Chapter 45: The Battle to Clear the Floor

  ument.write(

  Hill's flamethrower hadn't burned everything on the first floor, and in a slightly distant corner, there was a solid wood cabinet lying on the ground, smoked black by the fire. Jones wanted to use this solid wood cabinet to set up a simple cover in the empty corridor, which could provide good cover for both advancing and shooting back.

  "Make way, it's coming up!" Several American soldiers gritted their teeth and lifted the cabinet up. Jones took a look and said, "It's still not enough, this won't be able to block the German bullets, find some more things and fill the cabinet for me!"

  Time was short, and a few American soldiers came to find some discarded items of various sizes, filled them in, and Jones said: "This is almost it! Come on, let's work together to push it over for me!"

  The two German soldiers standing in the corridor were also somewhat tense, as they had not discovered any American attacks for such a long time and did not know what tricks the Americans would play next. Suddenly, a large cabinet appeared, and immediately after it emerged, they raised their guns and fired, shooting until a piece of wood chips fell off the cabinet.

  "Conway and Charlie, get behind the cabinet and listen for my signal. We need to suppress their counterattack." Jones pointed at the solid wood armoire lying across the corridor.

  "Go!" Conway ducked and rolled behind the cabinet, but this only provoked two Germans into a burst of gunfire!

  Hill stood behind Jones and volunteered, "Sir, I can use the flames to screen the Germans' view!"

  Jones frowned and said, "No way, the Germans will make a martyr out of you!"

  Meanwhile, Jones and Charlie, who were hiding behind the cabinet, threw hand grenades, which proved to be more convenient and had a better trajectory than their previous position around the corner.

  Boom! Boom! The two hand grenades exploding in the corridor made the shockwave seem especially large. If there hadn't been any obstacles to block it, they would have been at a disadvantage in this grenade battle.

  "Fire! Fire!" Taking advantage of the space where the German hand grenade explosion couldn't expose their heads, Jones and Charlie continuously suppressed the two Germans hiding behind cover with submachine guns, and the strong firepower made them dare not to counterattack easily.

  "Alright! You come! First take out the one at the end of the corridor, remember, give me a clear shot!" Jones called to Dodd.

  "Ensign, you owe me a Springfield M1903A4 sniper rifle just like Lieutenant Commander David's when we get back, or I'll do even better!" Dodds grabbed every opportunity to wheedle war souvenirs out of Jones.

  "Come on, you take care of him first!"

  "Alright!"

  Todd took advantage of Conway and Charlie's suppressive fire, pinning the German at the far end of the corridor against the wall.

  "Change magazines!" Conway and Charlie shouted to remind others.

  The German soldier at the end of the corridor, hiding behind a bunker, silently counted the number of shots fired by the opponent, feeling that the opponent's gunfire had suddenly stopped, knowing that the American soldier was about to change magazines, raised his head and gun to counterattack. But he didn't expect that as soon as he exposed his head, he felt a bloody mist in front of him, followed by a "thud" sound, and fell to the ground, everything in this world had nothing to do with him anymore.

  "OK! Clear the corridor! There's still one in the room!"

  The only one left was the German soldier hiding in the room. After his companion died, he knew he had no hope. He smiled bitterly, took out a small girl's photo from his pocket, kissed it lightly, then pulled out his last grenade, his eyes red as he hooked the ring onto his hand, waiting for the final moment.

  "He's inside!" Conway jammed the door shut with his rifle, ready for a sudden rush of Germans from within, while Charlie and another soldier knelt beside him, covering the far end of the corridor.

  Jones walked over and beckoned Hill with a wave of his hand: "Hill, come here! Burn him to ashes for me!"

  The first portable flamethrower was invented by a German in 1898, and it was first used in warfare by the German army in an attack on Belgium in 1915. The weapon proved to be highly effective, prompting other countries to develop their own flamethrowing weapons. During World War II, flamethrowers truly came into their own as a weapon of war, particularly after the Americans invented napalm in 1942, which improved the performance of flamethrower projectiles and allowed for more accurate targeting. The introduction of napalm not only increased the range of flamethrowers but also made the flames they produced more volatile and sticky. The M2-2 flamethrower used by American forces in 1944 proved to be particularly effective against German fortifications.

  The range of the flamethrower is not very far, generally within a distance of twenty to fifty meters, but its lethal effect and shock force are unmatched by other light weapons. In urban warfare and house-to-house fighting, flamethrowers and hand grenades are among the top killers, and flamethrowers have an even greater advantage over other light weapons: they don't need precise aiming, and can kill enemies hiding behind cover through the reflection angle of buildings. In combat, especially at night, it has a strong psychological impact on the enemy, quickly destroying their morale and often leaving the bodies of those hit by it completely charred. Almost all soldiers have a deep hatred for it.

