This is a great march of mechanized troops on a scale unprecedented in the history of human warfare.

In this great march, Major General Guderian, the founder of the German Army's armored corps, successfully practiced his theory of armored corps, and completely lived up to the high hopes placed on him by King Cheng Gong of Donghui.

These four heavy tank divisions, composed of the German Volunteers and the Japanese Volunteers, belonged to the First Army of the Kaihui Wehrmacht's South Route Attack Corps, and it was both the middle of the First Army and the attack vanguard of the First Army.

The Malaoqi River is an important natural barrier on which the "Malaoqi Defense Line" is based. The south of the river originates in the western part of Lake Gabgabu east of the 141st parallel and flows southwest into the Arafura Sea, with the main tributary being the Obat River.

The Malauch River is strongly influenced by high tides, and the lower reaches are affected by seawater, and a complex marsh and lake topography has formed around the river.

Judging from the terrain of the entire Malaoqi area, there is a main road in the direction of Wendu to the west of Malaoqi, which is suitable for the frontal attack of Donghui mechanized troops, so the Australian army has deployed a large number of troops along the road.

Garrisoned in the town of Marauch was the Australian Army's elite "Simpsons" regiment. As a key defensive area, the Australian army deployed a breakthrough defense line on the west bank of the Malaochi River. The road from Windu to Malaochi is full of hills, passes, and gorges, with honeycomb bunkers and various firing points, and trenches and tunnels hidden in thorn bushes are connected vertically and horizontally, forming a deep defense line with dense firepower.

With the support of Britain, France, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, and other countries, the Australian High Command formulated a war plan codenamed "Sunset West" for Donghui. The plan stipulates that if the multinational joint naval fleet wins a decisive battle with the Donghui navy, taking advantage of the favorable opportunity of the complete blockade of the coastline of Donghui, the Australian army will first attack westward and seize the air base of Changxing Island (Dorak Island) in Donghui Dingnan Province in order to eliminate the air threat.

Adopt a defensive position on the northern and northwest borders to prevent the counterattack of the Eastern Army, and wait for the combined navy of Australia, Britain, France, and the Netherlands to land in Lushun Bay in Donghui, and attack from the east and west to defeat Donghui. To this end, the Australian army mobilized a total of 40 divisions and 22 brigades, 1,200 light tanks, 1,500 aircraft and 5,500 artillery pieces. Seven army groups were formed: Simpson, Palimo, Kiyonga, Seki, Morehead, Greenriver, and Wanimo, with four army groups deployed along the southern Marauch-Central Mountain border, two along the northern and northwestern fronts, and another army group in the area east of the Frye River as a reserve.

In the words of a French construction engineer, the "Marauci Line" is the epitome of the "Maginot Line"!

In the town of Malaoqi, a large number of clear hidden forts were built, ditches and tunnels were built, and a multi-layer crossfire network based on two ring fortifications was formed. The defenders have repeatedly boasted arrogantly to the Japanese volunteers stationed on the west side: If you want to break through the Malaoqi defense line, it will take at least half a year!

June 11 was 10:35 p.m. on the 10th of October.

The huge body of the T34/85 tank appeared on the western horizon of the Vendu-Marauch highway, and rushed all the way at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

The heavy clangle of metal shook the earth.

The defensive line of three barbed wire and trenches built by the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Australian Simpsons Corps on the road was as weak as a hymen in the face of a double-tank attack formation composed of 12 T34/85 tanks.

The 12 T34/85 tanks were followed by 24 Type 63 amphibious tanks and 48 Type 63 tracked armored personnel carriers with fence armor.

The clear bunkers on the hillsides on both sides of the road were in full swing, but there was no way to delay the onslaught of this torrent of steel.

ONE OF 37MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT SHELLS WERE FIRED FROM MULTIPLE BUNKER HOLES, MOST OF THEM FAILED TO HIT THE ARMOURED VEHICLES MOVING AT HIGH SPEED, AND OCCASIONALLY THREE SHOTS HIT THREE ARMOURED VEHICLES, AND BEFORE THE AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS ON THE HILLSIDE COULD BLOW, THE THREE ARMOURED VEHICLES ONLY DROPPED A FEW PIECES OF FENCE ARMOR, AND STILL GALLOPED AT A HIGH SPEED OF 45 KILOMETERS PER HOUR.

