Chapter 32 9. The Artillery Unit Shows Its Power

In the Battle of Taierzhuang, in addition to Tang Enbo's artillery regiment, there was also a special artillery unit that participated in the battle, that is, the 200th Division that had just been expanded from the armored regiment.The commander of this division is Du Yuming, a famous general of the Kuomintang.The 200th Division was formed on January 15, 1938, and it is still training as soon as possible.At the beginning of the Taierzhuang outskirts battle, neither the tanks supported by the Soviet Union nor the tanks purchased from Italy had been delivered, and the whole division was too late to participate in the battle, so the three battalions of the 52nd Artillery Regiment, which had been equipped, and the divisions of the division The artillery battalion directly under it was pulled up.

The 4 artillery battalions have a total of 148 tanks and 72 defensive guns.People didn't know enough about this special force at that time, especially they didn't know much about the performance of tank defense guns, and they didn't study a series of professional military issues such as its tactics and tactics.The fifth war zone doesn't care about these, as long as they come.This special unit was assigned to the theater very casually.When they arrived at the participating troops, they were assigned to various divisions and regiments, and they were not used in a centralized manner.

The artillery battalion was dismantled, some companies were assigned to divisions, and some platoons were assigned to regiments.At that time, the commanders at the division or regiment level had never seen this thing at all, let alone the use of tank defense guns. If the troops participating in the war or the commanders of the fifth theater have a little military knowledge of artillery operations, and the four battalions are used in a unified way, they will exert greater power and strike the Japanese army more effectively. Something happened to the artillery battery on its first day in battle.This company and Sun Lianzhong's cavalry built an advanced position in the north of Taierzhuang to block the enemy's invasion.At this time, a brisk force of more than a thousand Japanese soldiers drove over in light vehicles such as armored cars and motorcycles.The artillery and anti-aircraft artillery of the Chinese army occupied an optimal position near the road.The Japanese army swaggered and carried themselves away in a long snake formation.When the enemy's armored convoy was fully exposed on the road, the cavalry of the 2nd Army retreated without resistance.The artillery company was very experienced, and it hit the first car from the tail car, making the Japanese army unable to advance and retreat, and they were in a mess.If the cavalry charged at this time, taking advantage of the chaos and fright of the Japanese army, they would slash and kill, and they would surely win a major victory.However, the cavalry did not do this. They did not understand tank defense guns and thought that these little guys would not have much power.Therefore, the 6 guns of the artillery company first fired armor-piercing bullets to destroy the enemy's armored vehicles, and then fired a burst of explosive bombs intensively, killing and wounding the Japanese troops.No way, no troops to charge, they had to move.

When the Japanese army attacked Taierzhuang, a tank defense artillery battalion equipped for Commander Chi Fengcheng played a huge role.They destroyed 4 tanks in a row, stopping the Japanese army's group attack.After the Japanese army occupied some positions in Taierzhuang, the commander of the artillery battalion suggested to Commander Chi that before dusk, use the tank defense guns to aim at the enemy's machine gun holes, and cover the infantry at night to attack the Japanese army, expel the enemy, and regain the position.Chi Fengcheng agreed with this plan, but the head of the counterattack had concerns, saying that your thing can destroy the buildings occupied by the enemy?It was built of stones.

The battalion commander told the regiment commander that tank defense guns not only have armor-piercing shells that can penetrate tanks and walls, but also explosive shells that can kill and injure Japanese soldiers in large numbers.The leader didn't believe it, and everything he said was nonsense.He asked the battalion commander to go to the position to try.The artillery battalion commander smiled wryly, shook his head and went anyway.They aimed a battle anti-aircraft gun at an enemy machine gun hole, fired three times in a row, silenced the enemy's heavy machine gun, and blew up a corner of the stone house. Many Japanese soldiers screamed from inside. run out.

The soldiers on the ground gave out applause, and they were inspired by it.The regiment commander was very happy, and he punched the commander of the artillery battalion on the shoulder. He said, okay, buddy, please mute the front fire ports tonight, and our infantry will use these broadswords and grenades. Wipe out the little Japan of Dog Day one by one.In the evening, the battalion commander dispatched 6 guns, and the 6 guns fired together to silence six or seven firepower points of the Japanese army.The infantry jumped out of the position and rushed into the enemy's position, with their swords up and down.The Japanese army suffered countless casualties, and a few remnants of the enemy fled in embarrassment.

Almost all the commanders of the Japanese army came from professional backgrounds. The regiments they commanded were all mixed, including infantry, cavalry, artillery and tank armor. Ingenious, especially the performance of various artillery. When the Japanese commanders knew that the Chinese defenders were equipped with tank defense artillery, they often changed their tactics and tried their best to deal with the artillery units of the Chinese defenders in Taierzhuang.The first is to find out the hidden position of the artillery fire, and then make a sudden charge.The offensive tactics are different every time, and the tricks are changed.

