Long live Joachim

Chapter 16: Competing for Northeast Asia (Part 2) Dong! The artillery deployed on the Japanese positions aimed at the rapidly advancing Soviet tanks and opened fire. These lightweight small caliber guns were adept at dealing with light tanks and ordinary fortress fortifications. However, on the east bank of the Halaha River, outside the city of Alshan, they encountered big trouble when facing the C-35 medium tanks equipped by the Soviet army. As the battle progressed, the Japanese gunners found that their armor piercing shells were helpless against those with simple outlines and sloping armor in the enemy's attack array. The armor piercing bounce rate fired by the 37mm gun reached 70-80%, while the effective damage of the 47mm gun was only about 40%. Faced with the rolling Soviet armor, the Japanese soldiers in the trenches were under immense pressure. Masaji Yamazaki was a veteran of the Japanese 2nd Division and was awarded the title of "Divine Shooter" for his exceptional marksmanship. At this oppressive moment, he prostrated himself on the edge of the trench, while his companions were deployed in a relatively dispersed manner in the trench. The weapons he used were mainly 38 caps, supplemented by the Type 1 submachine gun that was put into active service in 1941. At regular intervals, there was a Type 10 light machine gun or a Type 92 heavy machine gun. These conventional firearms consumed the lives of countless Chinese soldiers and civilians during the invasion of China, but could not stop the Soviet army's armored fleet. Therefore, many Japanese infantry were surrounded by bundles of hand grenades and fuel bottles. Behind the trenches, the few remaining anti tank guns were deployed behind the bunkers dug from the craters, and the gunners wearing helmets were loading armor piercing shells into the gun barrels. During the War of Aggression against China, the Japanese artillery consumed very few armor piercing shells, which could only be used to attack strong fortifications such as city walls. The Soviet tank cluster quickly advanced within the range of the machine guns, with not only the tank guns repeatedly spewing deadly flames, but also the machine guns in the turrets and front of the vehicle spewing flames like venomous snake cores. The Japanese army has weak momentum on this side, with only large caliber mortars bombarding Soviet attacking forces at a slower speed. However, unless they directly hit the top of the turret or land next to the tracks, the falling shells pose no threat to Soviet tanks! Behind the rolling dust raised by the enemy's tank tracks, Yamazaki saw his prey - a large group of Soviet infantry had already left their vehicles. Although the color of the military uniform is completely consistent, he can still distinguish officers and soldiers from the target's military cap and posture. At a straight-line distance of approximately 500 meters, he fired the first bullet into the barrel, aimed slightly, and pulled the trigger. In the line of sight, a burly Soviet officer had just waved his arms to signal the soldiers to follow closely behind the tank troops, but he had already disappeared from the crowd. With a crisp click, Yamazaki fired the second bullet into the barrel. Although veterans warned rookies not to attempt to use their rifles to hit targets 500 meters away on the battlefield when they first enlisted, the principle of adapting to local conditions supersedes all dogma. In the second shot, Yamazaki still managed to find a Soviet officer, but this time he narrowly missed the target. The sound of bullets passing by frightened the officer, who quickly fell to the ground with a fierce expression and said something. Not far behind him, on several half tracked armored vehicles, soldiers seemed to be using the vehicle mounted artillery mirrors to measure distance. Soon, heavy mortar shells whistled down and landed precisely around the Japanese trenches, with several even falling directly into the trenches. In the third and fourth shots, Yamazaki aimed directly at the advancing Soviet soldiers and opened fire. After a row of bullets ran out, Yamazaki estimated that he had killed at least three Russians. In this short period of time, the Japanese anti tank artillery also killed seven or eight Soviet tanks, and the Japanese troops in the trenches were fiercely shooting forward to prevent Soviet infantry from approaching their positions. Yamazaki picked up his rifle and could see Japanese soldiers throwing grenades in front of him in the frontline trenches. The smoke from the explosion formed a gray black mist wall, but bullets flying from the opposite side were still mercilessly plundering the lives of these people. He watched helplessly as a rifle wearing a Japanese helmet fell from his hand, his anger and sadness intertwined, brewing a bitter and spicy liquor. Under the sunlight, a BC-4 tank with distinct exterior features suddenly rushed out of the fog wall. It quickly crossed the last fifty meters and rolled over the front edge of the Japanese frontline trench. The body slightly tilted upwards, and the thick chassis suddenly appeared in the middle of the rapidly rotating tracks - it is said that the chassis is one of the weakest parts of the tank. The opportunity was fleeting, and the steel tank raced over the trench at a speed of at least forty yards, leaving the nearby Japanese officers and soldiers stunned. One of them even held a burning bomb in his hand. Prior to this, Yamazaki had dealt with Chinese, British, and American soldiers, but had never witnessed such a fierce attack. The Russian style attack is reckless, although it means heavy casualties, the penetrability often puts great psychological pressure on the defending side. Most of the time, soldiers do not have the power to choose their opponents. Soviet infantry have already followed the tank formation and advanced to a distance of about 100 meters from the Japanese trenches. Between the electric sparks, Yamazaki fired a shot, and