Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 6: Collision (1)

Lieutenant 　　 Snade finally finished writing his combat log, and he inserted a pencil into the chest pocket of the combat uniform.

Lieutenant 　　 raised his hand and shook the logbook issued by the army uniformly, and blown off the rubber crumbs on it. Finally, after checking it to make sure there was no error, he stuffed it into the file bag hanging behind his waist.

　　 Snyder took a deep breath, he stretched a long waist, then rubbed his sore arms and jumped out of his car. His team members are doing the basic maintenance work of this tank.

　　 Driver Rawick is squatting on the front armor plate of the tank, holding a board and struggling to tighten the bolts on the gearbox inspection port. With the help of an electrician, he just added enough oil to the gearbox, and A gear was replaced. Due to excessive wear and tear of a gear on the third gear of the tank, the tank failed to cut into gear several times during the movement.

　　 This kind of problem can easily cause the engine to stall if it is not handled carefully. Moreover, if such a failure occurs on a downhill road with bad luck, the heavy car body will continue to advance under the action of inertia, and the car body will forcibly pull the stalled engine at that time. The result was that the hapless driver had to be prepared to lose his engine, because at that time the precision machine had to go to the repair shop for overhaul even if it didn't explode on the spot.

　　 Fortunately, the clutch of the No. 4 tank reacted very quickly. Coupled with Rawick's superb technology and rich experience, he quickly dealt with this danger several times. Snyder had reported this problem to his superiors a long time ago, but because the troops had been fighting non-stop during this period, he had not been able to find enough time to repair it.

　　 By the way, even if he was given time, he couldn’t solve the problem, because the parts he needed were all on the transporter of the mobile repair company, and that car was missed in a battle two days ago. Knowing where the large-caliber artillery shell came from was torn to pieces, it is surprising that no one was injured because of this incident, but most of the replacement parts of the armor company and the unlucky transporter were turned into one. Pile of scrap iron. The repair company struggled to rescue a batch of engine parts, but none of the gearbox gears were left.

　　 But it was okay. Today, the logistics department delivered the parts in time. And because they had just finished a hard battle, Snyder and his men finally got half a day of precious time to complete their long overdue tasks.

　　 Not only this vehicle group, but the entire armored company and all the tank vehicles are doing the same thing. Because everyone in the company understands in their hearts that the battle behind them will be more difficult, and any small mistake now will cause a disaster in the future battle. The German tankers took care of their seat frame carefully. After all, no one wants to lose their lives for the stupid reason that their tank fails in battle.

　　 This kind of precision killing machine wrapped in heavy armor can not only bring death to the enemy, it is also a guarantee for the survival of these German soldiers on the battlefield.

　　 Snyder patted the loader on the shoulder. He was a young recruit, only twenty years old. The boy has beautiful brown hair, blue eyes and a handsome face with a little childishness. In general, this child can be regarded as a beautiful man, at least in Snyder's eyes.

　　 The young loader is now wearing a greasy German-style vest, sitting on an ammunition box wiping a high-explosive grenade vigorously. His beautiful black armored uniform is now hung on the broad track guard of the No. 4 tank, and the armored soldier badge on the pocket is shining in the sun.

　　 is not like those veterans. For this boy who has just joined the army, nothing can satisfy his vanity better than a clean uniform. Although the veterans are also very concerned about their military appearance, those beautiful uniforms can no longer attract them. Their eyes are more concerned about the dazzling medals and the honor behind the medals.

　　 felt someone pat his shoulder, and the loader turned his head in confusion. When he saw that it was his commander, he quickly put down the rag in his hand and held the cannonball to stand up to pay his respects.

　　 "Go on, Carl, continue work." Snyder smiled and held down the boy. He turned to his men and crouched down, picked up the rag and handed it to the young soldier.

　　 "Keep on wiping, soldiers, every good tanker starts with wiping shells." Snyder said with a smile.

　　 "I understand, sir." The boy took the rag from the lieutenant's hand. He held the cannonball and asked curiously: "Did you start with the loader too? Sir."

　　 "Of course, I was the best loader in my training period." Snyder replied with a smile.

　　 "We have all done this job, you can ask Hank and Stevans, they all came from this step." The lieutenant pointed to his other two subordinates and said.

