Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1033: Iron and Fire of the Canal (Part , Part )

In Egypt, in the skies and on the land of Egypt, soldiers from foreign countries were showing off their military strength. Almost every day, troops from the army arrived in Suez by plane, which allowed the 3rd Armored Brigade to end its garrison mission in the occupied area and free up its hands to advance northward.

As this armored group was advancing northward, Egypt's 4th Armored Division had just been ordered to withdraw to the west bank of the canal. The British and French forces had already landed in Port Said. In order to defend Cairo, Nasser risked bombs falling on his head to give a public speech. He swore to the sky:
"I am here, I will fight you to the end, to the last drop of blood, Egypt will never surrender."

Later, under the leadership of Nasser, each Egyptian cabinet member held a potassium cyanide pill for suicide to show their determination to resist to the death. At the same time, they sank 47 ships at the entrance of the Nile River, blocking the river mouth to prevent the British and French fleets from penetrating deep into the hinterland.

Sunken ships can stop warships but they cannot stop soldiers, so Nasser called for national resistance at a general mobilization meeting, distributed more than 40 guns to citizens, and stored ammunition and supplies in the city's sewers in preparation for guerrilla warfare.

But for Nasser and Egypt, the most important thing was to withdraw the main force sent to the west bank of the canal. The most important of them was the 7th Armored Division of the Egyptian Army. This was the most powerful armored force in Egypt. It was not only equipped with a large number of T34/85 and IS2 heavy tanks, but also 40 of the latest T54A tanks. This was the first time that the Soviet Union provided such advanced tanks to a country outside its Eastern family.

As the most powerful armored force of the Egyptian army, it has naturally received special attention from all sides in the past few days. Despite the loss of dozens of tanks and self-propelled artillery, it finally withdrew to the west bank of the canal under the cover of darkness late at night on November 11.

However, when the Egyptian tankers cheered, they did not notice that there was another pair of eyes staring at them in the air. Just when they thought they had crossed the river unnoticed, they did not know that a pair of pliers had been aimed at them.

"Armored warfare!"

In the armored command vehicle, Qian Shangqin looked at the map and the aerial photos and said:

"The last time we used tanks on a large scale was at Bastogne. Although we also used tanks in large numbers during the Battle of Borneo, the scale of each use was below the battalion and company level. The lack of experience in armored warfare, especially large-scale combat, is one of the fundamental reasons restricting the development of armored forces. Now..."

Pointing to the location of the Egyptian Army's 4th Armored Division on the map, Qian Shangqin's eyes were filled with a desire for battle.

"The Egyptian army is now our training tool. Getting rid of it and gaining experience in large-scale tank operations is the purpose of our dispatch this time... Yes, now Egypt is our training ground!"

After that, he slammed his hand hard on the table beside him and said.

"Okay, next, let's have a lesson here and then teach the Egyptians a lesson!"

At the same time, the armored group of the 3rd Armored Brigade had already detoured to the flank of the Egyptian 4th Armored Division. In the air, several reconnaissance planes continued to inform them of the location of the 4th Armored Division. This was a simple land battle.

On a protruding ridge on the road leading to Cairo, more than 1 VT tanks were lined up in a row. The undulating hillside in front blocked the tank bodies, with only the turret slightly exposed. It was said to be a ridge, but in fact it was just a small hill protruding about meters from the ground.

"The Egyptian vanguard has passed the first landmark and is heading towards us."

Zhang Hu, half exposed from the open turret hatch, gave his orders to his subordinates through the intercom:
"Prepare for battle. All personnel must move to their respective combat positions according to the predetermined plan."

This not-so-high ridge was the ambush position he chose. He divided his troops into tank platoons of three tanks each and dispersed them on the reverse slope behind the ridge. While using the reverse slope of the mountain to hide the body of the tank, he was also able to command a high position and take advantage of the firepower of the VT1 tank.

"As you command, sir."

While Zhang Wu was observing the front with a telescope, the loader and the gunner had already taken their seats. The loader specially checked the position of the shells to make sure that he would not load the wrong shells in the next battle.

"Hawkeye, Hawkeye, this is Tiger 3, this is Tiger 3, reporting the observation situation."

