Lieutenant General Moltke Jr. had a hint of proof of himself and the meaning of the armored forces, and he and more than 50 members of the expedition to China were all loyal supporters of armored assault tactics, deeply influenced by Chinese officers, and also served as pillars in the First and Second Panzer Corps. It's just that at present, the situation is not optimistic.

With the support of Schlieffen and the running of Moltke Jr., the two armored corps formed over a period of more than two years, with a total of more than 600 tanks, were all in their own hands. More than halfway through the Ardennes Forest, the speed is satisfying, and the process is frustrating. Of the more than 600 tanks, 55 broke down in the middle of the breakdown, and a small number of them were able to catch up after simple repairs, and most of them needed to be replaced with parts or transported back to the rear repair shop for repair, and these tanks would have a hard time catching up with the first large-scale battle.

In addition, the problem of lack of heavy firepower is also quite prominent, according to the armored force assault tactics taught by the instructors of Huaguo, speed is its greatest magic weapon, and it is also the main reason why Marshal Schlieffen attaches great importance to armored troops. In order to increase speed, large-caliber artillery was inevitably weakened, and the largest caliber artillery in the Panzer Corps was none other than the Krupp 150-mm howitzer. The lack of heavy firepower allowed the armoured units to stagnate in the face of the enemy's strong fortifications, such as when conquering a Belgian town, in the face of relatively strong fortifications, and when it was impossible to destroy them remotely, the grenadiers had to force their attacks under the cover of tanks, and the losses of both soldiers and tanks were heavy.

So far, 34 tanks of the two Panzer Corps have been destroyed by the enemy, although most of them are No. 2 tanks, but it also makes Moltke feel distressed. Every tank was obtained by Moltke Jr. in the staff headquarters, fighting with the navy for steel in front of the emperor, and he even witnessed the moment when each tank walked off the production line, all tanks were like his own children to Moltke.

Huaguo's approach, in order to increase speed. Also not carrying heavy artillery, they had a combat vehicle called a "self-propelled gun", also known as an "assault gun", modified by the T01 tank chassis, with a semi-open 75-mm gun on top, which could quickly follow the advance of the armored forces and provide timely fire support to the grenadiers. The Chinese army also has a large number of trucks and other vehicles, which can easily carry a large number of artillery to follow the advance.

Moltke Jr. could only express envy and jealousy, his armored army was exhausted just by equipping more than 600 tanks, not to mention assault guns and trucks that needed a lot of steel. In the two armies, apart from tanks and some armored vehicles, there were not many mobile tools, most of which relied on mules and horses, and a few trucks were used to transport valuable tank ammunition, spare parts, etc. This was also the sadness of Moltke, because the compromise made by the formation of the two armies with the other army forces was that most of the trucks and other motor vehicles were allocated to other units.

In addition, in the face of the enemy's fixed firing points and strong fortifications, the Chinese army has the assistance of superior air force, their fighters are more powerful, bombers can carry larger bombs, ground attack capabilities are higher, and their aircraft are more numerous. Before the armored forces advance, their air force will first destroy enemy airfields, army assembly points, material warehouses, artillery assembly points, command centers, etc., causing confusion among enemy forces, and then the armored forces will then surprise and forcefully intersperse and divide, and finally destroy the enemy.

And the German planes assigned to the Ardennes Forest were less than a fifth of the German troops on the right flank, and most of the fighters and bombers did not appear above Moltke Jr.'s head, which forced Moltke's armored forces to face the well-prepared enemy forces alone, and the losses, of course, were significant.

The 2nd Company of the 3rd Tank Battalion of the 1st Armored Division suffered considerable losses, and their No. 207 tank broke down in the middle of the process due to a breakdown, and has not been able to catch up with it so far. Karl, the commander of tank 205, was rescued from a rifle bullet when he poked his head out to observe the enemy when he was attacking a fortified position, but he could never go back to the battlefield. The company commander Ivo had to temporarily promote a commander, and Sergeant Rommel, who performed the most prominently, became the commander of the 205th vehicle, and the rank was promoted to sergeant.

Ivo patted Rommel on the shoulder after putting on the sergeant's epaulette and turned to leave, Rommel climbed to 205, and there was silence in the tank compartment, except for the sound of Jurgen holding a bucket of water to wash, whether it was the blood that had spilled from Karl's death, or whether Mark had broken the silence and handed him a cigarette in congratulations.

Now is not the time to rejoice in promotion, their crew is considered a veteran of several battles, and the 205 tank is also famous in the 3rd Tank Battalion for destroying three Belgian guns and a Belgian armored car. But none of this can hide the pain of losing the commander, burying the sadness in their hearts, and everyone is silently digesting the sad emotions, waiting for the next battle to begin.

