Dunkirk: The Last Stand

  "Zhafta, Britishers, I'll make you pay in blood for your debt in blood!" Frank Baker roared.

  He swiftly ordered the driver to turn about and charge towards the British Matilda tank that had hit Zawadzki, and the machine guns were roaring as if trying to vent their grief over losing a comrade through the bullets they fired. The British soldiers within range of the machine guns fell down one after another

  Frank Beck gazed at the British Matilda tank that had killed Zaft, clumsily trying to turn its own body. A loud roar came from his mouth: "British tank, four o'clock direction, 600 meters, armor-piercing shell!"

  The loader still smoothly loaded a Panzergranate 40 tungsten-carbide armor-piercing shell, the breech closing mechanism making a crisp sound.

  Weisenberg quickly targeted the rear of a British Matilda tank with his sight, pressed the firing pedal, and the shell flew towards the rear of the British tank. With a loud crash, a thick smoke burst out from the rear of the British tank, but it still stubbornly turned its body, despite the slow movement.

  "Visenberg yelled; 'No lethal damage, another armor-piercing round.'"

  The loader quickly loaded a Panzergranate 39 armor-piercing shell. The breechblock closed with a crisp "clack".

  Weisenberg stamped down hard on the firing pedal, and the Panzergranate 39 armor-piercing shell shot out of the barrel under the propellant charge of the gunpowder. With a sharp whistling sound in the air, it flew towards the British Matilda tank that was hitting Zaft.

  It is not known whether Weismann's eyes had been blessed by God or if he was just very lucky. This Panzergranate 39 armor-piercing shell hit the same spot on the British Matilda tank that a Panzergranate 40 tungsten-cored armor-piercing shell had struck earlier, penetrating the rear armor of the British Matilda tank and destroying both engines. The British Matilda tank then caught fire.

  The British tankers opened their hatches and jumped out one after another, but were immediately shot into sieves by Frank Beck's parallel machine guns and turret machine guns, with only the driver surviving because he was blocked by the tank body.

  At this time, Lieutenant Sandel of the 38th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion arrived on the left flank of the battlefield with his fast reconnaissance vehicles. They cleverly used their 20mm machine guns to sweep the armor of British Matilda tanks, although they couldn't penetrate their armor, but forced the British tank commanders to retreat into their tanks. The soldiers of Joseph's assault team opened the hatch and poked out their heads to fire at British soldiers with MP38 submachine guns and Bren light machine guns. Moreover, Sandel's fast reconnaissance vehicles were even more effective against British infantry than the main gun and machine gun of PzKpfw 38(t) tanks. Wave after wave of British infantrymen were swept away, and the remaining British infantrymen shouted together, shrinking behind the British Matilda tanks to avoid the German machine gun fire.

  Originally, the British tanks and German tanks in the previous counterattack battle, the British tanks were slow due to their thick armor, but their heavy armor also deflected many shells from the German tanks. Although the German tanks relied on their good mobility and the coordination between tank crew members to frequently fire before the British tanks, their hit rate was poor, and often the British tanks would still be in action after being hit by four or five shells. The achievements of Frank Beck's team were exceptional, but instead, four German tanks were hit by British tanks while moving quickly, and even if the crew escaped, they were shot down by British infantry armed with hand-held weapons cooperating with British Matilda tanks.

  The appearance of several fast reconnaissance cars led by Lieutenant Sandel of the 38th Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion changed the balance on the battlefield, forcing British soldiers to take cover behind their Matilda tanks. Suddenly, it became very difficult for the British Matildas to move and they became targets for German tanks.

  British tank commander Lister was tempted to stick his head out and drive the infantry away, but hearing the German tank machine guns and 20mm autocannons firing crisply on the armor of his own tank, he gave up the idea. He had no choice but to order: "All tanks retreat, cover the infantry withdrawal across the river."

  On the other side of the river, Horden was watching all this through binoculars. Richard's nose was twisted in anger. At first, his tank had been caught off guard by the German tanks, but thanks to its thick armor, it had escaped being penetrated by the German tank guns. Then his tank unit had come out of the initial chaos and launched a counterattack against the German tanks, with British soldiers following behind them. However, those German tanks quickly split up the British infantry-tank cooperation formation using their excellent mobility, just like a pack of hyenas taking on a pride of lions in the African savannah. Although this "pack of hyenas" was indeed smaller in number than the "pride of lions". But who made their Matilda tanks so clumsy? Although their main guns couldn't penetrate their own Matilda tanks, they had one tank that somehow managed to penetrate the 65mm thick armor on the front of a Matilda tank during a head-on battle. It seemed they had hit the parallel machine gun shield on the front of the tank. Later, in another duel, they used two shells to penetrate the engine compartment of another Matilda tank. This German tank seemed to be a command tank, an old sly dog.

  The other German tanks didn't seem to have the same good fortune as their command tank, although they also hit their own Matilda tanks multiple times, but each time they were repelled by the thick armor of their own Matilda tanks. They did not cause any fatal damage to their own Matilda tanks. If all German tanks had the same good luck as their command tank, the British Matilda tanks would not have survived in the past. Moreover, their bridgehead positions would not know how to defend themselves.

