Chapter 4: Chinese Tanks in America

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  Before I could get thoroughly acquainted with the American troops, Major Romm called to inform me that his regiment had been ordered to clear out the remaining German forces in Omaha A and that my orders were for Company D to become a spearhead company and advance inland.

  Upon receiving the order, I was somewhat skeptical that John had reported to Major Rome, otherwise why would I have been given such a terrible task. However, for orders from superiors, I did not dare to slack off and immediately gathered the main cadres of the company to pass on the command.

  "Gentlemen! We have work to do again! The mission of the 5th Regiment is to clear out the remaining German troops in Area A, and Major Rome's order to us is to be the vanguard, scouting out the deployment of the enemy's forces!"

  "Oh, what a miserable job! Why don't they send another company to do it!" My platoon leader, Lieutenant Joe Johnson, didn't seem too thrilled about the task.

  "Unfortunately, I don't know either! However, my Joesson, if you're not willing to go, I can help find someone to replace you! Hey, which one of you gentlemen is willing to take his place?" I said with a sly smile.

  David sat next to me, although his position was lower than everyone present, but since he was the one I brought, no one dared to say anything. As for being an official, David seemed very interested and immediately raised his hand.

  I nodded, "It seems Mr. David is more willing to help out!"

  Joe stood up and reluctantly said: "No, no, no! This joke is not funny!"

  As they watched Jorgensen's predicament, everyone burst out laughing. Lieutenant Bernhardt, in the third row, joked: "I bet a bottle of cognac that Jorgensen will go!"

  Everyone glared at Lin Bernald, raising their middle fingers. "Lin Bernald, you damn gambler! Who would bet on such a stupid question with you!"

  Lin Bona awkwardly touched his head and self-deprecatingly said: "A small gamble, a small gamble!"

  My platoon, still led by a row of Joelson as the vanguard of the whole platoon, Linberna's third row and Jones' fourth row as the left and right wings, advancing while searching. The second row and my platoon followed as cover troops! As for David, he and I took a deputy with good marksmanship and relatively quick wit, set off in advance, and as for where they went specifically, I don't know for the time being either!

  The main German combat unit defending Omaha was the 352nd Infantry Division, a three-line division in the German order of battle. Although the initial defensive line along the beach had been largely defeated or destroyed, large groups of German troops remained at large in the Omaha beachhead area. These were scattered throughout the key points of the beachhead and continued to cause serious problems for the landing force.

  As I gave the order, Major Rome immediately deployed his troops. Companies C and F took up positions on my flanks, maintaining a certain distance as they slowly advanced in a net-like formation. As the lead unit, I ordered Company D to remain highly vigilant, adopting a first-level combat posture, deploying in a fighting formation as we searched forward!

  The entire Omaha area was almost reduced to rubble by the Allies' planes, with broken bricks and walls everywhere, making it difficult to see a single intact building along the way.

  Facing this uncertain situation, everyone is on tenterhooks, afraid that if they are not careful, they will be summoned by Satan's magic hand. However, the troops have been in a state of high spiritual concentration for a long time, making every soldier who participates in the search feel exhausted. And Joe's row is the most serious, as the vanguard row bears more pressure than others. During the search process, even if there is a slight wind or movement, it is like facing a great enemy. Machine guns, rifles, submachine guns, and even hand grenades are all fired at every suspicious place. The hateful Joe actually fired at a building for half a day because he saw a suspicious figure! This thing made me angry enough!

  "Jenson! Your caution has made our military gains extremely great. Since we set out, we have eliminated at least ten old mice! And your squad's ammunition has been consumed by half!"

  In the face of my scolding, Qiao Sen didn't dare to make a sound! After scolding for half a day, I also knew that Qiao Sen was thinking about his soldiers. On the battlefield, the enemy's most obvious firepower is actually not scary, because you will always have a way to avoid this kind of open attack. However, the most tragic and terrifying way to die is when you don't even know where the enemy is, and it can destroy the morale of an entire troop - that is the opponent's snipers and their booby traps! I admit, if I had five snipers and enough time, I could slowly but surely annihilate an entire company.

  Looking at Jossen, who was a bit timid and extremely tired, I had to put the relatively easier second row Bruce on Jossen's position.

  Just then, David and his deputy came back! David brought me some very bad news.

  "Captain Konti! A German defense has been discovered about one kilometer ahead. According to our observation, their numbers are less than a company!"

  "Miller, inform Colonel Rom immediately!"

  Muller is my newly appointed dispatch runner, and as long as I live, he must always remain within five feet of me at all times! This is my order, but I think he will gladly accept this command!

