39, February 14. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

This is a special day, and Valentine's Day is celebrated throughout the West.

If you have a lover, you will live with your lover, if you don't have a lover, you will find a lover, if you can't find a lover, then you will live with your left hand, in short, this day, you must be happy.

However, for many people, this day is destined to be a busy day.

Now, for example, in the ports of France, a force is moving slowly down from the ship.

"Buzz, buzz." The sound of the engine was rumbling, and a small-looking tank was starting off the ship.

This tank, the turret is very small, cylindrical, and the weapons on it are even more rudimentary to only one machine gun, and below, the balanced suspension device is even more special, with a row of small load-bearing wheels, no matter how you look at it, it looks like a weak chicken.

At this time, the driver is stepping on the accelerator, and the Ford 8-cylinder gasoline engine at the tail is rumbling, but unfortunately, only 70 horsepower power, even if the throttle is in the end, is not enough.

This is the tank that Britain only equipped the army with last year, the Matilda 1.

The total combat weight of this tank is 11 tons, the crew is 2 people, the length of the vehicle is 4.85 meters, the width of the vehicle is 2.29 meters, and the height of the vehicle is 1.87 meters.

As you can see, the size and the full combat weight are very small, which can be regarded as an absolute light tank.

The only weapon is a 12.7mm machine gun, and its maximum speed is only 12.8 km/h, so it can be said that a healthy snail can compete with it.

Compared with other weaknesses, this tank has a disproportionate protection, the frontal armor of the hull is 60 mm thick, and the turret is surrounded by 65 mm thick steel armor, not to mention the light tank, even the current main battle tank, the German Panther 3, the sides are not 65 mm thick.

This is entirely due to the difference in operational thinking, although it was the British who invented the tank, but the British have their own set of ways to use the tank.

The British military divided tanks into: infantry tanks, cruiser tanks, and light tanks.

As an infantry tank, the travel speed should not be very high, as long as the infantry charging on foot can keep up; It is not required to have a strong attack, the tank's armament is enough as long as the machine gun is sufficient. However, the armor protection must be strong.

In other words, an infantry tank is a typical moving point of machine-gun fire.

This idea led to the emergence of the current "Matilda" 1 tank.

At the same time as this tank was being built, the British also realized that they might fall behind, so they immediately developed the Type 2 tank, using a 40 mm tank gun, and the total weight was increased to 27 tons, which was considered a medium tank.

Now this "advanced" tank, a total of 139 units were produced, was mainly equipped with the British 1st Panzer Division.

The British armored forces were actually formed very late, and it was not until 1934 that the British formed the 1st Tank Brigade, with the famous Hobart as the brigade commander.

And in 37, the planning for the formation of the 1st Panzer Division began, which was formed by the then Chief of Staff Archibald Montgomery Masenbold under the name of the "Mobile Division".

At the beginning, according to the plan, this division was under the jurisdiction of the 1st and 2nd Light Armored Brigades, the 1st Army Tank Brigade, and auxiliary units such as artillery, engineers, and signal troops.

It's a pity that the British lagged behind in terms of tanks made all these ideas fall through.

The division now has a light armored brigade armed with light tanks and cruiser tanks, and a tank brigade with cruiser tanks. Due to the insufficient number of cruiser tanks, both brigades were equipped, most of which were light tanks.

That is, the current "Matilda" 1 tank.

(It is also said that it is the Vickers MK.VI tank, which is a great solution to the question.) ）

And now, in port, the tank units of the 1st Armored Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, who have come to France from the British mainland, are going to participate in the parade tomorrow.

It's a tiring job!

When the Polish War broke out, the British Ministry of Defense issued an urgent order, so the 1st Armored Brigade, which was trained in the station, began a rush, they drove to the port, loaded the ship, swayed all the way, came here, and then had to continue on the road of France.

Looks like I don't have to sleep tonight.

First, this title is very proud, and for the 1st Armored Division and the 1st Armored Brigade, this title is even heavier, and every time you parade, you will think of them.

Cruz, the tanker, pressed the throttle hard, as if to vent his frustration, his head bared and looked at the road ahead.

"Come on, we have to catch tomorrow's parade!" Not far away, standing on a wheeled off-road vehicle, the brigade commander Hebat, shouted with a loudspeaker.

Many of these tanks were not fully equipped, and Hebat could only use this way to call on his troops.

Unlike history, Hebat did not retire from active service, after all, Germany's armored forces put a lot of pressure on the British Army, and Britain needs people who really understand armor, and Hebart, who is definitely an armor expert, you know, the current tank was developed under the auspices of Hebart.

Hebbart was one of the very few active advocates of the "omnipotence of tank forces" in Britain, and published many papers on armored warfare. At the same time, he also personally conducted experiments and verifications in armored units, becoming one of the pioneers of the British army's armored warfare theory.

It's a pity that his personality is more eccentric, extreme, and unsociable, and historically had to retire from active duty before World War II. In the eyes of the British Army, the armored corps of course also needs cavalry generals to command.

Until the outbreak of World War II, he served as a captain in the British National Defence Volunteers, and was later promoted to regional head of the Volunteers. By chance, Prime Minister Churchill discovered Hebart's extraordinary talent, so he tried his best to "reinstate Hebart".

And now, Hebat has not retired, has not advanced, and remains in the position of commander of his armored brigade.

He was also annoyed by his subordinates compared to his subordinates, but he was more worried.

German troops continued to wreak havoc on Polish territory, and according to the original agreement, Britain was required to support Poland.

This time, in the name of exercises, they stepped onto French soil, with his armored brigade arriving first, and other units of the 1st Panzer Division in the later stage.

And after the exercise? Most likely, they will need to go to the front. Now, is his 1st Panzer Brigade capable of confronting the Panzer Divisions of the Germans?

Although Hebat was arrogant, he was definitely not arrogant, he knew that the tanks equipped with his troops had long been outdated.

The tanks of the Germans, who had both the protection of infantry tanks and the mobility of cruiser tanks, how did they do it? Against the Panther tank, Hebat did not have any confidence.

And now, looking at the group of tank soldiers under his command, he is even more furious: "Cruz, you idiot, don't go on the road, crush the roads in France, we are going to lose money!" ”