Chapter Seventy-One: Tank Assault

  (Vote for me! Vote for me! I'm in tears...)

  General Sherebenny's actions did not escape the attention of Admiral Hennecke, but he was not worried about what General Sherebenny would do to him. He just hoped that General Sherebenny could make a decision as soon as possible, so that when the Allied forces captured Cherbourg on their own strength, it would not be too late to surrender, and at least he himself would not be taken prisoner. However, now all military power was in General Sherebenny's hands, and he could only follow fate.

  General Hennig sighed and stopped thinking, looking at the enemy situation map on the battlefield to the staff officer: "How far is the American vanguard from our coastal artillery position?"

  The staff officer hesitated for a moment and said, "According to the intelligence from the front line, the American rifles have already reached the 172nd Grenade Launcher Battalion that was just transferred from headquarters to defend the coastal artillery position! General, I think they won't be able to hold on for much longer!"

  "What a disaster! The hands of Ropps Middle School have no power at all, and the last reserve soldier was also pushed here so quickly!"

  "General, we are surrounded on all sides and have no one left to use!"

  Henrik seemed a bit tired, waving his hand: "I'm a bit tired, except for General Shilai's people coming, don't disturb me again! You go out!"

  "Yes!"

  The flames of war on the front lines will not be weakened by the joys and sorrows of these big shots, and both sides are still fighting fiercely.

  "Captain! What kind of medicine are the Germans taking, they're getting fiercer and fiercer?" Jimmy flashed to my side in an instant when the German's MG42 machine gun paused for a short while, wiping the sweat from his face and shouting loudly.

  "How did I know it was going to be like this! Maybe they knew that if we were going to take out their coastal artillery positions, there would be shells to eat, so they're desperately fighting back!"

  "Captain! You always manage to come up with some good-sounding reasons for us!" Jimmy exclaimed loudly.

  "Thank you for the compliment! However, it's not the time to talk about this now. Look, there is a protruding machine gun fire point over there, lead your men to move forward a bit closer! Try to take it out with rocket launchers!"

  "Yes, Captain!"

  "Miller! Damn it, Miller, where are you?" I turned around and didn't see my squad leader Miller in front of me.

  "Sir, I'm over here!" Mueller was hiding in a crater several meters behind me and hadn't caught up yet!

  "For Pete's sake, didn't I tell you to always follow me?"

  "Sir, you're running too fast! I can't keep up!"

  "Damn it! Is this also a reason? You still don't fucking come over here!"

  "Yes, sir!" Miller took advantage of the German machine gun fire to scramble over.

  "Give artillery coordinates! In front of me at XX degrees, we need a barrage with covering fire!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  Miller loudly called for artillery support, and soon the Germans' fierce resistance brought targeted fire from a long-range 105mm howitzer battery. The whistling shells slammed into the German positions one after another, followed by deafening explosions that shook the air with mangled human limbs flying everywhere!

  I saw through the telescope that several German soldiers wanted to run away from the area being bombed by howitzers, but they didn't get far before a shell exploded around them, sending these soldiers flying like broken sacks of flour, their bodies mangled beyond recognition!

  I put down the telescope and muttered to myself: "The artillery is still powerful! It's just a pity that the German fortifications are too strong! Otherwise, the German coastal defense positions could be destroyed with artillery!"

  About ten minutes of intense bombardment made the German front line look vulnerable. But I knew that the Germans' deep trenches and solid fortifications were not dug for us to see in vain.

  The German coastal artillery position was built on a relatively high cliff along the coast, with steep cliffs facing the sea and a gentle slope rising slowly towards the inland side. The front is about 500 meters wide, and the depth is also about one kilometer long and narrow strip, the terrain is relatively flat, this kind of terrain and concrete structure fortifications made it impossible for the Allied aircraft and long-range howitzer troops to pose a threat to the German coastal artillery position, so they could only rely on infantry to eliminate the German coastal defense!

  However, the Germans were not foolish either. The Germans built a number of solid defensive fortifications and obstacles facing inland to protect their coastal defenses! But they were bombarded by continuous US artillery fire for many days, blasting this area into a thousand holes, as if the entire ground had been plowed again, and stepping on it would sink your feet in. As for the Germans' previous efforts, they were all in vain! However, I will not underestimate the Germans because of this reason. I'd rather believe that the rats here can be blown to death than dare say that the Germans here can be wiped out! But since the US command has redeployed a batch of tanks to support them, it would be a waste not to use tank assaults in such a good location!

  " Lieutenant Phyllis, the terrain is relatively flat here, can your tank get moving? Can you cover my troops to break through the German position!" I said to Lieutenant Phyllis, the newly arrived tank platoon leader who came to support me.

  "Comrade Commander! As long as we don't get hit by the German anti-tank guns, we absolutely have no problem!"

  "Good riddance! I hope the artillery fire just now destroyed the German anti-tank guns!"

  "Sir, I'm not sure, but I can try!"

  "Too wonderful! Wish you a pleasant journey!"

  "Sir, your joke is not funny at all! If possible, it's better to let your infantry keep up with my tank!"

  "Don't worry, my tank commander! My soldiers will definitely not let you charge forward alone!"

