Chapter 92: Encounter Battle
Things were indeed as Li Zongren had said: John’s tank company encountered the tankette platoon sent by Seyval Eni at dawn in the eastern suburbs near Teng County.
Morning mist like gauze enveloped the fields outside the eastern suburbs of Teng County.
Qiao Erdan gripped the tank control lever tightly, his hands tense with muscles taut from excessive force.
The tracks crushed over the damp soil, emitting a dull creaking sound. Through the observation window, he saw a metallic glint flashing in the distant bushes… that was the cannon barrel of Japanese tankettes gleaming coldly in the dawn light.
The tank commander John, responsible for observation, suddenly growled: “Ten o’clock direction!”
Before the words had fallen, a shell had already torn through the mist, striking the tank turret directly.
The massive shockwave and impact force caused the advancing Renault FT tank to jolt violently, with a wave of heat carrying debris battering the armor, to the point that Qiao Erdan’s eardrums were buzzing.
He sharply turned the steering, and the tank nimbly spun around, the mud churned up by the tracks splattering on the observation window like ink, blurring the view.
Calls rose and fell over the radio, but Qiao Erdan only heard his own pounding heartbeat. He saw about three hundred meters away, ten Japanese tankettes advancing rapidly in a wedge formation, their cannon muzzles continuously spitting orange-red flames.
The battle thus erupted: ten Type 95 tanks against nine Renault FT tanks.
Strictly speaking, both types of tanks were defined as light tanks by their respective countries, but in reality, the performance difference between the two was quite significant.
The Type 95 light tank had a curb weight of 6.7 tons, a combat weight of 7.4 tons, a crew of 3, and was equipped with a 37 mm Type 98 L/37 tank gun.
Since entering China, this tank had inflicted massive damage on the Chinese army, which lacked anti-tank weapons, due to its speed and flexible mobility.
But today, upon encountering the Renault FT tank, its weakness in armor（the thickest armor only 12 mm）was instantly exposed.
In contrast, the Renault FT tank, with a curb weight of 18.4 tons, did not have thick armor overall, but its turret armor reached 38 mm at least, and its equipped M6 75 mm tank gun had the capability to easily penetrate almost all light tanks in the world even at a distance of one thousand meters.
As soon as the two sides came face to face, three Type 95 tanks were turned into fireballs by the Renault FT tanks’ capped armor-piercing rounds, and one tank even had its turret blown into the air.
As for the Renault FT tanks, even if hit, given the pitiful armor-piercing capability of the 37 mm Type 98 L/37 tank gun equipped on the Type 95 tanks, unless it struck the rear armor plate（19 mm thick）, it was basically impossible to cause significant damage to the Renault FT tanks.
That was not all; when the battle was halfway through, the Japanese tank crews horrifiedly discovered that the Chinese tanks opposite them were also equipped with a large-caliber machine gun（M2 12.7 mm Browning machine gun）.
This machine gun could easily penetrate the armor of their own tankettes at a distance of five hundred meters（the frontal armor of the Type 95 tank was only a pitiful 12 mm.）
Later on, not only the Japanese, but even the Chinese armored soldiers discovered this.
“You…”
Upon realizing this, John forcefully patted the co-driver Zhuang Xiaoman on the right side and shouted loudly: “Get out and use the roof anti-aircraft machine gun to take down those sons of bitches!”
Soon, the turret hatch was flung open, and a scorching metallic smell mixed with gunpowder assaulted the face.
With a clatter, the bolt of the M2 Browning heavy machine gun was pulled back, and Zhuang Xiaoman’s palm, with bulging veins, gripped the machine gun’s handle tightly, aimed at the faintly visible Japanese tanks ahead, and pulled the trigger.
The ammo belt gleamed coldly in the sunlight, jumping wildly with the machine gun’s roar, while scalding shell casings rained down on the armor plate, making crisp clinking sounds.
In the gun smoke, the orange-red muzzle flashes from the opposite Type 95 tanks were visible, and the shrill whistle of shells tearing through the air pierced the eardrums.
The young tank gunner didn’t even notice that he had bitten his lip until it bled, letting the salty bloody taste spread in his mouth.
He mechanically pulled the trigger, not letting go despite the recoil jarring his wrists painfully, his retinas filled with the scarlet trails left by tracer rounds.
Bullets continuously whistled past the turret, but the bloodshot-eyed tank crews ignored them, desperately firing forward.
Even if sparks burned through their uniforms, no one retreated; they only pressed their bodies deeper into the steel cover, as if pouring all the pent-up anger of these years into the gun barrel.
The bullet rain splashed onto the Japanese tanks’ armor, the sparks flying like firecrackers on New Year’s Eve, illuminating young faces drenched in oil and sweat…
From the rear of the tank company at the Sishui River bank, the pontoon bridge swayed slightly in the morning sun, the turbid river water carrying dry branches from upstream, constantly lapping at the temporary pontoon.
Su Yaoyang’s military boots sank into the mud, the hem of his damp uniform soaked with the distinctive fishy moisture of the riverbank. He watched the soldiers quickly crossing the pontoon in teams, feeling extremely anxious.
Since departing from Gaoyou, the troops had gone three straight days without a full night’s sleep.
But what worried him most was still the vanguard unit led by Huang Guantao.
He had just received news last night that the tank company had encountered a Japanese cavalry platoon in Wild Wolf Valley, and after exchanging fire, the Japanese cavalry platoon was annihilated, but no one knew if more Japanese units were rushing over; all he could do was urge the main force to speed up and hurry there.
Unfortunately, a heavy rain yesterday had caused the Sishui River to swell, forcing the engineer company to halt the rear troops and work overnight to reinforce the pontoon, only completing it at dawn, allowing the column to continue; thus, another night’s time was wasted.
But war is like that, always full of all sorts of unexpected events.
“Toot toot toot…”
The dull rumble of truck engines suddenly stopped, kicking up a spray of mud; more than ten Dodge trucks and five or six Sdkfz 251/8 half-track armored ambulances stopped behind Su Yaoyang.
As the convoy halted, doors opened, dozens of military boots thudded heavily onto the muddy ground, followed by a chatter of voices.
“Hurry up… we’ve been on the truck all night, everyone’s exhausted, get off and stretch your legs…”
“Ouch… help me down… my legs are numb…”
“Who stepped on my shoe!”
Accompanied by the chirping voices, Su Yaoyang turned his head and saw that it was the medical team’s convoy that had arrived.
Su Yaoyang narrowed his eyes, watching those slender figures, which couldn’t be concealed even in field uniforms, moving in the misty rain.
A ponytail nurse was hopping on one foot, a clear muddy footprint stamped on her brand-new military boots; she bit her lower lip, her eyes slightly red.
“What are you standing around for? Disperse quickly—those who need to relieve themselves, go; those who need to rest, rest!”
As a crisp shout fell, several little nurses scattered like startled sparrows; it was the head of the medical team, Song Mei, who had arrived.
