Chapter 72: The Price of Underestimating the 'Tiger'

  When the vanguard tanks of the British Seventh Armoured Division had just crossed the boundary eight hundred meters from the German tanks, these German tanks began to move. The hydraulic drive cannon barrels slightly raised a certain angle, and the turret also had some rotation. These movements were like a real tiger waking up from sleep, lazily lifting its head with deep claws.

  The Zeiss TFZ9b sight of the 88mm tank gun of the German tank, 'seconds' away from aiming at these 'Sherman M4' tanks of the British army that were moving. Almost at the same time, 40 tanks fired shells. These shells rotated forward with extremely high speed through the rifling in the four-point-seven-meter-long barrel.

  The distance of eight hundred meters was almost instantaneous, and the commander of the British tank opposite had no reaction time at all. He felt the entire tank shaking non-stop. Then he saw the metal wall of the tank turn red like a piece of burning charcoal in an instant, and finally burst inward. Next, a large number of shiny metal fragments flew into the interior of the tank, penetrating everything that could block their way forward, including the lives of the British tank crew.

  The 20 British Sherman M4 tanks that were originally moving suddenly hit an invisible wall at the same time. They abruptly changed from a running state to a stopped state, and then they were carried by the inertia of the shells for several meters. This situation is like a car traveling at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour hitting a large engineering vehicle parked on the road, and under the action of the reaction force, the car shattered itself and bounced back several meters. The whole scene looks so unacceptable that it's even a little nauseating.

  It took less than a second from the German tank firing its cannon to the British tank being hit. The tanks behind the British were still trying to figure out what had happened, and it was only then that the explosion of the hit tanks erupted. The power of the 88mm shell was vividly displayed in front of both the British and German armies. Twenty British Sherman M4s were reduced to wreckage.

  Twenty burning Sherman M4s in the middle of this North African desert became towering torches. The scene left the British tankers, who were originally eager to attack German tanks, stunned and staring blankly at the 20 burning Sherman M4 tanks. However, the German tanks seemed unwilling to give them time to admire these torches.

  Less than ten seconds after the previous shooting ended, the second round of shooting by German tanks began. This time it was the British tank of the vanguard brigade following behind the 20 tanks that had just been shot. Although they were 200 meters away from the frontmost tank, the commanders of the German tanks had already calculated the coordinates for the next round of fire during the time the loader loaded the cannonballs, and directly transmitted the accurate coordinates and the angle of elevation to the ears of the gunner.

  When the loader pushed in the shell and closed the breech, the gunner's sighting work was already done, and his hand was again on the trigger of the 88mm gun. At this time, the commander's order to fire came out again. The whole process was as smooth as a cloud, without any delay. However, the German tank commanders, who were instructors, did not even glance at the operations of these German tankers, their eyes fixed on the periscope in the tank. Orders were being issued one after another.

  This round of shelling was even more severe than the previous one, with as many as 27 British Sherman M4 tanks being shot to pieces. All this happened in less than ten seconds after Germany's first round of fire. The speed was so fast that it made the British tankers, who had always been proud of their quick shooting, want to find a crack in the ground to hide in.

  The tank commanders of the British 7th Armoured Division only reacted now, someone screamed loudly over the radio "88mm tank gun!"

  The British tankers who didn't know the situation very well were suddenly frightened. Not for anything else, but because of this "88mm tank gun".

  Even during the French campaign, British and French tanks were not inferior to German tanks. At that time, the standard anti-tank guns of both sides had small calibers, Germany's was 37mm, while Britain used a 2-pound (caliber about 40mm) gun. Moreover, based on the view that the targets of tank guns and infantry anti-tank guns are consistent - both are to hit tanks - the main battle tanks of both sides also adopted small-caliber guns.

  In May 1940, Rommel's 7th Panzer Division advanced rapidly from Belgium to Dunkirk, encountering a British counterattack along the way. Faced with the British heavy tanks, the German 37mm anti-tank guns were powerless. At the critical moment, a battery of 88mm high-altitude guns lowered their barrels and opened fire on the British, destroying nine tanks in an instant and forcing the British to retreat. This battle left a deep impression on Rommel. From then on, the 88mm high-altitude gun became his trusted anti-tank trump card.

