Chapter 538: 538 Ways to turn the tide of battle
Chapter 538 538 Ways to reverse the situation of the war
On the ground, the word "miserable" can no longer be used to describe it: Qi Jun's airships burned one by one, instantly turning the entire base into a fire field.
There are at least thousands of workers in the base, and they all have to serve the airship. Some workers prepare hydrogen, maintain equipment, generate electricity in power plants, and cooks in canteens...
These thousands of people plus the pilots, pilot apprentices, commanders and other auxiliary personnel on the airship, there are almost 10,000!
Now, these people have been enveloped in fire, roasted into dried meat, and burned into charcoal.
The losses of soldiers on the periphery were not great, but the people in the core area basically had no way to survive. Because the fire couldn't be extinguished at all, people didn't even dare to get close.
As long as the wind direction changes slightly, people in the downwind will be in great danger. They will be burned to death by the flames before they can escape, or they will be suffocated to death simply because the air is burned out.
“Retreat! Get out of here!” Seeing that the targets he was protecting had turned into a sea of flames, the Qi commander said to his men.
He is not willing to lead his men to die here. The fire is becoming so huge. If he doesn't leave now, should he wait until he is familiar with it?
As a result, the Tang Army on the periphery immediately began to retreat, while the Tang Army's fighter jets in the sky looked confused at this moment.
They still had at least four-fifths of the bombs left to drop, and as a result, the target was completely wiped out right before their eyes. Should we let them face the flames and continue to drop bombs frantically?
This obviously didn't work, so they had no choice but to fly their plane back, preparing to vent their hatred and drop all their bombs on the Qi army's front-line positions when they returned.
If the Qi troops in the first-line defensive positions knew the news, they would be very speechless. Their targets in Qi were too fragile to exhaust the enemy's ammunition, so all the enemy's ammunition was retained...
Last night, all the air defense units of the Tang Army were put on alert. The Qi State airship unit, which had not slept well all night, was completely wiped out in just ten minutes.
It was a real ashes - all the airships were burned to death, and then the ammunition in the airship magazine that had not had time to be unloaded exploded, blowing the melted airship frame into the sky.
In the factory that caught fire instantly, the workers were all reduced to a medium-rare state before they had time to escape, then turned into coke, and finally burned to white ash.
The airship force that Cyric supported Qi was completely wiped out, millions of gold coins were all wasted, and both sides also lost a large number of personnel... Seeing that Qi's air force had withdrawn from the war.
…
On the western front of Qi State, the sky is already bright. The Tang Army's offensive was launched again, and Liu Guozhu's tanks received the order to continue advancing and began to advance forward.
Originally, according to original estimates, the attack on Luozhen was the task of the 4th Armored Division. However, according to the adjustment, Redman decided to remove the troops that suffered relatively heavy losses on the first day and arrange them in an easier direction.
Therefore, Liu Guozhu, who received the third-class Hussars Medal on the first day of the battle, was ordered to go to Luo Town with his troops to seize the rear area that threatened the third prince.
Just like during training, the tank troops filled up their fuel belts and ammunition and set off. Only this time, they were followed by more supply trucks and a large number of infantry who had just arrived last night.
They will now switch defense areas with the 4th Armored Division, so no fighting will break out at first. They have to pass through the area that has been occupied by their own troops, and then they will see the temporary defense line built by Qi State.
The Qi army has been busy all night. It is impossible for them to do nothing. They will build fortifications where they are stationed. They should at least dig a trench or something.
"Get ready! The radio is full of the voices of Air Force liaison officers! They want to identify ground targets!" Liu Guozhu leaned half out and looked at the road that the infantry had finally cleared last night. Liu Guozhu heard the voice coming from the earphones. .
His tank was following the tank in front, moving along a road with wheat fields on both sides. From time to time, overturned carriages and the bodies of killed soldiers could be seen on the roadbed.
There was obviously a brief exchange of fire here. The Qi army dropped about seven or eight bodies here, and then most of the people should have surrendered.
Because Liu Guozhu saw a large number of tents and daily necessities discarded next to the body, and even two Cyric 90mm caliber howitzers.
It is completely designed to compete with the Tang Army's 75mm caliber infantry gun, with a larger caliber. It seems to be trying to suppress the Datang Group's products in terms of firepower.
Unfortunately, this kind of artillery is too heavy and can only be towed by a horse-drawn carriage. Its maneuverability is not very good, so it is inconvenient to operate and use.
