Redemption of WWII

Chapter 55 Armor Showdown 6

The Panther tank assault group of the 101st Armored Division of the German army has no unified command, but I am afraid that any armored force in any country in the world cannot make such neat movements under unified command. 【】Since all the tanks have been formed in formation, no squad will fire the cannons alone, but all of them will fire the cannons together in a unified manner.

The reason for this is also because the smoke from the burning of the British tanks blocked the sight of the shooting.The German tanks responded, but this time the wires of the 'Panther' tanks did not remain silent.But it is definitely not noisy, there is always only one voice, and that voice is just simple numbers like '1' and '2'.And all the 'Panther' tank commanders are constantly adjusting the angle of the rotating turret and the elevation angle of the barrel according to that simple number.And the accuracy is still in the angular unit of 'minutes'.

With a time difference of less than 78 seconds, all [-] 'Leopard' tanks fired their guns.The sounds of these tank guns were added together to form a huge sound, which resounded over the entire battlefield. The shocking sound waves were so shocking that Rommel could hear it tens of kilometers away.And then the sound of the cannon explosion came again, but this time the sound was not so neat, but sounded one after another like a burst of dense drumbeats.

But compared to the shocking sound, what was even more shocking was the scene of the cannon hitting the ground and exploding.Within an area of ​​about 3000 square meters covered by smoke, 78 tank guns fell densely.Although armor-piercing requires a lot of collision force to explode, the kinetic energy of these armor-piercing weapons is not consumed at all because they are launched within 1000 meters.So not to mention hitting the sand, it will explode even if it hits the water.

You may not know how big 3000 square meters is, but everyone probably knows how big a basketball court is.A basketball court is 420 square meters, and there are about 3000 basketball courts in 7 square meters.

英军的第一装甲师的官兵们用了12辆坦克的代价，又重新的、深刻的了解了一下3000平米的概念问题。这78发炮很均匀的覆盖了这里的12辆坦克所在的区域，虽然落在坦克上的炮都是只有一发，但是1000米内的‘豹式’那5米长的炮管发射的穿甲的威力简直是坚不摧的。

The turret of the British No. 113 tank was directly pierced. After entering the tank, the gun did not explode. Another end drilled through the other end of the tank turret and directly entered the cab of the No. 113 tank behind the No. 166 tank. The personnel in the command room of the No. 113 tank were killed by the fragments shot out by the cannon rotating and drilling through the steel armor of the tank.The tank driver, who was left with only the cab, was unharmed.The No. 166 tank was not so lucky. The explosion after the cannon hit the cab directly ignited the gasoline of the engine, and the personnel in the turret command room were burned alive in the tank.

This time, not only Raymond and Briggs understood, but all the lower tank commanders also understood.The Germans may not be able to fight, and if they continue to fight, they will probably be wiped out.To continue fighting with the Germans in front of me would be not heroism, but stupidity, extreme stupidity.Raymond and Briggs didn't care about the noisy voice of the wire, and shouted directly at the wire, "Retreat, retreat immediately, everyone retreats separately. Stop fighting, run, run quickly."

The tank commanders of the British army heard the order to retreat very clearly, and they all turned around and retreated to the rear.But how can it be so smooth, there is no unified command, no cover behind, and everyone is scrambling to get ahead, chaos will inevitably occur.Tanks are not as easy to turn around as cars. These are steel behemoths of dozens of tons, and they are still at the forefront of the confrontation between the two armies.

One advantage of tracked tanks is that they can turn around on the spot, and only when the direction is adjusted can they move forward at the maximum speed.But not all the tanks of the British army turned around, and some of them just put the reverse gear on and then fell back.Hit the back of the U-turn tank.The violent collision directly caused the track of the tank behind to twist and deform, and it was directly stuck on the gear of the tank's traveling wheel.Can no longer move.

This Yang scene was played out in many places throughout the British Army ranks.Originally, German long-distance shooting destroyed many British tanks. The route of the British tanks was not particularly wide. Now, with the tanks damaged by their own people, the road to retreat has been completely blocked. up.Coupled with the fact that the tank soldiers who were smashed and ran out of the tank were messing around, the 'Sherman m4' tank formation of the entire British First Armored Division fell into extreme chaos.

All this, the German commanders of the German "Leopard" tanks are clearly aware of the periscope of the tank.This is a result that the German tank commanders did not expect. Originally, these commanders did not want to fight the British according to Rommel's order.But the terrain in this area is the only road suitable for the rapid passage of armored troops, and the other end of the road is the British tanks. If they don't fight, the British will not give way.But the result now is that the British have blocked the road by themselves. It seems that within a few hours, this section of the road cannot be cleared.

The commanders of these 'Leopard' tanks did not hesitate at all, and the wires directly sent out "divide into left and right, and pass through by detour." The 78 'Leopard' tanks were neatly divided into two teams. With more than 500 meters left, the tank turned around and drove to both sides.As for the British tanks that were about to be wiped out, these German tank commanders didn't even bother to look at them.

Colonel Luther, commander of the 101st Armored Division behind the German army, was completely stunned by these people.There are nearly 200 British tanks, what a credit this should be, if this is reported back to Berlin, the staff will be overjoyed.It is estimated that everyone will be received by the head of state, and everyone will get the medal.

