In the biting cold wind, the withered and yellow grass was shivering in the wilderness.
Without any warning, a harsh squeaking sound was heard in the wilderness. Two sparrows jumped up from the grass, fluttered into the air, and then were blown to and fro by the biting cold wind, and fell down not far away.
In the small woods, less than half a cup of tea later, a dark, round tube-like thing emerged from behind a low ridge.
Amidst the ear-piercing squeaking sound, the round tube grew longer and higher, rising higher and higher. It turned out to be a slender barrel.
What came out next was the turret, and then the huge tank body, which turned out to be an M4 medium tank.
Immediately behind the first tank, two more M4 medium tanks followed. Three tanks, one in front and two behind, were marching forward along the road in a U-shaped pattern. Behind them, billowing smoke and dust gradually rose.
These 3 tanks were part of a search team led by Captain Liu Lingyue.
When Captain Liu Lingyue was closing his eyes to rest, the observer, Staff Sergeant Li Shiqun, suddenly shouted: "Sir, there's something going on!"
Captain Liu Lingyue suddenly woke up. When he hurriedly went behind the sight and looked out, he saw an army marching on the road ahead. Judging from the color of their uniforms, they were obviously troops from the First Field Army, but this army was obviously eaten.
Unfortunately, many people were wrapped in bleeding bandages, and some were on crutches.
Almost at the same time, the defeated army also discovered the armored search team.
Although many people in the defeated army were injured and had difficulty moving, they dispersed immediately and quickly prepared for battle. It was not until they discovered that the bodies of these three tanks were painted with the National Army Peugeot that they
Only then did the defeated soldiers emerge from the grass ditch and returned to the road.
As they got closer, Captain Liu Lingyue opened the top cover, leaned forward and asked, "Hey, which part do you belong to?"
A defeated officer with the rank of captain on his shoulders replied: "Who are you from the 185th Division?"
"Siye Armored Division 4." Captain Liu Lingyue said again, "Brother, what is going on with you?"
"Oh, forget it." The captain of the defeated army lowered his head and sighed, "The defense line of our 181st Division has been lost. There are more than 15,000 people in one division, and only these 100 or so people are left. What a little devil.
The artillery fire was so fierce that the sky was burning red, and there were hordes of iron bastards, and the brothers simply couldn't withstand it."
"What?" Liu Lingyue suddenly changed his expression and said, "There are only so many people left in one division?"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Captain Liu Lingyue had just finished speaking when three artillery shells suddenly fell on the road. One of the shells exploded in the crowd of defeated soldiers. Seven or eight soldiers, including the captain, were killed by the explosion on the spot.
The air wave knocked them to the ground, and two of the soldiers were directly blown into four pieces and died on the spot.
"Little devil, the little devil is catching up!"
"You bastard little devils, brothers, fight with them!"
The hundred or so defeated soldiers immediately scattered in all directions, lying down one after another to block the attack.
Captain Liu Lingyue suddenly looked back and looked from a distance, only to see three Japanese tanks emerging from behind the ridge on the opposite side. Due to the visual obstruction caused by the hilly terrain, by the time the Chinese and Japanese search teams found each other, the distance was already less than 500 meters.
They have already entered the effective range of their respective main guns.
Captain Liu Lingyue quickly retracted into the turret and stood behind the sight.
"Eleven o'clock, distance 700 yards, move up two spaces, hit!"
"Damn it, Liuzi, what the hell do you do for food?"
"Quickly reload, nine o'clock position, move down half a square, hit!"
"Okay, hit, good shot!"
"Old Li, make a big loop to the left!"
"It's worse, I've been shot!"
After a brief but fierce battle, two Japanese tanks were destroyed and the remaining one turned around and fled.
The losses suffered by the national army were not light either. An M4 tank was hit by the Japanese main gun in the fuel tank and exploded on the spot. All five crew members on the vehicle were killed. Captain Liu Lingyue's car was also knocked off half of its turret by the Japanese main gun.
The gun was destroyed, the gunner died on the spot, and Captain Liu himself was cut on the head by shrapnel and was seriously injured.
"Quickly, report the position to the regiment headquarters and ask for reinforcements!" Captain Liu fell into a coma as soon as he finished speaking.
Immediately, the 1st Armored Regiment of the 4th Armored Division received the report. Colonel Hu Zhiwen, commander of the 1st Armored Regiment, immediately led more than 80 M4 medium tanks of the entire regiment to drive at full speed towards the direction of the search team.
At the same time, the Japanese tank that escaped from the battlefield also reported the battle situation to its superiors.
More than 120 Type 3 tanks of the 2nd Tank Brigade of the 1st Front Army of the Kwantung Army immediately swooped towards the eastern suburbs of Luan County, and a real tank battle began.
