Chapter 1401 Tiger Roar France 1
You ready? Our feast is about to begin, and I don't want to be late. Lieutenant Colonel Becker, the commander of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion, asked the commanders of his three companies next to his car.
"We have no problem, but some auxiliary troops may have to wait for a while, General Guderian has assigned us some supporting firepower, I have reflected it to the above according to your wishes, but it has not passed." Company Commander Karyus made a helpless expression.
"Well, give them another hour, we must set out tonight, and we must reach the Agen region tomorrow morning, and then crush the Yankees' forward forces. We, unlike the 511 Panzer Division, were in a combat position not far from the line of defense, which was more of an offensive defense. And we're going to get into each other's henchmen and beat them to a mess! If those slow guys can't catch up, don't wait for them, take our supplies and repair vehicles, and go first. Lieutenant Colonel Becker said without hesitation. Perhaps it was the steel behemoth behind him that gave him enough confidence to make him a little unscrupulous in his choices.
"Okay, let's go!" His men cheered and ran to their chariots. They are the pride of the German Army, the ultimate embodiment of the strength of the German Army, the blades of the Empire, the most elite knights under His Majesty the Kaiser, and they desperately need to prove their abilities on the battlefield. The small test at the beginning did not satisfy these people, what they needed was a big war to prove themselves with hundreds or thousands of wreckage!
At the same time, just as the 502nd Tank Battalion was sharpening its knives, the U.S. troops under General Patton also began to accelerate their advance towards Toulouse. Sitting in the command car, Patton cursed the British while listening to the staff officer's report. In this great war, which was about the final ownership of the south of France, the British did not send a large-scale army to fight! It's unbearable! Of course. Patton would never admit that he would be more at peace fighting the British. After all, the quality of the British troops was somewhat higher than that of the American GIs. Although their supplies are not as good as the American army.
"General, do you want to see the information on the new German tank sent by the French side?" An officer handed over a document from the side and said.
"Looks like a big guy. Lads. Barton said as he extinguished the half of the cigar from his lips. Can our Type 29 tank destroyers destroy them? Barton said, after a quick glance. In his opinion, as long as the Type 29 tank destroyer can solve the problem, it is not a problem.
"Like, it's hard. At least in the engagements between the French and the Germans, not a single Tiger tank was destroyed, not even on the side. Of course, it may be because of the shorter duration of the engagements and the smaller number of them. However, it seems that the opponent can penetrate the Type 29 tank at a distance of 800 meters. The staff officer said.
"800 meters away? All right. Let's pay attention, in addition. Tell the boys of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion that they have a new mission. General Patton was noncommittal about this information, after all, mistakes abound on the battlefield, let alone distance estimation. He didn't really believe in this result, after all, the Type 29 tank destroyer had performed perfectly in the previous battle. Except that there are no turrets! In addition, what emboldened Barton was that the U.S. Army Armament Department was still prepared. Huaxia sent news of the Tiger tank before the war, and this time, according to Patton's words, the corrupt officials and capitalists in the armament department finally did a job, and they equipped the troops with a new 90MML50 anti-aircraft gun. In terms of performance, it is a little stronger than the 29MML90 of the Type 45 tank. So, Barton wasn't worried about these steel monsters.
"In addition, the troops must arrive in the Agen area by 10 a.m. Then we began to build defensive positions, and I hope that the 1st Marine Division will not let me down. Of course, it doesn't matter if they don't do it well. Anyway, there is the 1st Cavalry Division, and we can help them finish it. Write everything I said and send it to that little guy at Turner. Barton felt a sense of triumph and spoofed pleasure. There is no Pacific theater on this plane, so the 1st Marine Division wants to find self-esteem in the Japanese, although they are logically independent of the army, but the situation is constantly changing, when the Germans pointed at Toulouse, the American high-level assigned the 1st Marine Division to Patton without saying a word, although it lacks enough heavy equipment, but this division has a lot of motor vehicles, and the mobility is not said, so as a forward, this must not be said that Patton has the idea of letting the 1st Marine Division be cannon fodder, because in the initial estimates, the Americans did not think that Germany would appear so far away, and that the task was only to get to this area, and then to build a starting position, not to say that they would go straight to Toulouse, although Major General Turner may have this idea in mind.
