Chapter 457: Encounter

A German armored division is equipped with hundreds of tanks, and the main SS armored division has more than 200 tanks, far exceeding other countries.

For example, now, de Gaulle's subordinates, the tank unit of the Fifth Army, only has a total of 180 tanks, which sounds like a lot.

But among these tanks, there are only about twenty Char B1-bis tanks, fifty S-35 tanks, and the rest are "Renault" FT-17 light tanks.

In the French army, the largest number of equipment is the "Renault" FT-17 light tank. This is an old tank. How old is it? As long as you know that it participated in World War I, you should have an intuitive impression.

Now, the number of such tanks in the French army is as high as 1650, the absolute main force, but unfortunately, it has completely lagged behind this era.

Needless to say, this old tank, even the Char B1-bis tank that they consider the best, (hereinafter referred to as the B-type tank), is a completely outdated tank.

This tank has a dead weight of 30 tons. If you just look at the weight, it should be able to compete with the Panther tank. However, looking at its structure, you can see how weak it is.

Just like the British tanks in the First World War, the tracks on both sides are shuttle-shaped and quite tall, almost occupying more than half the height of the car body. However, the travel of the road wheels is quite short, so the maneuverability of this tank is poor.

This is also the same as its positioning. The infantry tank can keep up with the speed of the infantry. Its maximum road speed is only 27 kilometers per hour, and it uses a 250-horsepower gasoline engine, which is less than half of the Panther tank.

Looking at its weapons, there is a 75mm gun at the front of the car body, which seems to be on par with Germany. Unfortunately, it is only 17 times the caliber, a short and thick cannon. It fires armor-piercing projectiles, not its strong point. It's about as good as a grenade.

At the same time, on the turret, it also has a 47mm SA34 tank gun. If it is used for anti-tank, this 47mm tank gun is still not enough.

It's all about supporting infantry.

But now, their combat mission has changed, they are going to search for the German tank troops and destroy them!

De Gaulle is excited.

With the order from Paris, he finally persuaded the commander of the Fifth Army to put all the tanks into a team and move forward quickly!

The order of Paris required them to catch up with the Belgian battle after they had eliminated the Germans, so they had to move fast and never delay!

And the infantry has always been slow, they have to be fast, they have to combine the tanks together!

Sitting in his B-type tank, de Gaulle still exposed half of his body. Although he was sniped last time, he did not change at all.

There's no way to do this, don't look at the tank's size, but the field of vision is very poor. Only when half of his body is exposed can he see clearly!

At this time, de Gaulle's thinking was similar to the judgment of Gammelin in Paris.

The number of German tank troops is definitely not large, and they must have been sent by gliders to cause riots on their own side!

Taking advantage of this battle, intercept the German tanks and send them to the rear to study!

De Gaulle admitted that France was indeed lagging behind in weapons development.

The crawler tracks rolled over the ground, rolling up clumps of mud. In the second half of the night yesterday, it rained unexpectedly.

This is simply that God is helping himself. After the rain, the roads are muddy, and the German tank troops move more slowly.

De Gaulle picked up the telescope, and although he only had one eye now, he held his telescope flat and looked forward as usual.

All around, there are endless fields, and in front of it is the small town Sedang.

Sedan, a town in France, is located in the Ardennes department in northeastern France, just 14 kilometers from the Belgian border, on the right bank of the Meuse River.

As a border town, it belongs to a defense fortress, so there have been several famous battles here in history. The most famous battle is the Battle of Prussian-Serdan in 1870, where the then French Emperor Napoleon III was defeated and surrendered, leading to the demise of the Second French Empire.

The war of the past is gone, and now, every time he comes to Sedan, de Gaulle is in a surging mood.

France has become the most powerful country in Europe with the most powerful army, while Germany, although it is developing continuously, is still incomparable with France. This war will end with a victory for France!

Suddenly, de Gaulle's face changed: "Attention, the whole army pays attention, accelerate forward, and be ready to fight at any time!"

Through the high-magnification telescope, he has seen the opposite side of the Meuse River, there are countless black smoke billowing, that is the German tank is moving!

If it is operated normally, the engine of the tank will not emit black smoke. However, when it comes to the battlefield, the tankers all hope that the sooner the better, so they all come in the most direct way. It's the throttle to the end.

In this way, where the armored troops are advancing, there will be black smoke shrouded in it. Although it is very bitter, it will drift away, but after all, this kind of faint black smoke is still easy to find.

Although due to the occlusion of the terrain, the trace of the other party has not been seen yet, it is also certain that there is definitely a situation on the opposite side!

Speed ​​up! Obviously, it can be seen that the key now is of course the bridge over the Meuse River. If we seize the bridge first, we can block the German tank troops and lay the foundation for the encirclement and annihilation of the German tank troops.

Must speed up!

After receiving the order of de Gaulle, the S-35 tank, which was originally driving in the rear, stepped on the accelerator and began to accelerate.

Although the FT-17 tank is a light tank with a self-weight of only seven tons, it is only a tank during the First World War after all, and its maximum speed is only 10 kilometers per hour.

The B-type tank is a heavy tank and the speed is too slow, so the S-35 tank is still going up quickly. This 20-ton medium tank can go up to 37 kilometers per hour on the road.

This is also the tank that de Gaulle had commanded before, and he was very familiar with this kind of tank.

French tank soldier Bailey, sitting on his tank turret, this three-person turret, the commander is also the gunner. In order to observe the enemy more clearly, he also exposed half of his body and used a telescope to quickly observed.

As the distance kept getting closer, he could already see the opposite side. Under the black smoke, there was indeed a fast-moving tank troop, and he could already see the black cross on the opponent's turret!

German tank troops!

Moreover, now, I can also see the number of each other, how many? Overwhelming, all over the mountains and plains, it is impossible to count for the time being, but it is certain that there are definitely more than hundreds of vehicles!

The arrival is the main German armored force, and it is not possible to come by glider at all!