Chapter 209
I may not be able to make it in time today, the third chapter will be posted later, sorry!
————————————
This was indeed a trap set by Ciel.
Although the German A7V is not an excellent tank, it has very powerful firepower: a 57MM caliber gun plus 6 Maxim machine guns.
It may be clumsy, but no one can get close to it. It is like a mobile fortress that occupies wherever it goes, even the "Charter A1" tank is no exception.
The front armor of the "Char A1" tank is 25MM thick, but the side armor is only 13MM.
As long as the A7V's machine gun is equipped with K bullets, it is possible to penetrate it at a distance of 100 meters.
Charles had to be careful, especially since "Charles A1" was expected to win not only beautifully but also thoroughly.
Otherwise, the French army would not be able to cope with the ensuing battle, and tens of thousands of people would not be able to break out.
…
At the Paris Defense Headquarters, Charles pointed to the small town of Samoque on the map and said, "I plan to ambush the tanks here!"
"Ambush?" Gallieni didn't quite understand what Charles meant. "We are only a few kilometers away from the enemy's defense line. Can you fool the Germans?"
"I'm imposing an air blockade on this area!" Charles drew a circle on the map with his finger: "A radius of more than ten kilometers, use machine gun planes to drive away the German reconnaissance planes!"
"That's not enough, Major. They'll get the message anyway," Gallieni replied. "Tanks are not easy to hide, especially in the daytime."
Then Gallieni added: "In addition, I heard that the Germans deployed a troop in the town of Samok because they were worried that the French in the town would provide us with help."
With Germans in the town, there was no telling what would happen.
Once the tanks attack the town, this small force may not be able to hold it, but they will immediately pass the information by phone. It is simply a joke to want to ambush here.
"Maybe!" Charles still insisted, "But they won't know it's a tank."
"What do you mean?" Gallieni looked at Charles in confusion. "You mean the Germans can't recognize your new tank?"
If this is the idea, then Charles has underestimated the Germans. They know that anything with armor and tracks is a tank.
"No!" Charles shook his head slightly: "I mean, it wasn't the tanks that attacked them, but the sidecar troops!"
Gallieni said, "Oh!" "If you use a three-wheeled vehicle to attack, the Germans will see a three-wheeled vehicle instead of a tank. Will they mistake it for a reconnaissance unit?"
"Yes!" Charles drew a small circle in the south of the town with a pencil. "Our main force is probably located here. Thirty 'Mark I's. The German scouts will be attracted by this force. My new tanks will be disguised as tractors..."
"Tractor?" Gallieni interrupted Charles. "Tanks are much larger than tractors."
"My new tank is very small, General!" Charles smiled slightly: "It weighs only about 8 tons."
(Note: The weight of the Renault tank varies slightly depending on whether it is equipped with a machine gun or a cannon. The model equipped with a machine gun weighs about 7.5 tons. It was once exported to my country. Zhang Zuolin bought 14 of them. Later, the young marshal obtained 36 more through various channels. Because it has an iron hook at the rear, it has a nickname in my country: the "Iron Hook Tank")
"Only 8 tons?" Gallieni was stunned. That was indeed about the same as a tractor.
If the tank is so small, disguising it as a tractor is not a problem.
But Gallieni was still a little worried. How much combat effectiveness could such a light tank have?
The Saint-Chamon, also a tank, weighs 27 tons, and the CA-1 weighs 14 tons.
However, Gallieni did not ask this question out loud. He believed that the answer to whether the enemy was capable of fighting would be known after the battle.
…
Charles' plan was successful. The "Charr A1" tank was surrounded by a wooden frame and canvas, with the part above the tracks wrapped in the frame. It followed behind the sidecar and looked like a tractor transporting ammunition and fuel.
Colonel Browne classified the matter as a military secret and only a few people knew the truth.
As a result, the Border Tricycle troops did not recognize it until the tanks arrived at the town of Samok and removed the wooden frame and canvas. The French soldiers exclaimed:
"These things are actually tanks?"
"I thought they were carrying bread!"
"This should be the smallest tank, right? Are we that poor?"
…
It’s no wonder that the soldiers thought so. It looked similar to the first generation of Charles tanks. The soldiers thought that the tank was made so small due to lack of funds.
Even Colonel Browne, who commanded the troops, was puzzled. Although the 37MM caliber artillery was a cannon, could such a small caliber penetrate the enemy tank armor? Could it cause damage to the enemy tank?
However, the actual combat surprised everyone.
As soon as the battle started, six "Charger A1" tanks equipped with artillery destroyed three German tanks with a row of shells.
It was more than 200 meters away and could easily penetrate its side armor.
Those big guys look like behemoths, but if you compare them carefully, their defense data is not even as good as that of a small tank like the "Char A1".
Then, as the German tank slowly turned, another row of shells passed by and penetrated another one. The body of the tank shook and stopped in place, unable to move, but the gun barrel was still turning, as if aiming at the target on the opposite side.
Brownie yelled, "Fire!"
Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire. Dozens of machine guns hidden in the residential area fired bullets like raindrops at the enemy infantry behind the tanks, and then mortars fired rows of shells at them.
Blood splattered as the German infantry screamed as they were pressed back and unable to move forward... They were facing the French defense line from the side and were caught off guard by the firepower. They were instantly blocked by the French firepower and separated from the tanks.
The "Char A1" tanks immediately moved, moving sideways amid enemy tank and artillery fire and dense machine gun bullets.
The shells exploded near them but never hit them.
Although the A7V has a suspension and is aimed while stationary, it is still difficult to hit a moving target, especially a small target.
Colonel Mateo had been watching the small tanks that seemed to be avoiding the shells through the observation hole. When he saw the turrets of the small tanks spinning, he suddenly woke up and shouted: "Turn, turn, keep facing them!"
The driver reacted immediately and started to turn, but the order sent by the messenger could not be received by other tanks in time.
The tank soldiers were in a tense battle and they had no time and difficulty to notice the signal flag of the No. 501 command vehicle.
Then, just as Colonel Matteo had worried, the small tank moved forward while turning its turret, and suddenly stopped on a flat ground. After fine-tuning the turret, it "boomed" and fired a row of shells.
(In this photo of a tank painted with a blue sky and white sun, you can clearly see the iron hook at the rear of the Renault tank)
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
