Chapter 1448 Tanks, Where Are Our Tanks? (First Update, Please Subscribe)

No matter how the situation changes, for those on the battlefield, they will not consider what decisions the bigwigs will make. What they consider is very simple, nothing more than survival or death.

On the battlefield, life and death is often just a matter of a moment.

The sunlight reflected from the snow was particularly dazzling, and the red dots on the snow were particularly eye-catching against the white snow.

The bodies were scattered in the snow, like dead trees, just lying there, and no one cared.

At one end of the snowy field, American soldiers in green khaki uniforms were moving in the snow. They used pickaxes to dig hard frozen soil to expand trenches, carry logs to reinforce fortifications, and build defensive fortifications. A fortification in the woods was smoking. There were piles of shells on the open ground, and the copper shells gleamed in the sun - from 3-inch small shells to 105mm shells, the black-painted warheads glowed with the brilliance of death. Boxes of ammunition were placed like this. In the ice and snow, a blown-up cannon just lay there, its barrel had been blown up. On the nearby ice field, several dead horses were cut down to only some bones, which was an extremely delicious delicacy for the soldiers on the battlefield.

The sky was blue, without a single cloud, and the sun was shining brightly. In the distance was a dense forest covered with snow. Suddenly, a chirping sound came from the air.

"Bombard!"

The people who were busy working crouched down, and as they crawled around in the trenches, shells fell. The explosions of mortars occasionally raised plumes of white and black smoke in the snow, which then fell silently.

In the explosion, no one noticed some white figures crawling in the snow. A few minutes later, accompanied by a burst of gunfire, the battle started again in the early morning.

"boom!"

In the violent explosion, the frozen soil was blown into the sky. In the snow, dozens of white dots could be seen struggling to move. The knee-deep snow made their steps very clumsy. In the whistling rain of bullets, the attacking soldiers kept falling down.

A few minutes later, the attack stopped, and the snow was all red. There were also some dead bodies in the snow that looked like dead trees.

On this cold battlefield, no one seems to care about all this.

“…”

Staring at the red patches on the snow, Lin Dong's face looked very ugly. A month ago, the heavy snow came as expected and swept across the entire Oregang. The knee-deep snow not only affected the logistics, but also affected the troops' offensive.

When attacking in the snow, the clumsy steps will turn the soldiers into targets in the snow. Even if they are covered with sheets and use the white sheets as camouflage, it will only shorten the distance.

"No, Captain. If we continue to fight like this, it's hard to say whether we can take down the American positions. The casualties among our brothers will surely increase."

Deputy Battalion Commander Sun Tiantao complained after grabbing a handful of snow.

"The snow is knee-deep. Even if the brothers want to run, they can't. How can we charge forward in such thick snow..."

Why are the casualties so heavy?

To put it bluntly, the snow was too deep, which affected the mobility of the troops.

"We can't go on like this."

Once again, observing the American defense line through the telescope, Lin Dong thought for a while and said.

"By the way, how about the tank troops? When can they come over?"

"come over……"

Sun Tiantao looked at his superior helplessly, and then said.

"The battle line is so large, and the entire corps only has more than a hundred tanks. The best steel is used on the blade. By the time it's our turn, even the cucumbers will be cold."

Although there are not many tanks in the imperial army now, the officers and soldiers on the front line have long been aware of the name of tanks. They have heard many legends about tanks, such as how they are invincible and easy to walk on flat ground, and how they are covered in iron armor and invulnerable to swords and guns.

There are even some battlefield legends - crushing people into pieces of meat, is this true? No one cares at all, but for the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Northern Legion, this is not important. What is important is that the tanks are theirs, and the tanks can help them overcome the enemy's defenses.

The only problem is that there are too few tanks!

The Northern Legion had nearly one million troops but less than 200 tanks. The reason for such a small number was that the Empire had not made too much preparation for this world war before. On the other hand, there were still certain problems in the use of tanks, such as mobile communications and other issues had not yet been solved. The corps-based use of tanks still existed only in theory.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Amid the roar of gasoline engines, one Type 18 tank after another slowly drove down from the flatbed trucks of the train. The roar of gasoline engines and the spewing of oil smoke enveloped the entire cargo yard.

As more than sixty tanks slowly assembled, the surrounding soldiers all looked at the Type 18 tanks with envy.

The Type 18 tank is the Empire's most advanced tank and also the first standard tank. However, similar to the Empire's first generation tanks, it still uses a large number of automotive parts. For example, its power system uses the Jiefang AA-30 truck engine and gearbox, which also makes it easy to produce.

In fact, the reason why the Army and Navy chose this small tank weighing only 6.4 tons is that it uses a large number of automotive parts and can be used interchangeably with military vehicles. More importantly, it is not only easy to produce but also cheap.

Cheap is king!

"What a pity there are only 68 of them!"

Looking at the tank regiment that was assembling, Gao Mingjun said somewhat helplessly.

"If we had 300 of them, it would be easy to break through Portland's defense."

As he finished speaking, the regiment staff officer Liu Hai laughed.

"Commander, I heard that the headquarters has placed an order for 10,000 Type 18 tanks with several automobile factories. Once these tanks are delivered to the troops, we will no longer be short of tanks."

The reason why the military was able to place an order for tens of thousands of tanks at a time was, on the one hand, due to the empire's strong industrial strength, and on the other hand, because the technology of the Type 18 tank was very mature. After more than ten years of research and development and continuous improvement, the Type 18 tank no longer had the problems of the first generation of tanks, such as frequent breakdowns and short track life.

If there is any flaw, it is that the armor is too thin, the tonnage is too small, and the firepower is too weak. But in this era, such light tanks are just enough. As for heavy tanks, it is a waste of money and raw materials. After all, for the tanks of the Empire, they have no anti-tank mission at all. Although European and American countries are also equipped with tanks, their tank technology... is far behind that of the Empire, and even until now, they have not solved the problems of chain and other aspects. Tanks of European and American countries are essentially experimental products.

Looking at the tanks assembled and waiting in the cargo yard, Gao Mingjun nodded silently, then said to the chief of staff.

"The future is a matter of the future. Right now... the most important thing is that we accept the mission. As we all know, tanks are the best. Now, the whole army is watching us! Whether we can take down Portland depends on us, the 10th Tank Regiment!"

The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.

(End of this chapter)