"Okay! I understand!" Seeing that the car in front had stopped, Liu Guozhu also switched his call channel and ordered his driver: "Stop!"
His tank was also parked on the side of the road, and cars passed by from time to time on the other side. He, the gunner, and the loader all got out of the tank, and then the three of them hurriedly found a huge dragon flag from the glove box on the side of their tank.
They will cover the engine compartment with this dragon flag to provide an identification mark for friendly forces in the sky, allowing the air force to distinguish between the fleeing Qi army and the advancing Tang army. "Next time we can paint the flag on the roof of the tank! Then we don't have to worry so much." The loader complained while fixing the wrinkled dragon flag.
"Okay! This can at least prevent us from being killed by our own people!" Liu Guozhu pressed the corner of the dragon flag into the gap in the engine compartment cover.
The entire tank force was busy providing identification marks in the air, and the car's bonnet and rear cargo box were also covered with red dragon flags.
At this moment, groups of Stuka dive bombers roared past in the sky. These planes, which looked like seagulls, flew densely towards the Qi army's position ahead.
“Not to mention, with these guys, they are quite reliable.” Hearing the sound of the engine, Liu Guozhu raised his head and sighed as he looked at the Stuka dive bomber flying into the distance.
These aircraft will destroy the enemy's will to defend before the tank force launches an attack, and can even directly defeat the enemy.
They can replace artillery and provide more accurate and timely support to defeat any enemy attempts to mass a counterattack.
With their support, the ground troops advanced as fast as lightning. Most of the infantrymen sang songs and captured prisoners all the way. They arrived at the area that needed to be occupied without even a serious battle breaking out.
Every time these aircrafts that scare the enemy swoop down will be accompanied by a frightening sound, and every bomb dropped will accurately land on the most important position, destroying important enemy targets immediately.
Just as Liu Guozhu watched these Stuka dive bombers go away, he saw more planes flying over where he was.
This is the first time he has seen these planes. They are larger and the engines are noisier.
After bombing the King's City of Qi and Nanye on the first day, the B-17 bomber unit was ordered to start executing tactical missions early this morning.
There are actually not many strategic targets in Qi State, and there is no place worthy of repeated bombing - it will probably be seven or eight days until the industrial zone of Qi King's City resumes production.
And the nearly 100 B-17 bombers cannot be left idle, so it is natural for them to continue to take off to bomb Qi's frontline defense forces.
Although the accuracy of horizontal bombing is worrying, its momentum is definitely 10,000 times greater than that of a Stuka. Dropping bombs like raindrops on Qi's positions is no less intimidating than Stuka's screams.
“What kind of plane is that?” The curious Liu Guozhu didn’t know who he was asking. Obviously, neither his gunner nor his loader knew the highly classified B-17 bomber.
“Who knows, anyway...it must be our plane.” The gunner raised his head and glanced at the B-17 bomber that had gone away, and replied with a smile.
On the other road, the 2nd Armored Division has begun to rush towards Nanye. It only took them 30 minutes to break through Qi Jun's hastily constructed defense line without any delay.
The torrent of steel composed of 50 tanks crushed 4,000 Qi troops, and then pushed the surrendered Qi troops, dozens of Qi cannons, and horse-drawn trucks off the roadbed, leading the infantry behind them all the way forward.
It was not until after breakfast that the third prince of Qi heard the news that his defense line had been breached again.
Another news that shocked him was that the Tang Army's troops were approaching Nanye, and it seemed that he and his eldest brother's escape route would be cut off.
"Your Highness! We must consider retreating! There is no benefit in staying here now." A general reminded the third prince.
Seeing that the border defense line was completely breached, there was no hope of closing the gap and it even tended to expand. In this case, they continued to hold on to the breached position and were waiting for death.
"Then what should we do?" The third prince, who had no idea, looked at his men and asked in despair.
He lost here, and the throne almost said goodbye to him. How could this not make him despair and lost?
"Retreat! Retreat from Luo Town to Nanye! Now...if we can defend Nanye, maybe the situation of the war will turn around!" The general replied directly: "Although Nanye is empty, there are still 10,000 defenders! If We can rush there with 30,000 elites, which is enough to reverse the unfavorable situation and re-stabilize the defense line..."
"Yes! Yes!" The third prince seemed to have grasped the life-saving straw and quickly agreed: "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
(End of this chapter)