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the author of this article, former commander of the 1st tank division of japan, lieutenant general koreio hosomi, was then the captain of the 5th tank battalion of the japanese invading army in china and an army colonel.

the current situation is that i have to tell the story of what happened during the war, especially since i joined the active service as a soldier, i have always believed that talking about military affairs is self-boasting.

firstly, my memory is now extremely vague, and secondly, my personal experience is very brief, and there is nothing particularly outstanding about my military career, so i refused at first. but now they insist that i write it, so i agreed to do this without even understanding the key points of the requirement.

as the deadline is approaching, i will first write about my experiences during the shanghai campaign, and then give a brief introduction to the development of the japanese tank forces from their inception to the announcement of unconditional surrender, focusing on a small range of what i personally saw and heard.

well, let's get back to the point. the japanese tank units did not put in any outstanding performance in the operations in shanghai and were very immature. although they looked like children playing house, they often received sincere gratitude and deep love from other friendly neighboring units that cooperated in the operations. the officers and soldiers of the unit alone received as many as eleven various commendations.

as for the losses, only the officers were concerned. of the 31 soldiers who went to the battle, 27 were killed or wounded (one of them was wounded several times). so, although the battle seemed like a child's play, i personally took it seriously from the beginning to the end.

i want to say one more thing here. the japanese tank crew members who participated in the pacific war experienced a series of harsh battles that ordinary people could not imagine, and they had no rewards. they fought bloody battles in the philippines, iwo jima and other battlefields and suffered heavy casualties. before that, let me first talk about some memories such as the battle period in shanghai, which is really uncomfortable.

the type 89 medium tank equipped by the japanese army in the early days was the first medium tank developed by japan itself (it was called a medium tank but it was actually a light tank) and was equipped with a 57mm tank gun. its protection level was at the world average level at that time.

there is a saying that a general who lost a battle cannot be called brave. although i was very lucky to have a group of very brave subordinates and fought some favorable battles that i could have won as long as i fought. but since ancient times, there has been a saying that a defeat is a real test of a person, and commanding in adversity is the most difficult. therefore, for me who has no painful experience in this regard, i still regard the saying "a general who won a battle cannot be called brave" as my own life creed, and i always use it as an admonition. i haven't even told my wife about it.

in addition, for reference only, the characteristics of the shanghai operation are summarized as follows:

organization = a brigade headquarters, three tank squadrons, and a logistics section (a unit responsible for maintenance, supply, and repair).

tank = type 89b medium tank, weighing 14 tons, equipped with a 57mm gun and two 7.7mm light machine guns. armor - front and turret thickness is 22mm, turret is hand-cranked.

light armored vehicle = weighs six and a half tons and is equipped with two light machine guns.

crew = tank - 4, commander (all captains and below are non-commissioned officers), driver, machine gunner, gunner. light armored vehicle - commander, machine gunner.

quality = most of the cadres are in active service. many of the reserve forces have not received special training in tanks.

training = all members, including the captains, can drive the chariots and operate the guns. the tactics are to accompany the vanguard in front (the mobile action mode of the troops was still under research at that time). it emphasizes the unity of man and vehicle, the unity of the crew, and the collectivism of small, medium and large teams.

communications = flag signals, no radio. lightly armored vehicles provide communications.

observation = relying on several observation slits on the tank (45 cm long and 34 mm wide. enemy bullets can be fired from here).

position terrain = countless large and small ditches that alternately become dry and full under the influence of the tide, and scattered thatched cottage areas. there are many bunkers and shelters, and the other arable land is made of mud. there are ten or twenty layers of positions dug to connect with each other.

the enemy's quality = chiang kai-shek's thorough resistance to the japanese invasion was carried out very thoroughly. the army had a strong sense of resistance and tried to resist tenaciously. young female soldiers could be seen everywhere. among the captives in caogou was a female soldier of 24 or 25 years old. during the interrogation, she said nothing and replied in writing, "i would rather die than surrender to the japanese army."

they are truly an outstanding oriental nation.

anti-tank weapons = although there are anti-tank cannons, anti-tank machine guns, mines and other weapons, they are all of poor quality.

on october 20, 1937, japan formed the 10th army with a huge force of more than 120,000 people and landed at jinshanwei in hangzhou bay, encircling the southern part of the chinese army's defense line in songhu, and the battlefield situation suddenly reversed.

