The four armies of German Central Army Group have a total of 47 Infantry Division. The number of artillery of each Infantry Division is also equipped in the same way as 8th Army Corps's Infantry Division. This makes the four armies add up to 846 150mm heavy Howitzer, 1692 105mm Light Howitzer and 2538 75mm Field Gun. Not counting mortars and Grenade Launcher, etc., the total of these artillery pieces exceeds 5,000.
You must know that the length of the attack positions of German military's four armies is only one hundred kilometers. Calculating this, there are more than fifty artillery deployed per kilometer. This density is already outrageous.
If you include the mortars and Grenade Launcher of each unit, the number of artillery pieces that German military will invest in this war will be even greater. Anglo-French Allied Forces on the opposite side, even though their strength far exceeds German military. However, in terms of the number of artillery guns, it is far from comparable to German military.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
German artillerymen On the position, the artillerymen had taken off their shirts, and their strong bodies were already wet with sweat. Although, in Western Europe at the end of March, it was not hot, and there was even a hint of coolness. However, the arduous process of carrying artillery shells had already made these soldiers sweat.
Every artilleryman is firing at the maximum rate of fire, hitting as many shells as possible on Anglo-French Allied Forces's position. No matter whether it can kill the enemy or not, as long as their defensive position can be destroyed, it will undoubtedly be a great victory.
In previous battles, many German military soldiers died on the way to attack. Facing Anglo-French Allied Forces trenches, coupled with barbed wire fences and machine gun firepower, every step forward often requires heavy casualties. Therefore, during firepower preparation, if Anglo-French Allied Forces's position can be destroyed, this will undoubtedly be of great benefit to subsequent operations.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Artillery shells hit Anglo-French Allied Forces's position like raindrops, and there were violent explosions everywhere. During the explosion, the defensive position built by Anglo-French Allied Forces was blown into the sky. The barbed wire fence was blown up and down, and each machine gun fire point was directly destroyed.
However, Anglo-French Allied Forces is much more professional than the Russian army in soil work. This makes their fortifications undoubtedly much stronger than those of the Russian army. In particular, the anti-gun caves where the soldiers hide have been specially reinforced. As long as they are not hit continuously by large-caliber heavy artillery, there will generally not be much of a problem. Therefore, it is almost impossible to cause too many casualties to Anglo-French Allied Forces during fire preparations.
However, Anglo-French Allied Forces hiding in the bomb-proof cave is certainly safe. But the defenses outside are unable to withstand it. Under the fierce bombardment of German military, a large number of fortifications were destroyed.
"Damn it, how many artillery pieces have Germany people assembled? Do they want to completely destroy our position?" French 2nd Army Corps Commander General Decathy Terno couldn't help but cursed when he saw that his troops' position was completely shrouded in smoke and fire. Although, before every attack, both sides will carry out strong firepower preparations, which has become a common practice on Western Front. However, this time, Admiral Decassi Terno still felt something different, that is, German military's artillery fire seemed to be more powerful than half a year ago.
"General, Germany's artillery seems to have 150 mm caliber heavy artillery. And there are quite a lot of them." An artillery general reminded.
"Have all the heavy artillery been brought to the battlefield? It seems that they are determined to win this attack!" General Decathi Terno's face became solemn.
"General, the Germany's field artillery seems to be different. The rate of fire is very fast, almost able to catch up with our 75mm Field Gun." Another general said.
"Damn Germany people, they must have shamelessly copied our 75mm Field Gun. Those despicable guys are so shameless!" Admiral Terno couldn't help but cursed the air raid.
The French army's 75mm Field Gun has a very fast rate of fire, with a maximum rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute. This is regarded as a secret weapon by the French army. Each Infantry Division is equipped with 36 such artillery pieces. As for larger-caliber artillery, the French army is rarely equipped with it.
In the battle in the second half of last year, the French army relied on the 75mm Field Gun, which had a fast rate of fire and good power, to successfully inflict heavy damage on the German military. Although, among the Artillery Battle and German military's large-caliber artillery, the French army's losses were not small. But overall, their 75mm Field Gun is very successful. Oscar revealed the key technology of the French army's 75mm Field Gun to the Krupp factory. With Krupp's technological strength, after mastering the key technology, it was naturally easy to copy the French army's 75mm Field Gun. Improvements have also been made, such as greatly reducing the weight of the artillery, making the transportation and deployment of the artillery more flexible. To a certain extent, the performance of the 75mm Field Gun equipped by German military is already more powerful than the 75mm Field Gun equipped by the French army.
"General, Your Excellency ordered us to counterattack immediately. We cannot let German military's artillery destroy our defensive positions." A staff officer reported.
General Dekasi Terno nodded. "Order the artillery to counterattack immediately to suppress the bombardment of the Germany people!"
"Yes, General."
Almost at the same time, Anglo-French Allied Forces several group armies deployed on the front line also received orders to counterattack. Their artillery immediately entered the position and launched a counterattack. A tragic Artillery Battle unfolded immediately.
Among the six legions deployed by Anglo-French Allied Forces in Marne River Southern Line, four legions are deployed on the front line. The other two legions were deployed in the rear as reserves. After all, in order to resist German offensive, it is very necessary to maintain sufficient reserves. Otherwise, if the battle goes unfavorably and there are not enough reserves to counterattack, the consequences will be serious.
"Counterattack immediately and suppress Germany people!"
Anglo-French Allied Forces's artillerymen Commander issued the order. One after another, 75mm Field Gun, 105mm field guns, 83.8mm field guns and 114mm Howitzers began a fierce counterattack.
Among them, 75mm Field Gun and 105mm Howitzer are equipped by the French army, while the 83.8 mm field gun and 114mm Howitzer are equipped by the British army. However, the number of 105mm Howitzer equipped by the French army is very small, and the most important artillery pieces are 75mm Field Gun.