In the second half of the night on the 24th, the rain that had been tormenting both sides of the battle began to gradually weaken, and in the early morning of the 25th, the long-lost dawn brightened in the east, and the warm sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the muddy construction site outside London.

The hearts of the Britons who witnessed this idyllic beauty were cold, and they really didn't want to see the star that gave them warmth and light.

The clear weather meant that the last natural barrier over London was lost, and although the heavy rain caused a lot of trouble on the British side, it did slow down the advance of the German troops and hinder the flight of the Luftwaffe.

The British had disappointed everyone by their previous performances, and they had caused the Germans less trouble than the muddy roads. The German 3rd Tank Regiment rushed to the front of the whole army, not because they were equipped with more lightweight tanks.

The second battalion of the 3rd Tank Regiment is a veteran unit, because it was formed relatively early, so the German-produced equipment of Yishui is not mixed with toys from other countries. That is, because they were formed relatively early, the troops were filled with a large number of old tanks, and until the end of the French campaign, half of the companies in the second battalion were still equipped with tanks No. 1 and No. 2. Although some of the No. 3 and No. 4 tanks were updated in the early part of the campaign, the number was limited, and the main force of the battalion was still the energetic little guys.

Regardless of the thin armor and weak firepower of tanks No. 1 and No. 2, it is not a problem at all to attack unarmored infantry units. Speed and mobility are the selling points of these small tanks, and the firepower can only be said to be remarkable, compared with the equipment of other countries of the same era, German tanks can only be said to be relatively balanced in ability, and there is no particularly outstanding advantage.

These light tanks were often used as speartips to charge in front of large forces. The German armored commanders were well aware of the capabilities of these tanks, and they were not allowed to attack the fortified positions, fire reconnaissance and armed search were the job of these companies and platoons, and if they encountered fire from the enemy's light infantry or above, the task of these tanks was to rely on flexible mobility and continuous fire to entangle the enemy, and at the same time find weak points in the enemy's position. Medium tanks and motorized artillery waiting for follow-up arrivals to settle the battle.

This set of tactics was the result of the 2nd Battalion's bloody experience on the battlefields of Poland, and was subsequently put into practical use in the attack on France, and repeatedly tested in the French army and the British Expeditionary Force.

The 3rd Armored Regiment has a 5th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, which is actually more suitable for these tasks, and they are equipped with various types of wheeled armored search vehicles ranging from four to eight wheels, and their firepower and mobility are very good, but they are slightly weak in number. The reconnaissance battalion was currently operating as a tactical reconnaissance unit southeast of Greyfordson on orders from the Panzer Division Headquarters, and their mission seemed to be to find a safe crossing. Preparation for the subsequent crossing of the Thames by German troops.

"Keep going, pay attention to the formation, pay attention to the flanks. Second row, keep an eye out for that wood, Lieutenant Ryan, send your two 251s over to check them out, be careful. Major Heisler, most of his body exposed outside the turret, constantly monitored the movements of his men with binoculars. This is a company directly under the battalion headquarters. The battalion commander has direct command.

Half an hour earlier, they had been lucky enough to encounter a German company of Panzergrenadiers, when the group of half-track armored vehicles was visibly disoriented. Originally, they were ordered to join the 25th Panzer Regiment in the town of West Marin. It turned out that they had clearly missed the right junction on the rainy night march, and now they had long since run out of the range of West Marin, and in a daze they had rushed to the front of all the troops. Fortunately, they encountered Heisler's company, otherwise they might have crashed headlong into the British defenses at any point, based on the dizzy look they had when they encountered them.

Hesler was reluctant to give up the company of grenadiers that had fallen from the sky, and an extra strength would increase his chances of completing the mission. Heard the request for the incorporation of the armored battalion commander. The grenadiers, for their part, immediately agreed with joy. Originally, the grenadier company commander thought that he might have to go to court martial this time, but he did not expect that he would be fortunate enough to participate in the encirclement and assault of London because of a blessing in disguise, which was a glorious mission that he could not ask for in ordinary times. The company commander, Lieutenant Ryan, hurriedly gathered his men and announced the good news to the grenadiers. After hearing this, the soldiers all jumped and cheered to the armored soldiers.

The two lightly armored companies of the 2nd Battalion were assigned to the front of the marching columns, and the two companies spread out in formation and marched in unison along both sides of the road, with Heisler's battalion headquarters company in the middle, as the command core sandwiched between the two lightly armed companies, and the medium tank company, as the main force and reserve of the whole battalion, closely followed by the battalion headquarters company to guard everyone's rear road. The four armored companies are in a T-shaped formation from above, and the battalion headquarters is in a T-shaped crossing. The grenadiers were placed on the right flank of the T-formation, and their cross-country ability was not too bad to keep up with the pace of the march of the armored battalion.

"According to the landmark, we are almost at the ...... of the Seven Heroes Seven Trees. "The battalion operations staff officer took the map and reported to the battalion commander.

"Seven Oak Tree Town? It's only fifteen kilometres from the city of London in a straight line, and we're well on our way, and we should be approaching the first line of London's perimeter defenses. ”

Heisler picked up the wireless telephone and gave orders to the battalion. "Everyone be on alert, we are already approaching the enemy lines, beware of scattered enemy ambushes."

"Major, are we going to take this town?" The grenadier company commander sent to inquire.

"No, as long as we are not attacked, we don't have to spend our energy on this kind of rural town, we still have more important tasks to complete, and conquering this kind of town is the task of the follow-up infantry units. We will pass through the north side of the town and arrive at Hat Hill by noon, where we will be informed that there is a newly constructed defensive line, where we will test the strength of London's perimeter and send back first-hand operational information to our superiors. ”

"Understood, Major, then my men will go to the village side to keep on guard."

