Tomoe Haraguchi's mentality collapsed within a few minutes...
A few minutes on the battlefield can sometimes seem like centuries to a commander.
Because for Tomie Haraguchi, this is a process from hope to disappointment and then to despair.
I originally had high hopes for the imperial army, thinking that using infantry to defeat the enemy's infantry would be a good solution, so that the battle could still be saved.
But it was soon discovered that the infantry was indifferent to this. They all stayed in the fortifications and watched the Imperial tanks being destroyed. If they did anything, they would blindly shoot at the houses across the street with their rifles.
However, these shots obviously had no effect, and the "spray bullets" continued to shoot out of the darkness one after another.
What made Haraguchi Chie fall into despair was that the enemy had discovered the main force of the tank regiment... eight tanks hidden behind the corner of the street.
At this time, even if the imperial soldiers came up for reinforcements, it would be too late. Once these eight tanks were destroyed or more than half of them were killed or wounded, Haraguchi Tomoe would no longer have anything to fight against the enemy.
then……
"We can't wait any longer!" Tomie Haraguchi ordered: "Everyone, move forward at full speed! The time for a decisive battle has arrived!"
This is a helpless choice, because if you continue to wait like this, the result will be that the enemy's tank has been beaten by the enemy's "spray bomb" and has lost its combat effectiveness without even seeing the enemy's tank.
So I can only rush without thinking.
If you rush into a pile of enemy tanks and engage in a melee, there is still a glimmer of hope for survival.
The Japanese chariot soldiers responded, then increased their power and rushed toward the main street.
However, as mentioned before, in a street battle between tanks, the defensive side that stays still will definitely have an advantage, because they are ready and waiting for the other side to show up, and more than one gun is aimed at the street entrance.
Of course, the third tank company was well prepared, and even armor-piercing ammunition had been loaded.
This does not require an order from Wang Xuexin. The second platoon leader can also think of this: if the Japanese tank is cornered by the rocket launcher, it will of course choose to make a desperate fight in a trapped beast.
As expected, the battle situation was like this. Amidst the "rumble" of the motor, the black and whirring shadow of a 97 Zhongzhan emerged from the street.
The auxiliary car next to the second platoon leader couldn't hold back for a moment, and the car body was only a third of the way out when it fired with a "boom". However, the shells seemed to have disappeared without any response, and the Japanese tank continued to "rumble" forward.
The second platoon leader cursed in his heart: "This Xiong Shangmin is always a hairy guy. Don't you know that buildings can easily block the target? We can penetrate its frontal armor at such a close distance, so what's the rush?"
Buildings are not only a problem in blocking the target. If a high-speed flying artillery shell hits a foreign object on the way, it is easy for the trajectory to deviate.
Hitting the target armor with a deviated trajectory will not only weaken the power but also cause a ricochet like hitting inclined armor.
Moreover, the second platoon leader’s idea is correct. The distance between the enemy and ourselves is only thirty meters. At this distance, even the 45mm tank gun of the T26 can easily penetrate the front armor of the Japs 97. Therefore, we should stay calm and wait for the Japs to expose the area.
It's never too late to shoot at the biggest moment... Anyway, the target is on the move, and there is almost no accuracy when shooting in motion, and it's still in the dark, so who is afraid of whom?
This is what the second platoon leader did. He waited for the moment when the body of the Japanese tank was about to turn right, and then with a "boom", a shell hit the target. The Japanese tank continued to drive forward for a certain distance until it collided diagonally.
The building next to it stopped.
Most of T26's armor-piercing bullets are solid bullets. They will not explode when they hit the target, but the armor fragments caused internally after penetrating the armor will fly around like bullets and will rebound in the tank compartment.
If the engine is not hit, it will often appear that the tank crew inside is dead but the tank is still moving.
The second platoon commander judged immediately that he had hit the target.
Because the enemy tank's turret was originally rotating and constantly adjusting its angle to aim at the second row of tanks, but it stopped rotating after hitting it.
The second platoon leader immediately loaded the armor-piercing ammunition and adjusted the angle to wait for the next vehicle.
At this moment, actually taking advantage of this moment, a Type 95 light tank suddenly sprang out. Its light and small body passed the shooting angle of the second platoon leader in the blink of an eye...
This should be intentional for the Type 95 light tank.
It knows that if this continues, the tanks will appear one after another and they will be killed one by one by the enemy.
Therefore, it relied on the speed of the 95 light tank to suddenly rush out when the enemy had just destroyed the 97 medium tank and was loading ammunition.
This was a crisis for the Eighth Route Army.
Although the 95 light tank has insufficient firepower and limited defense, in such a close-range fight, it is not a problem for the 37mm artillery to penetrate the side and rear armor of the T26 light tank.
More importantly, there are many infantrymen of the Eighth Route Army behind T26, especially the commander Wang Xuexin... If the Japanese light tanks rush in, crushing and firing machine guns, the Eighth Route Army will soon become a mess.
.
If the Eighth Route Army is in chaos, the Japanese's 97th Zhongzhan will take this opportunity to rush across the street. When the time comes, 97th Zhongzhan will face T26, and it is still unknown who will win.
The second platoon leader did not hesitate and immediately ordered: "Rush up and block the intersection!"
This may sound like a normal order to others, but using your own tanks to block the intersection and block the enemy's path...another meaning of this is to sacrifice yourself.
Because it is blocked at a road intersection, it will also expose yourself to the enemy's gunfire, and it is also side armored.
As soon as the tank in front moved, Wang Xuexin immediately realized what the second platoon leader was going to do. He hurriedly shouted to the radio: "Second Platoon Leader, stop! I order you to stop..."
But it was too late.
The T26 rushed forward amidst the roar of the motor, and then collided with the Type 95 that was about to break into our formation with a "bang".
The second platoon leader even fired an armor-piercing round at the last moment, which damaged an enemy tank that was hiding around the corner waiting for an opportunity to move.
However, because his tank was positioned too far forward, several enemy tanks at the corner of the street pointed their muzzles at it at the same time. Then there was a burst of "boom" and the T26 was blown into a ball of flame...
The armor-piercing projectiles used by the Japanese are armor-piercing explosive projectiles. These armor-piercing projectiles will explode inside the tank after penetrating it, often causing fatal explosions.
"Second platoon leader!" Wang Xuexin finally called out on the radio, but he immediately realized that the second platoon leader could no longer hear him.
At this time, the tanks of the second platoon leader had won a more favorable situation for the Eighth Route Army.
Because his T26 collided with the Type 95, plus a destroyed Type 97, three tanks blocked half of the street, leaving only half of the street that could only allow one tank to enter or exit.
However, this advantage was obtained by the second platoon leader at the expense of himself and the crew!