"Sir!" When Zhang Cheng walked into the busy temporary front-line command post outside Freer Town, many busy officers immediately stood up and saluted. Zhang Cheng's identity is very easy to identify, and he is currently the only general on the battlefield in South Africa.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Zhang Cheng responded casually to the military salute, then took off his military hat and gloves and threw them on the map, stretched out his hand and pulled a chair to sit down. took out a cigarette and lit it, looked at Lu Zhiyuan and Junmo, who looked a little cramped and uneasy, and asked in a deep voice.

More than two hours had passed since the scheduled time for the attack, and the attacking troops were not ready. If nothing else, this is enough to violate military law.

"General." After Lu Zhiyuan and Junmo glanced at each other, they helplessly explained, "Time is too tight, the bridge erection equipment of the engineer battalion broke down during the sea voyage, and it has not been repaired until now." They were supposed to build a pontoon bridge over the Tuguela River last night, but now none of the bridges have been built. Due to the difficulties of road transportation, the ammunition quota of the various tank groups was not reached, and the armor-piercing shells were only one-fifth of the required ones. In addition, the soldiers are wearing winter clothes, and the weather here is so hot that not a single summer coat has been issued. The oil reserves, which were scheduled to be shipped from the port of Durban, have not been delivered, and the oil reserves are only half of what was planned. The starting position of the first battalion was blocked by a herd of cattle, who could not enter their starting position. ”

The corners of Zhang Cheng's eyes twitched slightly. Twitched, took a deep breath to calm his mood. Slowly lowered his eyelids and asked softly, "Anything else?" ”

"General." Junmo on the side glanced at Zhang Cheng and hurriedly explained, "There are a lot of small troubles, but we will definitely have difficulties in customer service." The armored forces are fighting for the first time, and there are many unsatisfactory points, so please forgive the general. ”

"If I didn't understand, you would have called the gendarme!" Zhang Cheng stood up with a cold face and looked at the edge of the road. said coldly: "If the engineer battalion can't erect a pontoon bridge, it can't cross the river?" When I was studying the map before the war, I didn't think about where there would be a bridge that could bear the load? Did troops be sent to seize it in advance? Armor-piercing shells are not enough for the quota? Who gave you your information? Don't you know that the Boers on the other side are herdsmen on horseback? Where did they have a target for you to use armor-piercing shells? Just bring a little bit to spare, there is no need to follow the campaign plan. If you wear too many clothes, you will take them off directly, and you will not be able to fight if you wear a shirt? The oil can be rushed, and now it is enough to hit as far as it can. When the fuel supply arrived, the attack continued. Do you think it's a drill right now, and you have to be ready for everything before you can perform? That is, the opponent is not good, and you have already been defeated if you are an opponent with similar strength! ”

Zhang Cheng reprimanded with a cold face. made the two classmates feel gloomy, but they felt that what Zhang Cheng said was indeed not wrong. I have been training and exercising for a long time, and I was really panicked when I went to the battlefield all of a sudden. All sorts of big and small situations are going on, and they really aren't ready.

The many officers in the headquarters all held their breath, and they didn't even dare to breathe. The hasty arrival of this unit did have many shortcomings, but these were not enough to be an obstacle to the progress of the armored troops.

Lu Zhiyuan and Junmo were both pulled into the First Tank Division by Zhang Cheng after graduating from the senior officer training class of the Land University. The two were the commanders of two tank regiments, both with the rank of lieutenant colonel. This time, only the tank regiment of the edge of the road was mobilized, but Zhang Cheng specially called Junmo to increase his actual combat experience.

"Are there any questions now?" Zhang Cheng asked in a deep voice.

"Those cows" Lu Zhiyuan said with a look of embarrassment.

"Slaughter them all and feed the soldiers!" Zhang Cheng's face was so dark that he was about to drip water, "You are now on the land of the enemy, and you are fighting!" I'm asking you to figure out where you stand! Get ready to attack now! I'll give you thirty minutes to prepare. Thirty minutes later, before the battle has begun, then I will have the gendarmes take you back to the ship. I promise you'll spend the rest of your military career in the stacks of papers in the archives of the Army Command, do you understand?! ”

The debut of the armored force as a new branch of the Ming Army is indeed a bit bumpy. However, the milk tiger cries at the beginning, and the young eagle spreads its wings. The mighty king will finally show his invincible majesty after a few staggering steps.

After being delayed for two and a half hours, more than a hundred and fifty tanks and an even greater number of armored vehicles, trucks, and other vehicles left their starting positions with a huge engine roar. Under the horrified gaze of many local residents, they rushed towards the Tuguera River. After crossing the Tuguela River, you will be close to the town of Ladysmith, where a large number of Boer troops have gathered.

At this time, the battle in the sky has also been decided. Although the Americans had a numerical advantage, it was a pity that the qualitative gap was too great to be bridged. The difference between a top speed of 330 km/h and a top speed of 500 km/h is enough to decide the fate of both sides. The final odds were 5 to 61. The Ming eagle, which showed its claws for the first time, successfully seized air supremacy on the battlefield.

In addition to the fact that 5 warplanes were shot down, the Army Airlines. A number of warplanes were also wounded. However, most of them could be repaired and continued to operate, and only 3 aircraft were able to become spare parts suppliers because important components were destroyed.

