The commander of the 9th Brigade, Suzuki Shigeyasu, stood in front of a newly dug observation post, looking at the front line that was almost razed to the ground and turned livid.
It can be said that this bombardment was completely beyond his expectation, because in his past experience, few Chinese armies dared to take the initiative to attack the armies of the Empire of Japan.
In fact, it is no wonder that Suzuki Shigeyasu was surprised and puzzled.
Since the end of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, China has been defeated again and again in foreign wars. First it was defeated by the Eight-Power Allied Forces, and then it was defeated by Tsarist Russia. Then the Beiyang Navy, which had spent a lot of money to build, was also defeated in the Battle of Dadonggou.
The annihilation of the entire army pushed the Chinese nation into the abyss.
The consequence of the defeat was the birth of a number of unequal treaties such as the Treaty of Xinchou, the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and the Treaty of Nanjing. This also led to an illusion in the hearts of the Chinese people that foreigners
It is invincible, whether by Asians or Westerners.
This result also indirectly led to the fact that in the past battles with the Japanese army, the national army generals often lacked the courage to take the initiative and only knew how to defend passively. Even if opportunities were in front of them, they would often lose them due to the generals' hesitation.
But Gao Hongming is different. He comes from another time and space. When he traveled through time, China had already developed into the world's second largest economy, and Japan was even reduced to the point where it needed the protection of its American godfather before it dared to challenge us.
This can also be seen from previous battles. Once fighting the Japanese army, Gao Hongming was often the first to initiate the attack, and this time was no exception.
However, Suzuki Shigeyasu was also a battle-hardened general after all. After the initial surprise, he quickly responded.
He quickly issued a combat order to the combat staff, "immediately order the first brigade to withdraw and let the second brigade hold on."
The combat staff officer asked in confusion: "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, are you not holding the first line of defense?"
"We can no longer defend." Suzuki Shigeyasu shook his head, "The first line of defense can no longer be defended. Rather than letting the First Brigade die in vain, it is better to conserve our strength and execute the order quickly."
"Hi!"
The combat staff officer was about to convey the order when he heard a noise coming from the front. Many Japanese soldiers pointed to the front and shouted.
Suzuki Shigeyasu's expression changed slightly. Although the Ninth Brigade was as elite as the standard infantry brigade under the standing division, it was not comparable to those patchwork garrison divisions that could cause the frontline soldiers to make noises.
Not a trivial matter.
Just when he was about to send someone to inquire, a staff officer hurriedly came to report: "Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, chariots... the Chinese have dispatched chariot troops!"
After the bombardment, the surviving Japanese troops got out of the remaining fortifications under the supervision of officers at all levels. Machine guns and infantry artillery were also dragged out from the ruins. From time to time, the shouts and curses of Japanese officers could be heard on the position.
.
Just when the Japanese troops were preparing to set up their weapons, what they were waiting for was not Chinese soldiers, but huge tanks painted in gray.
When the huge figure of the No. 4 tank came into the eyes of the Japanese soldiers, there was a slight panic on the Japanese position, but it was quickly suppressed by the officers. Soon, the Type 92 infantry cannons and the 11th
The Year 37 rapid-fire gun (jamming gun) opened fire.
"bump……"
With a muffled sound, a 37mm high-explosive bomb hit the leading Panzer IV tank. With a muffled sound, the Panzer IV tank shook slightly, shook the turret, and then began to move forward.
"Tu Xingsun, open your eyes wider, why haven't you found the enemy's firepower yet?"
In a No. 4 tank with paint number 2134, the commander Huang Jianhua called the gunner Sun Youfu to help him observe, while he picked up the telescope and pushed open the hatch cover above his head to poke his head out. However, he was stopped by the loader sitting behind him.
Pulled.
The loader said with a grimace: "Head... the battalion commander has repeatedly said that the commander will never be allowed to stick his head out of the turret for observation during the attack, otherwise the entire crew will be punished after the battle. You
Just let a few of us go."
"I……"
Huang Jianhua cursed in a low voice, and could only close the hatch cover again, sat down obediently, and used the commander's observation hole carried by the tank itself to observe the surroundings. However, due to the narrowness of the observation hole, it was very difficult to observe.
It was difficult, and at this time, all the loaders, gunners, correspondents, and the commander of the vehicle, Huang Jianhua, opened the observation holes next to themselves and nervously observed the movements around them.
The Type IV tank equipped by the armored battalion is Type F. In order to increase the viewing angle, this type of tank has a total of 8 observation ports, two on the front of the vehicle body and one on each side of the vehicle body (left front and right front).
, two on each side of the turret (hatch covers on the left and right sides and front left and right front).
The purpose of this design is to allow everyone in the tank to act as an observer.
Of course, with the continuous advancement of technology, there were fewer and fewer observation ports on tanks, but the awareness of the surrounding situation became stronger and stronger, but that was already after the war.
While everyone was observing nervously, with a bang, the tank of more than 20 tons shook for a while and then the engine stopped.
The sudden vibration caught everyone in the car off guard, and several people's heads hit the armor of the tank. Fortunately, they all wore armored caps, otherwise their heads would have been smashed.
"Is everyone okay?"
Huang Jianhua was the first to react and quickly asked about the situation.
"I'm fine!"
"Head...everyone is fine." The armored soldiers reported the situation one after another.
Seeing that the personnel were okay, Huang Jianhua quickly said to the driver: "Qiu Youcai, please check the condition of the vehicle quickly."
After Qiu Youcai made a brief inspection, he pressed the start button. With the engine shaking, a puff of black smoke came out of the rear of the parked No. 4 tank and started moving again.
"Head... I found the enemy's firepower!" At this time, the observer shouted loudly, "It's in the grass more than 400 meters to the left."
"I saw him too." Gunner Sun Youfu also shouted.
Huang Jianhua roared: "What are you still doing? Kill them quickly! Qiu Youcai, stop first!"
Tanks in this period did not have gun stabilizers, and all work had to be done manually. Armored soldiers had to stop if they wanted to shoot accurately, especially when shooting moving targets. They usually stopped shooting suddenly and then shot immediately.
Restart to reduce the chance of becoming a fixed target.
As soon as the No. 4 tank stopped, Sun Youfu, who had been prepared for a long time, aimed at the grass on the left and stepped on the shooting pedal hard.
"Boom..."
With a muffled sound, the cannon on the left front flew into the air amid the explosion...