Chapter 427: 427
"Fire!" Mitchell Weitmann saw the British tank that was gradually clear in the rain not far away from the Captain's periscope. It was an American M3 tank, and there was no improved 75mm caliber gun directly in front of it.
"Boom!" The 88mm caliber long-body cannon of the Tiger tank let out a roar. The shells tear the air, causing the rain to retreat due to the expansion of the airflow. It seemed that a straight line was cut in the continuous rainwater and flew directly to its target.
On the other side, the British vanguard of the 2nd Armored Division between Bunge and Lowstoft was unknown, and they had already crashed into the defensive position of the 1st Company of the 502 Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion.
The driver of a modified m3lee tank is manipulating his tank to climb up the hillside, and the m3 tank, as the company commander, has taken the lead in climbing the hillside.
"Hey! Company Commander, we originally thought we would find the Germans in the small town in front, but it seemed that they had given up on the town and retreated." Holding the phone, a British tank commander was chatting with his commander.
"Boom!" The explosion sounded like a shaking mountain. Even the armored iron sheets and headphones of the tank could be heard clearly. The captain who heard the explosion quickly lifted the tank hatch and poked his head out to see clearly what was going on around him.
However, he saw that his company commander's car, slightly ahead of his tank, exploded into flames not far away, and even in the heavy rain, it burned violently, making people shudder.
"Car No. 3! Car No. 3! I can't see what happened. The company commander's car exploded! In which direction did the enemy attack come from? Is there anyone ambushing your left side?" He grabbed the caller, and the British commander began to confirm the situation with his comrades on the other side.
"I didn't find enemies here! I didn't find enemies here! Hell!" There were 6 tanks in this armored company, 2 improved m3lee, and there were 4 ordinary m3 tanks. Only half had telephones and radios, and the remaining half were not equipped with such important equipment.
So after the British commander's tank was destroyed, the British commander had to contact the other remaining friendly tank with the only radio: "Be careful to go uphill! The enemy may be in the town on the other side of the road! I can't see them! But they can see us!"
"Oh God! Ask the infantry to go up! Stop! Stop!" The captain of another tank shouted loudly at the microphone, but there were still two tanks that rushed up the hillside because they had no radio and exposed their bodies to German tanks.
"Boom!" Another tank was hit by a shell, and the entire tank's body was penetrated, and a metal torrent was sprayed out, and then it was piled up there as if it had lost its soul.
"Arman! Reversing!" The British chief who was halfway through the body pointed out of the car loudly reminded his accomplices not far away, but it was obvious that everything was too late. The m3 tank had just stopped and was about to reverse, but it was hit by an armor-piercing bullet.
A flame emerged from the turret. The driver responsible for driving the tank lifted the hatch and jumped out of his tank, rolling and crawling in the direction of his team.
"Stop! If you don't want to die, stop! Don't rush up the hillside! The enemy is in the village opposite! There is at least one tank! There is at least one tank!" The British tank leader shouted to the phone: "What are the idiots in charge of reconnaissance thinking? We are all attacked!"
"Send a signal to the battalion behind and organize an attack!" The infantry commander seemed more experienced. He led a few soldiers to climb up the hillside quickly, lay down and carefully watched the situation on the opposite side with a telescope, and then retreated to the stopping tank unit.
He pointed to the direction of the small village and began to introduce the situation on the entire battlefield to several commanders of the tank: "They were very hidden. I couldn't see the location of the machine gun point, nor did I find the location of the enemy tank. There were the bodies of our soldiers on the ground, which didn't look very new. I guess I'll die for at least one day..."
"I will ask the soldiers to surround the left and right, approach the German defensive positions, and try to help you find the location of the German tanks." The infantry commander began to assign his subordinates' offensive routes, pointing to the map and writing and drawing.
"Maybe it's just an anti-tank gun." A commander said, looking at the tank that was still burning not far away.
"The distance is about 900 meters, and you can only see one building, as well as some low bushes and mounds. The other party is very well disguised. If we go around the wings and attack with the bushes, it may have a certain effect." Another carriageman pointed to the side and said.
