I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 28 On the Right Road

Matthew took out the joystick to start the tractor, and got into the tank to prepare for battle amid the rumbling sound of the engine.

The first generation of tanks were very awkward. The machine gunner was almost at the same level as the driver in front of the tank, and the driver could only see the front through a palm-sized observation hole in his head. This is why some people drove their tanks into trenches and got stuck.

"Boom boom!" The first sound was still the sound of cannons.

What was different from before was that this time it was not only the Sixth Army’s artillery that was firing, the Fifth Army’s artillery was also firing fiercely in the direction of the Germans.

Outside, there were the sounds of artillery fire and inside, there was the rumbling of engines. In addition, because of the thick steel plates, Matthew could not hear any other sounds.

After waiting for a few minutes, Matthew saw the signal flag in front waved through the observation hole... This was a signal given to him by the infantry. They tied the signal flag to a long curved pole so that they could stand on the side and command the tank to stop or move forward.

Matthew stepped on the accelerator and pulled the joystick, and the tank rushed out along the slope with a "rumble".

After driving out of the bunker, Matthew was shocked by what he saw. The front was shrouded in white smoke and dust, and the Marne Bridge was wrapped tightly and only its outline could be vaguely seen.

Is this Ciel's plan?

Matthew cursed inwardly. Did this guy consider the driver's vision in his plan?
If he wasn't familiar with the terrain in this area, he wouldn't even be able to drive the tank onto the bridge!
But Charles was right about one thing, the tank was very safe amid the sound of artillery fire. The shells exploded one after another almost right in front of Matthew, and then gradually extended forward. Matthew carefully controlled the speed to follow the shells. He could even hear the "clinking" sound of gravel hitting the steel plates.

Then, he was surprised to see a tank next to him being blown into a fireball by artillery fire, and it was even still moving slowly.

Matthew suddenly realized that not only the tanks, but also many infantrymen might have been killed by artillery fire, French artillery fire!
Matthew's mind was a mess and his breathing gradually became rapid. He felt like he was sleepwalking on the edge of a cliff and only realized how dangerous it was when he woke up.

Signal flags instructed the tank to stop and move forward, sometimes steadily and sometimes joltingly.

Yves, who was hiding in the front, fired his machine gun. The already turbid air in the tank cabin was filled with smoke and the choking smell of gunpowder, which made it difficult for Matthew to breathe and further blurred his vision.

Vaguely, Matthew saw a Maxim machine gun lying on the trench and several German bodies, and suddenly realized that the tanks had crossed the ditches and even the trenches dug by the Germans.

Matthew was relieved at this time, because it meant that there were no obstacles ahead that could "bind" the tank.

Matthew was familiar with every inch of land here. He knew where the road was, where the hard ground was, where the quagmire was that could trap tanks and make them unable to move, and he could even roughly guess where the enemy's headquarters was.

He felt like a fish escaping into the sea and was free!

In order to verify his idea, Matthew stepped on the accelerator to accelerate, and at the same time turned the steering wheel, and the tank changed direction at a large angle with a "boom".

Machine gunner Yves turned around and looked at Matthew, his eyes full of doubt. He shouted with all his might amid the noise and gunfire: "Are you off track, Matthew?"

"Believe me!" Matthew answered loudly, his tone full of confidence: "We are on the right track now!"

……

Kluck set up his command post between two hills on the north bank, and with him were five M96 77MM field guns that followed.

The reason why the headquarters and artillery were deployed here was due to the French army's advantage in artillery.

Other French weapons may not be good, but the performance of the 75MM field gun is quite excellent... It is equipped with a hydraulic recoil mechanism, and the firing rate can reach an astonishing maximum of 30 rounds per minute.

Ironically, this mechanism was invented by the Germans, but Krupp Company disliked it and refused to use it. The inventor had no choice but to sell the patent to France. With an absolute disadvantage in the number of artillery and firing rate, Kluck could only deploy his headquarters and artillery in the blind spot of enemy artillery fire.

Another advantage of doing this is that the artillery can block the bridgehead, making it impossible for the enemy's "armored monsters" and infantry to pass through the Marne Bridge.

"Artillery ready!" Kluck gave the order, and the well-trained artillerymen immediately loaded the artillery with shells and prepared for firing.

The French artillery was bombarding the bridgehead, and Kluck believed that the "armored monster" that had defeated the First Regiment would soon appear at the bridgehead and blow them up into the sky.

Suddenly, Kluck vaguely saw a dark shadow through the telescope.

The black shadow was not obvious, and it only flashed in the smoke when the flames from the artillery fire were about to disappear.

Kluck was startled, he recognized that it was the French "armored monster". They were not about to cross the bridge, but had already crossed the bridge, under the cover of artillery smoke!
"These bastards!" Kluck turned his head and ordered the artillery: "Fire, fire now!"

"Boom boom!" The artillery fired shells one after another, followed by another batch.

Kluck raised his telescope and looked towards the bridgehead, and realized with horror that it was too late. The "armored monster" had already jumped beyond the marked range of the artillery, and all the shells hit behind them.

"How did they get through the trenches and ditch?" Kluck was puzzled. In the previous battle, these guys clearly couldn't cross the trenches, but now they could walk on flat ground.

No one answered him because no one knew the answer.

The German soldiers guarding the front line were once again scared away by the "armored monster", while the French army, led by the "monster", pierced into the German flank like a sharp knife.

"Aim at those guys!" Kluck ordered the artillery anxiously.

However, it is not easy for field artillery to hit moving targets. They rely more on the number of shells to cover an area in batches.

The enemy's "armored monsters" dispersed after passing the bridgehead, leaving the German army's limited five guns at a loss as to which target to hit.

Kluck, a veteran of many battles, remained calm in the face of danger. After thinking for a while, he issued two orders:

"Guard Battalion, Taniguchi organizes defense!"

"Artillery, concentrate your marks two hundred meters ahead of the valley entrance!"

The mouth of the valley was between two hills, and its narrowest point was only about thirty feet wide. Once the "armored monster" broke into the valley, it would be inevitably covered by artillery fire.

But just as the guard battalion and artillery were ready for battle, a strange "crunching" sound suddenly came from the ridge path behind the side, and then an "armored monster" appeared behind the defense line. It paused for a moment in the astonished eyes of everyone, and then swooped down along the slope of the ridge quickly, and there was a faint cheer of "Yo Ho".

The tank rushed forward while spewing out flames madly, and more than a dozen artillerymen were shot and fell to the ground on the spot.

The other artillerymen ran away. They were unwilling to stay here and wait for death. How could human flesh fight against this "armored monster"?
The guard battalion was frightened by this sudden change and quickly withdrew from the defense line to protect Kluke...

"General!" The commander of the guard battalion suggested: "Retreat, we can't hold this place anymore!"

What he actually meant was: If you don't leave now, you will become the highest-ranking commander in our army to be captured or killed!

(End of this chapter)