There was a time when the constant shelling and air strikes had passed, and in the anticipation of the Republican Army, the shelling and air strikes finally came to an end.

However, the soldiers of the Republican Army did not have time to catch their breath and poured into the position under the command of the officer.

"Hurry up, the rebels are coming."

"The machine gun is set up here, and you can only fire at my command."

While the Positional Republicans were busy preparing for the upcoming Nationalist attack, the armored group of 38 R10 tanks in front of them was already ready for battle, and Dorke's company was on the left side of the line.

"Attack."

Following the order of the commander of his tank battalion to attack with a radio message, the tanks that had already been launched began to march towards the defenders' positions in black pressure. Behind them were two regiments of the National Army, which were to follow in the footsteps of the tanks and launch an attack on the enemy's positions.

Therefore, the Republican officers and soldiers who were waiting for the enemy's attack did not wait for the enemy infantry, but were the first to see the tank.

"Enemy tanks."

When the soldiers on the battlefield saw the figure of the tank appearing, they immediately shouted in panic. Most of the soldiers in the IRA were workers and peasants, who were only mobilized after the outbreak of the Civil War, and much of the training had to be learned on the battlefield. And this is the first time to face the battle with tanks, and it is impossible not to be nervous.

Unlike the panicked expression of the soldier, the officer immediately scolded. "What is the panic, prepare anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns. In addition, people prepare explosives packs. ”

Although many officers have not experienced fighting tanks, they can only cope with it somewhat.

With the officer's order, the Republican soldiers took out the M1918 anti-tank gun that had been issued before, this anti-tank gun developed by Germany in the middle and late World War I was the world's first anti-tank gun, its 13.2 mm caliber fired 13.2×92 mm steel core bullets, and could shoot through 22 mm thick armor within 100 meters. Against the thin-skinned light tanks of the twenties and thirties is not outdated. However, relying on them to deal with Romanian R10 tanks is somewhat more than enough.

Of course, the Republican Army has other means besides this anti-tank gun. I saw that in the bunker not far behind the position, an M1930 37-mm anti-tank had been pushed into the gun position. This is a Soviet imitation of the German Pak36 37mm anti-tank gun, and the German tank gun is the famous 37 anti-aircraft gun.

And the Republican soldiers, who were in charge of operating the anti-tank guns, aimed at the incoming R10 tanks, and followed the command of the gun emplacement commander to open fire.

The tungsten-core armor-piercing projectile fired immediately flew out of the muzzle, and after flying a distance of six or seven hundred meters, it plunged headlong into the dirt next to an R10.

If you don't hit it, keep coming.

The gunner withdrew the shell, re-inserted one shell, and with a new round of aiming, another flew out. This time, unlike the previous one, this shell hit an R10 tank directly, stopping it directly in front of the position. A conspicuous scratch appeared on the front of the tank, which was not penetrated.

However, the officers and soldiers on the position did not have such good eyes, they only saw that their side had hit the enemy tank, and the republican officers and soldiers on the position let out a burst of cheers.

By chance, this shell hit the tank where Dork was. The huge impact force caused everyone in the tank to fall and their noses and faces to be swollen, and Dorke, who endured the pain, got up.

Dork asked first. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Nope."

"I'm fine."

"It just hurts."

Hearing the other crew's answers put Dork at ease. Then he felt a moment of fear, and then a wave of anger rose.

He immediately asked the other crews with a throat microphone. "Have you found out where the enemy anti-tank guns are located?"

"Nope."

"I didn't see it clearly."

Just when Dork felt a pang of disappointment, a voice came and gave him hope.

"I seemed to be on the left flank at 10 o'clock just now, and I saw the light of fire and white smoke. It should be in the direction of 10 o'clock. ”

Dorke, who got the position, immediately gave the order, "So everyone will focus on the 10 o'clock position, as long as the other party fires again, they will definitely be able to catch him." ”

Sure enough, he didn't let Dork wait, only to see that the anti-tank gun that hit him opened fire again. This time, Dorke saw it directly, "So you're hiding here." ”

Seeing the position clearly, Dork immediately reported his position to the other crews. "At 10 o'clock, in the grove to the right of that eucalyptus, the anti-tank is there."

Now that you know the exact location, it's easy to do. I saw a company of tanks stop directly, aim at the small bush and prepare to fire.

At this time, the commander, who was about to continue aiming, fired anti-tank shells, happened to see that the nearly ten tanks were aimed at his side.

Feeling creepy, he only had time to shout. "Not good, run."

I saw nearly ten shells flying over, and I didn't give everyone time to react.

"Boom Boom"

The shrapnel of the explosion swept across the gun emplacement, leaving everyone in a pool of blood, while also sweeping away the camouflage of the position.

Dorke, who commanded the shooting, was still uneasy, and continued to order another round of fire to be fired.

"Boom Boom"

With a new round of firefighting, an even louder eruption was heard. The anti-tank guns, which had long been destroyed, were torn apart, and a large number of fragments turned into deadly weapons and swept in all directions.

This is the sound of shells exploding, which also means that this group of anti-tank guns is destroyed.

The other anti-tank guns on the position suffered similar encounters with this anti-tank gun, because the anti-tank guns are now generally light anti-tank guns of 37 mm caliber. This was developed with the anti-tank guns of the late World War I and the twenties, mainly against light tanks with poor armor at that time.

Now in the face of the newly developed R10 tank in Romania, it simply seems to be lagging behind. Although the R10 is defined as a reconnaissance and auxiliary function in the Romanian armored forces, its frontal 45 mm small-angle bevel armor is not capable of penetrating by a 37 mm gun.

And when the tank was dealing with the anti-tank guns, the Republican soldiers on the position were also harassing with their weapons, but it didn't help at all.

"Equipped with explosives packs, anti-tank guns are placed close to fight."

For this unfavorable situation, the commanders on the positions can only come up with this solution.

However, I am afraid that their hopes will be disappointed, and after the elimination of the anti-tank guns, the armored forces did not storm the positions themselves. Instead, the machine guns on the positions were called 200 meters away.

This is a method that Romania has come from at the end of the battlefield, and when it is not in a hurry to break through the enemy's position, keep a distance to suppress the enemy's firepower, which can more effectively help the infantry solve the battle. Therefore, as long as the fire of machine guns and mortars on the position is discovered, it will incur a direct artillery shell.

Of course, this method can only be used against the enemy's lack of anti-armor means to threaten him.

So tanks that are not threatened before the battlefield are simply not too presumptuous.

This made Lieutenant General Hoffman, who was watching the game from behind, a little unbearable, these lads were too unscrupulous.

However, although the armored troops showed some unscrupulousness, their combat effectiveness was undoubtedly revealed. If it weren't for the fact that the Republican Army didn't care about the casualties and the subsequent reinforcements of the Nationalist Army did not keep up, it would have been difficult to say that the position would have changed hands in the first attack.

However, the performance of Romania's first ground battle surprised not only the Nationalist army, but also the German and Italian advisory groups.

After the war, both sides sent a telegram to the country about the battlefield performance of the Romanian army. However, Italy's main focus was on equipment, while Germany's focus was on the tactical use of tanks.