Chapter 706 Atlantic Strangulation War (15)

At nightfall, Cape Verde did not calm down. Although the US military offensive was temporarily suspended, large-scale landing operations continued. Collins' officers and soldiers continued to land. At around 9 o'clock, the entire regiment of officers and soldiers finally completed the landing. He also endured the landing. I couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

This afternoon's attack was too frustrating. He had never fought such a battle before. It was as if he couldn't use all his strength, and he was caught off guard for no reason. He didn't want to blame the navy. The navy was working hard enough. Naval artillery shells were bombarded at the island for free. In order to destroy the enemy's shore defenses, one of the precious battleships was sunk. In addition, naval aircraft were desperately dispatched and air strikes were launched continuously. He He thought that he had achieved a good level, but the only thing he could blame was the German army's cunningness: the endless minefields, the mortar companies deployed in the depressions, and the fast-moving rocket launcher units all taught him a vivid lesson.

The US military also has mortars, but they are obviously not as skillful in using them as the Germans. The US military also uses Sherman tanks to equip rocket launchers, but they did not even think of bringing them with them when the first batch landed. In battles, the U.S. military likes to suppress artillery from behind, and open the way with bombs from the front. Then let the tanks rush in when the time is almost right. If they rush over, they basically win the battle. I thought that the fight would be easy after the side had the absolute upper hand in air strikes and artillery firepower. Relaxed, I never expected to encounter such a tricky and complicated situation. Collins initially believed confidently that relying on the strength of his regiment would be enough to capture the small country of Cape Verde. Not only did he believe that the Army's 5th Division did not need to be dispatched, but he also believed that the Navy's request for an additional division was completely nonsense and was a sign of fear of the enemy. .

Reality gave him a blow, and he quickly woke up. It was absolutely a luxury to rely on his own regiment to win Cape Verde. He sent a telegram to the division commander and the other two regiments, hoping that they would be ready for battle as soon as possible. The night was getting darker and darker. Collins and his officers and soldiers were very nervous about the first dark night of the landing campaign. They had conducted targeted training before departure. Veterans who had returned from the Pacific battlefield had taught them about landing, seizing the island, and guarding. Combat examples, telling his combat experience in the Pacific.

According to experience in the Pacific battlefield, the Japanese army usually chooses night attacks at night and launches "Banzai Charge". Although I don't know what the German fighting routine is, no one dares to take it lightly. At least judging from the daytime battles, the German army is more skilled in tactics than the Japanese army. , more skillful, with much more powerful firepower and technical weapons. In order to deal with the German night attack, the U.S. officers and soldiers on the beachhead were in a tight formation and were ready: there was a ring of fortifications on the outside, and a large number of Browning 12.7mm heavy machine gun bunkers were interspersed among them. All the infantrymen stared nervously at the opposite side, behind them. It is the Sherman and M10 tank destroyer that serve as the backbone of covering firepower. They are dispersed and used. Basically, each platoon can be assigned 1-2 vehicles.

Using tanks as the main force to suppress artillery fire is a last resort. Due to the need to transport urgently needed supplies and soldiers to the beachhead, and the floating dock is still under intense construction, the relatively clumsy US artillery unit cannot go ashore. Due to the fear of the German defense system Respect, the US military instinctively does not use the 75mm howitzer to show off. The firepower prepared for the Germans in Cape Verde is 105mm or 155mm (Tom Long Legs), but this is the second batch of troops planning to land, and they are really counting on it tonight. Not on.

In order to prevent night attacks by S-boats, naval ships began to move to the deep sea. The battleships were protected by cargo ships and other warships in the middle, while light warships were patrolling on the outside. The escort formation lost 2 escort aircraft carriers and 1 light ship in one night. The cruiser incident greatly stimulated Admiral Ingersoll. It would be completely embarrassing if another battleship was sunk tonight. The staff officers had vaguely analyzed the intelligence and yesterday's battle situation, and the torpedoes used by the German army were the mysterious and powerful torpedoes that the Pacific Fleet had encountered in the South Pacific. General Nimitz originally asked such a serious philosophical question as "How far is very far?" Ingersoll did not want to capsize in the gutter.

The Army's howitzers were too late to land, and the Navy's naval guns were greatly reduced. Collins could only count on the tank cannons, especially the M6 ​​heavy tanks newly assigned to the troops, to gain some momentum and protect the troops.

The M6 ​​tank is the product of the US military's stimulation by the German Tiger tank. It was originally named T1E2 and was renamed M6 after it was officially installed. Historically, this was not a tank with a mature design. The United States only produced a very small amount and basically did not participate in actual combat. But now the situation is completely different. The German Tiger tanks are far more successful, more threatening, and more numerous than in history. On the African battlefield, The Shermans' vulnerability to the Tiger greatly irritated the Americans. In addition, the subsequent development of the T25\T26 heavy tank had not yet been successful. Therefore, knowing that it was not mature enough, the Army Department had no choice but to bite the bullet and build 1,000 tanks. Multiple M6s are assigned to front-line troops.

