Iron Cross

ps: There is an error to be corrected. The track width of the Tiger and Panther tanks in the structure of this book should be 680mm, not 580mm. Thank you for your enthusiastic readers' correction. In addition, the mobility of tanks depends on both ground pressure and ton power.

In less than 5 minutes, more than 20 tanks of the 24th Armored Brigade that rushed to the front line were all hit and scrapped, and some of them were on fire. Some tank soldiers failed to escape. A few who escaped were unlucky and were hit by T-34 machine gun bullets and fell directly on the yellow sand. Only a very few lucky ones could save their lives by rolling and crawling and using the cover of tank wreckage. In contrast, Collingwood's 35th Armored Regiment suffered extremely minor losses. Except for the tracks of two T-34s that were destroyed and unable to move, the rest of the tanks were intact. Now the second-line tanks rushed out from the gaps between the front tanks when the first-line tanks stopped and fought, preparing to launch a second round of attacks on the enemy's follow-up troops.

The British tank soldiers also knew something was wrong. Their artillery could not hit the German tanks on the opposite side, and the enemy tanks either did not hit them or would definitely kill them if they did. This embarrassment of being hit but unable to fight back weighed heavily on everyone’s mind.

"Let the Shermans go to the front line, and the rest of the tanks will make a detour and attack the enemy's flank." The commanders of the tank squadron were experienced. Although they didn't know why the enemy's tanks were so powerful, they all had experience using Matilda and believed that tanks with strong firepower and hard armor must have defects, such as poor mobility, so they all made the same decision, "Close the distance and fight close."

For Brigadier General Brown, the situation had reached the most critical moment. The strange-looking German tanks that appeared in his field of vision seemed to have incredible magic. They could easily bounce off his own shells. Armor-piercing shells didn't work, and high-explosive shells had no lethality, but the enemy could easily penetrate him. He had never seen such enemy equipment. This new tank was much more powerful than the commonly seen No. 4. He was thinking hard, what model was this?

The British tanks knew that they had been blocked and surrounded. If they could not repel the German tanks in front or the troops behind could not stop the German 15th and 21st armored divisions, the entire brigade would be killed here today. Therefore, they mustered up their courage to continue fighting. The Crusaders and General Grant detoured to the left and right wings, while Sherman, who was specifically asked to hold on, increased his horsepower and advanced quickly.

Brigadier General Brown tried his best to cheer his men up, and almost roared on the radio: "Hold on, hold on. The division commander has come to support us, and there is still an hour from here. Commander Montgomery has also sent other troops to rescue us. We are not alone."

I don't know if these words worked. After the first round of attacks, the British tanks got rid of the panic and passivity at the beginning of the war. The overall formation was almost formed, and the coordination and cover between each other began to be decent. If you look down from the battlefield, the remaining 50 tanks are roughly arranged in an irregular trapezoid. Sherman is in the middle, and the Crusaders and General Grant are on the two wings.

"Want to fight us in close combat?" Collingwood keenly grasped the changes on the battlefield and issued a second order, "The enemy's artillery fire cannot hit us at a long distance. Keep your distance and don't get into close combat. First deal with the tanks that are flanking us."

Brigadier General Brown was surprised to find that under the step-by-step pressure of his own tanks, the enemy tanks actually slowly retreated on the battlefield, while always keeping a distance of about 1,000 meters from the British tanks, while adjusting the angle of the turret to deal with the tanks that were flanking from both sides. The cunning of their behavior made him want to vomit blood.

"Damn, how did they do it?" Looking at the flexible and fast mobility of the T-34, the British tank soldiers were dumbfounded again. This was completely incomparable to the clumsiness similar to Matilda in their imagination. Now those roundabout tanks are in tragedy again. The reaction speed of the German tanks they wanted to outflank was not slow at all. With a slight retreat and a change of direction, they immediately got rid of the fate of being flanked, and even their movements were much lighter than those of General Grant. They were already unable to defeat the German tanks head-on, but now, the British tanks, after the detour, exposed their side projections to the Germans, almost offering themselves to be hit. The side armor, which was much weaker than the front, could not withstand the attack, and one tank after another fell on the road to the side.

