Chapter Seventeen: The Germans' Night Raid

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  Kearney is a small town between Utah and Omaha, Kearney's environment is quite beautiful, most notably it is divided into two by a big river whose name I always forget, and connecting the east and west banks are three giant modern reinforced concrete bridges. The east bank of Kearney is mainly composed of rural fields, while the west bank is a bustling city area.

  The Allied Command placed great importance on Carentan, considering it a crucial link between Omaha and Utah Beaches, an important city for the Allies to maintain a decisive foothold in Normandy. The town was initially occupied by troops of the US V Corps, who established a temporary forward base there. Later, troops from the 24th Infantry Regiment of the US IX Corps took over and reinforced defensive facilities throughout the area. As a result, the central region of the entire Normandy campaign became connected, allowing 11,000 soldiers, 2,000 vehicles, and 9,000 tons of cargo to be transported through A port within days, passing through Carentan's crucial hub en route to various European battlefields.

  John Joe's troops were quite prepared, although there was no intelligence to suggest that the Germans had any intention of retaking Karington. However, John Joe also made some small arrangements as a precautionary measure, deploying an infantry company on the west bank of Karington, combining with various strongpoints and pillboxes to control key points. However, he did not deploy too many heavy weapons, it was clear that in case of an emergency, he had no intention of making a last stand on the east bank. It turned out that these preparations saved our lives at this critical moment. Later we learned that the Germans had committed a heavy armored division and a Hummel heavy self-propelled mortar battalion to the counterattack against Karington. From that day on, I truly understood the power of the "God of War". Afterwards, when my troops and I mentioned the German firepower on Omaha Beach, I couldn't help but smile - it turned out that the German defenders on Omaha Beach were really weak at that time. The Battle of Karington had quietly arrived.

  The German armored assault troops were advancing at a speed that neither I nor John Joe could have imagined, and the various defensive positions on the east bank of Carrington were being completely overturned one by one under the cover of the Germans' armor and fierce artillery fire. The vanguard of the German assault troops had already approached the southernmost bridge of Carrington.

  "Colonel John Joe, the German offensive is too fierce! Once the troops on the east bank are completely withdrawn, we must blow up the bridge, otherwise Carrington will be lost!"

  The German artillery fire has extended, but not yet reached the west coast. However, there are already sporadic German troops testing firepower and firing at this location to determine coordinates. It seems that the German artillery observation team has quietly infiltrated nearby.

  "It can't be done, we don't have enough explosives to blow up all three bridges!" John Cho was also getting anxious now, facing the German army's crazy attack, we didn't have enough time to collect enough explosives. After all, blowing up such a giant stone bridge with reinforced concrete structure wasn't something that could be done with just a small amount of explosives.

  "Damn it! No matter how many people die, we must hold these three bridges! Colonel John Joe, what does my unit need to do? Just give the order!"

  At this moment of crisis, I cursed the goddess of fate. Why did I barely escape from the front line and wanted to rest well, only to encounter a large-scale German attack? Moreover, after a night battle in Willerval village, my D company suffered heavy casualties, with almost half of the soldiers killed there. Only 50 or 60 men who returned to Carency could still fight effectively, which was just the strength of an reinforced platoon. Now that I have been demoted from company commander to platoon leader, my lieutenant rank seems a bit more suitable.

  John Joe also knew that my troops had suffered heavy casualties, but this was not the time to make excuses. After all, he was the highest commander here, and in times of crisis, everyone had to follow his command!

  "Alright! I won't waste any more words! Lieutenant Konti, I'm ordering you to go to the church and set up a defensive position immediately. That will be our last line of defense. Please, Lieutenant Konti! And take Miss Anna with you!"

  John Cho apparently assigned me a relatively easy task. Carrington's great cathedral is located on Luce Street, West Bank, with towering city buildings on both sides, which can form a strong defensive network if arranged properly. At least the power of German tanks was greatly restricted, after all, to let these German tanks run at full speed and rush forward quickly, there was almost no way to stop them, just like the rapid loss of the East Bank also had this reason.

  Tanks are a powerful weapon for dealing with ground targets and defensive facilities. Their solid armor makes them almost invulnerable to light weapons, unless they are hit by strong anti-tank weapons or hear the sound of bullets hitting them. In fact, one or two tanks are not scary at all, but if three or more tanks form an attacking formation, their power can be multiplied. If in the wilderness, this force can be described as a geometric multiplier. The strong defensive armor and rapid penetration ability make it difficult to stop them. This was fully demonstrated by Guderian, the ancestor of tank warfare, during World War II. It's likely that future tank commanders will find it hard to reach his level.

