Chapter 197: The Big Guy

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War, at times, can give birth to a more brilliant civilization. Wisdom allows people to summarize the lessons learned from past wars to avoid making the same mistakes in future conflicts.

And in order to win wars, humanity often applies the most advanced science and technology to weapons of war first, creating some epochal weapons that are truly incredible.

When technology revolutionizes weapons, then brand-new tactics are born on the battlefield. Centered around these tactics, glorious victories can be achieved. It can be said that the thousands of years of human civilization that can be traced back are a history threaded through with war.

When a breakthrough occurred in metallurgical technology, the Han civilization achieved military suppression of the nomadic peoples. The tactic of infantry phalanxes coordinating with light cavalry to engage the steppe cavalry was brought to prominence, and thus the Han nation achieved great victories in its wars of foreign expansion.

Subsequently, due to the appearance of the stirrup, it became possible for cavalry to charge infantry phalanxes. Heavy cavalry began to appear on the stage of history, and it became increasingly difficult for infantry to defend against cavalry. Thus, agrarian civilizations began to lose their military advantage over the nomadic peoples, until the Tang Dynasty, when metallurgical technology developed again, and elite infantry coordinating with elite infantry once again became a nightmare from which the steppe peoples could not awaken.

The rise of the Mongols marked the pinnacle of cavalry tactics. Integrating advanced metallurgical technology with the cavalry tactics of light cavalry, rangers, and heavy cavalry from all over the world, the Mongol cavalry learned and grew in battle, finally evolving into the invincible king of war in the age of cold weapons. They destroyed countless civilizations but were ultimately submerged in the dust of history as their era passed.

They were indeed submerged. In just a short hundred years, humanity entered the age of firearms one after another. Matchlocks and cannons began to equip armies. Countless skilled craftsmen pushed the wheel of history forward, and humanity was able to slaughter itself more efficiently. With the exception of the declining Ming Dynasty, bloody facts all over the world proved that cavalry was no longer the only choice for victory.

The flintlock, the rifled musket, fixed-charge ammunition, the breech-loading cannon—war became completely unrecognizable in just a few short decades. It changed the ancient model that had lasted for a thousand years and entered the beautiful fairy tale of lining up to be shot and advancing to the beat of a drum. Individual bravery became irrelevant, and war became a contest of the entire nation’s courage.

Later, barbed wire and trenches turned the word “war” into a synonym for mud and cold. Machine guns and heavy artillery made infantry attacks completely inefficient. Both sides waited behind their long defensive lines for the other to come and die, waiting in a war of attrition for the other to bleed its last drop of blood. War had never been so cruel; millions of people had their fates changed by a single war. And what decided victory or defeat was no longer the armies fighting at the front, but the stockpiled materials and steel production in the rear.

Having said all this, you might think this is history that everyone knows. But perhaps some have not thought that those opponents who once stood on the other side were actually the best teachers for each civilization. Who would have thought that the war experience left to the Manchu Eight Banners by the shoddy Ming cannons on the Jiliao front line two hundred years later would cause the Empress Dowager Cixi to cede territory and pay indemnities?

I say all this not for any other reason, but just to make one point: all the great European powers learned what they believed to be the truth from the last war, and these truths, in which each country believed fanatically, all became the key to determining victory or defeat in the next war.

Take France, for example. It had won the last war, so it firmly believed that its military theory was the most advanced, or at least that it could achieve victory in the next war. Therefore, even in the worst economic situation, it still spent a huge sum of money to build a long border defensive line.

This defensive line could ensure that when the next war came, France could once again drag Germany into an endless trench war, and then use the British naval blockade to wear Germany down and win. To support this long Maginot Line, the focus of French weapons development naturally fell on large-caliber railway guns.

Poland, as a new country born after the First World War, faced the pincer attack of strong powers on both its east and west from the first day of its establishment. All the capitalist countries hoped that Poland would serve as the first line of defense against the red Soviet Union in the east, preventing the westward infiltration of communism. And France, at the same time, hoped that Poland could serve as an ally to check the overly powerful Germany to its west.

Coincidentally, Poland was a new country, and also a not-so-wealthy traditional power. So it had no way to deploy a large number of troops on both fronts, nor could it build a large number of fortifications in both directions. Thus, in the list of the great powers’ military equipment, Poland was very interested in a weapon that could quickly rush to the direction of the war, could serve as a defensive strongpoint, and could also be equipped with large-caliber artillery. This weapon was the armored train.

