Chapter 64 Guerrilla Artillery Warfare

On the Longdong Plateau in July, the scorching sun blazed mercilessly, and the loess earth radiated heat like a furnace. On the main road leading to Qingyang, rolling clouds of dust rose into the air, resembling a dull yellow giant python crawling slowly and stubbornly northward. This was the massive marching column of the Nationalist First Division.

A force of over ten thousand men maintained a formation so rigid it bordered on the mechanical. At the vanguard was the elite infantry of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Brigade. Their bayonets reflected dazzling white light under the blazing sun, while vigilant eyes swept across the silent ridges and gullies on both sides of the road. Behind them came the division headquarters' direct subordinate units, an artillery battalion transporting twelve 75mm mountain guns on pack animals, the main force of the 2nd Brigade, the baggage train, and finally the 4th Regiment of the 1st Brigade serving as the rearguard. The column stretched for several miles from front to back, with tight intervals between units and flanking security outposts pushed far out. Any slight disturbance would trigger a cautious burst of machine-gun fire or a probing mortar bombardment.

The core area where the division headquarters was located was guarded in layers. Major General Yu Jishi, the division commander, rode a tall Japanese horse, his face gloomy. Although an oil-paper umbrella held by a guard shielded him from the direct glare of the sun above, the sweat beads on his temples and his tightly pressed lips revealed the tension within. He detested this kind of passive and vulnerable armed parade, but Hu宗南's order of steady advancement and prioritizing the capture of cities acted like a tightening spell, preventing him from taking the slightest risk. He could only hope that this flawless advancing method would force the ghostly Red Army to retreat in the face of difficulties.

"Report to the Division Commander! The vanguard regiment has passed Baimapu without encountering large-scale resistance. There were only sporadic sniper harassments, which have already been dispersed by our security forces." A communications staff officer galloped over to report.

"The usual trick of the Communist bandits—nothing more than hiding their tails, harassing our flanks, and trying to trick us into splitting our forces," Yu said indifferently to the chief of staff beside him. "Order all regiments to strengthen flank security. If harassed by small bands of bandits, disperse them with firepower. Unauthorized pursuit is strictly forbidden. Our sole objective is the city of Qingyang. As long as we advance steadily and build our camps step by step, what can the bandits do, no matter how many tricks they have?"

"Maintain formation, heighten alertness, and no unauthorized pursuit! Pay special attention to the highlands on both sides!" Yu Jishi coldly repeated the order whose count he had long lost.

"Yes!"

The entire First Division was like an armored, curled-up steel hedgehog, taking every step with extreme caution while guarding against a fatal blow from an unknown direction. Little did they know that pairs of sharp eyes were hidden behind distant, seemingly empty mountain ridges, coldly watching their every move.

...

About three or four miles away from the main road, behind a loess ridge, Liu Gensheng, commander of the Independent Brigade's artillery battalion, lay prone behind a clump of withered wormhole grass, holding a pair of binoculars and staring fixedly at the slow-moving, massive enemy column down the mountain. His lips were chapped and his face covered in dust, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

Beside him, a heavy field telephone line connected directly to a pre-set firing position on the reverse slope behind the mountain. There, three meticulously polished 75mm Krupp field guns had their covers removed, their muzzles raised high. The gunners held their breath, awaiting the order. Further back, towing trucks and mules stood ready for tactical maneuver at a moment's notice.

"Damn bastards, truly cautious..." Liu Gensheng muttered under his breath, then turned to the observer beside him. "Calculate coordinates. Target: the middle section of the enemy column, the area where the mules and horses are concentrated—looks like their baggage train or reserve force! Distance: about 4,200 meters! Wind direction westerly, wind speed force three..."

The observer rapidly operated the rangefinder and calculating wheel, calling out a series of parameters. The nearby telephone operator immediately reported the parameters to the rear artillery positions via telephone.

Almost simultaneously, three other reconnaissance groups deployed at different locations along the flanks of the long enemy column used portable radios to continuously relay the coordinates of valuable targets they had locked onto—perhaps the faintly visible gun barrels of the enemy artillery battalion, a suspected headquarters bristling with antennas, or a section of the road crowded with marching infantry—back to the brigade's artillery command post located at a secret command post outside Qingyang.

Inside the brigade artillery command post, the atmosphere was tense yet orderly. On the massive map, staff officers quickly marked the real-time positions of the enemy based on the coordinates reported by each reconnaissance group. Wang Lin and Zhong Guangbang personally presided over the operations.

"Brigade Commander, Observation Post Number One reports locking onto a suspected enemy baggage convoy!"

"Number Three reports discovering the enemy artillery battalion's position, calculating firing data now!"

"Number Four reports the enemy vanguard regiment has passed the pre-set zone, with a gap of about 1.5 kilometers between them and the division headquarters!"

The ticking of radios, the ringing of telephones, and the reports of staff officers intertwined.

