Chapter 56: The Power of the 25mm Autocannon

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  (Hehe, if you think this book is okay, give me a vote!)

  Linn Berna was in charge of the right flank of the city hall today, an area with countless high-rise buildings like the left flank. Although it was fragmented and not a single place was intact due to the uninterrupted bombing, Linn Berna's heart was not at ease. Yesterday, during the daytime battle, the German Ostwind self-propelled anti-aircraft gun mainly appeared in this area. The Germans' weapon was indeed very advanced, and its 37mm self-propelled rapid-fire cannon was too powerful, just thinking about it made Linn Berna's scalp feel numb.

  The 25mm autocannon on the US tank can penetrate and shatter even reinforced concrete, leaving only steel bars behind, creating a prison window effect. Even 36-inch thick bulletproof sandbags are easily penetrated, unable to protect soldiers hiding behind them. As for small brick walls, regardless of their thickness, they will be easily destroyed. The German 37mm rapid-fire cannon is even more terrifying than the 25mm tank cannon. When facing it, you can only let it shoot without a place to hide or escape. Once you are targeted, it's a guaranteed fatal outcome!

  What Lin Bernal didn't know was that the Germans' self-propelled artillery had a shadow even among modern anti-aircraft self-propelled guns, which shows how powerful Germany's military technology was at the time. However, with limited resources, he could only rely on a few powerful weapons, which were ultimately ineffective.

  The headquarters of the US First Army, which was attacking Cherbourg, redeployed six Sherman tanks to my position during the day to capture the city hall and counter the Germans' new weapons. I couldn't help but secretly admire that Americans really have money, they can deploy tanks whenever they want, and call in planes whenever they want. However, the Allied headquarters ordered the front-line troops attacking Cherbourg to launch a full-scale attack at 4 am to exhaust the Germans and not give them any chance to breathe.

  Although the US military had tank support, they did not have the advanced night vision technology that the German army possessed at this time. The Americans were still in the era of relying heavily on visual observation. When the Allies occupied the German night vision device factory in 1945, they couldn't help but admire the Germans' cutting-edge technological level. Night battles had to be eliminated first, so I didn't dare let the tanks charge forward too much. This wasn't a game, and the Germans didn't need many shells - just one shot that pierced the Sherman tank would be enough to send its crew back home for good. For now, it could only serve as a support vehicle following the infantry's advance.

  And to Linbunan I gave him two tanks to support the clearing of strongholds, Linbunan's troops unfolded in a search and charge formation, but the Germans were like disappearing without any movement!

  "Officer, they're all hiding there, why can't we see anyone?" Some soldiers were frightened by the Germans' silent formation.

  "Damn it, why didn't we attack at dawn? Why did we have to choose this time?" Lin Berna cursed in a voice that he could hear himself, then raised his voice slightly and said to the others: "All of you, get your spirits up! The Germans are probably still sleeping!"

  Sergeant Alden clutched his rifle and leaned against the wall, cautiously advancing forward. Although the tank was just behind him, keeping a certain distance and slowly following, as an old soldier he wouldn't think it's safe because of that. His heart was always on high alert. As for Linberna, the first sentence was to remind the old soldiers, while the second sentence was said to the new recruits who had just joined the army, in order to dispel their fear of the Germans!

  "Corporal Olden, those damned Germans are sleeping just like Lieutenant Bernstein said?" Private Cole asked tensely, right behind Olden.

  Alden didn't answer Cole's question, his figure stopped at the side of a broken old window on the first floor of a street building, concentrated and listened for half a moment. The loud roar of the tank engine made him unable to hear any movement inside. However, Aldman took off a hand grenade hanging from his left chest, pulled out the insurance after opening it, counted silently for two seconds before throwing it into the house.

  "Bomb away!"

  Boom! A loud explosion, but there was no miserable cry of life, which slightly calmed Orman's heart. He then replied to the new recruit named Cole who followed him, "Don't mind Lieutenant's words, just do what I say during action!"

  "Yes, Sergeant Orman!"

  Orman Sergeant himself was not very willing to take these new recruits, he felt that besides adding trouble to himself, it was still a hassle. However, Lieutenant Conti's request said that old soldiers must bring in new recruits and each old soldier would be assigned two or three new recruits. Lieutenant Conti said this was called "Master hand-in-hand teaching apprentices!"

  Oelman didn't particularly oppose this arrangement, he just thought that as the leader of his squad, he had a responsibility to teach every member how to handle various situations on the battlefield. As long as he gave orders, the members only needed to follow the infantry combat regulations and it would be enough. But arrangements like this, where people were transferred around, still seemed unreasonable to him. The hail of bullets would make them grow up quickly, wasn't that how he had grown up himself?

  "Orman Sergeant, it looks like there's a window on the second floor across from us!" Cole whispered to Orman.