The armored train could be said to be the veritable king of land warfare before the maturation of the tank. It could be equipped with several large-caliber cannons and carry several hundred fully armed soldiers to the battle area at the fastest speed. The entire train was protected by armor, and wherever it went, it could stop and become a fixed steel fortress.

And now, this weapon appeared before the German infantry, like a steel behemoth, lying across the German troops’ path of advance. Its several cannons fired in turn, preventing the Germans from advancing a single step for half an hour.

The infantry’s 75mm anti-tank guns were completely helpless against this steel behemoth. The thick armor on the main cars could negate the long-range attack of 75mm shells, and at close range, they would be attacked by the cannons on the train. A 75mm cannon produced by the Krupp factory was destroyed because of this.

A Panzer III attempted to approach this behemoth, but was hit by the 75mm cannons on the armored train’s two rotating turrets. This knocked-out German tank was spewing thick smoke, and a dozen or so bodies of German soldiers lay scattered around it. The failure of this attack made the several StuG IIIs behind them completely give up the idea of a frontal assault.

Subsequently, German combat engineers attempted to approach this immensely powerful Polish monster, wanting to destroy the invulnerable behemoth with explosives. But because there were a large number of Polish infantry covering the rear of the train, this plan also ended in failure.

“Call the air force,” the German commander in a hidden observation post on a hill not far away said to his adjutant, holding a pair of binoculars. “General Rommel is not far behind. If he comes up and finds us, he will definitely complain that our attack speed is too slow.”

“Division commander, our current attack speed is already the fastest in human history. More than ninety percent of marching speeds are not as fast as our attack speed,” the adjutant complained as he picked up the field telephone.

“There is no fastest, only faster! Since we have already made history, why not raise the record to a level that others cannot surpass?” a very charismatic voice said from outside the observation post.

With the voice, a young general walked in. Behind him was a large group of people, including staff officers, an adjutant, and guards.

This general had handsome military features. The traces left by the years on his face did not make him look old, but rather gave him a mature charm. A faint smile hung on the corners of his mouth, enough to charm the uninhibited Germanic girls. In terms of looks alone, he was even more handsome than the young Führer.

He was dressed in a dusty grey-green uniform, with a brand-new Iron Cross 1st Class pinned to his chest. This was a reward recently ordered by the Führer to commend the 7th Army for its outstanding performance in the first phase of the offensive. There was one for each of the northern and southern fronts; the one in the south was given to General Guderian. In addition to this medal, the most eye-catching things were the two items hanging around this general’s neck: a miniature camera and a pair of binoculars.

This general was not wearing the required steel helmet, but was still going his own way, wearing the iconic German peaked cap, with the imperial eagle clutching a swastika national emblem on the front, and a pair of beautiful aviator goggles pushed up below it.

The general who had entered was none other than the commander of the 7th Panzer Corps, one of the twin heroes of the German armored forces who loved to fly, Erwin Rommel.

“First, have the infantry and tanks launch a feint attack. Use smoke grenades at extreme range to obscure the enemy’s vision! See that hill in front? Set up the 88mm guns there and fire directly at the target! Do I need to teach you how to do it?” Rommel only took a few glances before he began to deploy his troops.

“Yes, General. I will launch the attack in half an hour and take this Polish defensive position,” the field commander who was originally in charge here immediately saluted and replied.

“Next time you encounter this kind of situation, think of the 88mm anti-aircraft gun first… This is a lesson learned from Spain,” Rommel said, raising the binoculars to his chest and looking again at the Polish defenders. “Look how much time you’ve wasted! And you’ve sent so many excellent soldiers to their deaths for nothing!”

“I’m very sorry, General,” the commander had been transferred to the army from the police force on the east wind of the army’s expansion. He had only attended a few intensive command training courses, and his level could only be considered average. He immediately stood at attention and saluted upon hearing Rommel’s words. “I understand.”

Soon, four 88mm cannons were readied. Under the cover of smoke grenades, these cannons, with their super-high rate of fire and unparalleled shell velocity, destroyed the Polish armored train that was blocking their position. The Polish army finally abandoned the train, which was riddled with holes, and retreated on foot to the east. A dozen German tanks with infantry pursued them, and the battle here quickly ended.

Soon, a group of German infantry surrounded the Polish armored train that had held them at bay. They curiously climbed onto the train to inspect this strange weapon. Rommel also went forward and touched this obsolete superweapon. He picked up his camera and helped the officers and men of the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment of this infantry division take a group photo in front of the Polish armored train.