Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 134 Self-propelled truck-mounted artillery, launch!

"There's a pothole ahead, be careful not to drive into it, turn right."

"There are stones on the road, put them in front of the revolver..."

In the passenger seat of the self-propelled truck artillery, Ryan listened to Brinkman's call-outs beside him, feeling extremely satisfied.

He glanced at the convoy, which was about a kilometer away and had completely blended into the night, and then, using the red light emanating from Brinkman's head, checked his watch.

It's 10:30 PM now, not quite midnight yet, but it's close.

The occupied supply depot was less than three kilometers to the north. What Ryan was doing now was moving the trucks south along the accessible dirt roads until they reached a higher-lying woodland a little over a kilometer from the supply depot.

According to what he saw on the system map, the terrain there was more than ten meters higher than the supply station, and with the cover of trees, it was a very suitable place for an ambush.

Of course, it was an ambush using truck-mounted artillery.

The main assault convoys would launch their own attack when Raine's truck-mounted artillery was almost at the edge of the woods.

The tarpaulins on the three leading trucks have now been removed, and each truck is equipped with a machine gun in its cargo box and cab.

Unfortunately, the P-08's actual range is not long, and although the MP-14 was ordered on an expedited basis, it will still take several more months before mass production can begin.

Renn didn't want his assault company to face the enemy cavalry head-on in the dead of night, wasting bullets and not necessarily hitting their targets.

The cavalry were fast enough that they might even have a chance to turn the tables and, under the cover of darkness and in the flash of gunfire, kill the assault company.

But machine guns are different.

This thing can sweep across a kilometer or two. The truck drives forward while firing, and there's always one shot that some unlucky guy manages to catch.

soon.

As Brinkman's command became more and more proficient, the truck-mounted artillery finally started firing, and amidst a trail of thick smoke, it laboriously climbed up the relatively gentle earthen slope to the high ground that was more than ten meters high.

At the same time, Brinkman also confirmed the advancing convoy through his binoculars and began to report the situation on the scene.

But just as Ryan was about to get out of the car in the dark, he immediately took the red-glowing sunglasses from Brinkman's hand: "Still looking? Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

"That wasn't you calling me..."

Brinkman had barely opened his mouth when he heard the sound of a bullet whizzing past him.

A second or two later, the gunshot barely reached my ears.

This startled everyone, and Ryan grabbed Brinkman by the collar, using brute force to pull her off the vehicle, and ordered, "Set up the cannon immediately! The convoy is only 500 meters away from firing range!!"

This immediately caught Brinkman's attention: "Can't you see that?"

Ryan slapped her on the back of the head: "If I'm not here, who will you show this to?"

The artillerymen standing nearby didn't dare to breathe loudly, because they could already see the main supply station building with its lights on, as well as the two sentry posts set up in front and behind it.

Just then, the gunner darted around the vehicle and appeared beside Rein: "Colonel, where should we fire first?"

Although he said that, his eyes were already on the two-story building of the supply station and the Imperial cavalry resting around the campfire.

Imperial supply depots are rarely equipped with full troop protection, so some members of this Imperial cavalry squadron would inevitably be unable to enter the buildings and would be forced to rest in the open.

But that shot had clearly alerted many of the Imperial cavalry, who left the campfire and aimed their rifles at the deep night around them.

But Raine didn't see any red light.

This made him feel a lot more at ease.

After all, if the Empire were to assign a large number of noble soldiers and officers to the cavalry, then even if I brought an entire infantry regiment, I might not gain any advantage.

But when the gunner asked him a question, Raine fell silent.

Which to hit first, that is the question.

There weren't enough cannonballs, only twenty, so not a single one could be wasted.

The enemy is cavalry, so once the battle begins, they will inevitably rush to take the warhorses...

and many more.

War horse?

Ryan perked up immediately. He glanced at the map and saw a large number of horses tethered to the fence on the side of the road opposite the supply station.

That piece of land wasn't far away, and it didn't have any slope protection, so it was easy to hit with artillery.

Moreover, because of the road that was raised half a meter high, even though the supply station was very close, it was not easy to be accidentally injured by shrapnel from the shells; at most, a few windows would be broken.

After thinking it through, Ryan immediately said.

"Shoot their horses!"

"These imperial bastards were able to take over the empire's supply depots thanks to their horses. If we don't take out their horses, we'll be in trouble later."

Then Brinkman put the red sunglasses over his eyes, glanced at the road, and immediately took them off. He then rolled over and rolled several meters away, saying, "Their horses are on the road on our side, exactly one kilometer away!"

This made the gunner look enviously at Brinkman, who could use those glowing glasses.

After all, everyone wants to have the same vision as a normal person during the day in such an environment.

