bookrandom Chapter 219: As long as I don't order you to stop, you will keep fighting! 1-word chapter
Chapter 219: As long as I don't order you to stop, you will keep fighting! 1-word chapter
Under Li Yunlong's order, the independent regiment quickly began to mobilize troops and weapons. Heavy artillery was pulled back to complete the deployment. The 37mm anti-tank gun was also handed over to Lin Zhenhua, who began to teach the soldiers how to use it and even found a place to conduct a test firing.
"Old Li, our preparations have basically been completed. In another half an hour, the combat supplies will arrive at the front-line positions. Now it is 3:30 in the afternoon. All the pre-war preparations can be completed before 4:30 in the afternoon!" Zhao Gang said with a smile on his face.
Li Yunlong was delighted as he watched the heavy artillery pieces being redeployed to their positions. If it weren't for the hot weather and the other conditions not allowing it, he would have planned to launch a counterattack against the Japanese in an hour.
"Lao Zhao, the heavy artillery will play the leading role tonight, and our armored forces can only play a supporting role. I plan to destroy the heavy artillery in the hands of the Japanese tonight. As long as the threat of heavy artillery is gone, it will be much more difficult for the Japanese to launch a poison gas attack on our position!"
"The college student built a fully enclosed turret before. I thought he had a problem with his brain. Now it seems that he really has foresight. Even if the Japanese send fighter planes to bomb us, we are not afraid. It's just that the turret can't rotate. If it can rotate 360 degrees without blind spots, it will be more effective in fighting the Japanese!"
Zhao Gang replied angrily: "Old Li, when we were building the fully enclosed artillery batteries, you were the most vehement in your opposition. It was the college students who argued and built 12 fully enclosed artillery batteries. You made a lot of sarcastic remarks at that time. You are actually picking on us. You are really not a human being!"
Zhao Gang never curses. Li Yunlong really pissed him off this time, otherwise he wouldn't have said such words. But even so, Zhao Gang didn't curse.
Li Yunlong was not ashamed, but proud of it. He laughed and said, "Lao Zhao, if you don't know how to curse, then don't do it. I am not a human being, what else can I do? I am too lazy to argue with you. You quickly arrange the kitchen team to deliver the meal tonight. I plan to launch a counterattack immediately after dark. Tonight we are going to compete with the devils to see who can counterattack faster. Maybe we can bump into the devils by then, and then we can let the devils have a good drink and see how powerful our independent regiment is!"
Lin Zhenhua had just taught the soldiers how to use the anti-tank gun. He picked up a bowl of mung bean soup and started to drink it up in one gulp. He felt that most of the heat in his body had disappeared.
"Lao Li, Lao Zhao, I have already transferred all the anti-aircraft battalion members to participate in tonight's battle. Even our two most precious 105mm anti-aircraft guns have been transferred here. This will definitely give the Japanese a huge surprise. After a few days of training, the soldiers have become more and more proficient in the overloading of anti-aircraft guns. They can already reach the level of eight or nine rounds per minute. There is still room for improvement!"
"Judging from the situation on the battlefield today, anti-aircraft guns are very effective against the enemy's infantry and tanks. They are much better than the combination of our 105mm heavy guns and 75mm mountain guns. However, we don't have enough anti-aircraft artillery shells. If we hadn't launched a counterattack tonight, I really wouldn't want to use the air defense battalion. After all, our arsenal has not yet achieved mass production of anti-aircraft artillery shells. After mass production, we don't have to worry about the consumption of shells. Now we still need to save some!"
Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang knew that what Lin Zhenhua said was the truth. The total number of anti-aircraft artillery shells they obtained was about 60,000. Half of them could be consumed in a one-hour air battle. This was by no means alarmist. It was extremely difficult to hit the Japanese fighter planes with anti-aircraft guns. It often took thousands of shells to hit an enemy fighter plane. Relying on the independent regiment's artillery shell reserves, they could only shoot down seven or eight Japanese fighter planes. From this, we can see how difficult it is to use anti-aircraft guns for air defense!
"Old Li, it is very difficult to defend against the Japanese fighter planes with our anti-aircraft guns. Using them to deal with the Japanese infantry can be very effective. The anti-aircraft guns have a very high rate of fire and lethality, and are more effective than our 105mm heavy guns. We cannot limit the anti-aircraft guns to attacking the Japanese fighter planes. That would be uneconomical for our independent regiment!"
Li Yunlong nodded in agreement. The independent regiment was weak, so in terms of air defense, it would be better to use anti-aircraft machine guns. This was because the arsenal had completed the assembly of the 7.92mm bullet production line and could start trial production tomorrow, and enter the formal production stage three days later. The daily production capacity of bullets had been increased to 6000 rounds, and the monthly production could reach 15 rounds. As long as the raw materials were supplied, there would be no problem in meeting the combat consumption of the independent regiment.