  "Get this report over to Bruce, Lerner and Jones, remind them to get a move on, we've got the Germans by the seat of their pants!"

  Major Rom's orders came down quickly, and since both of my flanking units had also discovered German defensive positions, he had us launch an attack on the Germans in front of me with D Company. I had anticipated such an order!

  The troops crept forward cautiously under David's guidance, hoping to catch the Germans off guard. Unexpectedly, as they passed a collapsed courtyard wall, one of the soldiers triggered a German-laid S-mine nicknamed "Bouncing Betty", also known as "the soldier's nightmare". Although he wasn't killed in the blast, his agonized screams echoed loudly, undoubtedly serving as the best alarm for the Germans!

  "Alert! Alert! It's the Americans! The Americans have come!"

  The Germans inside the defensive line immediately shouted to each other, rushing into their pre-arranged positions, and the Germans operating the weapons made a loud noise that could be heard from far away.

  The surprise attack had apparently failed, and Bruce's platoon was forced to launch a strong assault on the German position! It has to be said that the Germans' position was set up very cleverly, with just one MG42 mounted there, blocking the entire advance route, while our people didn't have any place to use as cover. I looked at David inquiringly, and saw him shake his head, meaning he had no solution either.

  After a brief moment of thought, I came up with a plan to have the third row bypass the German machine gun position and attack from behind. Unfortunately, the German commander was a genius, and the third row's Linberna also received the same treatment as Bruce. It seems that the German machine gun position is of a linked nature, using a small amount of troops and fierce firepower to control each key point. I took a look, even if I put all my troops in, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to eliminate several firing points, on the contrary, I might suffer more casualties.

  I immediately reported the situation to Major Rom. Unexpectedly, not only me, but also C Company and F Company encountered the same problem. Major Rom thought for a moment and gave us a reply: try again, if it doesn't work, withdraw back to the starting point, wait for the tank troops to land tomorrow, and then launch a coordinated attack with the tanks!

  "This is a great decision! It seems that we just need to fire a few shots and we can leave this damn place!" Jones, as an important commander of the US military grassroots, publicly expressed his free speech in front of many soldiers under him. His behavior without any sense of responsibility makes me feel annoyed. Maybe it's because my soul is Chinese, or maybe it's also due to the differences between two civilizations. Eastern people emphasize that no matter what, they must find a way to complete their goals and tasks, while Westerners are more for themselves, except for the rigid Germans.

  When Major Rom gave such an order, I had already anticipated the outcome of this attack. The whole regiment would definitely be defeated and return in defeat. However, I was also happy to execute such an order. After all, who doesn't want to send someone to their death? But even if it's just before leaving, I wouldn't go back so dispiritedly. At least I have to make a fortune before leaving, and show these Americans who look down on us Chinese people our skills, which they will never be able to learn!

  "Wait! I've decided we're going to give him one more shot before we leave!"

  Lin Borna didn't even let me finish, and immediately jumped up, shouting: "Oh God! Our Major Rome has already allowed us to go home, why are you still insisting? Do you want us all to die here?"

  The surrounding soldiers also heard the sound from this side, and everyone's eyes gradually turned cold as they looked at me. I stared coldly at Lin Berna, my heart itching to shoot him with a single bullet. The condensed killing intent made Lin Berna jump in fright, and he immediately shut his stinky mouth, no longer daring to speak.

  "Hey, brothers! Are we going to let a few German devils scare us so much that we don't even dare fart and turn back? This is simply losing face for our D company. Moreover, to be blunt, with our current strength, it's impossible to take down all the German devils at once! My point is simple: take out a few of their machine gun positions, then we retreat!" I swept my gaze around and continued to entice them: "When the time comes, we'll all walk back with our heads held high, let those donkeys from C company and F company see, oh heaven, this is the difference! Come and wipe our asses for us!"

  Jones was unmoved by this kind of temptation and directly pointed out the essence of the problem. "Actually, we also want to fight, but we don't have tanks and artillery!"

  I didn't say anything, but I smiled mysteriously!

  During the Anti-Japanese War, our army faced the enemy's pillboxes and machine gun nests, due to the lack of tanks, casualties were always heavy. Later, some troops came up with a solution, which was to manufacture a kind of earth tank to solve this problem, that is, using quilts to solve it! Now I've also used it once, but American soldiers don't have quilts, so they had to use marching blankets and canvas tents as substitutes.

  In fact, Americans are not stupid, but their thinking has been fixed, and they seem to have weakened in the flexible use of various things. For example, this time, they can't deal with the German machine gun fortifications, and their directional thinking is just tanks and artillery. If not, they would not know what to do! From this point on, their thinking is not as flexible as that of the Chinese, and there is even a feeling of being unrealistic!

