The moment the 76mm gun fired, the enemy’s guard infantry threw out smoke bombs.
Of course, the smoke couldn’t stop the shells that had already been fired.
From a bird’s-eye view, Wang Zhong could clearly see that this shell had almost landed at the general’s feet.
However, the general’s adjutant happened to throw the general to the ground just in time.
It could only be said that the flight speed of the high-explosive shell was somewhat slow, and Tank 422’s position was indeed a bit far from the target.
The adjutant died instantly, but the general he had thrown to the ground was still left with a breath of life!
Wang Zhong: “Second shot!”
Alexandria: “The smoke is obscuring our vision!”
Wang Zhong: “Fire at the original position!”
At that moment, an enemy half-track vehicle sped forward, attempting to use its body to shield the general, while the machine gun on the half-track began to fire wildly at Tank 422 from such a distance.
Wang Zhong quickly ducked behind the turret hatch—the kind of hatch designed to double as cover for a nobleman’s lookout.
Wang Zhong could see through the observation window specifically left on the hatch.
The field of view was very small, but that didn’t hinder Wang Zhong as he had an “advantage”; as long as he could observe, no matter how thin the slit was, he always had a fan-shaped field of view from a top-down perspective.
The enemy was indeed well-trained, firing from a moving armored vehicle at this distance with decent accuracy as bullets clinked and clanged against the hatch cover.
The electrician was also returning fire with the directional machine gun, both sides streaking each other with tracer bullets.
The loader shouted: “Good!”
Alexandria fired the gun! The shell went just past the half-track vehicle that was obstructing the view and landed in almost the same spot!
The enemy tried to move the general, but they were a little slow, and the general’s leg had been wounded.
With this shell landing, several staff officers who were trying to carry the general were instantly thrown to the ground, while the general stood there, raised his head to the sky, and then slowly knelt down.
His posture reminded Wang Zhong of an iconic scene from the Soviet version of “War and Peace.”
His fall, however, was quite full of Romantic flair!
Wang Zhong: “Got him!”
It was only after saying this that he realized he shouldn’t have been able to see, since the smoke had already obscured the view. It seemed as though this sentence might have exposed something.
But then Wang Zhong thought, a T34 gunner’s vision was truly terrible, so Alexandria probably assumed Wang Zhong could see.
The driver had better visibility, but the driver’s position was so low that it likely wouldn’t detect anything amiss.
So, emboldened, Wang Zhong said, “The enemy general is down, let’s get out of here!”
After all, there was an enemy battalion here, and the bolder Prosen soldiers were already charging the tank on motorcycles.
As good as the T34 was, it dreaded infantry coming within 5 meters. In this era, the Prussians probably didn’t have weapons like Panzerfausts or magnetic anti-tank mines, but a grenade tossed on the engine’s radiator would be trouble enough for a tank, possibly even damaging the engine.
Wang Zhong heard the sound of ‘Duang’, as the tank started up again and then turned. So, he quickly ducked back into the turret.
The hatch cover could only protect the front. It was like those very exposing evening gowns, decently covered in the front but with the back completely bare.
If Wang Zhong didn’t duck back into the turret, his back would be riddled with holes, and he wouldn’t be a White Horse General but a Dead Horse General instead.
Once the hatch cover was on, the interior of the turret darkened completely.
Alexandria looked back and said, “You should come in wearing a hat!”
Before Wang Zhong could respond, the tank lurched, and his head slammed right into the locking catch of the turret hatch.
He had already suffered several bumps when climbing out of the BT7 earlier that day, and now he’d added another bump on a bump.
“It’s in your storage locker!” Alexandria pointed to the side of the viewing platform.
Wang Zhong took out a tank cap and put it on, only to knock it solidly against the catch again, causing a piercing pain.
“Damn it, what good is this cap!”
Alexandria: “It’s like this even when you wear it; imagine what it would be like if you didn’t.”
—That makes sense!
Though tormented by terrible ergonomics, Wang Zhong still pressed his eyes against the viewing window.
Only after experiencing it firsthand did Wang Zhong realize how poor the visibility was inside a T34, and this was a viewing vehicle specially modified for the nobility with something akin to a commander’s observation tower, a “special supply vehicle” in this world. Those T34s without this configuration were practically blind.
Then Wang Zhong discovered that this poor visibility even affected his “external aid.” His aid could usually illuminate the surroundings in a circle, even seeing ten meters behind his head.
Once inside the tank, he only had the fan-shaped view in front.
The fan-shaped view was better than being blind, and it was Wang Zhong’s own field of vision, capable of highlighting enemy units within range. Anything like a “Ground Voldemort”, lying in the grass, could be illuminated.
“Tank 422 calling all platoons!” Since there really were no enemies around, Wang Zhong began to play with the radio, “Report your number if you haven’t been destroyed!”
The moment the platoon leaders responded, Wang Zhong would temporarily gain their field of view. This way, he could check the armored brawl happening behind him.
Then Wang Zhong realized how bad the visibility was in these platoon leaders’ vehicles! They could basically only see directly in front of the tank!