At 2:40 p.m., more than 80 Chinese tanks and more than 120 Japanese tanks encountered each other again five kilometers away from the west bank of the Luan River, and a fierce battle immediately broke out.
At 3:05 in the afternoon, the main force of the 1st Japanese Tank Division arrived across the Luanhe River, but the Chinese army retreated without support.
At 3:30 in the afternoon, the main force of the National Army's 4th Armored Division rushed to the battlefield. General Dai Anlan, commander of the 4th Group Army, was determined to use lightning speed to inflict heavy damage on the 1st Tank Division of the Kwantung Army.
The temporary headquarters of the 4th Army in the northern suburbs of Tangshan.
In the Guan Gong Temple, which was temporarily used as a command hall, General Dai Anlan stood as solemnly as a pine tree in front of the map. The operational staff and communication staff of the command headquarters were walking in a hurry, with solemn expressions. The phone was ringing, the telegram was beeping, and the communications troops were calling.
There was a loud sound, and the air was filled with the solemn atmosphere before the war.
Amidst rapid footsteps, General Liao Yaoxiang, Chief of Staff of the 4th Group Army, strode into the command hall.
Without waiting for General Dai Anlan to ask questions, General Liao Yaoxiang said solemnly: "Brother Haiou, the Air Force replied that the weather conditions are so bad that the reconnaissance aircraft cannot take off at all."
General Dai Anlan frowned when he heard this. This was not good news.
According to intelligence, the 1st Front Army of the Kwantung Army stationed near Shanhaiguan should have two tank divisions, but currently there is only one tank division on the west bank of the Luanhe River. Although the performance of the M4 medium tanks equipped by the 4th Armored Division is better
The Type 3 tanks were superior to those equipped by the Japanese army, but if it were one against two, Dai Anlan was really not sure of victory.
After all, the Type 3 tank has been qualitatively improved compared to previous Japanese tanks.
In particular, the 75mm caliber main gun equipped with the Type 3 tank is not inferior to the 76mm caliber main gun of the M4 tank in terms of accuracy, stability, or armor penetration capability. If the Type 3 tank is allowed to go around to the side, it will still be the same.
It can turn an M4 tank into a "Langson" with one shot.
After thinking for a while, Dai Anlan said again: "Where are the several reconnaissance teams sent out? Have they found anything?"
"Nothing was found." Liao Yaoxiang said, "The other chariot division of the little devil is probably not here."
Suddenly a communications staff officer came in and reported: "Commander, the main force of our armored division has encountered a Japanese armored group!"
"Fuck!" Liao Yaoxiang roared viciously, "You don't have to think too much about it now, you're just fucking stupid."
Dai Anlan turned back and ordered in a deep voice: "Order the armored divisions to attack across the board and defeat the enemy on the opposite side!"
"Yes." The communications staff member snapped to attention and immediately took the order.
Shanhaiguan, the headquarters of the 1st Front of the Kwantung Army.
In the small living room of the headquarters, Lieutenant General Mizuo Nakazawa, commander of the 1st Front Army, was playing Go with Neji Okamura.
Okamura Neji took the lead with black, and in the middle of the game, he suddenly made a wonderful move in the upper left corner. White's big dragon was about to be killed by black in one fell swoop. Nakazawa Mizuo immediately fell into a long test.
.
After a long while, Sanfu Nakazawa gave birth to a baby hesitantly.
Nakazawa Mizuo had just settled down when Major General Hattori Akitaro, Chief of Staff of the 1st Front Army, strode into the small living room. He immediately put his feet back and stood at attention and said: "Your Excellency, General, Your Excellency, Commander, the 1st Tank Division has encountered China on the west bank of the Luan River.
Armored Group."
"Hey!" Okamura Neji then picked up a black stone and slapped it hard on the middle plate. For a moment, White's big dragon had no chance of breaking through. Immediately, Okamura Neji pushed up the plank and stood up.
He said to Mitsuo Nakazawa, "Mr. Nakazawa, the way of chess is the way of war. Opportunities often only come in the blink of an eye. You lose."
"Hai, thank you, General, for your teaching." Nakazawa Sanfu suddenly lowered his head and immediately stood up.
Okamura Neiji waved his hand and said: "Nakazawa-kun, it's time to take action on the trump card in your hand."
"Hai." Mitsuo Nakazawa suddenly lowered his head again, and then said to Hattori Akitaro, "Order, the 1st Independent Tank Brigade to attack immediately."
East bank of Luanhe River.
A patch of withered sagebrush suddenly moved strangely.
In the flying dust, the withered wormwood on the canopy arched upward without warning, and then fell apart like waves. Soon hundreds of tanks emerged from the smoke and dust.
When you come out, these tanks are extremely large. The Japanese Type 3 medium tanks look like toys in front of these tanks.
