Chapter 31: Don't Mention the Matter of Enfeoffment

  The armored division is advancing amidst the rumble of tank engines.

  Lin Xian, who was in command of the tank regiment, seemed a bit complacent and self-satisfied. On the command channel, he kept giving orders to the commanders of various tank battalions, telling them where they had to arrive within several hours, which Australian troops to annihilate within half an hour, and so on.

  Such an armored force was indeed an invincible force in Western Australia at the end of 1934. The armored regiment was like an iron fist, and wherever it went, the Australian army would be defeated. The 18th Brigade, which belonged to the Royal Australian Army's Sixth Division along with the 17th Brigade, set up a defensive line along the railway line, but was breached by the armored regiment like a broken reed. Then, the Australian soldiers of the 18th Brigade received the same treatment as their brother unit, the 17th Brigade: tank fire and machine gun sweeps. The outcome was self-evident.

  "When can the seven tracked tanks that were blown up be repaired? When can your pontoon bridge be set up? Make it more solid, if I walk halfway and fall into the river, I'll make you go down to lift the tank."

  The major of the engineer battalion had a good temper and knew that the regimental commander was in a bad mood. He considered this scolding to be an unexpected disaster, but he didn't talk back. Instead, he stood at attention and saluted, "Reporting to the regimental commander, the damaged tank is being repaired with new tracks, and more than half of the pontoon bridge has been set up. The troops will be able to cross the river in two hours."

  Attitude is not bad, Guo Quanlin also doesn't dare to scold him again, waving his hand to let the lieutenant colonel leave. The engineering troops are still very hardworking and have to take care of logistics and supplies, transporting ammunition, the lieutenant colonel did a good job. But after the battle with the 18th Brigade ended, Guo Quanlin had a belly full of anger, the reason being that in his eyes, the Australian army, like a chicken or a dog, actually brought casualties to the Red Guard for the first time.

  The Australian 18th Brigade was unable to withstand the iron attack of the tank regiment, and their Lee-Enfield rifles were powerless against tanks and armored vehicles. The few old-fashioned artillery pieces they had were also ineffective due to their slow firing rate, and after a few shots, they were destroyed by the concentrated fire of the Type 59 tanks.

  The white soldiers, lacking anti-tank weapons and experience in fighting tanks, came up with an innovative idea - tying together long-handled hand grenades and burying them on both sides of the road. When the tanks moved forward to scan or shell, they would suddenly jump out and pull the pins on the grenades. Although the Australian soldiers were inevitably killed, the bundled grenades could not penetrate the 100mm thick armor of the Type 59 tanks. However, some lucky ones managed to blow up a tank's tracks, immobilizing it and slowing down the movement of other tanks behind it.

  This discovery was like a treasure for the Australians, and other soldiers followed suit, even organizing a daredevil team. But after several successes, the Chinese commander ordered the infantry fighting vehicles to strengthen their protection on both sides of the tanks. The Australian soldiers were often shot dead by machine guns before they could get close to the tanks, and some were blown up along with the grenades in their hands.

  Later, the Australian soldiers came up with another idea - using red wine bottles to create simple incendiary bombs to attack tanks and armored vehicles. However, since the Type 59 tanks used diesel fuel, these simple incendiary bombs had little effect, wasting many Australian lives. But the incendiary bombs created a lot of smoke on the battlefield, causing trouble for the tank drivers - not only did it irritate their eyes, but also blocked their view.

  If it were Zhong Yi on the scene, he would definitely admire these Australian soldiers for being years ahead in inventing the "Molotov cocktail", unfortunately the Type 59 wasn't one of those thin-skinned tanks from the early days of World War II, and the Australians' invention was doomed to be stillborn.

  When the Australian 18th Brigade was completely defeated and no longer saw a single resisting Australian soldier, Guo Lin discovered that the crude cluster hand grenade had actually blown up seven Type 59 tanks' tracks. What's more unfortunate is that an infantry fighting vehicle was blown over into a roadside trench, resulting in four crew members being injured, one killed, and two wounded. This was also the first time Red Alert soldiers appeared to have casualties, Guo Lin was very angry. The Red Alert troops had been relying on their advanced weapons and excellent combat quality of their soldiers since the day they were established, easily winning every battle. But this time, the armored regiment paid a small price for its arrogance and underestimation of the enemy: seven tanks were damaged, one infantry fighting vehicle was scrapped, and one Red Alert soldier was killed.

  In the wireless telecommunication device, Guo Lin reported on the course of the battle with some depression. After listening to it, Zhong Yi did not say much and verbally praised the achievements of the armored division, hoping that the armored division would continue to work hard and capture Perth. At the same time, he also required the troops to carry out an ideological education, abandon the idea of arrogance, and attach importance to every enemy in tactics and strategy.

  The communication device was cut off, and Zhong Yi sat in front of the command platform for a long time without speaking. The Heavenly Bird was also unusually quiet. For the first time, Red Alert soldiers had made sacrifices, not just the nationwide Lin Yu's suffocating fire, but as the highest commander, Zhong Yi thought more about it. In order to realize his ideals, in order to make the Great Han prosperous again, such sacrifices were the first, but absolutely not the last. The enemy would become stronger and stronger, fighting against the backward Australian army could result in minor casualties or even zero casualties, so what about facing the more brutal Japanese army? Facing the old gray-haired Russian army? Or... facing the powerful and well-equipped American army? How many soldiers would bleed and sacrifice? "Don't talk about封侯事, one general's success is a thousand bones dry." Looking at the holographic screen on the command platform that displayed a row of words, Zhong Yi's joy gradually dissipated, leaving only a hint of bitter smile.

  Promotion to Senior Colonel rank mission:

  Task duration: 30 days

  Activation condition: annihilate enemy units at or above regiment level

  Task objective: The base can use funds of up to 5 million

  Mission Success Reward: Commander promoted to Colonel rank, barracks can recruit soldiers to expand to regimental unit, unlock air force command and airport building.

  Penalty for mission failure: Prohibited from promotion within one year

  Mission countdown has begun.