  But the Germans somehow managed to bring in a few fast reconnaissance cars, which joined the battlefield and tipped the balance of power in favor of the Germans. The terrifying firepower of these cars forced the British infantry, who had initially been able to coordinate with their Matilda tanks, to retreat behind their own tanks for cover. As a result, the Frank Beck tanks, which were already inferior in mobility, became even more immobile as they feared crushing their own soldiers if they tried to move. They essentially became sitting ducks for the German tanks. It seemed that the British tanks could only provide cover for their infantry to retreat.

  He thought of this, and suddenly remembered those German fast reconnaissance vehicles. When they arrived on the battlefield, it meant that the German reinforcements were not far from here either. Those fast reconnaissance vehicles must have reached the battlefield relying on their own rapid mobility.

  It seemed as if God wanted to prove his idea. At this time, he only heard a strange cry on the battlefield, and a 105mm shell fell into his own tank group. Although it didn't hit any of them, Harden, Ritchie, and Montgomery all realized at the same time that German reinforcements had arrived.

  Right behind the woods emerged more than a dozen German IV tanks. Those IV tanks appeared from the woods and accelerated, ferociously charging towards the British Matilda tank group. Meanwhile, Frank Beck let out a cheer, his tank regiment had been fighting hard for a long time, and the long-awaited reinforcements finally arrived.

  The commander of the newly arrived German IV tanks was surprised to see the situation on the battlefield. He had expected to see Frank Beck's tank company, which had been here before, with their tanks smoking and crippled on the battlefield, while the remaining PzKpfw38(t) tanks were struggling to hold out against the British attack. But what he saw was much better than he had imagined. It seemed that only four of Frank Beck's tanks had been hit. The other tanks were using their excellent mobility to circle around the clumsy British Matilda tanks. Although the main gun of the clumsy British Matilda tank could easily penetrate the PzKpfw38(t) tank, the latter relied on its agility to dodge the British Matilda tank's fire again and again, while the PzKpfw38(t) tank seized every opportunity to open fire, leaving dents on the external armor plate of the British Matilda tank. Although they found it difficult to penetrate each other's armor.

  The commander of the newly arrived German IV tank hastily ordered his subordinates: "Fire, cover our men's retreat."

  More than a dozen German IV tanks formed a horizontal queue, pouring high-explosive shells into the British Matilda tank formation. Frank Beck's tank unit saw their morale greatly boosted after seeing reinforcements arrive. When they saw that their own IV tanks were firing high-explosive shells, they knew it was a signal for them to withdraw from combat. It was convenient for them to join the battle, and their ammunition and machine gun bullets were almost depleted. Their subordinates were also exhausted from the intense fighting earlier. If not for their strong will to fight, they would have collapsed by now. The arrival of the IV tanks indicated that a large reinforcement team was already behind the forest, waiting to join the battle. They couldn't hinder the rescue team's actions, so Frank shouted into the intercom: "Attention everyone, our reinforcements have arrived! Now we need to take advantage of their artillery fire and withdraw from combat!" He then ordered his driver to put the tank in reverse gear and back away slowly.

  The commander of the newly arrived German IV tanks, seeing that Frank Beck's PzKpfw 38(t) tank platoon had already lost contact with the British Matilda tanks, ordered: "Attention all, target British tanks, high-explosive shells ready, each vehicle to aim at and fire at their tracks."

  "Target British tank, 4 o'clock direction, distance 800 meters, load high-explosive shell, ready, fire." The last few words were directed at the tank group he was commanding.

  There was only a tremendous roar, and a sheet of flame illuminated the battlefield. Several British Matilda tanks were immobilized on the spot with their tracks broken. But more British Matildas covered the withdrawal of British troops to that bridge.

  The commander of the German IV tank frowned and was about to order his troops to pursue when the sound of aircraft engines came from above.

  There's a Chinese saying: When you're unlucky, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth. This phrase perfectly describes the current situation of the British people.

  At this time, Frank Becktank's PzKpfw 38 (t) tanks all simultaneously opened fire to cover themselves and accelerated backwards at high speed.

  The newly arrived German IV tanks fired several red smoke shells at the British Matilda tank group, guiding the target for the 'Stuka' planes in the air.

  The Stuka planes in the sky, after seeing the red smoke bombs fired by German IV tanks, immediately split into small groups of three planes and dived down towards the British Matilda tanks. The sharp cries echoed through the clouds, and various bombs under the wings fell into the group of British Matilda tanks, instantly setting off fires on more than a dozen tanks. The tank crew jumped out of the hatch, some with fierce flames on their bodies, rolling in agony on the ground after jumping out. Several soldiers rushed to put out the flames on their bodies, but more British soldiers fell to the ground, never to retreat again. With the bombing of the Stuka planes, only 4 British Matilda tanks closest to Bridge No. 1 and dozens of British soldiers managed to escape.

  Montgomery saw a large number of German reinforcements arriving on the battlefield, shook his head helplessly, and ordered his sappers to press the detonator. With a loud roar, Bridge No. 1 was blown into two sections, leaning in the river water. The German attack was temporarily halted. He began ordering his troops to strengthen their fortifications, knowing that the Germans' fierce counterattack would soon begin. And behind him was the town of Dunkirk.

  While the British and German armies were fiercely fighting at Dunkirk, the German High Seas Fleet was in the ports they occupied, apart from making emergency repairs to the Admiral Hipper, also carrying out an urgent armament refit. After this, British and American aircraft had a taste of the bitter fruits of this mysterious weapon.