Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2305 Threatening light tank

During the Battle of Crete, the German army airborne the island of Crete and was attacked tenaciously by the southern African army, causing heavy losses. The German First Airborne Division was almost wiped out.

Southern Africa was the first country in the world to establish an airborne force. Shortly after the end of the First World War, southern Africa added an airborne force, and it has been more than 20 years since then.

In the use of airborne troops, southern Africa has accumulated rich experience. During the Spanish campaign and the Malay campaign, southern Africa used airborne troops on a large scale and achieved good results.

In southern Africa, the airborne troops and the army have the same organization. The main difference is that the heavy artillery and heavy tanks that are not suitable for airdrops are replaced with light artillery and armored vehicles specially developed for the airborne troops, and the number is also reduced.

For the field troops in southern Africa, an infantry division can be equipped with thousands of vehicles, and there are almost no airborne troops, and the supplies are basically all by airdrops.

Since the number of heavy weapons has shrunk greatly, light weapons have been greatly strengthened. In the field troops, only the sergeant major is qualified to equip the assault rifle, which is standard in the airborne troops, and it is a carbine model with a shortened barrel, which is more convenient. Carried and used by paratroopers.

The shortening of the gun body will affect the range and accuracy.

This has little impact on the airborne troops. Their combat methods are very different from those of field troops, and they do not need to rely on heavy firepower to attack.

In order to take Crete as quickly as possible, Arthur chose to carry out airborne landings in Pompia and Heraklion at the same time, so that the defenders on Crete can be cut off from the middle, and they can be defeated one by one more easily. However, since the defenders on the island were Italians, Arthur didn't think the battle was too difficult.

At five o'clock in the morning, just after dawn, the fighter jets that took off from the aircraft carrier arrived at Pombia and began to seize the air superiority of Pombia.

Pombia is the station in southern Africa. The airport is well-constructed and can take off and land large bombers smoothly. It is the airport with the best conditions on Crete.

During the Battle of Crete, the Pombia airport was damaged and has not been fully repaired. Only a small runway can be used by fighter jets. The Italians have about 120 fighter jets in Pombia, and there are air defense forces stationed near the airport.

During the Battle of the Dodecanese, the Italian Air Force was still equipped with MC.200. This type of fighter was already seriously behind at the time. At the end of last year, the Italian Air Force began to equip the brand new MC.202 Lightning fighter, and its performance has been greatly improved.

The Italian Air Force has a long history. It began to use the air force on a large scale during the Italian-Turkish War, but it had serious technical problems, especially in the research and development of aero-engines. It lagged behind southern Africa, even the Germans.

The previous generation of MC.200 used a Fiat radial engine with a power of only 840 horsepower. This type of engine could not really exert the true strength of MC.200.

Last year, the Italian Air Force and the Germans cooperated to replace the Fiat radial engine with the same DB-109 engine as the BF601, and redesigned the aerodynamic shape, and replaced the nose with a streamlined engine fairing. Two 20mm aviation cannons, the performance has been greatly improved compared with MC.200.

In the North African battlefield, the performance of MC.202 is comparable to that of the main fighters currently equipped by the United Kingdom.

However, it still lags behind the "Goshawk" in southern Africa.

At the moment in 1842, the Axis powers were still not equipped with radar, and failed to detect the approach of fighter jets in southern Africa in time. When the Goshawk flew over Pompia Airport, the Italian Air Force had almost no preparations, and the MC.202 was neatly parked on the runway. On both sides, the anti-aircraft guns around the airport failed to fire in time. The "Goshawk" dived towards the airport almost without encountering any resistance. The MC.202s on both sides of the runway were destroyed before they could take off. After a 100kg aerial bomb was dropped on the airport runway, the Italian Air Force completely lost its ability to resist.

The ensuing battle was very easy. Airborne troops on large transport planes parachuted into the airport. At this time, the air defense forces around the airport finally opened fire.

At this time, it was too late to fire, and the loss of air supremacy could only be passively beaten. As long as the Italian anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns fired, they would be attacked by the southern African air force frantically. The searchlights were more dangerous, and the huge lampposts were the best guide.

There must be losses, but they can be ignored. The paratroopers jumped out of the cabin at an altitude of 1500 meters. The process from opening the parachute to landing took less than 2 minutes. After landing, the battle had just begun. The Italians were not without the will to resist.

