The experience of the Americans in the development of tanks was not much smoother than that of the Don Empire. Almost all countries have taken detours in the development of tanks, firstly because the technology itself is limited, and secondly, after the end of the first global war, the tactics of using tanks in various armies are not clear. Therefore, after the first global war, the tanks of most countries were only armed with light weapons such as machine guns, weak armor, and poor mobility, and it was not until shortly before the outbreak of the second global war that Germany, Russia, France, the Don Empire and other countries gradually realized the powerful combat effectiveness of tanks on the ground battlefield.

Before the appearance of the M4 "Sherman" tank, several tanks produced by the United States were very backward, even if the production of the M3 was not a lot, but most of them were supplied to the allies, before entering the war, the number of equipment of the US army was very small, and after the United States entered the war, the M3 was mainly deployed on the Australian battlefield, and was destined to be eliminated.

In terms of overall performance, the 144 is actually a very good tank, its biggest feature is that it is durable, and it is relatively simple to operate, so the crew can easily master how to use the tank. Of course, its biggest feature is that it is very easy to manufacture on a large scale and relatively low cost, so in many cases, it is completely possible to make up for the gap in quality with quantity. And its biggest drawback is that it is too thin firepower. In response to this shortcoming, the U.S. military has made many improvements to the M4, and a large number of deformation vehicles have appeared, and most of the improvements are concentrated on enhancing firepower, in addition, some deformation vehicles have strengthened their armor defense capabilities. And the combat effectiveness of these transformers is still very strong.

The M26 was the only American tank worth mentioning at that time, and this type of tank was actually developed completely against the German "Tiger" heavy tank, as well as the Type 24 heavy tank of the Tang Empire, rather than targeting ordinary medium tanks. Thus, the M26 is actually a heavy tank, and not a light one. The only drawback of the tank is that it was put into production too late, and the number of equipment of the US military is quite limited, although the US military has transferred some of the M26s that were supposed to be provided to France to the Australian battlefield, but its number is still very limited. And after the navy of the Tang Empire had blocked the sea routes to Australia, in the words of Gu Xunlei later. That is, if the M26 is knocked out, then the US military in Australia will have one less tank that can compete with the Type 25, and the Imperial Army can get a steady stream of replenishment and support, and there is no need to worry about the loss of equipment.

Then. The technical intelligence of the M26 mastered by the Tang Imperial Army was quite limited, after all, this tank had not yet had time to show its skills on the battlefield, and as a result, Gu Xunlei encountered it on the battlefield in Australia. With limited intelligence, Gu Xunlei could only find a way to solve the problem by himself. On the day of the capture of Port Macquarie, he arranged for a group of logistics maintenance personnel and excellent tankmen to go "on the spot" to survey the situation of those American tanks, and simply measured the thickness of the tank's armor with ordinary tools. This is kind of first-hand information. Then, as the Marines took over the defenses of Port Macquarie, Koo gathered several of his main commanders to discuss how to deal with the U.S. tank, which was much heavier than the Type 25.

"We did the math. The thickness of the armor of the American tank far exceeded that of the Type 25. "Zhang Xiaolin personally measured the thickness of the armor of the US tank." The upper front armor of the hull is at least 120 mm. The thickness of the armor in front of the turret also exceeded 100 mm, and all had a certain angle of inclination. It is very difficult for our tank guns to penetrate it with ordinary armor-piercing shells at normal engagement distances! ”

Gu Xunlei's expression was quite grim, and he was watching the battle that night. "So, we'll only be able to use high-speed armor-piercing bullets?"

Zhang Xiaolin sighed, then shook his head slightly.

"High-speed armor-piercing shells should be able to penetrate it, and the farthest penetration distance is 800 meters, which is confirmed." Weng Yu replied to Gu Xunlei's question, "However, under normal circumstances, we would not stretch the distance of the battle so far. At this distance, the accuracy of shooting is quite low. What's more. We don't have a lot of high-speed armor-piercing shells in reserve, only 12 rounds per tank, and if we keep fighting with high-speed armor-piercing shells, I'm afraid we won't be able to fight for ten minutes, and we will have to withdraw. There is also the problem that if the shell hits the upper armor in front of the hull, it is easy to richete. ”

Gu Xunlei frowned slightly. "It looks like we're going to have to prepare some shells, and we'll have to try to hit them on the side, not on the front."