Zhang Hu called the reconnaissance vehicle in front of him into the intercom. Unlike the scouts sent by the infantry, the armored forces of Nanyang are generally equipped with armored reconnaissance vehicles. Although it is improved on the basis of the M8 light armored vehicle assisted by the United States, it has been specially modified and equipped with a large-magnification optical periscope and long-distance communication equipment. In order to facilitate long-distance observation, the observation equipment on the vehicle can not only rotate, but also be equipped with a lifting device. The large-magnification optical periscope can detect the target at a distance of no less than 20 kilometers under good visibility. Since its service, it has always been the eyes of the Nanyang armored forces, and in wartime, it can also guide artillery attacks.

On a small hill in the distance, the armored reconnaissance vehicle's reconnaissance mast, which stretched out several meters, was rotating, and with the help of a high-power telescope, it was staring at the rolling yellow dust in the distance.

"Reporting to the commander, I'm Hawkeye. The Egyptian vanguard just passed by me. It's about an armored battalion equipped with T34/85 tanks, accompanied by about a battalion of infantry. They are marching very fast. There is dust and smoke about ten kilometers behind us. That should be their main force."

The sentry replied in a low voice.

Although the VT-1 tank borrows the concept of the T55 to a certain extent, it has a larger turret and more internal space, which also allows it to install a long-baseline optical rangefinder linked to the sight. Its aiming baseline is 2 meters long, and the ranging error is about 1500% to 2000% within 1.2 to 1.6 meters, in other words, within 25 meters, which is very accurate for pure optical equipment. This extremely high-performance optical aiming device is of course the credit of Yongan Zeiss.

However, its real trump card is not just the optical rangefinder, but the data measured by the optical rangefinder can be automatically input into the mechanical ballistic computer and calculate the required main gun elevation angle. This makes the VT1 tank's fire control system have the prototype of a modern tank fire control system.
That was why Zhang Hu chose this ambush point. Holding a telescope in his hand, he just stared into the distance. When the Egyptian tanks appeared in the field of view of the telescope with rolling dust, he immediately saw the fighter planes.

Facing the Egyptian tank marching column, the formation was much more messy than he had imagined, and there was even no order at all.

This is not because Israel's "butcher's bird" taught these Egyptians a good lesson, but because of the training of Egyptian tankers. Except for a few officers who had been trained in the Czech Republic, most officers and tankers had only been trained for a few months and their quality was excellent.

Faced with this messy marching formation, the South China Sea hunters hiding behind the ridge saw an opportunity.

The eyes behind the telescope revealed a desire for battle.

Egyptian tanks came into their sight one after another, raising smoke and dust. Facing these tanks, the tank commanders hiding behind the dry grass on the ridge all had their eyes shining. Although the IS-2 heavy tanks and the main force of the armored division mentioned in the reconnaissance vehicle had not appeared at this time, the dozens of tanks in front of them were also good targets.

Zhang Hu, a veteran tank operator, is familiar with the performance of the tank's 90mm main gun. It is an M36 tank gun produced under US authorization. Its chamber pressure is 30% higher than that of the old models in World War II. The M332 armor-piercing projectile it uses has an initial velocity of more than 1200 meters and a penetration depth of an astonishing 1000 mm at 312 meters. This is also the reason why Nanyang introduced this tank gun.

For this reason, Zhang Hu was extremely confident when facing those T34/85s. With the help of a telescope, he made a preliminary estimate of the distance and said, "Attention, all platoons. Follow my orders."

Zhang Hu, who had half of his body exposed, said into the communicator:
"Each platoon chooses its own targets."

Then Zhang Hu said to his artillery commander:
"We'll aim at the leading one and use armor-piercing bullets."

"Yes, sir."

The gunner Wang Hanjie answered quickly. He turned around and ordered the loader:

"Armor-piercing bullets."

Then he began to measure the distance, and after using the sophisticated optical rangefinder to determine the distance, he aimed accurately. Under his control, the turret was running slowly with the electric motor, and the 90mm tank gun slowly rotated as the target moved. Soon he had pressed the T34/85 on the reticle in the sight.

While he was aiming, the loader had already taken out the shells from the ammunition jacket, which was inherited from the M4 tank and could reduce the risk of the ammunition depot exploding. This excellent design was inherited by the VT1 tank.