"German tanks are used to acting alone or in small quantities. They are very confident in themselves, but we have a numerical advantage, so don't be afraid. After a while, the 3rd Company will attack head-on with us, and the 2nd Company will detour to the side and kill them in one breath!" The battalion commander looked at the terrain and ordered loudly: "Don't wait for support! Start the attack now!"
After a brief discussion, the British tank troops began their own attack. With the infantry, they rushed to the high ground in three groups and prepared to cross the road to launch a siege to attack the small village on the other side.
"Boom!" Another explosion came, and the British attack seemed to be accompanied by misfortune and disaster from the beginning. Not long after their tanks emerged, a tank was hit on the front armor plate, and the entire tank was burned and turned into a ball of flame and stopped on the charge road.
"A tank was destroyed! I saw the smoke and firelight opposite me! They were ambushing behind the building! Have you seen the window blocking the curtains? Have you seen that window? There are their artillery!" A tank leader pointed to the distance and shouted loudly.
"I don't know if it's an anti-tank gun or a tank! We can't see the situation behind the house! Speed up! Keep attacking! Keep attacking!" The tank commander shouted excitedly, because he really didn't know whether the German team hidden there would regard him as the next target. He had to pray, praying that the other party did not aim at him.
God bless you, the other party fired again without choosing him, but knocked away a tank on his left. The artillery easily penetrated the armor of the British tank, tore up the fragile steel plates, and smashed the people inside into pieces. The British tank that was hit slowly stopped and turned into a wreck with light smoke.
"I can see the other party's position! I've already aimed!" The cannon leader reported loudly!
"Fire! Fire! Fire if you have the chance!" The British car captain ordered loudly. He seemed a little panicked, because the next tank that the opponent destroyed was his most threatening m3lee.
"Bang!" His tank finally fired the first shot of counterattack. The shell flew towards the gray-white collapsed building and hit the wall of the building, collapsed half of the wall. But unfortunately, this collapse brought out a slight smoke, making it even more difficult to see the position of the team.
Fortunately, the sky was raining heavily, and the smoke was blown away for only a few seconds. A gray behemoth was presented in the sights and observation periscopes of the British armored forces, and the black muzzle on it looked scary.
"Oh God! German tank! German tank! It's that new type of tank! Go quickly! Open fire!" The tank leader shouted in fear: "Oh my god! It's opening fire!"
Through the periscope, he saw the tiger tank on the opposite side spraying dazzling flames again, and an 88mm-caliber shell easily knocked another British m3 tank into scrap iron at a distance of 800 meters.
At this distance, the armor thickness of the m3 tank cannot even withstand the attack of the 75mm caliber cannon of the Panther tank, so the British tankers know that if they face the Tiger tank that has been rumored to be more difficult than the Panther tank, they must try their best to get close to their opponents and fire at the closest distance to have a chance of winning.
After all, when the Tiger tank was just deployed and put into service on a large scale in the German team, there were very few armored troops left on the French front-line counterattack. Therefore, the German Tiger tank has not yet been destroyed, which is also the fundamental reason why this tank is too mythical in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Some people say that the thickness of the front armor of the new German tank cannot be penetrated at all. Many soldiers require the tank to be equipped with 105mm caliber cannons that are impossible to achieve. Some armored troops even require the troops to open fire when they are close to 50 meters to ensure that the front armor plate of this new German tank is penetrated.
"Boom!" Suddenly, a stream of white smoke ejected from the bushes beside him, and an m3 tank detoured on the side was instantly destroyed. The surrounding British soldiers were in chaos, and the radio channel was filled with messy shouts.
"The Germans have two tanks! The Germans have two tanks! Retreat! Retreat! We were attacked! Tom was hit! Tom was hit!"
"Oh my God! Reversing! Reversing quickly! Their machine guns fired! Someone of our infantry was hit! Oh my god."
"Hey! They opened fire again! Cover us! Cover us! Jack's tank caught fire! Jack is finished! I saw him trying to climb out of his tank, but he was ignited by the fire! He was burned to death!"
Just when the British were in chaos, German tanks rushed out from a hidden place. Tank No. 007 took the lead. On the other side, another tiger tank that had been exposed was also killed. The British immediately began to retreat.
Chapter completed!