  In February 1941, Rommel led the Afrika Korps to the North African battlefield. Compared with the opposing British army, Rommel's tanks were not superior in either quality or quantity. However, this disadvantage gave the 88mm high cannon an opportunity to shine. In June's 'Salam' battle, the British launched an attack on the German-occupied 'Halfaya Pass' with nearly 240 tanks. When the British tanks approached the German position, suddenly, from pre-dug and cleverly camouflaged fortifications, the 88mm high cannon roared. The British were caught off guard and retreated in disarray. In this battle, the British lost 123 tank wrecks, two-thirds of which were due to the 88mm high cannon.

  Generally speaking, anti-tank guns are a passive defensive weapon, the usual method of use is to pre-arrange them in places where enemy tanks may pass through, waiting for the enemy to come. But Rommel gradually explored a set of methods to use high-explosive howitzers as an active attacking weapon. He first disguised and arranged several units of high-explosive howitzers, then ordered a small team of German tanks to launch an attack on the British position, when the British sent out tanks to counterattack, this team of German tanks retreated while fighting, gradually luring the British tanks into the ambush area.

  As soon as the 88mm gun spoke, the British tank was doomed. The 22-pound armor-piercing shell could punch a four-inch hole in the front armor of a British heavy tank at a distance of nearly two kilometers, but the Germans usually waited until they entered within one kilometer before opening fire. At this time, the 88mm armor-piercing projectile flew from the muzzle to the target in just over a second, and the British tank had no chance to react, let alone counterattack.

  A captured British tankman despondently said "The 88mm high gun doesn't look impressive, but we have nothing that is its match."

  "But a captured senior British officer complained inexplicably, 'This is too unfair! How can you use anti-aircraft guns to shoot tanks?'"

  It must be said that Rommel was indeed highly gifted in the flexible use of the weapons at hand. But they were all dead. They could only be used as passive defensive measures, and now this big gun was mounted on a tank. This tank was the soon-to-be-famous "Tiger" tank. Although this tank was still being looked down upon by Rommel and the British army at the same time.

  The commander of the British Seventh Armored Division, 'Brian', was a believer. But that was only a reverence for the vague God in his heart, not some old superstition that believed in all kinds of monsters and ghosts. 'Brian' was also a university-educated major general with a very high education background. If someone told him that the German No. 4 tank fired two shells within 10 seconds, each hitting the target, and they were two targets 200 meters apart, he would not believe it, absolutely not believe it.

  If his superior told him this, he would probably tell his superior in a roundabout way that it was impossible for this to happen, and that such a tank did not exist in the world. If this were reported by his subordinate, 'Brian' might slap that subordinate with a loud slap. Scold that subordinate severely.

  But today he saw it with his own eyes, these 'fourth' tanks were knocked down by two consecutive shots of their own dozens of tanks. And it was a shot without missing. 'Brian' couldn't help but rub his eyes, hoping that his eyes were blurred and hadn't really seen clearly, but had an illusion. 'Brian' rubbed his eyes with one hand and muttered in his mouth "Illusion, must be an illusion, I'm not afraid, you can't scare me." But the cruel fact was right in front of 'Brian'.

  Dozens of vanguard brigade tanks still embodied the high-quality spirit of "one strike, every strike must be accurate" Langson lighter, burning fiercely like a torch. What terrified the British army most was that among the hit Sherman M4 tanks, not a single tank soldier crawled out of the tank, as if they had all turned into flames with their vehicles.

  "Disperse, conceal, attack, retreat." Several inverted and incomprehensible commands were shouted out by 'Brian'. To be honest, 'Brian' is now a bit crazy. It's all the effect of the German army's two rounds of artillery fire stimulation.

  The tank crews of the British 7th Armoured Division were confused by these orders, wondering "What's wrong with the commander? Are we supposed to hide, attack or retreat?" Some 'Sherman M4' tanks stopped their advance and began to move in S-shaped routes to avoid the German artillery fire. Others simply reversed gear and retreated. Still others continued to advance towards the German lines, firing shells at German tanks in the chaos.

  The entire 7th British Armoured Division was in a state of utter confusion, with vehicles crashing into each other, rear-ending and stalling all over the place. The whole tank force was a scene of complete chaos. It wasn't just the tanks that were unlucky, but also the armoured cars following them which became targets for those German tanks.

  Dozens of Sherman M4s in the vanguard were set ablaze, their smoke obscuring the targets for the following tanks. The German Tigers had targeted some rear units, and a third salvo landed on these rear tanks and armored vehicles, as well as supply trucks. The Sherman M4's theoretical 100mm armor equivalent was no match for the German 88mm tank gun, let alone these vehicles with only a few millimeters of armor.