afterglow

Chapter 646: Upgrade of armor-piercing missiles; a choice between two options
"You're so kind of me that you've even brought all this stuff here." Zhou Changfeng was amazed and then ordered, "Call the artillery command post and intensify the interception fire on the enemy reinforcements' route to hold them back!"

Soon, scattered artillery shells hit the American tank reinforcements intermittently, and the dust raised by the explosion almost submerged the more than ten tanks.

The armored vehicles that followed were also hit by the bomb. At least one M3 half-track vehicle was unlucky enough to be hit directly by a 112mm high-explosive bomb. It immediately overturned on the side of the dirt road and caught fire, with a large amount of debris and broken limbs flying everywhere.

At this time, part of the self-propelled artillery belonging to the 1st Marine Brigade also began to launch rapid attack fire.

"…Enemy circular position vehicles and infantry, six rapid shots, kill bombs, ready—fire!"

More than a dozen self-propelled artillery vehicles pointed their rear ends toward the target, bound the firing parameters, and opened fire in unison, firing six rapid rounds at the fastest rate of fire, followed by eight rounds at a constant rate of fire.

Due to the location of the power compartment of the Type 38 medium tank, the self-propelled artillery based on it cannot be installed facing forward, because the center of gravity would be too far forward, so it can only be installed facing backward.

This operation is similar to the British Army's Archer self-propelled anti-tank gun. Although it looks a bit awkward and strange, it is not a big problem. It even has some unexpected advantages - you can escape quickly.

The forward observation posts and side observation posts watched closely and provided real-time feedback on the effects of the shelling.

"call out--"

Yellow flares trailed smoke into the sky, and more than 200 Marine infantrymen left the attack starting position and began to move quickly toward the impact starting position while lowering their bodies.

Further back, a dozen Clouded Leopards also removed their camouflage nets and slowly drove towards the attack starting position.

By the time they moved into position, the firepower preparation was basically completed.

The self-propelled artillery's last salvo coincided with the red flare.

The two teams launched a concentric assault from two directions at the same time, one on the left and one on the right, attacking the more than 200 American soldiers trapped in the circular position.

This offensive operation was arranged by a major staff officer. Zhou Changfeng felt that this man was quite talented, so he decided to transfer him to a battalion as a chief officer to gain experience, and then return him to the local staff university for further studies.

"Damn it! The Chinese infantry are approaching, they are less than 200 yards away from us, mortar team, what the hell are you doing?!"

The U.S. military would naturally not sit idly by and wait for death. This mobile task force used all light and heavy firepower and tried every means to desperately resist the oncoming Ming army.

Several 60mm mortar shells whistled down, and suddenly several clouds of dust appeared between the Ming army's skirmish lines. The officers and soldiers lay down on the ground, crouching and firing continuously at the US troops.

Seeing that the enemy's mortar and heavy machine gun fire suppressed their attacking forces, the advancing Clouded Leopard immediately stopped and aimed.

An M8 Greyhound armored vehicle opened fire fiercely with a 37mm tank gun and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and the whole vehicle stopped suddenly, and the machine gun fire stopped abruptly.

A few seconds later, dazzling flames gushed out from the top of the open turret like a fountain!
The task force commander was seriously injured. Captain Darcy, who took over the command, took the microphone from the walkie-talkie carried by the communications soldier who had just been killed and shouted for support.

"This is 'Vampire', damn it, we are almost overwhelmed, please provide any possible support, immediately!"

The supporting artillery fire arrived late, and some 75mm and 105mm high-explosive bombs fell between the Ming army's attack formations, and the surging offensive suddenly came to a halt.

The US artillery will undoubtedly continue to provide support, intercepting and repelling the attacks of the Ming army's offensive forces through an endless barrage of barrages.

Therefore, the Ming army's field artillery group, which had been prepared in advance, immediately began to carry out anti-artillery missions, detecting the location of the US artillery positions through listening devices. A light service aircraft took off from an open flat ground and conducted a visual search.

At the same time, the Marine infantry who were blocked halfway were not idle either. They took out their own engineering shovels and carried out close-range operations. When they were digging prone shelters, dense US military bullets whizzed over their heads.

In the fierce exchange of gunfire, time passed by...

After finding the target, the staff and computer soldiers in the artillery command post immediately became busy, and the slide rules clattered.

Zhou Changfeng suddenly had an idea and called Zhu Lishuo, saying, "At this distance... the angle of impact is small enough, so you can probably get a ricochet. Show them your skills, kid."

"Okay, Brother Zhou, take a look."

"It's called a position on the battlefield!"

Later, the firing parameters were distributed to each gun position. At the officer's command, the artillerymen holding red pennants waved their weapons decisively.

