Lieutenant General Misichchenko, commander of the 1st Russian Siberian Army Corps at the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force, and his chief of staff, Major General Ivanov, were covered in medals, but they looked a little uneasy when faced with the critical eyes of the British. After all, defeat is extremely humiliating for a soldier, not to mention an inexplicable capture. It's just that now Missichchenko and his subordinates are under the jurisdiction of the British Expeditionary Force, and in the face of his superior, Marshal Haig, there are some things he can't hide.

"Your Excellency, I cannot describe the situation with you, when my regiment and I were in charge of the defensive line on the left side of the hill on the left flank of the battlefield, and at the beginning of the battle the defensive line I was in charge of was under heavy shelling by the Chinese, which, according to custom, would be a prelude to the attack, and I ordered my men to resist at all costs, but after a few hours I suddenly found that we were surrounded."

After the Russians finished speaking, without waiting for Field Marshal Haig to speak, the commander of the British tank corps, Hugh. Brigadier General Ellis hurriedly asked, "But we heard that Chinese used tanks on a large scale in this campaign......"

"Tanks?" Lieutenant General Misichchenko didn't know why the British mentioned the water tank, but he still roughly understood what he meant, the water tank should be the steel chariot of the Chinese, he said: "Yes, we concluded some time ago that it was precisely because the Chinese used the steel chariot, that is, the water tank you said, that they easily broke through our trenches. At that time, we were in the offensive phase, the Chinese were on the defensive, and our only two trenches were broken through by them very quickly, so that when they occupied the rear county town of Tieling, my troops were still fighting the Chinese on the front line. Until the bullet is finally exhausted. ”

As Lieutenant General Misichchenko, commander of the 1st Siberian Army Corps defending the left flank of Russia at that time, although he knew that the Chinese used steel chariots, because the breakthrough point was not on the line of defense he was responsible for. So he knows very little.

"By the way," Misichchenko understood what the British were asking for his purpose, although he had no impression of the Chinese's steel chariots, but he still remembered another weapon, and many times, in his sleep, he would wake up from its roar, "China has a very terrifying aircraft." It can rush down vertically from the sky like an osprey and emit a terrifying whistling sound......"

I wanted to ask about tanks, but I didn't want the Russians to say that they got on planes. Marshal Haig glanced at Brigadier General Ellis, commander of the tank corps, and seeing that he had no objections, he ended this unpleasant conversation. After Lieutenant General Missitchenko was sent away, he looked at Brigadier General Ellis, as well as his chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Fuller. "Gentlemen. My point of view is that China, like we did last year, uses less mature tanks for combat. However, because the Russian army only had two trenches, and the area of attack was only the place where the battle had just begun, and the no-man's land between the two armies had not yet been blown into muddy swamps by artillery fire, the Russian defense line was quickly collapsed, and the planes, tanks, these two new weapons were enough to make them surrender. ”

"Your Excellency, maybe you are right. But I still wish I could know a little more about the details of the Chinese tank forces, and I think they might go a little further than we do. Although their opponents are weaker than ours. This time without waiting for Ellis to answer, the little chief of staff next to him, Fuller, began to express his opinion, "I have seen the evaluation reports of Chinese tanks sent by the intelligence department from China, if those descriptions are correct, the Chinese tank is not better than our Mark I tank, but when Paris welcomed the Chinese Marine Corps, the tank I saw made me think it was very good, it was not like a crude weapon, but the product of countless wisdom." Therefore, I would like to go to Nancy and see the tank units of the Chinese in person......"

"The Chinese are only our allies, not our allies." Tanks, as a new type of weapon, have always been valued by Marshal Haig, but in previous negotiations, the stingy Chinese were not prepared to share their tank technology with everyone, and their chief of general staff used a lame excuse to shirk the matter.

"Yes, Your Excellency, we understand this, but I would like to go to Nancy with Colonel Etienne of France, who is also very interested in the tanks of the Chinese." Fuller insisted. "I will speak with their commander in the name of the Allied Forces, and I am confident that he will agree to our request."

……

Sitting with the French in the Boring Reception Room of the Armored Command of the Baath Army outside Nancy, Lieutenant Colonel Fuller could not help but think of the conversation he had with Field Marshal Haig more than ten days earlier. He felt that he had thought of the Chinese as simple, and that the Revival Army was probably an army with more regulations than the British Royal Navy, and it was the pictures behind the toilet door that made him realize this. Originally, he thought that these pictures were Chinese whimsy - squatting in the pit is always boring, so it is not a good choice to look at the story pictures, but this is not the case, although he does not understand Chinese square characters, but he still knows the content of the pictures, which is to tell him where to take out the toilet paper, where to throw it after wiping it, and finally how to flush it......