"Sergeant Major, Sergeant Major, how come the anti-aircraft artillery is useless to Donghui's chariot?" Inside a bunker, John, who was only nineteen years old this year, asked in a muttered voice as he stared at the Type 63 tracked armored vehicle sprayed with the Donghui military emblem whistling by.

"Fack! Shet! You ask me, who am I going to ask! The Australian sergeant major in the bunker was so depressed that he only rolled his eyes.

"Cake sellers! Donghui's tank rushed up! John suddenly saw two T34/85 tanks roaring along the 30-degree slope on the hill below, rushing effortlessly, and he was immediately frightened.

The Australian Army Sergeant Major, who was over 30 years old, was also dumbfounded at this moment.

What the hell is this tank! This slope is 30 degrees! How can it climb up? And it's still that fast!

Before they could understand what was going on, a shell whistled from the muzzle of the T34/85 tank 85mm caliber tank gun, and with a loud "boom", the entire bunker was blown into slag, and the masonry fragments flew into the air along with countless flesh and blood stumps.

The commanding heights of the first line of defense deployed by the Australian army in front of the Malaoqi Town Assault, 109 Heights, three bright forts, and two dark forts were all wiped out by two T34/85 tanks at fixed targets.

Following the doors of the three armored personnel carriers of the T34/85 tank opened, dozens of infantrymen jumped out of it, armed with C37 semi-automatic rifles and C37 submachine guns, and it took less than ten minutes to clear all the remnants of the enemy on this high ground. A brightly colored flag of the Donghui National Defense Army fluttered in the wind at the highest point of this high ground.

The first line of defense of the Marauch Line, known as the impregnable wall of the Australian military, was successfully overcome and occupied by the follow-up armored infantry after being quickly passed by Guderian's armored troops, and then it took only twenty minutes.

Located in the western suburbs of the town of Marauqi, the Bupul hills and mountains are the second line of defense deployed by the city defense of Marauqi.

The terrain of this hill is complex, and the vegetation such as shrubs, grasses, vines, and thorns compete with each other, and the roots are intertwined, which is very unfavorable for travel. However, such terrain is not a problem at all for the T34/85 tanks manufactured by Donghui, which has a maximum climb of 40 degrees.

The shrub vegetation was crushed by the T34/85's 35-ton tracks, which did not stop at all.

The headquarters of the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Australian Simpsons Corps, together with a garrison company, a 57th anti-aircraft artillery platoon, and an 82 mortar position, fled in confusion when they saw the T34/85 tanks rumbling up from the bottom of the hillside, and retreated to the last line of defense of the Maroch, the position on the east bank of the Maroch River.

The 1st Battalion and 1st Company of the 1st Regiment of the 1st SS Division had already rushed out of the armored personnel carriers at this time, and along the passage crushed by the four T34/85 tanks, they controlled the entire Bupple Mountains without a single shot.

After the commander of the company, SS Captain Rudolph, reached the top of the hill and was just about to order the signal corps to report the good news to the regiment commander, when one of the soldiers excitedly shouted: "Company commander, come here, there is a telephone line!" ”

Rudolph couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard this. There is a telephone line, which means that this must be the headquarters of the Australian defenders. Without hesitation, with a wave of his right hand, Rudolph led a squad of fighters up the hill along the telephone line up a steep slope and zigzagged into the mouth of a cave in the recess of the mountainside.

Without thinking about it, Rudolph ordered his men to throw two grenades into the cave, and when the smoke cleared after the explosion, he searched carefully into the cave.

As a result, it was empty, and the floor was littered with abandoned and blown up documents, maps, and a shattered sand table.

On the sand table that was not completely blown up, a string of English words "Fourth Anti-Tank Regiment" was clearly visible.

This is the command of the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Australian Army "Simpsons"!

(To be continued.) )