Wang Lin's gaze was sharp as he rapidly synthesized all the information. Although the enemy's formation was tight, within such a long marching column, there were always relatively vulnerable and congested links.

"Order!" Wang Lin finally spoke, his voice steady and decisive. "Mobile Artillery Group Number One, open fire first! Target: the mule-concentrated area in the middle of the enemy column! Three rounds of rapid fire! After firing, immediately relocate to Pre-set Position Number Three without delay!"

"Yes!"

The order was instantly transmitted via radio to Mobile Artillery Group Number One hidden in the mountain fold.

Liu Gensheng abruptly lowered his binoculars and roared into the telephone, "All personnel, attention! Target Number One, high-explosive shells, three rounds of rapid fire! Fire!"

In the mountain hollow, three battery commanders swung their red flags down almost simultaneously.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three muffled yet majestic explosions suddenly shattered the silence of the plateau afternoon! Flames and gunpowder smoke erupted instantly from the muzzles, and the immense recoil caused the gun bodies to shudder violently.

Three high-speed rotating 75mm high-explosive shells, carrying the shrill whistle of death, tore through the scorching air along a nearly straight trajectory. Spanning a distance of several thousand meters, they accurately smashed into the slowly advancing enemy column on the mountain road below!

Yu Jishi was riding slowly, calculating defense arrangements upon reaching Qingyang, when suddenly a painfully familiar yet utterly misplaced sharp whistling sound descended from the sky!

"Artillery bombardment?!" His expression changed drastically, and instinctively he roared at the top of his lungs, "Take cover! Take cover quickly!"

His reaction was not slow, but the shells were faster!

Before his voice had even faded away!

"Boom—!"

"Crash! Boom—!"

"Neigh—!"

Three shells landed in a nearly pinwheel formation, striking with pinpoint accuracy right into the core area of the marching column! The violent explosions were deafening! Flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke intertwined with dirt, splinters of wood, severed limbs, and the terrified shrieks of mules and horses erupted instantly!

One shell scored a direct hit on a string of mules loaded with ammunition! It instantly triggered a secondary chain explosion, sending a massive fireball into the air as limbs and wooden crate fragments scattered in all directions!

Another shell landed beside the infantry marching column. Although it missed by a few meters, the fierce shockwave and flying shrapnel still mowed down more than a dozen soldiers like wheat before a scythe!

The third shell landed near several wagons, flipping them over and scattering supplies everywhere!

The marching column, which had been orderly just moments ago, descended instantly into extreme chaos in its middle section! Soldiers ran about in panic seeking cover, while officers' hoarse shouts were swallowed by the explosions and screams. Terrified mules dragging broken saddles and supplies rampaged wildly, exacerbating the chaos.

"Where is the artillery coming from?! Are those our guns?" a recruit yelled in panic.

"Bullshit! It's the Communist bandits! The bandits' artillery!" an old soldier yelled back in terror while hugging the ground.

"How do they even have guns this big?!" More soldiers felt a surge of incredulous dread.

Under the desperate protection of his guards, Yu Jishi leaped off his horse and hid behind an earthen ridge. His face was pale—not from fear, but from extreme shock and anger!

"A 75mm mountain gun?! Definitely 75mm shells! How on earth could they operate them?! And with such high accuracy?!" he roared at the chief of staff, his voice cracking out of tune. He had known about Ma Hongbin losing his heavy artillery, but he never expected the Red Army to form combat effectiveness so rapidly, striking with such lethal accuracy and ferocity on their very first salvo!

"Hurry! Artillery battalion! Immediately calculate the enemy's gun positions! Give me counter-battery fire! Flatten them!" Yu Jishi practically stomped his feet as he gave the order.

The Nationalist artillery battalion reacted swiftly enough, with observers nervously judging the approximate direction of the enemy guns based on the trajectory. However, before they could even calculate accurate firing data—

"Report! Enemy artillery fire has ceased!"

"Report! Smoke has been observed rising from about four thousand meters to the northwest, suspected to be an enemy firing position!"

"Order the artillery battalion, target the northwest... wait!" Yu Jishi suddenly realized something. How could the Red Army have only one gun position? And why stop right after firing?

During those few minutes of hesitation, the First Division's artillery battalion had hurriedly deployed, surveying, calculating, and setting firing data... After a cumbersome procedure, nearly ten minutes had already passed.

And those ten minutes were more than enough for Mobile Artillery Group Number One!

"Move! Move! Move!" Liu Gensheng urged loudly. The gunners stowed the trail spades at top speed and hitched the guns to the towing trucks. Roaring, the trucks towed the still-scorching artillery pieces along pre-surveyed covert trails, rapidly evacuating the firing position and sprinting toward Pre-set Position Number Three a few miles away. Left behind were only three clear crater pits in the earth and lingering smoke.

