Chapter 35 The Blocker
In the dark night, the road was covered with wind and snow, and the road became a dangerous road. On the road from Erlangen to Nuremberg, a convoy of more than 20 jeeps and trucks slowly heading towards Nuremberg like a snail. The dazzling lights of the headlights became unprecedentedly dim under the cover of the heavy snow. Next to the bend where the convoy had already passed, a jeep flipped into the fields very stylishly, only a dozen meters apart. Another truck unfortunately slipped out of the road and fell into a mud pit. Most of the American officers and soldiers on the car temporarily "carpooled" and left. The soldiers who stayed there waiting for help had to watch helplessly in the cold wind.
Amid the sound of the tracks rubbing, a group of "three-eyed" steel monsters appeared on this highway less than ten kilometers away from Nuremberg. Looking through the snowflakes swept by the strong wind, these guys were square and tall. If they were not familiar with the British tanks, they might mistake them for the tiger-style tanks that the Germans were invincible back then. Soon, these "Cromwell" cruise tanks, which weighed about the same weight as the German No. 4 tank, were stable and fast.
The British tankers who were struck by the broken US vehicles quickly looked at these American soldiers who were usually pampered with compassion and compassion. Without clear orders, no one left the team to help them. After all, it was located between the downtown of Nuremberg and the Allied barracks. The rescue vehicles may have set off from the barracks, and this fast tank column is shouldering a more important mission. [..com]
After a while, the tank column began to surpass the slowly moving US military convoy, while the US officers and soldiers sitting in the car could only hold their sleepy eyes, hold their guns, and look at the "British Iron Cavalry" handsomely away with complex eyes. They inherited the usual high-speed, small cannons and thin skins of British cruise tanks. At that time, the three "Cromwell" and one "Firefly" were also considered a classic tactical combination on the European pig battlefield, but their combat ability is not satisfactory. Not to mention the tiger and leopard styles.
Tanks, even if they face the German tank No. 4, were at a disadvantage. When encountering the Soviet steel torrent with the T34 and IS series, they were only able to escape, and they were even more rated as "British soft eggs" by Western Allied soldiers. On the current front-line battlefield, British armored troops mainly rely on "comets" and "Churchill" to fight. "Cromwell", which was not destroyed by the gun mouth of Soviet tanks, became a use of reconnaissance and infantry support. Some were simply included in the second-line troops to carry out guard patrol missions in the rear.
Although these cruiser tanks, which have only been designed and manufactured for only three years, are not satisfactory in the battlefield performance of the British army, but they are still one of the most distinctive tanks. Their power system is excellent. The meteor engines equipped with are reliable and durable, easy to maintain, and their flexible maneuverability is also suitable for rapid combat in various environments. Their horizontal and vertical turrets and bodies have accumulated a lot of snow, but the speed does not slow down due to this harsh weather. Judging from their long gun barrels and typical muzzle retractors, these are the later models of "Cromwell", with welded front armor reaching k2 mm, plus two 792 mm machine guns (standard equipment for British tanks), it is more than enough to deal with a group of whimsical "Nazi remnants" - at least they learned that the British tankers attacked in the Nuremberg Prison thought so.
What kind of scene will you see when you arrive at the destination? Tanks can fully display their imaginations on the way, but few of them may have imagined that the ability of tracked tanks to fight against harsh environments cannot guarantee that they will arrive in Nuremberg smoothly. After surpassing the US military convoy, they have not walked 5 kilometers before they can walk, like a thunderous roar, awakening the dreamer in an instant!
The firelight produced by the explosion could not reflect this deep snowy night. Looking from behind, it seemed that the tanks were just a rash fire. The red flames and smoke that were not bombarded, and did not splash high. The heavy pieces quickly spread in the boundless wilderness. The sight suddenly returned to its original state. The vast snow filled most of the visible space. The double lights on the front of the tank body made the tank column look like a shiny centipede. The additional headlights on the left side of the turret illuminated a very limited area with the point of the muzzle.
If there was no strange sound in your ears after the lonely explosion, the British tankers might rather believe that it was their own illusion just now. However, at a speed of more than 40 kilometers per hour, the first tank that was crushed with mines had a hard friction with the road due to a broken track and a sudden stall. In order to avoid collision with the car ahead, the second, third and several tanks followed also braked one after another. The sharp sound pierced the whistling of the cold wind, which made people feel palpitations...
Looking at the faint smoke rising in front, the crew on the rear tanks also roughly guessed the situation. Under the command of the tanks, the vehicles quickly slowed down and turned off the headlights and turret lights one after another. The long centipede, which was still crawling on the road just now, quickly disappeared into the vast snowy night. Although the loss of lighting shortened people's visible distance, these cruise tanks with less powerful defenses also avoided long-term exposure. In the early days, they were with the Germans and now with the Soviets.
