Chapter 671 - The collaboration of tanks
Before the "deserter" died, the British army launched an attack on the German defense line under the order of Hegel.
Walking ahead is the "Whippet" tank.
Hager once said, “Tanks and machine guns are useless, they are redundant to the battlefield.”
Until now, Hegel still insists on this statement, but adds an explanation for his use of them: "But sometimes it does not prevent us from using something extra on the battlefield, such as the Knights like to use blood on their armor. Outline patterns to show your heroism and achievements.”
The British soldiers knew what was going on, and they complained privately:
"The great butcher again showed off his stubbornness and stupidity in front of us."
"It's no big deal if it's just stubborn and stupid, but he's also ruthless. Now we can only pray to God."
"You think praying to God will be useful?"
"Of course not, I am praying that I will not be his subordinate again in the next life!"
...
This is an internal contradiction between the British Expeditionary Force.
After experiencing blood and death on the battlefield, the soldiers have fully realized the importance of machine guns and tanks, especially the Germans once killed 100,000 British soldiers with machine guns in one day.
It is hard for them to imagine that after such a painful lesson, Heg still insists on the theory that tank machine guns are useless.
The soldiers had no say, they could only sigh:
"If the machine gun is useless, are the 100,000 bodies that fell on the position fake?"
"If the tank is useless, are the victory that Charles has won fake? Are the bullets it blocks fake?"
"A fool knows that they are useful, and only those who hide in the command center and don't have to go to the battlefield can ignore their existence!"
...
The reason why Hege insists on his opinion is not that he is blind or stupid. He just doesn't want to face it or admit his mistakes.
And those who pretend to be asleep will never wake up.
Because of pretending to be asleep, Heg must ignore the tank's tactics.
All tank-related tactics, including the joint offensive tactics of the infield and tank defense tactics.
Therefore, the British army's tactics will always lag behind France and Germany, even if they are equipped with tanks.
The "Whipbit" tank "rumbled" along the slope into the no man's land.
The geographical conditions of the Somme River are very suitable for tank combat. It is chalk hard and flat, and the only difficulty is the crater overlapping layer by layer.
However, this could not stop the "Whipbit". It was shaking forward in the crater at a low speed of 7 kilometers, like wading through mountains and rivers. The four machine guns on the turret jumped to the rhythm and were almost thrown out of the body.
Behind it, there were teams of British soldiers, their faces as if dead, and their eyes looked at the German trenches through the exhaust gas of the tank, and their knuckles that were holding the rifle were slightly white due to excessive force.
Some people can even clearly see their feet trembling, and they fell to the ground several times and were forced to lift them up by their "compassionate" comrades.
"Follow the tanks!" Captain Monty, the commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade, waved the revolver in his hand and ordered loudly: "Tanks can block the enemy's machine gun bullets. Only by following them can you rush into the enemy's trenches!"
This is Monty's fifth charge against the German army.
He believed that tanks were tools used to block bullets, which could cover infantry entering the trenches.
Monty succeeded 3 times, so he firmly believed that his theory was right.
He said confidently when sharing his successful experience with others: "The tank and infantry have to do what they should do separately so that they can win. If they fail, they must be one of them not doing well enough!"
Otherwise, what else can be there?
He didn't have the word "infantry and tank coordination" in his mind, and of course he didn't know that the close coordination between infantry and tanks could allow this mechanical monster to perfectly combine with infantry to form a whole, thus forming a stronger combat power.
In the trench opposite the British army, Erwin hid behind a machine gun bunker and held a telescope to observe the British army's offensive. Soon, a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
At this time, Erwin had been promoted to the commander of the German First Tank Division and the rank of major general.
This allowed him to command a battle with full authority without any restrictions, and could even require three infantry divisions to cooperate with him.
And the British, as he expected, had no idea how to use tanks to fight.
This is a good thing, and they will be taught a lesson immediately. They will be ruthlessly crushed under the tracks of tanks and become a stepping stone for Major General Erwin's promotion!
Putting away the telescope, Major General Erwin raised his hand expressionlessly and waved his hand forward gently. The staff and communication soldiers around him immediately issued an order:
"Let's fire!"
"Let's fire!"
...
The sound of gunfire sounded immediately, with the German 105MM howitzer.
No mistakes, one song, one content, one in 6, one book, one bar, one reading!
The British soldiers who roared past the no-man's land, smashing hard towards the artillery positions in the rear with fear and glory.
During the three-day preparation for artillery fire in the British army, the German artillery did not fight back. The British artillery thought that the German artillery had been destroyed, but unexpectedly, the German army accumulated strength and waited until now to exert its strength.
It was only then that the British army realized, but it was too late.
The 105MM shells accurately covered artillery positions scattered in five different directions, blowing British artillery to the point of falling.
The survivors had no time to fight back, so they immediately pulled up artillery fire to transfer positions, and some did not even hold their heads in their arms and fled in all directions.
This is Major General Erwin's infantry and artillery coordination, temporarily suppressing British artillery provides conditions for the First Tank Division to enter the enemy's camp and strangle it together.
Once the First Tank Division fought with the British army, the artillery advantage formed by Britain's national strength on the north bank of the Somme will be useless.
Seeing that the time was almost done, Major General Erwin ordered coldly: "Attack!"
"attack!"
"attack!"
...
The staff and the correspondents conveyed their orders one after another.
German tanks rushed out of the trenches with the sound of "rumble" motors, including "Upper Silesia" tanks and "LK2" tanks.
Major General Erwin has further upgraded the tank tactics. He believes that it is not only infantry and tanks that are coordinated on the battlefield, but also tanks and tanks.
He summarized this theory when he reported to his old superior Lieutenant General Nicolas:
"This is like the coordination between battleships, cruisers and destroyers, and tanks of different weights on land should also have coordination."
"The medium tank has thicker armor and larger caliber artillery, but it is slow, and it is better suited to lead infantry attacking trenches and fire points."
"Light tanks are more flexible in maneuvering, and they are more suitable for combating enemy tanks and infantry."
...
Therefore, the German "LK2" tanks that rushed up with infantry were the first to destroy British tanks and defeat British infantry.
Followed by the "Upper Silesia" tanks, their mission is to destroy fire points and crush British trenches under tracks!
