Chapter 352： British 1st Armored Division

39 years, February 14.

This is a special day, all western countries are celebrating Valentine's Day.

If you have a lover, spend time with a lover. If you don't have a lover, find a lover. If you can't find a lover, then spend it with your left hand. In short, this day must be happy.

However, for many people, this day is destined to be a busy day.

For example, now, in a French port, a force is slowly moving down from the ship.

"Buzz, buzz." The sound of the engine was rumbling, and a small-looking tank was moving from the ship.

This tank has a small turret and a cylindrical shape. The weapon on the top is so simple that it only has a machine gun. On the bottom, the balanced suspension is even more special. A row of small road wheels looks like everything. Is a weak chicken.

At this time, the driver is stepping on the accelerator, and the Ford 8-cylinder gasoline engine at the rear is rumbling. Unfortunately, only 70 horsepower is not enough even if the accelerator is fully throttled.

This is the Matilda 1 tank that Britain only equipped to the army last year.

This tank has a total combat weight of 11 tons, a crew of 2 people, a length of 4.85 meters, a width of 2.29 meters, and a height of 1.87 meters.

It can be seen that the size and combat weight are very small, and it can be regarded as an absolute light tank.

The only weapon is the 12.7mm machine gun, and its maximum speed is only 12.8 km/h. It can be said that a healthy snail can compete with it.

Compared with other weaknesses, this tank has a disproportionate protection. The front armor of the hull is 60 mm thick, and the turret is surrounded by 65 mm thick steel armor. Needless to say, light tanks, even today’s The main battle tank, the German Panther 3, is not 65 mm thick on the sides.

This is entirely caused by the difference in combat thinking. Although the British invented the tank, the British had their own set of how to use the tank.

The British military divides tanks into: infantry tanks, cruiser tanks and light tanks.

As an infantry tank, the driving speed should not be very high, as long as the infantry on foot can keep up; it does not require a strong offensive power, as the tank's weapon only needs a machine gun. However, armor protection must be strong.

In other words, the infantry tank is a typical mobile machine gun firepower point.

This kind of thinking gave rise to the current "Matilda" Type 1 tank.

At the same time that this tank was manufactured, Britain also realized that it might fall behind, so they developed a Type 2 tank, using a 40mm tank gun, and the total weight increased to 27 tons, which was considered a medium-sized tank. tank.

Now, this "advanced" tank has produced a total of 139 vehicles, mainly equipped for the British First Armored Division.

The formation of the British armored forces was actually very late. It was only in 1934 that Britain formed the 1st Tank Brigade, with the famous Hobert as the brigade commander.

It was only in 37 years that the planning and formation of the first armored division began, which was formed by the then chief of staff Archibald Montgomery-Masenbird in the name of the "mobile division".

At first, according to the plan, this division had jurisdiction over the first and second light armored brigades, the first army tank brigade, and auxiliary units such as artillery, engineers, and signal troops.

It is a pity that Britain's backwardness in tanks made all of these ideas frustrated.

Now, this division has a light armored brigade equipped with light tanks and cruise tanks, and a tank brigade equipped with cruise tanks. Due to the insufficient number of cruiser tanks, most of the two brigades are equipped with light tanks.

This is the current "Matilda" Type 1 tank.

(There is also a saying that it is a Vickers MK.VI tank. If you want to know it, it will greatly clarify.)

And now, what appeared in the port was the tank unit of the First Armored Brigade of the First Armored Division. They came to France from the British mainland to participate in the military parade held tomorrow.

This is simply tiring work!

When the Polish War broke out, the British Ministry of Defense issued an emergency order, so the first armored brigade trained in the garrison began a rush. They drove to the port, loaded the ship, swayed all the way, and came here. , Have to continue on the road of France.

It seems that there is no need to sleep tonight.

First, this title is very proud. For the First Armored Division and the First Armored Brigade, this title is even more heavy. Every time a military parade, they will be thought of.

Tanker Cruz, stomping on the accelerator vigorously, seemed to vent his dissatisfaction, his head was exposed, looking at the road ahead.

"Come on, we must catch up with tomorrow's military parade!" Not far away, standing on a wheeled off-road vehicle, Brigadier Commander Herbart shouted with a loud speaker.

Many radio stations of this batch of tanks are not fully equipped, and Herbart can only use this method to call on his troops.

Unlike in history, Herbart has not retired from active service. After all, the German armored forces put a lot of pressure on the British Army. The UK needs people who really understand armor, and Herbart is definitely an armor expert. You must know that now This tank was developed under the auspices of Herbart Herbart is one of the few active advocates of the "Tank Force Theory" in Britain, and has published many papers on armored warfare. At the same time, he personally conducted tests and verifications in the armored forces and became one of the pioneers of the British armored warfare theory.

It's a pity that he has a rather weird character, he's easy to go to extremes, and he doesn't belong to the group. In history, he had to retire from active service before World War II. In the eyes of the British Army, armored soldiers also need cavalry generals to command.

Until the outbreak of World War II, he served as the captain of the British National Defence Volunteer Army and was later promoted to the regional leader of the Volunteer Army. By chance, Prime Minister Churchill discovered Herbart's extraordinary talents, so he rejected all the opinions and allowed Herbart to "reinstate the official".

But now, Herbart has not retired, nor progressed, still staying in the position of his armored brigade commander.

Compared with his subordinates, he is also annoyed, but he is more worried.

German troops continue to wreak havoc on Polish territory, and according to the original agreement, Britain needs to support Poland.

This time, they stepped onto the French soil in the name of the exercise. His armored brigade arrived in the early stage, and the other troops of the First Armored Division came later.

What about after the drill? Most likely, they need to go to the front. Now, is his first armored brigade capable of competing with German armored divisions?

Although Herbart is arrogant, he is absolutely not arrogant. He knows that the tanks equipped by his troops are outdated.

The German tanks have the protection of infantry tanks and the mobility of cruise tanks. How did they do it? Against the Panther tank, Herbart didn't have any confidence.

And now, looking at the group of tank soldiers under his men, he was even more furious: "Cruz, you idiot, don't go on the road, crush the French road, we are going to lose money!"