Munitions Empire-Chapter 962 - 885 Dangerous Signals

Chapter 962: 885 Dangerous Signals Chapter 962: 885 Dangerous Signals On the western border of the Tang Empire, near the Dahua Empire segment, the armored corps of the Tang Army were busy unloading tanks at the train station, which was packed with logistic support vehicles and personnel.

All around was a bustling scene, with officers checking the weapons and equipment that their troops had arrived with, inspecting some ammunition, and an assortment of odds and ends.

“Careful! Be careful there! Watch it! Don’t let it fall!” Beside the flatbed, an officer holding a megaphone was shouting at the train’s operators.

His soldiers were working hard to unload a Type 4 tank from the train. As a newly established unit, the 19th Armored Division was not really one of the Tang Army’s main forces.

The fact that the Great Tang Empire was expanding its armored corps was clear to many countries; however, they were somewhat baffled by the way in which the Great Tang was conducting this expansion.

The new and expanding armored corps were mostly under-strength and equipped with old, second-hand Type 4 tanks. These were tanks that had been phased out by the main forces, some of which even bore the scars of bullet holes.

Such armored divisions were generally only equipped with a single armored regiment, and armed with Type 4 tanks and outdated maintenance and refueling vehicles, they appeared quite shabby.

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The Tang Army’s organization typically went like this: The 1st Armored Division and the 11th Armored Division were paired with other troops to form the first armored army, and the 2nd Armored Division was similarly paired with the 12th Armored Division.

Newly organized armored units beginning with the number ten were basically picking up the scraps from the main forces, receiving equipment like the Type 4 tanks.

Since there weren’t enough phased-out tanks to go around, nor were there new reinforcements, this meant that divisions with a teen series of numbers were more like training units, with little combat capability.

Other countries speculated that the Tang Empire was transitioning to Panther Tanks and didn’t want to waste those decommissioned Type 4 tanks, so they were cast off to second-tier troops for continued use.

Beyond the Type 4 tanks, the infantry equipment of the Tang Empire was also being upgraded: Many modifications based on the Type 4 tank’s chassis were in the works, resulting in a wide and varied assortment.

For example, enhanced anti-tank guns for the infantry were typically modified from the Panther Tank’s main cannon to create turretless tank destroyers.

This equipment, a tank destroyer armed with a long-barrel 75mm caliber cannon, was jokingly referred to as the “long-nosed” by the Tang Army, being something of a makeshift recycling effort.

Of the same nature was the 105mm low-velocity short-barrel cannon mounted on the Type 4 assault gun—a beefed-up version of the original Type 4 assault gun that had been fitted with solely a 75mm short-barrel cannon.

By sacrificing ammo capacity and sustained combat capability, the fighting compartment was slightly enlarged to provide the infantry with a kind of “assault gun” that could temporarily serve as a self-propelled gun.

Add to that the substantial number of Type 4 tank chassis that were converted into 155mm caliber Wild Bee self-propelled howitzers, turning these tank chassis into what were essentially the true “warhorses” of the Great Tang Empire.

The main reason was simply that the Panther Tank’s chassis was too complex, and Tang Mo had no intention of continuing its use.

To this day, the whole world is studying why the Tang Empire’s Panther Tanks used a double-row load-bearing wheel design, yet no one anticipated that the Tang Empire itself would soon stop using them.

In any case, this phase of the Tang Empire’s land forces equipment could indeed be described as varied and dazzling to the observer.

However, the speculations of other countries were only half right: The main forces of the Tang Empire were indeed re-equipping, but they were switching to the divine Type 59, not the legendary Panther Tank.

The outdated Panther Tanks were already being phased out as second-tier tanks, production could barely keep up, where would there be the possibility of mass production?

This time, as the Tang Army gathered near the border regions, in order not to be too alarming, they hadn’t moved any of their main forces.

Not a single Panther Tank was deployed; all the arrivals at the front line were from the newly expanded armored corps, and it looked remarkably like a collective misery competition among Huaxia units during the Spring Festival.

When the land forces rolled out the Type 4 tanks, it was naturally out of fear that showcasing a large number of Panther Tanks would instill too much fear in the Dahua Empire.

Even the presence of the Type 4 tanks alone had already put the Dahua Empire on high alert—they weren’t afraid of those Type 4 tanks; they feared the unseen Panther Tanks behind them….

The scene in front of them was actually quite peculiar; seeing Type 4 tanks equipped only with short-barrel cannons in this era could itself be considered a miracle.

After all, the Air Force of the Tang Empire was switching to J-6 Fighter Jets while also mass-producing the Type 59 main battle tank. Yet, the front-line troops were still equipped with a large number of fragile Type 4 tanks, which was just too fantastical.

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Those units equipped with Type 4 tanks were well aware of their actual purpose; they were playing their role enthusiastically, conveying a strong unwillingness for the Tang Empire to get involved.

“Watch those tanks!” the officer shouted to the soldiers unloading tanks from the train once more. These tanks were precious; until new models were issued, they were the most capable equipment the soldiers had.

“It’s tricky, not allowing casual photography, yet not being too secretive… Sigh…” A soldier assisting with the unloading of a Type 4 tank overheard the officer’s shout behind him and couldn’t help but murmur a complaint under his breath.

Their unit was ostentatiously displayed for the press to see, yet they couldn’t let the reporters publicize it too much….

In the sky, the patrol units of the Tang Empire’s Air Force were also being very cautious, increasing the number of sorties slightly, yet always maintaining restrained two-plane formations.

They were using the Butcher Fighter Jets, which had been in use for many years, showing no signs of being replaced with newer models.

Other countries had evolved from biplane fighters to advanced monoplane fighter jets, significantly faster, yet only the Tang Empire’s Butcher Fighters seemed to be sticking around.

Watching the Butchers fly by in the distant sky, the soldiers on the ground couldn’t help but sigh involuntarily—was all this secrecy really for the best?

However, the Tang Empire had already equipped many Type 6 Fighters, which were all deployed to Dragon Island; even the Air Force units in Chang’an hadn’t been outfitted with them.

This degree of secrecy was necessary, for the Type 6 was too advanced for this world. Pulling it out in a non-full-scale war situation would seem wasteful.

At the outskirts of the station, one man dressed like a merchant discreetly turned and left—He needed to report to his superiors that a new numeral had appeared on the border, a very dangerous signal!