Chapter 143 Press Conference
Xiafei had lunch at 11:30 on time. His lunch consisted of a steak, two fried eggs, some broccoli and purple carrots. He believed that the combination of meat and vegetables was a dietary habit that must be maintained.
After lunch, he spent some time drinking coffee and reading newspapers. This was his way of relaxing. He would always do this whenever something important happened, even though he had sometimes read those newspapers.
Soon the clock on the wall rang, and the time came to 1:30 in the afternoon. Just at this time, Kanais pushed the door and reported: "General, the tanks are all in place!"
Joffre was a little surprised: "It's earlier than expected!"
"Yes!" Kanais replied: "The train is magically not late!"
"This may be a good sign, Kanais!" Joffre smiled: "Have all the reporters arrived?"
"Yes, they are all in the reception room!" Kanais bent down and asked: "Do you need to talk to them first?"
"No!" Joffre shook his head: "Let them wait a little longer!"
Joffre understood that during the time when the reporters were waiting, they would spread the "speculation" through various channels, which would gain more expectations and attention from the public.
...
Colonel Christian was wearing a raincoat and fully armed with his men standing in the rain. They watched the tanks pass by and finally stopped in front of the barracks under the command of the ground crew.
The thick armor, huge body, black muzzle and barrel looked like steel monsters.
The soldiers' eyes were full of excitement and excitement. Although they were lined up, they couldn't help but glance at the majestic tanks.
Christine felt something was wrong. The soldiers seemed to have the illusion that "this is an easy victory".
Christine cleared her throat, stood in front of the team, and warned in a low voice with her chest puffed out:
"Be careful, don't be confused by what you see. War is fought on people, not equipment!"
"You can never relax your vigilance. The battlefield is the battlefield. It will always teach those who despise it a hard lesson!"
The soldiers responded in unison: "Yes, sir!"
Christine glanced at the soldiers and found that they were still indifferent even though they said so.
Christine had no choice but to sigh in her heart: I hope this battle is as easy as they said!
After the soldiers were disbanded, they swarmed to the tank group. They looked at this and that curiously. Some soldiers also tried to get close to the tank soldiers and took the opportunity to "watch" inside the tanks.
Christine walked slowly in the rain to the tanks. They were all olive green. This was not the dark gray paint of battlefield equipment, but the paint commonly used for factory machinery.
Christine reached out and touched it gently, and found that the paint was not completely dry and had a sticky feeling.
It is not difficult to imagine that this batch of tanks was rushed out in a short period of time.
Christine's inner worries increased. Is this really okay?
…
“No problem!”
In the reception room, Joffre stood in the flashlight of reporters in a straight uniform. He was calm but confident:
“Gentlemen, please imagine.”
“In the Battle of the Marne, we used tanks with steel plates and machine guns. Note that there was only one machine gun, and it was a Hotchkiss.”
“But these tanks defeated the German army, which was dozens of times larger, and scared them into fleeing!”
“Now, the two tanks we have developed are both equipped with artillery and increased the number of machine guns. Its firepower is not comparable to that of previous tanks!”
At this time, a fierce artillery sound came from outside the house, and the reporters exclaimed and looked out the window.
Xiafei said calmly: "This is just artillery preparation, gentlemen! In a few minutes, our First Special Artillery Regiment will launch an attack, everything is going according to plan!"
...
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
The artillery fire blasted out smoke and dust in the misty rain, and the water turned into steam in the instant when the heat of the gunpowder was released, which made them look much more violent than usual. A huge group of cotton-like smoke rolled in front and behind the enemy's defense line, making the already chaotic vision even more blurred.
According to the plan, the artillery fire will be prepared for ten minutes.
But at eight minutes, Colonel Christian blew the whistle for the attack.
This is not because Colonel Christian is eager to capture the city, but because he knows that this can buy two minutes of advancement time for the troops.
If you can push these bulky things to the front of the enemy's defense line, it should be more advantageous, Colonel Christian thought, their firepower can suppress the enemy face to face.
The whistle sounded in the rain, and the tank started to move. The soldiers followed the tank with their rifles.
Christian immediately found the problem: some infantrymen did not notice that they were blocking the tank's machine gun.
"Stay away from the tank!" Colonel Christian shouted.
But it was no use. As soon as the infantryman was pulled away, another infantryman immediately replaced him, and some even blocked the tank's tracks!
...
"We will break through the enemy's defense line in an orderly manner!" Xiafei took the baton from the table, and the assistant quickly turned on the slide projector and inserted the slide. A black and white CA-1 tank image appeared on the background cloth behind Xiafei.
"Gentlemen!" Xiafei walked forward leisurely, and the black and white light and shadow cast on him looked a little weird:
"Let me introduce our pioneer tank, CA-1!"
"It was designed by one of our artillery colonels. Pay attention to its head!"
Joffre pointed his baton at the front of the tank:
"These pointed noses and baffles will cut through the enemy's barbed wire like a sharp blade. The enemy's first obstacle will be wiped out by its charge!"
...
On the battlefield, Christine was surprised to see that several of the CA-1 tanks in the front group were already stuck in the crater and unable to move. One of the CA-1 tanks was emitting green smoke, as if the engine was overloaded and burned out.
Suddenly, a whistling sound of artillery shells sounded in the sky, and Christine immediately realized that it was the enemy's artillery suppression.
"Get down!" Christine shouted, and rushed into the crater full of dirty water in front of him.
The lower the position, the greater the survival rate. No one cares what is in there.
"Boom boom!"
...
After a burst of gunfire, Colonel Christian was shocked by what he saw when he looked out again. The CA-1 tanks had been blown into a mess. Some were on fire, some were completely overturned, and some were blown into pieces with fragments all over the ground.
Most of them seemed fine on the surface, but their armor had been punched with small holes by shrapnel.
Needless to say, the tank soldiers inside must have been bloody.
"What can it block for us?" Colonel Christian shouted in disbelief: "Is this what they call an easy victory?"
(The picture above is a slide projector, invented in 1654, originally using candles as a light source, and later developed into electric lights)
