Iron Cross

Faced with the furious Montgomery, De Lagan remained silent, and the others in the headquarters were also silent, and no one dared to defend Major General Landon. Although the 7th Armored Division seemed to have lost only a little more than a quarter of its personnel, the tanks and artillery were all destroyed, and the organization was broken up. This division was basically finished. It would take only a few months to reorganize and replenish, and it would not be able to go to the battlefield again, not to mention that so many things were lost - no wonder the commander was so angry!

"Order Landon to suspend his post immediately and reflect on his actions, and wait for the military court to investigate whether he has any improper command issues."

"I'm afraid that's not necessary..." De Lagan, who received the latest telegram, quickly lowered his voice and said in a sad tone, "I just received news that he died. The armored vehicle he was riding in was hit by a shell during the retreat and he died on the spot."

"This..." Montgomery didn't expect this to happen. He sighed and said slowly, "Report it in another way. Major General Landon died gloriously in the battle to cover the retreat of the troops. Request that he be given corresponding pensions and medals according to the regulations..."

The news of Landon's death cast a shadow on the entire Eighth Army Command. Everyone's mood was invisibly depressed. De Lagan wanted to cheer up the staff team, but he really didn't know what to say. He had to deal with the telegrams sent by all parties in silence, trying to suppress the haze in his heart with busy and tense battles.

In the positions near Bardia in the east, the Poles and French also fell into a bitter battle. At the beginning, the offensive of the two brigades was very easy. Under the cover of artillery fire and tanks, they quickly broke through the first line of defense of the German army. However, they suffered when expanding to the depth and flanks. They were beaten to the ground by the crossfire of the German army, which was either open or covert. In particular, the hot firepower of the MG42 machine gun made them learn a lesson. The firing rate of this newly used machine gun was at least 1,200 rounds per minute and at most 1,500 rounds. Due to the high firing rate, the sound of shooting was different from the "da da" sound of the Czech or Browning machine guns. Instead, it was more like the "chi chi" sound of a high-speed rotating electric saw. When the Poles and French had not yet reacted to what was going on, one infantry after another had been killed by the sound of tearing linen.

This new machine gun is also one of Hoffman's new equipment to support the African Army. As an important breakthrough in Germany's firearms production technology, MG42 has transformed the previous production process that used cutting technology, which was both metal-consuming and time-consuming, into an extremely simple metal stamping process. It looks like a patchwork of a pile of iron sheets and an iron pipe, but in fact, the structure is very compact and very conducive to production. Hoffman not only accelerated the finalization and production of MG42, but also gave priority to sending this machine gun to Guderian's African Army and Manstein's Southern Army Group for use. Newly manufactured armored vehicles also began to be equipped with this new weapon.

It is said that in real history, when MG42 was just born and equipped with the German army, Allied spies generally regarded it as a shoddy weapon and believed that Germany was no longer good - not only was there an extreme lack of raw materials, but even the machine guns as the core of tactics could not guarantee the manufacturing process. However, British and American firearms manufacturing experts were shocked when they learned of the situation, because only when the technology is mature can the stamping process be used. Germany is far ahead in the field of machine gun manufacturing. In actual combat, new soldiers are afraid of artillery, and veterans are afraid of machine guns. There are countless veterans who died at the hands of MG42. Now the French and Poles have become new victims.

When the bunkers opened their camouflage and the black muzzles of the guns revealed their firing holes, the nightmare of the Poles and French began. The flanking fire from all directions instantly knocked down these infantrymen who were advancing. Under the effect of the MG42's ultra-high firing rate, a dozen bullets were fired with a light pull of the trigger. As long as they were hit in the vital parts, there was no chance of survival. Several tanks and armored vehicles that tried to break through the cover were blown up because they were hit by anti-tank mines. The battlefield situation suddenly fell into a state of jagged teeth. The British artillerymen who were cooperating with the infantry attack did not dare to fire randomly. Now the forces of both sides were intertwined, and any shells could cause accidental injuries. They could only cut off the reinforcements of the German follow-up troops from a distance, but they had no way to deal with the German infantry who were already elusive in the trenches. They could only rely on their own infantry to clear the positions.

Sergeant Rudolf was now one of the people fighting fiercely in the trenches. As a senior squad leader of the armored grenadiers, he was once an excellent anti-tank shooter who could accurately shoot the important parts of the tank with an anti-tank gun at a distance of 200 meters. However, as the tank armor became thicker and thicker, not to mention that the anti-tank gun had no place to use, even the 37mm anti-tank gun became a stepping stone and was forced to retire. The infantry anti-tank weapons were even less and less. This situation changed more than a month ago - he got the opportunity to try out new individual anti-tank weapons.