  Orman had already spotted the position, which was a good sniper platform and also a very dangerous place. He involuntarily signaled for the troops behind him to stop advancing, and he secretly estimated that the position was about 20 meters away from himself. The chances of throwing a hand grenade into a window one meter wide were not great.

  "Eleven o'clock direction second floor window, tank attack!"

  Under Olman's guidance, the muzzle of one of the tank's cannons slowly pointed to that location and fired a shot, causing some of the already shaky buildings to collapse again.

  "This group of Americans is too vicious! Wherever they think it's dangerous, their tanks will blast it first before advancing. Our ambush plan may not be effective!" A German lieutenant hiding in the darkness said to Captain Ruman who rushed over to command.

  Captain Ruman furrowed his brow, his anti-tank firepower was too weak, and now with only one anti-tank gun and a few anti-tank rocket launchers, it was impossible to stop so many enemy tanks. Moreover, the use of anti-tank rocket launchers also required suitable conditions, and it wasn't like holding up a rifle and shooting, knocking out the American tank that had been carefully protected was very difficult, and if the first shot didn't hit, it would definitely invite a concentrated attack from the US military.

  "Have you laid anti-tank mines?"

  "Burying more than ten of them!"

  "Alright, keep letting them in, wait until one of them blows up at the moment when their infantry is in chaos, then attack immediately! At the same time, order our baby to provide fire support simultaneously after their infantry launches a counterattack!"

  "Yes!"

  "Note that our troops are insufficient, and if we counterattack, we must immediately withdraw and rely on fortifications to block them!"

  Under Lieutenant Ruman's arrangement, Lin Beina's men continued to search forward cautiously.

  "What kind of trick are the Germans playing?" Lin asked in a low voice, calling over the phone soldier: "Tell Lieutenant immediately about our situation here and say we haven't fired at the Germans yet!"

  "What? The Germans haven't shown up? Impossible! In the daytime reconnaissance attack, it has been proven that the German right wing is the most powerful in firepower and defense, because once we break through their right wing, their retreat route will be cut off by us at once. Now it's absolutely impossible for them to let us occupy their retreat route without any cost!"

  "What's the Germans up to?" said John.

  "It's not just a trick, it's a big problem! Tell Lin Bernal to tell him to raise his vigilance for me! As long as we follow the battle plan and advance step by step, I'll use tanks to carefully guard against the German mobile artillery, they won't be able to gain an advantage!" When I mentioned tanks, my mind suddenly flashed - Tanks? Could it be that the Germans have so few people, yet can take down my tanks?

  Anti-tank gun? No, it's already confirmed to be right in front of me, suppressed by my firepower! Is it a German anti-tank rocket squad trying to break through the infantry and get close to the tank under such dim light conditions? Ridiculous! The rocket launcher has a range of at most 100 meters, and ensuring accuracy is even harder, let alone hitting the tank! As for those hiding in houses, I learned my lesson from daytime battles. My first requirement for combat is not to be stingy with artillery shells. All possible targets must be thoroughly destroyed, without worrying about damage to the city. With such measures and deployment, even if the Germans have sufficient troops, they will still have to retreat without effective countermeasures against tanks!

  "What other methods does the army have to deal with tanks, apart from using anti-tank guns and rocket launchers, or having infantry approach them?"

  "Anti-tank mine!"

  Yes! If the landmines are set up cleverly, not many are needed to destroy a tank! Then I can force my other tank to stop as well! If we only rely on infantry attacks, casualties will be absolutely higher!

  "Tell Lieutenant Bernhardt that the Germans have definitely mined the area in front of him, and he should recheck his attack route and tactical arrangements!" I paused for a moment before adding: "Tell Jones they can start moving out now!"

  Although I had guessed the German plan, it was not so simple to carry out. All troops deployments must be re-adjusted. The Germans were not fools, as soon as Lindemann made a move, the Germans would immediately make corresponding arrangements. In fact, everyone, including the Germans, understood that breaking through the city hall's defense was only a matter of time, it was just a question of how much cost was needed to break through the German desperate interception, and too great a loss neither I nor the Allied command were willing to bear!

  Lieutenant Colonel Lin heard my order on the phone and said: "Sir, I'll take care of the German anti-tank mines, my engineers can handle it!"

  "Great! Be careful, especially with German sniper rifles!"

  "I understand!"

  Sappers, in the Second World War, in the troops of various countries, especially in Western armies, they made outstanding contributions to their troops, actively engaging in any place where they were needed. They could fight on the battlefield when it was tough, and when facing enemy mine ambushes, they were the vanguard; not only did they fight bravely, but they also had to undertake physically demanding tasks such as building bridges, paving roads, and digging fortifications. To be frank, without sappers, an army would lose one-third of its strength!