nucmednet Chapter 235: The First Army's Offensive Strategy Smoke Suffusing the Battlefield
Chapter 235: The First Army's Offensive Strategy Smoke Suffusing the Battlefield
Gu Chenghai smiled slightly. Actually, what Wang Jinhai said was not wrong. If they followed the conventional means of attack, as long as the enemy had dug simple underground fortifications in the trench position, even if they first carried out a round of artillery fire and then launched an infantry charge, this short 600-meter open plain section, the offensive route that had to be passed through, would definitely become a nightmare for the infantry, a veritable meat grinder and a Shura field.
But for the Northwest Revolutionary Army, whose equipment in all aspects is now comparable to or even surpasses that of the world's top military powers, this seemingly insurmountable chasm is not without a solution.
"Don't worry, Commander Wang. Next, I will show you how our First Army uses a textbook offensive strategy to capture the enemy's trench position within two hours!"
Wang Jinhai was slightly stunned, his curiosity aroused by Gu Chenghai's words. He also wanted to see what incredible methods the First Army could use to cross this meat-grinder battlefield that would cost countless lives.
"Give the order to the attacking troops below to use the positional warfare No. 3 attack strategy."
"Yes, Chief of Staff!"
A moment later, five Northwestern Revolutionary Corps-level combat units, in platoons, deployed a large number of 50MM and 60MM portable mortars at the edge of the plain area beyond the enemy's range.
Wang Jinhai was immediately disappointed. When the enemy had trenches and even makeshift underground fortifications, even 105MM caliber howitzers and 150MM heavy artillery could not bring devastating damage to the enemy's positions. What role could these small-caliber mortars with limited power play?
Without waiting for Wang Jinhai to ask, a large number of peculiarly shaped shells that looked like glass bulbs were quickly stuffed into the barrels by the soldiers. With the loud noise of firing, a large number of shells fell on the open area of the plain in front of the Beihai Division's position. After a few breaths, a large amount of white smoke overflowed from the broken shells and spread. The smoke from each shell could almost cover a distance within a diameter of 20 meters. The smoke was extremely thick and completely blocked the sight of the enemy's firepower units.
In fact, the First Army troops fired the BK 2 H smoke bombs used by the German army during World War II.
It is shaped like a light bulb and consists of two containers, an inner container and an outer container. The outer container contains titanium tetrachloride and silicon tetrachloride, while the inner container (a glass tube) contains antifreeze calcium chloride salt solution. The neck of the bottle has a groove carved on it to facilitate taking it out of the box. 2 H-type weighs 370g each and can withstand severe cold of -40 degrees Celsius.
It can block the enemy's vision over a large area, playing a role of interference and deterrence.
Although the smoke it releases is harmless to the human body in open areas, it will only cause nausea and coughing in a confined space.
As a large number of smoke bombs were dropped into the open plains, a thick fog seemed to rise between heaven and earth, filling the entire battlefield.
The thick smoke completely destroyed the soldiers of the North Sea Division on the defensive positions. The enemy artillery regiment, which had originally observed the First Army's mortar positions and was preparing to launch an artillery attack, had to give up the idea.
"Damn it! What the hell is this? Is it a biological weapon or a poison gas bomb?"
Behind the position, Kudo Kubo looked at the smoke spreading over the plain and was confused for a moment. If it was a poison gas bomb, the enemy should have fired it directly into the trench position instead of targeting the plain in front of the position.
On the other hand, on the Northwest Revolutionary Army side, a large number of soldiers moved in unison, put on gas masks very quickly, picked up their weapons, dispersed, and rushed towards the enemy's trench positions in squads and platoons.
It was not until this time that Wang Jinhai suddenly realized that the purpose of the First Army's combat forces was to block the enemy's sight so that their own troops could pass smoothly through the plain area in front of the trench position.
But Wang Jinhai still had some doubts in his heart. In this pitch-black smoke, the First Army's combat troops would also be blocked from sight. While the enemy would not be able to launch fire attacks on them, they would also be unable to threaten the enemy.
What Wang Jinhai didn't know was that the Northwest Revolutionary Army had already gained considerable experience in attacking tactics for Position No. 3 through countless large-scale exercises. Before the smoke completely dissipated, the large force had already clearly identified the direction of the enemy's position, and it was impossible for them to lose their way in the smoke.
On the Beihai Division side, faced with the smoke covering the plain area within a radius of one kilometer, they were still confused and didn't know how to respond. At the same time, in the smoke, a large number of soldiers from the First Army had already fumbled to place the portable mortars again, and had a rough estimate of the location and distance of the enemy's trench positions.
As many as four or five hundred mortar shells of various calibers rose up from the smoke and bombarded the enemy's trench positions. The soldiers of the Beihai Division were unprepared and had not even observed the First Army's artillery fire in advance, and they suffered heavy losses in an instant.
In this situation, the First Army troops, which had experienced countless times of determining their position and groping their way forward in the smoke, were like cheaters with perspective turned on in later FPS games. The Hokkien Division, on the other hand, had absolutely no experience or corresponding preparation. How could they fight this battle?
In the trench positions, violent explosions sounded one after another. The indiscriminate bombardment of hundreds of mortar shells eliminated countless heavy firepower points of the Hokkien Division. The trenches were littered with the remains of Fuso soldiers. The blood almost stained the land in the trenches, making it like mud after rain.
After three rounds of bombing, Fuso was completely thrown into disarray.
"Shoot! Shoot into the smoke! The enemy is bombing us in the smoke!"
Under the command of the Fuso officers, a large number of soldiers of the Hokkien Division stabilized their position, picked up the light and heavy machine guns placed at the edge of the trench in front, and opened blind firing into the thick smoke.
However, with the five regimental units of the First Army completely dispersed, and with smoke obstructing vision on such a wide battlefield, the casualties on the First Army side were negligible. On the contrary, the gunshots exposed the location of their heavy firepower points.
In the smoke, a large number of mortars began bombing again. This time, at the front of the trench position, a large number of heavy firepower points of the Hokkien Division were eliminated. As time passed, the smoke gradually became thinner, and from the battlefield area shrouded in smoke, a loud charge horn sounded. A large number of assault regiment soldiers who were rushing in the front had used the cover of the smoke to cross the barbed wire and jump into the trench in front of the Hokkien Division's position, engaging in close-range fire with the Fuso soldiers.
In order to gain absolute advantage in trench warfare, the soldiers of the assault regiment did not even carry rifles. Instead, they carried Thompson submachine guns and an M1897 pump-action shotgun. In this close-range face-to-face trench warfare, the short-barreled version of the M1897 shotgun could be called a trench life harvester.
The No. 12 shotgun shell it fired could directly turn the enemy into a sieve, or even shatter a part of the body, when the distance between the two sides was no more than ten meters. It was extremely bloody and brutal. In addition, a standard bayonet with a cold glow was installed on the muzzle of the shotgun, which could be used as a melee weapon. It would not be at a disadvantage in close combat with the soldiers of the Beihai Division.