Weng Yu also sighed, almost all of those M26s were destroyed after being hit in the side, and only one was destroyed after being hit by a high-speed armor-piercing projectile that hit the frontal armor of the turret.

"I'll solve the matter of armor-piercing shells, and I'll send a telegram to the headquarters later, and apply for a few more batches of high-speed armor-piercing bullets......"

"General, we should have high-speed armor-piercing bullets in our hats."

Gu Xunlei looked at Zhang Xiaolin.

"Last time I saw it in China, this new type of armor-piercing bullet is used to deal with those tanks with large angles and inclined armor, and the effect is very good, I heard that now the main armored forces on the mainland battlefield are beginning to be equipped with this kind of ammunition, if we can, we should also apply for a batch. Of course, it's best to order high-speed armor-piercing bullets and eliminate ordinary armor-piercing bullets, so that even if we encounter more M26s on the battlefield, we will definitely be able to defeat them with our speed advantage! ”

"I'll contact you about this, and as for whether I'll give us better ammunition, I'm not the army's logistics commander, so I don't dare to make a guarantee." Gu Xunlei changed the topic, "As Zhang Xiaolin said at the beginning, in front of the US army, the mobility performance of the 26 is much worse than that of our tanks, and we still have a numerical advantage, so we don't have to worry about supply and maintenance." If you encounter the M26 again, the best thing to do is to use the Type 25's mobility to pull away the enemy, looking for an opportunity to destroy them one by one. ”

This time, Zhang Xiaolin and Weng Yu both nodded, this is the most effective tactical means for medium tanks to deal with heavy tanks.

"In addition, there are two seriously damaged M26s that have not been sent away, and I specifically asked to keep these two tanks." Gu Xunlei stood up, "Before the new task is issued, you have to familiarize yourself with how to deal with this tank of the US army as soon as possible, use these two tanks as contact objects, and let all the tankers participate in the training, and take turns to go up and shoot a few shots to have a look." Find a feeling, so that when you encounter the enemy on the battlefield in the future, you will not be in a hurry. ”

"General, when do we have a new mission?" Weng Yu then asked.

Gu Xunlei hesitated. Then he shook his head. "I don't know, but if I did, I'd have told you at the beginning. Everyone go and get ready first, the Marine Corps has already sent the logistics we need, and the troops must be ready to go at any time, of course, while resting. Don't forget to train. Zhang Xiaolin, Weng Yu, you are the front-line commanders of the troops, and you should have some understanding of the quality of the officers and men of the troops. Some training must be carried out in a targeted manner. Don't worry about ammunition and fuel consumption. Anyway, General Yuan Ye has promised to provide us with enough supplies! ”

Everyone laughed, the only thing they didn't need to worry about now was the logistics provided by the Marines. At least in this regard, the work of the Marine Corps is quite adequate.

Gu Xunlei then sent a telegram to the Army Command, hoping that the Army Logistics Department could allocate an additional batch of high-performance ammunition to the Pacific Theater, and he even put forward a request to equip a batch of Type 24 heavy tanks and replace the current Type 25 tanks with new models of Type 25 tanks. And his last two requirements are indeed a bit excessive, not to mention other places, hundreds of tanks have to be transported over, and it will take a lot of effort, and what Gu Xunlei needs is just better. More ammunition, and he made the latter two requests. In fact, it was just a matter of advancing and retreating, so that the army command could not refuse his most basic demands.

As soon as he had lunch, Yuan Ye rushed over. In the morning, Yuan Ye has been busy deploying the Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps engineers have also built a temporary seaplane dock in Port Macquarie, and later Gu Xunlei learned that the First Task Force will send a group of seaplanes over, and this will be the front-line reconnaissance aircraft of the Army and the Marine Corps, which is also the only reconnaissance aircraft that can directly provide support for the Army and the Marine Corps before repairing the front-line field airfield.

"Have you had lunch?"