It's basically a toilet manual, and anyone who doesn't know how to go to the toilet knows what to do and what not to do. Lieutenant Colonel Fuller, who made a startling discovery in the toilet, was inspired by this and found something similar elsewhere. He didn't understand that this was a later SOP document, but he knew that there were 'rules' for what the Chinese did, and countless 'rules' piled up into the army he saw now, and it was these 'rules' that prevented him from going inside the wolf tank.

This constant rule led Lieutenant Colonel Fuller to think that he had joined another French army rather than the German army, and that he himself had been discriminated against by such an army. Although the British Army was not very strong, as a veteran, Lieutenant Colonel Fuller did not think that the German Army was running like a gear, and it was actually the French Army that was running like a gear. It's just that in this army with serious bureaucratic habits, although there are regulations everywhere, if there are no higher-ranking officers present, it is common for the commander-in-chief of the unit to violate the regulations; Conversely, friends of the officer-in-chief, or those whom he considered to be of high standing, could also enjoy this privilege - which is why Lieutenant Colonel Fuller felt that he was being discriminated against. He is not regarded as a friend by the commander of the unit, nor is he respected, so there is no privilege to break the rules.

Although the supreme leader often violates the regulations. But his men and soldiers must fight in strict respect for the existing rules and regulations, and no matter what happens, they must not be flexible! That's why, at the beginning of the war, when the Germans made a detour from Belgium, the French Army on the Lorraine plateau, faced with German artillery and machine guns, appeared on the battlefield in the best formation of the 19th century, with white-gloved, groomed and polished officers walking sixty feet ahead of the ranks of soldiers, and soldiers wearing dark blue blouses and scarlet trousers. They were accompanied by regimental flags and marching bands. It will make the enemy fearful.

Thus, with every attack by the French infantry, which followed the tight cogs of gear, 'the entire battlefield was immediately completely covered with shrapnel. The hapless soldier knocked over like a hare. They were all brave and kept charging forward under terrible artillery fire, but to no avail. Not a single one survived the concentrated fire on them. The officers are outstanding. They walked about twenty yards at the front of the procession, as serene as a military parade. But so far. I didn't see a single one that could advance more than fifty yards without being knocked over. ’

The cog-like French Army had no right to adjust its tactics to the actual situation, and their every move had to conform to the orders of the French General Headquarters and the regulations of the army, and the previously privileged commanders of the troops had become a well-functioning cog under the effective management of the highest echelons.

The German Army, on the other hand, does not consider that this is a federal country, and the armies of each state have their own characteristics; As is customary in the General Staff of the German Army, the orders they gave were only of a principled nature, according to their fulfillment. It is the prerogative of the commander of the unit to formulate tactics and fulfill orders in an active, artistic and personal way. That's why. At the beginning of the war, the German army did not outflank Paris according to the established route, but swept outside Paris in order to encircle and annihilate the main French army retreating from the Lorraine Plateau as soon as possible;

Similarly, at the beginning of the war, the German troops stationed in Lorraine should have retreated as planned, sucking the French into German territory so that the German army in Belgium could outflank them, but the Sixth Army, which was not as tightly run as a cog and even had a selfish command of the Bavarian Crown Prince, not only did not retreat, but also counterattacked after the failure of the French offensive, prompting the French army to retreat in a hurry, thus giving them more opportunities to jump out of the Belgian outflank.

For another example, in the Battle of Verdun, the German chief of staff who succeeded Moltke Jr. Feng. Falkingham, cunningly using Verdun as bait, assembled a huge artillery team, ready to annihilate the French army attracted by Verdun and encouraged by patriotism one by one with artillery, but the German army, which was not as tightly operated as a cog, once again disobeyed the orders of the General Staff and sent infantry to join the battle for the fortress of Verdun, resulting in heavy losses in the end; And the strange thing is that in the end, it was the chief of the General Staff Falkingham, not the on-site commander who disobeyed the order.

In Lieutenant Colonel Fuller's view, the French Army is the real cog-like machine, and all units are given specific orders before they act, which cannot be violated; The German Army, on the other hand, was a group of stragglers, and the orders of the General Staff needed to be communicated with the various corps and, most importantly, the orders or methods were deemed effective by the commander before they could be finally implemented.

