Chapter 205 Tank Attack Tactics
At the German Rhodes Line, Major General von Bazel braved the rain to personally inspect the firepower deployment. The front-line commander Colonel Aifuri hurriedly followed behind with several guards.
Major General Bazel frowned as he walked:
"Add a machine gun here!"
"Bail out the water here, otherwise no one will be able to run!"
"If you don't want to be blown up by the enemy's artillery, spread out your ammunition and hide it!"
…
It was obvious that Bazzell was not very happy with the defense.
But think about it, this is the 22nd Reserve Infantry Division, the requirements cannot be too high.
Reserve forces are usually troops that have received professional military training but have never been on the battlefield.
When such soldiers first go to the battlefield, it is easy for them to forget everything they have learned because of nervousness. The establishment of reserve forces is to give them a buffer period.
They will receive some low-intensity combat missions in the reserve army, and then be added to the regular troops after they have adapted to the battlefield environment and are mentally prepared enough.
However, due to the shortage of troops as the defense line was stretched, the reserve troops were almost non-existent, and they were directly sent to the battlefield to face the most brutal war.
Even so, they were much better than the new recruits who had only spent a week or two learning how to fire a gun and line up.
Bazel continued walking along the trench. There were still some bodies of French soldiers left near the trench. They were left behind when the German army recaptured the position. Some of them could still move and make a faint groan.
Basel didn't have time to pay attention and left them to fend for themselves.
The mission of the 22nd Reserve Division was simple: to hold the defense line and block all enemies who wanted to enter the defense zone, especially the enemy's tank units.
After walking half of the defense line, Bazel thought it was almost done, so he turned back and asked Colonel Avery: "How is the 77MM field artillery ready?"
"Everything is according to your orders, General!" Colonel Aifuri stepped forward and answered: "We will disperse them within a range of two or three hundred meters behind the defense line. They will only open fire when enemy tanks come!"
Basel said "hmm" with satisfaction. With field artillery, K bullets, and more than fifty T-type anti-tank rifles, they should have no problem facing the enemy's tanks.
Just as he was about to end his inspection and return to the headquarters, he suddenly heard someone shouting behind him: "Enemy! They are coming!"
Basel was stunned for a moment, then turned around and ran back to the trench along the communication trench. He ignored the blood and mud all over the ground, lay down, grabbed the telescope and carefully stuck his head out.
Sure enough, some figures could be seen in the rain. There were not many of them, and they were carefully groping their way forward using the craters and terrain.
Bazel was confused.
So far, the French attacks have either been infantry mass charges or tanks overwhelming the trenches. This is the first time that a small number of infantry have been advancing covertly at a distance of 500 meters.
The soldiers raised their guns and lay down in front of the trenches one after another, ready for battle. They were originally nervous, but when they saw the "poor look" of the French, they couldn't help but laugh at them:
"Don't they have tanks? Why are they letting the infantry march in front?"
"We may have wiped out all the French!"
"They should go back and have more children, otherwise it won't be long before there will be only women left in France!"
…
The soldiers laughed loudly, and the relaxed atmosphere spread along the defense line.
Bazel ignored them, knowing that the soldier needed the opportunity to make some jokes to relax himself.
Colonel Aifuri trotted over and lay down beside Bazel, reporting: "General, this may be a reconnaissance operation by the French!"
Bazel shook his head slightly, he sensitively realized that this was not the case.
He carefully turned his view and observed the enemy's activities through the aperture of the telescope.
Most of the enemies were active at a distance of 500 meters, and some of them crawled to 200 to 300 meters close to the trenches. There was also the faint sound of sidecars, but they were invisible at a farther distance.
At first, Basel didn't understand what role the sidecar could play here. Did they intend to use this thing to charge?
Soon he understood. In his sight, the barbed wires were easily pulled apart...
"They are preparing for an attack!" Basel frowned.
Colonel Avery popped his head out to take a look in confusion, then replied nonchalantly: "Do they think they can charge up like this? Our machine guns will teach them a lesson!"
The barbed wire is not the key. As long as there are enough machine guns, no one can rush up.
But Bazel's face suddenly changed: "No, they have tanks!"
Then, Bazel pointed to a few spots ahead and said, "Look at those little red flags!"
Afri raised the telescope and looked in the direction indicated by Basel. Sure enough, he saw rows of small flags stuck on the ground and fluttering in the wind in the rain, like waving little hands.
"That's to direct the path for the tanks!" Bazel explained, "so that the tanks can avoid dangerous areas and rush to us in the shortest time!"
Afuli showed a cautious look on his face, and then passed on the order: "Pay attention to the enemy tanks, and prepare the anti-tank rifles..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a burst of "boom boom" of cannon fire, and the shells made a whistling sound in the air, which became louder and louder as they got closer.
But they did not explode as expected, but instead emitted a thick and pungent smoke, and the German soldiers immediately covered their mouths and noses.
The shells came in row after row, some exploded and some were still smoke bombs. Soon the area near the German defense line was filled with smoke, water vapor and dust. Coupled with the drizzle of rain, only a vague shadow could be seen even at a distance of only a hundred meters.
Bazel felt uneasy watching all this.
He realized that this was most likely a complete set of tank attack tactics developed by the French, with rigorous steps and clear division of labor, and the German army knew nothing about this tactic and was of course unprepared.
Everyone, including him, knew what the French were doing and why they were doing it, but they did not take any countermeasures.
The sound of artillery fire became more and more intense. Many shells hit the trenches directly, causing the German soldiers to scream in pain. Many soldiers habitually hid in the tunnels to avoid the artillery fire.
But Basel sensed the danger. He stuck his head out and listened carefully. Sure enough, he heard a rumbling sound of the engine in the gaps between the shells.
"Enemy tanks!" Bazel quickly retracted his head and ran along the trench, shouting to the soldiers as he ran: "The enemy is coming, organize defense!"
However, Bazel knew it was too late.
The soldiers had no idea what was happening and that they had lost their chance to stop the enemy tanks.
(End of this chapter)
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