  However, if it's a street fight, just setting up a few anti-tank guns at key points is enough to curb its power. The German tanks have lost their original power in the invisible, narrow streets and firepower dead angles can limit its application. What he can do is far away as a mobile artillery platform for fire support. If so, it's not as good as an MG42.

  After all, war is not a game, both sides do not have blood bars to squander, dead is dead, injured is injured, you do not have the ability to continue fighting vigorously until the blood bar is exhausted. Tanks are also like this, unless they cannot be penetrated, as long as one shot penetrates it, it's all over, a natural death, even if the parts are not damaged, the crew inside will still die completely.

  When Anna left, she still seemed very reluctant.

  "Captain Konti, I'm a war correspondent. It's my duty to carry out my mission, and I have to record everything I see! That's my responsibility!"

  "Damn it! You have to come with me, war isn't as easy as you think it is! Do you understand?" Although she was a beautiful woman, my patience at this moment wouldn't be swayed by beauty.

  "Captain Konti! I warn you, you have no right to give me orders!"

  "Slap!" Anna's stubbornness earned me a loud slap, stunning everyone, including Anna herself, who may have never thought that there would be a man who would hit her. After a brief pause, her gaze suddenly turned cold, not even looking at me, and she turned to walk towards the command center on John Joe's bridge.

  "Do you believe it or not, I'm going to shoot you right now with one bullet because of your inability to stop putting others in harm's way for you to block that damn bullet!" I said coldly.

  So, I guess I knew it was a bit overboard, maybe because I had a liking for her in my heart. Although we're still far from love, this kind of thinking may have been buried deep down. But this is also good for John Joe and Anna, if Anna went, John Joe would definitely not be able to take care of her, on the contrary, he would be too busy because Anna had never been on a battlefield before, at least she didn't know how to avoid artillery fire or protect herself in battle. If she rashly appeared on the battlefield, the enemy wouldn't show mercy just because she's a woman, Anna would definitely die, even if she didn't die, one or two people protecting her would have to die, only then would she understand the horror of war and my good intentions. However, this way, with our already scarce manpower, it would be a complete waste.

  I don't know why some people think that on the battlefield, they can have endless nonsense conversations with certain female soldiers and even negotiate with them in a polite manner. Is this realistic? In war, especially on the battlefield, gender is no longer important, and you won't be spared just because you're a woman. If that were the case, such women would also die the fastest due to your pampering!

  Anna didn't stop in her tracks because of my words. War can easily make a person's emotions volatile, and I suddenly drew the Colt M1911A1 automatic pistol from my waist and aimed it at Anna's back. If I really fired, the 11.43mm high-powered bullet would be enough to shatter her spine, but that would also mean I'm done for. Josen and Bruce saw something was off and forcefully grabbed hold of me. I struggled free twice, but couldn't shake them off, and cursed in anger: "Damn it, you're a stupid woman! Do you think war is some game you can play at home? Don't you know how many people will die because of your special status on the front lines? You don't understand anything, just because you're a woman doesn't mean you can be self-righteous! This is a battlefield, and I'm in charge here!"

  This torrent of abuse, not just from the American soldiers under my command, but also possibly from Anna herself, may have been triggered by a sentence I uttered earlier that could get many people killed, and it deeply stimulated her, with tears rolling silently down Anna's face.

  "What are you all staring at? Can't you take her away?! You're really a bunch of fools!"

  For Carrington's bloody defense war, this matter can only be regarded as a trivial episode. However, since then, Anna has become cold and distant, like a different person. She also asked Josen for a Thompson, seemingly wanting to experience the thrill of being a frontline soldier. But for me, an obedient Anna journalist is what I need most; since she doesn't cause trouble, I don't bother with her either.

  "Sappers, sappers! What the hell are you staring at? See those corners? Lay down a few anti-tank mines for me. I'll blow those German bastards' iron shells to smithereens and turn them into our own anti-tank obstacles!"

  "Ensign! Who in the hell did he learn that from? That's a bit too much, isn't it?" Bruce, this boorish fellow, always spoke words that made people feel like spitting out feces!

  "You think this lieutenant of mine is easy to come by? If I weren't better than you, you'd be the one who's a lieutenant!" I cursed.

  "Damn it, why do these Germans always like to fight!" Johnson yelled from the side.

  "Idiot! Do you think the Germans enjoy letting our planes play with fire during the day?" I retorted to Joensen, when suddenly I saw Linberna arranging two anti-tank guns in the windows of two ruins, although these two positions had a full-angle firing range for the German tanks' approach direction, but it was also quite dangerous. As long as the Germans' heavy artillery fired, my two strongholds would definitely be completely destroyed, and not one could escape.

  "Lin Borna! Move those two cannons for me, it's too dangerous there!"