Five Hundred and Seventy-Seven, This Is Not Fair

At dawn, the British attack was completely bogged down. The firepower on the German positions completely made Tobruk's few British armored forces desperate. A Matilda tank was burning in the yellow sand, looking so lonely.

The German army has many secret weapons, such as the new jet fighter under development, the superweapon long-range surface-to-surface missile being tested, and the more advanced King Tiger main battle tank - the predecessors of these weapons have caused the opponents headaches to the extreme One can imagine how these advanced future weapons will bring earth-shaking changes to the entire battlefield once they are in service.

However, there are many improvised and stupid methods in the German army. These methods filled the entire battlefield with the wisdom of grassroots soldiers, and also endowed the entire German army tactical system with a more flexible and changeable special style.

For example, multiple Iron Fist rocket launchers are arranged together and installed on wheels, which is a simple multiple rocket launcher called a building demolition device by soldiers. For example, the 88mm caliber cannon that is roaring on the battlefield now.

On the future battlefield, if you want to find a weapon, like the German 88mm caliber cannon in World War II, it is suitable for all ages and is universal for all armies. This weapon also conquered all German commanders with its excellent performance. Won the favor of the first-line infantry.

This gun is installed on the Navy's destroyers and submarines as anti-aircraft fire. Even aircraft carriers are equipped with such air defense weapons. It can be said that cannons of this caliber are basically the standard air defense weapons of the German Navy.

At the same time, this artillery was deployed in every corner of the entire German-occupied zone by the Air Force's air defense forces. As for the number of this kind of artillery, it seems that even Catherine herself is not very clear about the specific number, but since it was accumulated before the war, and now it is installed and used in large quantities, Germany has at least tens of thousands of such artillery. The ports and airfields of the country saw the figure of this artillery.

It is also a favorite weapon of the army. The tank gun of the Tiger tank is modified from this anti-aircraft cannon, and the caliber is exactly the same, both are 88 mm. Moreover, this cannon was also used by front-line soldiers to fight tanks, and the effect was equally astonishingly good.

What is even more surprising is that this cannon produced on the Krupp artillery production line has another function worth remembering-it can support infantry, and its power is not small.

Rommel liked this cannon the most, because it gave him an unparalleled firepower advantage. He is used to strengthening this weapon that originally belonged to the air force for his infantry on the frontal line of defense, and then draws out more precious armored units to conduct devious and interspersed operations on the flanks. This is his signature method, making it hard for opponents to guard against. The core of this style of play is that one's own infantry can withstand the frontal impact of the opponent's armored forces. Rommel's tactics are almost to put the pressure on these 88mm cannons.

One after another, the shells were pushed into the bomb bay of this cannon by the soldiers,

The gun would then be fired instantly, delivering a deadly shell that a skilled German anti-aircraft artillery team could fire at an astonishing rate of 23 rounds per minute.

The most classic firing position of the German 88mm caliber anti-aircraft gun is a shallow pit of nearly one meter with traffic trenches on both sides. As long as there is time, soldiers will dig such a classic shallow pit, and then deploy this anti-aircraft artillery in it. In this way, the artillery is only exposed less than one meter above the horizon, making it even more difficult to detect.

In fact, the phenomenon of transpiration in the desert is very serious, and the targets close to the surface cannot be seen clearly because of the smog and the transpiration heat. In this way, the firing position of the German 88mm anti-aircraft artillery can not be found at all, which became the last thing for all enemy soldiers. A depressing thing.

In the end, the two sides can only compete with the aiming observation system. Whoever finds that the opponent’s distance is farther and the aiming speed is faster will survive in this desert competition. The aiming system has always been the most proud competition item of the German army. Rice’s mirror body No one can challenge the design in this period of time. From the aiming rangefinder on the battleship to the scope used by the sniper, the German army is much more accurate than the enemy in the same period.

When it comes to the speed and accuracy of capturing targets, and the rate of fire after the attack begins, how can the tank standards on the ground compare with the anti-aircraft cannons designed to attack aircraft? The 88mm cannon was originally designed to attack enemy aircraft at an altitude of 26,000 feet. Hitting a tank 1,000 meters away is definitely overkill-this is not a fair contest at all.