During the war, many Allied tankers had experiences of being ambushed by the enemy and were impressed by those who cooperated with tacitly and powerful anti-tank tactics. The inertial thinking made them hold their breath and prepare to welcome the ambush's subsequent attack. It could be the precise bombardment of large-caliber anti-tank artillery, it could be overwhelming fierce artillery fire, or it could be the heavy tank slowly sailing out of a hidden position. No matter which one it was, it would be difficult to deal with the performance of "Cromwell".
Time passed by, and the situation that made the British tankers worried or even afraid did not appear. Many people then recovered. This was not the Eastern European line, but the rear of the front line, southeastern Germany. At this time, more than a year has passed since the destruction of the Third Reich and its formal clothing power. Although there may be a fish that escaped the net under the careful cleaning of the occupied forces of the Allies, it is impossible for tanks to appear.
As for the Soviet surprises, they would not have fallen from the sky across hundreds of kilometers of fronts.
After a long pause, the command tanks that dismantled the artillery and installed high-power radio stations issued a new order to leave the highway to search for advance. Although the enemy's appearance is an indisputable fact, there is no detailed information on the progress of the battle situation in Nuremberg. If such a tank column with a combat power is far more than ordinary infantry, it will definitely be regarded as a coward and will be ridiculed and ridiculed by people in the end.
Taking advantage of the gap when the British tanks stopped, the US troops behind also caught up. Their trucks did not rashly approach the "battlefield". A group of officers and soldiers arrived first in jeeps. Among them were the mine-detection engineers that British tankers desperately missed - Germany after the war. Most residents silently accepted the reality of defeat. However, there were many thorns that popped up to cause trouble for the Allies. The teenagers and half-aged men in their sixties and seventies were particularly dangerous. They were not necessarily proficient in weapons, but they were able to use various "small equipment" left at the end of the war to create "loud" sounds. Grenades, mines and other explosives are the most common. The engineers of the Allied forces have been troubled by these tactical weapons since the landing in Normandy. After the war, they had to maintain their state and improve their skills, which led to a group of exquisitely professional mine-deletionists.
The US engineers rushed forward with guys to the British tank column, and "Cromwell" was also busy. The second car in the first place rushed to the front with steel body. The track broke and the weight-bearing wheel was crooked. The harsh friction sound suddenly came again. The road was empty, but the second "Cromwell" did not move forward blindly. When the rear cars left the road and entered the fields on both sides, it reversed and retreated down the roadbed. In a short while, six cars on the left and five tanks on the right were pushed slowly on both sides of the road, and the rest remained temporarily.
The engineers who covered and supported the mine clearance on the road. This arrangement seemed to be safe, but the British tanks marching in the fields had not yet driven out fifty meters. A loud bang was heard, and the explosion several times more violent than before made the ground in the distance feel a clear tremor. Not to mention, a ball of blazing fireball immediately swallowed the unlucky "Cromwell". When people looked closely, the tank was still a tank. The strong body was actually broken, and the turret also left the body and was tilted to the side. As for the crew inside, the possibility of surviving such a lucky person was slim!
There is no doubt that this shocking thunder shocked the audience in an instant. The British tankers stopped spontaneously. The tragic situation of their companions made them fearlessly the explosives buried by the other party. The US engineers who had just begun to clear mines on the highway also looked here in panic. The US officers and soldiers stuck in the road behind also felt the seriousness of the situation for the first time - continue to move forward, and the end was probably that the bones were gone.
The loud noise caused by a total of 50 kilograms of strong swelling through the wind and snow reached Nuremberg several kilometers away. At this time, the battle surrounding Nuremberg Prison had ended. The US, British and French garrison troops were almost expelled from the garrison while suffering tragic losses. Therefore, when the attackers retreated in all directions, they had no ability to organize effective pursuits. A team of British soldiers hurried into the prison, which was generally intact, with only a few damaged doors and windows. They were soon shocked by the guards all over the ground. When they found that there were still several important war criminals staying in the room opened by the iron gate, the second shock was beyond words.
Finally, a British major asked Denitz in awkward German: "Who are the attackers? What is their purpose for coming here? Why didn't you go? Where did they escape?"
The last head of the Third Reich raised his head and looked at the other party coldly, and replied in an unusually arrogant tone: "I don't know who they are. This is the reason why I didn't leave, and I don't know where they fled, and their purpose for coming here is obvious."
The British major was speechless. He walked to other rooms angry but had no way to vent his feelings, trying to get more valuable information from the mouths of those who stayed here, but the answers of these people were similar.
At this moment, on the hills that need to walk 62 kilometers of rugged mountain road to get there, the correspondent who followed Wiesenfeld into the prison straightened his chest and saluted Linn: "General, the rescue operation is going well. Except for the seven people including Marshal Denitz who are unwilling to leave, the rest have retreated to the Nuremberg city as you plan."
