Chapter 48: Planning the Siege, Artillery Battle at Liao County!

Page (1/3)
Inside the brigade command room.
Zhang Yun gratefully said to Li Yunlong, “Thank you very much, Commander Li, for your support. We accept Deputy Commander Xing; I really like this welcoming gift!”
Commander Li said carelessly, “Captain Zhang, don’t just thank me with words. According to the rules in the Dabie Mountains, if you accept a gift, you must return one.”
Zhang Yun patted his pocket helplessly and said, “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything good on me. How about you take this Zeiss binoculars?”
Li Yunlong was delighted and quickly took the binoculars from Zhang Yun, examining them.
“I’ve seen these binoculars for a long time; they’re clearly high-grade foreign goods. Captain Zhang, you’re truly wealthy. Since we’ve exchanged gifts today, we’re family now. In the future, if there’s any good news, don’t forget me, Old Li. We may not have many talents, but we sure know how to fight the devils!”
The brigade commander, seeing everyone had their fun, cleared his throat heavily and said, “Enough of this nonsense. Let’s talk: how do we fight for Liao County?”
Several regiment and battalion commanders exchanged glances, none eager to speak first.
Liao County was, after all, a county town with tall walls and strong enemy firepower. With only a few thousand troops, a direct assault would likely cause heavy casualties and be counterproductive.
Commander Li said, “The enemy regiment is already surrounded within the county. Their supplies are insufficient, and their logistics cut off. I estimate the enemy will withdraw in a few days. We should ambush their retreat routes multiple times, harass them, and seize the chance to strike hard!”
Kong Jie and others nodded but had no better suggestions.
Commander Chen said, “Military intelligence is urgent. Headquarters wants us to expel the enemy from Liao County quickly to restore the base area and, leveraging the reputation from the recent victory at the Ninth Route siege, expand rapidly into the Hebei and Henan plains. We can’t wait for the enemy to leave; we must take the initiative to drive them out!”
Zhang Yun thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Have the enemy fired their guns these days? The enemy’s hesitation is mainly due to their reliance on powerful aircraft and artillery. We can’t do anything about their air force for now, but if we can find a way to take out their artillery, the enemy will naturally be terrified and will likely retreat soon.”
A staff officer nearby replied, “A few days ago, they shelled our mountain positions with infantry and mountain guns. These days, they seem to have run low on shells and haven’t fired.”
The brigade commander asked, “Their artillery is all inside the county. How do you propose to strike their artillery?”
“My artillery squad leader, Wang Dachuan, is a professional artilleryman and has some confidence fighting enemy artillery,” Zhang Yun introduced. “The county sits beside a highway at a relatively low elevation. We can set up observation points on the mountains to watch the county, connecting the artillery units via field telephones.”
“We’ll set up a mortar position to lure out their infantry and mountain guns, locate their artillery, and then use our mountain and infantry guns to destroy their artillery positions.”
Zhang Yun proposed this not only because he trusted Wang Dachuan’s artillery skills but also because he had his own advantage!
His last reconnaissance team had circled the Pingliao Highway from Heshun County to Liao County and even scouted inside Liao County itself. Two scouts were still inside the county town.
Using the captured enhancement system’s map pages, he had already established a complete and accurate coordinate system between the county and his location, including distances and altitude differences.
Although he could only obtain real-time information within 200 meters around the scouts and couldn’t pinpoint the enemy artillery’s exact position in real time, by setting up two observation posts on the mountains and using the specialized artillery binoculars from the “captured” system, they could easily find the enemy artillery. Zhang Yun only needed to know the artillery’s position to quickly coordinate with Wang Dachuan and determine the firing parameters.
With the accurate geographic information from the map pages, two elevated observation posts, and close cooperation between Zhang Yun and Wang Dachuan, they could build an accurate artillery fire control system, achieving early detection, early attack, and early destruction to win the artillery battle against the enemy!
Hearing Zhang Yun, Commander Chen smiled, “Are you confident? Don’t lose our artillery — those are our treasures!”
Zhang Yun smiled and said, “I’m confident. We can set up some dummy mortars at the mortar position. After firing with the real guns, we’ll withdraw immediately, luring the enemy to attack the dummy position and thus exposing their infantry and mountain guns.”