Sergeant Major Marcus from Port Elizabeth is a veteran paratrooper. He was the first to jump out of the cabin and landed on a soft lawn. The whole process was perfect.

The paratroopers lacked support for fighting behind enemy lines, so they had to carry as much combat supplies as possible. Marcus’s equipment bag weighed 40 kilograms, and it was tied to his leg before the parachute, and he had to throw it down before landing.

Assault rifles are the best companions of soldiers, and they must be carried with them. The first thing Marcus did after he landed was to look for a backpack. He only carried four magazines with him. This amount of bullets is far from enough for an assault rifle. Not enough.

At this time, the ground air defense force was still desperately resisting, the gunfire was deafening, and the ammunition chain formed by tracer bullets was extremely eye-catching in the morning light. The nearest anti-aircraft machine gun was less than 100 meters away from Marcus.

A transport plane can carry a platoon of soldiers, and the landing site will not be too far away. Marcus smoothly merged with six paratroopers, and then moved towards the nearest anti-aircraft machine gun.

The Italians are shameless, placing anti-aircraft firepower in residential areas, trying to make southern Africa feel scruples in this way.

This is actually futile. Crete is not the territory of southern Africa. After the Battle of Crete last year, there were not many people on the island, so the Southern African Air Force would not be restrained by this.

The anti-aircraft machine gun was placed on the roof of a civilian house, surrounded by Italian soldiers on guard. At this time, the sun had not yet come out, and the surrounding environment was not very bright. The four-color camouflage of the paratroopers could be perfectly integrated into the environment. On the contrary, the Italian army's khaki The uniform is more eye-catching in the morning light.

"Abdu, use the bazooka." Marcus didn't take any risks. The bazooka at this distance was enough to kill the anti-aircraft machine gun.

Abdu from the Sultanate of Najd is also a senior veteran. He has worked in the umbrella company for ten years. He is proficient in any weapon, and he can even drive a tank. A rare technical talent.

Paratroopers lack heavy firepower, and the portable bazooka naturally becomes the best choice for paratroopers.

The bazooka in southern Africa is advanced in technology. It uses an aluminum alloy launcher with an effective range of 110 meters and a vertical armor thickness of 280 mm. It can easily penetrate all heavy tanks in service.

Including the Southern African "Tiger" tank.

"Stab—" The sound of the rocket launcher was like a huge leaking balloon. The warhead hit the firing anti-aircraft machine gun with a bright tail flame, and the violent explosion completely destroyed the firing anti-aircraft machine gun. All Italian soldiers were killed.

Da-ta-ta-

Marcus' assault rifle opened fire, knocking down an Italian soldier hiding on a street corner.

A paratrooper took out a grenade and threw it over. After the violent explosion, there was a painful wail, which soon fell silent.

Marcus led the paratroopers to continue the attack without sparing the remaining Italians.

The Italians hid in their houses and resisted.

Marcus did not persuade them to surrender, and the bazooka continued to show off. The thin walls of the residential buildings were torn apart like paper in front of the bazooka. When a rocket passed, half of the house collapsed, and the other half was crumbling.

Marcus pulled out another grenade and threw it in, and the other half collapsed too, no need to check, no one survived.

After breaking through two Italian positions in succession, Marcus and his team finally encountered real resistance when they encountered an M13/40 medium tank.

The M series tanks are medium tanks in name, but in fact, in terms of various parameters, they are light tanks at best.

Similar to the idea of ​​Japan’s R & D tanks, the M13/40 has a total combat weight of only 14 tons, a width of 2.2 meters, and a height of 2.4 meters. There are actually 14 people in the 4-ton tank. The main weapon is a 47mm tank gun. There are as many as four 8mm M38MG machine guns as auxiliary weapons. This kind of tank is not prepared for tank battles at all, and can only be used to support infantry.

If it was the last world war, the M13/40 would still be more or less useful.

Now facing paratroopers equipped with rocket launchers, the M13/40 is a complete tragedy.

Compared with the vertical armor thickness of the rocket launcher of 280 mm, the M13/40 has no armor at all.

The Italians also know the weakness of the M13/40, so there are a lot of infantry accompanying the tanks. It is very difficult for the paratroopers to get close to the M13/40. Although the defense of the M13/40 is weak, the four [-]mm machine guns are used to massacre the infantry. The efficiency is still very high High.

