pappabearbooks Chapter 173 Arrest of Fumiziro Kawagishi
Chapter 173 Arrest of Fumiziro Kawagishi
Let reading always be a chapter faster than others.
The 20th Army's defense line was breached by Japanese warplanes, resulting in several breaches.
However, these gaps in the defense line were quickly filled by the tanks of Li Jianghe's Third Detachment.
Any Japanese soldiers who tried to break through these gaps were met with machine gun fire and artillery barrage.
Many Japanese soldiers also managed to slip through the gaps between the positions.
Even so, there were still cavalry units hunting them down on the outskirts.
Those were cavalrymen from the 20th Army Group. In positional warfare on the front lines, the role of cavalry is becoming increasingly smaller.
However, this kind of pursuit warfare is a combat mode that cavalry prefers.
As they galloped on horseback, the sabers flashed with a cold light, and with a single downward slash, the Japanese soldiers were torn apart or their heads rolled to the ground.
Kawagishi Bunzaburo, riding in an armored vehicle, broke through the encirclement under the cover of a company of Japanese soldiers.
Through the observation port of the armored vehicle, he could see the 20th Army's defensive line, ravaged by fighter jets, littered with corpses.
There were Japanese soldiers and Nationalist soldiers.
Those were Japanese troops who had just broken through the encirclement and died in fierce fighting with the National Revolutionary Army.
Fumizaburo Kawagishi did not participate in the breakout from the very beginning.
He knew very well that the first group to break through were cannon fodder.
The enemy's morale will also be exhausted in the fierce battle.
Only by breaking through at this point can one guarantee their survival rate.
As it turned out, his thinking wasn't too wrong. At least after advancing to this position, Kawagishi Bunzaburo's tank squadron hadn't encountered too much resistance.
About five kilometers ahead, their team should be able to break out from here.
Once he reunited with the Japanese 38th Division, Kawagishi Bunzaburo would have escaped with his life.
Just as this Japanese tank squadron was rapidly advancing north of Teng County, a pair of cold eyes were fixed on Kawagishi Bunzaburo and his troops.
Qi Sanli lowered his binoculars; he had already spotted the presence of that Japanese unit.
As the battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Motorized Infantry Battalion, Qi Sanli was leading his tank troops in pursuit and interception of the Japanese army.
They have been fighting continuously for almost a whole day, and now the troops are resting in this forest.
The sight of a Japanese tank squadron advancing not far away made Qi Sanli realize that there must be a big fish among them.
They broke through so late, and it was a tank unit at that; there might even be high-ranking Japanese officers inside.
"Everyone... listen to my orders, let's... let's wipe out these Japanese devils."
Qi Sanli spoke with a slight stutter, and this stuttering became more pronounced during battles.
However, the soldiers seemed to be used to it. Basically, before Qi Sanli could finish speaking, they would start moving.
The soldiers boarded the tanks, started the engines, and then split into two groups, maneuvering in both directions towards the Japanese army.
These Japanese tanks were less mobile than the half-tracks equipped by the Third Detachment. Even in off-road combat, the Japanese tanks were outpaced.
As the tank squadron led by Fumizaburo Kawagishi was moving, an explosion suddenly occurred.
Before he could react, he saw a flash of light from an explosion, and a Japanese Type 97 medium tank that was clearing the way exploded not far ahead.
The Type 97 medium tank was considered a relatively advanced tank by the Japanese army. Its frontal armor was about 25mm thick, which was not very thick, but its side armor plates were even thinner.
So this 37mm armor-piercing anti-tank gun shell actually penetrated the Japanese tank from the side and exploded inside the tank's driver's compartment.
The metal jets generated by the explosion tore the bodies of the Japanese crew members inside the cockpit apart.
"ah!!!!"
The screams continued, then abruptly stopped.
At that moment, another shell hit, causing a secondary explosion inside the tank, which blew the entire tank apart.
"Enemy tank force!!!"
Inside the armored vehicle, Chief of Staff Hisazo Kinemura shouted.
"Order the troops not to linger in battle, continue the breakout!!!"
Kawagishi Bunzaburo issued the order without hesitation.
He knew all too well that once his tanks were entangled with even a small enemy tank unit, it would be almost impossible for them to escape.
There are too many enemy tanks in the area, and the enemy's communication capabilities are very advanced; companies can contact each other and share intelligence and information.
Therefore, this enemy force will inevitably call for more reinforcements to arrive here, at which point they will have no way to escape.
From the woods on the side, Qi Sanli commanded his tank group to attack the Japanese army from both flanks, effectively cutting off their retreat routes.
Artillery and machine guns roared simultaneously, and some shells hit Japanese armored vehicles, some hit Japanese tanks, and some blasted the accompanying infantry into the air.
Although the Japanese tanks did not want to engage in prolonged combat, they were now completely blocked from the front and rear, leaving them no choice but to hastily engage in battle.
"Boom! Boom!!!"
The two sides exchanged fire continuously, suffering losses on both sides. However, the number of tanks in a tank battalion of the Third Detachment was more than twice that of the Japanese tank company.
In terms of firepower, they achieved an absolute crushing advantage over Japanese tanks.
The armored vehicle carrying Bunzaburo Kawagishi, under the cover of numerous Japanese tanks, finally broke through.
However, most of those Japanese tanks were destroyed.
"Faster!!! Faster!!!"
Kawagishi Bunzaburo urged anxiously, but the Japanese armored vehicles only had so much horsepower, and even with the accelerator floored, they could only go so fast.
Qi Sanli picked up the binoculars again and stammered:
"You damned Japanese devils trying to escape! Chase after them! Beat them to death!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he ordered his command vehicle to also follow and pursue.
Seven or eight M3 armored tracked vehicles, modified into tanks, charged out and pursued the fleeing Japanese tanks.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!"
Shells continued to rain down on the armored vehicle carrying Fumizaburo Kawagishi, until finally a loud explosion was heard.
One of the cannons fired a 37mm shell that hit the rear wheel of a Japanese tank directly.
The armored vehicle, which was speeding along, suddenly overturned to the side.
"Chase them!!! Chase after them!!!"
Qi Sanli became excited and patted the driver on the shoulder, shouting.
Kawagishi Bunzaburo was badly injured in the fall inside the vehicle. He struggled to get up and found that the tank driver's head had hit a metal plate on the side, his brains were splattered, and he was already dead.
"Baka!!!"
He cursed under his breath, opened the hatch, and tried to climb out of the car.
As soon as he climbed out, Kawagishi Bunzaburo saw a line of tanks surrounding him.
At this moment, Kichimura Kyuzo also crawled out and saw the chariots that surrounded them, and he froze on the spot.