Chapter 56: Chapter 50 The Burning Wilderness
Wang Zhong shouted to number 67, “Hit that 170!”
Fearing the tank couldn’t see where number 170 was, he also stretched his hand toward the direction of 170.
————
Tank number 170, with Commander Hoffman, suddenly changed the order, “Target that big tank! Don’t be afraid, Ante people’s tanks are all show, and we’re loaded with armor-piercing shells! Take it down!”
To execute the order not to harm the horses, Hoffman had the loader load armor-piercing shells.
Although armor-piercing shells do contain explosive charges, their fuse wouldn’t activate when hitting a person.
This design originated from the experience summarized by the Prosen Empire during the Castilian Civil War and the Carolingian campaign, where armor-piercing shells were to have the ability not to detonate when piercing some soft targets, allowing them to shoot through targets like wooden houses to strike enemy armor hidden behind.
Therefore, a skilled gunner could naturally use armor-piercing shells to accurately kill a person mounted on horseback, and incidentally, not harm the horse.
Now, this armor-piercing shell naturally undertook the task of sending the enemy’s huge object sky-high!
Hoffman was full of confidence, and the moment he fired before the enemy did, he felt he had won.
The projectile struck the giant tank like lightning, leaving a trail of sparks on the mantlet.
The huge tank continued forward as if nothing had happened and aimed its gun at Hoffman while moving.
It fired directly!
Because it was firing on the move, the shot hit the ground.
But before Hoffman could breathe a sigh of relief, the shell ricocheted and hit tank number 170.
Hoffman: “Quick——”
————
Watching tank number 170’s turret flying into the sky, Wang Zhong burst into loud laughter.
Such an ace crew, if replaced with a Tiger or Panther tank, who knows how many of our soldiers they would kill.
At this point, three enemy tanks stopped, seemingly readying to shoot.
Wang Zhong immediately turned his horse around and took off!
As he passed by tank number 67, he also patted the top of the tank gun’s turret and said a word of blessing.
Then he plunged into the smoke.
————
Inside tank number 67, the driver Ashka asked through the intercom, “What was the Marquis doing here?”
Lieutenant Xie Liaosha replied, “You don’t understand? He assigned us this suicide mission, so he came to the front himself to show he shares life and death with us.”
After saying that, Xie Liaosha laughed, “The Marquis probably doesn’t know, we simply can’t die.”
The gunner also laughed, “I actually wish there were more enemies to kill!”
The loader chimed in: “Armor-piercing shell, ready!”
“Emergency stop!”
The tank braked hard, causing everyone’s heads to hit the armor. Even with their cushioned tank helmets, Ante Army tankers often suffered bruises after driving for a day.
Xie Liaosha: “Find the nearest target! Take out that 171! Fire!”
The roar of the main gun shook everyone’s ears, and the whole combat room filled with the smell of gunpowder.
The brass shell casing fell onto the floor of the combat room, making a crisp sound.
Through the narrow view of the commander’s periscope, Xie Liaosha saw tank number 171 stop.
At this point, the enemy’s counterattack followed, and everyone in the tank could hear the thud of enemy armor-piercing shells hitting the armor.
Ashka shouted, “They’re really enthusiastic!”
With nothing else to do at the moment, the driver took up the hull machine gun and began to rattlingly sweep the enemy’s skirmish line.
Xie Liaosha: “Load high-explosive shells! I think these enemy tanks don’t need armor-piercing shells. High-explosive shells can also kill surrounding infantry.”
The loader shoved a high-explosive shell into the breach and swung the breech block closed: “High-explosive shell, ready!”
Xie Liaosha: “Turret turn left six degrees, no, make it seven! Fire!”
Although the commander’s viewing port was very small, Xie Liaosha still saw the enemy tank engulfed in flames, Prosen tankers covered in fire escaping from their tank and scattering.
“High-explosive effective! Continue with high-explosive! Keep turning the turret left!”
“High-explosive, ready!”
“Fire!”
————
Shrifen put down his binoculars and eagerly asked his chief of staff, “What kind of tank is this?”
The chief of staff and several staff officers were frantically flipping through the battlefield recognition manuals issued by the headquarters: “Wait a moment, still searching!”
“Useless! Hurry up!”
After scolding the staff, Shrifen picked up his binoculars again.
The tank with tactical number 67 simply sat on the road, calling out the most elite tank crews under Shrifen’s command one by one.
The armor of Prosen tanks was like nothing in front of that big gun tube, one hit, one kill.
On Prosen’s side, the attacks on the enemy were like scratching an itch, producing nothing but sparks and no effect whatsoever.
In an instant, half of the tank platoon had turned into scrap metal, and the situation for the infantry was even worse; there was no cover in the open field, and they were being mercilessly mowed down by enemy machine guns.
Thankfully, the wheat in the field was tall, and the infantry could hide their figures by lying down.
But Major Shrifen couldn’t be happy at all; his armored forces couldn’t just lie down in the grass!
Prosen’s armor advantage, had it all been wiped out just like that?