"Abdu, let's attract the firepower of the Italians from the front, and you go around from the side." Marcus did not fight recklessly, and there are now nearly [-] paratroopers around him.

dong dong dong-

The roar of the general-purpose machine gun is still piercing.

But as soon as the machine gun was fired, the machine gunner fled in embarrassment with the gun.

Although the power of the 47mm gun is weak, it is also very good for fighting light infantry.

boom--

The machine gun shooter moved in a timely manner. Just as he fled, the firing position just now was hit by shells.

The Italian gunners were not professional enough, and they used armor-piercing projectiles. The shells passed directly through the wall, and the wall collapsed.

There were still cries and screams, this time it was a woman.

Tatata——

Marcus hid behind a big tree and fired at the tank, diverting before the magazine was empty.

More bullets came, sawdust flew across, and the tree trunk surrounded by one person was directly interrupted. Marcus could hear the sound of bullets flying past his ears.

For many people, the battlefield is indeed too exciting.

When Marcus was chased away by the tank gun, Abdo, who was carrying a rocket launcher, was performing a detour mission with four other paratroopers.

The firing range of the bazooka is 110 meters. The Italians are very treacherous. The position of the tank is in an open area, and there is no shelter for concealment around it, but there is a small river not far away.

When a paratrooper was secretly observing, the helmet on his head was suddenly blown away.

This nima is too scary, and the Italians also have precision shooters.

"You guys stay here, I'll swim across the river—" Abdu took off his backpack, except for the bazooka and only the assault rifle.

“Be careful—” said Sergeant Major Mahdi, also from Najd Sultanate, and then four paratroopers fired at the tank together to cover Abdul’s movement.

Abdu moved quickly, his body was as nimble as a cat, and suddenly he jumped out from behind the cover and rushed towards the creek.

The Italians were well prepared, and the machine guns swept over immediately.

Although Abdu was fast, he was still hit by a bullet by the river. Mahdi clearly saw blood gushing out of Abdu's chest and abdomen, only one step away from the small river.

Abdo must have been badly wounded, but he persisted and rolled into the creek, dropping his assault rifle on the bank.

"Grenade launcher, where is the grenade launcher—" Mahdi wished he had a mortar right now so he wouldn't be defenseless.

Given the instability of the fuel tanks, paratroopers were not equipped with flamethrowers, but grenade launchers were still available.

Southern African armies are fielding grenade launchers that can be attached to individual weapons, but it will take time for them to become commonplace.

Southern Africa's underfire phobia is in its advanced stages, and the quest for firepower is insatiable.

In this way, the pressure on logistics will definitely increase. In the past, it was enough for a soldier to carry 200 rounds of ammunition, which was enough for a week, but now it is not enough to carry [-] rounds. With the addition of grenades, it is really using people as mules.

The paratroopers are still equipped with the "Super Revolver", a super weapon that has been in service in the last world war and is being replaced by a new grenade launcher.

The use of the "Super Revolver" is very simple, and the firing speed is also very fast. Six grenades flew over, and the Italian soldiers who built a defensive position around the tank also suffered heavy casualties.

War is so cruel, in order to kill the opponent to do anything, it depends on who can't hold on first.

"Call the fleet or air force for assistance. We need naval guns or bombs—" Mahdi shouted loudly. A shell exploded not far from him just now, and his hearing was affected to a certain extent.

"This is unrealistic, the naval guns are too powerful—" Marcus was also shouting, the positions of the paratroopers and the Italians were intertwined, and if the naval guns bombarded them, the probability of causing accidental injury was too high.

From this point of view, a landing battle like Kuala Lumpur is most in line with the actual situation in southern Africa.

Why send paratroopers to take risks that can be solved with shells and bombs.

This is all experience, Arthur still needs to temper.

To the surprise of Marcus and Mahdi, Abdul was not dead. He climbed ashore not far from the tank and fired the only rocket at the tank.

1.8 kilograms of high-performance explosives tore the M13/40 tank from the inside. The turret of the M13/40 was blown up to a height of about three meters.

"Come on, kill them!" Marcus roared and jumped out of the bunker. The Italians on the opposite side were in a mess, and the tank completely collapsed the moment it exploded.

(End of this chapter)