President Roosevelt was very confident about the production of other army weapons, but he paid special attention to heavy tanks. Not only did he personally check and check, he also asked his secretary to call him repeatedly to inquire about the progress of development and equipment. He really had to be anxious, because the British, American and Soviet allies were in other countries. In the field of main battle weapon research and development, the German army is still on par or has a slight advantage. Only in the field of heavy tanks, the gap is too big. So far, neither the United Kingdom nor the United States has come up with a relatively mature tank that can compete with the Tiger - Germany The man has been showing off his power on the battlefield with the Tiger Style for a year.

Faced with the huge threat of Tiger tanks and Torrent IV, this 60-ton behemoth has been targeted with armor reinforcement. The front, side and rear of the turret are all 81mm, the top armor is 25mm, the upper part of the body is 81mm, the lower part of the front is 57mm, the upper part of the side is 51~52.3mm, and the lower part of the side and the rear are 51mm. In terms of armor thickness alone, it is obviously better than medium tanks such as M3\M4, and slightly worse than Tiger. Although the Soviet Union has come up with a better IS-1, Comrade Stalin will obviously not share this weapon with Britain and the United States, just as the latter will not let Stalin share jet aircraft.

If it was designed by German designers, no matter how much tonnage was wasted according to the armor configuration, the dimensions of the 6-ton Tiger would not be seriously exceeded (body length: 8.81 meters, width 3.95 meters, height 3.19 meters). The 48-ton Tiger modified by Hoffman's suggestion has a length, width and height of 6.3 meters, 3.25 meters and 2.88 meters respectively. Even the 56-ton Tiger 1 tank in history has a length, width and height of only 6.28 meters, 3.7 meters and 2.93 meters. In other words, the Americans wasted too much tonnage for this large and useless volume.

Of course, it is biased to blame American tank designers for not knowing the trade. The key problem is not that the designers are too stupid, but that they are hindered by the tank engine. The US military could not find a suitable high-horsepower tank engine. In the end, the G-200 star-shaped 9-cylinder engine equipped on it was forcibly pulled from the ranks of aircraft engines. The US imperialists could not find a mature high-power vehicle engine, so they set their sights on the Wright company's air-cooled aircraft engine. After some modifications, it was stuffed into the tank. Although the power is very large (the maximum power exceeds 970 horsepower), which exceeds the 700 horsepower engine used by the Tiger, its size and weight are much larger than the Tiger engine. The unit weight power obtained is not as good as the compact 12-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled HL230 engine.

The M6 ​​is so huge because of this super-large and super-fuel-consuming aircraft (a large fuel tank also causes a large size). What's more annoying is that although the engine has great power, the United States cannot find a suitable and stable gearbox. To solve this problem, several large companies participated in this project - Schneider Hydraulics proposed the use of a torque converter, General Dynamics submitted a new hydraulic gearbox solution, and General Electric proposed a gas-electric transmission solution. This solution has good performance but is seriously overweight, weighing more than 5 tons more than other systems. After comprehensive comparison, the General Dynamics solution was selected.

The hydraulic gearbox was originally scheduled to be delivered in May 1941, but it was not delivered until August. The anxious weapons committee immediately changed the design to adopt the Schneider solution, but there were many problems during the test, resulting in the tank being unable to turn or shift gears. When rotating the turret, the pinion shaft was twisted off, which directly caused the turret to be stuck. It was embarrassed in front of many senior officials and was finally dragged out of the test site. Its experience was more ups and downs and embarrassment than when the Tiger first appeared.

After the Pearl Harbor incident, the United States joined the war, and the demand for heavy tanks became more urgent. No matter how immature the T1 tank was, it had to bite the bullet and continue to modify it. It was modified until mid-1943. During this period, due to the threat of the Tiger tank, the main and secondary guns were changed from multiple turrets to single turrets, and then the 76.2mm tank gun was replaced with a 90mm tank gun. Finally, when the performance of all aspects was relatively stable and balanced, mass production began. But it only reached the minimum standard for delivery to the troops, and compared with the mature, reliable, and mechanically superior Sherman tanks, it was completely dregs.

The front-line officers and soldiers were very dissatisfied with this. Although Deputy Chief of Staff Devers, who led the troops to the expedition, said that the 60-ton M4 was useful, considering the particularity of the island-grabbing war, and the fact that the leaders of the Army Department's Weapons Committee kept encouraging the troops to use new tanks to test their performance, the 5th Marine Division still bit the bullet and brought them out, and even arranged 6 tanks in the first wave of troops landing.

It is worth mentioning that during the landing, this batch of noble tanks (the US military officers and soldiers called the M6 ​​noble tanks because they always broke down and needed maintenance) did not fail and successfully landed in one go. This made Collins not only enthusiastic, but his idea was very simple. Even if the M6 ​​could not rush to the front to charge, it could serve as a fixed firepower fulcrum on the defense line.