There will be two shifts tonight, brothers, don't wait, tomorrow will be three shifts.

**********

"Chirp!"

With a scream, a rocket trailed straight towards a tank, followed by a "boom", and the tank barely drove forward for a while and never moved again.

"What's that?" In the darkness, the American GIs shouted in horror: "It can actually penetrate our tank?!! ”

"I don't know!" Another American GI replied, paused, and replied aloud as if remembering something: "That's a bazooka, the British call a bazooka!" ”

"They have bazookas!" The American commander couldn't help but shout: "Let those tanks turn off the lights, they will become a target for the Germans!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

Then it was too late, followed by a few "chirps", and five or six rockets sped away one after another like fireworks set off during the Chinese New Year...... Anyway, the rockets brought are enough, and the rockets are cheap enough, and a few can definitely make money for a tank, and it is a big profit.

Then only a few explosions of "boom" were heard, and the remaining two tanks of the US army were also reimbursed.

A few seconds later, one of them caught fire, first with a cloud of smoke that was not obvious...... The smoke was not obvious in the dark, and I felt that something was blocking the view in front of me, and then there was a fire, because the "Sherman" tank used gasoline, so the fire quickly became larger, and after a while, it spread to the entire tank, and finally with a "boom", the ammunition in the tank exploded.

The explosion knocked the nearby U.S. troops to the ground, and the other U.S. troops lay on the ground and did not dare to rise up.

"Soldiers!" Colonel Slein commanded loudly: "For the victory of the Empire, kill them all!" ”

The German soldiers shouted and climbed out of their hideouts and rushed towards the Americans like a tidal wave with guns.

The U.S. troops lying on the ground originally wanted to resist, but they were caught off guard by a row of smoke-emitting grenades tumbling and smashing at them in the night, so frightened that they hurriedly pulled their legs and fled......

No one can tell whether it is better to escape or not to escape at this time.

Running away means getting up, and the probability of being killed by a grenade is even greater.

Not fleeing meant that you would soon face the bayonets and rifles of the German army.

In short, it makes no difference whether the American soldiers who rushed ahead fled or not, because they were already dead.

The correct thing to do is to have a hunch before that, that is, to sense that the enemy is about to throw a grenade and launch a charge, so take the first step to throw the grenade and then organize fire defense or escape.

However, only veterans who have rolled on the battlefield can do this, and they must be highly coordinated with each other, and the rookies of American GIs can only fall in pieces under the pursuit of the German army one after another.

It didn't take long for the Germans to reach the main tank group of the American army.

The U.S. military is organizing more than a dozen tanks to fight to encircle the German "No. 4" tanks approaching from the "pass", and they certainly don't know what is happening on their flanks...... The tank's ability to perceive the outside world is very poor, especially at this time it is still at night, their field of vision is only a periscope about the width of their head, and the sound of "rumbling" motors and artillery is in their ears, and they are almost blind and deaf to the flanks.

So, while they were concentrating on aiming at the German tanks driving along the road, there was a sudden roar, and several high-temperature jets passed through the tanks and flew in all directions in the tank compartment, killing or wounding the American tank crew in an instant, and the cabin was soon filled with the smell of burning and the screams of the wounded.

The fifteen "Sherman" tanks did not take much time to turn into piles of wreckage, at least half of which were on fire, and from time to time there would be one or two explosions, and the flames shook in the dark night with the explosions, like torches burning one after another.

The German tanks used these torches as indicators and drove in one by one through the passes...... Then he relentlessly spat tongues of fire at the American troops who were still holding out in the dark.

At this time, Major General Allen was in the headquarters three kilometers away discussing with several staff officers how to launch the attack tomorrow, and he was always obsessed with the Onna Heights, especially when the British and American forces on the left and right were progressing well.

As for the defense, he believed that sixty "Sherman" tanks and the geographical advantage that the Germans could not break through, at least not quickly.

This made him unimpressed when he heard that the Germans had launched a counteroffensive.

"Where did they hit?" Major General Allen asked: "Has the position of the main attack been identified?" ”

"General!" The staff officer who answered the phone replied with a frightened expression: "They say that the Germans have broken through the line!" ”

"What? The Germans broke through the lines? Major General Allen looked at the staff officer dumbfounded: "But now it's only a few minutes before they launch a counteroffensive!" ”

"Yes!" The staff officer replied: "They are attacking from the crossroads!" ”

The U.S. military refers to the high ground at the intersection as "Cross Heights."

"Where's our tank?" Major General Allen asked angrily: "I arranged thirty tanks there, are they all sleeping?" ”

"They're all destroyed!"

"It can't be! What did they wreak down? A few minutes...... Can you destroy thirty tanks that control the intersection? ”

"The Germans got in!" The staff officer replied: "They dressed up as British and destroyed those tanks with bazookas!" ”

Major General Allen couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.

The staff officer shouted anxiously: "General, they are coming here, retreat!" If you don't withdraw, it's too late! ”

Major General Allen hesitated, realizing that if he did not retreat, he would most likely become a prisoner of the Germans, so he gritted his teeth and ordered: "Retreat!" ”

At the crossroads, the "Four" tank took a moment to push the wreckage of the "Sherman" tank blocked in the middle of the road to the side of the road, and then the troops divided into several parts and launched a surprise attack in the direction of the enemy along the road that extended in all directions.

Attacking to the east was the 39th Mechanized Infantry Division, whose destination was Catania.

Catania is located between Syracusa and Messina, and is the only plain area in Sicily.

In general, the plains were not suitable for German mechanized infantry divisions to fight against a strong British army with superiority in sea, land and air.

The problem is that there is a Catania city on the Catania Plain, which is the second largest city in Sicily, and because the Catania Plain is close to Mount Etna, volcanic ash has been deposited for many years to form natural fertilizers, so its fertile land is very suitable for growing crops, and it has always been the main grain producing area of Sicily, known as the "granary" of Sicily.

The Germans occupied the city and relied on bazookas to fight the British in street battles, while two regiments of the "Lightning Division" would be parachuted into the surrounding mountains to cooperate with the 39th Division to cut off the supply lines between the British and Syracusa.