Contrary to the military ethos, the officers of the French Army have been completely geared, and they rarely have their own thinking, and even if thinking does exist, it is not tolerated by the whole gear system. After the start of the war, the French army refused to use howitzers for a long time, and insisted that the 75 field artillery was the best embodiment of the cogwheel of the officers; The officers of the German Army were like ambitious savage tribal leaders, eager to rob and kill, and after each murder, they learned from each murder, and if effective, then it was likely that these murderous experiences would be replicated in the tribes with the support of higher-ranking leaders.

The Chinese Army was trained by a group of Germans, and the German style in the army was very obvious, but there was a clear French style in the German style, which made Lieutenant Colonel Fuller wonder, could it be said that the Chinese had integrated the style of the German and French armies? In his current position, he hates the French style because it has caused him trouble - after the Three Kingdoms tank cross-country obstacle course yesterday, the Chinese were afraid of their own 'rules' and were not prepared to let him and Colonel Etienna visit the Wolf tank, but instead took a look at the Mark IV and racing dogs he brought with him, and the Renault FT17 brought by the French.

"The Chinese are so extravagant." There weren't as many complaints as Lieutenant Colonel Fuller. The French, who now don't seem to care about tanks, are suddenly interested in the air conditioning of the Baath Army command while having refreshments. Because it makes him feel like he is in spring. Ever since the Germans occupied the north, France had suffered a severe shortage of coal, and every winter was extremely difficult for him and all French people.

"That's because they built a hydropower station outside the city, so they have enough electricity." Lieutenant Colonel Fuller only cared about yesterday's wolf tank, ignoring all other issues. "Mr. Colonel, I think we should ask the Chinese together to open their wolf chariots. We have to learn from each other to get better tanks. ”

"But they weren't happy." Colonel Etienne shook his head, "As Admiral Petain said, the Chinese are independent. We can't force them to do that. Maybe...... Perhaps, Chinese will be interested in the Germans' tungsten armor-piercing shells and T-type anti-tank rifles, our advantage is that we have already fought with the Germans and have accumulated some experience......"

Before the French could finish speaking, the guards outside the reception room shouted a salute, which was a precursor to the appearance of the commander of the Chinese armored forces. Lieutenant Colonel Fuller and Lieutenant Colonel Etiena immediately stood up.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Finish thinking about the week. Hearing that the British and French were visiting, Wang Shiqian had to get out of the car, wash his face and change clothes, and come to meet the guests. As Colonel Etiena said, he was interested in the actual situation of the European battlefield in the combat of vehicles, including the anti-tank tactics of the Germans, because these would not only save the lives of the crew, but also allow him to change the armored assault tactics and achieve greater victories.

Fuller, Etienna, Wang Shiqian. The three fathers of the Panzer Army, as they were later called, were about the same age, even though they had different cultures and languages. But the smell of engine oil on each other's bodies still makes them smell the same. After a few days of contact, everyone's position is basically the same, that is, all three people believe that the victory or defeat of this and future wars depends on the use of armored forces.

After a brief greeting, Wang Shiqian was about to talk about the use of armored forces in the European battlefield as he had done last time, when Lieutenant Colonel Fuller suddenly said: "Your Excellency, Colonel Etiena and I do not agree with your concealment, and for this reason, we will also hide some things from you until both sides can communicate without obstacles." ”

Wang Shiqian benefited a lot from the experience of using the British Mark I tank in Alsace last time, and this time he wanted to talk to the British and French about the German Army's response and counterattack against the tanks, but he didn't want the British to start protesting. Wang Shiqian understands German, but he still needs to communicate with Fuller and others through an interpreter, and after listening to the translator's paraphrase, he said with a smile: "Then Mr. Lieutenant Colonel thinks how can there be no barrier to communication?" As I said before, the Baath Army is only a user of weapons, and the manufacturing technology cannot be opened to third parties without the permission of the production company, otherwise the production company will sue the Baath Army for compensation, and I will be tried by a military court, removed from office, or even thrown into prison. I don't think you're supposed to send me to jail as an alliance. ”

"No, it's not that serious." Seeing that the Chinese took out the excuse from last time again, Fuller shook his head, "All Colonel Etiena and I hope is to be able to drive the Wolf tank once, and if the performance is excellent, both of us are ready to buy a batch of Wolf tanks." ”

"But the problem is that the Wolf tank is not sold to the outside world, only the Jackal tank has a foreign trade version, and the price is very cheap, less than half the price of the Mark IV tank, three thousand pounds is enough." After Wang Shiqian finished speaking, he looked at the two people with their mouths closed, and immediately laughed again, with today's posture, it is difficult for him to pry things out of their mouths without paying something, he immediately said: "Okay." I can do my best to agree to your requests, but on two conditions: first, I can't teach you two to drive a wolf chariot anytime soon, so you can go in and see everything inside, but because of the rules, I can't answer any of your questions; Secondly, in order to deal with the common enemy, I hope that you will tell me everything you know about the German army against tanks, without reservation. ”

"That's no problem at all, after all, we're allies." The British stood up and were very elated.

