There are many forests on the Lorraine Plateau, and the air force of the Fuxing Army has not arrived yet. It only relies on the words of the French who were stationed in the trench on the front line. This is of no help in a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the German defense system. Both Britain and France have sent their own armored forces to assault the German defense line and have the best understanding of the situation. By analogy, the German defense line east of San Dizzier has also been set up with more than 20 kilometers of three-layer defense fortifications. Before the wolf and jackal chariots were improved and upgraded, it was very difficult to fight against such a deep defense line, but now after comprehensive upgrades and improvements, it is not a problem to deal with this defense line with only 20 kilometers in depth.

"The Germans have thought of many ways." Wang Shiqian nodded and said, "And according to the French's reconnaissance, in some important areas, the defense is not only three layers, but five layers. The one with the largest depth is likely to exceed fifty kilometers."

This time Li Mengpei was finally surprised and said, "It is rare for the Germans to know the tiered defense tactics?"

"He is not a ladder defense. The German army is just worried that after the chariot breaks through, the ; + defense line behind it will collapse, so there are so many layers of defense. In fact, this is still the idea of ​​the chariot helping the infantry break the trench wire mesh system, not the idea of ​​armored assault. Even if there are five layers of linear defense, it is difficult to stop armored assault because it cannot concentrate its strength. This is still the problem of the German army's thinking about the use of combat vehicles." Wang Shiqian said: "We don't care about how many layers of defense the German army has. In short, these defenses are not terrible to us. What is really terrible is actually the tactics of combat vehicles.

The British Mark type had only a thickness of five to ten millimeters. The tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets fired by German rifles often penetrated them. The improved front armor thickened to 14 or 16 millimeters, and the situation improved greatly. However, the British heard that the German army was producing and equipped with an anti-chariot rifle with a caliber of 13mm. The bullets were also tungsten-core, and they did not know how the killing effect was. Our front armor was 20 millimeters thick. Whether this anti-chariot rifle could penetrate, because the sample gun was not seized, it is not yet known;

In addition to anti-chariot rifles, it is also difficult to observe the internal crew of the chariot. British and French tanks were initially made of periscopes made of ordinary glass. The mirror was shattered by German snipers as soon as they came on the field, and later it became a direct opening. However, for bullet protection, many fine slits were specially opened. Unexpectedly, although the bullet could not come in, the lead liquid splashed after the bullet hit the observation, as well as other gaps in the car, could still splash into the car and damage people. So now their crew members are wearing an iron mask. The purpose is to prevent the splashed lead liquid from hurting people. They are strongly suggesting that our people also do such protection and are willing to provide such masks..."

When Wang Shiqian talked about this, Li Mengpei suddenly felt it was funny. During the first batch of tank exercises, the chariot periscope also encountered this problem. Even the rubber bullet could break the glass. Therefore, when the improvement was improved, ordinary glass was replaced with tempered glass, but the effect was still not good. Finally, laminated glass was used and a wide-angle mirror was used to narrow the observation seam. The problem was roughly solved. It is said that this new type of laminated glass was invented by a French chemist a few years ago. He also applied for a patent. Chinese tanks used laminated glass invented by the French, while French tanks were wearing masks to observe the fine seam. It was really big in the world and everything was strange.

"...The Germans often use trench mortars to attack British and French combat chariots, especially when they enter the range of mortars, and the chariots become extremely dangerous; but compared with mortars, the German-made m1896 77 field cannon is the biggest threat to the chariot. This cannon has 27 times the diameter, the shell is 465 meters in initial velocity, and the shell weighs 6.85 kilograms," Wang Shiqian carries out the data of this artillery and says helplessly: "No matter how thick the armor of the chariot is, this cannon can always be destroyed with one blow. According to the British frontline report last month, the Germans have specially drawn some 77 guns from the artillery sequence to the frontline to form a special mobile anti-war chariot troops. This type of mobile force uses steel pointed armor-piercing shells. It is said that they never untie horses from the cannons. They only fire two guns and change places. The British army said they were very, very difficult to deal with."

"Is that all?" Li Mengpei felt nervous when he heard the 77 field cannon anti-tank team. Nearly seven kilograms of shells, whether they were jackal-like or wolf-like, would die as long as they encountered them. The armored division also had anti-chariot troops, but the caliber of the anti-chariot gun was only 37mm. The Germans were better, but it was 77mm from the beginning.

"There are cluster grenades of anti-war trenches and infantrymen." Wang Shiqian said, "These are not problems. The British said that the width of the anti-war trenches of the German army has been increased to 3.66 meters. Except for our chariots that can rush over, no other chariots cannot pass through. But he has a good idea, that is, to carry a large amount of dry firewood on the chariot and throw it down before the trenches, so that the chariot can press over the firewood."

