As the 13th Regiment entered the city, gunfire sounded like fried beans, and the street fighting in Mandalay officially began.
The 13th Regiment has some experience in street fighting. After entering the city, they did not just go on a rampage. That would be seeking death.
Although Mandalay City is not a big city, it is not something that can be filled by a single unit. Therefore, they adopted the method of breaking through in the middle. First, they attacked from east to west along the main roads of the city, trying to gain ground first. Pass through the city and cut it into east and west halves;
If he just wanted to accomplish this tactical goal, he felt that half of his regiment should be enough, not to mention the cavalry brigade assigned to them, as well as several tanks and armored vehicles, which could be used just right.
The attack of the 13th Regiment was a simple serpentine shape, with five tanks lined up and attacking along the main road, followed by four armored vehicles, accompanied by a squadron of infantry on both sides to protect the safety of the tanks.
A few dozen meters behind, there was a large group of infantry. They lined up in two battle formations to search and move forward.
"Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta..."
"Ta-ta-ta-ta..."
"boom!"
The vehicle-mounted machine gun on the Japanese tank will shoot a few times whenever it feels there is any disturbance, and occasionally it will stop and fire a shot. Most of the buildings in the city cannot withstand the destruction of a single shot, and will become ruins after a single shot. , so these tanks became the targets that a certain company must eliminate.
"Company Commander, the Japanese are here with a bunch of iron bastards. Comrades have no idea what to say. Please adjust your firepower and move up the platoon."
The third squad leader Gao Yaojun asked the company commander for instructions.
Lin Bin put down the telescope and said to the fire platoon leader:
"Old Niu, I'll leave the Japs' iron bastard to you. Use the Mulan cannon to defeat the devil's iron bastard!"
When the steak manager heard this, he immediately replied excitedly:
"Company commander, don't worry, let's see how I take my comrades over to deal with them!"
Lin Bin said to Gao Yaojun:
"Lao Gao, you lead the 3rd and 4th squads to cover the fire platoon. You must protect their safety."
Gao Yaojun nodded and left. This was a man who was ruthless and didn't talk much.
Niu Tianlei led the fire platoon and set up a pocket formation on the only way for the Japanese to pass;
He first led people to bury explosive charges every few meters on the main street, with the purpose of blocking the Japanese tanks, and then the gunners who were ambushed in buildings dozens of meters away on both sides destroyed the Japanese tanks. This is Urban guerrilla warfare.
The fire platoon is equipped with 6 107mm Mulan cannons, 2 per squad, and has 3 fire squads and 1 ammunition squad.
As soon as the fire platoon set up the pocket formation, the Japanese tanks rumbled over, their black muzzles facing both sides of the street, ready to fire at any time;
There was a group of Japs on both sides with guns guarding them. The Japs of the Sixth Division showed a high ability to coordinate with infantry and tanks.
The Demoman was waiting patiently for the Japanese tank to enter his pocket, staring at the tank with both eyes...
"Guawazi, hurry up, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
It might be the first time to see such a big guy at close range. The Demoman was a little nervous and kept mumbling something. It seemed that this was the only way to keep him from feeling scared.
The Japanese tank group finally entered the blasting area. The blaster decisively pressed the detonator in the ruins dozens of meters away. He only heard a series of explosions, which made the blaster's ears buzz.
The explosion destroyed the leading tank, killing and injuring many Japanese soldiers. It also damaged an armored vehicle and blocked the tank column on the road.
"Bagaya Road, enemy attack!"
The Japanese guards yelled in panic, but before they could react, 6 rockets flew from the ambush points on both sides, hitting at least 3 tanks;
The armor of the Japanese's Type 97 medium tank could not withstand attacks from 107mm armor-piercing explosive shells. Three tanks were destroyed in the first wave of attacks.
The remaining 1 tank and 3 armored vehicles seemed to have realized that the end was coming, and fired wildly at suspicious targets on both sides. The bullets hit the wall with a popping sound, and some were even knocked down by a tank gun shot.
Such blind shooting naturally could not prevent Mulan's gunner from launching a second round of attacks. Just over a minute later, the second round of attacks came as scheduled, and this time no more Iron Bastards were allowed to slip through the net.
"Kill the chicken and give it to me!"
The infantry accompanying the attack went completely crazy. They had no regard for their own safety and kept firing on both sides.
The two squads led by Gao Yaojun were not used to the Japs. The machine gunner controlled the M1919A4 Browning medium machine gun and fired wildly at the Japs. The long bullet chain ensured the continuous output of firepower. The effective range exceeded 2 kilometers. Logically speaking,
The rate of fire is 500 rounds per minute and the combat rate of fire is 120 rounds per minute. It uses 7.62mm Springfield rifle ammunition and can be used as a heavy machine gun by mounting it on a tripod.
It weighs 14.05 kilograms, even with a 6.35 kilogram tripod, it can be operated by two people, and with four ammunition handlers, it can be used as platoon-level support firepower without any problem.
In front of Browning, the Japanese's 92-heavy machine gun and crooked machine gun had to be thrown away.
The Independent Army's troops, each platoon equipped with one or two, suppressed the firepower of the Japanese squad.
The Japanese infantry squadron accompanying the tanks was quickly defeated. The previous explosion killed dozens of people, and the subsequent rocket attack also suffered a lot of losses. In the end, Gao Yaojun led two squads to repel them and left them behind. More than 60 bodies were found.
This is not to say that they could not defeat the two squads of Gao Yaojun, but that after they were ambushed, the tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed. They were afraid of being ambushed, so they retreated while fighting.
In this ambush battle, the fire platoon and the two infantry squads of Gao Yaojun used pre-set ambush tactics to destroy 9 Japanese tanks, kill more than 60 Japanese soldiers, and suffer only 7 casualties, which dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese.
Without tanks to clear the way, the Japanese could only rely on infantry to advance along the main road. They were constantly blocked and skinned by the defenders, causing heavy casualties.
It took the 13th Regiment half a day to penetrate Mandalay City and suffered more than 800 casualties;
But before they could be happy, they were attacked by the defenders on both sides. Soon they were entangled with the defenders and could no longer withdraw.
Kanda Masane was worried that the 13th Regiment would be surrounded and annihilated, so he also sent the 45th Regiment in;
The 101st Regiment did not show weakness and fought with the 45th Regiment house by house and alley in the city. Both sides suffered heavy casualties;
At the beginning, the two sides could still maintain their organizational structure, but as time went by, they became mixed together. Basically, they were fighting at the company and platoon level, and even squads were fighting.
The troops of the Independent Army are basically one squad against the Japs and one detachment, one platoon against the Japs and one squad. The company level is obviously better in firepower than the Japs per squadron. After the two sides got mixed up, the regiment commander could not find the battalion commander. , the battalion commander could not find several of his companies.
You are in me, and I am in you. For a time, most of the city became a mess. No one knew how many casualties their side had suffered. This is the cruelty of street fighting, and it is a test for both sides.
