Chapter 7 Iron and Fire (1)
French tanks appeared in the telescope's vision with rolling dust, and Sneed found that he might have to reconsider his original plan.
He had not taken into account the length of the French tank queue before. The French tank marching column was much longer than he had imagined, and the distance between the front and rear tanks was at least fifteen meters. It seemed that the Luftwaffe did teach these Frenchmen a good lesson yesterday, leaving these proud Gaul roosters with serious sequelae.
But now this formation made the German hunters hiding in the bushes frown. They don’t know where to start.
French tanks drove past Sneider one after another. Before he could count to the eighth, the French tank on his head was approaching the front end of the German ambush position. However, the B1 heavy tanks and cars mentioned in the report had not yet appeared from the other end of the road.
The middle section of the French column could no longer be attacked according to the original plan, otherwise his tank group would be bound by the French tanks. This consequence was absolutely catastrophic. Sneed knew that the side armor of the four-type tank was not strong enough to withstand the bombardment of French 37mm tank guns.
Sneed decided to take action early, and he secretly prayed that the French would not react too quickly after the front team was suddenly attacked, otherwise his tank company would fall into a head-on battle.
"Every row is careful and follow my orders."
Sneed softly to the communicator, "In order, each row will choose its own target."
Sneeded the microphone and lowered his head and said to his gunman: "We aim at the ninth, armor-piercing bullets. We must hit it."
"As for orders, sir." The cannon leader Hank replied in a low voice. He turned his head and ordered the loader: "Armor Piercing Bullet." Then he leaned on the cannon leader's scope and began to aim accurately.
Hank gently stepped on the turret rotating pedal. Amid the low running sound of the electric motor and the slight metal friction sound of the turret sitting ring, the tank turret slowly rotated with the movement of the target, and the experienced gunner had pressed the h35 tightly on the dividing line in the scope.
"The armor-piercing projectile is ready."
The loader Carl pushed a capped armor-piercing projectile into the barrel, and the tank gun automatically closed the bolt and made a crisp metal impact.
"Each car crew listens to my orders."
Sneed stood on the turret and straightened his chest, then shouted loudly: "Let's fire!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a roar of cannons came from his ears. The fiery red muzzle flames shone the dark bushes, and the shock waves of the muzzle blew the grass leaves and dust on the ground in front of the tank and flew all over the sky. The dense bushes on the front of the tank were torn a gap by the strong shell shock waves, and the front armor of the tank was covered with broken branches and leaves.
"Hit!"
The gunner cheered loudly in the tank, but Sneid had no time to celebrate now. He shouted to the communicator anxiously: "All people pay attention, leave here immediately and rush out at full speed. Each row chooses his own target and lures his shots. Pay attention to formation, stop shooting for a short time, and try not to stay."
"As for orders, sir!" The four platoon leaders answered firmly from the headphones.
Sneed raised his right hand and waved it forward with force, then shouted loudly at the communicator: "Armored Forces! Go forward!"
After a harsh mechanical start, the dull roar of the Mebach engine echoed over the woods. Sneed's armored company lined up in an orderly line to start attacking. The No. 4 tanks overwhelmed the bushes on their fronts with an indifferent attitude, and then rushed towards the French tank group five hundred meters away.
But no one noticed that there was a conspicuous gap in this beautiful crossbar at that time, and Sneid's company did not appear where they should be.
"What's going on! Rawick!"
The poor tank company commander jumped and roared on the commander's pedal, but his tank engine kept making sharp starts, but he couldn't hear the exciting low roar.
"I don't know, sir! I was fine half an hour ago, but now... damn thing, move it quickly!" Rawick was sweating all over. He quickly checked the readings of each instrument, turned each major electrical switch back and forth, and repeated the start action skillfully over and over again, but the tank engine still didn't move at all.
"Follow up and attack, don't worry about me!"
Side stood outside the turret, waving his hand vigorously while shouting loudly at the tank leader who was looking at him in confusion. As the company's junket, he had to follow the side of the long car, so Car No. 302 did not set off with the attacking queue but stayed. The car commander nodded quickly. With a roar, Car No. 2 rushed out of the bush, leaving only a thick stream of clear smoke slowly floating among the trees.
"Damn it, you damn thing!"
Sneed jumped and cursed his car. There were already guns and explosions on the road in the distance. His company had already connected with the French. However, as the company commander, he was still angry with his tank in the woods. Sneed was almost crazy, but Tank No. 301 did not give the commander any face. Apart from the continuous making hateful start sounds, the engine prevented Sneed from hearing the sound he wanted to hear.
"No matter what, I'm going to command in front! Hank, you and others stay here, this car is now under your command! Use cannons to teach the French a lesson." Sneed completely lost confidence in starting No. 301. He decided to leave his car and chase his company on foot. Although this would be dangerous, he could not do anything to stay here. The battlefield situation changed rapidly. He had to command the battle on the front line. He now regretted why he didn't walk in the No. 302 tank at that time.