The commander didn’t hesitate and decided, “Good, let’s try this first!”
“All regiments should concentrate their forces near several city gates to maintain constant pressure on the enemy.”
“The enemy inside Liao County is likely fewer than 1,500 men. Our 772nd Regiment, the New First Regiment, the Independent Regiment, and militia units together exceed 5,000. The brigade will soon supply ammunition and grenades to all units. Let’s give the enemy a fierce blow and tear off a few chunks from the 105th Regiment!”
Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)
Everyone nodded solemnly. Li Yunlong praised, “Captain Zhang is amazing. I’ve never seen an artillery battle like this. Before, the enemy shelled us; today, finally, we’re shelling them!”
Everyone laughed and went to prepare.
For this Liao County operation, Zhang Yun’s artillery team carried only two 82mm mortars, two infantry guns, and one Type 41 mountain gun, each with only 50 rounds; the rest of the ammunition was handed over to the brigade.
Through multiple battles at Changle Village and elsewhere, the 386th Brigade had also captured three infantry guns and two mountain guns, forming its own brigade-level artillery unit.
To maximize firepower, the brigade commander handed over all the artillery to Zhang Yun, creating an artillery cluster for the 386th Brigade: eight 82mm mortars, five infantry guns, and three Type 41 mountain guns.
Artillery squad leader Wang Dachuan, following Zhang Yun’s instructions and previous experience, placed the mortars about 1.5 kilometers from the county gates on the road, the infantry guns about 2 kilometers up the mountain, and the mountain guns about 4 kilometers away on a high peak. All three positions were connected via field telephones to the artillery command and well camouflaged for air defense.
The 772nd Regiment, New First Regiment, and Independent Regiment surrounded Liao County from the east, west, and south under the cover of night, leaving a gap in the north for enemy escape.
Everything was ready!
…
At 5:00 a.m. on the 21st, with dawn just breaking, all units were in position!
First, the mortar unit, personally commanded by Li Tianduo, launched a fierce bombardment on the enemy’s south gate defenses!
In an instant, the defenses around Liao County’s south gate were engulfed in fire and smoke. The intense bombardment shattered enemy machine gun nests and bunkers, throwing the defenders into panic.
“Regimental HQ, the south gate defense is under heavy artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army. Our company has suffered severe casualties. Outside the south gate, we’ve spotted at least a regiment of enemy troops, and a city assault seems imminent! Requesting instructions!”
The company guarding the south gate had been stationed there for some time and had never faced artillery fire from the Eighth Route Army before. Though they had built shelters, soldiers mostly rested in nearby houses. The sudden intense bombardment caused heavy losses, forcing them to urgently call for reinforcements.
Enemy regiment commander Hei Senkawa Ichiro was awakened by the bombardment and soon informed by staff about the large-scale artillery attack.
“Baka! How many troops does the Eighth Route Army have?”
The staff reported, “According to the south gate company, the enemy has at least one regiment gathered there, with large forces also at the east and west gates.”
“Are they about to besiege my regiment?” Hei Senkawa Ichiro was worried. According to the Taiyuan First Army Command’s report, three regiments deep in the Eighth Route Army’s core area were in dangerous isolated positions. Especially their 105th Regiment, which had not received supplies for days and was short of bullets and shells.
What worried him most was the lack of news from the troops sent to retake Heshun yesterday; his rear was likely compromised. If the Eighth Route Army concentrated most of their forces against the 105th Regiment, his regiment’s fate was grim.
“Order: artillery units must immediately destroy the enemy mortar positions and shell their concentrations. Report to Taiyuan First Army Command at once and request instructions!”
Hei Senkawa Ichiro sensed the danger but was not yet panicked. Although the Eighth Route Army had many troops, their weapons and firepower were inferior, so they wouldn’t storm the city immediately.
The staff quickly relayed the commander’s orders.
Meanwhile, the enemy artillery company stationed in a large residence inside the county had spotted the 386th Brigade’s mortar positions from observation posts on the city walls. They adjusted firing parameters for two mountain guns and three Type 92 infantry guns and launched counter-battery fire at the mortar positions!
