Iron Cross

"Sir, I actually suggest retreating to preserve our manpower." Brigadier General Memphis, commander of the 6th Tank Brigade, frowned and said, "We are obviously at a disadvantage. The Royal Air Force was defeated by Japanese and German planes. It is unrealistic to talk about armored attacks without air superiority. That means we will soon become a living target for the Germans."

"I know, but we can't do nothing and hand over Madras to the enemy directly. It will be difficult to explain to Delhi." Although Giffard had sent a harsh message to London two days ago, saying that if he did not get enough support, he would not be responsible for the subsequent development of the war. However, he could lose the battle, but he could not retreat without a fight and become a fleeing general - he had lost Ceylon before, and if he lost Madras without a fight again, no matter what good reasons he had, it would be difficult to convince the public.

"If I have to choose one, I'd still choose the Japanese." Memphis sighed, "It may sound a bit encouraging, but in fact we are afraid that we can't beat the German armored division. We don't have tanks that can deal with the Tiger, and we don't even have a powerful 17-pound gun, but we should be much more confident against the Japanese."

Giffard nodded: "I totally agree. After the 6th Tank Brigade repel the Japanese attack, we can find a way to turn in, and by the way, we can also cover the infantry retreat."

Just as the two of them were nervously deploying troops to give the 4th Tank Division of Nagura Kan a blow, a large group of Japanese troops had already launched an attack under the cover of the tanks of the tank division, and the defenders found that they were going to face a pile of tough bones.

Although targeted armored tactics had been discussed on the ship, and armored warfare adaptation training was carried out for ten days in Ceylon, the military thinking formed over a long period of time is obviously not so easy to correct, not to mention that it is impossible to practice too much armored assault tactics in ten days. Nagura Kan's subordinates were at best familiar with the equipment, and they still played a very traditional infantry-tank coordinated advancement tactic. But for the equipment they had, this tactic seemed quite suitable.

The 32nd Infantry Brigade of the Indian Army guarded the south side of Madras. The three regiments formed a herringbone defense system. The first to bear the brunt was the 2nd Tademier Regiment. In the Indian Army system, this regiment was considered a rare elite unit. Not only did it not panic and disintegrate when it heard that the enemy army was coming with a large number of tanks, but it also deployed a lot of 2-pound guns to fight against tanks. According to intelligence reports from the direction of the Burmese battlefield, the Japanese army's fighting will was still tenacious, but the tanks were really simple and ridiculous.

However, when he really saw the arrival of the Japanese tanks, Major Thomas, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the regiment, couldn't help but wail: "Oh my God..."

With the help of a telescope, he could see clearly what was coming - it was not the small beanie that the Japanese army used to use, but the signature infantry tank of the British Empire - Matilda, and it was actually a Type 2. The strange shape, slow speed and disproportionately large toothpick gun (40mm, actually a 2-pound tank gun) all showed that the opposite side was the genuine Matilda.

If it weren't for the eye-catching sun logo on it, he would almost think it was the 6th Tank Brigade who changed its vest to cheat.

Before he could inform the whole battalion of this frustrating news, the impatient red-headed soldiers on the front line had already started shooting. More than a dozen 2-pound guns opened fire one after another, and they started shooting at the Matilda in front of them.

"Asshole, even though you fired?"

An Indian messenger said timidly: "Sir, didn't you just tell me to notify the enemy tanks to open fire when they enter 600 yards?"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The sound of Matilda being hit kept ringing, but everyone was surprised to find that after being hit, Matilda actually moved forward again as if nothing had happened - this was exactly why Thomas was extremely frustrated. He knew clearly that firing at a distance of 600 yards, the 2-pound gun could not do anything to the Matilda with heavy armor, and it would only expose the position in vain.

"This doesn't make sense, I clearly hit it!"

"Me too, I must have hit it!"

"Come again!"

However, the Japanese army obviously would not give the Indians too many opportunities. Matilda's counterattack soon came whistling, and in less than 5 minutes, all these anti-tank positions were written off. What made Thomas even more desperate was that the Japanese field artillery in the distance also opened fire, destroying the defense line and deep area that had been built with great difficulty.

"This is at least a 6-inch caliber howitzer..." Thomas muttered to himself.

"Shoot!" The Japanese artillery in the distance pushed a shell into the barrel with great effort, and then fired it out the next second. The whole action was smooth and impeccable. Through the front-line artillery observers and reports, Suzuki Sosaku, who was supervising the battle, nodded repeatedly and was very satisfied with the performance of the artillery.

"Sir, this is the 155mmM1 howitzer, which the Americans call Tom Long. It is a first-level support artillery for the main division of the US military. Its range and power far exceed our own 150mm field artillery. The only disadvantage is that it is too heavy and difficult to move. If there were not so many trucks and armored vehicles cooperating this time, they would not be put into use at all," Colonel Hideei Ikeda, commander of the Indian Expeditionary Forces' Independent Heavy Artillery Regiment, said, "I think our regiment can be equipped as soon as possible. Due to the terrain and our transportation conditions, other field artillery units cannot afford it. However, the Soviet-made M1 howitzers are very light and powerful, and can even fire armor-piercing shells as anti-tank guns in emergencies."

Suzuki Sosaku nodded: "No wonder the Navy wants us to deploy these artillery pieces to various islands. I took these 8 guns from the hands of the chief of staff of Kusuka. At first, I thought he was stingy and refused to give them. Me."

"This was also sold to us by the Germans?"

"It was captured by the navy. They have made a lot of money in Africa. A whole ship of this kind of artillery was captured. Now we see that our nostrils are going to be vented." Suzuki Sosaku waved his hand, "Let me see these 8 guns Long-legged Tom is redeployed back to Ceylon. You and other heavy artillery units can be equipped with 152mm howitzers. The dispatched army has been allocated a total of 96 guns, which is enough for you. "

Ikeda Hideei was shocked: "Didn't Tokyo say that it would only provide 64 doors?"

Suzuki Sosaku smiled strangely: "Keep your voice down and don't tell anyone. There are still 32 commanders who have asked the navy to buy them."

"Buy?" Ikeda Hideong asked subconsciously without thinking, "Where's the money?"

Suzuki Sosaku pointed to the city of Madras in the distance: "No, isn't it in the city..."