Chapter 266: The End of France (36)

The British army has very strange names for many weapons and equipment, which are different from other countries and have a somewhat unique flavor. For example, artillery has long been distinguished not by millimeters of caliber, but by the weight of the shells in pounds. The same is true for tanks. For a long time, tanks have been divided into "infantry tanks" and "cruise tanks".

An infantry tank refers to a tank in the 1930s that was mainly used to support infantry operations. It is characterized by slow speed, because it is mainly used to support infantry operations, and the speed requirements do not need to be too high, as long as it can keep up with the advancing speed of the infantry. The second feature is that the armor protection is very thick and can provide cover for infantry. Of course, the tank itself also has strong firepower and can provide fire support for the infantry.

Typical representatives are the "Matilda" infantry tank, the "Valentin" infantry tank and the "Churchill" infantry tank.

As for the cruise tank, also called a cruise tank, it was a tank used for reconnaissance and outflanking operations in the 1930s. The tactical position is somewhat similar to that of cavalry. The characteristics of cruise tanks and infantry tanks are exactly the opposite. The armor is thin but the mobility is strong, as long as it is used for mobile combat. Cruise tanks are conceptually similar to naval cruisers. They not only have a high maximum speed, but also have a low cruising speed and are very maneuverable. The weapons and equipment are mainly equipped with machine guns and small-caliber artillery, which can be used as reconnaissance and assault forces to support rapid mechanized force operations.

During World War II, the British Army's "Crusader" tank and "Cromwell" tank were typical representatives of their cruise tanks.

The British's tactical thinking seems backward, but it is better to say that it is too advanced. Isn't this idea of ​​"infantry tanks assisting infantry in breaking holes + cruise tanks making deep breakthroughs" the same as the Dalinzi and T-34 in Maozi's later period to achieve deep penetration?

However, in the early stages of the war, the battle tactics and tank design details were not very mature, so they were blinded by the blitzkrieg. As a result, these tanks whose basic base was determined before the war in the early stage of the war were all kinds of fun to use. When the war started, from the beginning It took Cromwell 1943 to figure out how to build a reliable main force medium tank, and then actually build the tank and send it to the battlefield. It took 1945 when the Centurion left the country to be considered complete, and by this time the battle was over. .

It is only now 39 years, and most of General Wells's 1st Armored Division are Matilda 1s (Ak VIB light tanks and a few Matilda 2s).

The weapon of the Matilda 1 is only a 7mm machine gun, which is simply an itch to use against German tanks; to stop German tanks, the only way to use it is to use the new high muzzle velocity QF 2-pound (40mm) artillery (A9) cruise tank and the Matilda 2 tank, which also has a 40mm tank gun.

Admiral Wells scraped left and right and finally managed to get 50 (A9) cruise tanks and Matilda 2 tanks, leaving only a little bit of fuel; he also left 20 Matilda 1 tanks. The tank drained all the gasoline from the tank and distributed it to the tank troops who continued to retreat. In the end, the crews of the twenty Matilda 1 tanks were allowed to retreat with the main force. After all, they couldn't be of much help if they stayed here. Perhaps they could be used as cannon fodder to attract enemy firepower; but General Wells did not want to add more useless casualties, so he ordered them to retreat.

Now that there are tanks, how to fight them becomes a big problem.

General Wells estimated that one's own tanks would have to be at least 300 meters closer to penetrate the armor of German tanks, but German tank guns could penetrate one's own tank armor at a distance of about five to six hundred meters. Breaking through the distance of two to three hundred meters is a big problem.

his lieutenant suggested. "How about we fake a surrender? This should make the German army relax their vigilance and then suddenly open fire..."

Before he finished speaking, Admiral Wells glared hard and scolded him sternly. "We are dignified soldiers of the British Empire, how could we do such a despicable thing!"

Soldiers are different from ordinary people. Soldiers put honor first. Generally speaking, regular troops are willing to die on the battlefield rather than surrender. It is even said that they are pretending to surrender. If he does this, he will lose his reputation in the military. Just like the German army, their laws clearly stipulate that false surrender is not allowed.

Because if soldiers are encouraged to fake surrender, it will turn into real surrender over time. No one can predict this kind of thing. If he chooses to really surrender at the beginning, but his troops win in the end, he may still say that he is a fake surrender; but on the other hand, if his troops lose, they may think that they are really surrendering, after all, people It's hard to guess what's going on. This approach has a great impact on an army's fighting will. In severe cases, the morale of an army will decrease and the battle will be affected.

Another point is that if you fake surrender, the price you pay will be heavy. Maybe you will succeed, but if this happens too often, no one will believe you if you really surrender in the future. The moment you surrender, they will kill you without hesitation, lest you bite you again.

Either die in battle or surrender, there is no third way for them. According to the practice of the British Empire, it is not a shameful thing to surrender when you are unable to defeat the enemy, but a false surrender is a violation of the practice.

Ignoring the adjutant who lowered his head in shame, Admiral Wells continued to ponder and suddenly spoke after a while. "We lost a lot of tanks along the way, right?"

The adjutant nodded with a depressed look. "There are nearly a hundred of them."

Admiral Wells clapped his hands, his face showing excitement. "Will the Germans be used to it?"

The adjutant's eyes lit up. "You want to..."

"That's right." Admiral Wells's plan was simple. "We pretend to be abandoned tanks. If the Germans are fooled, that's good; if not, we can only fight to the death." This approach is at most an ambush, not a false surrender, so he didn't have any psychological burden.

Soon, fifty tanks were parked in the fields on both sides of the road; Admiral Wells personally pointed them out one by one. "Pay attention to the tank guns, don't point them all in one direction, which clearly tells the enemy that this is an ambush! Turn around, turn around!" Although pointing in the direction of the Germans in advance can facilitate shooting and increase the hit rate; but fifty tank guns pointing in the same direction, even a fool can see that this is a trap.

So he let the barrels of these tank guns point in all directions, leaving only the five Matilda 2 tank crews with the best performance to point their guns in the direction of the Germans. Moreover, these five tanks were far apart, and it was basically impossible to spot them without careful attention.

Just after all this was done, the scout came to report that the German vanguard was already ten kilometers away.