章 116: 116
While Germany was adding to its finances the money it had made from the toy trade,
The self-proclaimed invincible imperial army had a hard time in the jungles of Indochina.
"Captain, the pigtails are coming!"
"good. Everyone prepare for battle!"
At the beginning of the invasion, the Japanese army, which was advancing inland by rapidly capturing Hanoi and Saigon one after another, soon encountered French cavalry that was incomparable to them.
Although the French cavalry suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Germans, they were by no means easy against the Japanese.
"Kwaaaah!!!"
The 'Chiro', 'Hago', and 'Chiha' owned by the Japanese army were no match for the French tanks.
The Hotchkiss H35, which deflected the 37mm shell fired by Hago, ignited its main gun and was simply engulfed in flames.
The tank commander escaped from the tank engulfed in flames, screaming, but was hit by a machine gun and turned into a beehive.
As the tanks exploded like a rice cooker, the panicked Japanese army deployed its secret weapon, the Type 3 tank. However, even the trusted Type 3 tank was no match for the French tanks.
-Kang!
"It bounced!"
"Why are there all these guys?"
The power of the 37mm armor-piercing shell mounted on the Type 3 tank was the same as that of the Ha-go, so it was natural that it could not penetrate the armor of the Hotchkiss H35.
Fortunately, the Type 3 tank had 50mm of frontal armor, so it was able to deflect shells fired by the Hotchkiss H35.
"He can't do anything to us on these streets! Get closer and deal with it. "Move forward!"
"All right!"
The Somua S35 appeared in front of the Type 3 tank that was in close combat with the Hotchkiss H35.
Unlike the 37mm main gun of the Hotchkiss H35, the 47mm main gun of the Somua S35 penetrated the frontal armor of a Type 3 tank like a sheet of paper.
Flames erupted from the Type 3 tank whose frontal armor had been pierced, and tank crews covered in blood crawled out of the hatch.
Three Type 3 tanks fired simultaneously at Somua S35, but all the shells ricocheted. The Japanese army was astonished.
"Driver, move forward! Step on everything!"
As the company commander's tank advanced, the tanks under his command also advanced one after another, firing their main guns and firing machine guns.
For the Japanese army, which could not handle even light tanks such as Hotchkiss H35 and Renault R35, the Shar B1 bis heavy tank was a rolling disaster.
"Shoot, shoot!"
"Even if you keep shooting, the shells bounce back!"
"You idiot! Then shoot it into orbit! So that he can't move-"
As the shells bounced off one after another, the Shar B1 bis rushed towards the panicked Japanese anti-tank artillerymen and crushed the enemies whole with the anti-tank guns.
The officer, who was swinging a Japanese sword he had never used in the air and scolding his subordinates, was crushed by the tracks of an advancing tank.
The soldiers who barely escaped being crushed by the tracks froze in shock and then turned into beehives under the barrage of machine guns from the AMR-33s.
The Japanese army fell like fallen leaves in a cold wind before the power of the heavy tanks that advanced forward, blocking their path like golems from mythology.
***
The National Revolutionary Army's Type 50 tank was a weapon specialized only for defensive warfare, but thanks to its long range and relatively strong firepower, it was loved by the National Revolutionary Army and hated and feared by the Japanese military.
To the Japanese army, which was struggling against the Type 50 tank, the French tanks were more of a shock than the Type 50 tank.
The Type 50 tank had almost no defense, so it was not difficult to destroy it if you could determine its location, but this was not the case with French tanks.
The heavily armored French tanks blocked all attacks and trampled the attacking Japanese troops, who were quite shocked at the fact that their weapons were useless.
"Even the Type 3 tank I trusted is no match for me... ."
"What about the German army that defeated the French army with such monstrous tanks in 4 weeks… ."
"When you're just admiring it right now? "It looks like our heads are about to fly off."
"But the good news is that we have air superiority. By mobilizing air power-"
Although the damage caused by French tanks was unexpected, the situation was still favorable to the Japanese army.
Unlike the Army, the French Air Force was no match for the Japanese Army and Navy Air Force.
The main force of the French Air Force stationed in Indochina consisted of many out-of-date biplanes, and even the few monoplanes, the D.500, were far behind in performance compared to the Japanese military's Type 96, Type 97, and Type 1 fighters.
In addition, Japanese military pilots are veterans with four years of combat experience in China.
A week after the invasion of Indochina began, French fighter planes disappeared from the sky.
Since the Japanese army had air superiority, the French army's fighting efforts soon had no choice but to reach its limit.
The Japanese army used its superior air power to block the movement of the French army, and the French army, which was tied down, was surrounded by the Japanese army in the meantime.
"Tenno Heika Banzai!"
"Banzai!"
Char B1 bis, which was responding with bullets and shells to the charging Japanese troops shouting 'Long live His Majesty the Emperor', suddenly exploded and spewed out orange flames.
