Chapter 58: The Depressed Armored Corps

  It's strange to say that the goal of these perverted German instructors is actually all about beating up 'Sherman M4' tanks. This also verifies the saying, a big tree attracts wind, and great wealth attracts thieves.

  The British, still exhilarated from their narrow escape from the German attack, were suddenly confronted by another German panzer unit on the other side. The original route of the British troops was supposed to be to the right of the 15th Panzer Division. However, they were ambushed by the "Panther" tanks of the 15th Panzer Division and forced to turn left in a desperate bid to escape. As they fled, they inadvertently stumbled into the firing range of the "Panther" tanks of the 21st Panzer Division on their right flank.

  The "Leopard" tank commanders of the 21st Division of the German army originally didn't plan to bother with the British tanks that were out of range, and instead focused on rushing along the road. But the British themselves came right up to their doorstep. These instructor-level tank commanders took a look.

  "Wow, you've come to life! You didn't go looking for trouble, but it's been delivered right to your doorstep. If we don't fire a couple of shots, how can we take care of our students in the future?"

  In this way, the "Leopard" tanks of the 21st Division of the German army also opened fire. It's strange that the British troops ran too fast and didn't see that there was a group of German giants holding bricks on this side waiting for them.

  At that time, the British army was beaten to cry and fall, and the tiles on this side were more ruthless than the other side just now. A burst of artillery fire actually knocked down more than 40 "Sherman M4s". The British army was immediately beaten dizzy, and hurriedly changed direction and drove in another direction. The "Leopard" on the other side would not be polite either, and another chaotic shooting sent the British army back again.

  The British army was like a ping-pong ball, being hit back and forth by the German "Leopard" tanks on both sides, but every time it fell, dozens of British tanks were burned to ashes.

  It wasn't until the German Panther tanks were completely out of range of the anti-tank guns that this thrilling contest came to an end. The four Panzer IVs behind the two armored divisions did not go after the remaining British 10th Armoured Division tank troops, who were already extremely exhausted, due to their distance and urgent tasks.

  But the commander of the British 10th Armoured Division, 'Alexander', was the one who finally breathed a sigh of relief, only to soon face the piles of burning tank wrecks and be left speechless. The British 10th Armoured Division, with its 260 tanks and over 100 armoured troop carriers, had been rendered useless by the previous battle.

  Almost 100 'Sherman M4' were destroyed by the ruthless and cunning Germans, not a single one was left. The 'Matilda 2' tank, known as the "iron husband" of tanks, was also destroyed due to the German tank commanders being bored after finishing off the 'Sherman M4', and more than 40 were destroyed in passing. The old 'Matilda 1' tank was completely wiped out, all of them were destroyed.

  What made this commander cry and laugh at the same time was that none of the 35 French "Char B1" tanks were hit. Not even a single coat of paint was scratched off. However, 'Alexander' would rather face five ordinary Matilda II tanks than these 35 French Char B1 tanks.

  To be honest, French tanks are as different from their cuisine as can be. The French invest more in improving bread-making methods than in improving tanks. That's why French bread is famous worldwide, while French tanks are not even respected by French soldiers themselves.

  It wasn't just the German army that didn't fight with these 'Tiger I' tanks. The commanders of those proud 'Panther' tanks also looked down on these 'Tiger I' tanks, in their eyes, the 'Tiger I' tank was simply "the trash of tanks, the tank of trash".

  Ugly appearance aside, it constantly emits black smoke, its profile is too low and short, making it very difficult to shoot. It's so unimpressive that even the German army's instructor-level tank commanders can't muster up any interest in it.

  Having a good one is certainly not eating a bad one. The good-looking Sherman M4 tank was destroyed as the original sin.

  Of course, if these German Panther commanders were given a little more time, they would reluctantly pinch their noses and get rid of these Karl 1 tanks. However, this was just a shooting lesson during the march, and the German instructors didn't think it was a big deal to knock out these British tanks.

  All of the 'Leopards' had their turrets turned sideways towards the British, with their gun barrels elevated to maximum angle.

  Anyway, the result of 0 vs 220 made the commander-in-chief of the British Tenth Armored Division 'Alexander' cry miserably. To be honest, there were more than 1100 tanks in the North African British army. In the past, the tactics of the British tank were all for covering infantry, and the use of tanks was quite scattered, which made Rommel this old fox repeatedly find a loophole.

  Things are different now, under Montgomery's command, the tanks have been hit and formed into three large armored groups, namely the British 1st Armoured Division, 7th Armoured Division and 10th Armoured Division.