Of course, this artillery is not without its shortcomings, which can be said to be as impressive as its unparalleled powerful performance. The weight of this 88mm caliber artillery selected by the German army as an anti-aircraft weapon is astonishing, which is about the same weight as the 150mm caliber howitzer equipped by the German army's standard support weapon, and it has reached a terrible 5 tons. Therefore, compared with other weapons of the German army, this weapon is obviously too bloated. Except in unavoidable situations, there are also North African battlefields where transportation conditions are relatively convenient. It is rarely used on the frontline battlefield.

Another disadvantage is that the artillery itself, including shells, is expensive. If there is a weapon in the German army that is using the same "gold coin bomb" as the plug-in, then this weapon is undoubtedly the 88mm cannon. Under the same circumstances, the price of firing an 88mm cannon is twice as expensive as that of the Soviet 76mm anti-aircraft gun... Of course, the benefit in exchange is a geometric increase in power.

"Boom!" "Boom! Same rate of fire as a bolt-action rifle. On the other hand, the British Armored Special Mixed Brigade, which attacked here, proved the horror of the opponent with its own losses.

A German officer stood next to an 88mm anti-aircraft gun. He just stood there, seemingly not afraid of the hail of bullets coming from the opposite side. He put down the binoculars in his hand, and then ordered a turnaround to the two non-commissioned officers who were using scissor periscopes. The command to attack the opponent's left flank at the muzzle: "Concentrate fire on the right side! Defeat the tanks there first!"

"Boom! The heavy gun body allows this cannon to have a stable launch platform, and the demand for air-to-air shooting makes the turning and lifting of this cannon very fast. the corresponding position.

It only takes a little more than a second for the heavy shell to fly to the target at a distance of 1,000 meters. With terrifying impact and penetrating energy, it can easily tear apart the front armor plate of the Matilda tank, and even destroy the entire tank. After the cockpit, the rear engine and fuel tank can also be destroyed.

This scene is a bit like the feeling of a high-speed car hitting a wooden fence. At this moment, the sturdy tank is as fragile as the wooden fence, and the sturdy armor plate is smashed to pieces by the huge energy like the wooden board.

Soon, a British tank was destroyed while advancing. The track broke due to the violent vibration, and the front drive wheels flew out. Because the fuel tank was penetrated, the tank burst into flames in an instant. The turret of the tank was lifted from the inside, but only two hands could be seen twisting and struggling. Only two seconds passed. The pain suffered by the owner of the hands was terminated, because the ammunition exploded, and the huge explosion blew up the entire tank into a pile of scrap metal, and the struggling British people could no longer be found inside.

"Boom!" Another shell flew out of the barrel of the 88 cannon, but this time luck seemed to be on the British side. The shell flew a distance of 1,500 meters in an instant, but failed to hit the main part of the tank. The shell hit the front side of the tank, knocked away the sandbags and shovel hanging on it, smashed the tank's headlights, and crashed into the sand dune next to the tank, splashing a piece of gravel.

The British in this tank were obviously very frightened. They thought their tank had been hit, because the loud sound and the vibration from the tank were too shocking, so these British tankers opened their doors. He quickly jumped out of the tank and ran to the side, but then the driver of the tank was knocked to the ground by the German machine gunner, and the commander and gunner had to raise their hands and surrender.

This time, the British attack was defeated within a few minutes, leaving the wreckage of more than 40 tanks on the battlefield. Most of the tanks had been turned into burning scrap iron due to the explosion, and only a few were lucky enough to survive the explosion.

Another almost intact tank was captured, the one with the headlights blown off. It wasn't until the prisoners were interrogated that the tank commander, who was lucky enough not to be shot, turned out to be the commander of the British Armored Brigade and a high-ranking official with the rank of colonel.

The Germans did not treat the British prisoner badly, and treated him to a breakfast. He took the bread and looked at the 88mm cannon that was cleaning the barrel beside him. A humble weapon.

However, when he knew that this weapon was a German anti-aircraft gun, which could penetrate the front armor plate of a Matilda tank at a distance of 1,500 meters, he was silent for a long time. His armored brigade lost almost half of its strength in this battle. More importantly, the British army did not retake the high ground, and the terrible bombardment will continue in the future.

"It's not fair," he said at last. "How can you Germans do to tanks what you do to planes?"