Chapter 663 Tank Coordination
Before all the "deserters" died out, the British army, under Haig's order, launched an attack on the German defense line.
Leading the way was the Whippet tank.
Haig once said, "Tanks and machine guns are useless; they are superfluous to the battlefield."
Until now, Haig still insists on this statement, but added a sentence to explain his use of them: "But sometimes it does not prevent us from using some superfluous things on the battlefield. For example, knights like to use blood to outline patterns on their armor to show their bravery and achievements."
The British soldiers all knew what was going on, and they complained privately:
"The great butcher is once again showing off his stubbornness and stupidity in front of us."
"If he was just stubborn and stupid, it wouldn't be a big deal, but he is also cruel and ruthless. Now, we can only pray to God."
"You think praying to God will help?"
"Of course not, I'm praying that I won't be his subordinate in my next life!"
…
This was an internal contradiction within 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 used machine guns to kill 100,000 British soldiers in one day.
It was hard for them to imagine that after such a painful lesson, Haig still insisted that tanks and machine guns were useless.
The soldiers had no say, they could only sigh:
"If machine guns are useless, are the 100,000 bodies lying on the battlefield fake?"
"If tanks are useless, then are the victories won by the Charles fake? Are the bullets it blocked fake?"
"Even a fool knows that they are useful. Only those who hide in the headquarters and don't have to go to the battlefield can ignore their existence!"
…
The reason why Haig insisted on his own opinion was not because he was blind or stupid, but because he was unwilling to face and admit his mistakes.
And someone who pretends to be asleep can never be woken up.
Because he was pretending to be asleep, Haig had to ignore the tank's tactics.
All tank-related tactics, including infantry-tank coordinated offensive tactics and tank defensive tactics.
Therefore, the British army's tactics always lagged behind those of France and Germany, even after being equipped with tanks.
The Whippet 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 a chalky hard ground with a flat terrain. The only difficulty is the overlapping layers of craters.
However, this could not stop the "Whippet". It staggered forward in the crater at a low speed of 7 kilometers per hour, as if wading through mountains and rivers. The four machine guns on the turret jumped to the rhythm and were almost thrown out of the car body.
Behind it followed teams of British soldiers. Their faces were ashen as they looked at the German trenches through the exhaust of the tanks. The knuckles of their gripping rifles turned slightly white from excessive force.
Some people could even clearly see their legs shaking. They fell to the ground several times and were forcibly helped up by their "compassionate" comrades.
"Follow the tanks!" Captain Monty, commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade, waved his revolver and shouted, "Tanks can block enemy machine gun bullets. Only by following them can we rush into the enemy trenches!"
This was the fifth time Monty organized a charge against the German army.
He believed that tanks were tools used to block bullets, which could cover infantry entering trenches.
Monty succeeded three times, so he firmly believed that his theory was correct.
When he shared his success experience with others, he said confidently: "All the tanks and infantry have to do is to complete their respective tasks, and then they can win. If they fail, it must be because one of them did not do well enough!"
What else is there?
The term "infantry-tank coordination" did not exist in his mind, and of course he did not know that close coordination between infantry and tanks would allow this mechanical monster to be perfectly combined with the infantry to form a whole, thereby creating a stronger combat capability.
In the trench opposite the British army, Erwin hid behind a machine gun bunker and observed the British offensive with a telescope. Soon, a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
At this time, Erwin had been promoted to commander of the German 1st Tank Division and held the rank of major general.
This allowed him to command a campaign without any constraints and even require three infantry divisions to cooperate with him.
And the British, as he had expected, had absolutely no idea how to fight with tanks.
This is a good thing, they will learn a lesson soon, and they will be ruthlessly crushed under the tank tracks and become stepping stones for Major General Erwin's promotion!
Putting away the telescope, Major General Erwin raised his hand expressionlessly and waved it forward. The staff officer and signalman beside him immediately issued an order:
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
…
The sound of artillery fire rang out immediately, the German 105MM howitzer.
The shells whizzed across the no-man's land of the British soldiers, and slammed heavily into the artillery positions in the rear as they looked at them with fear and relief.
During the three days of artillery preparation by the British Army, the German artillery did not retaliate. The British artillery thought that the German artillery had been destroyed, but they did not expect that the German Army was accumulating strength and waiting until now to make a move.
The British army finally reacted, but it was too late.
The 105MM shells accurately covered the artillery positions scattered in five different directions, knocking the British artillery to pieces.
The survivors had no time to fight back, so they immediately opened fire and moved their positions. Some even fled in all directions without even throwing down their guns.
This was the infantry and artillery coordination of Major General Erwin, which temporarily suppressed the British artillery and provided conditions for the 1st Tank Division to break into the enemy camp and fight with them.
Once the 1st Tank Division engages in a melee with the British Army, the artillery advantage that Britain has built up on the north bank of the Somme with the whole country's strength will be useless.
Seeing that the time was almost right, Major General Erwin gave the order in a cold voice: "Attack!"
"attack!"
"attack!"
…
The staff officers and signalmen passed on the orders one by one.
German tanks rushed out of the trenches with the rumbling sound of their engines. There were "Upper Silesian" tanks and "LK2" tanks.
Major General Erwin has further upgraded tank tactics. He believes that it is not just infantry and tanks that coordinate on the battlefield, but also tanks and tanks.
He summarized this theory when reporting to his old superior, Lieutenant General Nicholas:
"It's like the coordination between battleships, cruisers and destroyers. Tanks of different weights on land should also have coordination."
"Medium tanks have thicker armor and larger caliber guns, but they are slow and are more suitable for leading infantry to attack trenches and firing points."
"Light tanks are more maneuverable and are better suited to fighting enemy tanks and infantry."
…
Therefore, the German "LK2" tanks that rushed forward with the infantry first had the task of destroying the British tanks and dispersing the British infantry.
Close behind were the "Upper Silesian" tanks, whose mission was to destroy firing points and crush the British trenches under their tracks!
(End of this chapter)
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