4 pilots were confirmed dead. Six pilots were wounded and incapacitated. Compared to their gains, the casualties were definitely minor. However, in just two hours of air combat, the army aviation firmly grasped air supremacy over the battlefield. The American Volunteer Flying Team, which was originally full of confidence, was crippled.

This air battle had a huge impact on the air power of the entire world. As a result of this large-scale air battle, the vast majority of countries abandoned biplanes and began to develop new and advanced monoplanes.

Famous examples are the German Miseschmidt, the British Spitfire, and the American P36. The French D-520 and the Russian I-16 (designed by the famous Pav Sukhoi. As well as the Japanese 96 ship battles and so on. These new fighters have completely ushered the world into a new era of aviation.

After seizing air supremacy, a large number of tactical support aircraft began to take off from various field airfields, roaring towards their intended targets. Mainly the artillery positions of the Boers, as well as the staging places for supplies. Of course, if a command center or a marching column is found in large groups. The pilots who flew the dive bombers were not picky eaters.

Where have the Boers, who have always been accustomed to a hard life, ever seen an air raid on such a scale? They don't even have their own planes, and it's even less likely that they have such a thing as anti-aircraft artillery. Therefore. When a large number of roaring bombers dropped deadly bombshells on the ground. The Boers either fled in desperation, or they used all the weapons at their disposal to shoot at the bombers in the sky with their high speed and strong armor.

It's a pity that the Boers are not filming a divine drama. They don't have the ability to blow up a plane with a single shot. Even if a smart person quickly organized a rifle platoon salvo, or concentrated light machine gun fire into the air, it would hardly do anything. Their opponents are not old biplanes that are slow and poorly defended. Faced with a new and sturdy aircraft, the Boers had no power to fight back. (The improvised organization of water-cooled heavy machine gun anti-aircraft fire is purely hilarious.) Let's not talk about the weight. How do you lift up a water-cooled heavy machine gun and shoot continuously? ）

Bomber after bomber bombed the Boers in a daze. Their artillery positions and material build-up turned into flames under the care of the bombshells. The Boers, who did not know anything about air defense, became the best targets for air strikes. The pilots of the Daming Army Aviation grew up rapidly through the blood of the enemy.

Stationed near the town of Leddy Smith was led by the commander-in-chief of the Boer Army, Piert Smith. The main forces of the Boers led by General Joubert. They crossed the Longshan Mountains from East Orange to attack the port of Durban and block the Ming reinforcements. The Boers did not expect to be attacked by the weak Ming army at all.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty claimed that the advance force with only two regiments and a few battalions had a total strength of no less than 10,000 people. Tank divisions with large formations, whether regiments or battalions, are all large formations, and their numbers and equipment are much higher than those of ordinary troops. The Boers looked at Zhang Cheng's troops according to the regular establishment, and naturally they would suffer losses.

The Tugela River was neither wide nor deep, but it was strong enough to hold back the advance of mechanized troops. Several important pieces of equipment in the engineer battalion were damaged during the sea, and the important parts for repair could not be replaced in a short period of time, and the matter of erecting pontoon bridges became empty talk.

Fortunately, through Wang Yan's intelligence, he learned that there was a railway bridge across the Tugela River in the town of Coronso, a few kilometers northeast of the town of Freel. According to the military intelligence. According to the report, the railway bridge was enough for tanks with a combat weight of more than 27 tons.

Before the battle began, a powerful search force rushed to the town of Colenso in tracked armored vehicles. After successfully defeating the small number of Boer militia stationed here, they took control of the vital railway bridge. It was learned from the captured prisoners that after learning that the Ming army took the initiative to attack. They did want to destroy the railroad bridge, but they didn't have explosives.

After passing through the moat of the Tuguela River, the armored forces that had successfully entered the vast wasteland were finally able to show their formidable strength. They made a quick northward march along the heath, heading for the vicinity of Rydersmithtown. The Boer army there was now in massive confusion under the heavy air strikes.

"Don't mention the loss of motorcycle hours at this time." Zhang Cheng was in a specially made extended trailer at the moment, grabbed the walkie-talkie in his hand, and shouted loudly to the edge of the road that commanded the vanguard team at the front line: "I repeat, this is not a drill!" This is on the battlefield! What you have to think about now is how to get to the designated target as soon as possible to defeat the enemy, and not what the motorized hour of the engine wears out! Nothing on the battlefield is more important than victory. Do you understand? ”

Throwing down the old-fashioned walkie-talkie in his hand, Zhang Cheng frowned and turned to lean over the table to look at the map carefully. We are working on the next plan of action. This battle was extremely important to Zhang Cheng, and he could only win. There must be no failure.

Zhang Cheng, who comes from modern time and space, knows very well how powerful the all-round strike of the advanced mechanized unit is with the integration of air and ground. The Boers, who were predominantly militiamen, had no chance of winning at all.

It's just that Zhang Cheng reminds himself all the time that he must not be careless. Once the war began, it was not a battle for him alone. So many of the soldiers under his command put their lives in his hands, and it would be disrespectful to the soldiers not to take them seriously.

There is nothing more respectable in this world than life. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, and your support. That's what motivates me the most......)

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