Moreover, the workmanship of these tanks is unmatched by Type 3 tanks.
The most daunting thing is the 88mm caliber main gun installed on these giants. In front of such a caliber main gun, even the thickest front armor of the M4 medium tank can be easily penetrated with one shot! No!
Yes, these giant tanks are the notorious "Tiger" heavy tanks on the European battlefield!
The temporary headquarters of the 4th Army in the northern suburbs of Tangshan.
Battle reports from the front line flowed back to the command hall like water.
"Report, the 3rd Tank Battalion destroyed 4 Japanese tanks, damaged 3 tanks, and one of them completely lost its combat effectiveness."
"Reported that the 1st Tank Battalion destroyed 24 Japanese tanks, and all 24 tanks of the battalion were damaged, 12 of which were completely destroyed, and the power systems of 4 tanks were damaged."
"Report, the 9th Tank Battalion destroyed 9 Japanese tanks and damaged 6."
"Report, the 7th Tank Battalion destroyed 5 Japanese tanks and damaged 7 tanks."
"Report, the 2nd Tank Battalion is low on fuel and is returning to the forward base to refuel."
Every time the communications staff received a battle report, the combat staff gathered in front of the flat map quickly took away the tank models representing the Chinese and Japanese armored groups from the map. Within half an hour of the battle, the tanks of the National Army’s 4th Armored Division
The number has dropped by nearly one-fifth, but the 1st Division of Kwantung Army Tanks has suffered even greater losses.
Liao Yaoxiang struck hard and said to Dai Anlan: "Brother Haiou, according to this situation, even if the other chariot division of the little devil arrives, there is nothing to worry about."
Dai Anlan just shook his head when he heard this. He didn't know why. He always felt a little uneasy. Before the victory was decided on the front line, his hanging heart could not return to his stomach.
West Bank of Luanhe River.
A fierce battle is going on between the 4th Armored Division of the Shine Army and the 1st Tank Division of the Kwantung Army.
Colonel Hu Zhiwen, commander of the 1st Armored Regiment, stared at the sight glass, looking for suitable prey while giving instructions such as steering and acceleration to the driver. The prey soon appeared. Colonel Hu Zhiwen immediately ordered: "
Two o'clock direction, distance 600 yards, move down two spaces, hit!"
"Boom!" The turret shook violently.
When Colonel Hu Zhiwen hurriedly looked through the sight glass, he saw that the Japanese tank at the two o'clock direction was already on fire.
"Good fight!" Colonel Hu Zhiwen waved his fist fiercely. Just when he was about to find the next prey, the driver Zhao Hanwen suddenly shouted in surprise, "Sir, the little devil can't hold it anymore!"
"Huh!?" Colonel Hu Zhiwen turned the turret sharply to look around, and sure enough he found that the Japanese tanks were retreating to both wings.
However, unlike Zhao Hanwen, Colonel Hu Zhiwen was not excited at all, because although the Japanese army suffered a lot in the fierce battle just now, it was far from the edge of collapse. It was obvious that they would take the initiative to retreat to the two wings.
Is there an ulterior motive? Do you want to outflank both wings and then encircle them? That would be too naive!
"Attention all battalions!" Hu Zhiwen immediately yelled into the communicator, "Surge forward at full speed, gather on the ridge in front, then make a large circle to the left and right, and give me a hard poke in the little devil's ass! What a grandma!
Xiong, you can't compete with armor and firepower, but you want to compete with us for mobility? There's no way, hehe."
On the communicator, the battalion commanders responded loudly.
The tank of the 3rd Battalion Commander was the first to charge up the ridge.
Almost at the same time, the slightly panicked voice of the commander of the 3rd Battalion came from Colonel Hu Zhiwen's communicator: "Regiment, there are little Japanese tanks behind the mountain. They are 1,000 yards away. There are at least a hundred of them. Oh my God.
, what kind of tank is this!? When did those stupid little devils get such a big tank!?"
Colonel Hu Zhiwen's heart suddenly sank when he heard this, and he said sternly: "3rd Battalion Commander, what did you say?"
"Regiment leader, we are in big trouble..." The urgent voice of the 3rd Battalion Commander came from the communicator. Before he finished speaking, there was a bang. When Colonel Hu Zhiwen called again, there was no one on the 3rd Battalion Commander's side.
I responded, and when I lifted the top cover and looked up, I saw on the ridge that the tank of the 3rd Battalion Commander had caught fire and exploded.
Suddenly, Colonel Hu Zhiwen's tank also rushed up the mountain ridge.
In an instant, a huge black tank jumped into Colonel Hu Zhiwen's eyes. Colonel Hu Zhiwen suddenly took a breath of air, God, what kind of tank is this!?