Volume 2 The Second Battle Chapter 26 US Army
It was early in the morning, before sunrise, when the sky was just beginning to light up, and a few stars were still faintly scattered in the deep and slightly daytime sky. The wild grass was trembling slightly on the cold snow, and everything was shrouded in a mysterious dim light.
The sound of gunfire came and went, and occasionally a few shells landed not far away, raising clouds of dust, but this did not attract the soldiers' attention at all. They had long been accustomed to such an environment, and they built the air-raid shelter as if nothing had happened.
At this moment, the sound of artillery suddenly stopped, and the soldiers stopped their work and stood up.
"The Americans are coming!" The old squad leader glanced at the empty road, then bent down to tinker with his air-raid shelter.
"Comrades, hurry up!" Captain Zhang ordered, "The Yankees are coming, make sure your air-raid shelters are secure! Bring more wood, the Yankees' heavy artillery is no joke!"
"Yes!" the soldiers responded, bent down and dug their air-raid shelters faster.
At this moment, there was a rare moment of silence all around. The sound of the soldiers sharpening small wooden sticks with their bayonets was so loud that if someone didn't know, they would have thought this position was a carpentry workshop.
I touched my ears. I had been hearing gunfire all day long, even falling asleep to the sound of gunfire. The sudden silence made me feel a little uncomfortable, and for a moment I even had the illusion that there was something wrong with my ears.
This reminds me of an ancient story. It's about a man who loved cleanliness very much. When he was kidnapped and thrown into a dirty place, he couldn't adapt to it. When he was rescued after a while, he was not used to the cleanliness anymore.
I casually propped a sharpened wooden stick into the air-raid shelter, but in my heart I was worried whether I would be unable to get used to the days without the sound of gunfire. Or, if I could survive after the war, or return to the modern era, would I be unable to get used to the days without killing?
With a "whoosh", a plane flew over the soldiers' heads without any warning.
"Devils! The American devils are coming!"
"Get ready for battle!"
The soldiers soon realized something and grabbed their rifles and put them on the trenches. Looking along the winding road, the dim American tanks appeared one after another at the corner of the road. There were eight tanks in total, seven "Chaffee" and one "Sherman". Behind each tank were a dozen infantrymen, all wearing helmets and holding guns, walking leisurely with the muzzles of their guns tilted downwards.
The tank was driving slowly on the road, and the Sherman tank turret turned from time to time to observe the surrounding environment.
It is said that the Sherman tank had several leading technologies during World War II, one of which was that it took less than ten seconds for the turret to rotate one circle. It was also the only tank in World War II equipped with a vertical stabilizer for the gun, allowing it to fire while moving.
Now seeing it flexibly rotating the turret, it really lives up to its reputation. In comparison, the "Chaffee" tank looks much more rigid.
Fortunately, most of them were "Chaffee" light tanks. I couldn't help swallowing. If all the eight tanks in front of me were replaced with "Pershing", they would become mobile artillery platforms that we couldn't attack or drive away.
That would undoubtedly pose a great threat to us who lack anti-tank weapons. Now we only have this kind of light tank that the Volunteer Army is used to fighting and a medium tank with not much firepower, which is still bearable!
"Woo..." At this time, there was another sound of a motor from behind. I looked at the American military convoy that appeared behind me with some surprise. First, there were a few cars full of American soldiers, followed by a few gray jeeps, and behind them were various military vehicles that stretched as far as the eye could see. Some of the cars were even towing terrifying large-caliber field artillery.
The US military couldn't possibly think of breaking through our defense zone like this! Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but be surprised. How could they break through so rashly?
You want to pass through our defense zone with only eight tanks and a company of infantry as the vanguard? You really think we are the Indians!
But then I thought, this might be because the enemy reconnaissance plane did not discover us. I remembered that when the reconnaissance plane flew over our heads just now, all the soldiers were busy repairing the air-raid shelters in the trenches, and some were even inside the air-raid shelters.
Under the circumstances, it was normal that the US military aircraft did not discover us who were building fortifications in the early morning when the light was not very good.
Sometimes over-trust and over-reliance on modern equipment is not a good thing.
Tanks drove past one after another, and the roar of their engines and the smell of gasoline soon filled the entire valley.
I couldn't help but move the rifle in my hand, and I felt a little dry in my mouth and a tightness in my chest. I had only seen American soldiers on TV and in movies before, but now I didn't expect them to appear in front of me.
These fully armed American troops are still somewhat imposing. Although the war has not yet begun, the expressions on their faces, the uniformly equipped equipment, and the seemingly relaxed and leisurely movements can make people feel an invisible pressure.
This may be the so-called military power! Although I have come into contact with American soldiers before, it was at night and I couldn't see them clearly. Now I see the American soldiers walking in an orderly manner in the daytime, and the feeling is really different.
This kind of pressure is not seen or felt by the puppet army. This should be said to be the difference between soldiers and civilians holding guns.
Swish, swish, swish…At this time, the vanguard of the US military tanks and infantry arrived at the road closest to us, and the deerskin boots squeaked on the snow. The sky was getting brighter and brighter, and we could even see the fatigue on the faces of the American soldiers and the stubble of their beards under their helmets.
In fact, I also know that the quality of the US military is not very good. After the end of World War II, the United States cut a large number of its troops in order to cut spending, reducing the original 12.5 million troops to less than 600,000, and these 600,000 troops had to be dispersed around the world.
When the Korean War broke out, the US military hurriedly increased its troops. Most of them were young men who had never fought in a war and were obsessed with the dream of making meritorious service. The other part were veterans who had participated in World War II. Although they had participated in World War II, they had lived a happy life at home for five years without training. Now they were unwilling to return to the battlefield.
Of course, there are also some veterans who have been serving, such as the Smith Task Force that was the first to fight , but the number of such veterans is really too small.
So in terms of overall quality, the US military is not as good as the British army, which is mostly composed of veterans of World War II. It's just that the US military has undergone systematic training, and the spirit is as different as heaven and earth from the puppet army I fought before, which really gave me a great pressure.
