One Hundred and Seventy Three Forward

"So what? You want to show that you've been beaten? Stupid!" one of the infantrymen asked with a chuckle. (starting)

Faced with the infantry's ridicule, Ren didn't make any distinctions, he just smiled helplessly, the slight freckles on his face moved with his smile, and then he crawled back to the ground under the eyes of these SS infantrymen. On the top of his own tank, and then got into his position as the commander: "Bowman! Drive!"

When Ren returned to the village, they saw another SS infantry was cleaning the battlefield. On the ground were the corpses of three SS soldiers. Their faces were covered with white cloths, and one of them was already stained red with blood. .

Captain Carter's No. 111 tank has been dragged out of the small ditch next to it, and it is still connected to Marcus's No. 112 tank by a steel cable. Obviously, the No. 112 tank that rushed back to the village pulled him up. After all, the ditch is not deep, so no professional trailer was used. Captain Carter also breathed a sigh of relief, because after all, the trailer was only something that the battalion headquarters had, and it would be embarrassing to use it.

Carter was studying the map with Marcus, and the markings on the map showed that the road stretched all the way to the far side of the forest, connecting to another small village, and after passing that village, there was a town not far to the east. They are discussing whether to assemble the tank company and attack the next village.

The 114 and 115 tanks were responsible for covering part of the soldiers of the 5th Panzergrenadier Regiment attacking in the wilderness and protecting the village's flanks. Now they have rushed back and the tanks are parked outside the village. Of the five tanks in the second tank platoon, one tank numbered 124 is being repaired, and the remaining four tanks are on standby on the other side of the village.

And at the entrance of their village, there is still a No. 3 assault gun belonging to the artillery battalion of the division. This assault gun was ordered to cover the attacking troops in this direction. The guns are also waiting for orders, and the crew members are lying in the car and basking in the sun.

"Hey! Rennes! I heard that you destroyed a Polish tank?" Captain Carter smiled, pointed to his tank and continued to laugh at himself: "I didn't seem to be very lucky on the battlefield for the first time! With his own tank in the ditch, there seemed to be nothing else to brag about."

Ren turned around and let Bruce and others rest in the car, walked over by himself, scratched the back of his head and replied shyly: "I didn't destroy that tank, my shell missed it, and the track of that tank broke by itself. , the people in the car abandoned the car and fled." His shy little face was slightly flushed, which made the light freckles on his face even more obvious.

"But this still depends on your record." Carter smiled and pointed to Rennes' tank: "It needs to have more marks on its barrel."

Immediately afterwards, he did not continue to talk about this matter, but asked: "I want to continue to attack, pass through this forest, and then take this village! Take this town before four o'clock this afternoon,

Do you think there is a problem? "

"Is there any infantry coming with us? I'm afraid there will be problems if the tank moves alone!" Marcus frowned and thought for a while before speaking.

Ren stared at the map for a long time before speaking: "I think there should be no problem. The Poles' defense is not very strong. I think they are trying to gather their troops in the direction of the town. If we rush over, it will happen You can stop them from doing that."

"Will we meet the main force of the enemy army? What will happen if they counterattack or our attack fails?" Carter glanced at Rennes and asked.

"If we set off immediately, and if we are lucky, we will not encounter resistance in the next village, then we may arrive at the town before two o'clock in the afternoon, and nine tanks should be able to kill the Polish defenders there." Rennes used He measured it on the map with his palm and said.

The electromechanical officer of the No. 111 tank came over, a recruit who looked very young. Seeing him approaching, Captain Carter immediately asked, "What did Second Lieutenant Polk say?" The second lieutenant Polk in his language was the platoon leader of the 1st tank platoon, and he wanted to seek the opinions of his officers before acting.

"Ensign Polk said he thought we should attack," replied the electromechanic.

"Then go back to your respective vehicles!" Carter waved his hand and ordered: "The tanks in the first row search and attack forward, and the second row catches up with the cover. Check the fuel! Start the engine! Keep the radio open!"

"The last one can't be done at all." Renn replied with a smile as he walked towards his chariot. Everyone laughed. Then amidst the roar, the tank started to move again. Ren leaned on his hatch and shouted loudly to the assault gun crew not far away: "Hey! We are going to the next village to see if there is any Captives! Do you want to follow?"

The commander of the assault gun who was gesturing to the map with a company commander of the Grenadier raised his head to look at Ren, then showed his yellow teeth, and pointed to the tanks not far away. The grenadier company commander said: "Send a few armored vehicles to follow them, and we will set off together."