That day, when the Japanese army attacked the right-wing position of Taierzhuang, there were no tanks at first.When the battle between the two sides reached the most intense moment, that is, when the Japanese infantry was close to the charging distance, the Japanese tanks suddenly appeared and rushed towards the defenders' positions at the fastest speed.The officers and soldiers on the Chinese garrison positions were not prepared to blow up the tanks, but just focused on fighting the infantry, at a loss for the sudden tanks.An infantry battalion commander shouted for the artillery company commander to fire.The artillery company commander has experience, and he has to wait until the Japanese tanks and infantry charge together.In this way, while destroying the enemy tanks, the Japanese infantry trailing behind can be eliminated.Otherwise, if you destroy the enemy tank, the enemy infantry will not come up.The infantry battalion commander disagreed, and he asked the artillery company commander to be responsible for the loss of the position.When the two were arguing, Japanese infantry and tanks rushed forward together.The tank defense artillery fired suddenly, knocking out three tanks in front of the infantry.The Japanese infantry were dumbfounded. They were all in front of the Chinese defenders. The fierce firepower fired from the position made the Japanese army overwhelmed and had to leave many corpses and flee.

The chariot defense artillery suddenly became closer to the artillery and infantry, and they jointly defended and guarded this precious lump.Officers and soldiers are dependent on the artillery battalions and artillery companies assigned to divisions and regiments.Even in the subsequent transfers, the tank defense guns were well covered. Artillery soldiers have unspeakable difficulties. They are not afraid of the cruelty of war, or the hardship and fatigue on the battlefield. They are most afraid of the blind command of the infantry commander on the battlefield.The artillery, which could have played a greater role, could also kill and wound Japanese soldiers on a larger scale and damage Japanese tanks, armored vehicles and other mechanized equipment. However, because the commanders on the battlefield did not understand artillery tactics, it affected the artillery to attack and destroy the enemy. results.

Commander Zhang Jinzhao of the 30th Division of the Second Army once made such a mistake.When the Japanese army launched an attack on the left flank of Taierzhuang, a group of Japanese tanks appeared 1 kilometer away. Commander Zhang Jinzhao didn't know whether he was afraid of the tanks breaking through the position, or he had other worries, so he ordered the tank's defensive artillery to fire quickly. The command of the division commander Anyone who dares to disobey, and disobey the commander's command on the battlefield, will be punished on the spot. An artillery platoon leader dared to tell Commander Zhang that the Japanese tanks that invaded this time were carried out in columns. They came along the road. When the enemy's tank team cannot advance or retreat, concentrate artillery fire to wipe out all the tanks in the middle.In fact, this is a well-understood matter. It can be said to be common sense. Even people who do not understand military affairs can understand it as soon as they hear it.But Zhang Jinzhao didn't listen, he said who would dare to disobey orders!Who dares to disobey orders on the battlefield!

The artillery could not withstand the order of Commander Zhang, and when the Japanese tank column was not fully exposed, it opened fire at a distance of five or six hundred meters.This did not meet the requirements of the tutorial, let alone the tactics of the artillery. This time only four or five tanks of the enemy were destroyed. Seeing that the situation was not good, they immediately turned around and fled.If it is a knowledgeable commander, he must destroy more than a dozen Japanese tanks this time. The artillerymen at the front sent a telegram to Chief Du Yuming to report the battle situation, and were very dissatisfied with such things.What can Du Yuming do?It's too late, and I can't go to the front line to teach artillery command courses to commanders, and this is not something that can be learned in a day or two.Master Du had no choice but to smile and generate electricity to encourage his officers and soldiers to make persistent efforts, overcome difficulties, and work hard to kill the enemy. Chief Du Yuming was gratified that the artillery units of the four battalions he sent out not only performed extraordinary in the Battle of Taierzhuang, but also dealt a heavy blow to the mechanized units of the Japanese army and achieved a proud record. There is basically no loss, and the establishment has been returned one after another. Only one company assigned to Han Deqin's troops of the 24th Group Army blew up 6 trucks and 6 anti-aircraft guns by itself during the guerrilla campaign in northern Jiangsu. The soldiers of the 1st company retreated by themselves and returned to Quanzhou, Guangxi. The tank defense artillery unit of the 200th Division is a mechanized artillery unit with new weapons and complete communication equipment.Platoons, companies, and battalions all have radios, and the radios of each battalion can directly communicate with the division headquarters far behind.According to the statistics of the number of combat notifications reported by the 52nd Artillery Regiment to the division headquarters, from March 23 to the end of the war on April 6, they successively destroyed more than 30 Japanese armored vehicles and tanks, effectively cooperating with the infantry unit's task of defending Taierzhuang.In the Battle of Taierzhuang, there were brilliant achievements of artillery.