　　 Gunner Hank is now lying on the angular turret of Tank 4 and wiping the cover of his scope. Hearing what Snyder said, he turned his head and said to the loader, "It is true. , Boy, I worked as a gunner for a whole year as a gunner. As long as you work hard and listen carefully, you will learn a lot in the turret."

　　 "I see, thank you Sergeant." The little loader happily called.

　　 "If you understand, do it seriously, and wipe this batch of shells clean for me. Don't let me find any stains on it at that time, otherwise you will feel better." Sergeant Hank made a face deliberately, he didn't want Make this young man too smug.

　　 "Yes, Sergeant." The small loader quickly put away his smile, and took the rag to wipe the cannonball vigorously. Snyder stood up and walked towards the front of the tank.

　　 "How are you now, you have replaced the new parts." The lieutenant asked his pilot.

　　 "Yes, but it's not a big deal." The driver Rawick replied with a smile, wiping the oil from his hands.

　　 "There will be no more problems. The combat order has been down. We are required to arrive at the front Derwent Village before dinner. We have to leave before 2 o'clock in the afternoon." Snyder patted the gearbox inspection port. Armored cover.

　　 "It should be okay. I will try again before I set off. But what else is said in the combat order?"

　　"You know, it’s the same old story. We will meet the firm resistance of the French, where there are strong defensive positions. Anyway, no matter what is there, our task is to break through it, occupy it, and destroy it. Oh, this time we can get the support of Stuka from a squadron. They will patrol near us and just call." Snyder took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and he drew a cigarette in his mouth. , And then handed the cigarette case to his driver.

　　 "Oh, that's it again. Positions, trenches, cannons, machine guns and those French who are not afraid of death." Rawick drew a cigarette, took out a pack of matches from his pocket and lit it on the fire. The match and cigarette case were handed to Stewant, the electrician on one side.

　　Rawett took a deep breath and said, "I hope we can go smoothly this time. The bombers won't be late like last time, hahahaha."

　　 "I can't guarantee this." Snyder spouted a breath of smoke. He took off his soft combat hat and stroked his hair. Then he smiled at Rawick and said, "But from the intelligence point of view , Our goal is not too strong, at least weaker than the resistance we encountered here, I hope we can successfully complete the task."

　　 "I hope so." The electrician said in a mouth. He was cleaning his toolbox with a cigarette in his mouth.

　　 "It will definitely be like this, I can promise you, wait for a good night's sleep." Rawick said loudly.

　　 "By the way, Hank, do we have enough shells?" Snyder raised his head and asked aloud to Hank who was standing on the turret.

　　 "Ten armor-piercing rounds, 20 high-explosive armor-piercing rounds, and ten high-explosive grenades are all here, enough for us to do a good job." Hank replied loudly.

　　"Very well, when you finish your work, help Rawick to tighten the track, I will go to the other captain for a meeting. Discuss our next attack."

　　 "Okay, I'll leave it to us." The gunner answered loudly. Snyder nodded to the other two men, turned and walked along the street to the back of the convoy.

　　 The village where Snyder’s armored company is stationed has been severely damaged, and traces of that fierce battle can be seen everywhere on the street. The pavement paved with small pieces of granite was strewn with shiny bullet shells. The craters of various sizes changed the flat streets beyond recognition. The granite pieces were lifted out of the road by the shells, exposing the loess and sand on the roadbed. stone. The ammunition boxes left by the French army next to a destroyed barricade and various weapon remains piled up into a hill, and the unpleasant scorching smell filled the air.

　　 Those military trucks now only have a pitch-black skeleton, and all kinds of strangely shaped parts are scattered around the ugly wreckage, and some of them are still smoking wisps of smoke.

　　Pumps of bright red blood can be seen everywhere along the street, some of the bloodstains are scattered with the owner’s personal belongings, broken guns or fragments of military uniforms, telling every soldier who sees the tragedy story. The French army paid 373 soldiers' lives in order to hold on to this village fortress. Except for the wounded, fewer than 60 soldiers became prisoners of the German army.

　　 What made Snyder depressed was that he still failed to catch a French officer this time. Except for those who were killed, the officers fled as usual. Snyder learned from the captive's mouth that it was a colonel who ran away this time.

　　The only thing that comforted him was that he left the colonel’s staff and adjutant here. The car they were riding in was sifted with a machine gun by an avid tank gunner. If it were not for the prisoner's confession, no one would believe that the two piles of meat in the car were two French majors.