The Japanese army organized and deployed special forces to deal with heavily armored French tanks.
The commando's mission was to carry bombs and rush into enemy tanks to destroy them.
The anti-tank self-detonation group, which started with the brilliant idea that if you can kill an enemy tank with the sacrifice of one soldier, it will be a profitable business, crawled under the tank and detonated the bomb.
In order for a soldier carrying a bomb to approach an enemy tank, dozens of soldiers were needed to attract the tank's attention, so technically, dozens of soldiers had to be sacrificed to catch one tank, but the Japanese army did not care much.
No matter how many people die, all you have to do is destroy the tank, which is your biggest enemy.
"Kill them all! "Don't leave a single person alive!"
Tankers escaping from the burning tank were brutally stabbed to death by the Japanese bayonets.
Surrender did not change the outcome. There was no surrender to the Japanese army. They pulled the trigger at the surrendering soldiers and swung their Japanese swords, ending their lives.
By the end of June, the Japanese army had succeeded in taking control of almost all of Indochina.
There were many reasons for the French army's defeat, but the betrayal of colonial soldiers also played a large role.
Many of the French troops stationed in Indochina were Vietnamese and Cambodian, and they thought it would be a better option to surrender to the Japanese soldiers, who were also Asian, rather than the French, who discriminated against them.
Based on information obtained from colonial soldiers who surrendered to the Japanese army, the Japanese army defeated the French army one by one.
No matter how excellent the weapon was, it was impossible to identify its weaknesses and withstand the enemy forces coming from all directions.
The remaining French troops fled to China, Thailand, and Burma, abandoning the heavy equipment that hindered their retreat.
Although the Japanese army achieved victory, the damage could never be ignored. In particular, the fact that domestically produced tanks were defeated in a tank battle with French tanks was beyond humiliating and left a huge shock.
However, the Japanese military did not know that the real shock was just beginning.
***
July 1, 1941
Hunan Province, China
"Tank, advance!"
"from now on!"
The No. 4 Tanks and Hatchers, purchased by China from Germany and crewed by tankers trained by German military advisors, were put into combat for the first time on this day.
However, not all tanks were driven by National Revolutionary Army soldiers.
As this was the first actual battle, 'kind young men from Germany' boarded some tanks and gave demonstrations to the soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army.
As the National Revolutionary Army's tanks rushed in, the Japanese immediately responded with machine guns.
Until now, the National Revolutionary Army had rarely, if ever, launched an offensive using tanks, so the Japanese army only brought machine guns to the defensive line.
There was not a single anti-tank gun or mountain gun.
"It looks like there are only machine guns on the defense line."
A German tank commander who was part of the military advisory group in China laughed at the Japanese soldiers who returned fire with machine guns. Trying to stop a tank with nothing more than a machine gun? There are no such thing as primitive people.
"Feed grenade to the monkeys who eat raw fish. "Load grenades!"
"Load grenades!"
A 75mm grenade entered the chamber, and the gunner turned the turret toward the Japanese machine gun position.
"Loaded!"
"Aim complete!"
"launch!"
The Japanese army's machine gun position was blown away without a trace by a barrage of 75mm grenades.
As the lead tank opened fire, the other tanks also opened fire at the same time. When a grenade destroyed a machine gun emplacement, the machine gun on the front of the vehicle rotated and spewed bullets.
"Forward, forward!"
Due to the offensive of the National Revolutionary Army led by German tanks, the Japanese army's defense line collapsed like a sandcastle kicked in.
"It's urgent! "The 22nd Regiment's defense line has been breached by the Jina Army!"
"what???"
The division commander, who was drinking with his staff, questioned the adjutant's report as if it were absurd.
It's hard to believe that they, who have been busy defending until now, suddenly went on the offensive, much less that the front line was breached?
"Are you saying that the defense line was breached after barely passing by? "As far as I know, the 22nd Regiment is the regiment with the most major achievements in our division?"
"It is said that the Jina army has been attacking with new tanks."
"If it's a new tank, do you mean the Type 50 tank?"
"It's not a Type 50 tank. "It looks similar to the Imperial Army's Type 3 tank, but it is said to be equipped with a larger and more powerful cannon."
It did not take long for the Japanese military to realize that the new tank mobilized by the National Revolutionary Army was the German-made Panzer 4.
The single-digit number of Panzer 4 tanks alone was enough to rip through the Japanese army's defense lines.
At first, the Japanese military thought that the enemy had captured a Type 3 tank and was using it.
But when I looked closer, I saw that wasn't the case. It was armed with a larger and longer main gun than a Type 3 tank, and had square iron plates on both sides of the turret and hull.
To block the advance of the National Revolutionary Army, the Japanese army deployed Hago and Chiha.
