I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 765: They installed a telephone in the tank
The most unsettling thing for Manstein was that the French Army fought with great discipline.
When the tanks weren’t under enemy fire, the French infantry would always enter the houses on both sides ahead of the tanks to conduct search and combat.
They would throw two grenades through the doors or windows, and after the explosion, they would rush into the buildings with submachine guns and shotguns to clear them.
Under this assault of submachine guns and grenades from the French Army, the German Army soldiers lurking inside the buildings couldn’t be said to be easy targets, but often only a few gunshots or explosions were heard before the fight was over.
The tanks continued to carefully advance, sometimes stopping to adjust the tank cannon to fire at a window, causing the German Army soldiers hiding there to cry out in despair.
Perfect infantry-tank coordination, Manstein marveled, the infantry covering the tanks, and tanks covering the infantry.
What shocked Manstein even more was that the French infantry and tanks could maintain such a synchronized pace.
He couldn’t imagine how the French managed to advance two types of units like a single, orderly entity. The tanks would fire precisely at the targeted buildings.
(Note: At this time, Manstein hadn’t yet discovered the "Shire B1" phones installed at the rear.)
The tanks continued forward, and not far ahead, around the corner, was Manstein’s first defense line.
Manstein had carefully chosen to set up the defense line at the corner.
He knew that when tanks turned the corner on the street, they would have to slow down, and the tank crew would have difficulty seeing the enemy through the viewing slits.
This is when the German anti-tank guns could confidently engage their targets.
Manstein had deployed ten anti-tank guns on the main street known as "Mali."
Four guns were set up in the middle of the street, forming two sandbag defense lines with an infantry company for support.
Another six guns were hidden in the buildings on both sides, with necessary modifications made to the structures so the guns could cover the corner from elevated positions.
Once a French tank was destroyed at the corner, it would easily cause a blockade, completely stopping the French Army on the other side.
However, the French Army’s response was more agile than Manstein had imagined, surprising and even terrifying him.
The French soldiers who had advanced beyond the tanks were the first to observe the "danger" after the corner.
As soon as they exposed themselves, the German weapons unleashed a barrage of fire at them.
The French soldiers didn’t force their way through; they professionally stopped, organized their personnel, and dragged back two wounded soldiers.
A captain shouted to the rear, "Danger at the corner, three o’clock direction, 100 meters!"
"Three o’clock direction, 100 meters!"
"Three o’clock direction, 100 meters!"
...
Manstein was shocked to see the tank turrets had been pre-adjusted to the angle corresponding to the captain’s reported distance and direction.
Next, two tanks slowed down, advanced to the corner, and stopped just as their turrets emerged. The tank guns adjusted slightly.
"Boom, boom!"
The German sandbag fortifications were instantly blown into chaos, bodies and sand hurled into the air with screams of agony by the shockwave before falling back down.
The German anti-tank guns attempted to counterattack, but the tanks revealed too little of themselves and were at a slanting angle. The few shells fired were either blocked by buildings or missed their targets; one almost hit but bounced off, causing little damage to the tanks.
"What the hell?" The French Army’s coordination sent shivers down Manstein’s spine. "Why can their tanks respond so quickly and perfectly to the infantry?"
Although Manstein wasn’t a tank soldier, he knew the difficulties of tank warfare from training during this period.
Tank crews, secluded inside thick armor, had poor external sensory capabilities, making coordination with infantry difficult.
Take the current situation, for example.
How could the infantry convey accurate information to the enclosed tanks, letting the tank crews know there was danger around the corner, and even pre-adjust the tank guns’ angle and distance based on the threat ahead of time?
It’s unbelievable; it’s as if they can talk to each other!
The staff officer beside him couldn’t answer this question either; he could only stare at the battlefield, watching again and again, but couldn’t identify the reason.
"Boom, boom!"
"Boom!"
...
For the next few minutes, the French Army did nothing. The infantry didn’t advance, and the tanks didn’t move.
They simply used the emerging tank turrets and frontal armor to endure German firepower, continuously firing from their 37mm cannons at the German defense lines.
The German firepower was fully unleashed, rifles and machine guns rattling like popping beans, with quite a few K rounds used.
However, they felt like mere scratches against the French Army’s new tanks, producing sparks with a "clang, clang" sound.
They did manage to injure some French soldiers.
Due to the dense bullet fire, some bullets rebound at weird angles, hitting French soldiers hiding behind buildings on the other side of the corner.
One French soldier wounded in the leg cursed loudly, "These bastards, even firing blind, they managed to hit me!"
Many anti-tank shells hit the tanks, but none could effectively penetrate them.
The French tank’s firepower was different.
Every shell they fired created a bloodbath on the German defense line.
The tank on the right, feeling unsatisfied with its shots, continued forward, straightened its vehicle, and aimed its 75mm gun at the German defenses.
"Boom, boom! Boom!"
The 75mm gun’s power and firing rate were unbearable for the sandbag fortifications.
In the smoke and storm-like bombardment, it didn’t take long before the German defense line was full of blown-apart sandbags, overturned Maxim machine guns, and shattered anti-tank guns.
On the street, leaking sand mingled with bodies and limbs, appearing like unevenly mixed fertilizer, in shades of red, black, and green.
At this point, the French infantry once again advanced, taking buildings along both sides.
The German anti-tank guns positioned in the buildings continued firing.
A shell struck the tank’s front armor, bright flames and thick smoke instantly rising.
But nothing happened, the tank’s metal shell creating a large dent under the powerful impact, likely causing sonic shock to the crew inside, making their response sluggish.
However, another tank quickly identified the anti-tank gun’s position.
The 75mm gun adjusted slightly, "boom boom," two successive shells exploding the hidden target on the third floor, along with the concrete walls.
Instantly, body fragments and concrete shards scattered like the heavenly maiden scattering flowers from above. A deformed anti-tank gun barrel fell, making a "clang clang" sound as it jumped on the ground.
Observing the battlefield from the church, Manstein finally saw it clearly. Unbelievably, he removed the binoculars, then quickly raised them to examine again, exclaiming, "It’s a phone! These bastards, they put phones in the tanks. Shire actually installed phones in the tanks!"
