Chapter 209

Maybe I'm late again today, I'll post the third chapter later, sorry!

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This is indeed a trap set by Charles.

Although the German A7V is not an excellent tank, it has very powerful firepower: a 57MM caliber gun plus 6 Maxim machine guns.

It may be clumsy, but no one can get close to it, like a mobile fortress that occupies wherever it goes, even the "Charler A1" tank is no exception.

The front armor of the "Charler A1" tank is 25MM thick, but the side armor is only 13MM.

As long as the A7V machine gun is equipped with K bullets, it is possible to penetrate it at a distance of 100 meters.

Charles had to deal with it carefully, especially the "Charler A1" was highly expected, it not only had to win but also had to win beautifully and thoroughly.

Otherwise, the French army would not be able to cope with the next battle, and tens of thousands of people would not be able to break through.

…

At the Paris Defense Command, Charles pointed to the town of Samoque on the map and said, "I plan to ambush the tanks here!"

"Ambush?" Gallieni didn't quite understand what Charles meant: "This is only a few kilometers away from the enemy's defense line. Can you fool the Germans?"

"I will implement an air blockade of this area!" Charles drew a circle on the map with his finger: "More than ten kilometers in radius, use machine gun planes to drive away German reconnaissance planes!"

"This is far from enough, Major, they can still get the news." Gallieni replied: "Tanks are not easy to hide, and it's still daytime."

Then Gallieni added: "In addition, I heard that the Germans deployed a force in the town of Samoque because they are worried that the French in the town will provide us with help."

With Germans in the town, it goes without saying what will happen.

Once the tanks attack this town, this small force may not be able to defend it, but they will immediately pass on the information by phone. It is a joke to want to ambush here.

"Maybe!" Charles still insisted: "But they won't know it's a tank."

"What do you mean?" Gallieni looked at Charles in confusion: "You mean, the Germans can't recognize your new tank?"

If he held this idea, then Charles thought too simply of the Germans. As long as it was armored and tracked, they knew it was a tank.

"No!" Charles shook his head gently: "I mean, it's not tanks that attack them, but sidecar troops!"

Galieni said "Oh": "You use sidecar troops to attack, the Germans see sidecars instead of tanks, will they mistake it for a reconnaissance unit?"

"Yes!" Charles drew a small circle in the south of the town with a pencil: "Our main force is probably in this position, thirty 'Mark I's, the German scouts will be attracted by this unit, and my new tanks will be disguised as tractors..."

"Tractor?" Gallieni Gallieni interrupted Charles: "Tanks are much larger than tractors."

"My new tank is very small, General!" Charles smiled slightly: "It weighs only about 8 tons."

(Note: Renault tanks have slightly different weights depending on the machine guns and artillery they are equipped with. The model equipped with machine guns is about 7 and a half tons. It was exported to my country. Zhang Zuolin bought 14 of them. Later, the young marshal obtained 36 through various channels. Because it has an iron hook at the tail, it has a nickname in my country "Iron Hook Tank")

"Only 8 tons?" Gallieni was stunned. It is indeed about the same as a tractor.

If the tank is so small, it is not a problem to disguise it as a tractor.

But Gallieni is still a little worried. How much combat effectiveness can such a light tank have?

The "Saint-Chamon", which is also a tank, weighs 27 tons, and the CA-1 also weighs 14 tons.

However, Gallieni did not ask this question. He thought that whether it has combat effectiveness would be known after the battle.

...

Charles' plan was successful. The "Charles A1" tank was surrounded by a wooden frame and canvas, and the part above the track was wrapped in the frame. It followed the sidecar and looked like a tractor transporting ammunition and fuel.

Colonel Browne classified this as a military secret, and only a few people knew the truth.

As a result, the sidecar troops did not recognize it until the tanks arrived in Samok and the wooden frames and canvas were removed. The French soldiers exclaimed:

"These things are tanks?"

"I thought they were transporting bread!"

"This should be the smallest tank, are we so poor?"

...

It's no wonder that the soldiers thought so. It looks similar to Charles' first generation tanks. The soldiers thought that the tanks were made so small because of insufficient funds.

Even Colonel Browne, who commanded this unit, was puzzled. Although the 37MM caliber artillery was a cannon, could such a small caliber penetrate the enemy tank armor? Could it cause damage to the enemy tank?

However, the actual combat surprised everyone.

As soon as the battle started, six "Charter A1" tanks equipped with artillery fired a row of shells and killed three German tanks.

At a distance of more than 200 meters, they easily penetrated their side armor.

Those big guys look like behemoths, but if you compare them carefully, their defense data is not even as good as that of small tanks like "Charter A1".

Then, when the German tanks slowly turned, another row of shells passed by and penetrated another one. The body of the tank shook and stopped in place, unable to move, but the barrel was still turning, as if aiming at the target on the opposite side.

Brownie shouted, "Fire!"

Instantly, gunfire rang out. Dozens of machine guns hidden in the residential area rained bullets down on the enemy infantry behind the tanks, and then mortars fired rows of shells at them.

Blood splattered, and the German infantry were pressed back and unable to move forward amid screams... They were facing the French line of defense and were caught off guard by the fire. They were instantly blocked by the French fire and separated from the tanks.

The "Charles A1" tanks then moved sideways amid enemy tanks, artillery fire, and dense machine gun bullets.

The shells exploded near them, but they could never hit them.

Although the A7V had suspension and was aiming while stationary, it was still difficult to hit a moving target, especially a small target.

Colonel Mateo was always watching the small tanks that seemed to be avoiding the shells through the observation hole. When he saw the turret of the small tank rotating, he suddenly woke up and shouted: "Turn, turn, keep facing them!"

The driver reacted immediately and started to turn, but the order issued by the messenger could not be received by other tanks in time.

The tank soldiers were in a tense battle. They had no time and it was difficult for them to notice the signal flag of the No. 501 command vehicle.

Then, just as Colonel Mateo worried, the small tank moved forward while rotating the turret, and suddenly stopped on a flat ground. After the turret was slightly adjusted, it fired a row of shells.

(The iron hook at the tail of the Renault tank can be clearly seen in this photo of the tank painted with blue sky and white sun)