Chapter 9: Cadre Training Unit
The streets full of rubble wound and extended, with the crimson sunset casting mottled light and shadows through the broken buildings.
Scattered around were the remains ravaged by artillery fire, broken bricks, twisted metal, and overgrown weeds, forming a suffocating yet incredibly real scene. The air was filled with the thick smell of gunpowder, as if telling the tragic story of this city.
In one corner, several ragged corpses lay quietly in a dusty, muddy alley, many of their bodies torn apart, with blood soaking everything around them.
On these streets full of ruins and rubble, a small squad of soldiers wearing German-style uniforms and holding German-style rifles quickly shuttled through the rubble-filled streets. Accompanied by a gunshot from ahead, everyone scattered to find cover without waiting for the commander’s order, the whole process taking only two or three seconds, showing that this small unit was absolutely a well-trained elite force.
“Bang… bang bang…”
Accompanied by sporadic gunshots, a group of black figures appeared from the city gate ahead, desperately sprinting toward their position, while behind them came intermittent gunshots and bursts of excited roars like wild beasts.
When the group of black figures got closer, the soldiers discovered they were actually a group of thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girls, carrying large and small bags as they desperately ran toward them.
They also noticed that among these girls was a boy wearing round glasses and a skullcap.
Seeing this group of girls running toward them and the Japanese soldiers behind them chasing and laughing maniacally, all the soldiers fell silent.
The leading officer, wearing the rank of major, thought for a moment, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, and said in a deep voice: “Xu Dapeng, take a few men to the flank, prepare to fire!”
After the major spoke, there was no response for a while. He turned his head, his sharp gaze fixed on a lieutenant behind him, and angrily said: “Damn it… are you deaf!”
The man squatting in the back, holding a Bren light machine gun in his arms, paused slightly and said bitterly: “Instructor Li, the training team only has these last dozen brothers left… We’re just one step away from getting out of the city.”
Instructor Li fell silent for a moment, then gripped his Type 24（ Zhongzheng） rifle equipped with a scope tightly, and faintly spat out one word from his mouth: “Fire!”
A trace of reluctance flashed in Xu Dapeng’s eyes, mixed with a hint of determination, and he finally just said: “Yes!”
After saying that, he took three men and ran into a building on the left side.
At this time, the group of girls in blue-gray long robes ran slower and slower, several of them even fell, but after being helped up by their companions, they still gritted their teeth and staggered onward.
Behind them, the Japanese soldiers had actually caught up, but they didn’t fire, instead laughing lewdly like cats playing with a mouse.
Soon, a Japanese soldier caught up to the last girl running, grabbed her hand carrying the box, and the girl screamed as she flung her hand hard. The box woven with rattan flew into the air and fell, perfectly blocking the Japanese soldier’s face.
At the same time, Instructor Li, who had been prepared for a long time, pulled the trigger.
“Bang…”
Accompanied by the distinctive muffled sound of the Zhongzheng rifle, a 7.92×57mm full-power rifle bullet pierced through the rattan box at 755 meters per second and struck the Japanese soldier’s neck.
With the splashing blood, the Japanese soldier fell heavily backward without any chance to react, his face still retaining that ferocious grin even in death.
“Bang…”
Immediately after, another 7.92mm bullet hit another Japanese soldier nearby, and then dense gunfire rang out from the buildings on both sides of the street.
Bren light machine gun, Mauser 98K, and MP18 submachine gun all opened fire together. In an instant, more than ten Japanese soldiers who had caught up were mostly killed or wounded, and the remaining two fled in panic.
Bren light machine gun
MP18 submachine gun
As the Japanese retreated, the group of girls passed by Instructor Li and his men. As they ran past, they all looked at these ragged soldiers with astonished gazes, while the soldiers responded with calm looks.
After all the girls had gone far away, Instructor Li said in a deep voice: “Move!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers responded affirmatively, stood up from cover one after another, and were about to set off again when a burst of bullets hit two soldiers who had just stood up from cover. The two fell silently into pools of blood, and the remaining soldiers hurriedly hid back in cover upon seeing this.
Accompanied by machine gun fire, a Type 94 light tank emerged from the city gate tunnel, escorted by a group of Japanese holding Type 38 rifles. The 6.5mm machine gun on its turret was madly spitting flames toward them, and behind this tank followed two more of the same model and a large group of Japanese soldiers.
Type 94 tank
Although Instructor Li and the training team soldiers fired desperately, their bullets only sparked on the tank without any effect.
Seeing this, Instructor Li could only lead the remaining soldiers to withdraw while firing. They hid in a cluster of ruins, while several soldiers wrapped their bodies with grenades, climbed onto the roof, and prepared to use their bodies as bombs to destroy the tank.
The Japanese tank kept chasing behind. Just as the Type 94 tank was desperately firing at the training team soldiers on the rooftop, an especially muffled and huge sound rang out not far away.
The machine gun that had been spitting flames suddenly stopped firing.
“Bang…”
Another huge gunshot rang out, and the Type 94 tank, which had been twisting around, shook like it had malaria and then stalled.
Seeing the Japanese tank knocked out by the sudden firepower, Instructor Li and the training team soldiers were overjoyed and intensified their fire.
Without the support of the Type 94 tank, the remaining Japanese were pinned in the middle of the street, suffering heavy casualties without cover, and had no choice but to withdraw.
As they withdrew, another two Type 94 tanks appeared on the dusty street.
Seeing the two additional Type 94 tanks, all the training team soldiers showed despair in their eyes.
This tank’s full name is Type 94 ultralight tank, known by later military enthusiasts as the bean tank.
The entire crew consists of only two people, equipped with only one Type 91 6.5mm machine gun or 7.7mm machine gun, combat weight 3.45 tons, frontal armor 12mm（ riveted steel plate）.
This tank’s role in the Japanese army was reconnaissance, liaison, alert, and pursuit, but such an unassuming small tank unexpectedly exerted unimaginable power in the invasion of China.
Chinese soldiers equipped only with light weapons had no way to deal with this tank and could only rely on soldiers wrapped in explosives to destroy it through mutual destruction.
