The smoke cleared, and the iron wings of the U.S. Navy and Air Force began to rule the sky.
The losses in Gutuli have been counted. The armored detachment responsible for supporting the "Drysdale Detachment" has been wiped out, with the loss of 17 tanks, more than 40 armored cars and trucks, and more than 100 casualties.
These losses are nothing in a battle, but they happened in less than ten minutes, and the opponent was only one enemy tank. What if there are a few more of these tanks? Let's run away together.
?
Colonel Puller has already reported the situation to the 1st Marine Division Headquarters and the 10th Army Headquarters. The superiors have not responded yet, so the quarrel may have started. He personally climbed up a hill in the Gutuli Ring Position to inspect the bombardment.
Destroyed artillery observation post.
Several tattered corpses had frozen in the cold wind, which were only part of the casualties. The corpses' military uniforms were badly damaged, and there were many holes in the gray skin. A soldier handed over several arrow-shaped projectiles in his hand and said
: "This is the thing that killed more than 20 people at the observation post."
After receiving the twisted projectile, Colonel Puller immediately felt the insidiousness of this thing. Its shape allows it to fly at a higher speed. After being injected into the human body, it will continue to twist, causing irreparable wounds. Those hit by it will either die or be maimed.
.
Another officer said: "We made a preliminary estimate that one enemy shrapnel can cover an area of more than 5,000 square meters, and at least more than 6,000 arrow-shaped projectiles will fly out.
If we work backwards, we can conclude that the enemy's main gun has a caliber of more than 120 millimeters. It is a typical Soviet tank, heavy armor, high mobility, and the main gun is extremely powerful."
Colonel Puller came to the veritable 'Hell Road' two kilometers away. The destroyed vehicles were still parked there, and several engineering troubleshooting vehicles were towing them aside. After all, whether it was support or evacuation, roads
Keep it open.
"According to our close observation at that time, this tank was equipped with two different types of artillery in parallel. The thicker one was so powerful that even the frontal armor of our 'Pershing' could not withstand it and was easily destroyed."
A tank commander showed Colonel Puller a destroyed 'Pershing'. There was a hole in the front armor of this 'Pershing', and the steel armor plate was twisted like dough. And behind the armor plate
It was a desolate scene, the bodies of several crew members had been brought out, all of them died miserably.
Ordinary trucks were destroyed by machine guns, and armored vehicles were destroyed by 40mm secondary guns. For example, an M3 half-track personnel carrier was penetrated by a small-caliber armor-piercing projectile. The steel plate in front of the cab did not play any protective role. The US officers and soldiers present saw it.
Extremely frustrated.
"This is a tank we have never encountered before. It is much more powerful than the T-34-85 previously equipped by Beibang. The 'Pershing' is no match at all. The 90mm main gun is like a clang gun in front of it. It cannot
Penetrate the opponent's frontal armor, let alone the 'Sherman'.
Maybe we should let the M46 Patton have a try. However, until there is a solution, our tank crews don’t want to encounter this kind of tank again. There is only one road here, and it is not suitable for roundabout operations. The terrain is very unfavorable to us."
The officer's words made Colonel Puller frown. The 'Patton' is currently the best tank in the United States, but its main gun is only 90 millimeters in caliber. It may not be any better than the 'Pershing'. "We need to be better."
A powerful tank, stronger than the enemy's."
But this is easier said than done. The US military currently does not have a tank that can compete with the IS-7. And even if there is a design that can compete with it, the tank cannot be transported from the factory to the battlefield immediately.
You must know that although the US military was inferior in strength before, it had an absolute advantage in firepower. Now there seems to be signs of change, which is very worrying. During the day, there are powerful navy and air force aircraft to help take care of it, but at night..., waiting to be beaten
?
"How is the situation with the 'Drysdale Detachment'?" Colonel Puller asked again.
The staff immediately replied, "The supporting armored detachment failed to keep up, and we have lost contact with the 'Drysdale Detachment.' The Air Force plane said that the detachment was surrounded on the road six kilometers ahead and could not retreat, and it was likely that it would not be able to retreat.
Until tonight."
This is good. The 'Drysdale Detachment' was originally going to assist the besieged 1st Marine Division headquarters in the front, but now it has lost itself. This is a reinforced battalion, with more than a thousand people.
It was all in vain. There were only more than 2,000 US troops left in Gutuli.
And there is more than one thing that is troubling. With powerful tank assistance, will the volunteers who have been defending and blocking the war take the initiative to attack Gutuli? This is what really gives Colonel Puller a headache.
On the other side of the battlefield, before Zhou Qingfeng led his team to withdraw from the battlefield and return to their position, the commander of the 178th Regiment to which he belonged was furious. Hearing that the small platoon leader of the regiment's tank platoon actually led the team to the US military to get diesel at night, he
My first reaction was that there was something wrong with this guy's brain.
But after finally waiting for the tank platoon, the men drove back with more than a dozen vehicles fully loaded with food, drink, and a lot of scarce cotton clothes. But the platoon deputy, without saying a word, took a tank and ran to rescue the little boy who had not yet returned.
Platoon leader. None of this was reported to any leader at the regiment, let alone approved!
"Unorganized and undisciplined, it looks a bit like a revolutionary warrior?" The regiment leader was almost furious. He originally wanted to use this tank platoon that he had finally obtained as a fixed firepower point. Anyone who has seen IS-7 will be impressed by it.
I was deeply impressed by the thick pipes, but I didn’t know that these grandsons were not obedient at all.
"A bunch of bastards, how can they be great just by driving a tank? The American plane will come later, let's see what they will do?" The regiment leader felt sorry for those tanks. It is said that they are the latest good things from the Soviet Union. One of them was lost.
No.
"Captain, this batch of American cotton-padded clothes will be of great use. There are more than 300 sets. I distributed them to the soldiers on the front line, and everyone agreed. It's just too little. It would be better if we could seize some more.
alright."
The political commissar of the regiment came over with a smile on his face and praised the supplies brought back by the tank platoon.
When it comes to cotton-padded clothes, the commander's face can't stand up. Now the entire Ninth Corps is short of warm clothes, and any piece of cotton-padded clothes is extremely precious. And the tank platoon leader named Zhou Qingfeng not only got cotton-padded clothes, but also gloves and cotton-padded clothes.
shoe.
With these things, the soldiers' hands and feet can move and fight. You must know that American gloves and cotton shoes are really light and warm!
When he heard that the political commissar still wanted to capture the enemy, the regiment leader got angry and said, "How can the Americans be so easy to fight? This 1st Marine Division is really evil. It has a strong will to fight and is much more troublesome than other American troops. Our three regiments fought
That 'Drysdale Detachment' has not been defeated after a whole day of fighting."
The regiment leader also wanted to talk about his impressions of the 1st Marine Division in the past two days, but his orderly suddenly ran over laughing non-stop and shouted cheeringly: "Commander, we are rich. Our tank platoon
We got another batch of trophies, and this time we brought back all the American tanks."
Did you get something good again? Phew... It looks like this tank platoon is really amazing!