  Now, I'll reveal my plan and arrangement. Everyone was stunned, perhaps they couldn't understand with their brains why I would have such a ridiculous idea. However, my orders were still faithfully executed by them!

  To ensure sufficient bulletproof capability, I specially arranged nearly ten layers of canvas armor, with mud and military blankets covered between each layer, even pouring water on them, and then fixed them on a very thick pine wood dining table. A simple earth-made light tank was completed in this way.

  "David looked at him suspiciously and said: 'Lieutenant, it doesn't look very secure!'"

  Surrounded by suspicious glances, I didn't dare to confirm whether it would work or not. If it failed, my face would be utterly lost! But on the surface, I still put on an absolutely confident expression.

  "I guarantee that I can take down the MG42 with no problem at all! Hashida, you come and try out its bulletproof ability first!"

  Qiao Sen had long wanted to try out such a strange thing, and as soon as he heard this, he immediately snatched a Browning M2 light machine gun from the soldiers beside him and fired at the "high-level tank" that was unprecedented in American history. The result was just like I imagined - except for shooting off some dust and cloth scraps, it was completely unharmed!

  Lin Bona's eyes were about to pop out.

  "Oh my god! This is literally a fortress of activities!"

  "Wrong! This is an American-made light tank, a copy of the Chinese!" I didn't bother to correct Lin Bernal's words, it was clear that he didn't understand why that Eastern country would manufacture something that seemed so useless. I didn't explain the issue either, perhaps in the future, he will come to understand the kind of wisdom our people possess!

  Once again, we launched an attack on the German machine gun position! And my homemade tank, with two relatively strong American soldiers Shuke and Beta hiding under the table inside, moved forward step by step, carrying nearly 200 kilograms of weight.

  The Germans had never seen anything like this strange thing, but they knew it was operated by the Americans. Bullets were fired wildly at the "tank" and kicked up clouds of smoke and dust. To be honest, I was extremely nervous in my heart. If the Germans had an anti-tank gun, my first creative idea since joining the US military would have been ruined. That thing could blow this two-hundred-pound-plus thing and the lowly person to smithereens with one shot.

  David held the Springfield sniper rifle in his hand, his eyes fixed on the German anti-tank weapon without blinking, and my palms were also sweating!

  It's just too wonderful, I'm even doubting whether I have the identity of God's private son. The Germans didn't use anti-tank weapons! "Tank" struggled against the German machine guns and hand grenades, finally stopping a few meters away. Fortunately, Shu and Berta inside the "tank" were not blown to smithereens and still knew how to fire the "tank cannonball" - hand grenade from the special throwing hole on top of the "tank".

  Schultz and Beta's "tank" covered attack, attracted a lot of firepower from the German machine guns. I immediately organized two assault teams to launch an assault. Continuous hand grenade close bombing made the German machine gun dumb again and again. The Germans indeed deserved to be one of the strongest armies in World War II. In such a situation, they still did not forget to continue fighting for the machine gun, resisting! I secretly compared my American soldiers with the Germans. If we were in their position, I think we would have run away long ago!

  The Germans ultimately failed to resist this kind of play that was close to ruffianism, leaving behind a dozen corpses and choosing to retreat!

  Schukov and Betta crawled out of the "tank" as if they had been pulled from water, gasping for fresh air with their mouths wide open. After a long time, they opened their big mouths and said: "Lieutenant, you almost killed us! If there's another job like this, I'd rather die than do it!"

  "Thank God you're still alive!" I laughed and patted Shuke's shoulder, ordering people to help them down to rest.

  The several commanders in front of him had obviously tasted the sweetness, and Joanson suggested: "Why not take advantage of the heat, let's wipe out the machine gun positions on the flank!"

  I was just thinking of doing that, and after changing two people, I launched an attack on the left flank of the German army in a gourd painting style. This time, it was much easier to defeat the German defensive position than last time. Obviously, the Germans retreated by themselves. The American soldiers were very excited about this victory, which seemed like a miracle. Some soldiers even shouted that my D company could sweep through the entire Omaha defense alone. Even some of the US military officers under me had a feeling of wanting to try it out.

  I involuntarily shook my head, although we had taken out two German strongpoints, it wasn't a true occupation. I don't believe the Germans will calm down and not come up with a way to deal with this homemade "tank". I'm not willing to wait until the Germans turn this "advanced tank" into a meat pie before slinking back with my tail between my legs to be laughed at by others.

  "Gentlemen! Remove the German shoulder straps, bring along the spoils of war, and we can set sail for home!"