On this inconspicuous hill, Lynn saw from the telescope that the group of people with companions evacuated from the prison and went to the city. Although there was a ruin, it was the best place to hide traces. The complex environment and the cooperation of residents could restrain the Allied forces for at least half a day. The evacuated people would pass through the city and evacuate Nuremberg without stopping - you could cross the border to the Czech Republic by walking about a hundred kilometers eastward, and you could cross the border to Austria or Switzerland to the south, and even if you walked westward and northward, you could not leave Germany even if you walked four or five hundred kilometers northward. There were only rolling hills and woods everywhere that could provide concealment for the whereabouts of the large group of people.
#Zannitz was unwilling to leave. Lin Neng was a little surprised. After all, he was not a talented military genius. He could not only predict the enemy's movements, but also judge their choices by analyzing individuals' personalities and thoughts.
"Who are the other six people except the Marshal?"
The correspondent took a breath: "Admiral Raidel, Chief Von Ribbentrop, Chief Schacht, Ambassador Von Baben, Chief Fritch and Chief Hess!"
Anyone who was dismissed or abandoned by the head of state before the end of the war was called "supervisor", and none of these people were met by Lynn. However, historical records and later generations were enough to give him a general understanding of the key figures. To be fair, in the list of senior war criminals detained in Nuremberg, Lynn only admired Denitz, Redell and Sperer. They were all talented, and they all made outstanding contributions in their own way before and after the war, and they were also the loyalty of the head of state.
What is more important is that they are essentially different from Himmler and Heidrich, who slaughtered Jewish, imprisoned speech, and brutal rule. They are dedicated soldiers or officials. They have the excellent character of persistence and integrity, but they are "unrepentant". In the Nuremberg trial, they were severely punished for 0 years (Donitz), 20 years (Speer) and life imprisonment (Redell). However, compared with the one who was sentenced to hang, they were a group of "forgivable sins".
Respecting personal wishes was a principle set by Lynn at the time of obtaining the consent of the head of state. There was no chance to turn back at this time. Fortunately, Spel willingly left with the task force. Lynn quickly calculated in his mind and ordered the correspondent: "Tell Colonel Bruns, and then act according to plan b, and the key figures will be covered by Lieutenant Colonel Handmark."
For such a goal, the itinerary and environment are extremely complex. Lynn has arranged a, b, and c on the basis of the overall plan. The contents of the whole plan are controlled by several important officers, including the deputy commander of the operation and the commander of the night battle battalion. The three plans adopt different retreat routes for different situations. They dare not say that they are shocking the world, but they also devote a lot of Linn to the point of hard work and learn from the charm of Eastern tactics.
The correspondent soldier sent an order without hesitation, leaving only Lynn and his accompanying adjutant Marcos.
Tanze is on this cold and bleak hill, and it won't take long for them to leave. Because they do not participate directly in the operation and have the identity of Red Cross personnel as cover, these two "acting factions" who have experienced in North America do not need to worry too much about the pursuit and interrogation of the Allies. Not long after the communications soldiers were sank into the wind and snow for a long time, there was another flash of light in the north. After ten seconds, the sky was rolling thunder and thunder arrived as scheduled. Lynn knew that the task force responsible for interception on the North Line was using the "Goria Little Giant" to create Allied tanks.
Trouble. This secret weapon during World War II is the embodiment of the wisdom of German industry and can be called the ancestor of remote sensing weapons. Its main body is a miniature tank body without a turret. It has a total length of about 15 meters and a weight between 370 and 430 kilograms. It has two methods of wire control and radio control. It is driven by electric motor or motorcycle engine, and is loaded with 50 or 76 kilograms to approach and attack enemy armored targets or sturdy fortifications. The effective control distance is up to 650 meters. It is more effective than any anti-tank rocket launcher.
However, by 1946, these "little giants" were no longer secret weapons of the German army. The US and British Allied forces seized samples at the end of World War II and transported them back to China for dismantling and research. The imitations were also put into use in combat with the Soviet army. However, the cost and complex operation greatly restricted their large-scale popularization. In order to cooperate with the Nuremberg Operation, the contingent transported three "little Giants" in stock from the "Sanctuary" base. The original plan was to knock on the high wall of the Nuremberg Prison and one for peripheral blocking. After further observation and analysis, blasting experts believed that the destructive power of this equipment was too strong. Blasting the exterior wall of the prison may cause harm to the detainees of unknown locations, so they finally adopted a relatively small directional blasting technology.
Two thunders, three remote-controlled anti-tank equipment have gone away. Lin Neng was not afraid at all. As long as manpower and material resources continue to recover, even the expensive equipment can be produced. Even the "disk" that still makes the allies confused has the prospect of mass production. In the cold wind, he tightened his collar and looked towards the northeast. Handmark will personally protect Sper, the "key gentleman", who left in that direction, traveled north along the Bohemia and the Erz mountains to reach the Elbe River, and then went downstream to Hamburg. Looking at that direction, Lin Neng seemed to jump out of space restrictions and saw the battlefield in Eastern Europe. It is said that 100,000 German prisoners of war released by the Western Allies have entered the battlefield as volunteers, and the Soviet Union was sent to the front line.
Chapter completed!