ravage the enemy

on october 21, 1937, the tank squadron (acting squadron leader lieutenant nishizumi kojiro) participating in the battle of zhangjialou and tunjia village (northwest of dachang) joined the battle against the enemy on the southeast side of the village, which had frustrated our infantry attack since yesterday. although we approached the enemy to a distance of 20 to 30 meters and began to fire, the enemy launched a concentrated machine gun fire on our tanks, and in a blink of an eye, the bulletproof glass of the artillery sight was broken, and it became very difficult to continue fighting.

the squad leader was injured and the front machine gun was destroyed. the enemy bullets were increasingly concentrated on the tank, and the gunner was also injured. at the same time, the artillery was also destroyed. in desperation, the squad leader ordered all members to fight with pistols, and the driver drove the tank to crush the enemy using the tracks.

the type 89 medium tank was hit by more than 1,300 bullets during the battle of shanghai but still failed to be destroyed.

at this moment, an enemy bullet exploded in the vehicle, and the squad leader was wounded again. he shouted fearlessly: "don't let this enemy group get behind the infantry", and then he fainted from exhaustion.

the gunner immediately took over the commander's position and quickly instructed the driver to drive the tank to crush the enemy counterattack force, repeatedly trampling and crushing the swarming enemy troops with the tracks. although the enemy would bravely climb onto the tank after a short break, they would always be swept down by the firepower fired by friendly tanks. some people even threw grenades at the tank, but were injured by the shrapnel that bounced back from the explosion because they were too close.

this battle lasted for several hours. the main force of the squadron also encountered the same situation. this was mainly because there was a ditch in front of the enemy position, which made our infantry's assault ineffective. so lieutenant nishizumi led a tank team to break through the enemy's defense line from the adjacent position and appeared behind the village, thus advancing the progress of the battle.

fighting in the rain

wangjiuchang's position was an important stronghold of liujiaxing's outer position. although it was only a village with a few thatched huts in a radius of only a hundred meters, each household had a bunker-like shelter inside the hut, which was covered with bamboo strips and surrounded by canals and trenches. although the troops of the nagoya division resolutely carried out multiple assaults in the rain, they were ineffective except for increasing casualties. so they requested the tank troops to come to assist.

since our team had no troops available for deployment at that time, we sent a small team of reserve tanks to participate in the battle.

due to the continuous rain in recent days, the terrain at the scene was basically too bad for tanks to move. if it was a simulation based on a map, it would definitely be a direct rejection, but things were not that simple on the battlefield.

no matter how much you cherish your subordinates and tanks, you must go to rescue your allies when they are in danger, no matter how difficult it is. this should be the so-called battlefield psychology.

the type 89-b medium tank used by the japanese invaders in the battle of shanghai on august 13, 2003. its biggest feature is that it uses a diesel engine as its power source, making it less likely to catch fire during combat.

it took time for the squad to pass through several ditches on the way to the battlefield. when they finally arrived at the battlefield and approached within ten meters of the enemy, there were only twenty or thirty soldiers left in the vanguard squadron. the cadres had basically been killed or wounded, and the point had come where the sergeant was responsible for the squadron command.

although they had fired artillery at close range while moving, the enemy remained motionless.

it took a lot of effort to capture a house on the left wing, but after that, we could not attack any further. the sun had already set, and it was impossible for the tanks to continue to participate in the battle. in the enemy's flying tracer bullets, we finally got away from the battlefield, but the ditches along the way were flooded due to the high tide, so it took time to pass through. the troops were assembled at dawn.

the next day, the infantry said they would capture the position today, so they asked for tanks to help again. the position had been thoroughly attacked by artillery, and then assisted by engineers. it would be difficult to ask for more infantry assault troops on this basis. however, at that time, all aspects were basically in a similar state, and they could not act according to their wishes.

the tanks once again returned to the battle under exactly the same conditions as yesterday. the battlefield remained unchanged. the positions that had been painstakingly captured yesterday had been recaptured by the enemy.

the tanks required the infantry to rush to a distance of about twenty meters in front of the enemy, which was simply impossible.

during the march, two tanks were damaged by enemy shells. as a result, some of the tank crew removed the machine guns on the tanks, and some picked up the rifles of the dead infantrymen around them, and finally charged the enemy together with the infantrymen. since this battle was the most difficult of all the previous battles, it clearly reflects some characteristics of the shanghai battle.