Eleven 112mm cannons roared in unison, spewing out muzzle flames as long as two people, and the explosive shells flew in a gentle parabolic trajectory towards the target 8.8km away.

The shells fell one after another in front of the US artillery positions. Because the angle of incidence was very small, most of the shells ricocheted on the ground, flew away and exploded in the air!
One shell flew the farthest and exploded three stories high on the side of a howitzer position. The high-speed fragments instantly knocked down seven or eight shirtless American artillerymen there.

Due to the limitations of the times, today's anti-artillery missions are not very accurate, and it is unlikely to completely annihilate the enemy's artillery. As long as it can effectively interfere with it, it will be considered a success.

In an instant, the US artillery support was stopped.

"The damn gun has stopped!"

"Everyone, take your positions! Everyone, take your positions!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"Go! Kill from the left!"

The offensive, which had been stagnant for nearly half an hour, was resumed. Under the direct fire cover of their own self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, heavy machine guns, and tank guns, hundreds of Marine infantrymen shouted and rushed towards the crumbling circular position of the US military.

They surged into the slope covered with craters like a blue-green wave.

"Enemy plane! At ten o'clock!"

The American planes arrived, a team of Corsair fighter jets belonging to the Marine Corps.

Seeing that the two sides were already engaged in a melee, the pilots were unable to help.

More than a dozen self-propelled anti-aircraft guns belonging to the 1st Marine Brigade quickly gave up their direct-fire support and opened fire fiercely at the invading American planes in the sky.

Tracer explosive bombs as dense as popping beans were fired into the sky. The American planes obviously did not dare to risk their lives. They hurriedly dropped a dozen bombs near the Ming army's starting position and then turned around and flew away.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The noise made by the aerial bombs was extremely loud, as if it were hit by a round of heavy artillery fire.

The two teams that were following up hurriedly dispersed and hid, unable to continue. Although the casualties were small, the formation was already scattered, and they could only return to the position to reorganize. This is the typical effect of an air strike. For a well-trained unit, the casualties caused are not actually too great, but it will interrupt the rhythm and is very annoying.

Fortunately, the officers and soldiers of the Marine Brigade, who were equipped with automatic rifles, were very strong. They charged into the enemy camp and launched fierce attacks, shooting and dropping bombs. With equal numbers, the more than 200 American troops collapsed.

Greyhounds and Scotts were destroyed by rocket launchers and anti-tank grenades, and burning wreckage could be seen everywhere.

The focus of the battle then shifted to the reinforcements that came to rescue.

"Duang—"

Another 80mm armor-piercing bullet hit the leading M6A1 heavy tank!

The shells disintegrated instantly, sparks flying everywhere, but failed to penetrate the frontal armor. Instead, several Clouded Leopards were set on fire.

The M6A1 is equipped with a 76.2mm tank gun derived from an anti-aircraft gun. It is the same model as the M10 Wolverine tank destroyer. It is powerful and can penetrate the Tiger I if it is not angled.

The armor-piercing shells fired by the short 80 tank gun cannot pose a threat to heavy tanks, and even the tungsten carbide hard-core armor-piercing shells can mostly smash them to pieces.

Each Clouded Leopard tank switched to armor-piercing shells or high-explosive bombs and repeatedly bombarded these American heavy tanks. The latter were not to be outdone and frequently fired back.

The Marine infantry who broke through the US military's circular position also tried to besiege the reinforcements, but were quickly repelled by the powerful firepower of US tanks.

美国人追求火力的思维在M6A1上体现的淋漓尽致——车体正面有双联装12.7㎜航向机枪，主炮旁还有一门37㎜机炮和一挺7.62㎜机枪。

For infantry, besieging such a mobile fire fortress is really a tricky and troublesome task.

Zhou Changfeng admired the Americans' unique thinking and ordered, "Since they are here, don't let them get away. Eat them all up. Tell the front command (frontline headquarters) to move the smoke screens on both wings forward for cover. Move quickly!"

Due to its poor reliability, frequent breakdowns, and the fact that the U.S. military believed that the Sherman was sufficient to cope with the war situation, only 6 M1A43 heavy tanks were produced in history.

But now, because the pressure from the Ming and German armies was too great, the desperate U.S. military even mass-produced more than 200 of these immature and unreasonable heavy tanks and deployed them to the front line to participate in the war.

Five of the six tanks that took part in the battle were paralyzed, some broke down on their own, and some were destroyed by the high-explosive bombs fired by the Clouded Leopard.

Under the cover of smoke bombs, the Ming army soldiers bravely moved forward, approached these steel behemoths, and then used rocket launchers and anti-tank grenades to attack them.

The roar of explosions was endless, brilliant sparks flew all around, leaked gasoline ignited into billowing flames, and the screams were extremely penetrating in this noisy battlefield.

