After the preparation of the 59th Wing, it finally began to counterattack the frontal Chinese army, the first to fire was the field artillery of the 14th Division, the national army attacked everywhere, the artillery task was heavy, and the artillery of the division and regiment that reinforced the 59th Wing had just finished shelling the direction of the 74th Army, which had to readjust the shooting of Zhuyuan and fire in the direction of the 27th Army.

The 38 modified field gun is improved from the 38 field artillery, the prototype of both guns is the Krupp M1903 field gun, the 38 modification is based on the prototype 38 field gun, the gun carriage is changed to improve the elevation angle of the artillery, and at the same time, the sharp bullet is used to further improve the range of the artillery, the maximum range can reach about 15,000 kilometers, replacing part of the 38 field artillery in the Japanese army.

The Japanese army took an infantry brigade in the front-line position as the main force, and the other two brigades of the 59th Wing provided cover behind the flanks and provided reinforcements to the main attacking brigade at any time, and the attacking infantry brigade strengthened the rapid-fire guns of the wing, and the commander of the 59th Wing, Ryoichi Itanishi, originally wanted to support the mountain artillery squadron directly under the wing, but the mountain artillery squadron suffered heavy losses in the artillery bombardment of the Chinese army, and nearly half of its personnel and equipment were lost, and the artillery crew was disabled, and its combat effectiveness was sharply reduced. Therefore, instead of adding the direct-firing Type 41 mountain gun, the Type 94 37-mm rapid-fire gun was added.

Before the preparation for the shelling of the Japanese infantry began, about one and a half brigades of the 38th field artillery carried out artillery bombardment of the positions of the national army, and the scope of the shelling was not limited to the trenches where Zhang Wei and others were located, but also included the former Japanese positions occupied by the 46th Division behind, and a small number of shells were also dropped in the depths.

The soldiers in the position have long been hiding in the anti-artillery holes, and the fortifications after reinforcement have well carried the Japanese shells, and the trenches are a first-line type, although the defense is slightly thin, but to a certain extent, the area of the bombs has also been reduced, and few shells have directly entered the trenches, killing and injuring officers and soldiers.

Zhang Wei hid in the anti-artillery hole, there was an influx of blown up soil at the entrance of the hole, the choking nose was uncomfortable, there were soldiers coughing in the anti-artillery hole from time to time, there were about seven or eight people in an anti-artillery hole, most of the squad of troops, Zhang Wei was next to his herald and several soldiers of a company, the anti-artillery hole was stacked with personnel, weapons and ammunition, and a sandbag would be piled up at the entrance of the cave to resist shrapnel.

"Dog's day little devil."

A few screams came, Zhang Wei heard the sound was not loud, it should be from the friendly position, it seems that someone was hit, a shell fell into the trench not sooner or later, and exploded on the edge of an anti-artillery hole in the second battalion of the 46th division, shrapnel killed and injured nearly half of the people in the second battalion of the 276th regiment, the death was fine, the wounded were hit by shrapnel, the pain was unbearable and could not go out, so they could only be held down by the comrades who were not dead or injured in the anti-artillery hole, and hid in the anti-artillery hole to bleed and suffer.

"It's all hidden, don't move!" Zhang Wei shouted in the anti-artillery hole, and then continued to endure the Japanese shelling.

It seems that in retaliation for the fierce shelling of the Chinese army before, the Japanese artillery bombardment lasted for a long time, they fought day after day, the consumption of shells was very large, and at the same time the self-supply ability was very strong, as soon as the shells bottomed out, the shells transported from the other side of the Yellow River would be transferred through Chen Liukou and other places, and a large number of them would be supplemented to the Japanese combat units, on the other hand, the national army, although the shelling at a certain period of time was very fierce, but the artillery always had to take into account the problem of shells anyway, and it was not easy to produce heavy artillery shells, so they could only rely on imports and a small amount of reloading shells, The production of shells for mountain and field artillery was also insufficient.

"Damn, this little devil is really a good person, and he can't stop fighting." One soldier complained.

Zhang Wei spat out the soil in his mouth and said with a smile: "The devil was also bombed by us very badly before, besides, what is this, it is the bombardment of mountain artillery, wait until your kid is bombarded by heavy artillery for a longer period of time, and then complain." ”

The infantry on the front line of the Japanese army had climbed to the outside of the trench by artillery bombardment, and the Japanese troops behind lined up in the trench in turn, waiting for the order to charge, and the 92 infantry guns of the brigade moved forward in the rear of the infantry, and the rapid-fire guns did not follow up, but were deployed on the spot, mainly to guard against the possible combat vehicles of the national army.

The barrage produced by the artillery shells came and went, from the Japanese army's position in the naked eye to the second-line position in the rear, all of them were hit by falling bullets, and the Japanese army's 38 field artillery in addition to firing grenades accidents, also fired a small number of arson shells, and after the shells exploded, a large number of ignition sources and flammable materials were generated, burning everywhere.

The commander of the Japanese army in charge of the command observed the effect and density of the shelling of his artillery. When the intensity of the artillery bombardment decreased, the Japanese infantry forward had begun to move forward slowly, and under the cover of the barrage in front, the distance between them and the positions of the national army was shortened, and the Japanese infantry in the trenches climbed out of the trenches one by one, following behind the predecessors.

The explosion on the battlefield suddenly stopped, only the smoke and smoke screen from the explosion drifted away with the wind, and the Japanese artillery preparations were completed.

"Attack!"

The group leader ordered the whole brigade to start attacking, and the Japanese troops inside and outside the trench began to speed up and enter a state of assault, and the infantry guns were pushed directly outside the trench for cover.

"The devil's shelling has stopped, all of them are there, ready to fight!" Zhang Wei rushed out of the anti-artillery hole, shouting as he ran through the trenches, and the orders and shouts from the trenches shouted the soldiers out of the anti-artillery holes, and the officers and non-commissioned officers of the friendly battalions, like the preparatory battalions, repeatedly wandered around the trenches, urging the soldiers to prepare for battle.

The soldiers in the anti-artillery holes quickly drilled out of the anti-artillery holes, took out the unboxed grenades and placed them on the trenches, and the soldiers of the heavy machine gun platoon carried out the heavy machine guns, placed them on the positions, and prepared for firing. The company commanders had already reported the casualties of the shelling to Zhang Wei, the casualties were not large, and the casualties of the two battalions of the friendly forces may have been slightly larger than those of the reserve battalion, but the number was also very small, and it did not have a major impact on the battle.

"Repair the fortifications, extinguish the fire!"

The soldiers moved into their respective positions, first preparing for battle against the enemy, and then began to repair the damage to the fortifications caused by the shelling, extinguishing the flames caused by a small number of arson shells, and extinguishing the flames by covering the flames with earth. By the time everything was ready, the Japanese advance had already appeared in front of the soldiers.

The combat quality of the preparatory battalion was relatively high, and the two battalions ahead of the friendly forces completed their combat preparations, and the soldiers aimed at the Japanese troops who appeared with their guns, waiting for the order to open fire.

Zhang Wei estimated according to the number of shelling and the number of Japanese troops who appeared, and the Japanese troops who directly attacked the positions of the national army were at least two squadrons, counting the artillery and heavy machine guns that were attached, the main force of the Japanese counterattack was really the strength of a whole brigade, and the main force of the counterattack was probably the main force of a wing.

"Grandma, this little devil really looks up to us!" Zhang Wei scolded.