"College students, let's use anti-aircraft machine guns to deal with the Japanese fighter planes. We need to block the Japanese's dive routes. It will be more effective than anti-aircraft guns. I don't care whether I can shoot down a few Japanese fighter planes. As long as the Japanese don't drop bombs on our positions, I have nothing to worry about!"
"But speaking of which, our independent regiment has encountered so many Japanese sieges, why haven't the reinforcements from Lao Kong and Lao Ding arrived yet? It's been almost half a month, and we haven't even seen a single person. Could something have gone wrong?"
Lin Zhenhua didn't expect Li Yunlong to change the subject so quickly. He also felt incredible that the reinforcements had not arrived yet. It had been more than ten days. Even if there was something delay on the way, they should have arrived long ago. But now there was no news at all, which was really worrying.
"Lao Li, our radio has been damaged again. This time it is completely scrapped, but I can't get away now. There is no way for me to produce electron tubes. Our communication with the brigade headquarters has been interrupted again. The New 1st and New 2nd Regiments don't have radios. Usually, our communication relies on the communication squad. Due to the blockade of the Japanese, we have lost contact again. Now, even if the reinforcements of the two battalions are in danger, we have no way to lend a helping hand. We don't even know their exact location!"
Speaking of communication issues, Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang were also very troubled. This morning's command could not be conveyed in time due to poor communication. Fortunately, after Lin Zhenhua's reorganization, the telephone lines were re-buried and simple telephones were installed. This finally ensured that the orders could be conveyed to each company in time. When it was conveyed to each platoon, we could not expect that the communication network of the independent regiment headquarters had been moved here. Otherwise, there would be no way. As the saying goes, a good cook cannot cook without rice!
Zhao Gang said in a serious tone: "College student, the construction of the communication network still depends on you. Our arsenal must solve the problem of producing telephone lines and telephones as soon as possible. We must ensure that the communication of the regiment headquarters can directly reach each platoon, so that the command will be more handy, and the troops below can report any suspicious situations in time! The radio station can be put aside for now. Our independent regiment rarely uses it. Apart from receiving orders from the brigade headquarters, there is really no use for it!"
Lin Zhenhua knew that what Zhao Gang said was the truth, so he nodded and agreed. He had already obtained the telephone production technology from today's system sign-in. For him, this was really a piece of cake.
"Lao Zhao, Lao Li, leave this matter to me, you can rest assured. I will find time to arrange for the arsenal to produce telephones and ensure that the first batch of telephones can be delivered within six days. I am willing to issue a military order to you two!"
Li Yunlong was relieved this time, and the worry on his face disappeared. He looked at the time on his pocket watch. Dinner was only an hour away, so he needed to check the situation of each unit to ensure that there would be no problems with today's counterattack.
"Lao Zhao, college students, the three of us should each check whether there are any problems in the areas we are in charge of. We will launch a counterattack at 7 o'clock in the evening. Whether today's counterattack can achieve great results depends on your artillery battalion and air defense battalion!"
Lin Zhenhua did not make any guarantees at this time. No matter how much he said, it would be better to let the results speak for themselves. He had completed the production of the firing table based on the coordinates of the enemy and had begun to distribute it to each company. This would be of significant help in improving the combat effectiveness of the artillery!
It was 6:50 in the evening and it was completely dark. The soldiers of the independent regiment had already rushed into their respective positions and made all preparations for the counterattack. The communication network was in good condition and Li Yunlong could issue orders at any time in the command center. This time, Lin Zhenhua did not go to the artillery battalion, but stayed directly in the command center, which made Li Yunlong's command smoother.
"Lao Zhao, college student, we have ten minutes left before we launch a counterattack! Lao Zhao, the logistics of the ammunition transportation is left to you. Make sure the ammunition is delivered to the soldiers in a timely manner! College student, the artillery battalion and the anti-aircraft battalion are our main force tonight. Whether we can drive the Japanese to Ercha Ridge depends on you!"
"Shen Quan, the Second Battalion, the Fourth Battalion, and the First Reserve Battalion are all under your command tonight. Gather all the submachine guns and light machine guns from the three battalions and form a battalion-wide assault team. As long as I don't order you to stop, you must keep firing forward. I've assigned half of the battalion to supply you with ammunition. Fire as much ammunition as you can, don't save it for me, and don't even think about loading bullets into the magazine. Once the magazine is empty, throw it away immediately and replace it with a new magazine so you can keep charging forward!"
"This time, I've formed an armored assault team with two tanks, four armored vehicles, and 12 armored cars to clear the way for you. You've practiced tank-infantry coordination before. I've also specially transferred some people from the armored battalion to join you, just for tonight's counterattack!"
"You must wear the gas masks I prepared for you. If our artillery hits the enemy's poison gas bombs, they will be of great use to you when you counterattack!"
Li Yunlong looked at the time on his pocket watch again. There were only three minutes left until seven o'clock. He was quietly waiting for the moment of counterattack in the command center.