"But, sir, this is too dangerous." Hank stopped him loudly.
But Sneed did not answer the cannon leader's words, and he began to climb out of the turret with all his might. Just as he stepped out of the turret, the No. 301 engine roared violently with a crisp explosion. The tank company commander, who was caught off guard, was shocked by the fact that he almost fell down the tank from the turret.
"God, this thing is such a damn bastard, hahahahaha." Snaed couldn't help but be overjoyed. He found that only such rough swear words could express his current mood.
"No need to say anything, go forward at full speed. Armor Piercing Bullet." Sneed jumped back to his seat and ordered his subordinates loudly.
"As for orders, sir."
"Armor Piercing Bullets are ready."
Listening to his subordinates' brief and powerful answers and the roar of the engine, feeling the vibration and shaking of the tank as it marched, and smelling the smoke of the launching medicine that had not yet dissipated in the turret, Snaed felt that his condition had never been good.
With the sound of branches breaking, No. 302 rushed out of the woods and came to the dazzling sunshine. Its gray armor plate was still scattered with various broken branches and leaves, like a fully armed ancient Germanic warrior, covered with all kinds of small pieces, roaring towards its enemies.
When Snyder rushed out of the woods and came to the battlefield, he realized that the situation was not as bad as he thought. Although he did not have unified command, his company still performed very well.
These tank captains are experienced veterans, and the four platoon leaders are even older birds. After discovering that the company commander did not keep up with the team, they did not panic at all. The rich combat experience made them have long had a tacit understanding in private. The four tank platoons were divided into four small clusters to cooperate with each other to turn one French tank after another into scrap iron.
At this time, more than ten h35 vehicles were already thrown into the hell of fire and thick smoke on the narrow road. The ammunition that was constantly exploding was like fireworks during festivals splashing around from various exits of French tanks, making these wreckage look like angry volcanoes.
The bodies of French tank hands were twisted and scattered around their carriages. Some soldiers were holding their pistols tightly before they died. These modern breastplate cavalry used their blood to prove that they were fearless warriors like their predecessors. Unfortunately, their opponents were much stronger this time than their predecessors encountered.
The first attack of the Sneid Company caused heavy losses to the French armored soldiers. Although the h35 is the best tank in France now, and although it has a very good bulletproof appearance and heavy frontal armor, the German tanks accurately hit their key points. Its side armor was only 23 mm thick, and the German 75 mm capped armor-piercing bullet could easily penetrate it 1,500 meters away, not to mention that the distance was only a short 500 meters at that time.
The French armored troops were hit hard by the Germans without any defense, revealing their soft breastplates, the cavalry lost a total of six tanks during the first volley of the German tank company, and two others were seriously injured.
The sudden attack caused the French armored troops to fall into chaos for a moment. The surviving tanks quickly drove down the roadbed, but the team's tanks rushed up and the French tanks squeezed into a group.
What is even more incredible is that no one could tell at that time what direction the attack came from and what exactly it was attacking them. This caused some tank leaders to even look up their heads and search for traces of German planes in the sky. It was only when the German tanks rushed out of the woods and approached three hundred meters away from them that the French understood who was attacking them.
However, the shortage of radio equipment made it impossible for them to organize defense quickly. In the chaos, no one paid attention to the flag verbs of the command vehicle. As a result, two more h35s became the record of German armored soldiers during this period. When French tanks were freed from the chaos and arranged into a defensive formation, only three of the fifteen h35 tanks were left at this time. The German tanks had approached within 100 meters, which had reached the distance between short troops.
Four tanks were platooned with seventeen No. 4 tanks lined up into three diamond-type impact formations and quickly advanced towards the three French tanks, while also using machine guns to shoot French tankers who escaped from the destroyed tanks in time.
Since escaping their tanks, the brave French soldiers have been shooting at the German tank's command tower with self-defense pistols. Although this attack cannot do anything to the tank, it poses a considerable threat to the commanders standing on the command tower. In order to protect their safety, the German tankers had to fire at the tough French colleagues. The fearless courage of the French tankers left a deep impression on the German tankers present.
The three impact formations quickly dispersed, one of which restrained the firepower of the French tanks on the front, while the other two began to detour towards the flanks of the French tanks. At this time, Sneed's tanks entered the battlefield.
"Be careful to maintain formation! Don't be circumcised and press it up like this." Sneed shouted loudly at the communicator.
"As for orders, sir. Why did you come?"
The problem of the fourth platoon leader made Sneid's heart cramp.
"Some minor faults have occurred before, and have been ruled out."
Sneed answered angrily.
At this time, the follow-up troops of the French tank troops appeared on the road, and several military cars painted with simple camouflage quickly drove towards the battlefield. Following the cars were a team of light trucks and a British-made bulldog communication vehicle. They might have heard the explosions in front of them and rushed to the battlefield. It seemed that these Frenchmen had not yet understood the situation on the battlefield. The cars were rushing towards the German tank group without knowing their lives. Sneed looked at the defenseless targets and couldn't help but smile.
