Another problem encountered by American fighter planes is communication problems. In fact, not only American aircraft are troubled by this problem, but also the U.S. Army troops on the front line. When the battle begins, the American aircraft closest to the Skagit River defense line are also troubled by this problem.
Both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army found that their wired communications were not working well. The earphones were full of rattling noise and howling, making it impossible to talk.
Without wireline communication equipment, the U.S. aircraft fleet has lost its command and can only use primitive gestures and body movements to convey simple meanings, which further weakens the combat effectiveness of U.S. Army aircraft. And the U.S. Army artillery group on the ground
We also couldn’t get any information from the observation posts and headquarters. When we needed to move, we were still firing indiscriminately. If the impact point deviated from the target, we couldn’t get the correction parameters.
Under the bombing by federal aircraft, the U.S. artillery group suffered heavy losses, and it was unable to support the infantry in the front. The U.S. Army suffered heavy losses at the three offensive points in front of the Skagit River defense line. On the other side of the river,
There are many federal heavy machine guns and mortars hidden in various bunkers.
, the U.S. troops on the other side of the river were overwhelmed by the firepower. When the U.S. soldiers were about to use the 75-meter mountain gun to clear these firepower points, a few tank guns would appear from nowhere and directly hit this several-hundred-kilogram tank gun.
The heavy cannon blasted into the sky with the American soldiers surrounding it.
Without effective artillery support, the U.S. soldiers could neither advance nor retreat. The south bank of the Skagit River was completely cleared by the federal defenders. Not even a tree or a rock was left, and all obstacles were cleared.
The federal engineers were blown to pieces. They could only hide behind the reverse slopes of a few small earthen bags. They could avoid the direct fire of the federal defenders, but you could hide from the direct fire, but you couldn't hide from the artillery shells. You could only grit your teeth.
Eyes getting blown up.
Seeing that his infantry was suppressed by local firepower and could not even retreat, Major General Bradley, the commander of the 5th Army of the U.S. Army who was responsible for commanding the southern offensive, was also very anxious, but he also knew that the Army Aviation was not
I didn’t try hard, but the enemy’s aircraft were too many and too powerful. Just half a day into the battle, there were more than 200 land planes.
The aircraft fighter was shot down. Moreover, the enemy's ground artillery fire was surprisingly accurate. Two of the six artillery battalions of the two divisions under the 5th Army were destroyed by the opponent's ground artillery fire, and the remaining four were all destroyed.
When it comes to the bombing by federal planes, the U.S. artillery groups that have not yet fired have received orders from General Bradley. Do not fire! [
The air force can't stand it. The artillery will be bombed. The infantry can't charge, let alone the armored cluster. It's useless to drive to the river. If the tank can't run fast, it can only be regarded as an unqualified firepower point.
, easily destroyed by local air fire and long-range artillery.
The situation on the battlefield is currently out of the control of the U.S. military generals. The sky is gradually occupied by federal aircraft. In addition to enduring artillery bombardment from across the river, the U.S. offensive troops on the ground also have to suffer attacks from the sky. Anyone discovered by federal aircraft
The assembly points, firepower points, anti-aircraft gun positions, and artillery positions all slipped through the net and were visited one by one by dive bombers.
As a last resort, General Bradley issued an order to retreat. The remaining officers and soldiers of the two divisions of the US 5th Army began to abandon everything that slowed down their running speed and began to escape to the rear. At first, many American officers and soldiers climbed up.
Cars or armored vehicles retreat from the road,
As a result, everyone soon discovered that if you want to successfully return to the rear area alive, you must not get too close to the road, because that kind of behavior will soon attract federal aircraft to chase and kill. Even those small fighter jets can use the aircraft to kill them.
The artillery shot several trucks and armored vehicles to pieces.
However, more than half of the American officers and soldiers still escaped from the battlefield, because federal aircraft only operated within a dozen kilometers on the south bank of the Skagit River and basically did not pursue too far. And from beginning to end, the American soldiers only tasted the fire of federal army artillery.