The rules of communication seemed to have been reached, and after learning everything about the German army, Wang Shiqian took them to his car. He looked at Li Mengpei, the commander of the 1st Division, who was waiting on the side, and said in a deep voice: "You come and drive, and when they get into the car, they will immediately carry out the training subject: high-speed off-road." ”

Speaking of high-speed off-road, even the old driver Li Mengpei had a numb scalp, but when he thought of the foreigner who was now circling around the chariot, he smiled again. Then, when the curious foreigner entered the car, the chariot drove smoothly for a while, and then galloped wildly on the training ground. More than half an hour passed, and the two foreigners, who were vomiting, were carried out of the car and rushed to the medical station.

Li Mengpei finished solving the two foreigners, and when he returned to the headquarters, Wang Shiqian was already in the war room, Wang Shiqian looked at him with a pale face and asked, "How are they?" ”

"Report to the commander, I'm dizzy!" When Li Mengpei said, 'I'm dizzy', his body also shook.

"How? If it's okay, let's take a look at the German defense system. Wang Shiqian glanced at him, but the man walked towards the sand table: it was the German fortifications that had been built according to the information told to him by the British and French.

The sand table of the revival army is extremely exquisite, with special modules such as forests, rivers, mountains, machine gun positions, artillery positions, etc., and with the combination of these gadgets, the defense system shown by the sand table is very intuitive. Behind the two barbed wire fences, which are about four kilometers apart, are the trench belts of the two sides, which are the frontline trenches. For the attackers, the muddy pond that first stood the way between the two defenses, and after years of shelling, there was nothing left in this place, except for mud, broken steel helmets, torn military uniforms, remnants of human limbs, and a few stones;

The mud pond used to be an unmanned trench three meters deep and more than two meters wide, followed by several barbed wire fences three meters high and more than four meters wide, and then a minefield several hundred meters wide.

The defensive belt is built on the back of the mountain, and the trench is divided into three lines, and the interval between each other is only a few tens of meters according to the sand table ruler. The first trench, as well as the few cement fortifications in front of the trench, were observation posts; The second line of fire was the line of fire, with all sorts of machine-gun bunkers dotted through, some made of steel plates, others made of cement; After that, the third line is mainly a hidden cave, just as the second line also has a hidden trench, this one also has a lot of machine gun bunkers.

Behind this defensive belt, behind another ridge about two kilometers away, there was another trench defensive belt, this time two trenches, still with machine gun positions and hiding holes; It was connected to the first defensive strip by means of curved communication trenches, each of which was a defensive point, and in addition to the defensive points on the communication trenches, the two-kilometer-long middle zone was also equipped with a number of machine-gun positions, which were the pillars of fire to break the enemy infantry attack.

Two defensive belts, five trenches, and numerous machine-gun emplacements were standard fortifications under the guidance of the Baath Army's flexible defense doctrine a few years ago. In this theory of defense, the real function of the front trench defense belt is only to dull the coordination between the enemy's infantry and artillery - the infantry and artillery coordination without effective communication measures can only move forward at a predetermined speed, once the attacking infantry is lagging behind due to resistance, the advantage of the infantry coordination suddenly collapses, and at this time, the defenders retreating through the communication trenches can use dense machine guns and artillery to kill and wound these infantry who are no longer protected by the barrage.

Under this defense theory, the first line of defense can be abandoned and should be abandoned, while the second line of defense should be held and must be defended, because after this defense belt is the artillery position, the front-line command post.

Before the advent of tanks, the Germans used this type of fortification on a large scale, but the frequent appearance of tanks changed this arrangement. What is now unfolding in front of Wang Shiqian and Li Mengpei is: behind the two defensive belts, the same fortifications appear eight to ten kilometers away, which seems to have copied the previous defensive belts; Further later, similar fortifications reappeared. In this depth of more than 20 miles, there were three barbed wire, three mine arrays, and 15 trenches.

Li Mengpei was a little surprised by this: "It seems that the German needle has really come up with a lot of ways to attack the armor." (To be continued......)