Why would there be such a tank?
At this moment, the chief of staff finally turned to a tank and shouted, “Found it! It’s a T-34 model! Front armor 60 millimeters!” (In real history, the German army initially always mistook the KV1 for the T34)
Shrifen: “The hell is sixty millimeters?? How could sixty millimeters possibly stop our armor-piercing shells?”
Chief of staff: “Wait a second, there is a note here: This model of tank uses sloped armor, so the effective thickness from a perpendicular shot shouldn’t be considered as 60 millimeters…”
Shrifen got anxious: “Then the hell should we do?”
“There’s no mention of that here. The General Staff Headquarters has no data either…”
Shrifen swore under his breath.
At that time, Major Franz suggested, “Release smoke, cover the remaining tanks as they retreat, and have the infantry engage in close combat.”
Shrifen thought for a moment, then nodded, “That’s all we can do.”
————
Wang Zhong noticed that the other side had begun releasing smoke.
There were only two attacking tanks left; they both started to retreat.
And the enemy infantry, under the cover of smoke, began to approach Tank 67.
I have a mask, so I’m not afraid of smoke, but Xie Liaosha doesn’t.
At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly had an idea. He rode Bucephalus to the front of Boye Mansion, the defensive focus of Yegorov.
“Yegorov! Are any of the enemy’s half-tracks intact?”
Yegorov poked his head out: “There is one, what’s up?”
Wang Zhong: “Get someone to take the flamethrower we captured yesterday, wear the enemy’s cuirass, get on the half-track and follow me!”
Seven minutes later, a half-track was armed. Sitting on it was a sergeant with a flamethrower, two corporals in armor wielding submachine guns, a private manning the front machine gun, and a second lieutenant from the supply company driving.
Wang Zhong was still riding the white horse, but now he had brought a submachine gun and suspended the ammo belt on the saddle, then glanced at this small force.
“Follow me. Where my submachine gun fires, aim the flamethrower there.” After giving brief instructions, Wang Zhong galloped off once more.
Bucephalus was indeed a fine horse. After running back and forth over a couple of kilometers, it had only broken a slight sweat; its stamina was plenty.
It carried Wang Zhong, leading the charge out of the village, and the half-track made a great effort to catch up from behind.
While galloping, Wang Zhong surveyed the terrain; first, he passed through the smoke to reach Tank 67, where he patted the hatch.
Xie Liaosha popped out of the hatch: “The enemy released smoke, they’re cunning!”
Wang Zhong: “You pull back! I’ll lead the infantry upwind to set the fire, let’s burn them all!”
Xie Liaosha laughed: “That’s a good idea!”
In the meantime, the half-track passed through the smoke, and Wang Zhong immediately ordered, “Turn upwind! Follow me!”
He turned his horse around, kicked the horse’s belly, and Bucephalus started to run nimbly and briskly.
Tank 67 was started up and began to back into the still-dispersing smoke, while the half-track followed Wang Zhong towards the upwind direction.
Wang Zhong sped against the wind until he almost reached the advancing enemy skirmishers.
Then he raised his submachine gun and began to spray bullets in a chosen direction. It didn’t matter if he hit anything; the most important thing was to signal the direction.
The half-track caught up, with the machine gunner firing green tracer rounds in the same direction.
The flamethrower operator stood up and began to shoot flames in the direction of the tracer rounds.
Wang Zhong: “Start up, keep it moving! Burn as you go! No need to see the enemy!”
He could already hear enemy screams in the smoke.
Wang Zhong: “Burn them to death!”
————
Major Franz put down his binoculars, unable to bear watching any longer.
Grassland fires spread quickly in the summer, and a wildfire starting from the upwind direction would soon sweep across the entire grassland.
Troops lying in the grass were at risk of being burned to death.
Without waiting for Shrifen’s orders, he commanded his aide-de-camp directly, “Fire signal flares, retreat! And have someone immediately establish firebreaks in the grass, or we’ll be burned too.”
Shrifen: “I am the commander of the combat group!”
Major Franz turned to him, “Then please give the order. If we don’t retreat now, the troops will just become fertilizer for the grassfield in the fire.”
Major Shrifen’s face was stern, and it took a second before he ordered, “Retreat, and create isolation strips in the grass at the same time. Damned enemy, why didn’t they set fire to the grassland yesterday?”
“Perhaps they didn’t have a flamethrower,” said Major Franz. “Such a brilliantly cunning general would not have failed to think of this.”
————
Wang Zhong returned to the entrance of the village, looking at the large fire sweeping across the grassland, and slapped his thigh, “Damn, I should have set a fire in a night raid last night!”
With so many instances of fire warfare and night raids in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, even combined night raids and fire attacks, how could I forget! I failed as a Chinese!
Oh Marquis, oh Marquis, I have let you down!
The others didn’t know what he was thinking and cheered, “Ura!”
“Burn them to death!”
“This is so satisfying!”
“Ura!”
The fluctuating cries of “Ura!” made it seem like the soldiers’ morale was even higher than the flames sweeping across the grassland!