When the evil spirits appeared in the smoke, the Japanese on the front line suddenly lost their minds.
After all, this kind of iron lump that combines firepower, mobility and protection is the highest-ranking land warfare weapon in the world at this stage. Faced with their clustered breakthroughs, ordinary infantrymen had no choice but to use their lives to fill the gap.
"tank!!!"
"Hurry up and bring up the rapid-fire artillery and mountain and field artillery! We must not let the Eighth Route Army break through our first line of defense!"
Following Mano Goro's order, the Japanese took action immediately. They launched their respective Type 94 37mm anti-tank guns and 75mm barrel guns from the anti-gun holes in their positions.
As a model of public security for the Japanese army in North China, the Second Independent Mixed Brigade had 10 combat defense guns, 12 field guns and 20 mountain guns before the war.
Such a firepower configuration is definitely a supermodel for a force of only 5,000 people.
But since the Battle of Datong, successive combat missions have caused heavy losses to the Japanese. Under the special care of the Eighth Route Army Air Force, all types of heavy weapons were lost.
At this moment, there are only thirteen artillery pieces left in the independent mixed second brigade.
"The target has entered the effective range! Shoot quickly!"
Under the repeated urging of the squad leader, the No. 3 gunner rotated the high and low machine rockers and steering gear according to the parameters, and adjusted the barrel pitch angle and horizontal direction as quickly as possible.
The shooter unlocked the safety bolts on the gun tail and sight, and aimed at the Cicada tank 1,200 meters away.
boom!
After pulling the firing rope, a 37mm armor-piercing grenade flew straight forward.
Facts have proved that this rapid-fire artillery team was quite lucky. Their first shell accurately hit the front of the Cicada tank.
Seeing this scene, the second lieutenant in charge of the artillery crew waved his fist excitedly. As for the other ten Japanese soldiers, they even couldn't help but cheer.
"Yo Xi! Well done!"
"Keep reloading! Try to knock out a few more enemy tanks before engaging the enemy!"
But the good times did not last long, and the smiles of the Japanese soldiers quickly disappeared without a trace.
Because the tank that was hit just now only slowed down slightly and continued to rush towards the forward position.
Through the artillery sight glass, the squad leader even saw bullet marks. Although the front armor had some dents, it was far from the level of penetration.
At this time, the expressions of the eleven young people were extremely bright, and they looked like the Navy anti-aircraft gunners who had witnessed the Catalina seaplane rescuing people.
It's a pity that this famous scene has not been seen by more people.
"Baga! We failed to penetrate the target!"
"Type 94 is indeed an outdated weapon, and it has no effect at all!"
"Everyone is here, move to the second reserve position! Let's attack the sides and tracks that are relatively poorly protected."
In fact, the fact that it failed to penetrate is not really a problem with the performance of the Type 94 37mm rapid-fire gun.
In the tests of the U.S. Army, this thing has a record of penetrating 43mm Honest Armor at 500 meters, and it has a penetration depth of 30mm even at a distance of 1,000 meters.
The frontal armor of the Cicada tank is only 25 mm, so it should be able to be hit casually.
It's a pity that the Second Independent Mixed Brigade has no experience in fighting armored forces since its establishment in 1938. The 37 guns in their hands spent most of the time firing grenades to bully the original Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region.
If the Japanese can keep calm and place the Cicada tank at a distance of about 500 meters, then they can shoot a light tank without having to go around.
But there are so many what-ifs on the battlefield. This is a cruel life-or-death war, not to mention that opportunities will only be given to those who are prepared.
······
The 2nd Company of the 3rd Tank Battalion, Car No. 17.
Boom!
When the 37mm armor-piercing grenade of the Type 94 hit the front armor of the Cicada, the crew members only felt a big vibration in the entire tank.
At the same time, there was a buzzing sound in the ears of the soldiers.
"What's going on! Have we been shot? Everyone report their status!"
Although they had undergone sufficient training before the war, this battle was the first time that the comrades drove tanks to attack the enemy, so nervousness was inevitable.
After all, reality is not a 7+ coloring game, and there is no situation where it can be adapted to the same width without losing experience. The magical thing of being able to shoot and drive a tank is only spread in the world of Steel 4.
Of course, it is impossible for three members of a crew to go down at the same time.
Different from the panic of the driver, the captain saw the situation clearly with his good field of vision.
"Right ahead, there are Japanese anti-tank guns firing at us."
"We were hit, but the enemy shells did not penetrate the tank's armor."
"Stop! Load high-explosive bombs! Kill them, don't let that gun fire a second round!"
Everyone has been in the same car group for several months and has already developed a certain degree of tacit understanding. When the backbone commander spoke, the driver and gunner regained the feeling of training in the past.
With the cooperation of the two men, the Cicada tank stopped steadily.
At the same time, the turret also began to rotate, aiming at the Japanese artillery that was moving in the distance.
The Type 94 37mm rapid-fire cannon is not light in weight. The miscellaneous parts and components add up to a mere 400 kilograms, not to mention a base number of shells.
In addition, the surrounding positions had already been plowed by the artillery of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. No matter how fast the eleven Japanese soldiers were, they could not match the rotation speed of the turret.
boom!
With a dull sound of firing, a high-explosive bomb flew towards the enemy's location.
After the smoke dissipated, the expected tragedy did not appear, and the Japanese rapid-fire artillery squad was still running for their lives in the trenches.
Just as the No. 17 car was preparing to fire another shot, the sound of tank gun firing also sounded near them.
In an instant, eleven Japanese soldiers were set on fire by five Cicada vehicles. The 37 cannons were raised high, and the eleven Japanese soldiers couldn't even find a complete body.
This is the benefit of maintaining real-time communication. There are indeed some problems with our technology and combat experience. But if one shot fails, then ten more shots will be fired. There will always be one round of attack that can kill you.
"keep going!"
After thanking his comrades, Car No. 17 continued to drive towards the forward position of the Second Independent Mixed Brigade despite the Japanese machine gun fire.
When the first Cicada crossed the enemy's trench, the infantry in the rear also participated in the offensive queue. They advanced steadily forward in squad units.
"Don't follow too closely, and don't fall behind!"
"Pay attention to distance control, use tanks to avoid Japanese machine guns, and don't let Japanese infantry get close to the tanks' blind spots!" (End of Chapter)
