diymy Chapter 77 Tank Units, Japanese Conspiracy
Chapter 77 Tank Units, Japanese Conspiracy
Well, this is an occupational hazard.
Li Jianghe was also helpless and could only say:
"Okay, but don't call me 'sir' next time, or I'm worried the Japanese snipers will hear me and start targeting me."
Bai Chengshan chuckled and said:
"Okay, sir, I promise I won't shout it next time."
After he finished speaking, he was led by the soldiers to the supply depot.
"Commander Song, tomorrow night, I plan to lead my troops in a frontal breakout. Will you break out with us, or cross the river at Xiaguan?"
Li Jianghe asked.
He knew very well that the Xiaguan Wharf now needed Song Xilian's troops to maintain basic order; otherwise, such a high efficiency in crossing the river would never have been possible.
After all, when people are crowded together, there is no order to speak of. If no one organizes the crossing, the efficiency of crossing the river will be greatly reduced.
Song Xilian then said:
"We'll see. If we can't cross the river, I'll bring my troops to find you."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Jianghe and said:
"Jiang He, don't call me Commander Song anymore, just call me Brother Song."
"Yes, Brother Song."
Li Jianghe responded.
After Song Xilian left, Li Jianghe went to the supply depot.
At this moment, Bai Chengshan was taking stock of the replenished ammunition and the fuel that had just been brought over.
His eyes widened at the sight, because with fuel and ammunition, they could continue killing the Japanese.
"Company Commander Bai, where is the tank now? Could you take me there to see it?"
Li Jianghe asked.
"Not far, just at the foot of the city wall."
Bai Chengshan readily agreed.
With replenished fuel and ammunition, they quickly arrived at the location of the tank company.
Originally, a total of 15 tanks were deployed to Nanjing, but many were lost in the battles against the Japanese outside the city, leaving only 8 still operational.
"It's all here."
Bai Chengshan pointed forward, and Li Jianghe saw that most of the tank soldiers were short and stocky, with very few exceeding 1.7 meters in height.
The Panzer I was a light tank with a rather cramped interior; it would be difficult for a tall person to move around inside.
On the contrary, shorter soldiers have more freedom of movement inside.
"Brothers, this is Commander Li of the Provisional Third Regiment. From now on, we will obey his orders and continue to fight the Japanese with him."
Bai Chengshan explained.
He hadn't listened to any of Li Jianghe's previous arrangements.
"Greetings, Commander Li."
These dozens of tank soldiers had incredibly loud voices, each one louder than the last, and their shouts alone gave off the aura of over a hundred people.
They knew Li Jianghe, after all, during previous battles, Li Jianghe frequently appeared in the battle reports from various regions, and each time he was reported to have annihilated a large number of Japanese troops.
Regardless of whether those numbers are inflated or not, it at least shows that this person is truly skilled in combat.
Therefore, when these soldiers looked at Li Jianghe, their eyes were filled with admiration.
After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, Li Jianghe's gaze fell upon the tank.
This is the German Panzer I, which the Nationalist government purchased from the Germans last year. There were 16 of them in total, and most of them were lost in Nanjing.
Its manufacturer could be Krupp or Daimler-Benz.
It is equipped with two MG13 machine guns and weighs only a little over five tons.
It uses a Type A air-cooled diesel engine with a maximum speed of 37 kilometers per hour. Overall, its performance is rather outdated.
However, Li Jianghe is not picky about food, since he currently has no way to purchase weapons like armored vehicles.
If these are used as a precursor, the breakout operation will definitely be much more effective than the previous assault using trucks and motorcycles.
Previously, they did not have tanks or armored vehicles, so they could only use motorcycles and trucks to charge, and then jump off the vehicles to fight the Japanese.
With their large arsenal of submachine guns, they can gain a certain advantage in close combat.
After seeing these tanks, Li Jianghe found Baicheng Mountain Road:
"The tanks look to be in good condition. They'll definitely kill a lot of Japanese soldiers on the battlefield."
"When will we join the war?"
Bai Chengshan asked somewhat anxiously.
"Well... what you need to do now is conserve your energy. I'll let you know when I need you."
Li Jianghe said to Bai Chengshan.
"Huh? We can't join the war now?"
Bai Chengshan was somewhat puzzled, but he still chose to obey Li Jianghe's orders.
"Commander, I obey orders, but I have to say something from the heart on behalf of the brothers. Don't think that our tank unit is too precious to use."
"Didn't the Party and the State train us so that we could kill more Japanese devils on the battlefield at times like this?"
"Don't worry, we'll let you kill the Japanese devils, not now."
Li Jianghe said this.
These eight tanks will be invaluable in future breakout operations, so Li Jianghe naturally couldn't bear to lose them all in urban warfare.
Although the Japanese soldiers on the other side were relatively lacking in individual anti-tank weapons, they later invented the "spiking mine," an incredible anti-tank weapon, and promoted its use in the army. The Japanese soldiers' ability to demolish at close range was truly capable of destroying these tanks.
"Alright, I'll obey orders. Anyway, with these diesel fuels and ammunition, we'll have the confidence."
As Bai Chengshan spoke, a somewhat simple and honest smile appeared on his face again.
That night, there was no movement from the Sixth Division, but Li Jianghe could sense that the enemy was definitely planning a larger-scale attack.
Previously, the Japanese army's attacks were not coordinated or unified.
For example, sometimes the attack was on Guanghua Gate, sometimes on Zhonghua Gate, and sometimes it was launched from the direction of Zhongshan Gate.
This gave Li Jianghe time to allocate his troops effectively.
He could adjust his forces and firepower to the direction the Japanese attacked, and he could always hold off their advance.
He thought to himself that if the Japanese had any brains, they would definitely gather together tonight to discuss a plan to launch a simultaneous attack from multiple directions.
In the 6th Division headquarters, several division commanders stood there.
Tani Hisao glanced at everyone and said, "Gentlemen, you should all know the situation in the city now. There is a stubborn Nationalist army force that is still hindering our occupation of this city."
Commander Shigeharu Suematsu of the 114th Division slammed his hand on the table and said:
"Li Jianghe, his troops are the core. Without his troops, these Chinese troops would have been directly defeated by us long ago."