mtl008 Chapter 950 Left Side! Molotov Cocktail!
Chapter 950 Left Side! Molotov Cocktail!
"Bang! Bang!" Two sharp and distinctive cannon shots came from the ruins of a half-collapsed two-story building about 100 meters to the right! The sound was different from the dull sound of the Type 41 mountain gun commonly used by the Japanese army, and it was also crisper than the Type 37 flat-fire gun.
"Armor-piercing shell! Two o'clock!" Yamada's gunner shouted in a shrill voice, his voice filled with disbelief and terror.
Almost simultaneously, a deafening clang rang out from the left side of the armor of the tank where Yamada was located!
The tank shook violently, the lights inside went out instantly, and a pungent smell of metal scraping and gunpowder filled the air.
Fortunately, the shell's angle of incidence was too large, and it was deflected by the 17-25mm sloped armor on the front of the Type 97 tank, leaving only a shocking dent and a long scratch.
"It's a German-made 37mm Pak 36 anti-tank gun!" Yamada instantly identified the weapon model, a chill running down his spine to the top of his head.
This German-style anti-tank gun had extremely strong armor-piercing capabilities, far exceeding those of similar Japanese equipment.
How did he end up meeting someone here? And why was it someone "one of his own"?
He abruptly pushed open the hatch on top of his head, braving the stray bullets as he leaned out halfway to look through his binoculars in the direction of the incoming artillery fire.
The sight before him left him speechless. Behind the broken wall of that small building, the barrel of a well-disguised German-made 37mm anti-tank gun was still emitting blue smoke, and several soldiers dressed in Japanese uniforms were frantically ejecting the spent cartridges and reloading!
Although their handling of the artillery was somewhat clumsy, their target was clear: his tank squadron!
"Baka! How could they have this?!" Yamada exclaimed in shock and anger.
He suddenly remembered that China had purchased a considerable amount of weaponry from Germany, and this must have been spoils of war captured by the Central China Expeditionary Army from the Chinese army... And now it was being used against its own people!
"Attention all vehicles! Anti-tank gun at two o'clock! Smoke grenades for cover!"
"Aim at that window, high-explosive shell! Quick!" Yamada roared at the gunner inside his tank, his voice distorted with anger and fear.
He had to remove the nail immediately, or the entire squadron would become sitting ducks.
The tank's turret spun rapidly, and its 57mm main gun spewed flames.
The high-explosive shell accurately hit the second floor of the building, sending bricks and stones flying. The anti-tank gun immediately went silent, and the soldiers operating it were either killed or wounded.
But the crisis was not over, and more firepower came from all directions!
"Left side! Molotov cocktail!" exclaimed the commander of another Type 95 light tank.
Yamada turned his head and saw several soldiers suddenly emerge from behind the broken wall of the street on the left. They were holding Molotov cocktails made from beer bottles and gasoline. After lighting the strips of cloth, they threw them at the slowly moving tank.
A Type 95 light tank that had charged too far ahead was hit by multiple Molotov cocktails, and its engine compartment immediately caught fire, billowing thick smoke.
The tank hatch was pushed open, and the crew members, engulfed in flames, screamed as they crawled out, but before they could even land, they were riddled with bullets.
The gunmen were infantrymen from the Central China Expeditionary Army who were lying in ambush in the nearby ruins. They were using the familiar Type 38 rifle designed by Arisaka Shigeaki.
What chilled Yamada even more was that, through his binoculars, he clearly saw that one of the officers of the Central China Expeditionary Army who was calmly firing from a window in the distance had a face that seemed somewhat familiar. It was Lieutenant Ono, who had once served as a short-term urban warfare instructor at the Army War College!
Yamada still vividly remembers Instructor Ono's precise shooting and tactical explanations.
At this moment, this former instructor is using the skills he taught to mercilessly shoot his students and subordinates!
"Instructor Ono! Why?!" Yamada cried out in his heart, but there was no time for sentimentality on the battlefield.
Loyalty and betrayal, teacher-student relationships and opposing factions, twisted into the most cruel form in this purgatory of blood and fire.
"Aim at the seams of the gun shields! Shoot their gunners!" Yamada suppressed the turmoil in his heart and continued to give commands via radio.
The tank's machine guns and main cannons unleashed a torrent of ammunition at any possible hiding place for the enemy.
The streets became a labyrinth of death, where deadly bullets or Molotov cocktails could be fired from any window or behind any pile of rubble.
The battle inside Guanghua Gate quickly escalated into a brutal close-quarters fighting.
The tanks of the 7th Division fell into a death trap carefully set by the Central China Military Expedition.
The Japanese soldiers inside the city made full use of their familiarity with the terrain, deploying German-made 37mm guns, Type 92 infantry guns, and even grenade launchers in unexpected corners, specifically targeting the weak side and rear armor and tracks of the tanks.
Many more soldiers carried out suicide attacks using Molotov cocktails and explosive charges.
These tactics were originally used by the Chinese to deal with their own tanks, but now the Japanese have cleverly adapted them and are using them on their own Type 97 and Type 95 tanks.
A Type 97 medium tank was paralyzed in the middle of the road when its tracks were blown off by a pre-placed mine while attempting to break through a barricade.
The tank became a fixed steel coffin. The crew members tried to abandon the vehicle, but as soon as they opened the hatch, they were killed by bullets coming from all directions.
Another Type 95 light tank was turning in a narrow street when its side armor was easily penetrated by a German-made 37mm tungsten-core armor-piercing projectile fired from a second-floor window.
The shell tumbled wildly inside the cramped vehicle, instantly tearing the three crew members to shreds. A fire broke out inside the vehicle, the ammunition detonated, and the turret was blown several meters away.
Yamada's tank also encountered danger on several occasions.
A Molotov cocktail exploded on the side of the turret, and flames seeped in through the observation slit. Fortunately, the loader reacted quickly and extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher.
On another occasion, a soldier from the 10th Army, strapped with explosives, crawled out of the sewers screaming and lunged at the tank tracks, but was fortunately shot dead by the infantry following behind.
The brutality of the battle far exceeded expectations. The weapons, tactics, and even commands used by both sides were so similar that the battle resembled a self-destructive military exercise.
Often, as soon as one side makes a tactical maneuver, the other side can immediately anticipate it and counter it.
The casualty rate is rising at an alarming rate.
The streets were soon littered with the corpses of soldiers from both sides, and blood flowed into streams that stained the ground dark red.
The wreckage of the tanks burned, billowing black smoke, becoming a pillar of shame for this absurd infighting.
At around 8:30 a.m., after the Yamada Company lost three Type 3 light tanks, one Type 1 medium tank was seriously damaged, and a large number of infantry casualties, they finally managed to clear the resistance in the Guanghuamen barbican and the surrounding area with the support of the follow-up troops of the 25th Regiment, and established a not very stable foothold.
However, further progress has been extremely difficult.