a Soviet officer with snow-white skin on the opposite side fell to the ground in response. The Soviet infantry behind them didn't have time to think too much and crossed over their comrades' bodies, rushing towards the Japanese position in a howl. After using up all the weapons such as grenades, explosives, and incendiary bombs, the Japanese riflemen inserted bayonets and instantly returned to the battlefield where cold weapons dominated everything. Just as the Japanese frontline was about to collapse, dozens of tanks with plaster logos appeared on the battlefield. The Tank Teaching Brigade is known as the "strongest armored unit of the Imperial Army", which gathers elite armored talents from the Japanese Army and is also a "test field" for various new equipment to be prioritized. The appearance of our own armored forces gave great encouragement to the Japanese infantry. The cries of "Long live!" quickly rang out on the front lines, and small groups of Japanese soldiers rushed out of the position with bayonets and explosives. Most of them were quickly swept down by the enemy's guns and cannons, but this fanatical shattered jade still greatly boosted the morale of the defending troops and shook the enemy's spirit. Boom! The explosion sound coming from the side and rear was so intense that the sound waves deeply pierced the eardrums. Yamazaki instinctively lowered his body, and when he turned his head, he saw a Type 97 tank that had just approached the battlefield burning and catching fire, with various fine particles flying at a fast speed. Fortunately, these were only mud and debris raised by the explosion, not shrapnel. Before Yamazaki could think much, another Type 97 tank painted in yellow and green camouflage was hit by Soviet artillery fire. This invincible "heavy cavalry" that charged forward on the Chinese battlefield was as vulnerable as a cardboard box in front of the Russians, which made Yamazaki both surprised and uneasy. At this moment, a volley of bullets flew in, instantly knocking down Private Nobuo Kimura next to him. Kimura is a fellow villager of Yamazaki and a good friend of him in the military. Seeing this situation, Yamazaki quickly threw down his rifle and held Kimura's wound with both hands, saying, "Kimura kun, Kimura kun, hold on! Medical guards! Yamazaki watched as a large stream of blood gushed out of his companion's heart, his young face convulsing helplessly, and his black eyes began to become hollow. The medical soldiers rushed over, but before he could tear off the hemostatic bag, this ordinary Japanese soldier had permanently stopped his activities. For every soldier who has participated in multiple battles, witnessing the brutality of their comrades' deaths is ordinary, and Yamazaki only had time to cover the faces of the victims with the sun flag. The bullets flying by were full of threats, and he had to refocus his attention on the front. Phew... boom! Damn it! "Yamazaki watched helplessly as his own artillery hit the enemy tank, but the shells were fired by its thick armor. He felt hopeless. Why was the army, which was lagging behind and vulnerable in the broadcast, so strong on the battlefield? The C-35 on the opposite side quickly responded with its 57mm gun mounted on the main turret, with a shooting distance of less than 300 meters allowing it to easily hit and destroy a Japanese tank, and mercilessly sweep towards the exposed Japanese soldiers with dense bullets. At this moment, Lieutenant General Yoshida and his staff are anxiously observing the battle ahead in the Japanese frontline command center. Sir, the 1st Tank Teaching Brigade has been repelled, and the 2nd Division's position has been breached by enemy tanks and infantry, and the defense line is on the brink of collapse! General Maruyama said that they urgently need reinforcements from the tank troops and request that we mobilize all tanks to participate in the battle To continue to defend this line of defense, we may have to pay a very heavy price! "Yoshida said to his deputy with a telescope." If we can hold the line of defense even at the cost of casualties, I would rather personally drive my tank to the front line, but the enemy holds air superiority, and our aviation unit is unlikely to support the front line today What should we do, General? Watching the Second Division being crushed by enemy tanks like this? This will make us bear the reputation of being cowardly in battle, and we may even face military trials, "said the commander of the Tank Teaching Brigade, Manasaburo, urgently Compared to Manasaburo's anxiety, Yoshida is much more composed: "Tell General Maruyama that due to the enemy's fighter jets, the support troops will definitely not be able to arrive before tomorrow. Night fighting is our only hope of turning this situation around, so his division must hold on until dark no matter what In this way, more than two hours later, the Japanese 2nd Division filled the last reserve force consisting of service personnel, logistics personnel, and lightly wounded soldiers into a brutal battle for positions. Due to the fact that the last few anti tank guns were also destroyed by the enemy's heavy tank attack, the Japanese infantry were completely using their flesh and blood to resist the successive attacks of the Soviet tank troops. After the fierce battle, scattered body fragments and Soviet tanks with broken tracks could be seen everywhere on the battlefield. Although these big guys could not continue to move forward, Soviet tank drivers turned these heavily armored tanks into fixed fortresses on the battlefield. Even after firing all their shells, they still attacked the surrounding Japanese soldiers with machine guns or even hand grenades carried in their vehicles for close combat. With the support of these firepower points, Soviet infantry gradually drove the Japanese out of the deep trenches, captured Alshan, and cut off the retreat path of the Japanese Manchurian coalition army, which seemed to be just a matter of time.