Chapter 353： Charles de Gaulle's tank

The British army is marching towards Paris. In addition to the armored units, there are also cavalry units, infantry units, and warplanes.

All this, of course, is for the military parade the next day.

There was no warning in this military parade. All the troops participating in the military parade were assembled in haste, but for France, their situation was better.

It is enough to find some troops directly from near Paris to serve as the exercise troops.

Among them, of course there must be tank units. Under this thinking, the 507 tank regiment under the command of Colonel Charles de Gaulle was mobilized.

Compared to the small British tanks, Colonel de Gaulle's tank unit is not so brilliant.

Like the British, France also divided the tanks into cavalry tanks and infantry tanks.

According to the current state, France is more inclined to fight a defensive war, and believes that this mode of war can achieve the final victory, but it also considers that it must also fight offensive war under certain strategic situations.

Under such circumstances, France needs special vehicles with breakthrough and penetration capabilities. This is the responsibility of the S-35 tank manufactured by Soma.

This S-35 tank has good maneuverability and high endurance. According to historical design indicators, it can penetrate the artillery and armor of the imaginary enemy Soviet BT-7 tank and the German No. 3 tank, and can resist their attacks. Go deep into the enemy's position to conduct strategic infiltration operations and destroy their armored reserves.

But now, this historically considered the best tank of the 1930s is far behind.

From the point of view of the crew, this tank has 3 people. Although it is one more person than the previous small tank, it is still much smaller than the German five-man tank.

At the same time, the weight of the entire tank, 19.5 tons, uses a 141.7 kilowatt V8 gasoline engine with a maximum speed of 41km/h and a maximum range of 257km.

It can be found that if you follow the historical process, the performance of this 20-ton tank is still very good.

The armor was thick, 47 mm in front, with an inclination angle, enough to withstand the artillery of the German No. 3 tank at the time. At the same time, a 47 mm SA-47 artillery was used to tear apart the German tank armor at the time.

In fact, in the history of World War II, German armored forces were not technologically advanced, but tactics were advanced.

The Germans did this in the centralized use of tanks, while the French were very sad.

In World War I, French tanks were quite brilliant in the war, especially the light FT-17 tank, which was simply a template for later generations of tanks.

After World War I, the French worked hard. General Jean-Estian, the father of the French armored forces, was solely responsible for the research and development of the assault artillery. Under his auspices, the French fully built armored vehicles, including light tanks and equipped with howitzers. Support tanks, powerful assault tanks, and armored supply vehicle command vehicles, etc.

Unfortunately, these actions led to opposition from conservative forces within the army. The assault artillery headquarters was disbanded in 1920, and the French armored forces had to be under the unified command of the infantry.

As a result, the French army hardly developed any armored forces in the next ten years. At the same time, they had no money. Most of the defense budget was used to build the Maginot Line.

De Gaulle was a tall and thin military officer. He participated in World War I and was captured. He escaped from prison five times later, showing his firm will and loyalty to the motherland.

He really cares about the country, and he deeply feels the deterioration of the current situation.

The German invasion of Poland has completely brought substantial losses to Britain and France, but now, Britain and France have not even declared war, but only used this military parade to show the Germans their determination!

This is ridiculous. Victory can only be achieved on the battlefield. Could it be that the parade can stop the Germans from attacking?

The appetite of the Germans has no bottom line. What will happen to the Germans when Poland is annexed?

Thinking of this, de Gaulle was very unoptimistic. He watched his army, racing on the highway, and in front of him was already a brightly lit metropolis, Paris!

"Rest in place and prepare for tomorrow's military parade." De Gaulle issued an order to his subordinates.

It is impossible to enter the city right now, and there is not so much space at all. Take this opportunity to rest quickly.

De Gaulle was sitting on an S-35 tank, leaning on the turret, under the heat of the engine, he could not fall asleep looking at the stars in the sky.

In the middle of the night, there was a new roar in the distance.

The British armored soldiers, half-tired, caught up.

"Colonel de Gaulle, it's nice to meet you." Herbart jumped off his tank and shouted at de Gaulle.

The two had known each other a long time ago As early as 1931, de Gaulle served in the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Defense in Paris. With Petain's permission and support, de Gaulle published many articles and held several lectures at the Military Academy.

Many of De Gaulle's thoughts are well accepted by Herbart, such as the intensive use of tanks and the formation of specialized armored divisions.

And now, when the two met again, Herbart was calling for help: "Colonel de Gaulle, ask for immediate supply of our tanks. All the way, we will soon run out of fuel. If there is no fuel, we cannot complete tomorrow's military parade. formula."

Herbart's supply convoy has not yet arrived, and needs a follow-up ship. Now, he is out of fuel.

If you have stayed in the army, you know how serious the bureaucracy in the army is. Generally speaking, it is the uncle who supplies logistics. If you don't have a good relationship with others, the supply will have problems.

Different troops are running on each other, not to mention, they have now crossed the country.

However, if the personal relationship is friendly, it's another matter.

"No problem." De Gaulle said quickly: "First use my supplies."

De Gaulle's generosity made Herbart quite happy: "When my supplies arrive, I will return them to you immediately."

Sitting on the tank with Charles de Gaulle, Herbart sighed: "Your tank is really good. It's bigger than our tank."

The "Matilda" Type 1 tank weighs only 11 tons, but its armor is 60 mm thick, which shows how compact this tank is. Compared with the French 20-ton tank, it is a lap smaller.

"Our tanks have fallen behind." De Gaulle said: "German tanks are much more advanced than ours. Our armored soldiers must have advanced tanks. Otherwise, we will be absolutely disadvantaged in battle. "