Chapter 536: Chapter 536: MTY Armored Bridging Vehicle
Erwin noticed the crisis, but he didn’t raise an alarm.
He believed that raising alarm was pointless and would only make soldiers aware that Shire’s tanks could cross the anti-tank trench, causing panic.
Although panic was inevitable, it was better to hold on for as long as they could.
Thus, the battle proceeded in an orderly manner, and soldiers fired at the advancing French Army under command from the front. They hoped to pressure the enemy with a barrage of bullets, but most were blocked by the tanks’ armor, having little effect.
Amidst the dense gunfire, Erwin sat on the steps for a while, then got up and ran to the rear.
He headed to the infantry artillery regiment’s command post where Major Benjamin, a young officer, was in charge.
Due to heavy casualties from the ongoing war, the frontline senior officers were becoming younger and of lower rank.
Before Erwin could speak, Major Benjamin reported first: "Colonel, my artillery unit has suffered heavy casualties and we need support from higher command."
"There won’t be any support, Benjamin," Erwin resolutely and coldly replied: "We can only fight with the equipment and personnel we have until the end. Our goal is to hold out for three days until reinforcements arrive."
"But we only have 12 guns left," Benjamin’s eyes flashed with fear.
What he truly feared was the enemy’s artillery.
The amount of shelling during the artillery preparation just now indicated that the French Army must have at least 10 artillery regiments.
Even if the enemy’s tanks couldn’t cross the anti-tank trench, the German Army’s artillery would be wiped out under the enemy’s bombardment.
Erwin didn’t say much. He took Benjamin along the communication ditch for a while, then they peeked out from the trench, pointing at several positions among the enemy: "See those tanks? And those over here? There too. Order your men to aim at them and prioritize taking them out!"
Erwin was pointing at the tanks carrying steel frames.
"What are those?" Benjamin asked curiously.
"You don’t need to worry about that," Erwin replied. "All you have to do is aim at them and fire. Understand?"
"Understood, Colonel," Benjamin replied, his face pale.
As the artillery commander, he understood this was akin to a death sentence.
The enemy’s artillery was eyeing them intently. Firing would expose their positions.
However, that was exactly what the 77mm gun was meant for: to destroy enemy tanks!
With this in mind, Benjamin steeled himself and led his men to the artillery position to command.
Erwin optimistically maintained confidence in the 77 guns’ counterattack. He noted that the rocket barrage seemed to be massive, with hundreds of rockets hitting the same area at once.
The German Army’s 77mm infantry guns were scattered all over the positions and few in number, making it difficult for the rocket artillery to suppress them.
Even if successful, it would waste lots of enemy ammunition.
However, what happened next surprised Erwin again.
The 77 guns had just fired a few rounds and managed to destroy only two target tanks when a shriek like tearing fabric filled the air.
The rocket artillery shells had split into several groups, each attacking its own target, and the scattered German 77 guns were either blown sky-high or quickly retreated into deeper shelters, never daring to show again.
What was going on?
Erwin furrowed his brows. Those rockets were fired from the high ground on the opposite side. This meant these rocket launchers could also be used as infantry howitzers!
Erwin was right; these were army rocket launchers.
They had been dismantled, moved to the high ground and forests, fortified, and aimed at the German positions.
Aside from their mobility, they were almost identical to vehicle-mounted rocket launchers but with entirely different tactics and organization.
Vehicle-mounted rocket launchers, as Erwin understood, were suited for large-scale bombardment on enemy targets, typically operating in regiments, less so in battalion-level or below.
Army rocket launchers often needed to deal with dispersed infantry guns, machine gun nests, and sometimes small units of raiding infantry.
Thus, they often operated in company-sized units, with 3 to 4 guns per target.
While their accuracy was supplemented by quantity, they divided smaller, more specific targets to increase bombardment efficiency.
At that moment, Erwin realized they were going to lose this battle.
Shire’s new equipment had suppressed the German Army’s most relied-upon artillery, and there were those bizarre "steel frame tanks" likely meant to cross the trenches.
Erwin thought he had made sufficient preparations before the battle, but Shire had prepared even more.
Erwin even felt it was unfair. Why did Shire’s preparations surpass his from start to finish with the same planning?
Thinking about it, Erwin conceded.
Erwin’s preparations were all visible and conventional, like artillery blocking the roads and anti-tank trenches.
They were all old tactics with little innovation, except maybe the anti-tank trench, which was a bit novel.
However, Shire’s preparations were filled with creativity and highly targeted: new rocket launchers to break blockades and steel frame tanks to cross the trenches.
Every step ahead of Erwin, how could he not be defeated?
The situation did indeed unfold as Erwin foresaw.
In Erwin’s helpless gaze, the French Army’s "steel frame tanks" slowed down as they approached the anti-tank trench, then extended their steel frames with the mechanical sound of "clank, clank, clank".
The steel frames stretched longer and soon crossed the anti-tank trench. The support points were lowered, forming an arched steel bridge over the trench.
The entire process took only a few minutes to complete, setting up a bridge strong enough for tanks to pass.
The same occurred repeatedly in front of several anti-tank trenches. The French Army set up over a dozen steel bridges consecutively.
German soldiers in the trenches witnessed this magical scene and immediately realized they couldn’t stop Shire’s troops. They turned pale with fear, and even the gunfire significantly decreased.
Some soldiers turned and shouted to Erwin: "How can we stop them, Colonel?"
Erwin was at a loss for words. How could he stop them?
It seemed the only option left was rifles and bayonets!
...
That was a Soviet-type MTY armored bridging vehicle specially developed by Shire for the armored units.
It was chosen because it was simple, reliable, and easy to operate, with almost no technological content, and could be mass-produced in a short time.
(Most Soviet equipment had these characteristics, although the drawback was that their performance data might be a bit lacking.)
(The picture above shows the Soviet-type MTY armored bridging vehicle)
(The picture above shows the working method of the MTY bridging vehicle. It uses a horizontal push bridge docking method, which is much simpler than the modern scissor-folding bridging method, the drawback being the bridge body is only 18 meters long, but it is sufficient for dealing with World War I-era anti-tank trenches.)
The tanks clattered as they drove onto the steel bridges and smoothly crossed the anti-tank trench, with teams of French soldiers following the tanks closely, approaching the German defense line.
Erwin could only watch powerlessly as this unfolded.