Rommel felt that he should say something as a commander, he took a deep puff of his cigarette, threw the cigarette butt out of the car, and said in a deep voice: "If I die in battle, hopefully it will be because the enemy's shells have penetrated our armor, not because of the painful tossing and turning of the hospital bed." ”

"Captain, if that happens, we will have to bury you!"

"Thank you very much, when the time comes, let's go to Karl and set up a tank charge in hell!"

"Hahahaha!" The gloom on their faces was swept away, and the dark faces of Mark, John and others showed white teeth, looking like evil spirits in hell.

"It seems that I'm quite competent as the commander, so I'll let you get your soul back in a few words, follow me and do a good job!"

"! If you don't do well in the fight, don't blame me for kicking your ass! John laughed.

A shout came from outside the car: "Sergeant Rommel, Sergeant Rommel!" This voice seemed very abrupt in the noisy tank battalion station, because the voice was not like a big man, but a little shrill and delicate.

Ignoring his men's jokes, Rommel slipped out of the top hatch, looked at the soldier with a backpack next to the tracks, and then jumped in, followed by Mark, John, and Jurgen.

"Which one is Sergeant Rommel?" The soldier asked in a low voice, looking uneasy, a characteristic expression of a recruit when he first entered the army, but this one seemed to be more twisted and his body was too thin, and Rommel was a little dissatisfied when he guessed something.

"I am."

"Report to the commander, my name is Prinz, the former corporal of the electronic communications battalion of the regimental headquarters, and I was sent to car No. 205 of the 3rd tank battalion!" Prinz hurriedly saluted, and he felt sorry for these unblinking, rude tank men who had never been on the battlefield.

"Hey, rookie, have you ever shot a shot?" Mark's ridicule immediately made Jurgen and the others laugh out loud, only Rommel frowned, he didn't care about Prinz beside him, turned his head and muttered: "****!" ”

"Why did the regimental headquarters send a signal soldier like you? I applied for a tank corps, not a signal corps! Rommel took off Prinz's backpack, Mark blocked Prinz, who tried to get it back, and Rommel threw the contents of the backpack on the ground one by one, a pencil, a notebook, a pair of delicate cowhide shoes, and a clean blanket.

"Listen, rookie, what Tank 205 needs is a demon who kills people without blinking, you look like a little white rabbit, if I can't get you back, I can only turn you from a little white rabbit into a big bad wolf."

Rommel put a bucket next to the car in Prinz's arms: "Now, clean the inside of the tank, so that you can't see anything dirty!" ”

Prinz, who was about to cry, climbed into the tank in embarrassment and into the tank compartment, which was full of strong smells, and saw what the commander had asked him to clean - a large pool of congealed blood. Prinz finally couldn't hold back his low cry, and he didn't want to leave the safe and comfortable communications battalion and come into this disgusting and terrible tank.

The sulking Rommel immediately understood the necessary qualities of a leader - venting the anger in his heart to his subordinates: "John, Mark, go to the battalion headquarters to get supplies, we need to replenish high-explosive bombs and fuel, Jurgen, go to the engineer battalion and ask for a little paint, hurry up, if you don't want me to stab you in the ass with armor-piercing bullets!" ”

Mark walked a few steps before laughing and running away, and these veteran oilmen were not afraid of the young Sergeant Rommel. Still, Rommel found the best place to vent, and a dozen Belgian prisoners passed him with their heads drooping, two German soldiers and a second lieutenant armed with Mauser rifles to guard the left and right.

"Did you kill Carl?" Rommel, whose eyes were red, pounced and knocked down the nearest Belgian with a punch, and the guards next to him hurriedly grabbed him, and a German second lieutenant just wanted to teach Rommel a lesson, when he saw the tank soldiers slowly gathering over, all of them were not good-looking, so they had to pass by quickly with the prisoners, "I knew that I wouldn't have taken a shortcut to escort the prisoners!" The lieutenant thought.

John and Mark only received two barrels of fuel and ten high-explosive bombs from the supply truck, which did not meet Rommel's requirements. However, it is said that the entire battalion was a little strained in supplies, the speed of transportation in the rear was not fast, and a spring rain made the roads of the Ardennes even more muddy, and the rain and melted snow mixed in the ruts of the tanks, and soldiers, mules, horses, and vehicles had to move around the roads with difficulty. Compared to the time when the supplies had just left Germany, the test is just beginning now. Mark started the engine to warm up, and ten minutes later the entire 3rd Tank Battalion rumbled out of the makeshift recuperation site and headed for the next destination. (To be continued.) )