Chapter 61: Urgent Artillery Barrage, Superior Firepower Tactics

In accordance with the deployment habits of the Independent Detachment, Zhang Yun established his command post near the artillery battery to oversee the entire operation, while Deputy Commander Liu Chang-qing positioned himself on the front lines to command the ambushing infantry.

Inside the temporary command post, Zhang Yun held binoculars to monitor the Japanese movements. Considering that the enemy trucks might be towing heavy weapons such as mountain guns or infantry guns, he intended to let the enemy approach closer, utilizing a dual attack of artillery and machine-gun fire to rout the opposing Japanese as quickly as possible.

Closer, closer still!

Not until the lead truck was nearly upon the position did Zhang Yun order the artillery battery to open fire.

The first to fire were two direct-fire infantry guns. With two loud thuds, the shells flew straight toward the trucks, exploding almost simultaneously right at the front of the lead vehicle!

With a deafening blast, the entire front of the truck was blown apart, reducing the Japanese soldiers inside the cab to pulverized flesh and bone, while the troops in the truck bed were violently thrown about in an instant, every single one of them wounded.

Following the infantry guns, the ambush force’s Type 92 heavy machine guns, ZB vz. 26 light machine guns, Type 11 light machine guns, and hundreds of rifles also commenced sustained firing, continuously sweeping across the trucks on the mountain road. The dense gunfire echoed loudly through the mountains.

Propelled by powerful kinetic energy, the bullets spewing from the muzzle pierced the thin metal plating of the truck beds, leaving behind rows of bullet holes while tumbling into the Japanese soldiers within. The rounds tore through flesh and blood, wringing agonizing screams from the wounded enemy!

By this time, some of the quicker-reacting Japanese had successfully jumped from the trucks, preparing to counterattack under the cover of the vehicle bodies and surrounding mountain rocks. However, what awaited them instead was a dense downpour of 82mm, 80mm, and 60mm mortar shells raining down from the sky.

Under the guidance and command of Zhang Yun's doctrine of concentrated fire assaults, the seven medium mortars commanded by Wang Cheng-zhu and the six small mortars of the infantry company hurled shells at the enemy's heads at a blistering rate of nearly thirty rounds per minute per tube.

Almost in an instant, massive fireballs erupted all along the highway where the Japanese were located, the continuous explosions constantly overturning their trucks and soldiers. Countless flying shrapnel shredded the nearby vehicles and enemy troops.

The shells redeemed and exchanged through the system were all high-explosive steel projectiles originally manufactured by major Western factories, possessing immense explosive power and a high yield of lethal shrapnel. Coupled with the pre-battle division of labor among the mortar teams, the entire highway—especially the sections close to the defensive positions—was choked with fireballs and flying metal, turning the ground into a purgatorial graveyard for the Japanese!

The highway seemed to be ablaze; everywhere there were burning, wreaked trucks and the blasted corpses of Japanese soldiers. The towering flames ignited from the gasoline inside the vehicles illuminated the entire ambush battlefield!

Further down the road, some trucks lagging behind suffered only minimal shelling due to the greater distance. Although their vehicles were disabled, a portion of the Japanese managed to disembark successfully and find cover. Yet, witnessing the ferocious bombardment ahead, the enemy soldiers felt their livers turn to ice, their faces pale with terror!

Could this possibly be the firepower of guerrillas? This was a premeditated operation to encircle reinforcements, the main forces of the Nationalist Shanxi-Suiyuan Army!

Such a judgment took root in the minds of the Japanese.

The primary reinforcements this time were a Japanese battalion from Yuci County, veteran troops who had participated in major engagements such as the Battle of Pingxingguan and the Battle of Yikou, possessing exceptional tactical proficiency. As a heavily defended area for the Japanese, this battalion was equipped not only with trucks, infantry guns, and heavy machine guns, but had also been reinforced with two mountain guns.

Having originally received a distress call from the stronghold—where the Japanese at the Lijiazhuang garrison reported that the enemy was employing infantry guns of Japanese manufacture before communications abruptly cut out—the Japanese battalion commander stationed in Yuci County had specifically ordered the relief force to accelerate its march to prevent the stronghold from falling. They had even brought mountain guns along, intending to use their range advantage to suppress the enemy's infantry guns.

Although the reinforcing Japanese numbered only half a battalion—just over 500 men—they carried two mountain guns, two infantry guns, and three heavy machine guns. Under normal circumstances, such a firepower configuration was more than enough to suppress one or two Chinese regiments.