Naturally, the two tanks were no match for the Panzer 4 and the Hatcher.
The National Revolutionary Army did not lose a single tank while the 20 Chi-ha and Ha-go that exchanged fire with German tanks were reduced to scrap metal.
"That is a monster! "It's a monster!"
"Run away!"
"God, what is that…" .!"
As all the tanks turned into piles of scrap metal, the Japanese army, desperate, brought in a Type 41 mountain gun. This was an appropriate choice because it was judged impossible to block the No. 4 tank with a Type 94 rapid-fire gun like the main gun mounted on the Hago.
Since the Type 41 mountain gun was a license-produced version of the Krupp M08 mountain gun used by the German Empire in World War I, Japan was in a situation where it was opposing German-made weapons with weapons originating in Germany.
"The tank is coming!"
"Keep in mind. You must subdue the enemy with a single blow. If we don't, we'll all die."
As Panzer 4 approached, the gunner fired the Type 41 scatter gun. As soon as the heavy gunfire reached my ears, a series of impact sounds shook my eardrums.
The right track of the No. 4 tank hit by a Type 90 grenade was cut off, causing the tank to lose mobility and come to a halt.
The driver was injured by the impact and the bulletproof glass of the observation window on the front of the vehicle was cracked, but that was the end of the damage.
The Japanese artillerymen shouted in astonishment when they saw the turret of Panzer 4 rotating.
"Well, that guy is still alive!?"
"Reload!"
If it had been an armor-piercing grenade rather than a grenade, the results would have been different, but since we had never fought an anti-tank battle before, the only type of ammunition available was grenades.
When the 75mm grenade landed on the Type 41 mountain gun, intense flames tore the bodies of the artillerymen to pieces.
***
The first appearance of German tanks ended with great success.
The tanks successfully overran the Japanese army's defense line and returned safely to their base, and although there were some injuries, no one was killed.
Although it was a bit difficult to tow a tank whose tracks had been broken due to a surprise attack by a Type 41 mountain gun, they were still able to safely recover the tank and return.
After receiving reports of the first deployment of German tanks, Chiang Kai-shek called Falkenhausen to his official residence and toasted him.
Although it was an absurdly small victory to change the situation of the war, Chiang Kai-shek could not hide his joy because it was the first time for the National Revolutionary Army to inflict significant damage on the Japanese army with such small casualties.
"As expected, the performance of German tanks is amazing. "I think I understand why Germany conquered Europe in one year."
While Chiang Kai-shek was enjoying the joy in Chongqing, the Japanese army was shaken as it lost over a thousand infantry, 20 tanks, and three artillery pieces in a single battle.
Even before the shock of dealing with French tanks in Indochina had subsided, we were hit hard by German tanks.
The headquarters immediately entered into a countermeasures meeting. In fact, he had been defeated or suffered one-sided damage in battle several times, but it was too serious an issue to blame on simple bad luck or an incompetent commander.
"It's the same in Indochina, and it's clear that the Imperial Army's tanks are compared to the tanks of great powers such as Germany and France."
"Even in Nomonhan, the imperial tanks were brutally slaughtered by the Soviet army's tanks."
In the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, we had already witnessed the sight of Japanese tanks being one-sidedly destroyed by Soviet tanks.
However, Japan, busy hiding the crushing defeat of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, deliberately ignored reports that the performance of its tanks needed to be improved.
What is important is not the performance of the tank. It's mental strength! The gap in tank performance can be made up with the spirit of Yamato!
No one could change Daebonyoung's firm will, which can be summarized as the mentality of a battle-ridden battle, and as a result, Japan's tanks ended up repeating the same steps.
However, this did not mean that they were completely sitting on their hands, so there were some efforts made, such as mass producing and deploying Type 3 tanks, but the limitations of the Type 3 tank that was so trusted were clearly revealed.
Now that the headquarters has finally faced reality, it has begun improving the performance of its tanks.
And, there was another issue as important as the improvement of tanks.
"Everyone knows that Zina exports minerals to Germany, and Germany supplies weapons to Zina. "Also, exchanges between Germany and China are taking place via the Soviet Union."
"If we are to stop Zina from importing weapons from Germany, the cooperation of the Soviet Union is absolutely necessary."
"But will the Soviet Union listen to us?"
Ever since Japan signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, it had been continuously requesting that the Soviet Union close its borders with China.
However, the Soviet Union repeatedly rejected Japan's requests, citing worsening relations with Germany and China as the reason.
"But you can't just suck your fingers like this."
There is a small possibility that the Soviet Union will meekly accept Japan's demands, but it makes even less sense to just sit back and watch.
If exchanges between China and Germany could not be prevented, Japan could never have conquered China.
In the end, there is only one conclusion.
Do whatever it takes to change the mind of the Soviet Union. Only then can Japan win the war.
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