No wonder many memoirs about the Sturmtiger mentioned how blind the T34 was.
Indeed, it was blind.
Wang Zhong could only rely on his own field of view.
Just then, he saw a number 233 three-numbered tank breaking away from the battlefield, maneuvering to the side.
The bold commander of tank 233 poked his head out, seemingly certain he wouldn’t come under attack from the T34s.
Suddenly, tank 233 came to an abrupt halt and fired a shot between the turret and the body of a T34, jamming its turret.
Then something shocking happened! The crew of the T34 abandoned the tank!
Wang Defa?
The Prosen Tanks slaughtered the crew with their coaxial machine guns but then stopped immediately.
Could it be that they didn’t want to reveal their positions with the tracer bullets?
————
Captain Ante cursed at the gunner, “Don’t fire! Even if the enemy is stupid, they can determine our position by the tracer bullets! Those Ante tanks are blind; we can still win!”
Gunner: “We can’t penetrate their armor!”
“Then jam their turrets, break their tracks! In Carolingian, when we faced the B1 tanks, that’s what we did! Just paralyze them, and the infantry can take care of them!”
Captain Ante paused then said, “Moreover, these Ante tank operators have no experience, they abandon the tank if the ring is jammed! Probably new recruits experiencing their first battle! We can win!”
————
Wang Zhong: “Halt! Turret left 15 degrees! Do you see that number 233 tank?”
Alexandria: “Seen, Armor-Piercing Shell! Quick!”
Loader: “Armor-Piercing Shell, ready!”
Because Wang Zhong had also ducked inside, he clearly saw the loader insert the Armor-Piercing Shell into the breech, followed by the automatic closing of the breech.
Alexandria slammed down on the pedal.
Inside the turret, you couldn’t see the flash or thick smoke when firing, just the barrel sliding backward, ejecting a smoking shell casing.
The shell casing fell directly onto the floor, and nobody bothered with it.
Wang Zhong suddenly remembered that he needed to confirm the results, not watch them operate the cannon.
After changing his perspective, Wang Zhong saw the tank operator from number 233 climbing out of the tank.
Wang Zhong: “Fire! Machine gun, fire! Blast them! Load a High-Explosive Shell! This one is probably their veteran crew; kill them all!”
Tank 422’s anti-aircraft machine gun and coaxial machine gun fired together.
Unfortunately, neither the gunner Alexandria nor the machinist could see the enemy tank operators on the ground; the machine gun attack was ineffective.
Loader: “High-Explosive Shell, ready!”
Alexandria immediately fired, and the High-Explosive Shell exploded beside the abandoned tank 233, immediately killing one tank operator and injuring another, but the enemy commander remained unharmed!
Wang Zhong: “Reload!”
Back in the old days on a military website, it was common to see episodes admiring the enemy’s tactical sophistication and treating them with courtesy, but now Wang Zhong had no interest in such courtesy.
Thinking about how these elite enemies could go back, heal, and return to cause significant casualties to friendly forces, he wished he could kill them all.
The second High-Explosive Shell went over, and finally, only one machinist from that crew remained.
Wang Zhong pondered that firing another grenade for just this machinist was not appropriate, as the marginal effect was too low. He then issued a new command: “Advance and regroup with our other tanks.”
Just then, Wang Zhong observed the enemy beginning to retreat from the city, so he decisively changed the order: “Turn left thirty degrees; take the small mound on the left!”
The command was immediately executed.
Upon reaching the mound, Wang Zhong opened the hatch, peered back to ensure that no more machine gun bullets were coming from behind, then looked out.
“Turret left 5 degrees, do you see that retreating four-numbered tank? Distance 750 meters! Armor-Piercing Shell!”
No sooner had he finished instructing than the cannon fired, hitting the four-numbered tank’s engine accurately, setting it aflame.
“Don’t let the machine gun idle either; establish suppressive fire!”
While tank 422 poured out its firepower, other T34s noticed 422, each turning towards it.
Wang Zhong clicked his tongue, good grief, a loss of 8 tanks!
The enemy couldn’t even penetrate the T34s, how could there be a loss of 8 tanks?
He glanced at the chaotic battlefield and noticed all the abandoned T34s were neither exploded nor on fire. More careful observation revealed that either their tracks were broken, turrets jammed, or tracks and guide wheels were damaged after colliding with enemy tanks.
Wang Zhong couldn’t understand why the T34s with only jammed rings were abandoned. They could clearly drive back to the city and have the mechanics repair them!
It seemed that after the battle was over, a debrief was necessary, and those who abandoned their tanks needed to be sternly reprimanded.
While Wang Zhong thought this, neatly lined T34s unleashed their firepower, slaughtering the enemy retreating from the city.
The enemy’s offensive was thus dissolved.
Wang Zhong even took the life of the enemy’s general! He estimated the Prussians wouldn’t be able to organize an attack for the rest of the day.
Touching his chin, he considered that as nightfall approached, he should organize his troops to leave the city, tow back the abandoned T34s, repair them, and continue using them.
After all, these were precious weapons hard won.