Qiu Youcai drove the No. 4 tank numbered 2134 on a dirt road that had been riddled with potholes by artillery shells. Suddenly, there was a bang, and the front armor of the turret was hit by a shot, and the hard front armor was smashed out.
A small pit.
"No, it's the Japanese anti-aircraft artillery!" Huang Jianhua, the commander of the vehicle, shouted, "Pay attention and quickly find the location of the Japanese artillery."
Sun Youfu, nicknamed Tu Xingsun, quickly began to rotate the turret, adjusting the direction of the muzzle based on the feeling just now.
However, precisely because of the turn of the Panzer IV, its rear wing was also exposed.
The rear wing is the weakest point of all tanks, and the Panzer IV is no exception. Its armor is less than 40 millimeters, which can easily be penetrated by the Type 94 combat anti-cannon with a penetration of more than 50 millimeters.
.
"Boom..." The Type 94 anti-tank gun hidden in the grass fired again, but this shot still hit the side of the tank and bounced away, causing a glide.
The blast of the shooting made the gunner's ears burn with pain. The barrel of the anti-tank gun paused, and then the rear seat automatically retreated with the cartridge case still containing some smoke. The loader behind the gun immediately loaded another explosive shell.
Not a single second of worry.
The top cover of the tank was pushed open, and Huang Jianhua stuck his head out of the tank and shouted at the five or six Eighth Route Army soldiers riding on the tank: "What are you doing standing still? Get out of the car!"
In order to keep up with the moving speed of the tanks, the Eighth Route Army soldiers who lacked armored vehicles could only "hang" on the tanks and follow the tanks.
Due to lack of experience in infantry-tank coordination, the Eighth Route Army soldiers on the tanks did not react for a while when they were first attacked. It was not until Huang Jianhua stuck his head out and scolded him that he came to his senses.
"Get out of the car quickly!" An Eighth Route Army squad leader also greeted quickly and jumped out of the tank first.
Just when these Eighth Route Army soldiers had just jumped off the tank, a Panzer IV tank dozens of meters away from them suddenly shuddered, as if it had hit something.
The soldier fell down.
It turned out that its tracks had fallen off, and the turret immediately began to rotate.
"Hurry... find that damn anti-aircraft gun quickly!"
Although it was the first time for infantry and tanks to engage in coordinated combat, the squad leader also knew how dangerous an immobile tank could be on a war-torn battlefield after losing its ability to move.
"Machine gun cover, two people go and rescue the brothers in the tank!"
As the squad leader spoke, he also took out a smoke grenade, opened the safety cover, and threw it in front of the tank. Soon, a thick puff of smoke surrounded the tank.
Under the cover of infantry and smoke bombs, the injured tank member crawled out from the escape door at the bottom of the tank, and then rolled and jumped into a crater. This move also caused a low laugh.
Voice.
The squad leader glared hard at the soldiers who were laughing, and shouted in a low voice: "It's funny, isn't it? If someone hadn't taken the Japanese machine gun bullets for you today, you would have met the King of Hell long ago.
.”
Subsequently, the squad leader divided the ten soldiers in his squad into two combat groups, and followed a depression along the road to approach the Japanese defense line in front.
They were discovered by the Japanese soldiers as soon as they appeared, and gunshots rang out from the front soon, although they seemed a little sparse, and bullets made hissing sounds from time to time as they passed over their heads.
Without the squad leader's command, a soldier from the fire team rushed up quickly and mounted the machine gun on a protruding earth bag. The Czech-style light machine gun immediately sprayed out orange-red sparks and fired dense and continuous bullets.
The machine guns of another group also fired. The two machine guns relied on the terrain to easily suppress the Japanese army, and the firepower from the opposite side was stopped.
In less than a minute after the machine guns suppressed the Japanese troops, the squad leader led two soldiers to the front of the Japanese troops, and then threw out several M24 long-handled grenades.
As soon as the grenade exploded, he and his men jumped out of the bunker and rushed towards the Japanese defense line. After taking a few steps, the three of them saw a Type 94 combat anti-aircraft gun almost sticking to the ground and three people appearing in the crater in front of them.
Figures of Japanese soldiers wearing brown military uniforms.
As soon as they met, several submachine gun bullets hit the chests of two Japanese soldiers. Another Japanese soldier who fled towards the rear was also hit by two other soldiers with a Type 38 rifle, and his body fell heavily to the ground.
This battle was short and rapid. This was just a death squad left by the Japanese army to serve as snipers. Their purpose was to slow down the charging speed of the tank troops.
However, the Japanese army's goal was not achieved. The anti-tank group only fired a few shots and was finished.
Only one gunner who was not dead was left lying on the ground dying. He was hit by two 6.5mm Arisaka bullets in the chest, and his yellow uniform was soaked with blood.
Lying in the crater, he vaguely realized that he was a prisoner, raised his right hand slightly, cried loudly, and spoke in Japanese that no one could understand.
"Monitor!"
The two soldiers on the side looked at their squad leader, looking a little embarrassed.
No one wants to save these Japs, but the Eighth Route Army's strict military regulations prevent them from refusing to save them until death. This is what makes them most embarrassed.
"Da da da……"
Just when they were in a dilemma, a crisp sound of gunfire rang out, and the originally seriously injured Japanese soldier was shot several times in the chest. It turned out that it was the armored soldiers who followed him. The commander with the rank of second lieutenant simply used
The MP40 submachine gun solved the Japanese soldier's pain.
"Brothers, what are you doing, holding a memorial service?" The second lieutenant probably knocked something down when he climbed out of the escape door, and he is still grinning a bit when he speaks.
"Creak, creak, creak."
Accompanied by a scraping sound of metal tracks, a No. 4 tank stopped next to it. Huang Jianhua stuck his head out of the turret and shouted to the man.
"Old Han, why don't your mother-in-law hurry back and repair your big thing? You still have the heart to come here to steal the infantry's job. Do you really want to stay here for the night?"
The second lieutenant said aggrievedly: "Company Commander, I can't help it. Before the rescue vehicle arrived, the four of us couldn't lift the five to six hundred kilograms of tracks even if we were exhausted."
"Don't you fucking fart." Huang Jianhua said unceremoniously: "I told you to pay attention to the right wing just now. Are your ears stuffed with donkey hair? You keep rushing forward. You think it's too long, right?
?
Let me tell you, if you don’t repair the tank before dark, see what I will do to you.”
After saying that, Huang Jianhua closed the tank lid with a snap. A thick black smoke came out of the tail exhaust pipe of the No. 4 tank numbered 2134. The tank increased its power and drove forward.
The surrounding Eighth Route Army did not dare to neglect when they saw this, and quickly followed.
Although this was the first time for their regiment to engage in infantry-tank coordination, and they were not very skilled in either movements or consciousness, their company commander had repeatedly warned them before the battle started again.
"On a battlefield filled with gunpowder, the infantry is the eyes and ears of the tank. The tank is the shield and mobile turret of the infantry. We are like fish and water. No one can live without the other, so you must keep your eyes open to protect the tank.