So, as fate would have it, the two forces began to assemble in the Agen region. One is an armored division of the U.S. Army, while the other is just an unregrouped heavy battalion, and the strength is very different. If anyone could stand in the sky and see through the darkness of the night, he would be able to see an army of earthy yellow painted like a dragon rushing from west to east, while another army painted in black and gray was much smaller, stabbing at the opponent like a small but sharp dagger. When the sun rises in the sky, it's the time when the two sides meet each other! To Lieutenant Colonel Becker's surprise, before his reconnaissance vehicle could send back the news, the Air Force's reconnaissance plane had already informed him that there was an American army not far from him that was speeding up!
"Very good, the other party obviously didn't notice us, let's go and send him a meeting gift." Becker looked at the map and made a plan, on the way of the opponent, Becker designed an L-shaped encirclement, frontal interception, side attack, take advantage of the chaos to succeed, mainly destroy the opponent's heavy equipment and baggage, and then quickly evacuate to find the next target. Their task was to delay and wear down the opponent, and not to rely on a fixed line of defense for defense, after all, the 502 Heavy Tank Battalion lacked infantry and supporting firepower.
Unbeknownst to Turner, he had been caught in the minds of a tiger, and just as he had seen the road sign to the Agen area and was about to enter it, the barrels of the guns sticking out of the nearby woods were already aimed at the kilometer-long convoy. The sturdy bodies of these Iron Tigers are hidden beneath the trees. The sun shines through the trees and casts irregular spots of light below. The thick barrel was aimed at the troops that were slowly moving in the distance, and the huge tank stuck out its sharp teeth and fangs like a tiger waiting to catch its prey!
"Hit the tank first. Hit the truck again and fire freely! "Accompanied by the order. The 88MML56 tank gun of the Tiger Tank jumped violently, and then a ball of orange flames erupted from the muzzle, and the huge energy kicked up a large amount of dust, and an armor-piercing shell flew out of the barrel at a speed of about 900 meters! In less than 2 seconds, a cloud of smoke was seen rising from the dense convoy in the distance. Then a piercing explosion came, "Man! The 1400-meter start hit is not bad! The driver said excitedly after looking at the ruins in the distance! It's a good start! "I was actually aiming at the tank next to me, not the infantry fighting vehicle." The somewhat embarrassed gunner muttered quietly.
The dense formation and unguarded arrangement of the Americans made the attack unusually smooth. MORE THAN 30 TIGER TANKS LINED UP IN A ROW, AND THE POWERFUL 88MM HEAVY GUNS EASILY KILLED THE TARGET AT A DISTANCE OF 1 KILOMETER. A series of cannon shots rang out, making it impossible to tell how many people there were on the other side. In the sound of explosions one after another, the US military tanks were reduced to piles of rubble, and if one looked at them from the air, one could find that in just a few minutes, the destroyed convoys along the lines of communication formed shocking black spots! Under the frantic attack of the Germans, the Americans lost more than two hundred vehicles of various types in a very short time, and what was even more terrifying was the loss of personnel! Quite a few American GIs didn't have time to jump out of their vehicles. Along with the chariot, it turned into a pile of fragments, and a little blood and fire in the wreckage and cooked minced flesh told everyone that there was once a living person here! The entire battlefield turned into hell in an instant!
But after all, the formation of the 1st Marine Division was still very long, and only part of it was attacked, while the tigers were hunting wild boars wantonly. The boars were also preparing for a counterattack, and Major General Turner immediately took out one of his fist armored battalions, which was a Sherman tank battalion. THERE ARE 75 VEHICLES ARMED WITH 76MM LONG-BARRELED GUNS AND 75MM SHORT GUNS, IN ADDITION TO AN M10 TANK DESTROYER BATTALION. In terms of quantity. I was able to go up the three figures, too, but in terms of quality. Compared to those tigers hiding behind the shade, it is really more than a notch!
