It's no wonder that the Japanese chariot troops seemed to be in a deserted place.
Based on the Japanese's past experience, they could easily capture a fortified city with only a dozen tanks. What's more, it was a plain and they were dealing with the Eighth Route Army.
There is a saying among the Japanese that once there are tanks or armored vehicles, the enemy mode will become "target shooting".
That is to say, the enemies rush forward one after another with explosive packets and grenades, while the Japanese can hide around the tank and knock down the targets one by one.
This is why mixed brigades prefer armored vehicles to tanks.
When facing the Eighth Route Army, there is no difference in protection between tanks and armored vehicles... they can both block enemy firepower and suppress enemy firepower, but armored vehicles have the advantages of fast speed, large space, and sufficient ammunition.
Therefore, if a tank squadron plus some scouts and engineers are used to intersperse it, it will already give the Eighth Route Army face. Do we have to wait for the infantry at the rear?
Isn't that a joke?
You can even call it shame and cowardice!
Unfortunately, this experience is no longer applicable on the battlefield in northwestern Shanxi from this day on.
Soon, tanks came up one after another.
There are three tanks and two armored vehicles in total.
Wang Xuexin couldn't tell what models these tanks and armored vehicles were, but they were probably Type 97, Type 95 or something like that.
Wang Xuexin can be regarded as a tank fan in modern times, but he really doesn't like the weird and strange tanks of the Japanese... In fact, there is no need to distinguish them. Anyway, the skin is thin and the rocket launcher can penetrate it. All models are the same.
The Japanese scout held a signal light in his hand and waved it while retreating in the river to instruct the tank to move forward. The tank commander popped up and gave careful instructions, and there were more than a dozen engineers assisting him.
Other tanks and armored vehicles lined up one after another and parked on the other side waiting for instructions... They did not dare to easily drive into the unexplored section of the river. This was not a matter of the depth of the river, but that they would be unable to move once they got stuck in the mud.
Very troublesome.
At this time, a scout crossing the river locked the beam of his flashlight on a directional mine.
He stepped forward to look at it in confusion, and found writing on the directional radar, so he called out to the crowd: "Fujiwara-kun, what is written on it?"
This guy may have used the directional radar as a road monument, but this thing is inserted by the river and has writing on it, so it does look a bit like a road monument.
The Japanese named Fujiwara seemed to be able to read Chinese. When he heard the cry, he came over with water, shined his flashlight and then read each word with difficulty: "This, face... facing the enemy, is this facing the enemy?"
!”
Then their expressions changed.
Before they could react, the directional mine exploded with a "boom", and the two Japs next to the directional mine were instantly blown away. Fujiwara on the front was probably the worst. He didn't know how much he suffered before he died.
A steel ball.
But he did a good thing, because he was too close to the directional mine and withstood most of the steel balls, so the other Japs were fine.
But this was only temporary, as there were two more explosions, and two other directional mines also exploded, and the steel balls swished in the direction of the Japanese like stray wasps.
Many steel balls hit the tanks and armored vehicles, making a series of "ding-dong-dang" noises, then rebounded and shot at the nearby Japanese soldiers from different angles, only to make the Japanese scream in agony.
The cruel thing about directional mines is the high density of attacks.
The rocket itself is small in size and can only be installed in a smaller diameter, about the size of a mung bean.
Directional mines are different. The steel balls contained in them are as big as a finger, and the explosives have a lot of muzzle velocity. If they hit the body, they will be driven into the flesh and chase the soul.
If you are lucky, it will be more satisfying, if you hit the vital point, you will die immediately.
Those who were unlucky suffered non-fatal injuries. Not only did they lose their combat effectiveness on the spot, even if the doctors rescued them, they would be helpless...
It was full of holes, like a cake rolled in the sand that couldn't be picked up.
If it were to be removed through surgery, it would probably be full of incisions all over the body.
Firstly, there is no time, and secondly, there is little hope of resuscitation.
So most of those who suffered such injuries were left to die, with bullet holes all over their bodies and dozens of steel balls inside them struggling, and it might take several days to end.
The Japanese commander also reacted quickly. They immediately retracted their necks into the tank and entered combat mode... But the tanks of this era basically did not have the ability to fight at night. Looking out from the inside, it was pitch black, especially the Japanese tanks.
So the Japanese machine gunners could only shoot out randomly, while a few surviving scouts and engineers hid behind the tanks and prepared to fight.
However, all this was in vain.
Just a few "chirp" whistling sounds were heard, and rockets flew towards the Japanese tanks one after another.
The distance is more than ten meters, and tanks and armored vehicles are also clustered together, so you can hit them with casual aim.
There was a loud "boom" and two tanks and an armored vehicle were paralyzed on the spot.
One of the tanks was probably hit in the engine. It first emitted a puff of black smoke, and then turned into a ball of fire, which grew stronger and stronger. The flames instantly illuminated the panicked Japanese and the surviving tanks around them.
.
Michio Yokota was the commander of one of the surviving Type 97 tanks.
After being attacked, he immediately judged that the enemy was using the Type 92 infantry artillery to set up an ambush.
Michio Yokota's judgment makes sense, because if there is anything in the hands of the Eighth Route Army that can threaten tanks, it must be the infantry cannons snatched from the imperial army... Infantry cannons can be used flat as cannons, and these Japanese tanks will of course block them.
Can't resist its attack.
Although the contrails of these artillery shells fired at the scene do not seem to be similar, this is the only possibility.
"Damn bastard!" Michio Yokota yelled in the tank: "It was our infantry who gave the weapons to the enemy!"
"Second Lieutenant!" the pilot shouted in panic: "What should we do?"
After just a moment of hesitation, Michio Yokota ordered: "Step on the accelerator and move forward at full speed!"
Michio Yokota believed that this was the only way out. The enemy had infantry artillery in their hands, so turning around and escaping would definitely not work. Doing so would only expose the weakest rear part of the tank to the enemy's muzzle, not to mention that the tank was soft by the river.
It is very difficult to turn in the mud... Most of the tanks during World War II did not have a reverse gear. They could only turn while braking while moving forward. This was undoubtedly digging a hole for themselves in the soft mud.
Therefore, they have only one way to survive: rush forward!
"Find their infantry guns!" Michio Yokota yelled at the driver, "and crush them!"
Of course a cannon can't hit a tank.
At the same time, the Eighth Route Army had no other anti-tank weapons, so as long as they crashed or crushed these infantry guns, they would succeed.