Chapter 790 I am more concerned about how to defend
Unlike Charles, Tijani showed great interest in the Independence tank.
"This is a great tank." Tijani walked over to Charles with a cup of coffee. His eyes lit up when he saw the sketch. "Although they copied the rotating gun tank of the 'Char A1', the four machine gun turrets can provide good cover for the tank."
Tijani has commanded the "Char B1" and he believes that this tank has obvious advantages, such as thick armor and strong firepower.
But its weaknesses are also prominent: without machine gun cover, it has almost no ability to resist in close combat with enemy infantry and can be easily approached and blown up by enemy infantry.
Therefore, when he saw the four machine gun turrets of the British "Independence", his intuitive feeling was that it made up for the shortcomings of the "Charter B1".
Ciel smiled softly: "Do you know what the design points of the tank are?"
Tijani shrugged his shoulders. He only knew how to command tanks in battle or look at equipment as if it were a work of art, but he didn't have the energy to understand it in depth.
"The tank crew should be as small as possible." Charles raised his chin towards the Independence tank and said, "Look at how many people this tank needs."
Tijani understood a little: "Maybe seven people are needed."
"Eight to be exact." Charles corrected: "Four machine gunners, a gunner, a loader, a driver, and a commander."
Ordinary tanks can have the commander serve as the loader or gunner, but this is not the case with the Independence multi-turret tank.
The reason is that there are too many people and the firepower is directed in many directions.
The commander needs to keep his eyes and ears open, while commanding the driver and the output of four machine guns and one cannon.
In the tense battlefield situation, a full-time tank commander would be busy and overwhelmed, and a part-time tank commander certainly would not be able to take care of both.
Tijani understood: "So, this type of tank has a big problem just in terms of its own coordination."
…
Lorraine, battlefield on the Franco-German border.
The "Independence" tank was slowly approaching the enemy's defense line. It looked orderly on the surface, but in fact it was in chaos inside.
"Captain, enemy infantry guns spotted fifty meters ahead, they are aiming."
The commander quickly shouted to the gunner: "Kill it!"
"We can't aim unless we stop the tank..."
"No, we can't stop. If we stop, we will become targets for the enemy." The commander turned to the machine gunner and said, "Suppress with machine guns!"
"We have no infantry guns, Captain, and we are full of our own men."
"I didn't notice it either."
The commander shouted: "One o'clock position, quick action, ready No. 2 machine gun..."
Before the machine gun could complete the turn, with a "boom", the German infantry artillery hit the tank and paralyzed it on the spot.
It is difficult for the eight tank crew members to communicate and report data inside the rumbling tank, let alone coordinate operations.
Therefore, before the development of communication tools, the most flexible and practical tank was actually the "Char A1" two-crew tank.
The four-crew system of the "Char B1" tank is acceptable because its division of labor is very clear: the rotatable turret is mainly used in tank battles, and the 75mm gun on the body is used to support infantry. The gunners know what to do and when.
…
Ciel continued to analyze the sketch, "Another shortcoming of multiple turrets is that the tank's internal space is severely insufficient. There will be problems with the amount of ammunition and the thickness of the armor."
Tijani nodded in agreement.
Although tank crew members do not weigh much, they require a lot of space. Eight people squeezed inside must at least be able to turn around and move, and the commander may also need to move to give commands.
This means that although the tank is powerfully armed, it has insufficient ammunition and its armor cannot be too thick.
…
"Lieutenant, we are out of bullets."
The commander quickly ordered: "Remove the bullets from the No. 3 and No. 4 machine guns and replenish the bullets from No. 1 and No. 2."
The commander felt that the No. 3 and No. 4 machine gun turrets at the rear were completely redundant. Throughout almost the entire battle, their guns were pointed at their own people.
"What idiot would come up with such a design!" the commander complained, "They didn't consider battlefield practicality at all."
When will the No. 3 and No. 4 machine guns be able to play their role?
Maybe the tanks ran into the enemy group, but didn’t they have their own infantry in the rear at that time?
So what is the significance of these two machine gun towers?
Just as he was thinking about it, there was a crisp "clang" sound, and the tank was pierced from the front by a German armor-piercing bullet. The eight tank crew members inside instantly fell in a pool of blood with screams amid the flying shrapnel and armor debris.
The designed thickness of the front armor of the "Independence" tank was only 28MM. Although it was temporarily increased to 35MM and sandbags were hung on it, it would still be penetrated by the German anti-tank guns at close range.
…
"Finally, they will stop at the anti-tank trenches." Charles pointed to the deployment map of the Hindenburg Line and said, "They hope to suppress the German army with the powerful firepower of the Independence, and use the armor of the tanks to provide cover for the infantry, so that the infantry can rush into the enemy trenches and engage in hand-to-hand combat."
"Is there anything wrong with this?" Tijani's eyes flashed with confusion. If he were allowed to fight, he might also use this tactic.
"Tanks can indeed provide cover, Major General," said Charles, "but they can also become an obstacle to the soldiers' advance, not to mention that the Germans are equipped with flamethrowers."
…
Dragons of fire sprayed down from high above towards the British troops on the other side of the anti-tank trench.
The British soldiers' miserable screams echoed throughout the battlefield. There were tumbling and jumping firemen everywhere, which frightened the British soldiers in the rear and made them stop one after another.
Tanks were not immune.
Although the flames could not burn through the steel plates, they could cause the engine temperature to be too high and become scrapped. If any tanks unfortunately leaked oil during the battle, they would immediately ignite and explode.
The German machine guns were still roaring, and bullets crossed each other and shot through the flames at the British troops that kept pouring up from behind, knocking them down one by one.
Corpses piled up into small hills inside and outside the anti-tank trenches, blood dyed the trenches and the stagnant water red, and the whole world turned red.
…
The telegram was handed to Charles.
The British offensive failed. In just a few hours, they lost more than 200 new tanks and more than 30,000 soldiers. The level of tragedy was comparable to that of the Somme.
Tijani whistled and said sarcastically, "These troops and tanks are enough for us to form another armored corps."
Then he asked Charles curiously: "If it were you, General, how would you break through the Hindenburg Line?"
Ciel replied calmly, "If it were me, I'd be more concerned with how to defend rather than attack."
"Defense?" Tijani was stunned, and then he understood: "You mean, the Germans will counterattack?"
Ciel nodded.
The commander of the German army was Hindenburg. He had to prove his command ability to the Germans, prove that he was stronger than Falkenhayn, and prove that he was capable of becoming the German Chief of Staff or even the emperor behind the scenes.
Therefore, it is certainly impossible to just sit back and wait for the fruits of one’s labor.
He will try his best to show his strong side!
(End of this chapter)
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