When he heard that even firewood was used, Li Mengpei wanted to laugh but couldn't. The wider trenches of chariots were indeed a problem, but it was impossible to solve this problem with such a simple method, and the wisdom of the British was not lost. He was still thinking about the 77 anti-chariot field artillery, so he asked: "Commander, did the UK not think of using planes to suppress the German anti-chariot mobile team?"

"I asked this question. The British said that before the war they would send planes to reconnaissance. Not only were they fighters but also bombers, there was a 20-pound and nine-kilogram bomb called Cooper, which was to eliminate the German anti-chariot artillery team. However, before the war, the German artillery was very hidden and they were difficult to detect. During the war, the two sides fought in battle. For safety, the bombers could only withdraw from the battle. So..." Wang Shiqian said. This time he talked to the British and French friendly forces, and he had basically finished the questions he had to ask, and he asked very detailed questions. "In addition, the German army has begun to build anti-chariot bunkers. If he really lost his air superiority, the Germans could transport the anti-chariot 77 guns into the anti-chariot bunkers.

I haven't seen such a bunker, and I don't know if the wolf-style 57mm can penetrate it. Fortunately, I didn't make a fool of myself when I chose the cannon last time. I used a thirty-distance field cannon instead of a fourteen-distance mountain cannon. It's a lot heavier, and the requirements for turrets are high, but the lethality is much stronger. If the 57mm main cannon cannot deal with anti-chariot bunkers, then I can only rely on self-propelled artillery. The Germans would not have expected our armored division to be equipped with self-propelled artillery brigades."

Wang Shiqian said that the Germans could not have thought of it. Unconsciously, he thought of Zhou Sixu's and others' ideas. This was simply because the little one sold his land and didn't feel sorry for him. The armored master was tortured by them like this. I don't know how miserable the losses would be. He knew why he did this, but he couldn't accept it...

With a pain in his heart, Wang Shiqian took out a cigarette. When he didn't want to light the lighter, he couldn't use the lighter. Li Mengpei next to him took it and then called it, but he just took it. He took a sip of the cigarette and laughed at himself: "It's really out of date. This new thing really doesn't work."

Li Mengpei didn't care about lighters. He vaguely believed that the purpose of the General Office of the General Office of the United Nations was to prevent major damage to the German army. He did not expect that the German army's ability to accept new weapons and new tactics was always fast, and the officers were almost all tactical experts. They would spend their time studying anything new, and then quickly learn from and think of countermeasures. The five-layer defense system and anti-chariot tactics in front of him are the embodiment of this spirit. Originally, the stronger the opponent, the more interesting the battle was. But the General Office of the United States actually arranged this way, so how should the armored division fight in the future? You must know that although there was no dive bomber cooperation, the armored division was not the British and French chariot army. Once it attacked, it would go straight to the lifeline of the German army.

After taking a few puffs of cigarettes, Major General Wang Shiqian calmed down a lot. He said again: "Fuler, the British chariot officer, has a few brushes. I am not saying that he has tactical knowledge. Instead, he can see that the most deadly weak part of the German army is the transportation line and the headquarters between the front and rear, which is a bit amazing. His idea is to first use 1,700 heavy chariots to break the German frontier defense, smash the resistance, and attract the German troops on both wings to reinforce here; then, the four hundred medium-sized chariots on the left and right sides were prepared in advance to attack the two wings that were weakened by the reinforcements, assaulted to the depth of 400 kilometers of the enemy, and then turn to the middle. The two armored forces closed like iron pliers, cut off the German rear headquarters, the corps station and the front line area, and surrounded the German troops in this area."

Wang Shiqian said this. To Li Mengpei, this is the trick he used to deal with the Russians, but there are some differences in details. However, the defense of the Russian army was not as thick as that of the German army now. At that time, the Russian army's trenches were as thin as paper. So he praised: "It seems that this person would be appointed as the chief of staff of the armored army, and he did have a few tricks."

"It's not just two tricks," Wang Shiqian shook his head, "The German army encircled and annihilated in this area is just a hole he opened on the entire defense line. While encircled and annihilated in this area, he also had 1,200 medium-sized combat vehicles in the rear to form a pursuit force. They will rush into the strategic rear of the German army through this opened gap, paralyze its strategic command network, and then disperse, destroy the entire Western Front defense and finally attack Germany in one fell swoop.

The work was large, with 1,700 heavy chariots and 2,000 medium-sized chariots, which was scary to think about. But after all, he was just a staff officer, which was equivalent to the decisive battle plan of the entire Western Front, and the resources mobilized were extremely large. Not to mention whether the British Expeditionary Force headquarters would listen to him, even if the British agreed, the French might not agree. In addition, the British had heavy chariots, and it was enough to open a front of 150 kilometers wide, but they did not have medium-sized chariots that were good at chasing and easy to maneuver, nor did the French.