The commander gave him a bunch of strange weapons and told him that they were all called iron fists, and the differences were No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. After testing three weapons respectively, he had a unique opinion: Iron Fist No. 1 is obviously very light and easy to carry, and it is not difficult to master, but the range of action is a little too close, 40-50 meters away unless fighting in the street. Otherwise, it is basically impossible to escape completely after launch; No. 2 has the best distance, accuracy and power, but unfortunately it requires the cooperation of two people. The target and size are too large, and it is very easy to be exposed; only No. 3 is good, he has tried it I fell deeply in love with it after a few times - the single-person operation of the launcher with a tripod ensures direction and accuracy. The distance is further than that of No. 1, and it can kill armored targets at 80-100 meters. It can be called the best killer of individual anti-tanks. In the end, he resolutely chose No. 3.

Before today's battle started, he was told by his commander that tanks would basically not be dispatched, and most of the 88-guns would be hidden. If the enemy tanks did not have too many tanks, all anti-tank tasks would need to be performed by infantry. He did not feel scared. Instead, he thought that his opportunity had come.

Now, he is holding the Iron Fist No. 3 launcher in his hand and flexibly shuttles between the trenches as dense as a spider web. In addition to the armor-piercing grenade on the launcher, he is also strong and carries 4 additional rounds of supplementary ammunition. He worked hard to find a suitable ambush location - fighting a tank is not just a matter of stupidly staying in the trench, as that would have to be beaten into pieces by the enemy infantry accompanying the action. He carefully selected a section of an abandoned trench, dug up the scattered Polish corpses and lurked quietly underneath. After carefully observing the surroundings, he set up the launcher. At the same time, he cleverly cleared the obstacles behind to prevent the tail fire after the spray. Rewind and threaten yourself. A few minutes later, a Churchill tank drove past more than 50 meters to his left, stopping from time to time to use machine guns and artillery to suppress the German firepower ahead. He never expected that there was danger hidden in this already calm trench.

That’s it! He aimed at the Iron Turtle, which was stumbling and occasionally pausing. He suppressed his excitement and quietly pulled the trigger. The gun under the electric shock was quickly ignited, pushing Iron Fist 3 forward. After flying away from the launch tube, the stabilizing fins opened in a short time, and while rotating, it hit the side of Churchill. More than half a second later, it exploded on the armor surface with a "boom", and the metal flow formed by the cavity effect quickly penetrated Side armor, he had no time to observe the results of the battle and used a clever roll to hide in a crater more than 5 meters away. Then the enemy fired at his original position.

In a fierce battle that lasted for more than 2 hours, he single-handedly destroyed 2 Churchills and 1 General Grant. The warmth of his hand was unexpected. This impressive record earned him a first-class Iron Cross. Medals and tank-destroying armbands.

"Reporting from the front, the Polish brigade and the French brigade are engaged in fierce exchanges with the enemy. The battle lines are intertwined. Our army's front has advanced about 2,500 yards as a whole. The troops have suffered heavy losses. They have lost more than 20 tanks, more than 40 armored vehicles, and nearly 1,500 infantry casualties. people……"

"So many losses? How many tanks did the Germans use?"

"Not one."

"Not one?" Montgomery was stunned for a moment, "They were all fired by anti-tank guns? How many 88-guns were there? Has the position been locked?"

"It is roughly estimated that there may be 8 gates. It is difficult to judge the position of the position. We can only lock the approximate position..." De Lagan paused and frowned tightly. "The French also reported that the Germans used a The new weapon - infantry individual anti-tank weapon, is very lethal to armored targets. "

"Anti-tank gun? Anti-tank grenade? Recoilless rifle? Or something else?" Montgomery was obviously unhappy. "Why didn't the report make it clear?"

"The French said they don't know what it is. It's definitely not an anti-tank gun or a grenade. It may be close to a new type of artillery, but one person can operate it - or should it be called an anti-tank rocket?" De Lagan smiled bitterly. The telegram was handed to Montgomery, who looked at it carefully and couldn't figure out what it was.

First it was heavy tanks, then new machine guns, and now there are unknown but powerful infantry anti-tank weapons. God knows how many good things the Germans have hidden. What makes Montgomery even more upset is that the German tanks have not been dispatched. , 88 guns were also found very little, which meant that the Germans had hidden huge strength. If the First Armored Division was rash to launch an attack, they would probably hit the nail board. Looking at the sky, it was getting late. After thinking about it, De Lagan said, "Let the French and Poles withdraw, and let the air force launch air strikes on the German positions tomorrow to clear obstacles for the ground troops."

Night fell quietly, and the battle on the east and west fronts gradually entered a calm period, but the troops attacking south began to take action...