Chapter 374 What I Want Is an Attack

In the afternoon, the Cambrai train station was noisy and noisy. The sound of artillery fire in the distance was getting louder and louder. The wounded and troops evacuated from the battlefield were anxiously waiting on both sides of the track.

Several trains slowly drove in in the steam.

Some of them carried fully armed soldiers, some carried equipment and ammunition, and two trains dragged equipment covered with canvas. Anyone with a discerning eye could recognize that they were "Saint-Samond" tanks.

Before the train stopped, Major General Christian jumped off the train impatiently. He looked around and turned back to order the guards behind him: "Find a few people who have seen German tanks and bring them to me, now."

"Yes, General." The guards responded and searched separately under the command of the second lieutenant.

Christian lit a cigarette casually, frowning.

His mission was to stop the German tank troops in the Cambrai area, but he knew nothing about the enemy's new tanks, and there were also new fighter planes.

Christian looked up at the sky, and there was nothing there.

It is said that the air forces of both sides are cautious enough. They know that the other side has new fighters and are afraid of them. Neither side is willing to expose the new fighters to the enemy first.

Only Charles' command will cause such a situation, Christine thought. The sky is a battle between masters, a psychological contest, to see who will lose patience in the end.

However, how should he fight on the ground?

Christine turned his eyes to the "Saint-Chamon" and "Saint-Chamon M21" tanks that were being unloaded from the train behind him.

Rely on them?

Christine shook his head slightly. He had no confidence at all.

The heavy "Saint-Chamon" has been proven to be unsuitable for battlefield use, and the "Saint-Chamon M21" is a light tank that has not been tested in actual combat.

The most important thing is that it does not have a rotating turret.

Christine has seen the "Charles A1" and he thinks that all tanks should be like it.

Now, Christine can only hope that the Germans' new tanks will not have rotating turrets!

However, the facts disappointed Christine.

Soon, several wounded soldiers with bandages and blood on different parts of their bodies were brought to Christine.

The guard reported: "General, they have all seen enemy tanks."

Christine said "hmm" expressionlessly, staring at the wounded soldier with a big beard hanging his left arm in front of him, and asked concisely and clearly: "What does it look like? Describe it!"

"What does it look like?" The bearded wounded was a little confused: "Tracks, guns, and machine guns..."

He had no idea about the key points of the tank, so he could only describe it like this.

Christine interrupted the bearded wounded: "Turret, does it have a turret?"

"Of course." The bearded wounded nodded affirmatively: "Not only a turret, but also three turrets."

"Three?" Christine was shocked.

Other wounded soldiers nodded:

"Yes, there are three in total."

"It should be one turret and two machine gun turrets."

"The machine gun turrets are one in front and one behind, and are slightly shorter than the turrets."

...

(The above picture is a three-view of the "Upper Silesia" tank. You can clearly see the positions of the one turret and two machine gun turrets. It is worth mentioning that its driving wheels are not in the front or the back, but in the middle)

"Can it rotate?" Christine asked nervously: "Can their turrets rotate?"

All turrets can rotate, but Christine still wants to confirm it. He is eager to get a negative answer.

However.

The bearded wounded nodded affirmatively, and other wounded soldiers added one after another:

"I saw it rotate, with a cannon."

"They went around the back of our trench to attack, and we were in a state of being attacked from both sides."

"Yes, their infantry is in front of us, but the tanks are behind us. We don't know what to do!"

...

Christine's face became heavier, and the only hope in his eyes disappeared.

After a moment of daze, Christine asked weakly: "Their speed, armor thickness, or anything else you know?"

The wounded soldiers shook their heads blankly:

"Sorry, General, we didn't capture the enemy tanks, so we don't know these."

"The speed should be able to reach 10 kilometers per hour, I saw them charging."

"Perhaps you should capture a few prisoners from the Germans, so that you can know more."

...

Christine waved his hand dejectedly, indicating that they could leave.

But before the wounded soldiers took a few steps, Christine had a flash of inspiration, and quickly caught up with them and asked: "You just said that they were attacking you from behind the trenches?"

"Yes."

"Advance along the trenches, and then use machine guns to shoot."

Christine quickly took out a notebook from his pocket, took out a pen and handed it over: "Can you draw their attack trajectory?"

The wounded soldiers looked at each other, and no one answered:

"It's very clear, General, no need to draw."

"Yes, they move in the direction of the trenches."

"Their goal is to kill us hiding in the trenches, so they must move along the edge of the trenches."

...

Christine thought about it and felt that it was right, so he nodded and let them go.

After thinking for a while, hope rekindled in Christine's eyes. He turned his head and ordered the signalman: "Set up the radio, immediately!"

Christine contacted the headquarters through the radio.

"I have an idea, General." Christian reported to Joffre: "I learned that the enemy tanks will attack along the side of the trench after breaking through our defense line, and they will expose their side armor to us. If we hide the tanks behind the defense line, the enemy tanks will stand in front of us like targets!"

This can avoid the defect of the "Saint-Chamond" tank without a turret. When shooting at the target in front, it is not so important whether there is a turret.

However, he received a call back from Joffre soon.

"No, Christian, I want an attack."

"The enemy does not know that we have a new type of tank. They will be caught off guard, which can enable us to win in a short time."

"If we hide in the bunker and fire at them, we can only repel the enemy, and they will soon understand what is going on!"

...

Joffre is a firm supporter of the "offensive theory" and wants a "remarkable" victory, which is certainly not limited to defense.

"But our tanks have major flaws, General." Christian was still unwilling to give up: "Defense is more advantageous to us..."

This time, Xiafei didn't want to explain anything to him at all, he just simply replied: "Follow the order!".

Christine was speechless with the telegram in his hand, and gave up his idea with a long sigh.

Christine didn't dare to disobey the order, otherwise he would be brought to the military court.

He also had to command his subordinates to charge forward bravely, no matter how many casualties and how much the price was.

Otherwise, what awaited them might be the "killing order"!