Chapter 3186: Artillery Battle

With the support and continuous suppression of their own artillery, the Stalin heavy tanks that rushed all the way have entered the main gun range.

When Nagano Koji saw that the No. 1 turret of his command ship finally began to rotate, the Russian heavy tanks that had rushed to a distance of one kilometer were also rotating the turret.

"Commander, the Russian tanks have aimed at us. It's dangerous here! I will stay to command, you should quickly move to the shore."

A major with blood all over his face was about to ask Nagano Koji to transfer to another Akizuki-class destroyer in the port, the Azuki, to command.

But when he turned around, he saw that the Azuki destroyer not far away was also in a state of dying, neither dying nor living. The Russian heavy artillery fire was like a tidal wave, and the whole ship was on fire. There were sailors who couldn't stand the roasting and had nowhere to hide, so they could only jump from the deck to escape.

In this situation, moving to command is pure death.

Or, before reaching the other destroyer, they might have been unable to get on board because of the huge fire. It would be better to go ashore directly and finish the job.

The Akizuki-class destroyer has a full crew of more than 270 people. Now, whether it is the Natsuki where Nagano Koji is, or the Yozuki next to it, the situation is extremely bad.

No armor protection means heavy artillery fire, which is bound to be fatal to the personnel on the destroyer.

Various collapsed hull fragments and shell fragments swept down waves of Japanese sailors, and the decks and cabins that were either exploding or on fire swallowed hundreds of lives.

After all the trouble, the major who persuaded Nagano Koji to leave quickly estimated that there might be less than 50 sailors who could move and respond to orders on the whole ship.

Such a small number of people are also responsible for rescuing the wounded, curbing the spread of the fire, and plugging the hull holes opened by large-caliber near-miss shells to prevent too much water from entering and causing the hull to capsize.

That's not all. Nagano Koji also transferred more than a dozen people to the No. 1 turret to take over the combat position, ready to fight the Russians to the end.

As expected, the end of the warship should be coming soon. The anxious lieutenant really believes that there is no time. If he doesn't leave now, it will be too late.

Unexpectedly, Nagano Koji not only did not appreciate it, but also continued to threaten and make cruel remarks.

"No, I won't leave! As the commander of the fleet, I should live and die with the warship! Captain Yoshimura has died, and as the commander, what kind of hero is it to run away at this time!? Continue to fight the Russians-"

Swoosh--

Boom--

Just before Nagano Koji's "impassionate" and increasingly excited impromptu speech was over, a sharp whistling sound broke through the air.

A huge explosion sounded again. The glass had been shattered to the point where only the window frame remained. Nagano Koji could see the violent explosion and fire rushing into the bridge, almost deforming the ceiling of the cabin above his head.

"Not good! Commander, the Russians are aiming at our bridge! It's too dangerous here. You can't stay here. Hurry up--"

Swish--

The major, who was trying to persuade them again, hadn't finished his words when a shrill scream sounded again.

This time, everyone in the bridge command room, including Nagano Koji, had run out of luck.

The 130mm high-explosive grenade that violently bombarded in from the broken window exploded in the bridge. Several Japanese sailors who had no time to dodge were directly blown out of the window and fell into the water by the violent heat wave.

Even more deadly were the densely-fired bullet fragments and collapsed cabin fragments. These sharp metal pieces that bounced in the cabin cut the flesh and blood of any Japanese soldiers they touched, and more than ten people were killed on the spot.

The remaining ones who were not dead yet were breathing out more than breathing in, and they fell to the floor and only groaned and wailed.

Not knowing how many wounds he had on his body, Nagano Koji wiped his face and found that his hands were covered with blood. He gritted his teeth and stood up again by holding the cabin wall.

Looking at the cabin scene that had been blown up like a broken house in front of him, the bodies lying on the ground in all directions had already flowed into a river of blood.

In addition to the seriously injured himself, Nagano Koji was filled with grief and indignation, not finding another person who could stand up. Even the major who had just persuaded him to leave had now fallen in a pool of blood and his life or death was unknown.

Looking back at the devastated front deck, Nagano Koji, who still had hope, was surprised to find that the No. 1 turret had completed the aiming, and the two twin-mounted 100mm naval guns opened fire immediately.

Boom——

Two 100mm projectiles fired at the same time almost flew out of the barrel and headed straight for the target. The distance of only one kilometer was reached in an instant, and the ship was tilted to 15 degrees, and it was still on the target and hit the target.

Boom——

The IS7, which was directly hit by a Japanese 100mm high-explosive grenade, was instantly enveloped in flames, and the commander on the battle position instantly felt a torrent of water rushing towards him.

The whole person was like being trapped in a big bell and someone outside was ringing the bell hard. In an instant, he felt dizzy and almost lost consciousness.

"The front of the vehicle was hit! We were hit!"

"Everyone, report the situation!"

The commander who heard the driver's active report asked the first question, and the voices of other crew members also sounded one after another.

"The loader is fine, both of them are fine!"

"The driver was not injured."

"The gunner is fine too, but damn Sukka, the gun scope is shattered! It's impossible to aim accurately!"

Upon hearing this, the commander quickly looked up at his periscope and found that the outer lens had also been shattered by the explosion just now, and blurted out the order immediately after.

"Can the tank still move? Driver's report!"

"I tried to move, and I can still move! The control system is intact and the power system is normal!"

The driver's surprise reply came together with the sound of the tank rising again. After confirming the situation, the commander immediately continued to give orders.

"Very good, reverse the car immediately! Take us away from here, leave the battlefield and go back to the rear for repairs!"

"clear!"

As long as the tank can still move, try not to abandon the vehicle. A tank that can still run has a higher survivability than a flesh-and-blood body running on the battlefield, not to mention a powerful tank like the IS7 with high protection and mobility.

It's just because the sighting system was basically completely damaged by the shot just now. The armor can withstand the explosion but the optical equipment lenses cannot. Not to mention a total loss, the combat effectiveness is at least greatly reduced.

Under such circumstances, withdrawing from the battlefield for repairs is clearly stipulated in the new combat regulations of the leading army.

Not only that if it continues to stay on the battlefield, it will not be able to exert its full combat effectiveness, but the tank that has already been hit hard once may have any hidden dangers or may suddenly become paralyzed.

While the tank is still moving, withdrawing as soon as possible to save an experienced crew is the best option.