"Armor-piercing shells loaded."

Loader Zheng Yuecheng pushed a high-speed armor-piercing bullet into the barrel, and the tank gun automatically closed the breech block with a crisp metallic collision sound.

"All crews follow my orders."

Zhang Wu, who was standing on the turret, straightened his chest and shouted loudly:
"Fire!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the roar of a tank gun. The red muzzle flames illuminated the sky and the earth, and the shock wave from the muzzle blew the grass and sand on the ground in front of the tank into the air.

At the same time, the shells whizzed towards the distant target.

When they opened fire, the Egyptian tankers on the T34/85 tanks did not even realize the danger. Unlike the German armored soldiers who liked to expose half of their bodies to gain more observation effects, the Egyptian tank commanders basically kept their tank hatches tightly closed for fear of encountering any danger.

Although the distance was over 2000 meters, thanks to the world's most sophisticated optical aiming equipment provided by Yongning Zeiss, most of the shells did not miss their targets. Even at a distance of 2000 meters, Zhang Hu still saw the tracer of the shells disappear into the tank when they hit it, and the next moment, a cloud of black smoke poured out of the tank.

"Hit!"

Zhang Hu, holding a telescope, shouted loudly.

The gunner's excited shout echoed in the headset, but Zhang Hu had no time to celebrate. He shouted into the communicator:
"Everyone, keep shooting, keep shooting..."

Under his orders, the VT1 tanks behind the ridge turned into snipers. They kept aiming and shooting. Even the cars loaded with infantry became targets and were hit accurately by high-explosive shells, and then turned into a pile of scrap metal in the violent explosion.

The Egyptians had obviously discovered them. The T34/85 tanks that were on the move immediately stopped and launched a counterattack against the enemies on the ridge, but because the distance was too far, they could not hit the target at all. Most of the shells either hit the ridge or flew over the tanks.

However, their stillness gave the VT1 tanks behind the ridge new opportunities, making their artillery fire more accurate - just like a roll call, one tank after another was blown directly into the sky.

"Hold steady and keep shooting!" Zhang Hu, holding a telescope, calmly watched the scene in front of him. Along with the roar of artillery, behind him, at the rear of the turret, copper shells were ejected from the ejection port. In the wilderness in front of the ridge, one T34/85 after another turned into scrap metal emitting black smoke.

When the gunners were calling out the names of the Egyptian tanks, suddenly, a large cloud of smoke and dust appeared behind them. Although the rolling yellow dust obscured the tank bodies, Zhang Hu was still able to see the enemy tanks with the help of the Yongning Zeiss telescope in his hand. The hemispherical heads of the enemy tanks looked somewhat familiar... and a bit like the VT1.

"Is this... VT-1?"

Before he could react, the other side had already fired at this side. Compared with the T34 tank, it has higher accuracy and seems to have stronger firepower. Facing the threat, Zhang Hu immediately spoke loudly.

"Be careful, the Egyptians have new tanks. Move back and reload immediately after shooting!"

This was the fundamental reason why he chose this ridge as his position, in order to use the reverse slope of the ridge to protect his tank. He only needed to retreat a few meters and the slope of the ridge would protect the tank. Sure enough, when he retreated, a cloud of smoke exploded from the ridge in front.

"Armor-piercing shells completed!"

As soon as Zheng Yuecheng finished speaking, the driver Liu Fei lightly stepped on the accelerator, and the tank roared towards their position again. The main gun was aimed at the front at a depressed angle. While the gunner completed the distance measurement, with the assistance of the mechanical ballistic computer, the main gun was already pointing at the target.

"Fire!"

The main gun roared again, and as the shells whizzed out, Liu Fei shifted into reverse gear again. The VT1 tank used the same CD-48-850D transmission as the M-4 tank. The automatic transmission greatly simplified the driving of the tank. With excellent artillery and advanced transmission, the 21 tanks of the nd Battalion of the rd Armored Brigade have become snipers on this land, and their target is the tanks in front.

What appeared before them was the Soviet Union's most advanced T54A tank. This was the first time that this tank was deployed on a battlefield outside of Hungary!
(End of this chapter)