It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 169 | Cuirassier Regiment
Without hesitation, Shang Ke rushed straight over.

Seeing him go forward alone, Corporal Kevin and the others quickly followed behind.

Because of damage to the left track and idler wheel, this T-34 could only turn in place and was now facing the enemy from the side. The muzzle of the 76.2 mm short-barreled gun had a visible tear in the steel.

When Shank ran to the tank, he was about to climb up from the side, but just then the driver opened the hatch to take a look.

So Shank immediately took two or three steps back, aimed at the driver, and pulled the trigger.

"Boom!"

The heads of the Imperial Russian tank crewmen exploded like watermelons, spraying red and white matter everywhere.

This is a deer bullet, consisting of eight small lead balls.

Then, Shank, holding a gun in one hand, climbed onto the tank from the side and then jumped to the top of the turret.

Corporal Kevin and the others also gathered around.

With everyone working together, they opened the top hatch. Inside, Warrant Officer Berezova was still frantically trying to pull out her pistol when a shotgun was pointed at her head.

At this moment, the gunner beside her was still unwilling to give up and was still secretly trying to pull out his pistol to fight back. Shang showed no mercy and directly turned the gun on the gunner and blew his head off.

Berezova's face and body were splattered with blood and brain matter, and her ears were ringing. She was dragged out by Shang, who was still in a daze, by his military uniform.

Apart from her, only the co-driver, who also served as the machine gunner, was still alive out of the four crew members.

The Ivanos tank units deployed to Hungary were treated as second-rate units, far worse than those on the main battlefield. Not only were there very few new tanks, but the crew configurations were also worse, with only the tank commander being a first-class soldier to increase his awareness.

Shang's team did not have the corresponding perception shielding ability. If Berezova had been on high alert the whole time, she would have been able to detect it. Unfortunately, she and her crew had been fighting continuously for several hours since the early morning, and all four of them were exhausted.

"Kevin, take someone in and have the communications officer drive the tank."

"Yes!"

Shank breathed a sigh of relief, put the safety on the shotgun, and walked to the two armored vehicles behind him.

The turret hatch of the lead armored vehicle was pushed open, and a girl wearing a French-style cylindrical hat leaned out, then climbed out and jumped down.

The girl had blue-gray eyes and short, reddish-brown hair, which was quite unique.

Upon seeing that this small group of Hungarian soldiers was led by a colonel, she widened her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things or had misremembered the rank identification manual.

The awkward part was the language barrier. The girl stared at Mr. Shang for a few seconds, then tentatively asked in broken Chinese, "Are you from China?"

what?
"You can speak Chinese?" Mr. Shang was overjoyed.

"I know a little." The girl looked doubtful and asked him a probing question: "Colonel, I don't understand, why do you only have so few subordinates?"

Mr. Shang was extremely embarrassed.

"Ahem—it's a long story. A few days ago, when I led my troops to break through the encirclement, we were intercepted and became separated from the troops."

The girl nodded to indicate that she understood, then saluted and introduced herself: "Cecil Moreau, 12th Cuirassier Regiment, 3rd Mechanized Division, Marianna Expeditionary Force, ordered to carry out combat reconnaissance mission on Romeo Street."

"I am a member of the military technical advisory group, Shang Ke." Shang introduced himself and returned the greeting.

His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled. He sighed and then asked, "How is the battle going?" "We are launching a full-scale counterattack. We have outflanked the enemy from the southwest of Budapest. Two or three infantry divisions have already crossed the river and are attacking the enemy in the city," Morrow replied.

"Where are you from?"

"Our division defeated an enemy infantry division in the southwestern suburbs. Our regiment was the first to enter the city, search for and attack the enemy's rear positions."

"I understand." Shang Ke took out the captured hand-drawn sketch from his pocket, which was crumpled when he unfolded it.

He pointed to the map and said, "There's an enemy assembly point and artillery position three intersections away. It used to be a small park. Miss Moreau, would you like to do something big with me?"

Cecil Morrow paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I agree with the order, but Colonel Shang, do you think there's a distinction between 'gentleman' and 'lady' on the battlefield?"

Oh, isn't this just polite talk when we first meet? Why be so serious about it!
Shang Ke chuckled and said in a serious tone, "Of course there's a difference. Miss is riding in a car, while Mr. has been walking on his own these past few days."

Moro was amused and warmly greeted them, "Okay, welcome to hitch a ride, please get in."

The group took a short rest.

As Morro had said, Ivanroth's army and the Romanian army were suffering defeat after defeat, and both the front lines and the rear were gradually collapsing.

As the battle situation deteriorated rapidly, communication between different units became disrupted, leading to numerous scheduling problems.

This is why Mr. Shang dared to get straight to the point.

Cecil Morrow's vehicle was a Panhard 201 heavy armored car, which was the prototype of the historically famous EBR armored car. Its technical and tactical specifications were roughly as follows:
Total weight - 9 tons

Members - 2 people

Armament: 25mm tank gun, 7.5mm coaxial machine gun.

Armor - 60 mm sloped armor on the front of the hull, and 15 mm on the sides.

Such performance is so outstanding that it is almost unparalleled. The frontal armor of the vehicle is so thick and it is arranged at an angle. Even if it were placed on a tank of the same period, it would be extremely impressive.

Or rather, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to put it on a medium tank two or three years from now.

It is well known that the French are famous for their quirky and unconventional car designs, whether it is French civilian cars or French military armored vehicles, all of which embody their creativity in a way that is both laughable and absurd.

This eight-wheeled armored vehicle has good firepower and extraordinary protection capabilities, yet it is only designed for a two-person crew!

One person is responsible for driving, while the other person performs four roles—commander, gunner, loader, and communications officer—which is quite an abstract concept.

It's unimaginable how the designers at Panhard came up with this thing.

Interestingly, although this armored vehicle has four sets of eight wheels, the two middle sets are steel wheels with anti-slip teeth.

When driving on the road, the two middle steel wheels will retract; when off-roading, the middle steel wheels will be lowered, thereby dispersing pressure and greatly increasing off-road capability.

Shank pointed to the bullet hole on the front of the vehicle—the spot hit by a 76.2mm armor-piercing round from a T-34—and said with a mixture of admiration and sarcasm, “You Marianna people are very good at building vehicles. You’re unique. The armor on your vehicles is so thick that even tank guns can’t penetrate it.”

Morel keenly caught his tone, her eyes gleaming with slyness, and she retorted with a playful tone, "If this were also a clichéd armored vehicle made of sheet metal, Colonel Shang, we might all be dead here today. Shouldn't you be grateful for the designer's extraordinary creativity?"

Mr. Shang was speechless.

(End of this chapter)