Compared with the self-consolation happiness of the four infantry company commanders who easily earned dozens of kilograms of rice, the happiest person in the independent battalion was the artillery company commander Pang Dahai.
Because, Tang Dao is going to equip his artillery battery with new equipment.
And, it’s really a cannon.
cannon!
Super cannon!
Not only because there is a special artillery testing site.
Mainly the caliber of the barrel.
Looking at the cannon barrel with a caliber of 800 mm buried in the soil and exposed dozens of centimeters above the ground, Pang Dahai had a dull look on his face.
Including Major General Tong who came from dozens of kilometers away with a baggage company...
At this moment, he finally knew what the hundreds of empty oil barrels Tang Dao asked the 145th Division to collect for him were used for.
Surprisingly, it was not used to build fortifications or store supplies, but was used to make cannons.
The 145th Division left the Mouse Mountain area three days earlier than Tang Dao's independent battalion. Tang Dao selflessly gave a large amount of military rations to the remnants of the 145 Division, and even took the initiative to contain the main force of the Japanese Kunisaki detachment in the mountainous area. Lieutenant General Rao was moved and asked Tang Dao what he needed.
After Tang Dao thought for a long time, he just asked the 145th Division to leave all the remaining explosive packets, mines and grenades with his troops, and to help him collect as many empty gasoline barrels and explosives as possible.
Tang Dao and Lieutenant General Rao discussed and decided that the combat mission of the 145th Division was to guard the key roads connecting the mountainous areas to the plains and prevent the Japanese 18th Division and other troops from detouring and surrounding Tang Dao's troops in the mountains. However, in fact, this possibility was slim.
The Japanese 18th Division is still dozens of kilometers away. If we want to bypass the mountainous area in southern Anhui, it would be better to go directly into the mountainous area and conquer key areas all the way.
To put it bluntly, before the Kunisaki detachment attacks, the 145th Division will basically not fight.
Faced with such a small request from Tang Dao, Lieutenant General Rao of course agreed wholeheartedly. Not only did he agree to leave all the explosive packets and grenades to Tang Dao, but he also left only 100 rounds of 82-caliber mortar shells to Tang Dao.
Tang Dao.
As for the empty gasoline barrels Tang Dao needed, Lieutenant General Rao certainly could not disappoint Tang Dao. At the same time, he ordered the hundred camel and horse teams of the baggage troops to march for 16 hours a day with a group of seriously injured people at the fastest speed.
Leaving the mountainous area, we sent electricity to the group army headquarters and asked the defenders in the Wuhu area to provide empty gasoline barrels, 100,000 kilograms of rice, bullets, artillery shells and other supplies.
The record of killing and injuring countless Japanese troops in the blocking battles in Jiepai Village and Shuishu Mountain areas not only gave the 145th Division the confidence to ask for supplies, but also strengthened the 23rd Army Headquarters' back a lot, and it sounded like it was asking for supplies from the Jinling City Defense Headquarters.
Also hard enough.
Although the general who was responsible for defending the city was incompetent, he also knew the importance of the 23rd Army defending the periphery of Jinling. Faced with the lion of the 23rd Army who was seeking success, he had no choice but to send a telegram to the Wuhu garrison.
Help solve.
The Wuhu garrison only has an infantry brigade. If they are asked to provide 100,000 kilograms of rice and various necessary ammunition, they can't do it even if they want to! Especially at this time when the war is in chaos and the battle lines are retreating repeatedly.
This is the life wisdom of Lieutenant General Rao. Of course he knew that his demands were almost unreasonable at this time, and Wuhu could not get rid of them even if they were sold.
But the more this happens, the more they are able to meet some of the needs and do their best.
Sure enough, Wuhu couldn't get much supplies, but within two days, they collected hundreds of empty oil barrels, 5,000 kilograms of rice noodles, and 1,000 kilograms of explosives. They even took the initiative to make up for their lack of supplies.
Send a baggage team to transport the supplies to the town closest to the Guangde mountainous area, and wait for the 145th Division to come out of the mountainous area to receive it.
He also promised to help transport the wounded and send them to Jiangbei for effective treatment.
This has far exceeded the effect Lieutenant General Rao wanted.
