NCCnovel Chapter 671: The Time Difference
Chapter 671: The Time Difference
The Japanese motorcycles quietly drove to the top of the mountain, found a small ravine, and found a position full of shell casings. It turned out that except for countless large pits, there was no sign of any destroyed independent column artillery, not even a screw!
Even the soldiers of the independent column didn't notice it. Only some ordinary people were picking up shell casings, preparing to take them to government departments to exchange for money.
"Baga, where is the artillery group of the independent column? It's clearly here!"
Although the Japanese were surprised, they immediately took a few photos and then asked one of them to take the film back to the command post in Lilin Town.
The rest of the people followed the tracks on the ground and moved forward.
I have to say that the individual quality of the Japanese soldiers was first-class, and their marching speed in the mountains was not slow at all. Finally, they climbed up a small hill and saw a long armored convoy in the distance.
"Sergeant, what is this strange thing? It doesn't look like a tank, nor does it look like artillery!"
"I don't know! Take a picture of it quickly and show it to the officers at the General Staff!"
"Hayi!"
The Japanese quickly finished shooting a roll of film, and then slipped back before the patrol of the independent column arrived.
At the 1st Division Headquarters in Lilin Town, Mitsuo Nakaike was proudly commanding the infantry brigade to prepare for the charge, and before that their artillery group would provide artillery coverage for ten minutes.
The Chief of Staff of the First Division trotted in with a serious look on his face.
"General, the soldiers who went to investigate the independent column's artillery position have returned."
The corners of Nakaike Sanfu's mouth flew up, like a kite in a typhoon, and couldn't be stopped.
"Yoshi, report our results loudly to boost morale!"
The chief of staff looked at the expectant eyes of the officers and soldiers around him, then prepared to move forward and whisper something to Nakaike Sanfu, but was ruthlessly pushed away by him.
Zhongchi Sanfu frowned, a little unhappy.
"You and I are both soldiers, be generous and don't whisper to each other here, as if there is a secret that cannot be told!"
The Chief of Staff of the 1st Division stood at attention.
"Report to the general, we did not find any destroyed independent column artillery on the enemy's position, only some civilians picking up shell casings!"
"Haha, it seems that the artillery of the independent column was blown to pieces by the heavy artillery of the empire!"
Looking at the confident and even complacent Nakaike Mitsuo, the Chief of Staff of the 1st Division was in a dilemma.
If I don't tell him the truth, he might be suspected of lying about military intelligence, and it would not be conducive to subsequent command.
Telling him the truth would be a slap in his face in public, and it would also severely damage the morale of the imperial army.
After much hesitation, he decided to report the situation truthfully. After all, if a heavy weapons unit was directly ignored during combat deployment, it would be a disaster for the soldiers on the front line.
"General, with all due respect, this is not the case. Soldiers reported that no artillery fragments or even a screw were found at the independent column's artillery position. There were only countless tracks!"
"What? Impossible, absolutely impossible! We can adjust the impact point very quickly. Even well-trained artillerymen cannot pull away a howitzer as heavy as a boulder in such a short time!"
Zhongchi Sanfu refused to believe that the independent column could actually escape under the artillery fire? Absolutely impossible!
Until the chief of staff took out some photos and placed them in front of Nakaike Sanfu.
Nakaike Sanfu took the photos and looked at them one by one. The expression on his face changed from suspicion to shock and then to anger!
He crumpled the photos into a ball and threw them hard on the ground.
"Can anyone tell me where the artillery of the independent column went? Where did it go? Did it just disappear?"
"General, I have ordered the soldiers to search along the tracks on the ground. Perhaps we will get the answer soon."
Nakaike Sanfu retained the last bit of rationality and patience, sat on the stool with a dark face, and waited for more than ten minutes before he received the news.
I saw with my own eyes the Japanese soldiers with self-propelled howitzers running in breathlessly.
"Reporting to the general, we followed the tracks on the ground and finally found their...their artillery. But these artillery pieces seem to be different, they have tank tracks!"
"Nani? Do you have any photos?"
Nakaike Sanfu took the photos and looked at them one by one, his expression becoming dull.
"This is a self-propelled howitzer! It combines a tank chassis with a large-caliber artillery. It has high mobility and great power! It seems that their firepower is not in vain!"
"General, how do you know?"
Mitsuo Nakaike looked at the blue sky outside the temporary headquarters and thought of the steel monsters he saw in Berlin, Germany.
"The speed and firepower of the self-propelled howitzers are terrifying. No wonder our artillery attack missed. Fortunately, they have already hidden themselves. Let us launch an attack immediately, capture Jiyuan, and cover the engineering regiment to build a pontoon bridge!"
Master Zhongchi San was secretly worried. Although he didn't want to admit it, he seemed to have a subconscious desire to stay away from the independent column.
"Aim to bombard the plains east of Jiyuan, and extend it to the urban area! Fire now!"
The remaining howitzers of the Japanese began to roar and launched continuous bombardment at the vast plains east of Jiyuan.
At this time, although Nakaike Sanfu issued an order for all artillery to fire, only less than one-third of the artillery actually opened fire.
The sound of artillery fire from the Jiyuan direction once again attracted the attention of the artillery division of the Fourth Army of the Independent Column.
After the artillery division arrived at the reserve artillery position, it quickly deployed again and immediately prepared to suppress the enemy's artillery.
At this time, many eyes in the distance were staring at the position of the artillery division.
"Send a message to the headquarters immediately and report the coordinates! Artillery fire coverage!"
"Hayi!"
After receiving the information, Nakaike Sanfu smiled triumphantly.
This was the old fox's plan, to have one-third of the artillery fire at Jiyuan to attract the independent column's artillery fire. The other two-thirds of the artillery was ready to go, constantly adjusting the firing range and elevation angle, ready to attack the self-propelled howitzer group of the Fourth Army at any time!
What Nakaike Sanfu is playing is the time difference. Aren't the self-propelled howitzers of your independent column deployed quickly? However, no matter how fast you are, how can you be faster than the artillery that has been loaded?
After a calibration shot to determine the parameters, fire all the shells within half a minute to directly cover your self-propelled howitzer!
Obviously, his plan succeeded.
"Calibrate your fire immediately! Fire all your shells within half a minute!"
A shell landed 100 meters to the right of the artillery division's reserve artillery position, creating waves of heat.
"Correct one position to the left! Three rounds of rapid fire!"