Chapter 201 Defense Line

The first to withdraw were the logistics troops and artillery.

Among them, the artillery troops did not just withdraw, they immediately entered the second line to set up positions and prepare for battle.

After more than ten minutes, an infantry regiment withdrew, an infantry regiment in a car.

This infantry regiment had obviously fought with the British army. When passing the defense line, Qin Chuan looked back at them from the back of the car. Everyone's face was covered with black smoke, their clothes were tattered, and many people were still wrapped in bandages.

From this, it can be seen that the situation of the 15th Armored Division is not too bad, at least they are still retreating in an orderly manner.

As the 15th Armored Division retreated, the battlefield also moved towards the defense line of the 21st Armored Division. British bombers suddenly appeared above the defense line and dropped bombs one after another... The British Air Force obviously discovered the defense line set up by the 21st Armored Division. They were trying to block several passages opened for the 15th Armored Division in the minefield, and at the same time preparing for the next British attack.

Soon, the British artillery also joined the bombing... These artillery should be carried out under the guidance of British reconnaissance aircraft. The bombing point is very accurate. One shell after another exploded in front of the position, and the mines and barbed wire were blown up to the sky in the first time.

In the smoke and fire, German soldiers and vehicles kept breaking through the barrage and escaping back to the defense line... They were the last batch of troops withdrawn from the 15th Armored Division. They should be soldiers from the 15th Armored Regiment and the 16th Infantry Regiment, but no one could tell their numbers because they were mixed together.

They ran frantically in front of the position, turning back from time to time and shooting back, but the bullets fired could not stop the British army's pursuit, because the "General Grant" tank was walking in front of the British team.

Although the "General Grant" tank was an American tank that urgently reinforced the British army, it was much better than the British "Matilda" and "Valentine" tanks.

Its advantages are mainly reflected in mobility and firepower...

In terms of mobility, the maximum speed of 42 kilometers per hour is obviously not comparable to that of "Matilda", and the failure rate is much lower than these infantry tanks.

Its firepower is particularly outstanding, with two cannons plus three machine guns (directional machine guns, coaxial machine guns, and an observable command dome on the commander's position also with a machine gun).

Such firepower is completely an arsenal for dealing with infantry. The machine gun bullets "swoosh" and instantly swept down a large number of German soldiers fleeing in front. The two cannons also made a roar from time to time, blowing up cars and armored vehicles full of soldiers on the ground.

Qin Chuan and the German soldiers staying in the trenches felt very helpless. They could only watch quietly, watching their comrades fall down one by one in front of them or be blown into the sky by shells, and they were powerless.

Soon, there were corpses lying everywhere in front of the position, and some German soldiers raised their hands to the British and chose to surrender... Every army has soldiers who surrender, and the German army is no exception.

This situation improved after the German fighter planes joined the battle.

First, there were fewer bullets and bombs from the air, and then the German artillery opened fire.

Before that, the artillery was worried that it would be hit by the British air force and artillery... The air force is very important for artillery battles in desert battles, because reconnaissance opportunities will immediately discover the enemy artillery positions that are firing and send the coordinates to their own artillery, and even conduct artillery battles. In addition, there are also strafing and bombing by fighter planes. It won’t take long for the side without air superiority to be destroyed by enemy artillery.

This made the German artillery dare not fire until the fighter planes arrived.

A piece of artillery shells were fired, and soon a barrage of bullets was fired between the fleeing Germans and the British tanks that were chasing them.

This barrage destroyed several tanks, and of course it was inevitable that some of their own people were injured by mistake.

But these accidental injuries were completely worth it, because the shells successfully stopped the British tanks from advancing, especially the smoke and dust that caused the machine gunners in the British tanks to temporarily lose their targets.

The German deserters stumbled into the German defense line at this time.

"Quick, here..." Werner waved hard at a German soldier with an injured arm.

Perhaps because of the injury, the German soldier ran very hard, which made him fall behind, and another soldier almost dragged his other hand to run into the trench... Finally they were about to reach the end, and as long as they took another step forward, they could temporarily provide them with a safe trench.

However, at this moment, a string of machine gun bullets flew over...

The two fell heavily into the trench like tree stumps, bloody and stained the trench and the faces of the German soldiers red.

"Fuck you!" Werner cursed while raising the "English Crossbow" and aiming at the British.

Qin Chuan didn't think much and pulled Werner down.

A row of bullets flew past the two men's scalps... Werner was a little out of his mind. He should know that the situation just now showed that the enemy machine gunner's attention was focused on this position, and his action was no different from seeking death.

The sound of the German anti-tank gun soon rang out.

Anti-tank guns and "General Grant" tanks are two extremes... The former has a low gun body and strong concealment, while the latter is tall and is a very obvious target on the battlefield. Because the anti-tank has a strong external perception ability and a long range, it often has a certain advantage over tanks on the battlefield.

After destroying three British tanks, the offensive of the British tanks was further curbed.

But anti-tank guns also have shortcomings. Their disadvantage is that they have no armor protection. The distance of about one kilometer from the enemy is completely within the range of the enemy infantry's mortar fire. So needless to say, another row of shells hit hard... The sound of anti-tank guns immediately became much weaker.

The British tanks were getting closer and closer. The front used mortars and long-range artillery shells to suppress and clear obstacles, and followed by teams of British soldiers.

This team of British soldiers had a lot of combat experience. From time to time, they would lean out from behind the tanks in groups of two or three to shoot... The "Enfield" rifle had a high rate of fire and a large ammunition capacity, so this kind of covering shooting could provide good fire support for the tanks. Coupled with the artillery and machine guns of the "General Grant" tanks, the German soldiers could hardly stick their heads out of the trenches.

It's time for the tanks to take action, Qin Chuan thought to himself. Otherwise, if things go on like this, the British army will fire a large number of 2-inch mortar shells at the German trenches under the cover of tanks, followed by another charge... and the German defense line will collapse.