Chapter 948 Mine Sweeping Tank
Richtofen raised the nose of the plane to climb, and when the altimeter showed 3,900 meters, he was shocked by what he saw. There were black spots of planes flying towards him everywhere.
It exists in three directions: east, west and south, just like the army encircling the enemy.
They were as densely packed as a swarm of bees, at least three or four hundred of them. The distance was too far to tell whether they were Camel or Snipe.
Richthofen judged that there might be both types, because the French army did not have so many "Sniper" types.
Because the enemy planes were at an altitude of about 5,000 meters and were covered by clouds, the German fighter planes did not discover them for a while.
Richtofen thought to himself that something was wrong, he knew why the enemy plane did this.
The enemy planes surrounded the German aircraft group from three sides, compressing their space, and then used firepower to drive the German aircraft in one direction.
If they succeed, the German planes will be squeezed together with no room to maneuver, and even a small evasive maneuver may result in a collision with friendly aircraft.
As for the French fighter planes, they could easily hit one or even several planes by simply firing a volley of bullets at the "dense center".
Richtofen did not hesitate. He freed one hand and took out the flare gun from the storage compartment. He loaded the bullet skillfully, raised it high into the air and pulled the trigger.
A red flare slowly fell from the sky.
The other planes at about 2000 meters altitude immediately understood what was happening, and one group after another moved up to meet the enemy.
(Note: Radios were not on board aircraft during World War I, and communication and warning mainly relied on hand gestures and flares)
However, Richtofen suddenly realized that something was wrong. All the fighter planes were trying desperately to climb higher, vying to gain a height advantage before the enemy arrived.
"Come back!" Richthofen gestured and shouted, "Lower altitude!"
But no one listened to him. Fighter planes flew past him one after another, bringing with them whistling sounds and strong winds.
Finally, they flew to 4,500 meters and gradually went away, and soon they collided violently with a group of enemy planes coming in the opposite direction.
The battle began, and the sky was filled with the roar of motors and the "da da da" sound of machine guns.
Then one fighter plane after another fell to the ground with black smoke.
Richtofen sighed secretly, the German aircraft group forgot at the last moment that the Fokker triplane was not suitable for fighting the enemy at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters.
It is true that altitude advantage is important in air combat.
But if the fleet size is as large as hundreds of aircraft, it would rather lose the altitude advantage to ensure the most suitable combat altitude.
Otherwise, the triplane would suffer the consequences of losing flexibility.
It is obvious that the French Air Force knew this and successfully lured the German aircraft to rise to this altitude to fight.
After hesitating for a while, Richtofen gritted his teeth, raised his hand and waved forward, took the lead in driving the fighter plane to increase altitude and joined the battle.
…
Planes fell from the sky, both French and German, but it was obvious that the Germans had more tri-wing planes.
They carried long tails like meteorites, some turned into fireballs in the air, and others exploded into fragments in the air, with parts falling to the ground like rain.
Below, Tijani stood on an armored vehicle, observing the sky through a telescope, carefully tracking the flight path of the German triplane.
It took him a long time to put away the telescope.
"This guy guessed right again." Tijani muttered to himself: "He knew that German fighter planes were not suitable for high-altitude combat without leaving his office. What a strange guy!"
After saying that, he turned his gaze to his troops and ordered in a cold voice: "Forward!"
"go ahead!"
"go ahead!"
Orders were passed down, and the prepared tanks started moving, spewing black smoke and making rumbling noises as they drove towards the minefield.
…
In the trenches of the Saarbrücken Line, the German lookouts screamed: "They are attacking, they are moving!"
“Prepare for battle!”
“Prepare for battle!”
Major General Bernhard shouted and raised his telescope. He couldn't understand how the French army dared to defend the minefield.
Even if there is no artillery, the French army has tanks, and they are "Char B2".
But no tank can run over mines continuously without any scruples. After several explosions, their tracks will be broken and they will become scrap metal.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers shouted, "God, what is that?"
Following the direction indicated by the soldier, Major General Bernhard changed the angle of the telescope, and a strange tank entered his aperture.
That should be the "Char B2", but there is a roller-like device sticking out in front of it. There is an iron chain installed on the roller. When the roller rotates, the iron chain keeps whipping the ground.
(The three pictures above are minesweepers modified from Sherman tanks during World War II)
Then……
"Boom boom"
“Boom boom boom!”
…
Landmines continued to explode under the astonished eyes of Major General Bernhard and the German soldiers. Occasionally, bouncing mines bounced from the ground, blasting steel balls in all directions. They hit the tank armor and made crisp "ding ding dang dang" sounds like popping beans.
After a long while, the soldiers screamed:
"Minesweeper, that's a minesweeper tank."
"That's another of Ciel's inventions. Our minefields are nothing compared to his!"
"It can easily detonate our mines, including anti-tank mines."
…
Others looked toward Major General Bernhard and cried out in despair: "What should we do, General?"
Major General Bernhard understood the meaning of the shout. He was clearly saying, "Run away, General. We can't beat them. It will be too late if we don't run away now!"
Bernhard thought so too, and he even had the urge to turn around and run away.
Charles was too shocking. How could he invest so many shocking equipment in the same battlefield, making this seemingly unbreakable defense line that hundreds of thousands of German troops had worked hard for several months become insignificant in front of him, and even became a joke!
What else could be an enemy of the Charles?
However, Bernhard's mission as a soldier forced him to suppress this idea!
"Calm down!" he ordered loudly, encouraging the soldiers with words he himself did not believe:
"We still have anti-tank guns, we still have defense lines, and we still have rifles in our hands."
"Reinforcements are on their way to us. It will only take half an hour."
"Look, the gunfire in the rear has stopped, which means we have destroyed the enemy's paratroopers, and we will soon get artillery support."
Bernhard knew that it was not that the gunfire from the rear had disappeared, but that it was covered up by the sound of tank engines and mine explosions.
"Stop them!" Bernhard shouted hysterically: "Victory belongs to us!"
The German soldiers responded by shouting: "Victory is ours!"
But before he could finish his words, a row of mortar shells whizzed in, causing the German soldiers to fall down screaming.
(End of this chapter)
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