  The first brigade consisted of 300 tanks, comprising 180 Sherman M4 and 120 Matilda II tanks. The personnel were also the cream of the crop from various units. The brigade commander was none other than Raymond Briggs, a well-connected major general.

  The Seventh Division was the household troops of M?nke, and M?nke attached great importance to the direct division. He directly stuffed 340 tanks into the Seventh Division, all of which were the latest improved Sherman M4 tanks. These were all brand new tanks that had just arrived from the United States, with significant improvements in weight and range, and all engines were equipped with steel armor, greatly improving the safety of tank crew members.

  The tank gun with a 53-fold diameter cannon also gave these 'Sherman M4' a longer range, and the mobility of the improved tank was greatly enhanced. The turret rotated 360 degrees in just 10 seconds, and the barrel was also equipped with a newly developed recoil brake.

  The recoil mechanism is a good thing, because the shell accelerates to 1000 meters per second at high speed when the propellant burns. This high speed brings the reaction force received by the barrel, and this reaction force varies in size depending on the diameter of the projectile being fired.

  Like the 75mm howitzer on the US M4 Sherman tank, when firing a shell, the tank would be subjected to tens of tons of recoil. If the tank was moving at the time, firing a shot would be like suddenly receiving a push of tens of tons, and the gearbox's gears would directly apply this force to the engine. The damage to the engine would be fatal.

  Now, with the installation of a recoil brake, the energy of the propellant gases is reduced during firing, reducing the impact on the rear part of the gun and the force exerted on the carriage.

  This device can generally reduce the recoil by half, so when the tank is moving and firing shells, the damage to the engine is greatly reduced. This allows the tank to have the ability to move and shoot at the same time.

  After installing this thing, the shock wave, airflow, and flame and dust at the muzzle are increased when shooting, affecting the shooting accuracy and observation aiming. The higher the efficiency of the recoil reducer, the greater the unfavorable factors. From this aspect, it also proves that things have two sides and cannot be perfect.

  The third armored group of the British army was the 10th Armored Division, known as 'Alexander'. To be honest, among the three armored divisions, the tanks of the 10th division were the worst. The large number of old Matilda I tanks made Alexander very dissatisfied. Later, he was forced to accept 35 French Renault R-35 tanks left in Egypt by Montgomery.

  These 'Char 1' tanks are really not worth mentioning, even the 'Alexandre' doesn't want to receive them, but he has no say in this matter. The affair involves a question of prestige for England and the French de Gaulle government-in-exile.

  The British had already sunk the French fleet in port, which was enough to give Churchill a headache; if they also got into an unpleasantness with de Gaulle over these tanks, it would be even more difficult. So these 'Char 1' tanks were assigned as a political task to General Alexander. As compensation, however, another 100 Sherman M4 tanks were added for the Tenth Brigade, and Alexander felt slightly more balanced.

  Three British armoured divisions accounted for more than 80% of the number of tanks in North Africa. The remaining 200 tanks were all equipped with some independent brigades or corps, divisional troops, and some important areas also needed tank support. Therefore, the British army could concentrate on these three armored divisions.

  And now the tenth brigade of 'Alexander' tanks was, dead before they even got a chance to fight. They were tragically being batted back and forth like ping-pong balls by two German forces, while the British tanks didn't even get a chance to fire a shot before turning into torches. All this couldn't help but make 'Alexander' feel an overwhelming sense of sadness.

  What's even more frustrating for Alexander is that the command center of the Ahleman group army lost contact from last night, and most of the tanks under his command are basically done for. Wanting to retreat, the Germans on both sides just passed by, they were lucky enough not to have launched their final attack on themselves.

  If we retreat and are discovered by the Germans, who will be unhappy and kill us with a counterattack, that would be disastrous. Just now when our tanks were still around, they couldn't stop the German advance; now that our tanks are gone, what can we do but go to our deaths?

  Actually, there are still many people in the 10th Division of the British Army now. Those more than 100 armored infantry fighting vehicles were basically not hit by a few vehicles, and the infantry inside were all alive. However, relying solely on these infantry to attack those German tank clusters armed to the teeth would be something that 'Alexander' would never do even if he was scared to death.

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  Two more chapters are uploaded. Additionally, I will be making some revisions to previously written chapters as the original drafts were not edited before being published, which was indeed a bit reckless. To ensure quality, I will be revising previous plotlines and stories one by one. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. However, two chapters will still be uploaded daily on schedule, so please check the title before clicking to avoid unnecessary clicks. Thank you.