　　The tank group is parked on both sides of the street according to the platoon they belong to. The tankers are all diligently doing their own maintenance work. They climb in and out of their favorite cars, and they are very busy. Seeing their company commander passing by, the tankers all smiled and greeted him.

　　 Snyder is a commander who is very fond of his subordinates. This lieutenant not only has excellent commanding talents, but he has always been admired by his subordinates for his noble character.

　　 In the battle the night before, Snyder lost three Type IV tanks, and only two groups managed to escape before the tanks burned into a fireball. However, up to now, the personnel losses of Snyder Company are not serious. Only 17 soldiers were killed in action, and more than 40 people suffered various injuries. This is a very good result in the 3rd Armored Regiment. The other companies have only one company left. If it weren’t for the division’s constant supply of recruits and new tanks to the 3rd Armored Regiment, follow it. With the current casualty rate, this armored regiment has long been reorganized into a battalion.

　　The battle the day before yesterday was the fiercest battle Snyder has ever experienced. This attack was a mistake from the beginning. Without adequate preparation, the regiment commander Major Sorenburg decided to launch a night raid. According to the original intention of the regiment commander, this was to avoid the losses caused by the attack during the day, but unexpectedly, that attack turned into a nightmare that neither side wanted to recall.

　　The tanks blasted the French positions in batches under the illumination of the flares. What is incomprehensible is that the French anti-tank firepower has exerted an extraordinary level under this dim light, and the three rushed to the most The armored reconnaissance vehicle in front was beaten into three fiery fireballs in an instant, illuminating the assault team behind.

　　 The German army, supported by large-caliber artillery, pushed forward against the frantic shooting of the French. Since the Snyder Company was the only medium tank company in the 3rd Armored Regiment, he was placed at the forefront of the charge formation. The armor of the No. 4 D tank itself is only 30 mm, but after the tanker’s modification, a 20 mm armor plate was added, which is enough to withstand the French anti-tank artillery attack.

　　The French gunners kept firing until the tank rushed in front of them, but what made them desperate was that the 37mm anti-tank gun they used could not stop this ugly gun even if it fired directly against the armor of the German tank. The armored beast advances.

　　 Next comes the brutal and **** street fighting. Snyder’s tanks are completely unsuitable for this kind of work. His three No. 4s were lost at this time. The French dropped Molotov cocktails from the small buildings on both sides of the street. Snyder lost three tanks and five outstanding subordinates forever. After suffering this sudden loss, Snyder hurriedly withdrew from the village. The infantry took his place, because fighting in such a narrow area is indeed not a job that tanks can do. Staying here is of no use except for unnecessary increases in losses.

　　 The German army finally ended the battle when the first bright clouds appeared in the eastern sky, and the French were completely defeated. But in the hearts of these German soldiers, there was nothing to be happy about. They paid a heavy price for victory.

　　 The streets are full of the corpses of German and French soldiers. After the battle, all the Germans get is a pile of ruined walls and burning debris. This village may never be able to return to its former appearance.

　　The Germans not only lost hundreds of outstanding soldiers~IndoMTL.com~a dozen tanks of various types, but also got their commanders in. Solemburg and his carriage disappeared at the beginning of the battle. This armored major, who likes to imitate the Supreme Commander Guderian, has always been proud of directing the battle on the front line. A heavy anti-tank mine took him It blew up into the sky with his command vehicle. What is even more incredible is that the French only planted ten such mines in front of their positions, and Sauronberg was the only person who squeezed such mines.

　　 General Guderian was obviously outraged by the news. He could not tolerate his army suffering such a serious loss. The 3rd Armored Regiment was ordered to stop and retreat to the rear to rest. Snyder's company was retained due to its relatively minor loss and maintaining sufficient strength.

　　 This medium tank company is now directly under the command of the army command. The light tanks and exhausted infantry of the 3rd Armored Regiment left this village that was in ruins. Snyder Company began to take over the defense of the village. In his eyes, the village had no value, and it had become a ruin. He couldn’t think of any reason for the French to take this village.

　　 But now he has a new mission. Guderian ordered him to seize the next village. From the intelligence point of view, that village is much smaller than the present one. That kind of resistance. Snyder didn't expect that when he called the captains to discuss how to attack, a crisis was slowly approaching his small tank company.

　　The last counterattack of the French army on the Western Front is about to begin, and the first target of the French army is this small village in ruins.