Chapter 534: It seems that there is no need for reconnaissance
Erwin was organizing the counterattack from beginning to end.
He believed that "the best defense is offense", which was especially applicable to artillery battles.
There is no way to defend against artillery shells, and the amount of casualties they will cause wherever they hit is fixed: the artillery fortifications are there, and cannot be moved or hidden, and there is no way to hide or escape, and no one can decide whether they will be destroyed.
The most important thing at this time is to fire artillery shells at the enemy. Only in this way can the enemy's artillery fire be reduced, and the number of artillery shells that our side needs to withstand will also decrease.
The German artillery was well trained and well prepared.
Without waiting for orders, the artillery observer immediately observed the data of the enemy artillery positions and transmitted it to the headquarters.
(Note: Calculating the position of the enemy artillery position requires at least two groups of artillery observers separated by a certain distance. The principle is very simple, it is a junior high school math problem, as shown below)
(The picture above shows the height of a tree. The distance and direction can also be measured by the same method. The problem is that artillery observers often do not measure special angles, so the calculation is not that simple.)
The command center calculates all the parameters and then transmits the data to the artillery position.
The commander at the front reported the information in a quick and clear shout:
"Target No. 102 (preset location on the map)."
"Sight 356! (Vertical angle in mils)"
"Direction Left 0-50. (Horizontal angle in mils)"
"Everyone, 10 rapid shots!"
The subordinate commanders each repeated loudly (repeating the parameters reported by their superiors), and the artillerymen nervously turned their guns according to the parameters under the bombardment of artillery fire.
The whole process took no more than 10 minutes, which was quite fast in an era when radio was not popular and most people relied on telephones and shouting.
Finally, the commander at the front shouted, "Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
…
Dozens of surviving artillery pieces instantly roared towards the enemy artillery positions.
“Boom boom boom!”
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM"
…
The German artillery were indeed veterans of the battlefield. Their shells hit accurately near the target position. The artillery observer gave feedback on the phone with an excited voice: "Hit the target! Hit the target!".
Erwin felt it was not enough, so he fired five more rapid shots.
“Boom boom boom!”
This time the bullets were more concentrated, blasting the target location with balls of fire and smoke.
However, there was nothing after the sound of artillery fire and explosions.
It was eerily quiet all around, with only the whistling cold wind blowing the gunpowder smoke swirling around. Occasionally, one could hear the wailing and cries for help of the wounded, who were the artillerymen injured by the enemy's rockets.
At least a dozen artillery pieces in the surrounding area were damaged in the previous bombing, and raging fires were still burning in some places. If they were not extinguished in time, it might cause a bigger accident.
These are handled by my own subordinates.
Lieutenant General Nicholas and Erwin looked at each other in the command center. This was too abnormal.
Once an artillery battle begins, both sides will usually bombard each other desperately. Whoever moves faster will have the upper hand, until the other side can no longer hold on and flees.
But now, there is no sign of the other side fighting back.
"They escaped?" Erwin looked across the field with his telescope, but saw nothing but smoke and trees.
"Impossible." Lieutenant General Nicholas shook his head. "Ten artillery regiments, there is no need for them to escape."
The hit-and-run tactic does exist.
But if you have an absolute firepower advantage, such as 10 artillery regiments against your own 3 artillery regiments, it is your side that should escape, not the enemy.
However, the fact is that there was no sound from the other side, and not a single shell was fired afterwards.
After hesitating for a while, Lieutenant General Nicolas ordered: "Send someone to scout."
Although it was behind the French defense line, scouts could get close and observe the situation with binoculars from a high point.
"Yes, General." The staff officer responded and turned around to pass on the order.
Soon, intelligence came back from the front: "General, there is nothing in the target area except craters."
This means no results.
"This is impossible!" Lieutenant General Nicolas cast a questioning look at the staff officer with a hint of anger in his eyes.
There are 10 artillery regiments, with such a huge force and artillery fire. Even if a few guns were not blown up by the artillery fire, there should at least be some traces.
Moreover, it would be impossible for them to withdraw from the target area within 10 minutes.
(Note: An artillery battalion with 12 artillery pieces requires 500 men, and 10 artillery regiments have at least 15,000 men. It is impossible to fight and withdraw at will.)
The staff officer replied helplessly: "We have confirmed again and again that there is indeed nothing in the target area."
Lieutenant General Nicholas still couldn't believe it: "No, there must be something wrong. The scouts found the wrong position, or the artillery observer miscalculated..."
"General," Erwin interrupted Lieutenant General Nicolas, "What if they are both right?"
"What do you mean?" Lieutenant General Nicolas looked at Erwin in confusion.
Erwin's face turned pale, and he answered slowly, "Did you notice that it was rockets, not artillery shells, that were hitting us?"
Admiral Nicolas nodded, and it was obvious.
"So," Erwin replied, "there aren't 10 artillery regiments. We're probably facing Charr's new equipment, which can fire a large number of rockets in an instant and then move in a short time."
Lieutenant General Nicolas suddenly realized, and then his eyes widened, revealing deep fear.
God, if that's the case, we will just be bombed the whole time. The artillery's reaction speed cannot keep up with their evacuation speed, and all the shells will hit the air!
Erwin nodded slightly, indicating that Vice Admiral Nicolas was right.
But they tacitly said nothing.
These words cannot be revealed. No one wants to "just be bombed". This will seriously affect the morale of the artillery. They may choose to escape at all costs, which will in turn affect the entire army and make everyone lose the will to fight!
Lieutenant General Nicholas sent his staff aside. He took Erwin to the observation window, pretended to look across the river through a telescope, and asked in a low voice: "Now, what should we do?"
"That's just my guess, General," Erwin said. "The first thing we need to do is to confirm this guess."
"How do you prove it?"
"We need to send out more scouts." Erwin frowned and answered hesitantly: "It would be best if we could send out reconnaissance planes."
Lieutenant General Nicolas looked stern, but still said "hmm".
It is not realistic to send out scouts because the battle line is too long and too wide. If we have to send out scouts everywhere, even an entire infantry division might not be enough.
As for the reconnaissance planes, enemy fighter planes are likely already waiting in the sky.
At this moment, there was a sudden "whoosh whoosh" sound in the air, and another wave of rockets rolled in.
Lieutenant General Nicolas and Erwin looked at each other and it seemed that there was no need for reconnaissance!
(End of this chapter)
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