"Their tanks are outflanking us from the right flank, let the flanks and reserves pay attention to a little and not show our flanks!" A heavy tank battalion is an independent fighting group, and they have not only Tiger tanks, but also various auxiliary vehicles, such as reconnaissance vehicles, such as armored repair vehicles, and independent baggage units. When the round group of tanks in the United States was ready to kill from the side of the road, it had already been discovered by the reconnaissance vehicles deployed in front, and the action of a battalion-sized armored unit definitely needed some preparation, especially from the state of march to the state of battle, one by one the tanks drove down the road under the command of the officer, and then took the company and platoon as a unit, ready to assemble and arrange the order of attack, and at the same time, send the reconnaissance force to investigate. THESE RECONNAISSANCE UNITS CLASHED WITH THE GERMAN ARMORED VEHICLES DEPLOYED ON THE PERIPHERY, AND THE AMERICANS' 37MM GUNS WERE INDEED A LITTLE LESS POWERFUL, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE A LOT OF RADIO EQUIPMENT ON THE VEHICLES, BUT IT WAS USELESS TO SEE THEM. DURING THE FIRING WITH THE WEASEL AND WEASEL INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES, THE RECONNAISSANCE VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH 37 MM GUNS WAS OVERTURNED BY THE OPPOSING 50 MM GUNS AND 75 MM SHORT GUNS.
"The enemy in front of you has almost been cleared, shall we evacuate?" Looking at the US convoy that had turned into a sea of fire in the scope, a company commander asked Becker in the channel.
"No, let's take out that American armored force before we leave. Otherwise, our back road will not be stable. Becker vetoed the proposal for deployment in just a few seconds. Their task is to consume the sluggish opponent, and in a defensive state, the advantages of the Tiger tank with the help of terrain and defensive advantages can be exerted several times over. And if you hastily withdraw from the battlefield, who can guarantee that you will not be chased by this American armored force? Rather than this, it is better to take this opportunity to solve the opponent.
"Guys, we need to prove our worth in a regular tank battle! We are alone, with no backup! We must crush all those who stand in our way. In the end, Becker focused his defense on the U.S. armored units outflanked from the flanks, and one by one the Sherman tanks painted in yellow-green paint were ready to go, and a group of Sherman tanks with box-like hulls and round heads appeared in the scope, pounced on the lions like a pack of wild wolves!
The Americans did not know exactly what kind of opponent they were facing behind the woods, but they knew very well that all they needed to do was to lean in and collide with each other in the shortest possible time, because no matter who the opponent was, the Sherman tank did not have an advantage, and the short 75 gun of the Sherman could be said to be far inferior to the 75MML48 gun of the Germans. Although the power of the long 76 is enough, the number is too small. And there is no advantage in armor protection either. (Well, Dumbo hasn't appeared on this plane yet.) Since you can't fight from a distance, you can only fight hand-to-hand combat.
"Boys, you are the most tragic tank crew in the whole world, because your tank performance is the least good compared to all opponents and allies!" The tankers who participated in the battle clearly remembered that they had taken their first class in the army, and that was what the instructor told them. "Then why don't we use Huaxia's Type 29 tank? A friend of mine is in the tank unit of the army. A hairy guy stood up and said. Because they are in the Army, and we are the Marines! The instructor's answer after a moment of silence made the recruits in the audience speechless!
"Fire, fire as far away as possible!" Inspired by the captured British tanks, German tankers set up an orthophytic machine gun next to the main gun of the Tiger tank, which was rigidly connected to the gun, which could determine the distance of the target and indicate the target by firing tracer bullets, which simulated the trajectory to reduce the time and cost of corrective firing. Soon, the Americans spotted a tracer bullet jumping out of the bushes. From time to time, a puff of smoke fell next to the tank. This is the opponent's correction. Soon the real thunderbolt will come. Although the Americans do not know when the Germans learned such a hand, thanks to the blessings of Huaxia and the British, the Americans know this principle of orthopedics. At this moment, their hearts were raised to their throats, and they prayed that they would not be victims of the other party's first wave of shooting!
Thanks to the book friend zhouyu1976, the baby cat bear for the reward~~~, and the book friend's unchanged star monthly pass support ~~~. (To be continued......)