The Type 37 anti-tank rocket launcher that Zhou Changfeng strongly recommended for mass deployment many years ago is still shining brightly. In fact, this lightweight "one-man-carrying small cannon" has become an indispensable part of the Ming army's infantry tactics. The field regulations issued by the Ministry of War specifically added tactical guidelines based on the rocket launcher.

In order to avoid provoking the enemy and to prevent the technology from being leaked prematurely, the Type 90 armor-piercing shells used in the early war's rocket launchers were usually quite primitive - the charge cap was made of soft iron and was hemispherical in shape, so the static armor-piercing depth was only mm.

The Type 64 armor-piercing projectile that is now in mass production has become thicker, with the diameter increased from 80mm to 150mm, and the propellant has also increased slightly. Although it still uses a soft iron charge cap, the shape has been changed to a conical shape, and the static armor penetration depth has soared to 180mm. If copper is used, it can reach as much as mm.

The battle is over.

The damaged tank was emitting smoke, and its hatch was pushed open. An American tank soldier with blood all over his face came out with his hands raised, and a Marine infantryman covered in mud pulled him down.

Looking around, the turret of a Sherman fell a few meters away from the vehicle body. The sizzling sound of barbecue could be heard faintly. There were more than 20 wreckages of armored vehicles nearby. Every two steps, you could see scattered rifles, clips, magazines, canteens, and helmets...

Zhou Changfeng couldn't help but sigh that the armor-piercing confrontation between tanks could actually occur on the Pacific battlefield.

He stood up from behind the gunnery mirror, lit a cigarette, and said, "After summarizing the battle examples, call the Ministry of War and urge them to urge the long-barreled gun chariots. From now on, each tank team will also be equipped with a few long-barreled gun models."

"Okay, I understand."

That night, the moon was high in the sky and the stars were shining brightly.

The sporadic sound of gunfire has become a common accompaniment, and can even be said to be an indispensable part of battlefield life.

A telegram from homeland surprised Zhou Changfeng greatly.

"...Several large enemy bombers have invaded Anxi's airspace from the north. The Yanzhou Oilfield was bombed by two of them. So far, we have received reports that the damage to the facilities is minor, but many people have been injured."

Hmm? How is this done? The Yanzhou Oilfield is in the far northwest.

Yanzhou is actually Karamay. At that time, both the government and the public were worried about the fact that China was an oil-poor country. The sudden discovery of the Karamay oil field could be said to be a national celebration. Rumors spread among the people that it was the Flaming Mountain, and Zhu Shiyan, who was extremely happy, named it after it.

In the 223th year of Zhichang, the annual output of Yanzhou Oilfield was 261 million tons. Now, after the wartime expansion, the output has reached million tons of crude oil.

This operation was regarded as an unprecedented feat by the U.S. Army Air Force and was codenamed: Christmas Elk.

Due to combat damage and mechanical failures, only eight XB-8s took off from Nome Airport. They were equipped with only twelve 29-pound incendiary bombs and one large disposable auxiliary fuel tank on each wing. This formation flew almost half of Siberia from northeast to southwest. This section of the flight reached 12 km. During this period, two of them malfunctioned and caught fire and crashed, and four others got lost. In the end, only two successfully flew to Yanzhou and dropped those aerial incendiary bombs on the oil wells all over the mountains.

Next, they turned directly south, flew over the Himalayas and landed in British India.

In the end, only three planes arrived in British India. Two got lost and ran out of fuel and were forced to abandon the planes, and one crashed due to a malfunction.

【Picture】

Because it was so outrageous, the Ministry of War asked after receiving the report whether it was a mistake. Perhaps a training accident occurred in the local air force unit?

After confirming that it was an air raid by the US military, the court officials were shocked and angry.

This incident shocked the upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty greatly - how could a place that was considered absolutely safe be subjected to an air raid?
The strategy of attacking Alaska was originally being discussed slowly, but stimulated by this incident, it was immediately put on the agenda.

The Navy believes that this is inappropriate. The US military may have done it deliberately and is waiting for the Navy to attack Alaska. When the time comes, they will be in trouble. This is like going to the tiger mountain even though they know there is a tiger there.

But the mainstream view ignores all this - since we know that the Americans may be tricking us, can't we trick the Americans back?
The Navy went to the Air Force for support again, but the Air Force said it could do nothing to help. As the Kuwu Island Oilfield and the Yanzhou Oilfield had been attacked by air, some people had already graffitied on the walls of the Air Force office, mocking the Air Force for being useless, and some people had even thrown garbage in through the wall.

Compared with the voices of approval, the Ming Navy's opposition voices seemed too small.

Of course, the court also gave a second option - if attacking Alaska was really disadvantageous, a full-scale attack on Hawaii could also be launched.

In any case, we must take action and break the deadlock that has lasted until now.

(End of this chapter)