But these people actually took a detour in order to carry out the most basic orders.I don't care about these credits at all.Originally, Luther, as the supreme commander of an armored division, was already a figure with his nose up to the sky, and even those generals would be kind to Luther.Luther thought he was proud enough, but he was educated today. Compared with the pride of these people, he was nothing.

Luther had no way to give orders to the commanders of these 'Panther' tanks to encircle and annihilate the British army. One reason was that Rommel directly ordered the armored divisions to stagger the direction of the British attack and attack the rear of the British troops. The sniping of the British army must not stop, and try not to get entangled with the British. 'These people are very faithful to implement this order.

The second is that Major General 'Heath', the head of the 'Army Academy Armored Forces Advanced Command Department', is the commander of these 'Panther' tanks.

When Luther was studying in the 'Army Academy Advanced Command Department', Major General 'Heath' was his mentor. 'Heath''s weird temper and profound theoretical attainments made Luther a headache.It left an unforgettable memory for the study of Luther in the Armor Academy.

Not that 'Heath' treated Luther so well and patiently.But 'Heath' treated every one of his students very strictly. At that time, those who were studying in the Advanced Command Department were some senior officers, and the lowest was the rank of major.But 'Heath' didn't care about this, and those officers were required to memorize all the hundreds of pages of armor data.

And I often choose some cold questions to ask in class.Students who can't answer will be physically punished by "Heath".Either hungry or punished to clean all the teaching buildings. Of course, cleaning is done while carrying books.It would be a disaster for the students who couldn’t answer the question twice, they would just move the desk to the open gate and stand on the desk to endorse.At that time, the senior command department in the Armor Academy also became a beautiful sight, and it was not uncommon to see these cadet officers doing sanitation work that only handymen would do.

During those days, Luther often stood on desks at the gate to endorse. Later, because he often stood on desks at the entrance of the college, even passers-by gradually became familiar with Luther's face, and some boldly Say hi to Luther.People often say to Luther respectfully, "Mr. Major, you are here to study again."

Luther was a little angry at the time, and said to himself, "What is 'again'? Do I see you often?" Luther didn't know that the officer cadets who often go to the table have been unanimously rated as "star" students by the whole academy .He was also voted "the most familiar face of the Armor Academy" by passers-by.

However, these students did not dare to be stubborn at all.Because of the previous example, a school-level student questioned the teaching method of 'Heath' and applied for withdrawal.In the end, he dropped out of school, but after returning to the army, he was sent to a military court on the charge of running away.

Luther didn't want to be sent to a military prison. 'Heath' as ​​the head of the department also left an indelible impression on Luther's 'young' mind.Luther will pay more attention every time he attends the class of 'Heath', for fear that the 'demon' will kill him.In Luther's heart, "Heath" is a professional and technical demon with a whip in one hand and an iron chain in the other.

Living like a year was Luther's mood at that time.But Luther admired 'Heath' very much.In every armor tactical drill, when the equipment is superior and the number is superior, these students will be beaten by the enemy army composed of instructors.In Luther's heart 'Heath' was an undefeated myth.

Finally, Luther stumbled and barely graduated from the Armored Forces Advanced Command Department. Of course, in the mind of 'Heath', there are no good students, and all the students who can graduate are 'stumbling'.After Luther returned to the original army, the war began. Only then did Luther know what the 'Heath' taught. Such a poor student who graduated after stumbling can lead an armored brigade to face the enemy's defense line. Enemy twice as big as oneself.

And Luther himself can always find the enemy's weakness, and can often be fatal with one blow.Fighting these enemies is simply extremely easy.None of these enemies can defeat themselves like 'Heath' once.Although he was not as dazzling as Rommel in France, it was because Rommel was of a high rank, and Rommel was also an instructor at the Army Academy.In Luther's eyes, these instructors should of course receive greater honors and rewards than themselves.But the team led by Luther also fought many wonderful battles during the French campaign.

This time, Luther led the 101ss armored division from the Netherlands all the way to North Africa, across the entire Europe from north to south, and the journey can be said to be windy.Luther's complaints were very big. He couldn't bring most of his tank equipment, and he only brought 100 Panzer IV tanks.Moreover, the conditions here in North Africa are quite poor, and even the drinking water is not clean, with an earthy smell.

I am used to the one-size-fits-all treatment in the Netherlands, and it is very unpleasant to have to accept other people's orders here.However, Luther felt better about the 80 new 'Leopard' tanks that were added.But when he heard that the commanders of these tanks wanted to personally command these tanks, Luther quit and lost his temper with Rommel.

But Luther suddenly saw Major General 'Heath' standing among these people, and was startled.

Major General 'Heath' didn't wear a military rank uniform, but a simple uniform of an armored soldier. His thin body seemed so inconspicuous in the crowd.But it's just such an ordinary-looking person, so it's easy to stop anywhere.Colonel Luther felt a chill directly from the soles of his feet into his heart.

Thinking back to the lustful power of 'Heath' back then, Luther's legs trembled a little.Scared him to death in front of 'Heath', he didn't dare to 'stab'.