is asking them to die.
Although he was angry, the staff officer had to go out and do it, because a higher-ranking official can crush a person.
"Commander, the enemy on the opposite side launched an attack today. I think things should not be simple." The chief of staff of the division approached the commander of the 92nd Division and said.
They had just decided to abandon Qingyang County and march west yesterday, and today their troops were attacked by the enemy. Is this a coincidence?
The commander of the 92nd Division said fiercely: "Did someone tip off the other side?"
The division commander did not have much time to think. After a series of artillery bombardments, the battlefield was in a mess with ghosts howling and wolves howling.
155口径榴弹炮，与203口径榴弹炮威力巨大，杀伤半径分别达到350～360米与470～480米。
Even though the 92nd Division had built fortifications, they were easily torn apart like paper under the attacks of howitzers and cannons.
"Commander, it's bad. The enemy has launched an attack on us." Yuan Yuhao was sleeping soundly when the position outside the city was bombarded. The chief of staff immediately came to his room and shouted.
After being shaken by the chief of staff for a few times, Yuan Yuhao slowly woke up. When he saw the chief of staff, he subconsciously leaned back and asked, "What happened?"
"Army, the enemy launched an artillery attack on our troops outside the city." The chief of staff said immediately.
"What?"
Upon hearing the news, Yuan Yuhao was a little confused. He had just decided to retreat, and the enemy attacked? What should he do next?
Glancing at the chief of staff, Yuan Yuhao ordered, "Let the troops inside the city assemble and wait for my order."
After the chief of staff went down to convey the order, Yuan Yuhao fell into deep thought as he looked at his back.
The enemy launched an attack just after he gave the order to retreat. He didn't believe it was such a coincidence. The only explanation was that there was a traitor in the army. This made him lose much trust in these senior officers.
Moreover, the opponent's attack caught him off guard, leaving Yuan Yuhao temporarily unsure of how to respond.
When the positions outside the south city of Qingyang County were bombarded, the 101st and 102nd Regiments of the st Division had crossed the Qingyang River pontoon bridge and rushed along the Qingyang River towards the left wing positions of Qingyang County.
Looking through the telescope, Fang Guoxuan saw the position of the 92nd Division on the opposite side and could not help but sigh: "In the future, when the troops dig fortifications, they should be prepared to defend against artillery fire."
"Yes, the power of these heavy howitzers and cannons is too terrifying. Simple fortifications can't defend against them at all." Fang Tianming also sighed.
If we had known that these artillery pieces were so powerful, we should have launched a direct attack on the enemy a few days ago.
After this round of bombing, it is estimated that at least three thousand or more soldiers were lost.
At seven o'clock the artillery fire finally stopped. After waiting for a few minutes and seeing that the artillery fire finally stopped, the commander of the 92nd Division climbed out of the command post.
The headquarters was hit by an artillery fire and the entire headquarters collapsed. There were more than 20 people in the headquarters, including the division commander, and less than five survived.
If the guards had not pinned the commander of the 92nd Division under him, he would have been seriously injured even if not killed in the explosion.
Seeing this tragic scene, the commander of the 92nd Division immediately ordered: "Quick, tell all units to count the casualties and the number of people still alive."
Upon hearing the order, a messenger beside him immediately went to convey the order.
On the left wing of the 92nd Division's position, the 102nd Regiment was the first to arrive at a distance of meters from the position and launched a charge on the position.
The 923rd Regiment was defending the left wing, and was also the main target of artillery fire. When the 923nd Regiment rushed up, there were less than 102 people able to fight on the position.
"Commander, the enemy is coming, let's retreat quickly." Seeing the enemy coming, the chief of staff looked panicked beside the commander.
The chief of staff was frightened by the recent shelling and was able to survive the fire by hiding in a pit.
Of the dozen soldiers who hid in the pit with him, only two survived. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little scared. If he hadn't been hiding in the innermost part, he would probably have died under the gunfire.
The regiment commander glared at the chief of staff coldly and shouted, "Brothers, the enemy is coming, follow me to meet them."
After being glared at by the regiment commander, the chief of staff shrank back with a sullen look on his face.
With the encouragement of the regiment commander, the soldiers' morale improved slightly, but they were still afraid of the artillery bombardment just now.
"Hurry, go ask the division commander for help and tell him that the enemy is coming." After calming the soldiers, the regiment commander instructed the messenger beside him.
After the messenger left, the commander looked worried.
A regiment of 2,000 people lost more than 1,200 men under the bombardment. I wonder how many times the remaining 800 men can withstand the enemy's attacks.
When the 102nd Regiment was getting closer, a messenger came to the commander of the 923rd Regiment and reported: "Commander, all the heavy machine guns have been blown up, and more than light machine guns have also been destroyed."
"Concentrate on using your light machine guns, brothers, hold on, reinforcements will be here soon." Faced with this situation, the regiment commander was also very helpless and could only comfort them.
Although the 102nd Regiment had new recruits, they received very strict training and had participated in bandit suppression, so the soldiers' marching posture was acceptable.
The soldiers were in a relatively dispersed formation, with their bodies slightly bent, moving quickly in groups of three.
When the 102nd Regiment approached a distance of 923 meters, the commander of the rd Regiment gave the order: "Attack."
As gunshots rang out, many soldiers advancing were shot. The general-purpose machine guns set up in the rear also fired at the 923rd Regiment, and many soldiers on both sides were shot.
When the soldiers of the 102nd Regiment approached within 923 meters, they took out their grenades, pulled the rings, and threw them into the position of the rd Regiment.
After a burst of grenade explosions, the soldiers in front quickly rushed into the position of the 923rd Regiment in the thick smoke and dust.
Ten minutes later, as more and more people rushed into the position, the remaining soldiers of the 923rd Regiment were divided and surrounded. Seeing this, Fang Weiguo in the rear curled up a smile.
At this moment, the 101st Regiment also rushed up. Because the 102nd Regiment crossed the river and assembled first, the 101st Regiment was much slower.
Fang Weian stepped forward and punched Fang Weiguo: "Good job, Weiguo, you rushed to the battlefield so quickly."
"Thanks to that round of artillery fire, the enemy was crippled. You, the 101st Regiment, should quickly pass through the position and set up a defense line outside the east city." Fang Weiguo knew that it was not entirely his credit that they were able to capture the position so easily.