This is the 4938th most frequent Japanese word.
砲撃
Artillery bombardment or shelling.
In this sentence, "砲撃" is used to describe the military action of bombarding an enemy's area using artillery or similar weapons.
敵の陣地に向けて砲撃を開始した。
The bombardment towards the enemy's position commenced.
Here, "砲撃" is metaphorically used to liken the act of a vigorous attack in speech to physical bombardment.
彼の演説は、批判者たちへの砲撃のようだった。
His speech was like a bombardment towards his critics.
In this context, "砲撃" refers to a historical act of bombardment as documented in historical accounts.