"Understand, let the soldiers be careful, there must be some militia armed in a town of this size, unless necessary. Otherwise, it's better not to start a conflict with them, we don't have that much time to spend on this kind of village war. ”

Heisler's battalion had previously traveled through villages and towns, and had been attacked by British civilians who were full of enthusiasm to defend their homeland, but the British generally lacked anti-tank weapons, and what was originally tragic often turned into a farce.

Britain's industrialization process was not disturbed by any outside world, so much so that infrastructure was ahead of all European countries. Even after three days of pouring rain. But there is no such thing as walking in Europe and suddenly finding that the mud has sunk to the thigh.

In contrast, Europe at this time was still full of dirt roads, and even after the Nazis came to power, there were still a large number of country roads without asphalt and cement. This is also the reason why the German army will be issued with those high-cut marching boots, not only because they are handsome, because when marching in the German countryside during the rainy season, wearing ordinary low-top military leather shoes can become very, very tragic.

In the end, the heavy rain only washed down the roadbed of some roads, causing some problems for the movement of some German heavy equipment. Under the sun, the road surface soon returned to dryness and smoothness, and the soil in the fields on both sides of the road became firm and hard. Light tanks marching off-road on both sides increased the speed of movement. Sunlight shone into the tank through the observation slit and hatch, and the conversation between the crews was filled with the relaxed laughter of the crews.

As Heisler led his army of steel rumbling past the town of Seven Trees, the Germans had no idea that a few British mud-legged men were planning a surprise attack on them in the distance.

Mr. Brett, eighty-five, was a successful hardware merchant, who had his own business in several northern cities, and who, according to his youth, had traveled every inch of the British Empire, and had volunteered to fight in the terrible Boer War, and that he had once fought seven Boer robbers on his own, and had killed the strong enemy with only a knife. It was in that place that he injured one of his legs and left him with some disability, so that he was not allowed to participate in the First World War. Missing that world war has made him regret it to this day. Now this old guy still retains the fiery temper of his youth, and I really don't know how this kind of character can be a business.

This German landing made the old fellow think that God had given him a gift to make up for the regret he had made twenty years earlier, and to stand on the soil of the British Empire and fight against a fierce enemy in defense of the King and the honor of the Empire.

By the time the National Guard had been formed a few months earlier, Mr. Brett had been the most active backbone in Seven Trees, under his influence. Many townspeople joined the civilian armed organization and devoted a lot of time and energy to the arduous training. The local veterans organization sent an instructor to Seven Trees, and the corporal was surprised to find that there was already an antique-level military commander here.

Brett roams the streets every day in his red army uniform, a former army second lieutenant who wears his beige cork helmet and two medals on his chest. The pistols and sabers were all original, and the brass buckles on the cowhide belts were polished.

The town of Seven Trees was already empty, and the residents found themselves on the German attack line from the news on the radio and the map.

From the second half of the night on the radio, the townspeople began to evacuate in the direction of London in a panic. The stubborn Mr. Brett rejected the neighbor's kind offer, saying that even if everyone ran out, he would stay and fight the invaders to the end. No one could make this stubborn and brave old man change his mind, and in the end he could only stay and complete his mission.

At the same time, two fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys, two slow-witted children, apprentices at Brett's hardware factory, and their families signed a contract with Brett that amounted to selling their bodies, and the two children, both physically and mentally owned by Brett until they were twenty-five. In the eyes of these two children, this old man was a great man second only to God, and every word he said must be obeyed without question, and obeying Brett's orders almost became a reflex, so when Brett was ready to stay and fight the block, the two apprentices did not hesitate to express their willingness to follow. So these three men with complicated relationships formed a strange combat group, and they were gearing up and determined to make the Germans suffer.

"Little Henry, reload armor-piercing bullets, be careful, it's that green box." Brett leaned against the bush wall, using an old-fashioned binocular, observing the German convoy moving in the distance.

"Good guys, they're all tanks, let me see if you guys are as good at war as you look."

The old second lieutenant slowly climbed back behind the bush wall, and just behind the camouflaged bush, there was a British two-pounder anti-tank gun. This is a precious thing that Brett has used a lot of connections to get it, and for this cannon, he has spent enough pounds to buy two new ones. Because this thing is now priceless, and even the British army itself is not enough, where will it be distributed to those militias.

Mr. Brett carefully adjusted the scope of the anti-tank gun according to the instructions, but he could not get a matching rangefinder, so he could only use the reticles in the scope to estimate the approximate target distance.

"About 400 meters, adjust to the right by another five degrees." Brett aimed at a tank two on the outside, and at this distance, the weak armor of the two could not hold off the two-pounder gun.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute......" Brett slowly adjusted the pitching handwheel, and then he shouted loudly, "Fire!" ”

The apprentice in charge of the firing hurriedly pulled the firing rope in his hand. With a deafening roar, an armor-piercing round swept across the flat field at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then, as the shooter expected, slammed into the armor plate of the German tank.

I only heard "Ping Pong...... Two successive sounds, a clear scratch appeared at the rear of the turret of the No. 4 tank near the conning tower, and then the British armor-piercing shell bounced diagonally behind the hull and flew away without a trace.

"It's an anti-tank gun! That bush on the edge of the town on the left, attack! Attack! Major Heisler was stunned for a second before reacting, and if it hadn't been blocked by the No. 4 tank on the outside, the shell would probably have hit his car.

"Ricochet! We did not penetrate the enemy's armor! Little Henry reported loudly to Mr. Brett.

"Hell, there must be something wrong with this gun, it's not the tank I'm aiming at at all, that damn profiteer is really unreliable, what are you doing in a daze, quickly reload, this time we'll hit the leader." Brett roared loudly.

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