artillery arc

Chapter 458 Beach Defense
Karamazov threw down his engineer shovel, sat on the ZIS30, and gasped for breath.

He had dug a bunker big enough to hide the ZIS30, but to be honest, he didn't think it would be of much use.

The ZIS30 vehicle is already very compact. If you just pile some grass on it, it can hardly be seen from a distance.

Putting the car body into the bunker can only make the already concealed car more concealed. But concealment is something that the enemy cannot see. Making something that is already concealed even more concealed seems to be a futile effort.

The loader asked Karamazov: "Do you think the enemy will counterattack? If they don't, won't we be wasting our time? If we follow the marine infantry to attack, we can also blow up some bunkers and play a role."

Karamazov took out the tobacco he had been given, tore off a corner of a newspaper, and began to roll a cigarette. As he rolled it, he replied, "There are destroyers' guns attacking the port, and we are worried about them."

"They say it's a naval gun. When I first arrived in Abawahan, I went to see it on a destroyer. The caliber is about the same as ours, but it's a rapid-fire gun that fires like a machine gun. Although those destroyers are called destroyers, they are actually the navy's coastal defense ships, and they are only used for port patrols."

The inland sea is, as its name suggests, completely inland. Warships outside have to sail on dry land if they want to enter, so the inland sea cannot be too large.

The Ante Empire has shipyards around the inland sea, and can build large warships, but considering that it is useless to build them too big, it is enough as long as the warships are larger than those of other countries around the inland sea.

Over time, the largest warships on the sea became these "yellow water battleships".

So Rokossov proposed a fire support plan, which was to convert large cargo ships into fire support ships and load them with the army's 152mm howitzers or Katyusha rocket launchers.

But this plan was ultimately abandoned due to the limited number of large cargo ships available for transportation in the inland sea.

In short, the "destroyers" of the Inland Navy had to take on the heavy responsibility of fire support, forcing their way into the port and firing directly at the defenders with naval guns.

Karamazov rolled his cigarette, put it in his mouth and began to feel around for matches.

The loader casually took out a matchbox, took out a match and struck it.

Karamazov took the initiative to move forward, lit a homemade cigarette, took a deep puff, and then blew out a smoke ring.

He watched the smoke ring slowly rise into the sky and dissipate in the rays of the seven o'clock morning sun.

At this time, artillery fire was heard from the north.

Karamazov: "It has already started at the port. No matter how stupid the enemy is, it is time to strike back."

Loader: "But... the Baras people were so badly beaten on the beach. Their morale was completely destroyed by our armor-piercing shells. I guess they don't have the courage to fight back now, right?"

"Yes, only the Baras people may not dare to fight back." Karamazov blew out another smoke ring, passed through it and looked in the direction of the city.

Although it is called a city, Karamazov did not see any building higher than three stories - there were few two-story buildings, and there were basically no reinforced concrete buildings, and there were not even many red brick houses.

Karamazov: "If it weren't for the transportation lines, I don't think any party would bother to occupy this shabby place."

Just as he finished speaking, the commander of the anti-tank artillery battalion came over on a motorcycle and shouted, "The observation post saw smoke and dust. The enemy should be coming soon. Get ready for battle!"

Karamazov shouted: "Are they really coming? Are they tanks? Don't expect a bunch of people on horseback!"

"If it's cavalry coming, the machine gun company left behind by the marine infantry will deal with them. Don't worry, Karamazov. We'll just take care of the tanks. Remember the Matilda tank weakness map I sent you. It's a summary of our own test results and the data provided by the United Kingdom. It should be useful."

Karamazov waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

The battalion commander left on his motorcycle.

The loader pulled out a schematic diagram: "Want to see it?"

Karamazov shook his head. "I've seen it. I've really seen it. I know where to strike to defeat the United Kingdom's turtle shell. Do you dare to believe that this thing can move as fast as infantry in the field?"

"Same as infantry?" the loader was shocked.

"Yeah, that's probably why it's called an infantry tank."

As soon as he finished speaking, Karamazov saw smoke in the distance.

In the sun, the dust is very obvious.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stamped it out with his military boots, and then shouted: "Reload armor-piercing bullets, quick! The enemy is coming!"

The other cars nearby also entered combat status, and the atmosphere in the originally relaxed position suddenly became tense.

There was more smoke in the distance, even covering part of the city.

At this time, the battalion commander came back on a motorcycle, shouting as he walked: "This smoke doesn't look like cavalry, a tough battle is coming, guys! If the tanks hit us, we will die! If they miss, they can still blow us to pieces! We can only fire as much as possible before the enemy finds our position, and keep firing!"

The battalion commander's motorcycle passed in front of Karamazov.

Karamazov stared at the battalion commander's back for a while, and only when he was sure that he had gone far away did he open the emergency supplies box next to his position and take out a telescope to look in the direction of the enemy.

