Chapter 411 The Pulse of War

Today, I only have one chapter because of work. Sorry.

I am still the head teacher of the third grade this year. I am quite busy with work during the beginning of the school term.

Because I am writing a novel, I have repeatedly applied to stop being a head teacher at the beginning of the year. But this is a vicious circle: the more you are a head teacher and the better you are at it, the more you can't get rid of it. You have to be a head teacher every year, and you have to be a head teacher even if you are forced to be one.

If you completely give up, no one will dare to let you be a head teacher in two years.

…

Charles is confident about this battle.

One of the reasons is that the French army had captured the "Upper Silesia" tank before, and Charles tested it and obtained the complete performance data of the tank.

The front armor of the "Upper Silesia" tank is 14MM, and the 37 gun of the "Charles A1" can penetrate it at a distance of about 350 meters.

On the contrary, the "Charles A1" has an additional armor of 45MM on the front, and the 57 gun of the "Upper Silesia" needs to approach about 200 meters to barely penetrate it.

(Note: There were no dedicated armor-piercing shells during this period, otherwise the armor-piercing ability of 57MM caliber artillery would not be so weak)

After knowing this, the tanks of the First Armored Division stopped temporarily when they were about 200 meters away from the enemy trenches. They built a steel defense line in front of the German defense line.

They did not waste time aiming at the enemy tanks and 77MM field guns, but locked the machine gun positions and infantry on the trenches.

This is because most of the German tanks and artillery were hidden in the bunkers with only a small part exposed, and it was very difficult to destroy them with the accuracy of "Charles A1".

The "Saint-Samon" and truck guns that followed closely behind were used to deal with the German tanks.

The truck guns played a major role.

The First Mechanized Division of Tijani was equipped with 80 truck guns. After the "Saint-Samon" forced the German artillery away, they quickly followed up and prepared for artillery fire.

This process can be completed in a few minutes. All you have to do is find a flat ground or level the ground. Then, as soon as the truck turns around, the 75 guns at the rear will point the muzzle at the enemy position.

What is more complicated and more important is the preparation work done before the truck gun enters the combat position:

The artillery observer follows the infantry and uses a telescope to find the position of the enemy tank and calculate the coordinates.

The signalman pulls the telephone lines to the artillery observer in the shortest time.

Originally, Charles planned to use a radio, but the sound quality of the radio at that time was not good and it was easily interfered with. In addition, it was very difficult to communicate on the front line where the sound of gunfire was endless. For the time being, it was only suitable for transferring information between relatively stable command posts.

The defect of the telephone is that the line can be easily broken by artillery shells or crushed by its own vehicles.

Charles' solution is "no matter the cost". He assigned two communication squads to each artillery observation team, each responsible for setting up a line.

An emergency communication company was also added.

This communication company drives armored vehicles and sidecars. They are equipped with a roller adapted to the speed. The line is laid all the way behind the car as it drives forward. It only takes 5 minutes to connect the phone at a distance of three or four kilometers.

This perfectly solves the coordination problem between the front-line infantry and the rear artillery.

So, the artillery observer reported the coordinates of the tanks in front by phone, and the artillery in the rear fired shells according to the coordinates to eliminate the targets one by one.

The maximum firing rate of the 75 gun can fire 30 rounds per minute. Even at a normal firing rate of more than ten rounds per minute, the firepower of 80 truck guns firing together is quite terrifying.

I saw shells exploded in rows on the German positions, and soon the German tanks were blown to pieces.

...

The German tanks had almost no results. The shells they fired only produced a flash of fire in front of the "Charles A1". After that, it was still firing shells at the German defense line.

Erwin almost collapsed when he saw this scene. This was one of the few battles he had to solve since he joined the war. The other one was the last counterattack launched by Charles in Cambrai.

After a moment of silence, Erwin suddenly shouted: "Retreat, retreat!"

He realized that failure was inevitable, and there was no point in fighting like this except increasing casualties.

The signalman passed the signal in time, but only 8 tanks were able to retreat, and two of them were blown up on the way.

The rear armor of the "Upper Silesia" tank was only 5MM. Even if the shells did not hit it directly but only hit it with shrapnel, it could penetrate it and damage the engine.

Erwin took a sidecar back to the forest where the tank division was hiding. He was covered in dust and his face was blackened by the smoke of the shells. His confident eyes became dim at this time.

Major General Nicolas walked around anxiously in front of the bunker. When he saw Erwin coming up, he hurried to meet him and asked, "What's the situation?"

"The situation is very bad, General." Erwin shook his head helplessly: "Charles is much more powerful than I thought. The defense I organized is vulnerable in front of him."

Major General Nicolas was stunned. This was not what Erwin said. This guy always had arrogance on his face. He never gave up and would not take others seriously, including Major General Nicolas.

But now, he was dejected like a defeated rooster.

"Cheer up, Captain." Major General Nicolas said, "We haven't lost yet. At least you guessed Charles' intention correctly, and you are the only one who guessed it! Now, I need you to guess what he will do next and stop him before he does."

"Yes, General." Erwin swallowed, then gritted his teeth and braced himself, walked to a map spread out on a wheel and looked at it: "General, we may only have one choice."

Erwin pointed to the map and said: "The town of Vallo, about thirty kilometers away, is the only way to Brussels. There is a road bridge there. As long as the bridge is defended or blown up, the enemy's actions can be delayed. "

Nicholas did not hesitate any longer. He just glanced at the map and immediately ordered: "The entire army retreats to Valo Town and advances at full speed!"

The German 1st Tank Division was busy. Although they only had 38 tanks in total, and several of them had just been repaired, no one knew whether they could drive to the town of Vallo.

…

At the headquarters of the 1st Mechanized Division, after Charles received a call from the front line that the German defense line had been successfully occupied, he said to Foch: "Sorry, sir, I may not be able to entertain you."

Foch noticed that the guards were sorting documents and equipment, and asked curiously: "Are you planning to move forward with the troops?"

"Yes." Charles nodded.

"No." A hint of surprise flashed in Foch's eyes: "You don't have to do this, Brigadier General. You know, this insertion mission is very dangerous. If you are not careful, you will be surrounded by enemies..."

"It is precisely because of the danger that I must join the troops." Charles replied with a firm tone: "Otherwise, what reason do we have to ask the soldiers to charge to the enemy's position regardless of the danger?"

Foch was stunned for a moment, then silently patted Charles on the shoulder: "You are right, I am waiting for the news of your victory!"

"Thank you, General." Charles shook hands with Foch.

Charles and his party left, and the headquarters was instantly empty with only Foch and Wei Gang left.

Foch asked Wei Gang thoughtfully: "Now, do you still think his theory is wrong?"

Wei Gang was silent.

Compared with their staff officers who can only formulate battle plans in the rear, Ciel is a commander who can devote himself to the battlefield.

This means that he can combine theory with practice, it means that he can grasp the pulse of war, it means that he can strangle the enemy by the throat...

Therefore, although Wei Gang was unwilling to admit it, he vaguely understood that he was probably the one who was wrong!