"Sir, I actually suggest retreating, focusing on preserving the living forces. "Brigadier General Memphis, commander of the 6th Tank Brigade, said with a frown, "We are obviously in a weak position, the Royal Air Force has been beaten by Japanese and German planes, and it is unrealistic to talk about an armored attack without air superiority, which means that we will soon become a live target for the Germans."www.biquge.info ”

"I know, but we can't do nothing and just give Madras to the enemy, which is hard for Delhi to explain." Although Giffard had sent a harsh message directly to London two days ago, he said that if he did not receive sufficient support, he would not be responsible for the subsequent development of the war. However, he could lose, but he could not retreat without a fight and become a fleeing general—he had already lost Ceylon, and if he lost Madras without a fight, it would be difficult to convince the people, whatever his good reasons.

"If I have to pick one road, I'd better choose the Japanese army." Memphis sighed, "It's a bit ambitious to say it, but in fact, I'm afraid we can't really beat the German armored division, we don't have the Tiger tanks, not even the more powerful 17-pounder guns, but we should be much more sure of dealing with the Japanese." ”

Giffard nodded: "I completely agree, after the 6th Tank Brigade repels the Japanese attack in front of it, you can find a way to turn in, and by the way, you can also cover the retreat of the infantry." ”

Just as the two of them were nervously dispatching their troops to prepare to give Nakurakan's 4th Tank Division a dismount, the Japanese army had launched an attack under the cover of the tanks of the tank division, and the defenders found themselves facing a pile of hard bones.

Although targeted armored tactics have been discussed on the ship, and another ten days of armored warfare adaptation training have been assaulted in Ceylon, the long-formed military thinking is obviously not so easy to correct, not to mention that there are not too many armored assault tactical drills in ten days. But with the equipment they have at hand, this tactic seems to be appropriate.

Guarding the south side of Madras is the 32nd Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army, three regiments in a zigzag defense system, the first of which is the 2nd Tedemir Regiment, which is already a rare elite unit in the Indian military system. According to intelligence reports from the direction of the Burmese battlefield, the Japanese army's will to fight was quite tenacious, but the tanks were ridiculously rudimentary.

However, the moment he really saw the arrival of the Japanese tanks, Major Thomas, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the regiment, couldn't help but wail: "God, ......"

With the help of the telescope, he could see clearly what was coming - it was not the small bean dice that the Japanese army was used to at all, but the British Empire's signature infantry tank, Matilda, was actually still Type 2. The strange shape, slow speed, and disproportionate size of the toothpick cannon (40mm, in fact, a 2-pounder tank gun) all show that the opposite side is the real Matilda.

If it weren't for the eye-catching sun logo painted on it, he would almost have thought that the 6th Tank Brigade had changed its vest and came out to swindle.

Before he could inform the battalion of the dismal news, the redheads on the front line had already begun to shoot, and a dozen 2-pounder guns opened fire one after another, and Matilda, who was caught in front of him, began to shoot.

"Bastard, although you opened fire?"

An Indian herald timidly said, "Sir, didn't you just tell me to inform the enemy tanks that they can open fire when they enter 600 yards?" ”

"Bang dang!"

"Bang dang!"

The sound of Matilda being hit kept ringing, but everyone was stunned to find that Matilda had actually moved forward again as if nothing had happened—this was the reason why Thomas was so frustrated, knowing that firing from a distance of 600 yards, the 2-pounder gun could not help Matilda, who was heavily armoured, and only exposed his position in vain.

"It doesn't make sense, I hit it!"

"Me too, I must have hit!"

"Come again!"

However, the Japanese obviously did not give the Indians much of a chance, and Matilda's return fire soon roared, and in less than 5 minutes, all these anti-tank positions were reimbursed. What made Thomas even more desperate was that the Japanese field artillery in the distance also opened fire immediately, making a mess of the defensive line and the depth of the line that had been built with great difficulty.

"This is at least a 6-inch howitzer......" Thomas muttered to himself.

"Shoot!" The Japanese artillery in the distance worked hard to push a shell into the barrel, and then fired it out in the next second, and the overall action was smooth and flawless. Through the artillery observers on the front line and the situation reported, Suzuki Sosaku, who was supervising the battle, nodded again and again, and was very satisfied with the performance of the artillery.

"Sir, this is the 155mmm1 howitzer called Longfoot Tom by the Americans, which is a first-class support artillery of the main division of the US army, which far exceeds our own 150mm field guns in terms of range and power, and the only drawback is that it is too heavy and inconvenient to move. If there weren't so many trucks and armored vehicles working together this time, it wouldn't have been put into use. Captain Hideei Ikeda, Wing Commander of the Independent Heavy Artillery Wing of the Indian Dispatch Army, said, "I think our wing can be equipped, and other field artillery units cannot afford to use it at all in terms of India's terrain and our transportation conditions." However, the Soviet-made M1943 152mm howitzers are very light and powerful, and they can even fire armor-piercing shells as anti-tank guns in an emergency. ”

Suzuki Sosaku nodded: "No wonder the navy wants us to deploy this batch of artillery to various islands, these 8 guns were forcibly taken from the hands of any of the chiefs of staff of Kusaka, I thought he was stingy and refused to give it to me." ”

"This is also what the Germans sold to us?"

"It was captured by the Navy, they have made a fortune in Africa, this artillery has captured a whole ship, and now we are going to puff out of our nostrils." Suzuki Sosaku waved his hand, "I think that if these 8 long-legged Toms are redeployed back to Ceylon, you will equip the 152mm howitzers with other heavy artillery units, and the dispatch army will be allocated a total of 96 guns, which is enough for you." ”

Hideei Ikeda was taken aback: "Didn't Tokyo say that it would only give 64 doors? ”

Suzuki Sosaku smiled weirdly: "Don't say it quietly, there are 32 commanders who ask the navy to buy it." ”

"Buy?" Hideei Ikeda's mind didn't turn around, and he subconsciously asked, "What about money?" ”

Sosaku Suzuki pointed to the city of Madras in the distance: "No, isn't it in the city......" (To be continued.) )