Chapter 19: I Am the Anti-Tank for a Desperate Situation

  " Lieutenant! What's going on? What's happening?" Jones yelled loudly at me from a foxhole.

  "Hold on, everybody! The German infantry is coming up!"

  Damn it, my men are almost wiped out again, this is even faster than the night raid at Willville village. Now more than half of these twenty-odd people have died immediately.

  The American soldiers' will to fight is really bad, this round of shelling has made my men lose all their morale. They are hiding in the newly exploded shell holes like frightened hens, some are even holding rosaries instead of guns, and praying for their God's blessing while trembling with fear. I have some vicious thoughts, since they love crosses so much, it would be perfect to just leave them in that hole, save the Germans the trouble of digging graves, and when the Germans pass by later, don't use guns, just put a cross on their heads!

  "Damn it, you're all good for nothing! Look at the people from C Company, they've suffered heavy casualties too, but aren't they still fighting? Are you all just a bunch of cowards hiding behind the Germans' skirts? You wet your pants after just one round of artillery fire?"

  The battlefield is not just about elegant speeches to boost morale, an officer's scolding can also be a way to boost morale and it's especially effective. For example, like my previous loud scolding, as a man, being cursed for no reason and being called something under someone else's crotch, can be said to be a great shame, and especially for soldiers in their early twenties who are full of energy, it is an extreme provocation and insult.

  "Sir, don't say anymore! We'll fight it out if we have to!"

  "The Germans are coming! Prepare for battle!"

  The night was very dark, and in fact, the Germans' figures could not be seen clearly, only faintly visible from the weak firelight that there were German figures moving around! This was extremely unfavorable for the defenders.

  "Flare! Launch flare!"

  Boom, boom, boom! With a few flares fired into the air above the bridgehead, the Germans' figures were completely exposed. This time, the German assault team had about one platoon of troops, scattered and approaching the bridgehead in a dispersed formation. As soon as they saw that I had fired the flares, the German soldiers no longer cared about hiding and rushed towards the bridgehead at high speed. At the same time, two German No. 4 assault tanks were slowly advancing behind the soldiers, their presence faintly discernible.

  The German Jagdpanzer IV, which should actually be called the Panzerj?ger IV, was a tank destroyer designed by the Germans without a turret. In World War II, it was similar to the Soviet SU-85 anti-tank gun. The Jagdpanzer IV was equipped with a 75mm caliber anti-tank gun and two car-mounted MG42s for self-defense firepower, tasked with eliminating enemy tanks and heavy firepower. It was generally paired with the German Panzer IV tank.

  Damn the German's coordination of infantry and tanks! If we wait for the German infantry to quickly cross the bridge and establish a defensive perimeter, their tanks will swiftly charge over and crush us into minced meat with their tracks.

  "Machine gun, open fire!"

  Bruce was lugging a machine gun, swiftly crawling to a firing position! He took aim at the bridgehead and let out a burst of fire. The German shock troops quickly hid behind the tanks that had been previously hit and abandoned, shooting in Bruce's direction. The German tank destroyers also began to slowly turn around, their cannons pointing towards Bruce.

  "Machine gun shift! Machine gun shift! Go! Go! Go!"

  Bruce didn't dare to think about anything else, picked up the machine gun and ran back. "Boom, boom!" Two high-explosive shells fired by German tanks only blew up dust, but fortunately Bruce was still alive.

  "Miller! Give Lieutenant Sally the signal to get them back to base! Jones! Take the rocket launcher and set up an ambush at that position, see it? Wait until the German tanks are halfway across the bridge before firing! Your mission is to take out the tank! Don't bother with anything else, even if a German steps on your nose! Got it?"

  "I understand!"

  "Okay! Go ahead! Be careful!"

  "What about David? Is he dead?"

  "I am here!"

  "Oh God! You're still alive, that's great! Now your main task is to use your marksmanship to suppress the German machine gunners and take out their commanders!"

  The German attack was not very fierce, after all, war is different from games, and it's not possible to rely on having more people and a stronger "blood bar" to fight hard against the enemy. As long as we still have one machine gun aimed at the bridgehead position, the German infantry would find it difficult to approach, and if they tried to charge forward with sheer numbers, many of them would be killed, considering that the killing radius of a hand grenade is ten meters, not to mention that there are people guarding the bridgehead. However, the Germans would not give me any opportunity for slaughter.

  The German infantry no longer attacked, but instead relied on the wreckage of tanks to open fire on us.

  "Bad! German mortar!"