attacking the big field encountered setbacks

dachang town is located about three miles north of shanghai and is the largest stronghold of shanghai's outer defense line. the position extends to the east and west along zoumatang. our tank unit was ordered to take the lead in the general attack the next day and assist the infantry in attacking the enemy position on the west side of zoumatang. we immediately led all the troops of the brigade to advance along the vast cultivated land.

the engineers waiting on the way saw us and followed the tanks, dragging a makeshift ladder. after reaching the ditch, they fired a volley to suppress the enemy, and then the engineers jumped into the river carrying the ladder. those who were empty-handed went into battle shirtless. the engineers connected the floating ladders one by one until they reached the other side. two or three people carried the ladders underwater with only their heads exposed. the purpose of this was to prevent the ladders from sinking when the infantry passed by.

as the bridge was built, the infantry, led by soldiers with bayonets on their guns, began to stagger over the ladders and force their way across the river, breaking into the enemy's position, charging left and right and moving forward, and successively occupying positions. we were very leisurely at this time, and although we felt bad, the key problem was that we couldn't shoot at this time, so we could only stand by and watch the battle in the tank.

it was a brave and beautiful battle.

the 18th infantry regiment of japan was on a combat mission near dachang town, shanghai in late october 1937

at midnight that day, after passing the soil pass constructed by the engineers, the whole team turned from dachang town to nanxiang street before daybreak. at daybreak on october 26, the brigade turned left at a right angle and advanced behind dachang town, completely ignoring the enemies along the way, and went around to the rear of the enemy at 10 o'clock. then it immediately turned right from here and advanced towards zhenru.

there were brave soldiers guarding the positions on both sides of the road, and they kept shooting at my troops at close range. we were also bombarded by anti-tank guns from the left, and although i ordered the troops to deploy to the left to provide cover, the order could not be conveyed during the battle.

while the tank was moving, i noticed that our artillery had begun to carry out extended fire, and i judged that the town of dachang had been captured. but then the shells fired by our artillery began to fall around the tank, and my vanguard was already surrounded by our artillery fire. just as the car was rushing forward in an attempt to break out of the siege of our artillery fire, suddenly, accompanied by a loud bang, i felt the tank sway violently. although the first feeling at that time was that i stepped on a landmine, the tank was still moving forward. since i couldn't get in touch with the artillery, i had to arrange a light armored vehicle (captain shinagawa yoshinobu's car) to go back for contact.

soon the troops arrived at the zhenru radio station. after a brief assembly, they learned that there was nothing unusual in the team and immediately joined the battle in zhenru.

after advancing about 30,000 meters, a large ditch appeared in front of them, with a large wooden bridge about ten meters high across it. as they were worried whether the wooden bridge could withstand the continuous passage of chariots, they planned to send people to scout, but when they looked back, they found that there was no chariot following behind. they were shocked and turned around and ran back. when they retreated, they found that the adjutant's car got stuck when crossing the ditch, causing all the chariots following behind to be unable to move forward.

japanese tank soldiers drinking sake to boost their courage before going to battle

i immediately decided to use my vehicle to tow it to the road, and it was only then that i realized that the right road wheel of my vehicle was missing. in addition, after someone reminded me that my face was bleeding, i realized that i was actually injured. it seems that the road wheel was not destroyed because of stepping on a mine, but because of being hit by our own artillery shells. but the bullet mark from the bridge of the nose to the cheek, to this day i don’t know when i was injured.

since i had no idea of ​​the overall situation of our army's operations, i decided to retreat temporarily in order to get in touch with the rear. at this time, the infantry had reached the south side of dachang town, and the troops were regrouping. the brigade was ordered to be deployed in front of the infantry to perform the guard mission, and another part assisted in attacking the remaining enemy positions until nightfall.

this battle was a relatively important one during the entire shanghai campaign. for the tank unit, it was a relatively easy battle, which was completely contrary to expectations, so i was very ashamed that i did not make any contribution in the battle.

whether it was the surprise attack on the enemy position at liujiaxing or the battle of dachang town, the poor communication caused a fatal blow to the entire brigade's operations and was a major failure in combat. in addition, i also personally experienced the difficulty of fighting in the position of chariots without the coordination of various arms, especially without the accompaniment of infantry.