Li Tianduo, a professional artilleryman from the Northeast Army, knew well how fast the enemy’s counter-fire could be. Watching the enemy on the walls, as soon as he saw them observing, he ceased fire, set up dummy positions, and withdrew his artillery to nearby shelters.
Sure enough, within a minute, one shell landed nearby, then four shells hit the mortar position, destroying dummies and mortar models. Five more shells followed.
The enemy’s mountain gun flashes were faint, but the darkness still allowed two observation posts on the mountain using professional artillery binoculars to detect the enemy artillery positions.
The observation posts immediately informed the artillery command by telephone. Zhang Yun, combining detailed map information from the map pages, had pinpointed the enemy artillery positions and measured distances and altitude differences relative to their infantry and mountain guns.
Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)
Wang Dachuan then calculated the specific firing parameters for the infantry and mountain guns and immediately ordered adjustments, firing one shell each for calibration.
“Boom! Boom!” Two shells were fired from the infantry and mountain gun positions, hitting the enemy artillery company’s east wall, scattering debris that even struck enemy artillerymen.
The enemy artillery company commander was stunned!
These were the Imperial Japanese Army’s Type 92 infantry guns and Type 41 mountain guns — the Eighth Route Army was using captured artillery to counterattack!
“Baka! Withdraw, withdraw quickly!” The company commander was angry and shocked. Was it possible for the Chinese army to have such professional artillery? They had only fired three volleys before suffering counter-fire near their artillery positions.
Unfortunately, the enemy artillerymen were rigid about equipment and refused to abandon their guns. They hastily pushed their artillery to move.
But it was too late!
Seconds later, four more infantry gun shells and two mountain gun shells landed precisely on the enemy artillery position.
Soon after, a second volley of eight shells rained down!
Zhang Yun’s captured enhancement system began refreshing data. Checking, he gained increments of 0.1 Type 92 infantry guns and 0.2 Type 41 mountain guns.
Clearly, the enemy artillery was suffering losses but not yet wiped out.
Zhang Yun pressed Wang Dachuan to continue shelling surrounding areas and watched happily as the enhancement data slowly rose, soon reaching one infantry gun and 0.4 mountain guns.
Since the artillery units also included other captured guns from the 386th Brigade, not all enemy artillery kills counted toward Zhang Yun’s enhancements. Still, judging by the current data, the enemy artillery was nearly destroyed.
The shelling gradually ceased, and the battlefield fell silent, except for occasional sparks from unexploded shells near the enemy artillery positions.
The enemy regiment’s artillery company and two artillery platoons were completely annihilated!
(This artillery battle is somewhat simplified; before radar, indirect fire artillery battles were inefficient and often took several rounds. The protagonist’s advantage allows such swift victory.)
Inside the enemy regiment headquarters in Liao County, commander Hei Senkawa Ichiro was shocked while listening to the staff report.
“The artillery company and platoons suffered counter-battery fire from the Eighth Route Army artillery two minutes after they started firing.”
“Their counter-fire was extremely rapid, and our artillery had no time to evade, resulting in total destruction.”
“The regiment’s three infantry guns and two mountain guns have been destroyed; we’ve lost long-range firepower.”
“Baka!” Hei Senkawa Ichiro angrily chopped the table with his command sword. “Where did the Eighth Route Army get such professional artillery? Their counter-fire speed surpasses our artillery level.”
The staff reminded him, “The county lies at the mountain foot, while the Eighth Route Army occupies the surrounding high mountains. Using observation posts on the mountains, their artillery can easily strike targets inside the county.”
“Previously, we thought the Eighth Route Army had few artillery and shells and that their artillery was unprofessional, so no need to worry. But now, they’ve captured our infantry and mountain guns and some shells. Our regiment is in grave danger!”
As they spoke, they faintly heard the whistling of incoming shells, followed by intense explosions from the military barracks in the county square.
Under Zhang Yun’s command, the independent detachment’s artillery unit used two infantry guns and one mountain gun to precisely bombard the enemy barracks and other facilities inside the county.
Page (3/3)