  On the battlefield, if you're a seasoned soldier, you can tell the difference between mortar and artillery fire just by the sound. It's clear that the Germans are trying to use infantry to draw our fire, taking advantage of the darkness to spot the muzzle flashes from our machine guns, then using artillery to pinpoint and eliminate us. Sure enough, every time my machine gun fires, the German artillery accurately covers that area. My machine gun keeps changing positions, but my casualties are starting to rise in a straight line.

  "The Germans started with a damn strong breakthrough, but when that didn't work, they switched to this damn tactic! Our people suffered heavy casualties!" Lieutenant Sally of C Company, now under my command, briefed me on the German intentions.

  Damn it! My position above was lit up again by the German flares. If only those German devils didn't know how to use flares, that would be great! Just like in some works, when the enemy attacks a position, they won't use flares and instead engage in a stupid shootout in the dark. You have to understand that once a covert attack turns into a fierce assault, flares are extremely beneficial for the attacking side. All of the defensive facilities will be exposed as if it were daytime. And now I'm suffering greatly from these damn flares.

  "The Germans' tanks are moving again!"

  The German No. 4 tank destroyer's suppressive fire on the opposite bank was not very effective, so one of them drove onto the bridge and stopped moving. The vehicle-mounted MG42 on the German tank continuously swept towards my position from the shooting hole, and the artillery on the tank also fired at me continuously, posing a great threat to me like a mobile bunker.

  "Damn it, if I just had an anti-tank gun, I wouldn't be so passive like this now!" I thought to myself in frustration.

  Jones and a soldier hid on one side of the bridge. To be honest, this position was very dangerous. Once the shooting started, the German infantry would discover Jones and his companion, and they would have little chance of survival. However, for the German tanks, it was extremely dangerous, as the Germans had installed a thick layer of composite armor to protect against frontal attacks, but the sides and rear were vulnerable. If Jones' attack hit its target, destruction was inevitable.

  David was far away from us, hiding in a dark corner with an accurate cold gun. "Bang!" Every crisp gunshot took away a life. Suddenly, through the telescope, I saw David hit a German submachine gunner's chest, and instantly a small blood flower burst out. The penetrating power of the bullet was very great, and the body of this German submachine gunner suddenly stopped! His eyes were filled with unbearable difficulty, covering his chest and falling to the ground, but he did not die immediately. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, wanting to shout, but one of his comrades casually looked at his wound and turned back to continue firing at us even more fiercely. The German submachine gunner on the ground was like a deflated ball, gradually ceasing to move.

  The battle is still ongoing, but David's suppressive fire proved to be much more effective than ours. In the blink of an eye, the number of people killed by this sniper began to climb into double digits. However, a war cannot be won solely by snipers.

  The German commander may not have been able to withstand such casualties, and the German assault boats began to move in preparation for a forced crossing. The previously destroyed German tanks were pushed into the river by the tremendous power of the assault boats. The German tanks began to move forward.

  The German army's attack on us is continuous, the vanguard of the previous German attack was replaced by a German unit due to heavy casualties, and now the attacking troops, judging from their uniforms, seem to be the elite King Tiger unit of the German Youth SS.

  The attack of the German youth party guard can be said to be a bit like the attack method of the little Japan in the East, desperately and loudly charging forward. Once broke through the bridgehead, but was repelled by our tenacious counterattack. And the remaining number of people in our entire position, plus the original C company's troops, is now less than one platoon.

  "Oh my god! That damned German has no end!"

  The German troops apparently told me their answer with actual actions. Their armored cars began to move forward under the protection of infantry!

  "Jones! Quick, blow him up!"

  When the German tanks had already passed the central position of the bridge, Jones was still motionless! I subconsciously thought that Jones had been killed in action!

  "Second Lieutenant Sally! It seems our anti-tank unit has been wiped out! You're in charge now, you must take down the German tanks!"

  "Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Sally led two men who were about to leave when a miraculous scene burst out! Jones covered by a comrade with rocket launcher fired at the German tank.

  Boom! The rocket grenade, trailing a long tail of smoke, slammed into the side of the German tank. The intense explosion sent the German tank flying like it had been hit by a super-heavy hammer, spinning out of control and crashing under the bridge. This single rocket grenade not only destroyed one German tank but also caught off guard the surrounding German soldiers, instantly killing or wounding several of them.

  Jones saw the task completed, shouldering rocket launcher and took off. The infuriated Germans, desperate to get Jones, poured ammunition towards him. However, the soldiers following Jones didn't escape the German revenge, a fierce sweep of machine gun fire turned them into minced meat.