The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Fortunately, the lens of the commander's periscope was still clean. Zhang Chi felt slightly relieved. At least he could still observe the battlefield.

He quickly scanned the battlefield and noticed that 800 meters behind the battlefield, two Japanese Type 2 medium tanks and two Type 2 light tanks were approaching this side while firing at this side.

At a distance of 800 meters, the Japanese artillery shells were all shot away as expected.

However, Zhang Chi's LVT-A1 tanks only had 12mm of armor on the front, making them vulnerable to the Type 97 Kai's 47mm Type 1 tank gun, which had a 58mm penetration at a distance of 1,000 meters. (Zhang Chi mistakenly identified the two Type 97 medium tanks as Type 97 Kai medium tanks.)

Therefore, he was not prepared to stay where he was and engage in a head-on artillery battle with the Japanese medium tanks.

He quickly ordered: "Mallard No. 2 will accompany my vehicle and reverse into the depths of the rainforest to continue attracting the enemy's medium tanks. Vehicles No. 3 and No. 4 will begin to execute the detour as planned."

"Boom - boom -"

The Japanese artillery shells continued to fire into the rainforest, and flying shrapnel, dirt, and branches hit the armor of the LVT-A1 tank from time to time, and the vibration continued to be felt.

After a while, Zhang Chi in the turret vaguely felt the sound of artillery gradually fading away, and he realized that the tank had retreated into the depths of the rainforest.

Now he could not see the situation on the road at all. He could only ask the driver to reverse while directing cars No. 3 and No. 4 through the radio.

"Mallard cars No. 3 and No. 4, report your situation." Zhang Chi's voice was full of urgency.

"This is Mallard No. 3. We are circling the bushes at the edge of the road. The Japanese medium tanks haven't noticed us and are still firing in the direction of your vehicle, No. 1."

"This is Mallard No. 4. My vehicle is following No. 3 and is making a detour. We will soon appear behind the Japanese medium tank."

Responses from cars No. 3 and No. 4 came one after another over the radio.

Hearing that everything went well, Zhang Chi finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension in his heart eased a little.

After a few minutes of anxious waiting, the voice of the driver of car No. 3 was heard again on the radio.

"This is Mallard No. 3. We're 200 meters behind the Japanese Type 97 medium tank. Should we open fire?"

"Where is car number 4?" Zhang Chi asked immediately, his heart tightening again.

"This is Mallard No. 4. My car has a good shooting field of view. The sight is full of the rear ends of Japanese cars. Please give orders!" The reply from car No. 4 made him feel warm in his heart.

"Open fire, open fire! Give priority to destroying the Japanese medium tanks." Zhang Chi gave the order immediately, his heart full of anticipation for the outcome of the next battle.

At this moment, "Ding!" A harsh friction sound interrupted his command.

Zhang Chi suddenly realized that a shell had brushed past the edge of the turret or the vehicle body, causing such a harsh sound of steel friction.

He had an ominous premonition in his mind, so he quickly put his eyes to the driver's mirror to observe.

As a result, a Japanese tank appeared in the commander's sight, which scared him a lot.

"The Japanese Type 95 tank is at the 11 o'clock position, behind the bushes, 300 meters away. Vehicle No. 2, open fire!" Zhang Chi shouted, panic rising in his heart.

He didn't expect that the last of the four leading Japanese tanks, a Type 95 light tank, had quietly chased into the rainforest.

The rainforest had blocked his view and prevented him from spotting the tank in time. Now his gunner's sight was obscured, and he could only hope for the "rescue" of vehicle No. 2.

On the other side, car No. 2, which received the order, did not disappoint Zhang Chi.

The driver of vehicle No. 2 pushed the joystick hard, and the LVT-A1 tank immediately switched from reverse to forward gear, rushing directly in front of Zhang Chi's vehicle No. 1 from the right rear, bravely using its own body to protect its commander.

Then, the No. 2 vehicle and the Japanese Type 95 tank started a "Western cowboy-style" exchange of fire. Both vehicles were equipped with 37mm main guns and the frontal armor was only 9-12mm.

"Boom - boom -"

The two vehicles opened fire almost at the same time, and the flames and roars intertwined.

The right front guide wheel of vehicle No. 2 was directly destroyed by the Japanese artillery shells, and it lost its ability to move.

The Japanese Type 95 tank was hit on the turret ring, and the warhead of the 37mm armor-piercing bullet directly jammed the turret's rotating mechanism.

The three Japanese crew members did not want to sit and wait for death, so they opened the hatch, abandoned the car and fled, trying to escape under the cover of the rainforest.

However, the coaxial machine gun of vehicle No. 2 did not give them a chance. It fired a burst of gunfire, killing all three devils. The sound of gunfire and screams suddenly echoed in the rainforest.

On the other side, Zhang Chi took advantage of this time and ventured out of the car, using a handkerchief to wipe off the mud stuck on the objective lens of the gunner's sight, thus restoring the combat capability of vehicle No. 1.

"Car No. 2? Car No. 2, please report the damage quickly!" He climbed back into the turret and called anxiously on the radio, his heart full of worry.

"Ahem, car No. 2 was hit by a bullet. The driver was slightly injured, but we have lost the ability to move. Should we abandon the car?" There was a hint of helplessness in the voice of the captain of car No. 2.

Zhang Chi fell silent. He needed to wait for the battle results of cars 3 and 4 before making the next decision.

-----

"Boom - boom -"

Cars No. 3 and No. 4, which had left the rainforest and driven onto the road, aimed at the Type 97 medium tank at the rear of the Japanese team and opened fire continuously.

Facing the high-speed Type 97 tank, the two novice tank commanders fired two 37mm armor-piercing rounds, all of which landed on the road. (The LVT-A1 has a four-man crew, with the commander also serving as the gunner, responsible for both searching the enemy and aiming and firing.)

However, because they were attacked from behind, the Japanese tanks, which suffered no actual damage, did not realize that they were being attacked and continued to rush forward.

5 seconds later, vehicles No. 3 and No. 4 fired the second round of artillery fire of the day one after another after correcting the impact point of the previous shot.

This time, one of the two 37mm armor-piercing shells hit the mud, and the other hit the rear of the Type 97 tank.

When the M6 ​​37mm tank gun uses the M51B1 armor-piercing projectile, its penetration depth at one kilometer is as high as 60mm. The thin 20mm armor at the rear of the Type 97 medium tank was easily penetrated. The projectile directly penetrated the engine at the rear of the vehicle and pierced all the cylinders.

The Type 97 tank paused for a moment, and then paralyzed on the road.

"This is Mallard No. 3. My car hit the rear of a Type 97 tank and it stopped." The captain of tank No. 3 quickly reported.

"Keep shooting at the rear of the turret of this vehicle. The rotation speed of the Japanese Type 97 turret is 10 degrees per second. The time it takes for it to turn 180 degrees is enough for you to fire three shots. Beat him!" Zhang Chi gave the order excitedly after hearing the good news.

"Roger that, prepare to fire!" The gunners of the two tanks quickly re-aimed, their chests filled with excitement at the impending victory.