Chapter 54: Armored Confrontation 5

  The formation on the battlefield will not change due to Raymond and Briggs' daze, the vanguard of the German 101st Armored Division's 'Leopard' tank regiment is advancing step by step with a drumbeat-like rhythm.

  Each of the ten Panther tanks that had fired their guns was overtaken by tanks from the rear, and the commanders of the Panthers that had fired did not rush to start their engines and charge forward, but instead made good use of the time it took for other tanks to move forward and cover them, calmly issuing orders.

  "Load, lower the barrel, shift gears, watch your formation, advance at a steady pace." The 10 tanks that had fired their ammunition naturally formed an attacking formation, which would look like a very neat irregular shape if viewed from the air.

  The irregular shape is said to be unable to be described as neat, but when this irregular shape moves together, even the black smoke emitted from behind the engine is so consistent, and if you don't use the word "neat", you can't find another one.

  The second round of tank fire began, still 10 numbers, no one repeated the second time. And only 10 seconds had passed since the first round of shooting. All 10 tanks that reported in by radio fired shells, and 2 seconds later, all 10 Sherman M4s were hit by armor-piercing rounds.

  The story that happened in front of the tank was repeated again among these ten tanks.

  What terrified the British was that not a single one of the 100 British officers and soldiers in the 20 tanks survived, all were crushed inside the sealed 'Sherman M4' iron coffins.

  More than twenty burning tanks emitted thick smoke, covering the formation of nearly half of the British tank squadron.

  The German tanks were greatly reduced in accuracy due to the smoke screen, and it took almost a few rounds of shells to destroy one Sherman M4.

  Under the cover of thick smoke from their own tanks, the commander of the remaining British tanks finally breathed a sigh of relief. They would no longer have to face such freakishly accurate attacks, this was war, and it was simply suicidal. If not for the cover of the smoke, the battle would probably have ended in 10 minutes. The Germans were having a field day at 2000 meters, using armor-piercing rounds to blast holes in the British tanks one after another. Meanwhile, the German tanks had only suffered damage to a single machine gun, and not a single speck of paint had been scratched off any of them.

  The vanguard of the British 1st Armoured Division didn't dare to show their heads again, hiding behind the smoke and using the "playing dead" tactic. Fortunately, the things in the destroyed tanks wouldn't burn out for a while, so the smoke could cover them for quite some time.

  A knife on the head, no one is stupid enough to trade their own life for a taste of an armor-piercing bullet. The British are waiting, waiting for the German tanks to get closer, close enough that the over 2-meter-long barrel of the Sherman M4 tank can take effect.

  Germany 101—The armored division's 'Leopard' tank raid group was like the British conspiracy that had not been discovered, and it was still very rhythmic to shoot while forming a team. In no time, 80 'Leopard' tanks each fired one shell per vehicle, then formed into 8 tank teams of 10 vehicles each. Michell and Weitmann were assigned to the last team due to the delay caused by the long-range shooting in front.

  Of course, this was not completed under unified command, but was done by these tank instructors in accordance with the regulations of the armored combat manual, and the basis for completing them was just those rounds of '1-10' simple numbers from microwave wireless telegrams. The entire wireless communication was not noisy like other tank battles, and there was hardly anyone speaking on the radio except for simple numbers. The maximum combat effectiveness that originally existed only in books was perfectly demonstrated here.

  Every German "Panther" tank under the command of these abnormal commanders has exerted its maximum power. And all these expert instructors only reported a number, and others like formation, shooting, and advancing didn't need to be reminded or report routes were all independently completed, and the rhythm of independent completion was still so neat.

  If every 10 tanks formed a neat little sickle, then the 80 'Leopard' tanks after formation gave people the feeling of a large swinging sickle, with its dazzling blade pointing directly at the British tank vanguard.

  Another 1000 meters passed quickly, and the German and British tanks were at close quarters. Many killing machines also opened their bloody mouths, devouring lives on this battlefield. In these 1000 meters, although the British had smoke cover, they still lost nearly 30 "Sherman M4" tanks, in addition to the original loss of 28 "Sherman M4" tanks. The British vanguard was knocked out by a third.

  This inevitably lowered the morale of British officers and soldiers to an all-time low. If it weren't for Montagu's tightening of military discipline afterwards, the British army's desertion in the face of the enemy might have been met with execution and loss of honor, and the British would probably have turned tail and run long ago.