But the bullets from the Empire that followed, the mud they kicked up, and the faint sound of gunfire immediately calmed him down. He kept cursing under his breath, "Damn it, how could I have thought of using something that only those who are reckless can use?" Brinkman listened to his words without saying a word, but instead hid behind a tree. He waited until the gunfire stopped before rolling back and squeezing behind the truck wheels with Ryan.

At this moment, the artillery crew on the side also finally completed the installation of the stabilizer for the self-propelled truck-mounted gun.

Three long metal rods, connected to a rotatable base by bearings and hinges, were deeply embedded in the ground. The metal mudguards turned up a large patch of soil, and the wooden hammer used to strike the fixing bolts was casually placed aside, held in the arms of the gunner.

The rest of the gun crew quickly adjusted the gun's aim and, in less than half a minute, successfully pointed the barrel, which had been cut to the same length as the hydraulic recoil buffer, toward the supply station.

The gunner, clutching the wooden hammer, rubbed his hands excitedly as he gave orders in a voice only those present could hear: "Load the grenades! Same for the next round! Target—one kilometer away, the warhorses on the roadside directly opposite the supply depot!"

The two loaders immediately opened the breech and skillfully stuffed the shells, which had been reduced by one-third of their propellant charge, into the breech.

The gunner, holding two levels, first zeroed out the sights and the gun's elevation angle, and then, in the dark, adjusted the gun to an elevation angle of one kilometer based on his memory.

After all, he couldn't see the location of the Imperial cavalry's warhorses.

After doing all that, he began to make the final adjustments to the artillery's aim under the command of Brinkman and Ryan.

The whole process didn't waste much time; it was done in less than thirty seconds.

However, the gunner was clearly dissatisfied with the speed. He looked at his gun crew with a very dissatisfied expression, but did not say anything.

The gunner quickly grabbed the rope and ran several meters away, where he and the others stood with their backs to the cannon, waiting for orders from their superiors.

The gunner also looked at Rein, but he did not immediately give the order to fire.

Renn was waiting, waiting for the imperial cavalry to rush to mount their horses.

He could see the movements of the Imperial cavalry through the system's map.

However, they were very cautious and were only waiting for the red light from the sunglasses in Brinkman's hand to reappear, without any intention of conducting any further search.

This immediately made Renn not want to wait any longer.

Just as the convoy was about to enter firing range, he immediately exited the system map: "Fire."

"Fire!"

The gunner immediately shouted it out.

The next moment, the gunner pulled the firing cord.

For the first time, a 77mm cannon was fired from the cargo hold of a truck.

Bright flashes of light erupted from the sawn-off cannon barrel, and the grenades, packed with explosives, transformed into shooting stars in the night sky, tracing a graceful arc before landing precisely in the window of the supply depot.

Bright yellow flames shot out directly from inside the supply station, but immediately afterward, an even more violent explosion erupted inside the supply station!
The small brick and wood supply station disintegrated almost instantly, with the wooden roof being lifted high and then crashing back to the ground.

Sparks flew everywhere and immediately ignited everything in the vicinity, engulfing the entire supply station in flames.

On the road in the distance, Hammer, who was already prepared to open fire, immediately ordered his men to open fire after seeing the explosion at the supply depot.

The beams of light from the six machine guns lashed out like whips around the supply depot, which was now completely engulfed in flames.

The attacks from two different directions stunned the surviving Imperial cavalrymen.

The survivors rushed frantically to the warhorses tied to the roadside, but these horses, already exhausted from the daytime siege, were terrified by the series of explosions.

The intense gunfire and the distinctive roar of truck engines made them even more difficult to control.

Many Imperial cavalrymen had just managed to calm their horses down when the dust kicked up by flying bullets ruined their efforts.

But what awaited them was not just machine guns and trucks.

The truck-mounted cannon, which had missed its initial shot, completed the reloading of a new shell in less than ten seconds.

The gunner, unwilling to accept defeat, adjusted the muzzle of the cannon and, after a quick assessment, pulled the firing lever.

Bright flames erupted again on the truck.

But this time.

The grenade did not miss its target.

The 77mm grenade landed precisely in the center of the herd of horses.

The warhead, with a charge of over 600 grams, instantly turned into a massive fireball upon landing.

Those warhorses and soldiers at the epicenter were instantly reduced to a pile of minced meat, and the shrapnel from the exploding bullets easily claimed the lives of all warhorses and cavalry within a 30-meter radius.

Seeing this, the cavalrymen who had survived by being a step too slow ran wildly into the wilderness.

In order to avoid being overtaken, they even threw their guns, bullets, helmets, and swords onto the ground.

Renn saw all of this.

He looked at the Imperial cavalry, who had lost their horses and could only flee in disarray, and said coldly.

"Lieutenant, fire the flares."

He had no intention of letting any of the Empire's soldiers go.

(End of this chapter)