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

Chapter 273 | Federal Volunteer Army
California stretches over a thousand kilometers from north to south, encompassing diverse natural landscapes from coastline to mountains, from deserts to valleys.

Among these, San Francisco is widely recognized as one of the best cities to live in, with a cool and mild climate year-round, although it is humid and foggy.

In late autumn, before the sun has fully risen, the morning sea fog lingers over the entire city, with the Golden Gate Bridge and surrounding houses appearing and disappearing in the mist.

The Golden Gate Bridge was already packed with people, including locals who had come after hearing the news, as well as reporters from several newspapers.

In the distance, the massive battleship is the most recognizable, with its large-caliber twin-mounted guns visible from afar. On either side of the behemoth are several much smaller destroyers, and behind them, seven or eight cargo ships can be vaguely seen.

Reporters and photographers from the San Francisco Post leaned against the railing, tiptoeing to look out, and the photographers immediately started snapping photos of the visitors from afar.

The reporter exclaimed in amazement, "We can see the South Ridge, a battleship of the Chinese Navy. She is escorting volunteer troops to America to participate in the war. Now, the convoy is about to pass through the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Salt Lake City, a US Navy ship of America, is firing a salute."

As the convoy approached, the heavy cruiser USS Salt Lake City, anchored in San Francisco Bay, fired a salute in welcome, a total of nineteen gunshots.

Subsequently, the Nanling also fired an 18-gun salute with its secondary cannons in return.

"The British were the first to start the tradition of firing salutes, but they are superstitious and believe that even numbers are unlucky. They fire 21 guns to entertain heads of state and 19 guns to entertain government officials. This is the general rule in Western countries, which is different from ours."

The captain of the Nanling ship explained a few words of naval etiquette during port visits to Shang Ke.

The sound of cannons echoed in the bay, and the sea fog gradually dissipated as the sun rose. Standing on the bridge, one could see the Golden Gate Bridge spanning the two cliffs in front of them.

Seeing this massive suspension bridge in person was quite awe-inspiring. As Shang Ke gazed at the Golden Gate Bridge bathed in the morning light, he couldn't help but recall the scenes of the bridge being destroyed in numerous movies and TV shows.

"You've come all the way from the ocean to this foreign land. The Americans don't know how to fight. Be careful they don't drag us down. Take care," the colonel bluntly warned.

“I know what I’m doing.” Shank nodded. “I’ll go back to China once things stabilize here. Then I can head west to Egypt and maybe we can fight side by side.”

The fleet had already parted ways at Pearl Harbor. The main force of the fleet, including several aircraft carriers, returned to port. After a short rest, only the Nanling and a small number of warships led the transport convoy to continue eastward.

According to the results of the negotiations between the two countries, the National Defense Forces going to the Americas will participate in the war under the name of the Volunteer Army. The General Headquarters requested that the 8th and 11th Mechanized Infantry Divisions remove as many identification marks as possible.

Because the order was issued so suddenly, everyone adrift at sea could only do what they could in a very hasty manner, such as blacking out the words "National Defense Army" on their identification documents, or removing the black collar insignia that indicated their rank.

The overseas combat organization that had been set up beforehand was even more ridiculous. Just a few days ago, they thought the expeditionary force was about to be officially established, and they had even ordered a plaque for the expeditionary force. But after this telegram came down, they had to hurry up and redo it.

From the time the controlling government first hinted to the American government that it needed help until now, after so many twists and turns, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army has finally been established.

On this late autumn morning, as the cargo ship docked, the first soldier set foot on the American continent, separated by the entire Pacific Ocean.

The federal volunteer force is currently small in size, essentially consisting of only two divisions as advance units, with Major General Xia Zhizun temporarily serving as commander. Two armored infantry divisions, three (motorized) infantry divisions, three tank brigades, and two engineer brigades have already arrived at Wusongkou from the mainland and are about to be loaded onto ships. Further deployments may be made depending on the situation; however, if the battle situation stabilizes, reinforcements will be temporarily suspended.

The General Staff hopes to keep the scale of troop deployment within a reasonable range, just enough, and not rush to send hundreds of thousands or millions of troops.

Long-distance sea freight incurs very little cost in monetary terms, but the time cost is very high, as mobilizing troops requires a significant amount of time for loading and unloading operations and crossing oceans.

In addition to this, the squadron led by the battleship Nanling had another mission.

The two Marine battalions that accompanied the fleet were originally tasked with seizing Oahu and making a beach landing. However, since they were already there, the General Staff did not want to waste their time, so they were ordered to go to Panama to strengthen the defenses of that key strategic hub.

The American army there consisted of only one regiment and some Panamanian militia, totaling only five or six thousand men, whose combat effectiveness was questionable.

"When will the new tanks be delivered to us, Division Commander? Relying on these old things, we're likely to suffer losses in a war."

On the dock, the sounds of people and machinery mingled together, creating a chaotic scene. Zhang Anyuan complained to Shang Ke that the equipment of the division's armored vehicle battalion was outdated.

The crane slowly turned and lifted a tank onto the shore.

The Type 32 medium armored vehicle in service has maintained a slow production rate for a long time, which only accelerated last year. To date, 2440 vehicles have been delivered. The Type 32 has undergone several upgrades, and the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division's armored vehicle battalion has been equipped with the Type C version.

The most distinctive external feature of the Type C is its turret. The original two-person turret has been replaced with a larger three-person turret, and the old 65mm short-barreled gun has been replaced with a tank gun based on a 65mm anti-tank gun, resulting in greater firepower. In addition, the frontal armor thickness of the Type C hull has been increased to 40mm.

If we had to say something, this interwar medium tank platform still had a tiny bit of upgrade potential, but the Equipment Bureau had already abandoned it. The Type 32 C was essentially just an emergency transitional model, while the Type 40, which was superior in all aspects, had already entered production.

One interesting point is that the 76.2mm tank gun used in the early T-34 models had mediocre power and poor workmanship. Captured Russian manuals stated that it could penetrate 69mm of vertically placed steel plates at a distance of 500 meters, but the domestic equipment bureau's actual tests showed that it could only barely penetrate 60mm of armor steel.

If the crew of the Type 32 tank placed a few track plates on the front of the hull, the early T-34 would have some difficulty penetrating them, provided the engagement distance was sufficient. Considering that the Type 32 was widely equipped with armor-piercing rounds, there was no predicament of being 'unable to penetrate or defend against'.

"We still need to pay attention to morale. Don't regard the Russian tanks as indestructible monsters. We must firmly believe that our army has all kinds of advanced weapons. Lao Zhang, you will personally handle the propaganda in this regard."

"Yes, I'm just worried that this first battle abroad won't be a good one."

"Don't worry, war is a systematic operation. We haven't lost air superiority. Besides, do you think I don't know what the Russians are capable of?" Shang Ke smiled slightly.

"That's true, Commander. No one knows more about this than you."

(End of this chapter)