The second fire was very violent. This left everyone on their stomachs. Even the head. I was afraid that the flying shrapnel would hit me in the head.

For the attacked party. This is the purgatory of steel shards and high-temperature flames, which is also a common scene on the battlefields of this era, this is a battle of steel.

Like the others, Lieutenant Colonel Francis lay down in the shallow foxhole, not daring to move. Beside him was a British Army lieutenant, but instead of a gun in his hand, he was holding a field telephone. and a telescope, the lieutenant's task is to observe the movements of the Chinese troops, and then report the position of the Chinese troops to the headquarters by telegram, so that the headquarters can mobilize artillery bombardment.

Not long ago, the Chinese artillery fire was not very fierce, only two large-caliber howitzers continued to fire, shelling the British artillery positions and peripheral fortifications in Tashkent with high-explosive shells and grenade shotguns, but now, the Chinese artillery fire is much more fierce than just now, the main reason is that the front artillery positions arranged by the British army have been completely destroyed by the howitzers of the Chinese artillery, and those hidden British artillery have never dared to step forward to take over the shooting, therefore, The Chinese artillery eventually not only restored their artillery positions on the high ground on the east side of the pass, but also established a new artillery position on the high ground on the west side of the pass. The two Chinese artillery positions, which occupy the commanding heights, are bombarding the city with mountain artillery, weaving together with the howitzer fire to form a dense network of firepower. And the whole city of Tashkent was covered with artillery fire. The British positions became the focus of artillery attention, and the Chinese artillery was condescending. The British positions could be calmly suppressed. Francis now has some regrets. At the beginning of the battle, he should not have run here from a hidden place, the shrapnel that exploded from time to time in the sky seemed to be laughing at Francis's impulse just now, it turned out that the British flag erected in a conspicuous position in the position seemed to be a magnet for the bow and cannonball, and the Chinese artillery seemed to be aiming at the British flag and fired, the shells fell near the flagpole, and the shrapnel hit the British flag through thousands of holes, perhaps the Chinese artillery is now laughing at the so-called "British Empire." And that's it, the so-called "British warriors." However, in the face of artillery fire, the British soldiers behaved no different from the soldiers of other countries, they were afraid of death. They also hope that their own artillery can provide themselves with effective artillery cover. But this was just the luxury of the British military. In fact, as soon as the British artillery positions were exposed, they would be immediately suppressed by the long-range fire of the Chinese artillery, and it turned out that the Chinese army must have set up one or several artillery school firing observation posts on the hill, and the British commanders did not even dare to let the British artillery open fire anymore. feign

In the beginning. The British commander tried to get the local forces to retake the high ground of the mountain pass and control the high ground, but the Chinese artillery fire completely deterred the armed natives, who preferred to hide in the city and be bombed rather than rush outside the city to seize the high ground. After all. The city is still a short distance from the mountain pass, and at this distance is the fire zone of the Chinese artillery. Now, all hope was pinned on the British tank force that rushed out of the city and rushed to the mountain pass. And the reason why Francis appeared in this foxhole is also because of the tank unit, because just now, just before the tank unit rushed out of the city, Francis volunteered to come to this position, intending to guide the artillery fire cover for the tank troops. If the Chinese sent out the infantry, Francis would not hesitate to let the lieutenant next to him signal the artillery attack, and use the last artillery of the British army to inflict heavy casualties on the Chinese army. In this way, at least it will not lose so much Francis admits that the British army will definitely lose the Battle of Tashkent, since the Chinese army's long-range artillery fire began to suppress fire, Francis knew that the British army would lose in the Battle of Tashkent, because here, the British army did not have that kind of long-range firepower at all, and the information obtained by the headquarters at the beginning was obviously not accurate, at least not comprehensive, and the person who reported did not mention that the Chinese army still had long-range artillery, but this does not seem to be entirely to blame for those local armed personnel, They may not be able to tell which cannons are long-range and which can be straddled over ridges. It must be admitted that after the rapid development of China in the past few years, China's military strength is indeed not to be underestimated, and it is no longer the defensive army that only has light artillery in the past. This army is gradually transforming into an offensive armed force.

open

Before the battle began, the British command's battle plan was that when the Chinese corps appeared from the mountain pass, the British artillery would suppress it with artillery fire, and at the same time send tanks to cover the local armed forces to rush up and engage the Chinese in a frontal battle. But what the British army did not expect was that the Chinese army actually had long-range howitzers, which immediately turned the British army's battle plan into waste paper. Moreover, in the face of long-range artillery fire from Chinese artillery, the British army and local armed forces could only be beaten passively and could not effectively return fire. Wanting to retreat, but fearing being pursued by the Chinese army, but if it were to charge, it would not be possible to do it at all in terms of the current morale, the British were too few in number, and the local armed forces had been frightened by the heavy artillery fire of the Chinese army, in this case, the British command finally decided to make a desperate bet and send tank troops to attack alone, covering the retreat of the British infantry across the small river to the east.

This tactic is to sacrifice British tanks and artillery units in exchange for the British infantry to retreat, in any case, this formed British army cannot be completely annihilated by the Chinese army."