When the Nationalist artillery battalion's first batch of retaliatory shells whined toward the original position of Group Number One, it was already empty. Only churning clouds of loess and smoke remained, seemingly mocking their sluggishness.

"Report to the Division Commander! The enemy gun position is empty! Failed to hit the target!" the artillery battalion commander reported in frustration.

"Useless trash!" Yu Jishi was so furious he nearly vomited blood. He forced himself to calm down. "Order the troops to accelerate through this area! Strengthen flank reconnaissance and find their artillery at all costs!"

The column reorganized, burying the dead, rescuing the wounded, and gathering the destroyed supplies. It took nearly half a hour before they continued forward in a state of lingering shock. Morale had taken a heavy blow; the soldiers were no longer strutting with arrogance but instead nervously scanning their surroundings, as if every mountain ridge concealed a lethal gun muzzle.

However, their nightmare had only just begun.

Not even five miles further along, just as order was slightly restored, another set of heart-pounding artillery roars erupted suddenly from the southeast—from a completely different angle!

"Artillery bombardment! It's back! Take cover—!"

This time, the strike came from Mobile Artillery Group Number Three! The target was locked onto the rearguard unit, which had become slightly crowded and failed to fully disperse due to the previous ambush!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three shells once again landed accurately within the marching column. Although casualties were less severe than the first strike because the enemy was somewhat prepared, it still caused dozens of casualties and renewed chaos.

The Nationalist artillery battalion once again scrambled to calculate, turn, and fire back in counter-battery. But by the time their shells landed, Group Number Three had already executed the contingency plan, rapidly shifting to the next pre-set position.

Then came the third rapid salvo launched by Group Number Two from the northeast!

Followed by Group Number Four...

The four mobile artillery groups of the Independent Brigade acted like four ghosts, continuously shifting positions along the complex terrain flanking the enemy's route. Utilizing radio communications to receive real-time coordinates provided by forward reconnaissance units, they struck and fled, never lingering.

The location, timing, and angle of the bombardments had no discernible pattern. Sometimes the interval was half an hour; sometimes it was only ten minutes. At times they struck the vanguard, at times they hammered the rearguard, and at times they blasted the headquarters or artillery positions in the center. One thousand two hundred rounds of ammunition were sprinkled like water over the First Division's long marching column.

The Nationalist First Division seemed trapped in an endless artillery nightmare. Their artillery possessed superior firepower yet failed entirely to track the opponent's whereabouts. Rushing about in exhaustion, they discharged shells pointlessly into empty positions, only to exhaust large amounts of precious ammunition. The infantry suffered even more, their nerves strained to the breaking point. The marching speed slowed to a crawl, and the formation began to loosen due to frequent evasive maneuvers and chaos.

Yu Jishi's initial shock and anger had gradually been replaced by a deep sense of powerlessness and dread. He had never experienced such warfare! The enemy seemed everywhere and nowhere at once. Their firepower was precise and ruthless, and their mobility baffling. This was not the style of warfare he was familiar with!

"Their radio! It must be their radio!" Yu Jishi finally realized that efficient wireless communication must exist between the Red Army's artillery and reconnaissance troops. "Where is our communications intelligence? Can we jam it? Can we pinpoint it?!"

Yet the Nationalist army of this era possessed virtually zero concept of electronic warfare. Their crude reconnaissance equipment, operating in the complex mountainous terrain of Longdong, could not effectively capture or jam the communications of the Independent Brigade—which had undergone brief training by Wang Lin, utilizing frequency-hopping and concise codes.

As the setting sun dipped below the horizon, dusk fell. In the span of just this single afternoon's march, the First Division had suffered no fewer than twenty sudden artillery bombardments! Although each individual strike did not cause catastrophic casualties, cumulatively, the losses had already approached the size of an entire battalion. More importantly, the troops' morale had suffered a devastating blow. The soldiers were exhausted, the officers were at their wits' end, the marching schedule was utterly disrupted, and they were forced to hastily find a suitable location to pitch camp. Yet even inside the camp, they had to remain constantly on guard against stray shells flying in from unknown directions.

At the Independent Brigade headquarters, Wang Lin looked over the consolidated reports from all artillery groups and reconnaissance units, a weary yet satisfied smile spreading across his face.

"Very good! Tell Liu Gensheng and Zhang Hongtu they fought brilliantly! Keep it up, grind them down, wear away their edge, and disrupt their rhythm! Stay safe and preserve yourselves!"

He turned around and said to Wang Guangdao, Zhong Guangbang, and a group of eager, combat-hungry main infantry regiment commanders:

"Comrades, the iron turtle's shell has already been hammered until it rings! Once it gets dizzy from the explosions and sticks out its head and feet, it will be time for us to pounce and chop off its turtle claws!"

Li Yunlong grinned widely and chuckled, "Brigade Commander, just watch us! Our bayonets have been itching for action for a long time!"