The grenadier company commander nodded, and immediately got up: "Jamie! You guys take people into the car! Let's go to the next village to see! Those who stayed handed over half of the ammunition and packed their bags! Hurry up! We will set off in 1 minute!"

When this mixed force rushed to the next village, it was exactly as expected. The Poles left some roadblocks here, but did not send any troops to guard it.

So the German grenadiers jumped out of the armored vehicles, set up guards around the village, locked some local residents who had not escaped in a relatively large house, and put a bright German flag on the roof of the largest house.

The rest of the people started to bury the pot for cooking. They opened some cans, poured them into the lunch box and stirred them, and added a lot of water to it, as if they wanted to drink some broth.

The other crew members were also eating their canned food and black bread, but Ren only distributed some compressed biscuits to Andre and the others. These compressed biscuits were extremely unpalatable. Although they were very hungry, they were really not nutritious. These compressed biscuits Because it has been hoarded for a long time, there is still a hint of broken oil smell.

"We have no way to accompany you to move forward! Just maintaining the defense line of these two villages makes my company very tight. I can't spare any more troops to follow you... I heard that you will continue to go east, Then please be careful." During the meal, the grenadier company commander came over to discuss countermeasures with Carter, and Carter promised them to leave a tank to help them consolidate their defense.

"The assault gun crew is going to search north. They want to take away an armored vehicle, so our defense is weaker. I suggest we wait for the infantry to come over and take over the line of defense before we move forward." The grenadier company commander after a while He came back from the assault gun again, and continued to argue with Carter: "If you insist on attacking, please leave another tank."

Carter thought for a while, and then called the two platoon leaders to discuss it, and then used a telescope to observe the surrounding terrain, and finally agreed to the request of the grenadiers: "Okay! The rest I will take all 7 tanks, we expect there will be a large number of Polish defenders in the town, so we must concentrate our forces as much as possible."

The final result of the research is that the No. 121 and No. 122 tanks in the second row were left behind and handed over to the second row leader to command, and the remaining 123 and 125 continued to move forward with the main force. And the weather is becoming more and more favorable to them. The fog on the Polish border gradually dissipates, and the visibility is getting higher and higher. The clear sky is cloudless, and the German bombers like locusts finally appeared in the eyes of the German soldiers.

This is undoubtedly good news. The dispatch of the air force represents a great increase in the pressure on the Polish ground forces, and according to the slight data provided by the distributed brochures, the me-109 fighter jets in the hands of the German Air Force are much more powerful than those that the Poles can go to the sky. .

The huge explosions that kept coming from a distance also proved that the air force was destroying the opponent. The black smoke rising from the horizon, and the Stuka dive bombers flying overhead from time to time, all proved that the air supremacy was firmly established. In the hands of the Germans-at least all information shows that the German * team has gained the advantage.

Although the addition of the Air Force is gratifying, the battle on the ground will continue. After passing through the woods, the map in Ren's hands showed that the road was empty and open. They thought they would not encounter any trouble, but they were blocked by a trouble caused by their own people - the road they were on. The previous intersection was destroyed by a Stuka bomber, and a large pit with a diameter of ten meters made this section of the road completely lose its function.

"Damn it! The Air Force...do those idiots...have any brains?" An annoyed voice came from a platoon leader in the headset.

Carter's inquiry came later: "Can you go around?"

"It's more troublesome! There are fields all around, and it's easy to get stuck in and stop the engine." A driver replied after checking the terrain: "But, I think I can try it."

Carter exposed half of his body on the turret of his tank. He nodded after getting the news: "Go around twice and force it through! Be careful! Don't sink in!"

All the tanks started to move again, and drove cautiously towards the surrounding farmland. The first tank went around smoothly on the left. Marcus's No. 112 tank followed the first tank and turned to the left. His thoughts were very Simple, it's easier to follow the ruts of the first tank.

Behind them, the No. 125 tank got a little impatient, turned around to the right, and drove into the field on the right.

At this time, the No. 114 tank in the first row followed the rut of the No. 112 tank and drove off the road. At this moment, there was a loud noise from the No. 125 tank: "Boom!" followed by the No. 125 tank. A puff of thick smoke rose, and the broken track of the tank slid down to the front of the tank along with the rotating wheels, while the No. 114 vehicle on one side suddenly drove into the mud next to it because of panic, struggled twice and turned off the engine.

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