  "Good! Commander! We'll meet at the German position!"

  "Alright! John, Jones, Linberna, we're also ready for a raid!"

  Lieutenant Phyllis lined up his six tanks in a row and began to advance slowly under the cover of infantry clusters, preparing to charge the German position!

  "Jones, up!"

  Jones responded with a shout, closely following the tank as it pushed forward towards the German position, and I commanded the other troops to start moving forward as well! This was a company-scale assault on the German position, because I didn't want to engage in a war of attrition, gradually wearing them down bit by bit. This time, with the support of the tank unit, I hoped to take the German coastal artillery positions in one swift stroke.

  "Maintain formation, follow me!"

  Jones led the way with two riflemen, followed by a machine gunner and flanked by submachine gunners and riflemen, cautiously trailing behind the tank's rear as it made its way down towards the freshly bombed German positions. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Phyllis' tank platoon moved forward in tandem with the infantry's pace, yet Jones' two point men walked with even greater trepidation.

  "Oh, Sally, you're making too much noise! Get down a bit lower!" The American soldier walking in the front warned his companion.

  The soldier in the trench looked gratefully at his comrade, then lowered his body even further, staring intently ahead without blinking, but muttered: "Milman, if I can get back alive, I'll let you have a few more balls when we play ball!"

  "Hey, don't come at me like that! Just because I lost a game of basketball to you once doesn't mean I'm inferior to you!"

  "Milman, alright! Let's have a one-on-one showdown later and see who makes the other back down! How about it, dare to take me on?"

  "Deal!"

  At a distance of about 600 meters from the German positions, Seri made a tactical stop.

  "Get ready for the raid!" I shouted loudly.

  "Yes, sir! Prepare for assault!"

  "When our tanks launch the assault, you brothers must follow me! Don't lag behind, or I'll throw you into a shit pit and make you eat shit, got it?" I roared fiercely.

  "I understand!"

  "Attack! Charge!"

  The Sherman tank's accelerator was quickly pressed to the lowest, rumbling at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour like a beast crushing towards the German position.

  "Keep up! Keep up!"

  "Four hundred meters away!"

  "Three hundred and fifty meters away!"

  "Two hundred meters away!"

  "One hundred fifty meters! The Germans!"

  The position was defended by Lieutenant Colonel Ropps, when he saw several Sherman tanks rushing up at the same time, his heart immediately sank. With only half a company of less than 50 men, only one anti-tank gun, and other anti-tank weapons were severely insufficient to defend such a large area of the position, it was absolutely impossible to hold on!

  "Tank gun! Take out that tank! Quick!" Colonel Ropps almost yelled, jumping up and down.

  "Armor-piercing! Armor-piercing!"

  Boom! A Sherman tank that was running at full speed was hit, and its high inertia caused it to skid several meters further before being forced to stop.

  The three German MGs formed a fan-shaped firepower that desperately locked down the US infantry following behind the tank, with the characteristic sound of the MG42, at a rate of nearly 1,000 rounds per minute, immediately pulling up a blockade line between my infantry and tanks, forcing my infantry to fall into shell craters to avoid this intense bombardment!

  "Machine gunner, suppress the German machine guns! The rest of you don't stop, keep charging for me! Charge! Mortar, blast that anti-tank position on the right side for me!"

  During World War II, the German defensive system was set up with a battlefield command post. When defending, the German army relied heavily on communication links. The battlefield command post usually had two telephones and a telephone switchboard. In building their defense zones, the Germans considered factors such as terrain, vegetation, enemy firepower, combat effectiveness of units, reserve forces, and supporting firepower when placing any combat unit in a position. For example, in terms of depth and frontage, a company typically defended a depth of 400 to 1000 meters, while a battalion was twice that number, and so on.

  However, the differences in frontage covered by different infantry units are quite large. The organization of infantry has a significant impact on the width of the defensive zone. For example, a standard German infantry division consists of three regiments, each with three battalions. This organization can be used in a "two-forward-one-back" manner: that is, any two units are deployed on the main line of defense, and the remaining one serves as a reserve.

  However, by the end of 1943, due to personnel shortages, most infantry regiments had only two battalions each, and reconnaissance battalions were used as reserves. This meant that each regiment could commit its two battalions to the front without holding any in reserve. Although a regiment might retain one company as a reserve, it also meant that one of its battalions had no reserve. In 1942, some divisions which had been worn down by combat merged their reconnaissance and anti-tank companies into an independent unit used as a reserve force; this was common at corps and army level. Mountain and light infantry divisions had only two regiments with three battalions each because they were mainly engaged in narrow fronts in difficult terrain.

  The depth of the position is mainly determined by the terrain and the possible attack routes of the enemy. The depth should not only be able to accommodate two forward and one rear combat units, but also consider the ability of each unit to provide firepower cover for each other and ensure flank safety. The German 8cm or 12cm mortar positions can only hold three people and a mortar, with ammunition stored behind the position, and anti-tank trenches on both sides of the position.

  Since the German anti-tank guns dared to open fire in this not-so-deep place, I will definitely find and eliminate them! Although it's a pity that one tank was lost, I think it's worth it, now let's see how the tanks perform!

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