  Hill motioned to Jones and others to back off, so Jones and the others backed off ten or fifteen meters, retreating to near the stairwell entrance, unaware that Hill's action had just saved a number of other lives.

  The German soldier hiding in the room, leaned against the door, secretly guessing that the Americans might throw hand grenades into the room again. However, if he rushed out, he would be shot by the countless guns aiming at the door. Rather than being blown up alive in the house, it's better to rush out and take a chance. He gritted his teeth, pulled the grenade ring and rushed out of the door.

  Hill suddenly saw a figure appear, without considering anything, and immediately opened fire. A huge flame burst out like a blooming firework. The German soldier's brain went blank in an instant, feeling a wave of fiery heat rushing towards him, instantly wrapping himself up, his mind only had one thought: I'm done!

  Although Hill successfully shot the German soldiers who rushed out like a fire man, he did not expect that the Germans had already pulled the ring of the hand grenade. With a loud explosion, Hill was also affected by the blast because he was far away and was not blown to death. However, the powerful shockwave suddenly threw Hill out.

  "Hill!" Jones saw this, immediately regardless of safety, rushed out, hugged Hill, and busily tried to remove the jet device from Hill's body. "Someone come and lend a hand!"

  Luckily, the flame thrower was only dented from the violent impact of the oil drum against the ground and could still be used a few more times before being scrapped.

  "Hey, buddy! You're still alive!" Conway said with a grin, ruffling Hill's hair.

  "For God's sake, don't touch my head with your filthy hands!" Hill lay in Jones' arms, saying weakly.

  "Haha, did you hear that? This guy is still scolding me, which means he's got nothing on me!" Conway said, pointing at Hill to the others behind him.

  "Alright, no more nonsense here! Get a few people to take him away!" Jones glanced at the German's corpse lying in the corridor, which was still burning from the grenade blast, and frowned.

  In this brief period of time, my troops have suffered heavy casualties, adding another layer to my concerns about taking Fort Serebryany. So I immediately reported the situation I encountered to the higher command, but unexpectedly, their attitude was very optimistic, believing that the garrison in Fort Serebryany was just making a last-ditch effort under the bombardment, and it was only necessary to be more vigilant against the German remnants!

  "I'll go ahead and take a look!" I brought several guards with me to find Jones. Jones was very displeased with my arrival, I think this is a kind of anger towards his own distrust!

  "Jones, how's it going?"

  "It seems that the Germans are determined to fight us room by room!" Jones said, turning back to me in the long corridor.

  "I think so!" I paused and continued, "From now on, we'll try to occupy the commanding heights of every building, suppress the German resistance, and drive them out of these damn houses."

  "Our casualties will definitely be huge!" Jones glanced over and said worriedly to Hill, who was groaning on the side.

  Jones's gaze fell on Hill, who was lying on one side receiving medical treatment from a medic, and he sighed: "We have to think about the lives of our soldiers under us. If we're not sure, call in artillery fire and blow these buildings all over the place!"

  Jones nodded and said no more. Bombing isn't just a matter of talking!

  A row of Luca's, an attack on another street, although there were no casualties as heavy as Jones', but two were also injured. Fortunately, the German resistance was not strong, and the actual control area of the troops has now reached two intersections. I know this is just the outskirts of the city, and the Germans don't intend to fight a life-and-death battle here, so although there are some casualties, I can still accept it. However, the struggle for every house has already begun to show signs of intensification, and I don't know how many more of my soldiers will have to fall in the future.

  Of course, I won't say such words out loud, all I can say is this!

  "Comrades! Our tankmen say that since we didn't clear the obstacles for them, they're still waiting in the back to take a crap. So I'm asking each of you to put in one more effort and drive these damned Germans out of here so our guys can come here with ease!"

  "Sir, I think those turtle sons of bitches are trying to slack off!" An American soldier with a rifle in his arms cursed with a resentful face.

  "Don't ask me, maybe ghosts know how they think! Anyway, if they don't come, I'll take you guys to poke those bastards' asses!"

  "Sir, that's disgusting!" The soldier said with a laugh.

  "Alright, you don't want to go, huh!" I said with a smile.

  "Let me go, sir!"

  "I'm going too!"

  "Alright, it's settled then! But for now, let's focus on our own affairs first! Vanguard, take the lead! Charge!"

  "Light cavalry, take the lead! Charge!"

  Our morale has finally temporarily emerged from the shadow of the battle just now!