Therefore, the camel and horse team of the 145th Division, which was traveling at starry night, spent two days and nights crossing hundreds of kilometers of simple mountain roads. After receiving the supplies needed for the Tang Dao overnight, they took a shortcut and rushed to the location of the Tang Dao Department, which was harassing the Japanese army in the mountainous area.
To show their importance, Major General Tong personally led the 145th Division's security company to escort them, and finally met Tang Dao's main force in the afternoon of that day.
At that time, Tang Dao and several of his subordinates were roasting a campfire and eating potatoes. Major General Tong, who was responsible for transporting supplies, and the officers and soldiers of the Sichuan Army's 145th Division Transportation Team were all fast asleep at the station one kilometer away.
In the first two days, they rushed frantically to gain time, covering hundreds of kilometers in two days and two nights. After receiving the supplies, in order to reduce the possibility of encountering Japanese infantry, they marched on rugged mountain roads for two days and one night. Even an iron man could not withstand this.
Already.
Major General Tong, who had rested for a few hours to regain his composure, heard that Tang Dao was going to test his secret new weapon, and he was extremely curious and of course wanted to come over to observe.
Then, like Pang Dahai, he was stunned by the large-caliber gun barrel in front of him.
It turned out that the oil barrel he had gone through so much trouble to deliver was Tang Dao's so-called new weapon.
But can this thing really work?
The so-called artillery testing ground is just a valley with a width of more than 200 meters.
It is extremely rare to have such a large open space among the mountains. The rice fields cultivated by the mountain people have been harvested, leaving only empty fields. I just don't know whether green seedlings will still grow here next year.
No one can answer this.
The war destroyed not only the towns, but everyone was struggling in this chaos.
As a soldier, it is inevitable to feel a little sad when looking at this area that can become a grain-producing area.
However, the 'artillery' is not in the valley, but on the ridge.
Tang Dao had obviously ordered people to make preparations. A gasoline barrel with a small hole dug out was placed on a mound. Most of the lower half of the barrel was buried in the soil and was lifted high by the mound.
The opening of the oil barrel is facing the mountain at a 45-degree angle.
The home-made cannons that will shine on the battlefield in the next ten years, in this era, are presented in such a "shameful" appearance in front of a group of Chinese soldiers with rich battlefield experience.
Tang Dao obviously attached great importance to this so-called experiment. The guard platoon and Cheng Tieshou's fire support company served as the security force, and the security range reached 500 meters.
In addition to Major General Tong, a guest-level general present at the scene, there were Tang Dao and three other commanders of the independent battalion, as well as Pang Dahai and Cheng Tieshou, the two company commanders responsible for long-range firepower.
"Commander Tang, what are you trying to do! Use a gasoline barrel as a cannon? That's not okay! It will blow up the barrel, so you have to do it." Major General Tong had experienced battles for a long time, and of course he could see through the purpose of Tang Dao at a glance.
He immediately shook his head in denial.
This is still based on Tang Dao's brilliant victory in the battle at Mouse Mountain. Otherwise, this big man from western Sichuan would definitely give Tang Dao's behavior a "promiscuous" definition.
"Hey, Chief Tong, an old man in my hometown said that practice is the only criterion for testing truth. You haven't seen the experimental results yet, how do you know it won't work?" Tang Dao said with a chuckle.
The person who once wrote an important part in the history of China is also from Sichuan. Of course, there is no psychological burden when it comes to piracy of Tang knives. He must be from his hometown.
Is Commander Tang’s hometown always so awesome? Where does such a philosophical statement come from? No wonder the commander is so powerful! It turns out there is such a basis.
The two company commanders looked at each other and sighed in their hearts.
"Okay, I'm going to say this to you, but I also have to see how you turn empty gasoline barrels into cannons. Otherwise, you, Battalion Commander Tang, will be sorry for me, the major general brigade commander, and I will be the captain of the transportation brigade for you." Major General Tong.
He was not a stickler for old times. Hearing what Tang Dao said was reasonable, he did not insist on his own opinion at the moment. He walked up to the gasoline barrel placed on the mound and observed it carefully.
But looking left and right, I couldn't see any flowers, gasoline barrels... or gasoline barrels.
Just because Mr. Lu casually wrote "There are two trees in front of my house, one is a jujube tree and the other is a jujube tree" will lead to thinking about the light.
Is it my narrow knowledge that limits my imagination? The Army Major General's heart was undoubtedly messy at this moment.
