Munitions Empire

"Boom!" the gunner stomped on the pedal, and a shell flew out of the forest, covering hundreds of meters, and smashed directly into a Dahua 1 Tank advancing forward. The tank's front armor was penetrated, flames erupted, and then it came to a halt, paralyzed and puffing thick smoke. The other Dahua Tanks continued to advance, not even realizing their comrade had been hit. But the Dahua Soldiers following behind the tanks descended into chaos, for they had witnessed the entire event. However, these soldiers quickly regained order and continued to follow their tanks, stepping through the moist soil inch by inch. "Boom!" Hidden in the forest, the No. 4 Tank fired another shot, but this time fortune was not on their side. The trajectory of the shell was visibly low, ultimately smashing into a raised mound of earth and ricocheting off, its destination unknown. After all, hitting an enemy tank on the move at such a distance meant the hit rate could not be very high. In those days, the accuracy of tank guns relied almost equally on the crew's experience and the manufacturing precision of the optical sights' lenses. Even so, the first-round hit rate of cannons was quite low. The gunners had to rely on their own experience to correct the trajectory, making the firing rate a very important performance metric. Within the cramped confines of the tank, the loader pulled out a shell from the most convenient spot, shoved it into the breach, closed the breech block, and then shouted, "Loaded!" "Boom!" With hardly any delay, the gunner stomped on the pedal again, firing another round. This time, he adjusted the elevation angle of the gun and slightly rotated the turret, the projectile hitting a Dahua 1 Tank advancing in the distance. This tank, with its turret not quite centered and slightly askew, also had its front armor penetrated by the shell, which immediately set it ablaze with fierce flames. The tank's hatch was flung open by someone inside, and one Dahua tank crew member who was lucky enough not to be killed jumped out of the tank, ignoring the flames on his calf, and madly dashed towards the distance. About two seconds later, the burning tank became uncontrollable, huge flames burst through the open hatch, and in a moment of secondary explosion, the tank's turret was blown off. The Dahua Tanks moving forward were also searching for their enemy. Although the damp woodland reduced the visibility of the white smoke from the tank's gun muzzle, continuous firing still let out wisps of white smoke that slowly crawled in front of the No. 4 Tank. "Boom!" The Tang Army gunner did not pause for a moment, and as soon as his loader had reloaded, he fired again. Eliminating the enemy at a longer combat distance was the only thing he could do right now; once those enemy tanks got closer, their situation would be utterly dire. They were not the kind of Ace tankers from Germany driving Tiger King Tanks to pick on Sherman tanks; their tanks were just as fragile as the enemy's. The only things they could be proud of were their radio communication, the tank driver's proficiency with the weapons systems. This shell missed again, but still managed to cause some damage. It struck the ground, bounced up, and broke the tracks of an advancing tank. It was sheer luck that crippled an attacking tank, and thus, three of the enemy's tanks had been "taken out." Two of the Dahua Tanks stopped and returned fire. Two shells flew into the forest, whistling past the heads of Tang Army machine gunners in the trenches. The flying projectiles broke branches, shattered twigs, and splintered bark, scattering wood chips in all directions. Clearly, the Dahua Empire's tankers had not yet located their target; they were simply firing blindly, and the trajectories of their shells were far from the concealed Tang Army's No. 4 Tank. Knowing he had not been exposed, the Tang Army tank commander pulled his head back in and excitedly shouted to his gunner, "Keep firing! They haven't found us yet!" "Boom!" Accompanying his shout, the No. 4 Tank trembled, and another shell flew out of the barrel, heading straight for the enemy tanks in the distance. It covered a long distance, rotating continuously in flight, until it hit the front steel plate of the opposing tank. It melted through the metal as smoothly as a hot knife through butter, leaving a hole surrounded by charred edges, then continued its destructive path inside the tank. The Dahua Tank crew inside was pierced by flying shrapnel, dying at their stations without a chance to scream. The gasoline engine of the Dahua 1 Tank ignited once more and exploded into flames amidst the drizzling rain, turning into a brilliant fireball. Like most early tanks, the Dahua Empire's Dahua 1 Tank also used a gasoline engine. After all, it was the most commonly used and most thoroughly understood power system across nations. Every country had its own automobile industry; coming up with more advanced gasoline engines was not a problem. If six