Great Power Industry: You're a private company building an aircraft carrier?

A few minutes later, at the headquarters of the 2nd Marine Division.

Division Commander Coulson's face was grim: "What? My 2nd Tank Battalion is gone? How is that possible? Today isn't April Fool's Day!"

“Yes, we also hope this is just a joke, but…” His subordinate, Honek, handed over a photo. It was a photo taken by a helicopter after air reinforcements were called in. Looking down, there were rows of smoking tanks, which was quite a sight.

Unfortunately, those were not T-72 tanks with spherical turrets, but rather Western tanks with angular shapes, and they were easily recognizable as M1 tanks!

"Damn it, all of them are burning engines! Can anyone tell me what's going on?" Coulson said. "Could it be that our tank units are charging too fast and the infantry haven't kept up?"

Tanks are powerful weapons for charging into battle, but if there are only tanks, there will still be troubles. For example, some infantrymen will sneak up to the vicinity of the tank and then use rocket launchers, or even Molotov cocktails and explosive charges, to fire at the tank's most vulnerable engine part.

However, in the desert, the tank units advanced rapidly without encountering any resistance; it was simply a march. As a result, the infantry were left behind and failed to keep up.

Could it be for this reason?

"I don't know." Honek shook his head. So far, the attacked troops have not sent back any specific reports. Nobody knows what happened!

"Order our tank units that are charging ahead to stop, wait for our armored vehicles, and then advance together. Damn it, we can't afford any more losses!" Coulson decided to take a cautious approach.

In recent years, the US military has had a series of setbacks. The war against Yugoslavia started strong but ended weakly. The war against Iraq will be a decisive one for them. If they lose this war, the US military will be just like it was after the Vietnam War, with no power to intervene in conflicts in other parts of the world. They will become a laughing stock!

We absolutely cannot afford any losses!

“Commander, our flank is the British Army Dragon Knights. Should we give them orders to charge ahead?” Hornek asked.

Coulson nodded: "Okay!"

Britain was America's most loyal ally. When the British Empire ceased to exist, Britain's role changed the fastest, turning them into the most faithful followers. Whoever America said to attack, they would attack. In this war, Britain has deployed a large number of troops to follow.

Historically, British dragoons were a flexible force that combined cavalry and infantry. Now, horses are no longer suitable for the battlefield, and they have switched entirely to armored vehicles and tanks.

The Dragoon Regiment was established in 1992, formed by merging the 4th and 7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Ennis Killing Dragoon Guard. The unit is equipped with a number of Challenger tanks and FV-107 wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles.

During World War II, British tanks took an unusual approach, dividing them into infantry tanks and cruiser tanks. The former were used for infantry combat, and their speed did not need to be too fast, as long as they could keep up with the infantry. Their firepower did not need to be too strong, as long as they could destroy the enemy's fortifications. However, they had to have very thick armor to withstand the attacks of the enemy's anti-tank fire.

After World War II, the British abandoned this approach and started developing main battle tanks, successively building the Chieftain, Challenger 1, and Challenger 2 tanks. Looking at the specifications of these tanks, it's clear that they were essentially following the same old path as infantry tanks.

Western main battle tanks, whether the M1 or the Leopard 2, weigh over 50 to 60 tons, while the Challenger 2 tank, in its early models, weighed 62.5 tons, and later models even reached 80 tons!

Its engine has only 1,200 horsepower, which is much smaller than the 1,500 horsepower of the mainstream Western engines. As a result, its mobility is not as good as that of Western tanks!

In the early days of the war, they were only tasked with protecting the left flank of the US forces, advancing with great difficulty and barely keeping up with the M1 tanks' rapid advance. Now, after receiving orders, Lieutenant Colonel Davis, the commander of the Dragon Knights, was excited and immediately ordered the entire regiment to change its marching direction and advance head-on towards Basra!

Basra, a major city in southern Iraq. Whoever captures Basra will be able to occupy the entire southern Iraq. Whoever enters Basra first will become a hero!

Black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipes at the rear as Challenger tanks charged forward rapidly. Several wheeled armored vehicles, acting as reconnaissance units, led the charge, followed by an even larger number of wheeled armored vehicles.

The entire force charged headlong towards Basra!

Several Lynx helicopters were flying overhead, providing protection so that Iraq's tank forces could be spotted earlier!

As the sun gradually slid westward, Basra was already in sight!

"Come on, we're going to spend the night in Basra!" Davis excitedly ordered his men.

"Commander, if we enter Basra at night, will we encounter a counterattack?" the adjutant, Baden-Powell, asked.

“The Iraqis have already fled. If they dare to stay and fight, the desert outside is the best battlefield for tank units!” Davis said. “Order the troops to advance at full speed!”

He wasn't afraid at all. He had participated in the war in 1991 when he was just a company commander. Back then, his Challenger tank drove along Highway 1, watching the endless rows of destroyed tanks and armored vehicles.

In his eyes, the coalition forces were invincible, and the Iraqi army? Just a defeated foe!

"Should we stop and refuel first?"

Davis took a deep breath: "Okay."

Western tank specifications are quite impressive. For example, the maximum range is usually listed as 400 to 500 kilometers. However, such figures are often exaggerated, as they can only be achieved on public roads.

Just like the driving range of electric vehicles, that was achieved on the factory's internal roads under the most suitable temperature and humidity, and even with special low-resistance tires. They claimed a range of 500 kilometers, but it would be good if it could actually go 300 kilometers.

If you're driving on off-road terrain, the battery drain will be even more severe.

The same applies to tanks. Take the Leopard 2 for example, which has a maximum range of 550 kilometers, but in the field, it can only travel about 200 kilometers. The Challenger 2, which is small in size but large in capacity, will naturally have a similar range.

Basra is only about 100 kilometers from the border with Ivory Coast. As they sped along, they had already used up more than half of their fuel. Although the remaining fuel could still allow them to drive into Basra, they would run out of fuel once they got there.

Without fuel, it can only be used as a fixed gun emplacement. With the engine running out, the turret has to be manually cranked, and even advanced observation and aiming equipment will stop working, leaving only visual aiming. It's no different from the T-55 in Iraq's hands.

Therefore, we have to stop and refuel!