The British racing chariots had only machine guns and no cannons, while the French Renault, although they had guns, had short legs and could only travel thirty-five kilometers at a time. And although these two chariots were improved, the mechanical system was still unstable. Just like before, they had to be overhauled in less than a hundred kilometers, so they tried every means to look at our wolf style. He hoped that our wolf style would be the medium-sized chariot in the plan and kill the Germans all the time."

"It's actually like this..." Li Mengpei suddenly realized at this time, but he said, "Two thousand medium-sized chariots, the wolf-style is less than one thousand vehicles even in China."

"So he hopes that Britain, France and the United States will be equipped with some, and then all countries will gather 2,000 vehicles to fight to Germany, and everyone will have their military achievements at that time." Wang Shiqian put out the cigarette, "He thought it was very good, but he didn't even think about forming a coalition headquarters. He was preparing for joint combat between armored forces of various countries."

"Then we... and the above..." Li Mengpei said, some things are really hard to say.

"No matter how the above is disassembled, we will make our plan first. What heavy medium-sized? The wolf type is enough to break through these levels of defense of the German army. The problem now is that we only have two armored divisions, 450 taels. Assuming the loss due to splitting..., the loss of the tank is not enough. Even if we lose eight...sixty groups and a cyclic artillery regiment, how should we fight in the next battle?" Speaking of the loss, Wang Shiqian's face was twitching in pain, but he still said an estimated loss number.

Li Mengpei pretended not to see the commander's pain, and said with a side face: "If this is the case..., then we should attack Metz along the Moselle Valley. This road is wider than the Shams Passage, and chariots and self-propelled artillery are conducive to the deployment. At the same time, the Moselle River is originally a canal. No matter how the German army destroys the railway, as long as there are ships, our supplies can still be transported along the Moselle Canal to the Rhine.

The German army has reserved troops in China. As long as we attack quickly, occupying Metz is equivalent to occupying Luxembourg. There are two directions here. One is to go west, detour to the rear of the German army, occupy an important railway hub, cut off supplies, and shock the German army. At this time, the British and French forces attack again, and the German army will collapse on the whole line; the other direction is to attack Mainz in the northeast, which is already on the banks of the Rhine River. If this place is lost, it means that all the southwestern German areas are falling. We can even attack Berlin along the railway!"

"You are the 17th combat plan of former French commander Xia Fei." The British were a big deal and their subordinates were not small, but Wang Shiqian had no objection.

"Yes, I have seen Xiafei's plan No. 17. My opinion is that the most important thing for the armored division's attack is roads and logistics. As for defense, as long as it is fast enough to break its meridians before the enemy reacts, it will not hurt even if the fist falls on it. Therefore, the attack route should not be chosen for Shams Pass but for the Moselle Valley. This road is not only wide, but also a canal. The railway is easy to destroy. The Germans cannot even destroy the canal. This is a natural river." Li Mengpei said.

"How many days will you do to bomb Mez fortress group? We don't have dive bombers now. Even if there are, his bombs can't defend against the fortress. From Qingdao's perspective, the German man-made fortress is not the scorching sun in Belgium," Wang Shiqian nodded, which recognized Li Mengpei's choice of offensive route. After all, one side is Mez fortress and the other side is Strasbourg fortress. Anyway, the fortress cannot be avoided, so winning the fortress is the key to the attack.

"The commander still remembers that when he was fighting Taiwan, facing the Penghu Magong Fortress, which was still stationed by the Japanese army, the Air Force made a strong attack plan to spray poison gas through the plane and then parachuted from the plane? I think that plan can be used at the Metz Fortress.

The battle should be initiated in the evening, with the plane throwing poisonous gas bombs above the entire fortress, and then at dawn, the plane will use the plane to send the infantry into the fortress with parachutes. Generally speaking, the fortress is full of fortress artillery, and even if there are guard troops, there will not be many. As long as one thousand elite infantry infiltrates, it will inevitably cause great chaos inside.

While the troops parachute down to the fortress, the armored division also began to launch. It was less than 60 kilometers from Nancy to Metz, and it was only more than 20 kilometers from German frontier positions to Metz. The armored assault forces did not entangle with the German troops on the defense line. If they advanced at full speed, they could reach the city of Metz in less than two hours. At this time, taking advantage of the chaos inside the fortress, our army attacked inside and outside, and we could occupy Metz in one fell swoop. This is actually the reason why I chose the Moselle Valley. Although Strasbourg's defense was even more relaxed, it was too far from the German frontier positions. Even if we broke through the German defense line, we could not attack inside and outside the fortress." (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!