cylinders weren't enough, they'd make eight - fuel consumption didn't matter as long as it worked. The issue was quite serious since this thing used gasoline, which could lead to catastrophic explosions. Although the Tang Army had used it as well, back then there weren't many anti-tank weapons capable of penetrating the armor of a Type 4 tank, were there? Now, most of the Tang Army's Type 4 tanks had been refitted with diesel engines, which offered more torque and better performance, and the issue of catastrophic explosions had also been significantly reduced. Next to the Dahua tank that had been hit and exploded, another Dahua tank's tracks rolled on, moving forward, while the Dahua soldiers following behind it avoided the burning tank hull and continued to move forward with their weapons. In fact, many of them had already spotted the approximate hiding place of the firing Type 4 tank, but they had no way of informing the allied tanks charging ahead. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow their own tank, continuing to move towards the Tang Army. That was all they could do, and the only thing they could do. If it were the Tang Army, the communications troops following the infantry could at least relay their observations to the attacking tank units, informing them of the enemy's approximate position and facilitating a rough aim before engagement. Although the tactics were poor and the experience lacking, the tank units of the Dahua Empire were still gradually closing the distance between the combatants, relying on their numerical advantage. Another Dahua Empire tank that had not been attacked was providing cover for the infantry as they neared the forest. In the nick of time, the concealed Tang Army machine guns started roaring. The tracer bullets were highly visible in the slightly hazy drizzle, streaking like lasers into the Dahua military's ranks. The Dahua soldiers, who had crowded behind the tank and were immediately baptized with bullets upon exposure, were instantly thrown into chaos. In the midst of the gunfire, a Tang Empire Grenadier in a foxhole leaped out and threw the prepared explosives toward the enemy tank that was on the move. "Boom!" A massive explosion engulfed the tank, also enveloping Tang Army soldiers who were close to the explosion. Everyone nearby's ears were filled with a buzzing sound, and many Tang soldiers in the trenches were nearly buried alive by the earth hurled by the blast. The long-awaited artillery support had finally arrived; two Wild Bee Automatic Cannons fired shells that landed precisely at the edge of the forest. The shells lifted dirt into the air and pinned down the surrounding Dahua soldiers on the spot, forcing them to lie flat and not daring to raise their heads to continue their advance. Another Dahua Empire tank started to turn, its turret-mounted machine gun firing wildly. A Tang Army soldier trying to approach the tank was hit and fell, with the explosives in his hand detonating beside his body, lifting a canopy of mud into the air. "Boom!" A distant artillery shell arrived, fired from a Type 4 tank. The shell hit the side of the Dahua Empire tank that was turning, and then that tank exploded. The continuous and violent explosions made the situation unbearable for the surrounding Tang Army soldiers. They hid in their foxholes, as if undergoing a trial by fire straight from hell. When they gathered their courage once more, the enemy was within striking distance. A close-quarters battle ensued, with the sounds of assault rifles and battle cries echoing throughout the forest. The fight near the Type 4 tank was still ongoing, and as the battle continued, the loader's pace had noticeably slowed down. The ammunition at his hand's reach was all used up, so he had to increase his movements to fetch more distant ammunition. This further depleted his stamina, causing the Type 4 tank's rate of fire to slow down noticeably. But at this moment, there were already seven or eight burned-out Dahua Type 1 tank wrecks on the battlefield. The number of Dahua Empire tanks participating in the attack had noticeably dwindled, but their position was now very close to the firing Type 4 tank. Worryingly, several of these tanks had spotted the Tang Army tank firing at them, and they were taking aim and shooting, trying to eliminate this sole threat. A Dahua Empire tank fired, the 90 mm main cannon blasting out a shell. The projectile grazed the turret of the Type 4 tank and flew past, striking sparks off an upper protrusion of the tank. "We've been hit!" The electrician yelled anxiously, feeling a slight jolt in their tank. "No! Don't scare yourself! We haven't been penetrated!" The commander reassured everyone loudly and then continued, "Fire when you have the target in sights! The enemy is closing in!" The gunner was already aiming at an enemy who had also stopped to aim at them. Both tanks' barrels were pointed at each other. "Boom!" "Boom!" Almost simultaneously, both tanks fired their shells.