"I've just eaten, and I've started to contact the fleet." Yuan Ye was already very generous in front of Gu Xunlei, "The armored forces of the US army are still continuing to move south, and the first task force has already organized a bombing in the morning, and now the fleet is still moving north, but the US air defense force is very dense, and the effect of the fleet bombing is not very good." ”

Gu Xunlei nodded and asked Yuan Ye to sit down.

"The vanguard of the American army has reached the Glenn Innis ......"

"Wait......" Gu Xunlei stopped Yuan Ye, he went to dig out a map, and soon found "Glen Innis" on it.

"Right here, the U.S. military continues to move south." Yuan Ye circled the town on the map, "It is expected to arrive in Armidale tomorrow, and its destination will definitely be Port Macquarie." If we're going to stop the U.S. military, we'll have to set up a defensive line at this fork in the road between Armidale and Tamworth! ”

When he saw Yuan Ye mark the location of the three-way intersection on the map, Gu Xunlei also understood. If the U.S. military controls this place, then they can drive straight into it all the way to Port Macquarie, which is basically a plain terrain and is quite difficult to defend.

"There's a bridge over here, we have to control it, and we're ......"

"I know how to fight." Gu Xunlei didn't ask Yuan Ye to give him a tactical analysis, "Our mission is to block the U.S. army here?" ”

Yuan Ye nodded. "This is General Yan Guozhong's order, it is not clear whether to let the army go, or let the marines go, but it is clear that we must hold this three-way junction, at least for three days, after our second batch of troops arrives, we have the ability to expand the offensive, not defend on the beachhead."

Gu Xunlei let out a sigh, he was already thinking about how to fight this defensive battle.

"I've already arranged for two Marine divisions to come and cooperate with you, and this is all the mobile forces I can concentrate now."

"General Yuan, I don't need the cooperation of the Marine Corps." Gu Xunlei hesitated for a moment, "I'm not saying that I look down on the Marine Corps, to be honest, the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps infantry is much stronger than those infantry divisions in my hands." However, we did not cooperate with the operation before, and there must be problems in the command at the grassroots level, and there must be no failure in this combat operation, and if there is a problem in the command link, I am afraid that even the best troops may not be able to win the victory. ”

Yuan Ye smiled bitterly, he still understood this truth.

"We only need to stay on guard for three days this time?"

"Yes, that's a basic requirement, but it's best to hold out for more than five days, after all, we need time to put the newly arrived troops in order and adjust the current defensive line."

Gu Xunlei quickly thought for a moment and said, "Give me three base numbers of ammunition and ten days of war materials." In addition, if I transfer my other two infantry divisions, I will guarantee to hold them for five days, and if the battle goes well, I will be able to launch a counterattack after five days. ”

Yuan Ye glanced at Gu Xunlei in surprise. "You're ready to fight back?"

Gu Xunlei nodded. "I have received information from the fleet before, and the US army has about five armored divisions in the south this time, including two tank divisions, but most of the heavy equipment has been destroyed by bombers. If there is the cooperation of the 1st Task Force, then let alone five days, as long as we have enough ammunition and supplies, even if it is a month, it will not be a problem. And if we seize the opportunity, then we will be able to launch a counterattack! ”

"Okay, then I'll arrange it for you immediately, and a batch of supplies will arrive in the afternoon, and you can leave in the evening. The other two infantry divisions of the Army will follow by noon tomorrow. Yuan Ye was also very cheerful, "In addition, I will contact General Tan Renhao and ask the First Task Force to fully support your combat operations." However, Task Force 1 will return to the open sea tonight to replenish ammunition and fuel, so it will only be able to provide you with air support as soon as tomorrow afternoon. ”

"As long as my other two infantry divisions can arrive by noon, it won't be a problem."

The two of them made up their minds, and then Yuan Ye said goodbye and left. Gu Xunlei also immediately sent people to call several division commanders and regiment commanders over and arranged the preparations for the troops before they set off. At this time, outside Port Macquarie, dozens of tanks were taking turns on the original position of the US army, practicing artillery tactics against the two US heavy tanks that had not been towed away!

……