, Zhu Xinyu said, the British Empire is not sharp in the face of the noon, and it is nothing to defeat a thousand German troops: if the clumsiness is defeated by the Chinese army, I am afraid that the British War Secretary will have to get out.

Francis was not going to die for the infantry. Although he volunteered to be there, it didn't mean that he was willing to die for the honor of the British Empire, if possible, he might retreat in the face of unfavorable battles, and as a professional spy, Francis also knew how to retreat, and if necessary, he could even lurk in the local area for a while, and he was still very talented in disguise and language.

"Boom! Rumble! ”

"Boom! Rumble! Just as Francis was holding up a telescope. When looking north. Several shells from mountain artillery fell nearby, after a few deafening explosions. The flagpole was gone. Along with Qifeng, the British flag was missing.

"These arrogant Chinese guys, they must be cheering right now."

Francis speculated hatefully, turned his head, and continued to look north, and finally, at the end of the mouth. He saw some Chinese tanks. And it was a new tank that he had never seen before, and not only did he not see it. I'm afraid that even the British military intelligence agencies do not have any information about the new Chinese tank.

The new Chinese tank is a new type of "gun." Although the tank gun is still a long-barreled tank with a female millimeter, due to the increased thickness of the frontal and side armor plates, this "bell side" tank is heavier. Its combat weight reached a staggering twenty-one tons. And thanks to the use of a more advanced transmission system and tracks, the degree of "losing side" is also faster, much faster than that of British tanks. It is also much more flexible, and more importantly, all the "gun sides" are equipped with radio communication equipment, which can be easily coordinated operations.

Just when Francis was surprised by the astonishing advance of the boys, in one of the "small guns" tanks, a Chinese armored commander was engrossed in directing his tank forward, and this armored commander was Bai Lang. Deputy Commander of the First Armored Division of the Chinese Army Commander-in-Chief. Brigadier General.

Bai Lang was very satisfied with the performance of the "wheel side", he had driven several different tanks before, but the most satisfying was the "gun side". Because this kind of tank is not only thick armor, but also fast, it is very suitable for armored tactics, and the tank pays attention to protection, degree, and firepower. The comprehensive performance of these three aspects can basically reflect the combat effectiveness of the tank, with stronger protection, faster degree, and more fierce firepower, which is the goal pursued by the armored corps, and it is also the goal pursued by Bai Lang.

Of course, Bai Lang is also dissatisfied with the "gun gouging". That was the firepower of this tank, and the four-millimeter long-barreled tank gun, although it was basically able to meet the current tactical requirements, could penetrate the frontal armor of most European tanks at a long distance. But taking into account the progress of military technology, as well as the increase in tank armor, this tank gun does not have much potential for upgrading.

According to Bai Lang's original idea, "it is better for the tank to be equipped with a millimeter tank gun, so that the tank can not only compete head-on with the enemy tank, but also provide stronger front-line artillery support for the infantry." In fact, if you think about it, you can understand that a nanometer grenade can be loaded with more explosives than a good millimeter grenade, and the power is stronger, and if the technology advances quickly, a 10,000-millimeter special bomb may be able to fill a small amount of explosives. Used as an armor-piercing projectile, this kind of shell has a stronger armor-piercing after-effect and can ensure that one bullet is one car.

Armor-piercing shells with millimeter tank guns are without explosives. Purely rely on kinetic energy to pierce armor, so it is often difficult for one shell to make the enemy tank incapacitated, and several more are needed, although it is said that a white phosphorus armor-piercing incendiary bomb has now been successfully developed. But Bai Lang's troops have not yet seen such armor-piercing shells.

And because of this, when the command tank rushed out of the mountain pass. Bai Lang immediately gave an order to the gunner to prepare enough armor-piercing shells in the ammunition box next to him, because the target they were about to face was a group of British-made Mark IV tanks, which were also relatively thick in armor and not weak in comprehensive firepower, but the disadvantage was that they were slow and the armor-piercing power of the guns was insufficient.

"The target is at eleven o'clock!"

Sitting in the commander-loader's position, Bai Lang used the periscope to show his first target, and immediately informed the gunner of the situation, and ordered the driver to adjust the direction of the car and face the enemy, and then the tank stopped, the gunner turned the turret and aimed at the target he found, and Bai Lang loaded the first armor-piercing shell into the chamber.

"Take aim, hit, don't have to wait for orders

Bai Lang gave the order to the gunner over the intercom in the car. Then combat orders were given to all tanks and armored vehicles via radio intercom.

Bai Lang hadn't finished giving the order yet. The gunner had already opened fire, and with a dull cannon sound, the hood-piercing shell was victorious, a moment later. The gunner shouted.

"Hit! It's abundant! Reload! Reload".

Before the words fell, the "gun side, the small tank hull shook slightly, and at the same time, Bai Lang also heard" Ding. Ding Dangdang", apparently, the enemy tanks also opened fire on them, the machine gun bullets hit the armor plate with a crisp crashing sound, and a shell also hit the front armor plate of the tank, but it did not penetrate.