Chapter 1041 The First Artillery Confrontation on the Eastern Front 2
Chapter 1041 The first artillery confrontation on the Eastern Front 2
The second shell landed outside the gun nest, and the slender projectile cut off a corner of the reinforced concrete cover outside the gun nest like a sharp sword! After the explosion, one-third of the gun nest collapsed, and dozens of Austro-Hungarian soldiers who had not had time to escape were smashed into a ball of flesh.
What was really fatal was the third shell. This shell hit the top of a gun nest housing a 210MM heavy howitzer. The concrete cover with a thickness of 1.5 was as vulnerable as tofu! This shell left a long diagonal hole on the top, and then directly hit the 210MM howitzer in the gun nest that was ready to fire! The nearly 10-ton artillery piece was blown to pieces in an instant. A wave of fire spread around and ignited the propellant next to it. Two minutes after the hit, a violent explosion sounded throughout the battlefield, and a blast of nearly 100 Meter-high dust pillars shot into the sky like a volcano erupting. When the dust dispersed, the gun nest, which was more than 3 meters high, had been wiped off the ground, leaving only a huge crater! An entire company of soldiers and their artillery were reduced to ashes!
When the large-caliber artillery was almost biting the flesh with bullets and bleeding, the medium-caliber artillery surrounding the Lviv Fortress was also fighting. Compared with the suppression of the Russian Legion in the large-caliber train gun, the medium-caliber artillery group was fighting Among them, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a certain advantage, first of all because the Austro-Hungarian Army struck first. Clearing out a considerable part of the 3-inch guns deployed by the Russians at the front directly led to the decline of the Russian army's firepower. Although the 122MM and 152MM howitzers at the back were outside the range of the Austro-Hungarian heavy artillery, they were too powerful to hide in the gun nests. The Austro-Hungarian artillery in it was not lethal enough. Although the 107MM artillery has fierce direct fire, it lacks a range of fire. After knocking down several outermost bunkers and machine gun bunkers, they could only stare at the target behind the wreckage.
The fire suppression by both sides lasted for 4 hours. During this period, the number of artillery shells consumed by both sides exceeded 150,000 rounds. This number is very amazing even on the current Western Front. After all, the current Western Front has not yet been finalized. Stabilize…. And this is just the beginning. The Battle of Lviv can even be regarded as the first large-scale attack on the fortified area in World War II. Neither side was fully prepared for this battle. For the rest of the day, although the large-scale attack consisting of hundreds of artillery pieces stopped, the battle between the small artillery group and the heavy artillery never stopped, and there was almost no silence on the battlefield for a minute! With the help of reconnaissance aircraft and observation posts on both sides, the long-range heavy artillery kept repeating the process of searching for and destroying the opponent!
In addition to the large-scale artillery battle between the two sides in the Lviv Fortress area, the Russian army also launched attacks on two fronts to the west and east of the Fortress area. Although the firepower density and artillery level are not comparable to those in the fortress area, it is still a first for Russia and Austria-Hungary! In a field environment, for the first time, the Russians concentrated 50 barrel artillery and 20 trench artillery on a one-kilometer front to prepare for firepower. This was unprecedented for the Russians. Therefore, in breaking through the surface of the Austro-Hungarian Army It's very relaxing when in position.
The Russian troops on both wings clearly implemented Borusinov's idea of breaking through at multiple points and advancing quickly. A total of 11 breakthrough points on both wings were equipped with firepower no less than that of a division's artillery.
At the same time, with elite infantry as the forerunner and rapid-fire artillery approaching as support, the breakthrough was made. After opening the gap, the cavalry divisions filed in, widened the gap and advanced in depth.
Different from the thunderous firepower preparation when attacking a fortress, the firepower preparation time for field breakthroughs is relatively short, usually only 40 minutes at most, and the firepower does not extend very far. After all, there are not so many long-range artillery, which can be seen. Just one click will do. Most of the Russian cavalry launched the attack after 20 to 30 minutes of fire preparation. They successfully crossed the no-man's land in front of the battle line, and then crossed the trenches and outer bunkers. And rushing towards the depth, the Cossacks waved their sabers and rifles, followed by horse-drawn machine gun carts, towed artillery and even a small number of truck guns.
However, just when the Russians were progressing quite smoothly, the Austro-Hungarian Army's counterattack with firepower also surprised the Russians! At some breakthrough points, the Austro-Hungarian Army concentrated a large number of self-propelled artillery to block them. These artillery placed on the sites of trucks or cricket tanks were expensive, but they were worth the money. Their mobility greatly made up for the range. shortcomings. When the Russians moved towards the breach, these artillery pieces also quickly changed their positions. At the same time, under unified command through the radio, they launched a short but fierce firepower attack on the incoming Russian army!
When a few small black spots appeared half-hidden and half-revealed not far away, the Russians didn't pay attention. They continued to advance, only arranging a small group of troops to be on guard. After a moment, the Russians regretted it. On the flank of the cavalry regiment, the 4th 150MM self-propelled heavy infantry gun sneaked under the cover of a company of infantry. Come here, and then use 50KG high-explosive bombs at a distance of less than 3,000 meters to make those Cossacks suffer!
The weight of this kind of Dongdong is smaller than that of ordinary howitzers, and its range is shorter than that of ordinary howitzers. The shells fired by Dongdong are on the same level as ordinary howitzers! The sudden 45KG shells blasted huge craters on the ground that were 1.8 meters deep and about 7 meters in diameter! And the preset shrapnel dropped a storm-like iron rain on the heads of the cavalry! The originally neat formation was reduced to several stages by successive artillery fire.
And this is just the beginning. The mobile 75MM rapid-fire guns, 105MM howitzers and a small number of 150MM howitzers attack targets from different angles and distances. Although the firepower is not fierce, the strike accuracy is very good. The reconnaissance overhead Under the correction of the machine, one artillery shell accurately landed in the middle of the cavalry formation, breaking up the whole marching group.
A limited number of long-range artillery aimed at the baggage units behind the cavalry. These two-horse carts were the key to the Russian cavalry's continued combat capabilities. In the open field, carriages were flying across the field with high explosives. After just over 40 minutes of interception and firing, the cavalry division may need 2 hours to regroup the troops, and it will take half a day or even a day to wait for the arrival of follow-up supplies before continuing the attack.
"The Russian artillery fire was fierce and concentrated. The artillery of the Austro-Hungarian Army was flexible and versatile." This was the first impression left on each other by the field artillery of both sides in the battle of Lviv. And now, the battle between the two sides has just begun!
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