I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 784 - 682: Fire Support

Although he was there to inspect the positions and indeed needed to understand the combat situation at the frontline positions, Chen Xin had no intention of going into the trenches at the very front.

Climbing up to the fire observation post of the stronghold and using binoculars, Chen Xin could directly overlook the entire position without needing to run to the front like a common soldier.

The position that Chen Xin was inspecting resembled an inverted "T" shape, with the horizontal line at the front being the foremost trench to block the alien creatures’ attack. Even standing at a distance of at least a kilometer from the stronghold, he could clearly see the flashes of gunfire from the soldiers and hear the intense gunshots.

Behind the horizontal line, two slanted trenches extended from the frontline trenches and also served as a supplement to its firepower.

More heavy firepower was obviously deployed on the two slanted trenches. Chen Xin even noticed that they had dug gun placements between the two trenches for mortars and flattened anti-aircraft guns.

However, looking at these weapons, they seemed to be antiques pulled out from the warehouse, mostly things from the Cold War era.

But it’s undeniable that these old guys were quite useful—at least on this battlefield, these Cold War-era designed weapons had more advantage in firepower compared to modern weapons.

This wasn’t because technology had regressed, but because modern weapons have power reduced compared to Cold War-era weapons.

Modern weapons emphasize precision and effectiveness, aiming for a one-hit kill to eliminate the enemy at the lowest cost, which is also determined by the form of modern warfare.

But Cold War-era weapons are different; most were prepared for a possible World War III, needing to cater more to large-scale warfare, emphasizing destructive power and responding to massive offenses.

Thus, in this current situation, Cold War-era weapons indeed performed better than modern ones.

After all, when fighting alien creatures, armor-piercing bullets are much more effective and cheaper than missiles, and they come in large supplies.

Seeing these Cold War-era weapons being widely used now, Chen Xin couldn’t help but ask the major next to him: "I see many anti-aircraft guns deployed on the positions. Are these old guys really that useful?"

"They certainly are very useful. Flattening the anti-aircraft guns is highly effective against alien creatures," the major nodded and explained to Chen Xin: "Old anti-aircraft guns don’t have the firing speed of modern ones, but now that’s more of an advantage than a disadvantage.

After all, modern anti-aircraft guns can shoot hundreds of rounds in just a minute or two. Although the firepower is fierce, it lacks endurance. What we need now is enduring and consistent firepower output, and in this regard, the old ones are indeed more useful."

"Understood, modern anti-aircraft guns do have a bit too high output speed." Hearing the major’s words, Chen Xin nodded slightly and made a mental note of this matter.

This issue was something that Chen Xin had not paid much attention to while he was in Flame Country, as the military there didn’t face such concerns, feeling that if the rate of fire was too high, they could naturally switch to slower-firing anti-aircraft guns.

Especially on the Dongting Lake defense line constructed by Flame Country, anti-aircraft guns weren’t the primary weapon. After all, the firepower output brought by Flame Country’s soldiers with each having an exoskeleton and mounted heavy machine gun was enough to meet battlefield needs.

Moreover, since there were no flying units of alien creatures in Flame Country, there was no need for anti-aircraft guns to swat mosquitoes.

However, when it comes to the European battlefield, lacking the firepower configuration of one heavy machine gun per ordinary soldier as in Flame Country, they indeed needed to use anti-aircraft guns as necessary firepower supplements.

The electromagnetic rifles provided by Chen Xin, while resolving the issue of ordinary soldiers being unable to harm alien creatures, though having sufficient penetration, only had adequate killing power, not outstanding.

After all, to be compatible with European rifle bullets, the caliber of the electromagnetic rifle was somewhat compromised, and the rifle mainly emphasized penetration. The damage that bullets themselves could cause to alien creatures was limited in power.

Therefore, on this battlefield, the tactic of using flattened anti-aircraft guns to attack ground units became extremely effective and practical.

Combined with those large-caliber mortars, they formed the main heavy firepower strike force of the frontline positions, and it was also the main method for killing alien creatures on the European battlefield.

As for the greater power and caliber firepower, it was the 155mm caliber howitzer assigned to the strongholds here.

However, to protect the gun barrel and save ammunition, these cannons usually do not fire. Only when the frontline positions could no longer hold, would they roar in support to repel the alien creatures’ offensive.

Even before receiving support from Flame Country, despite having these heavy howitzers, the frontline defenses were still frequently in crisis, requiring aerial strike support to stabilize the line.

There were even several times when the first trench was breached by alien creatures, only to be forced back by the heavy firepower output from the second trench, along with timely air force support.

However, on that occasion, more than half of the soldiers stationed on the positions were killed.

Subsequently, this position faced several similar situations, but later, with the firepower support from Flame Country’s land ships and fighter jets, the losses became progressively smaller each time.

Recently, with the addition of electromagnetic rifles, exoskeletons, and power armor, the combat power of the first trench increased dramatically. They hadn’t experienced alien creatures breaking through for a long time, and even calls for artillery fire support had significantly decreased.

It could be said that thanks to Chen Xin, their defense line had become increasingly steady.

However, today, it seemed that the alien creatures’ offensive was quite fierce, or perhaps they just wanted to show off in front of an important figure like Chen Xin, as the soldiers at the frontline positions had called for artillery support, which was rare.

Due to the extremely cold weather, all the artillery pieces were kept under tight protection, covered with thick insulation blankets to prevent them from freezing or suffering other damage.

After all, metal components can easily be damaged at temperatures dozens of degrees below zero due to changes in their physical properties.

Having received the order to use artillery support, the artillerymen ran out from the cover in the stronghold, quickly removed the insulating blankets from the artillery, and swiftly corrected the firing parameters, ready to fire.

At the same time, another group of artillerymen brought the shells to the gun positions, completing the loading along with the calibration of the firing parameters.

Refusing the major’s request to enter the cover, Chen Xin stood at the observation post, watching the artillerymen complete the firing preparations, and then—

"Boom!" "Boom! Boom!" "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" The god of war began its roar.