Yet they had never imagined that on such a pitch-black night, on a highway so close to the county seat, so many mortars would be lying in wait for them, nor that such a professional and formidable artillery force would ambush their convoy.

Within the span of two minutes, nearly 600 shells landed upon the trucks, the highway, and their surroundings, killing the majority of the veteran Japanese troops inside the truck beds and along the road, completely denying these elite soldiers the opportunity to display their tactical prowess.

"Baka! Fall back, fall back!" Because the signalman had also been killed in the lead truck, the surviving Japanese were unable to communicate with the county battalion headquarters, and terrorized by the overwhelming firepower ahead, they had no choice but to flee back toward the county town.

The night was too dark; although the guerrillas in the rear spotted the fleeing enemy and successfully killed several, dozens still managed to escape.

The gunfire gradually subsided, and cheers of victory rang out across the positions.

Liu Chang-qing did not lower his guard. He ordered the soldiers of the First Company to continue holding the positions, while the men of the Second Company cautiously and meticulously swept the battlefield for surviving stragglers.

Guided by the light of the burning trucks, the soldiers of the Second Company methodically fired finishing shots into the bodies of the Japanese scattered on the ground to prevent any wounded soldiers from launching sneak attacks.

Accompanied by crisp gunshots, various heavily wounded or feigning-dead Japanese attempting to launch surprise attacks were sent straight to hell, and the sweep of the battlefield was completed.

Only then did the soldiers of the Second Company blow the whistle signaling safety, allowing the main force and the guerrillas to truly begin clearing the battlefield.

Holding his binoculars, Zhang Yun admired the burning highway and the tragic corpses of the Japanese, as did Wang Da-chuan, the commander of the artillery battery standing beside him.

"Good grief! Though this is already the fourth time, I still can't believe that relying on just a few mortars and infantry guns, we've so easily wiped out this many Japanese!"

Wang Da-chuan said excitedly, but immediately afterward, he felt compelled to remind Zhang Yun: "Commander, although the fire-assault artillery tactic has terrifying firepower, our ammunition is running short again!"

"We brought 500 mortar shells from our base and just captured another 900. But between the stronghold attack and the ambush fire assaults, we've expended nearly 1,200 mortar shells and over thirty infantry gun rounds. Our remaining mortar ammunition is now down to fewer than 200 rounds."

"This kind of fire-assault method burns through ammunition far too quickly. Never mind the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army or the Northeast Army; even the Central Army couldn't afford it!"

Indeed, while the fire-assault tactic appeared exceptionally useful and yielded remarkable results, ordinary military units simply could not afford to sustain it.

In the early stages of the War of Resistance, the price of an 82mm mortar shell was roughly 10 silver dollars per round (later dropping to 6 yuan per round).

Every time Zhang Yun launched a fire assault, he used at least two to three hundred mortar shells, costing roughly 2,000 to 3,000 silver dollars—equivalent to six or seven large gold bars, or enough to purchase 70,000 to 80,000 catties of millet. Today's total expenditure of 1,200 mortar shells, even accounting for a portion being smaller 60mm rounds, still amounted to the cost of 20 to 25 large gold bars.

One had to bear in mind that the Independent Detachment was currently only of battalion scale; if the force expanded in the future, the cost of each fire assault would multiply several times over. Moreover, mortar ammunition was merely the cheapest among all artillery shells.

(On the modern Russo-Ukrainian battlefield, even military powers like NATO and Russia can only fire tens of thousands of 155mm shells per day; modern warfare truly is a fire fueled by money!)

Domestic regional warlord armies had no way to use artillery ammunition with such extravagance, and while certain elite Central Army units possessed the financial means, actual employment faced numerous obstacles, such as manpower for shell transport, suppression by Japanese long-range artillery, and logistical resupply down the line.

Zhang Yun nodded, yet he was not panicked. He opened the system interface and reviewed the spoils of the recent ambush.

The captured items included over 170 rifles, more than 20 light machine guns, 1.5 heavy machine guns, 1 infantry gun, 1 mountain gun, over 20,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, upwards of 60 artillery shells, 9 grenade launchers, and 15 trucks.

Well, the 9 grenade launchers acquired through system enhancement alone could be exchanged for nearly 3,000 rounds of 82mm mortar ammunition. Not only was there no loss, but it was a massive profit!