At this time, the last three surviving h35s were desperately driving backwards in reverse gear. They must not turn or turn around and escape now, and their fragile sides will be exposed in front of German tanks. French tankers are trying hard to maintain their front armor facing the enemy. They hope to rely on their 40mm thick front armor to resist the attack of the Germans. As long as their support troops are not destroyed before the arrival of their support troops, they may still have a glimmer of vitality.
The h35 was originally slow to advance, and it was even more dull to retreat. While retreating, the French tankers were constantly using their short-barrel 37mm artillery and machine gun to resist weakly. In addition to causing some damage to the external equipment of the German tank, these weapons could not pose any threat to the front armor of the No. 4 tank. If the distance was a little longer, the crew inside the tank would not even feel that they were hit.
The German tankers are now looking at the battle in front of them with a game perspective. In the end, three No. 4 tanks ended the last struggle of the three tanks with high blasting armor grenades approaching h35 with high blasting armor. Amid the violent explosion, Sneed clearly saw that the turret of one of the tanks was lifted high, and then rolled and smashed to the ground on one side. The huge fireball mixed with black smoke rose slowly into the air, like a fire dragon stretching its wings to the sky, with a hurricane of spectacle and beauty in the horror.
The explosion of fireballs also seemed to have alarmed the French cars rushing towards the battlefield. They slowly stopped. After staying in place for a few seconds, the French finally saw clearly the German tanks rushing towards them and the group of burning wreckage. The car team quickly began to turn around in chaos, and then retreated back faster than before.
Of course, Sneed was unwilling to give up these preys that were delivered to the door. The success of the early battles and the poor performance of the French armored troops in command made him confident in or in the final victory. He felt that relying on his own company might really be able to stop the advance of the French armored troops and reverse the situation of the entire battle.
German tanks began to chase the escaped enemies along the road at the highest speed. The command communication vehicle convinced them that the French command was fleeing in front of them. No matter what level the command was, destroying it would be a great achievement.
However, the speed of the No. 4 tank cannot be compared with the car in any case. Especially when the other party was escaping his life, he had only chased him for less than three hundred meters. The French had already crossed a small slope on the road and disappeared from Sneid's vision. Before that, the French threw away all the things that would hinder their escape speed, including the 105mm anti-aircraft gun that made Sneid very worried. Looking at the cannon abandoned on the road, Sneid couldn't help but feel ashamed of the French officials. If they had half the courage of those French tankers, then it was probably their own who escaped.
It was not until the end of the French Battle that Sneed realized that he was completely wrong at that time. The French officials did not lack courage, but they did not know that anti-aircraft guns could also be used to fight tanks.
"The whole group stopped moving forward, we couldn't catch up with them. The French still had six B1 tanks that did not appear, we have not won yet, pay attention to the essence and change it to a defensive formation."
Sneed stopped his team and the company began to re-form. Under the command of various platoon leaders, the German tanks quickly formed an arc-shaped defensive formation with the company as the center.
"Now each platoon reports the losses." Sneed said loudly.
“No loss in a row.”
"No loss in the second row"
"The third row has basically no loss. The communication antenna of Car No. 332 was knocked away. I ordered him to follow me."
"There is basically no loss in the four rows. The pair of heavy-bearing wheels of Car No. 343 were damaged, but it did not affect the movement."
"Very good. That means we have a beautiful victory ahead. When the battle is over, I think you will definitely add another medal to your chest." Sneed said with a smile.
"Yes, maybe you will get a first-class iron cross." A row leader Zaft replied with a smile.
"The French are here!"
As a chariot shouted, everyone looked towards the small earth slope. A tall black shadow slowly appeared on the top of the slope. After a moment of pause, it began to slowly drive towards the German tank group under the earth slope.
"It's French B1 type. Please pay attention. We have never fought with it. Be careful. Everyone starts to retreat and keep a distance."
Sneed loudly commanded, and the German tank group began to slowly retreat. Keeping distance was a safe means before finding out the truth of the other party.
When one tall black shadow after another appeared on the top of the earth slope, Sneed felt a little uneasy from the bottom of his heart. The B1 tanks in front of him were obviously more than six. Could it be that the French armored troops had obtained new reinforcements, or that the only one he met before was their forward?
At that time, Sneed never expected that the battle would be the real beginning, and that he and his tank company would face the most severe test.
The first real armored war in this battle will be between Side's company and France's most elite tank troops.
This was the beginning of the French Army's final struggle. Whether the resistance made by Sneid's small tank company was to break the last straw on the back of the huge camel of the French Army, no one could explain it clearly afterwards, including Sneid himself.
There is another thing that Side didn't know, but even if someone told him at that time, he might not believe it. While he was facing the main French armored force three times that of him, a support force with the highest level in the history of the German Army was moving towards him quickly.
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Chapter completed!