The M26 'Pershing' was a tank that was born at the wrong time. When it was produced, World War II was almost over, and its original combat target had reached the end of its rope. It finally made it to the Korean battlefield, but soon found that it was not suitable for it.
The rugged mountains of North Korea.
However, the 'Pershing' cannon has thick armor and decent maneuverability. It is also a difficult enemy equipment for the volunteers to deal with. When this thing rumbled out, the volunteer soldiers responsible for luring the enemy were all nervous.
Because the terrain is flat, the improvised task battalion did not dare to get too close. The main force was deployed one kilometer away from the US military airport. A small number of reconnaissance personnel approached within two to three hundred meters and used walkie-talkies to report back the enemy's situation. Mortars from the rear
Flares will be fired over to indicate the target.
The US tanks launched a two-way pincer attack. The leading Greyhound was very fast, with its four wheels whirring. The 37mm cannon it was equipped with kept firing, trying to find the intruding enemy.
The 'Pershing' in the rear also fired a few shots from time to time, and the dazzling bullet marks of the shells left a strong visual impact in people's eyes.
The grenade exploded into clouds of mud on the ground, and the soldiers near the impact point had to bury their heads in pain and accept their fate if they were killed. Because the radio kept transmitting instructions from their superiors - wait for the enemy to come up and do not act rashly.
A Greyhound rushed too far forward and finally touched the defense line set up by the task force battalion. Its eight-ton car body suddenly exploded violently and was swallowed up by a ball of fire on the ground. This sudden explosion attracted the attention of the entire audience.
The attention of the U.S. military is even paying attention to Chief of Staff Holmes who is staying at the airport.
"Where is the enemy?" His Excellency the Chief of Staff asked behind the position, holding a telescope. He also held a howitzer battery in his hand. The 105-caliber shells were enough to destroy any opponent who dared to appear in front of him.
The regimental officer followed beside him, also holding a telescope to observe, "It seems to be anti-tank mines or explosives buried on the ground."
"It seems that our opponent is very cunning and ordered the tank detachment to leave the road. Anti-tank mines cannot be buried everywhere." His Excellency the Chief of Staff ordered.
At this moment, the two tank platoons in the pincer attack focused on the Greyhound that had just exploded. The infantry following them were getting off the vehicle because they had roughly touched the enemy's temporary defense line-a farmland.
The dirt road next to it.
"Open fire and kill those yellow monkeys."
"Stop advancing, the enemy is two hundred meters away."
"Get the tanks on board, those yellow monkeys have no weapons to deal with them."
"Let the Greyhounds go around and kick those natives' asses."
The test between the two sides finally ended, and a firefight began on a front hundreds of meters wide in an instant. In the chaotic environment of gunfire, Zhou Qingfeng, who was hiding in the dark, waited for the order he wanted - take action.
, the soldiers have attracted the enemy's attention.
Zhou Qingfeng was already ready. The M1 76mm tank gun he controlled was facing the side of a Pershing. When he stepped on the firing pedal, an armor-piercing projectile flew out of the gun barrel.
The sides and rear of any tank are weak areas, and the 'Pershing' is only hard on the front, with only a few dozen millimeters of side armor. The capped armor-piercing projectiles easily penetrated the target's body, wreaking havoc and killing inside.
The hot shells left obvious trajectories in the night sky, especially when they blasted away the armor of a Pershing. Chief of Staff Holmes, who was watching the battle from behind, immediately woke up and said, "Oh... Damn it! This is a trap.
The enemy has anti-tank guns."
The regimental officer next to him immediately turned his attention to the place where the bullet marks appeared. He grabbed the wired phone at hand, contacted the howitzer company at the airport and ordered: "Immediately carry out coverage shooting in the woods about one kilometer north of the airport. There is an ambush there."
There is enemy artillery."
The busy howitzer company hurriedly turned its muzzle and estimated to fire at various elements. But just before they started calibrating, a second armor-piercing round also blasted out of the barrel, and another "Pershing" was hit and exploded.
The tank that suffered the explosion ignited a fire and became the best light source at night. Other tanks also realized that they were not safe and quickly turned their guns to look for opponents to attack them in the dark.
Even the Greyhound armored vehicles running around felt threatened, but they did not flinch. Instead, they rushed to bite and directly attack the defense lines set up by the task force battalion, trying to use their speed advantage to achieve a breakthrough.
Zhou Qingfeng, who had fired two rounds, was moving his position. The enemy reacted quickly. The bush where he had just been was set on fire, with flares, grenades, and Pershing armor-piercing shells. With Sherman
'With an unreliable body, he'll be dead if he takes just one shot.
And just when the attention of the US tank unit shifted to Zhou Qingfeng, the task force battalion that had already exchanged fire with the enemy finally began to show off its power.
The old man, whose combat effectiveness was doubted by Zhou Qingfeng before, was playing with a US military M1 mortar. He put his eyes on the mortar's sight, fine-tuned the muzzle and said: "Six rounds are fired rapidly, knock out the leader first."
That iron thing... we can't let that boy Zhou look down on us."
The 107mm shells were poured into the barrel of the gun and sprayed out quickly. Every time a round was fired, the old man made slight adjustments in the scope to ensure that the impact point of the bullets was consistent. Six rounds were fired in a row, flying over hundreds of meters.
The distance falls between the enemy tanks.
A 'Pershing' tilted its turret and aimed at the side. The muzzle of the gun was pointing at the M4 driven by Zhou Qingfeng. Its commander had found the target and was directing the gunner to fire. However, just as this 'Pershing' was trying to kill
Zhou Qingfeng, one shell after another fell next to its body.
The explosion of mud formed clouds of smoke, and both the commander and the gunner were yelling and cursing that they could not see the situation outside. Just when the commander shouted to the driver, "Back off twenty meters," a mortar shell fell from the sky.
, bombarded the top of the fragile turret, and entered.
Violent explosions appeared on the battlefield again, and the ammunition rack of the leading "Pershing" was detonated. The American infantrymen following the tanks were injured by flying shrapnel and flames, and several fell instantly.
The task battalion brought six large-caliber mortars, all of which were manned by experienced veterans, and the regimental clerk who knew how to drive drove them and the artillery around. Now these artillery pieces are staring at the American tanks.
If you hit it head-on, you can't penetrate the enemy's armor, but you can still give it a try.
Each vehicle carries hundreds of rounds of artillery shells, and the firepower is much more sustainable than manpower. Seeing that it can really destroy the enemy's tanks, all the artillery crews work hard to stuff the cannons with shells.
Looking at the shells exploding on the battlefield, Chief of Staff Holmes in the rear was filled with shock and anger. But he could not order the tank detachment to retreat at this time. If he retreated at this time, he would only be passively beaten and could only continue with all his might.
Invest troops.
"Put in two more tank platoons and attack the enemy's flank from the west. Order the howitzer company not to limit ammunition and send all the shells to me on those yellow monkeys' positions. And..., contact me immediately at Yunshan City.
For the remaining regimental troops, we hope they can attack from the side and rear."
The Chief of Staff was a little anxious. He originally thought it was just an enemy harassment, but he didn't know it was a trap waiting for him. The opponent actually killed many of his tanks in succession. The only thing he can hope for now is to pay a price to eat this enemy force.
But who is eating whom now?
Zhou Qingfeng, who had retreated two hundred meters, stabilized his turret again. Facing the already heated battlefield, he locked onto a Greyhound that was crushing the task force camp and said with a sneer: "There is no one here now."