Chapter 336 05.0335: "Trench Charge"

Whoosh!

boom!
The spinning shells pierced the air, swept over the slowly advancing Astra Militarum lines from high above, and their sharp whistles echoed throughout the battlefield as they smashed into the enemies of the God-Emperor.

According to the time written on the parchment.

The British artillery fired their huge cannons, launching waves of slow-moving artillery fire to cover the infantry charge in the field.

A row of artillery shells like a curtain fell in front of the enemy's trenches, including both high-explosive bombs and smoke bombs.

The diffused thick smoke was mixed with the Mechanicus's special interference elements, and the resulting barrage built a wall of gunpowder and chemical smoke in front of the enemy's position that was difficult to penetrate with any technological means.

The slow-moving barrage in infantry-artillery coordination is a difficult tactic that tests the training level of the troops and the command and coordination of officers on both sides.

Otherwise, it is very likely that the artillery bombardment will be completed but the infantry will not rush to the designated position, or the infantry will rush to the designated position but the artillery bombardment will not suppress the enemy position.

Any of the above situations is likely to result in higher casualties among the infantry units.

The worst case scenario was that the infantry rushed to the shelling point ahead of time, and were hit by both the enemy's hail of bullets and their own heavy bombardment.

The officers tried hard to control the tempo of the attack and maintain a safe distance of about 50 meters from the advancing barrage that gradually extended deep into the enemy's defensive positions.

The Leman Russ tanks, which were ordered to coordinate with the line infantry, also began to slow down.

Mixed in with the infantry, the Royal Engineers wearing sturdy carapace armor passed their comrades and rushed to the minefield in front of the position under the cover of the smoke and chemical fumes raised by the barrage of bullets. They took out their tool kits and began to clear mines and obstacles, while the surrounding infantry and tanks were responsible for providing cover for them.

On the battlefield, engineers will not remove mines one by one under enemy firepower, as this is too time-consuming and labor-intensive, and also carries great risks.

They would place brightly colored markers on the mines so that the infantry accompanying the attack could provide guidance for the tanks to avoid danger.

Even so, a small number of Leman Rust tanks, for various reasons, ran over mines in the barbed wire minefield in front of the defensive positions and had their tracks blown off.

Fortunately, the First Brigade had enough Leman Russ tanks, and the paralyzed tanks could be left in place to serve as a temporary suppression fire point, and the repair team could reconnect the tracks after the battle.

The subsequent Leman Russ tanks of the third offensive echelon will replace the tanks lost by the first and second echelons and fill the battle positions.

The tracks of the leading tank rolled over the long barbed wire, creating a safe path for the infantry to reach the enemy trenches.

The attacking force was very close to the enemy's first trench, and Xu Jin's barrage had already covered the second trench of the rebel garrison along the narrow communication trench.

"Brave warriors of Britain! The time has come to serve the God-Emperor! Seize the trenches and slay the heretics! Charge!"

A gorgeously dressed second lieutenant platoon leader, holding a laser pistol and a power sword, took the lead and shouted with his arms raised.

The first Leman Russ tank rolled over the enemy's trench, and the heavy bombs and laser guns at various points around the vehicle body kept releasing firepower like a hedgehog.

The armaments on the sides of the vehicle have an excellent depression angle, which makes it very convenient to shoot at the rebel infantry hiding inside when rolling over the trenches.

This was a feature that was taken into consideration when the Leman Russ tank was first designed, and was added specifically for trench warfare.

The rebels' nightmare had just begun after they were mowed down by the Leman Russ tanks that rolled over the trenches one after another.

The British line infantry and grenadiers had their own unique fighting methods:
They will form a thin red line with armor. Under the cover of armor, the soldiers will get close to a distance of about 100 meters, and then use the Brown Beth laser gun in their hands, which has a very fast firing rate and strong burst output at close range, to deliver a fierce firepower to the enemy. After the energy block is exhausted, they will continue to advance and replace the energy block.

Finally, when the distance to the enemy is 20 to 30 meters, or even closer, the Brown Beth laser gun with the battery replaced will deliver a deadly firepower to the enemy at close range. The grenadiers will then throw multiple high-powered grenades at the enemy.

Then they would launch a fierce bayonet charge, crushing their opponents in hand-to-hand combat.

This tactic made the British feared on the battlefield, as most of the stragglers would begin to collapse and retreat due to heavy casualties in the first two stages.

After suffering a heavy blow, those well-trained enemies would look at a row of thin red lines with bayonets shining at the front and armored vehicles rushing towards them. This extremely oppressive visual effect is shocking and can easily destroy the enemy's morale.

Similarly, in trench warfare, the rate of fire of the British standard weapons was higher than the common Carterel laser guns, and their long-term hand-to-hand combat training and skilled coordination under strict discipline made them often better at close combat than the mixed rebellious enemies.

At this moment, this classic three-stage tactic has reached the second step. Round grenades are thrown into the trenches from the smoke, bouncing in the ravines like ripe fruits.