This telescope was previously captured equipment and should be handed in according to military regulations. Then the troops will distribute it according to the needs of each unit.

But Karamazov kept the telescope that was seized illegally, and his reason was very high-sounding: "General Rokossov requires the vortex to penetrate and destroy the enemy's tanks at a distance of 1800 meters, so our self-propelled anti-tank guns should also be able to do it. Without a telescope, how can I search for the enemy at a distance of 1800 meters?"

Everyone else in the company agreed with his reason, except the battalion commander.

Karamazov used a captured Zeiss telescope to observe the enemy rushing towards him: "One, two, three... twenty, a total of twenty Matildas, and they are behind the formation, with the infantry. In front are all Crusader light tanks." The United Kingdom called them cruise tanks.

Karamazov observed the light tanks for a while, and asked the loader in confusion: "Do you remember what the data said the Crusader light tank weighed?"

The loader shrugged. "I don't remember. It seems to be similar to our BT series?"

Karamazov: "Then why are they so slow? Is it because their engines are rubbish? But I remember that the United Kingdom's engine technology is more advanced than ours? Our Air Force also uses engines produced under license from their Rolls-Royce company."

"Very slow?" The loader had no telescope and could not see the specific situation. He could only stare at the approaching smoke and dust.

Karamazov followed a Crusader through his binoculars. "Yes, very slow, probably only slightly faster than the off-road speed of a T34. Did they install a speed limiter on the tank? But why?"

"To shoot more accurately while moving?" The loader spread his hands.

"Stop talking, they've passed the target and are about to enter the range!" Karamazov put down the telescope, leaned close to the artillery sight, and locked onto a Crusader that was in the front.

He fired.

There were sparks on the Crusader's shell, it hit!
Then the Crusaders continued to advance unscathed!

The shell just now exploded behind the Crusader tank!

Karamazov was shocked: "Overpenetration?"

Overpenetration refers to the armor-piercing capability of an armor-piercing projectile far exceeding the target's defenses, causing the shell to penetrate the target like a piece of paper and explode outside.

"Wait a minute! Don't load armor-piercing shells, load high-explosive shells! It just so happens that when we land, we consume a lot of armor-piercing shells, but not much high-explosive shells!"

The loader helplessly pulled out the shell that had been stuffed into the barrel and pushed in another high-explosive shell.

Karamazov opened fire.

This time the Crusader exploded, sending its turret flying straight into the sky.

Karamazov laughed. "Good! Keep cleaning up the Crusader light tanks! Reload quickly."

At this time, all 30 ZIS30s in the entire battalion were firing, but many people did not realize that the armor of the Crusader tank was too thin for the 57mm gun, and many gun crews were firing armor-piercing shells.

There were also Crusaders who were hit by armor-piercing bullets and thick smoke came out, and then a large number of tank crews came out and fled in all directions.

After several minutes of concentrated shooting, more than half of the enemy's vanguard Crusaders were wiped out, and the rest turned around and began to retreat.

By the way, all the Crusader tanks seemed to have no intention of counterattacking, and did not fire a single shot at the anti-tank positions.

Matilda did not arrive until all the Crusaders had fled.

"Switch to armor-piercing shells!" Karamazov ordered as he picked up the telescope again. "High-explosive shells probably won't do anything to Matilda."

At this time, the entire position became quiet, and everyone was waiting for the Matilda tank to come into range.

However, this abstract off-road vehicle, whose speed was the same as that of infantry, crawled for seven minutes without ever reaching the wreckage of the Crusader tanks.

Finally, Karamazov couldn't bear it anymore, he adjusted the scale with the gun scope, aimed at a Matilda and opened fire!

The shell landed at a large angle in front of Matilda and was directly bounced away.

Karamazov began to curse.

The loader comforted him: "It's too far away. The energy of the shell has dropped dramatically."

"You also know the word energy!" Karamazov teased.

Loader: "I also attended the night school held by the General! I want to improve so badly, man!"

Karamazov did not answer and continued to observe the distance, waiting for these slow guys to come into effective range.

Five minutes later, the first Matilda passed the target.

Karamazov immediately put down the telescope, put his eyes on the gun scope, aimed carefully, adjusted the scale, and fired!
Sparks appeared on the front armor of the Matilda tank, and then the tank stopped, with thick smoke coming out of the rear of the vehicle. The tank crew hurriedly ran out of the tank and fled in all directions.

Karamazov clenched his fist. "Great! Armor-piercing bullets are also effective against this thing! Reload quickly!"

Other ZIS30s also opened fire. This time the heavy tank-infantry tank cluster only held out for more than a minute before beginning to reverse and retreat.

Karamazov: "Reload! Quickly! They are about to leave our effective range! Quickly!"

"We're out of armor-piercing shells!" the loader yelled. "You used too much on the beach just now!"

Karamazov slapped his thigh, not knowing who he was scolding: "Sukabulie!"

(End of this chapter)