Taste, I haven't even seen a federal soldier,
Even the three US infantry battalions trapped on the south bank of the river listened to the English orders from the loudspeakers across the river, raised their weapons, waded across the river, and then entered the designated place to surrender. As for whether they saw it or not
Seeing the Union soldiers, the 5th U.S. Army Corps fled and it became unknown.
The battle on the south side of the Skagit River defense line lasted only more than 6 hours. It was still early in the day, so it ended hastily. On this day, the US 5th Army suffered casualties in 2 regiments during what should be considered a half-day offensive.
Around 100 cannons were lost or destroyed, and other trucks, armored vehicles, weapons, equipment, and ammunition were basically discarded. The American frontline soldiers who could carry their own guns and run back were considered heroes.
At the same time as the southern front, those attacking the federal defenders also launched attacks from the southeast and northeast. In the southeast, those attacking in the areas of Shuksan Mountain and Baker Lake were the 2nd Armored Division of the 2nd Army of the 1st Group Army of the Western Theater of the United States.
Their division commander, Brigadier General Patton, planned to use tank clusters to break through the federal defenders' defense lines along the edge of the lake area. However, when they arrived at the east side of the lake area, tanks from two federal armored regiments were already waiting for them.
This time, the federal army did not use the more trouble-free ambush method to entertain General Patton. Instead, they set up a posture on the flat ground. It seemed that they were going to confront the American armored division head-on. The reason why the federal army did not ambush the American armored force that made a sneak attack was
troops, mainly because the generals of the federal garrison felt that they should test the true combat capabilities of their men to see what the federal armored forces were like without air support.
The arrival of General Patton's Armored Division was not discovered by federal radar, nor was it because of federal intelligence agents. They were discovered entirely because their radio broadcast exposed their whereabouts. The federal defenders deployed 5 sets of "Shrews" near Vancouver.
Systems, they can not only interfere with enemy wire communications, but also receive enemy wire communication signals and locate them.
At this time, on the south side of the east bank of Baker Lake was the 2nd Armored Division led by General Patton, with 2 tank regiments and 3 mechanized infantry regiments, a total of 220 tanks, as well as a 105mm artillery battalion and an anti-tank battalion;
To the north are 2 armored regiments of the 4th Armored Division of the Federal Army, approximately 100 medium tanks, more than 20 tank destroyers and 2 mechanized infantry battalions.
According to the ratio of the number of troops and tanks on both sides, the U.S. military clearly has the upper hand. However, General Patton in the temporary headquarters of the Second Armored Division on the mountainside 1 kilometer away did not see it that way. He was currently lying on a pair of artillery batteries.
Use the mirror to check the battlefield situation ahead.
The first thing that caught his eye was the federal tanks 3 kilometers away. Those iron guys were different from all the tanks he had seen. Their bodies were wide and flat, and their tracks were obviously wider. It was like they were in a
A large iron pot is buckled in the middle of the mattress.
As the founder of the first tank force in the United States, General Patton has a relatively comprehensive understanding of tanks. According to the shape of the Federal tank, its main purpose should be to improve driving stability and reduce the area affected by it, but it is so short
The stature will definitely affect the gunner's field of vision, the thickness of the armor, and most importantly, the installation space of the power system.
However, General Patton also saw the long and thick barrel protruding from the Federal tank. With many years of experience, he can say with certainty that this is an anti-tank gun of about 85 mm. Look at its
The length power and jng accuracy are definitely not weak either.
Of the more than 200 tanks in Patton's hands, more than half were M3 Grants, and the remaining 40 or so were the M4 Shermans newly produced by the U.S. Army. Due to the unfavorable war situation on the West Coast, they were first allocated to the Second Armored Division for use.
The Grant tank is a medium-sized tank with a total weight of about 28 tons. It is powered by a gasoline engine. It is 27 meters wide and 32 meters high. It has 80 mm turret armor and 20 mm top armor. It is equipped with a 75 mm howitzer and a 37 mm howitzer.
Cannon. These two tanks have one
The biggest feature is that its 75mm gun rotates, which means that it can only aim as the body rotates. The turret of the 37mm gun is mounted on the top of the 75mm gun. This is also the case.
The reason why tanks are so thin and tall. (To be continued...)