Soon, amidst a series of explosions and screams, the charge of the red thin line arrived.

When the British rushed to the trench, the rebels in the trench, who were being bombarded by Leman Russ's heavy side firepower and grenades, were already dizzy and before they could recover, they were hit by another fierce strafing.

The firing rate of the Brown Beth laser gun is about 1.5 times that of the Carterel laser gun. The shooting is fierce and dense, and the fierce hot laser will tear the traitors who have not yet recovered into a bloody and charred corpse.

On the trench pedal, British Royal Engineers wearing heavy carapace armor, gas masks under high-top shako hats, and blue uniforms similar to those of artillerymen pressed the buttons of flamethrowers towards the inside of the trench.

In the smoke, the traitors, who were on fire and looked like hellish ghosts, screamed miserably, slapped and rolled around, and soon fell to the ground, turning into charred corpses. Finally, the tall grenadiers took the brunt of the attack. They also had thick heavy individual armor.

One after another, the well-equipped red-shirted infantrymen jumped down from the trenches.

They used bayonets, trench sticks and leaf-shaped knives in their hands to unleash violence on the rebels who were trapped in the trenches.

It was a complete massacre.

Many rebels were already choking and crying from the chemical fumes from the artillery fire, and then they were deafened and dizzy by the dense grenades thrown in.

Not even half a minute.

A group of muscular men with an average height of 1 meters, wearing red heavy armor and able to throw one-pound grenades 50 meters, jumped into the trench over their heads.

Without any explanation, he would chop down anyone he saw.

They only care about the clothes, not the people. Anyone who is not wearing the same red military uniform will be killed without mercy.

In the trenches filled with white chemical smoke, the British's conspicuous red uniforms and black Sako hats allowed them to quickly identify friend or foe. I wonder if this was the designer's ingenuity or an unintentional trick.

"Go to hell! Running dog of the Corpse King." But not all defenders were willing to sit back and wait for death. A short rebel soldier grabbed a rifle with a bayonet and rushed straight towards a tall grenadier.

These lowly farm slaves actually gained the right to join the army after supporting the rebels in seizing control of the planet.

But the grenadier, relying on his tall and strong physique, kicked the dwarf down with one kick, as easily as a giant kicking a goblin away, and stabbed the man through with his bayonet.

In Britain, only those tall, muscular men who can throw a 0.6 kg grenade 50 meters away can be qualified to join the grenadiers.

Faced with such a tragic battle situation, the rebels in the second trench tried to rely on the communication trench to reinforce the first trench.

But the British had obviously received systematic trench warfare training and were well prepared for this.

The grenadiers first quickly chopped down the guards at the end of the communication trench, and then cooperated with the line soldiers who jumped in later to quickly form a human wall on both wings, and together with the attacking troops who jumped in from other areas, they encircled the rebels in the trench in sections.

Then, the special weapons shooters used the Lewis-type thermal laser guns and Bren-type logging guns in their hands to block key points in the winding communication trench.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before reinforcements from the Chaos rebels advanced from the second line of trenches, trying to support the first trench.

As soon as these unorganized, noisy and disorganized rebels ran to the end of the angle, their bodies fell without any cover on the two cutting gun lines of the special forces shooters.

Screams and screams came from the communication trench as bursts of fire illuminated the wooden sidings of the trench.

But it's not over yet.

Without waiting for the enemy to catch their breath and respond, the Royal Engineer Assault Team threw defensive grenades forward again.

After a cloud of blood mist burst out from above the communication trench, the engineers holding Lancaster laser submachine guns with bayonets advanced forward.

The Lancaster submachine gun in his hand has a very fast firing rate, and the battery interface adopts a sideways right-angle design. This short and powerful weapon is very suitable for traffic trenches.

In addition, the engineering corps had enough explosives, so they did not care whether there were people holding weapons on the other side of the communication trench, blocking their way. A hot-melt blasting pack was thrown over by an engineer holding it with both hands.

boom!
With a loud bang and a tremor that could be felt throughout the trench, and the sound of timber scraping and collapsing, the Royal Engineers advanced rapidly.

The grenadiers following behind him threw another high-powered grenade into the second trench.

The leading engineer was very cautious and nervous.

He held his breath, carefully extended the gun barrel, then peeked out from the corner of the communication trench, took a quick look, and quickly retracted his head.

Although it was not comprehensive enough, the fleeting scene before his eyes had given him enough information. A large circular pit had been blown out at the end of the communication trench.

The wooden pillars supporting the middle section of the trench were blown into countless pieces of wood and charred wood chips.

The two rebel soldiers were embedded in the earth wall with their flesh and blood all over them, and next to them lay dozens of corpses with blood gushing out of all their orifices. It seemed that they were directly killed by the shock wave of the explosion.

After confirming safety, the Royal Engineers quickly took their positions, divided into two rows and leaned against the communication trench that had been blown wide, counting down to the assault.

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(End of this chapter)