Under the cover of over a hundred tanks, the regrouped Americans launched another attack on the German Army positions.
Tanks during World War I were relatively slow; take the French-made renault tank FT-17, which was the primary equipment of the US Army, for example.
Although by the standards of World War II, this 7-ton tank would be considered an ultra-light tank, its weak power system meant it completely lacked the mobility advantages of World War II light tanks, with a maximum speed of only 10 km/h and a pathetic operational range of only 40 km.
The slow speed gave the German Army time to react.
After the US Army launched their attack, the German Army on the front lines quickly discovered that the enemy had deployed tanks.
William, who was on the front line, also received this intelligence immediately.
“The enemy has deployed tanks?” “There are quite a few, probably over a hundred!” Upon receiving the news, William braved the danger of shelling, climbed to a higher position, took out his binoculars, and looked toward the enemy’s direction.
Because tanks had just been invented, the armies of various countries during World War I did not know the correct way to use them and were still in the exploratory stage.
During the Battle of the Somme, the British Army even went so far as to have tanks operate independently from the infantry.
Fortunately, it was the German Army’s first time seeing tanks as well.
They knew nothing about these things, and upon first sight, they were frightened by the strange appearance of the tanks and did not dare to launch an active attack.
If the soldiers in the trenches had been any German Army unit from World War II, the tanks the British Army deployed at the Somme would likely have been reduced to scrap metal.
After that, the way countries used tanks gradually evolved into mobile fortresses protecting infantry as they advanced, and thus, infantry-tank coordination tactics were born.
At this moment, this is exactly the tactic the Americans were using.
Behind almost every tank, there was a platoon of infantry following.
They bent their waists and hunched their bodies, following closely behind the tanks, cautiously advancing forward.
The German Army’s bullets were blocked by the tanks in front, unable to cause casualties to the US troops hiding behind them.
At this point, the enemy had already advanced more than 300 meters; in a few more minutes, their infantry would reach the German Army’s trenches.
By then, under the cover of tank fire, the German Army on the front line would be in a very passive position, and the first line of defense would be in danger of falling.
They had to respond as quickly as possible, otherwise the situation would become very disadvantageous for the German Army.
After assessing the enemy situation, William quickly formulated a response: “Have the mortars switch to high-explosive shells and strike the enemy tanks and the infantry behind them vertically from above!” “Tell the howitzer regiment to increase their propellant charges, increase the lethality of the shockwaves, and incapacitate the enemy tank crews!” Anti-tank weapons during World War I were not as advanced as they would later become; the German Army currently only had a small number of anti-tank rifles and anti-tank guns available.
But because the front line was a full 25 kilometers wide, these few anti-tank weapons were simply not enough.
Therefore, they had to find a way from other aspects!
The armor of World War I tanks was relatively thin, only about 20 millimeters thick, and in weaker areas like the rear and the top, the armor thickness was even less than 10 millimeters.
Although the German Army’s Mauser rifles and Maxim heavy machine guns still could not penetrate them, large-caliber mortars and howitzers were perfectly capable of disabling the enemy tanks.
Especially the mortars; their trajectory was quite unique.
They could perform top-attack strikes on tanks from above, just like later anti-tank missiles.
Once they hit, they could not only destroy the tank’s top armor but also had a high probability of wiping out the crew inside the tank as well.
After the order was given, the German Army’s gunners quickly got to work.
Inside the trenches, the German Army soldiers brought out 76mm heavy mortars.
They quickly adjusted the firing angle of the muzzle and inserted the 4.5kg high-explosive shells into the barrels.
With a dull thud, the shells flew into the sky, tracing a perfect parabola, and accurately hit an American tank that was in motion.
With a thunderous boom, the shell exploded on the roof of the tank.
The renault tank’s mere 6mm roof armor could not withstand such massive explosive power.
A large amount of flame and shrapnel flew into the vehicle body through the hole blown in the roof, sending all the crew members inside to meet God.
The infantry hiding behind the tanks didn’t fare any better.
The large amount of shrapnel from the explosion also caught them, and a dozen unlucky souls fell on the spot.
Some were killed instantly, while others were injured but not dead, lying on the ground wailing.
Because tanks were moving targets, and the accuracy of mortars was not high to begin with, not many tanks were directly hit.
But for the infantry hiding behind the tanks, the German Army’s recent round of shelling was truly life-threatening.
Except for the shells that landed in front of the tanks and were blocked by their frontal armor, the shells that landed on the left and right sides and behind caused massive casualties to the US infantry.
But what was even more deadly was not the mortars, but the German Army’s large-caliber howitzers.
Upon receiving the order, the German Army’s artillery positions immediately increased the propellant charges and switched entirely to high-explosive shells.
Accompanied by the roar of the heavy artillery group, large-caliber howitzer shells fell onto the battlefield like raindrops.
The dense explosions sounded like rolling thunder across the battlefield.
The shockwaves and large amounts of shrapnel from the explosions, with the impact point as the center, swept large swaths of US troops to the ground.
Even some tanks that were relatively close were paralyzed on the spot under the impact of the shockwaves and shrapnel from the exploding shells.
The American commanders watching from the rear and the observers from Britain and France frowned simultaneously.
In previous battles, it wasn’t as if their tanks had never been destroyed by enemy artillery fire.
But they didn’t know if it was just their imagination, why did it feel like more tanks were being destroyed by artillery fire today than usual?
“It’s fine, just some minor losses; we can afford this price!” “As long as we advance another two hundred meters, victory will be ours!” Seemingly to reassure everyone, General Glitt, commander of the First Army, said with feigned composure, as if he didn’t care about these casualties at all.
The United States now had a population of 100 million, and the number of soldiers conscripted into the military reached over 4 million; they could indeed afford this small loss.
However, this attitude of disregarding life reminded the British Army of Haig, known as the Butcher of the Somme.
That guy had the same attitude back then.
Even though the British Army suffered heavy casualties on the Somme battlefield, he didn’t care at all.
Not only did he not stop to reflect on his tactics, but he instead ordered the soldiers to continue to their deaths, leading to over 400,000 casualties for the British Army in just a few short months!
Now, seeing this face of the Americans, the British Army had a strong sense of déjà vu.
This battle would very likely become the Americans’ Somme.