Despair! Only deep despair!

The 24th Armored Brigade had fewer and fewer tanks that could still be driven. At the beginning, the two sides fought one on one. After the detour tactics failed, two German tanks faced one British tank, and even several tanks were hit by multiple German tanks. Some T-34s that could not find a target to attack simply switched to high-explosive bombs to deal with the visible British armored vehicles on the battlefield. Brown's three lieutenant colonel tank squadron commanders, one died on the spot, another barely escaped after being injured, and the other was missing. Even several shells fell near his own command vehicle. If it weren't for good luck and the driver's flexible response, he would have been finished long ago.

Now he no longer knew what to do. He had no way to retreat, was unable to attack, and was unable to outflank. No matter how you looked at it, he was destined to die, and there was still at least an hour and a half before the rescue time mentioned by the division commander. The driver drove the command vehicle and jumped around to avoid the shells. Brown's mood was as the antenna behind the armored vehicle swayed here and there, and he was extremely frustrated.

In the second round of firefights, the exchange ratio between the two sides was no better than in the first round. The M4 Sherman, praised by Brigadier General Brown as the backbone of the armor and "the best tank on our side," also did it in the head-on confrontation. However, the situation of the new German tanks on the opposite side is much better than that of the Crusaders or General Grant. At least two T-34s were successfully destroyed in mobile warfare, and the Shermans' own survival rate is higher than that of other tanks. Quite a few, there are still 16 tanks that can be moved.

Now the remaining nearly 30 British tanks can only delay time by constantly maneuvering and driving. They use their frontal armor to carefully face the enemy tanks, releasing smoke while constantly changing positions. They never dare to stay in place motionless. ——That is just seeking death. Even if the artillery is fired, the goal is not to hit the opponent, but to interfere with the opponent's line of sight and disrupt the opponent's formation. It is hoped that this method can be used to sustain the arrival of reinforcements. Even if these tanks wanted to retreat, they did not dare to expose their rear areas. The armor there was very weak and they would be finished if they were hit by an enemy tank.

A smile appeared on Collingwood's lips. Now the enemy no longer dares to come forward to fight. They can only hide and hide like mice. But don't they know that there is no ideal shelter in this open land? The battle formation of the 35th Armored Regiment has changed again. Now it has gathered into a huge arc shape, preparing to surround these remaining British tanks like a circle. Any British tanks that want to escape from this encirclement will be mercilessly attacked. The superior German tanks concentrated fire and killed them - their number was too small, and even if they could dodge this German tank, they could not dodge the other one.

The time for the decisive battle finally came. Collingwood no longer wanted to slowly fly kites with the last British tanks. He had more important things to do. He aimed the throat microphone and roared with all his strength: "The whole army attacks! Charge!"

"Ula!" All the commanders received the signal, and a neat and loud answer sounded in their earphones, and then they increased their power and began to charge.

Collingwood was startled by the "Ula!". Two days ago, he and Guderian joked that our regiment was qualified to play the role of the Tank Guards. Unexpectedly, this word spread out for some reason. Today, the following is After playing with him like this, he laughed and scolded: "Damn... these little bastards, the political commissar didn't even say anything."

Guderian, Mei Linjin and others who were watching the battle from behind also heard these words. Everyone laughed so much that they almost couldn't straighten up.

Facing the charge of a large enemy force, the British tank crews felt despair and helplessness. Brigadier General Brown had probably had enough when he saw a Sherman. It broke away from the overall formation and rushed forward bravely, like Don Quixote. The Germans launched a desperate attack on the T-34s like a windmill. The best tank in the hands of the British started firing from 900 meters away and continued to hit close to 600 meters. It ignored the crossfire coming from the side and almost He was charging and firing at the enemy tank in front of him with a bayonet mounted desperately. However, this desperate and desperate move still failed to cause substantial damage to the opponent. Instead, the T-34 seized the opportunity and blasted it with one shot. None of the crew members escaped.

Now all that appeared in Brigadier Brown's field of vision were German tanks. His courage disappeared completely at this moment. He knew that he would never have the chance to wait for reinforcements.