Chapter 796: Tank Duel (Asking for a Monthly Pass)
The British army had 500 tanks in Canterbury. These tanks were all transferred from London after the battle began. In addition, there are five hundred more in London.
The British 'Hound Dog' tank is roughly the same shape as the French 'Renault' 17 tank. It is lightweight, weakly armored, and relatively fast. It was armed with a 37 mm tank gun and a 7.62 mm machine gun.
The performance of the 'Hound Dog' tank is not much different from that of the German No. 1 tank. The tank guns of both sides were able to destroy the opposing tanks. However, in terms of reliability, mobility, etc., the British 'Hound Dog' tanks were much worse. If you add to this the quality and experience of the tanks on both sides, the gap is even greater.
"General Haig, launch a counterattack early tomorrow morning. All the tanks, all thrown in. The infantry was drawn from the 1st Army. This time, we must crush the Germans in one fell swoop! Admiral Hamilton ordered with a dark face.
"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander!" Admiral Haig replied.
"So, do we choose to attack the German forces in Brynn, or the German forces in Kamat?" Admiral Benson asked.
Hamilton thought for a moment, then said, "Attack the German army in Brin first, and then attack the German army in Kamat." The Germans were too strong for us to disperse the attack. In that case, it will only be broken by the Germans individually. ”
Admiral Benson nodded, not saying anything more.
Admiral Hamilton this time, apparently, intended to use his main force to the fullest, and made a desperate bet. He also knew that this time the situation was very critical for the British army. If they don't do it well, they will lose this battle.
In the early morning of September 1, four British armoured brigades and three infantry divisions launched an attack on Bryn. Before the attack, the British army even gathered more than 500 guns and carried out heavy artillery bombardment on Bryn.
You must know that the previous artillery of the British army suffered great losses in the battle, either suppressed and destroyed by the German artillery, or was blown up by the fighters of the German Army Air Corps, and the artillery suffered heavy losses, and there was not much left. In order to be able to successfully take Brin, the British army can be regarded as using the main force.
"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”
A door of 114 mm howitzers and 83.8 mm field guns, crazy pouring shells.
"Be quick, fire the cannonballs at your maximum speed. Otherwise, by the time the Germans arrived, we would have to evacuate! The artillery commander of the British army ordered.
The British artillery knew well that their shelling would soon be bombed by the German army air forces. So, they could only hurry up and open fire. Lest you get bombed, you can't continue firing.
The shells smashed into the German positions, leaving craters one after another. The fortifications that had been hastily constructed last night could not withstand the heavy shelling of the British troops.
Under the heavy shelling of the British army, the Germans began to suffer considerable casualties.
"Emergency call for reinforcements! We need to suppress the artillery of the British. Otherwise, we would have suffered heavy losses under their shelling! The commander of the 1st Armored Division ordered.
On the sea, ten battleships and 24 former dreadnoughts of the German Navy had raised their guns high. According to the coordinates sent by the army, they are making adjustments before firing the artillery.
"Fire!"
With the order of the gunner commander on the battleship 'Bavaria', three triple 380-mm guns of 50 times the caliber began to bombard.
The other battleships also began to bombard. For a time, the sound of artillery on the sea rumbled. One after another, large-caliber naval artillery shells smashed into the British artillery positions.
"Whew! Shout! ”
A sharp and piercing whistling sound sounded on the artillery positions of the British army, and the faces of the British artillerymen changed drastically one by one. They've been dealing with artillery for years, so they know what that means.
"Oh God! Run! Large-caliber naval guns of the Germans! ”
Without the officer's order, the British artillerymen scattered like rabbits.
"Boom!"
Violent explosions sounded on the artillery positions of the British army, and one cannon after another was blown up, and even the barrels were blown into twists. As for those artillerymen, they were directly torn to pieces.
The naval shelling of the German Navy certainly caused heavy losses to the British artillery. However, the biggest threat to them was still the German Army Air Corps.
Hundreds of F2 fighters covered hundreds of H1 bombers to bomb British artillery positions. One by one, the artillery positions of the British army were destroyed.
"Damn it!"
Seeing this, Admiral Haig couldn't help but curse. Their artillery, before they had time to play much of a role, was almost completely lost. This undoubtedly makes this battle even more difficult to fight.
"Can't wait any longer, order the tank troops to attack immediately!" Admiral Haig ordered.
"Yes, General!"
Although, their shelling did not inflict much damage on the Germans and was far from reaching the intended goal. But Admiral Haig knew he couldn't wait any longer. When the time comes, more and more German aircraft will appear on the battlefield, and their losses will be greater and greater.
"Attack!"
The tank units of the British army, having received the order, immediately launched an attack.
More than 500 tanks rushed out of their positions and rushed towards the positions of the Germans.
"General, tank! The British dispatched a large number of tanks! A staff officer ordered the commander of the 1st German Panzer Division.
"So many tanks! The British have invested heavily this time. ”
"Order anti-tank weapons to get ready! Let's consume the tanks of the British first. Then the armored forces will attack again and finish them off! ”
Although, after a day of hard fighting yesterday, the 1st Panzer Division had only about 170 tanks left, which was only one-third of the tanks dispatched by the British army. However, they were not afraid.
Compared with the German armored forces, the tank units of the British army were nothing more than a toddler, and the gap between the two sides was too great.
One by one, anti-tank guns were deployed to positions on the front line. The anti-tank men aimed at the rapidly advancing British tanks.
"Fire!"
"Boom!"
An anti-tank gun opened fire. 37 mm shells, whizzing and firing at one of the British 'Hound' tanks.
A distance of a few hundred meters, it is there in the blink of an eye. The armor-piercing bullet hit the tank's armor hard.
Under the action of huge kinetic energy, the armor-piercing projectile easily penetrated the not thick armor of the 'Hound 'Hound' tank. The shell hit the ammunition compartment and there was a martyrdom. The whole tank became a fireball.