  War is so cruel, before the superior order to retreat, running away from the battlefield will be severely punished. But if everyone runs away, then nothing will happen, it's called defeat, and the law won't blame the masses.

  But generally speaking, there is a leader, before the bellwether appears, they can only die with the Germans.

  But at least the German tanks finally entered the killing range of the British armor-piercing shells, although they couldn't run but still firing cannons to boost morale was something British soldiers could do. The smoke screen also grew larger and larger as more and more tanks were set on fire. The British tank commanders also ordered their gunners to start firing.

  But unlike the German 'Tiger' tanks, which fired in a rhythmic and coordinated manner, British tank fire was chaotic. The British military radio frequencies were filled with the voices of British tank crews shouting at each other, and what had been a perfect and harmonious battlefield scene began to descend into chaos due to the British counterattack.

  The commander of the British 1st Armoured Division was reporting the situation on the battlefield to the headquarters of the Eighth Corps through a long-wave radio. However, no matter how hard the operator tried, they only managed to contact the command center once and then lost contact again, with nobody able to figure out what had gone wrong.

  Being unable to contact headquarters means taking responsibility for everything here yourself.

  As the commander of an armored division, Raymond Briggs knew deeply that the battles that had taken place so far showed that the First Division was no match for the German army without reinforcements. The first thing Raymond Briggs thought of was to retreat, although he couldn't beat these German tanks, but judging from the speed at which these tanks were moving, it shouldn't be a problem for the Sherman M4 to escape.

  But if the headquarters asks, how many tanks have you lost? How to answer, can't tell them that 60 tanks were knocked down by the Germans as soon as they met? Every armored division will not report the true number of lost tanks, only report being hit and under repair. But this time it's not possible, the Germans won't just watch you send people to pull back the damaged tanks. One radish one pit, a few less men is no problem, but tanks are too big to fool anyone.

  If it were true, that would be a major loss at most. But if the command asked how many losses the German army had suffered, what should they say? Raymond and Briggs didn't dare to lie because the British intelligence department was too powerful. It seemed that this group could intercept all the intelligence of the German army, even the color of Hitler's mistress's underwear was clear.

  If this is the result of reporting 0 vs 60, then Raymond and Briggs' superiors will also be held accountable. In that case, many people will be implicated, including Churchill and his own father.

  In the stuttering time, Raymond and Briggs saw the British tank firing with a burst of green smoke, and the sound of artillery fire was endless. In this way, Raymond and Briggs missed an opportunity to order a retreat. Because the wireless had been occupied by those chaotic calls, it was impossible to hear what was being said at all.

  Raymond and Briggs were also eager to see what happened when German tanks were hit and exploded.

  Raymond and Briggs witnessed a scene from the observation mirror set up on the command vehicle that they would never forget. It wasn't that these shells didn't explode, but the first shell fired was too far away, and its kinetic energy had dissipated. The pressure generated by the impact of the core was not enough to detonate the fuse and explosives wrapped in the core. All the shells fired this time exploded, whether they hit the ground or the armor of the tank.

  However, after the explosion, these German tanks were not destroyed at all, but only corroded by explosives and metal flows in some places, and a piece of paint fell off. The tank was still moving forward, and it could be seen that the personnel of the German tank were not affected at all.

  Raymond and Briggs also saw a shell hit the turret of a German tank, but it was deflected by the sloping armor and flew straight up into the air.

  In the past, when fighting against the German army, we never encountered such a situation. The Italian tank troops didn't even need to be mentioned, they were all destroyed one by one. The German 3rd tank was also destroyed with just one shot, wherever it went, it ended up being scrapped and bursting into flames. Only the German 4th tank could withstand it a bit, but we had never seen such a scene where it was directly blown into the sky before.

  Fortunately, the numerous shells were not ineffective. Two German tanks had their tracks directly hit by shells, and the tanks stalled on the spot. However, the German tanks did not catch fire or explode.

  The book implies that the German "Leopard" tank's engine used a powerful diesel engine as its power system, which although resulted in the tank emitting thick black smoke while driving, was able to maximize the use of power performance and ensure that the tank would not explode or catch fire when hit, thereby greatly ensuring the safety of the tank crew.

  After the German tank was hit, its hatch opened and 5 crew members climbed out. Raymond and Briggs were a bit dizzy, but the German tank's protection was really good - the tank was destroyed, but the personnel were fine. Looking at their own tank, it was like a fireball after being hit by one shell, with no one escaping from inside. The burning scene was too terrible to behold.

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  Two more servings coming up.