In the darkness, an American M3lee tank twisted its body and drove cautiously along the road, one after the other, slowly moving along the road. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Lyman could even feel the slight tremor above his head as the tracks of enemy tanks crushed the soil. Beside him, an anti-tank infantryman had already thrown a cluster grenade into the tank's tracks.

Then, the huge explosion made Lyman, who was covering his ears, feel the world spinning. More gunfire rang out around them, and more iron-fisted bazookas flew out, so that the British tanks were suddenly surrounded by a sea of fire.

"Boom!" With a loud explosion, an American tank for British aid was blown into the sky, and farther away, a British tank caught fire and burst into flames, crashing down the roadbed and breaking several large trees.

Night combat is not the strong point of the armored forces in the first place, not to mention that at this moment the British armored forces have no infantry cover, and it is actually normal to fall into the siege of German paratroopers.

Why didn't the British tank units use infantry cover? Because the British infantry that was blocking near the German army had already been routed.

The British armoured forces, unable to wait to rein in these routs, had to act alone, trying to counterattack and retake large areas already under German control.

These areas include a road from Canterbury to the Dover area, and a road that connects Ashford to Folkestone.

Without these two roads, the British would have to make a big detour if they wanted to reinforce the beach, and if the Germans continued to expand their positions during the detour, it was possible that the detour would also run into the German lines......

What's more, the British armored forces actually did not think that the German paratroopers could withstand their attacks, because the infantry against tanks was inherently at a loss after all, especially in the wilderness.

In this case, it was even more unlikely that the British troops would have wasted time on a detour to the beach, and they were given an order to destroy the German paratroopers, which of course had to be carried out steadfastly.

However, the reality is very cruel, and when Lyman jumps up and starts attacking, he finds that the hatch of an M3lee tank has been lifted open.

Then, in the darkness of the night, a poor British tank crew, with flames burning all over his body, twisted and flapping, roaring and terrifying, creepy and terrifying.

Soon the poor man stopped screaming, and he fell down with convulsions, turning into a mass of charcoal burning on the ground.

In the distance, the British tanks, which found themselves under attack, were firing desperately, and all weapons, including the 75mm cannons, were spewing tongues of fire.

A volley of bullets landed at Lyman's side, nearly hitting his boot. Faces were illuminated by the flames of the incendiary explosion, and the battle suddenly became fierce.

Another iron-fisted bazooka flew in a zigzag straight line towards the target, standing out in the dark night. Then I don't know what I hit and burst into a burst of fire.

Only then did the light shine on the hit British armored car, and the rocket penetrated the steel plate, paralyzing the armored car in one fell swoop.

The road was littered with burning tank wreckage, and on both sides of the road were the corpses of German paratroopers. The two sides are fighting fiercely here, and neither is willing to take a step back.

The British knew that this was their last chance, and that if they did not drive the Germans back to the other side, they would lose their country.

And the German paratroopers have never had the habit of retreating, they have been invincible all the way from the outbreak of the war to the present, where are they willing to admit defeat at this time?

"Suddenly! Dodo! "Lyman fired a magazine bullet at the turret of a British tank that was spewing tongues of fire.

The bullet struck a spark on the opponent's armor, leaving a slight bullet mark, but it could not penetrate the thick armor.

Then, as the turret of this tank turned to Lyman, an Iron Fist rocket hit the side of the tank.

The vertical M3lee side armor was easily pierced, and then the gasoline inside burned, and the shells exploded. Another ball of flames exploded, and another British tank was destroyed.

"The news from the flanks that there were so many British tanks that their positions were almost broken through. The plan was changed, and we must now hold our positions and cover the actions of the friendly 3rd Division. "A non-commissioned officer braved a hail of bullets and came running over to pass the battle order to the soldiers fighting on the front line.

After hearing this order, looking at the wreckage of the burning and exploding British tank on the road, Lehmann gave the order to retreat: "Retreat to ambush position No. 2!" Notify everyone! ”

……

At the command of the British Army, Sir Deere was already overwhelmed and did not know what to do - he ordered the tank troops to counterattack, but the tank troops were unable to advance a single step towards the coastal area.

"Are all German paratroopers iron-clad? The 1st Division lost more than 30 tanks and did not advance even a single step? Dill looked at the commander of the 1st Army in Britain and asked angrily.

This army group was newly formed, and it was also the most elite unit in Deere's hands. Originally, this unit and the local 2nd Army were deployed in the second-line area as a strategic reserve.

When the Germans began to land, these forces would act as a counterattack force, rushing to the beachhead and driving the enemy out into the sea.

But now, the troops originally responsible for the counterattack, even the defensive positions composed of paratroopers who were in the vanguard of the German army interfering with the operation, have not been able to break through, which makes people a little irritated.

"Where is the location of the 2nd Panzer Division? Still damn Ashford? Glancing at his men, Dill was clearly a little fed up.

Almost 100,000 people, including infantry, were around the German paratroopers. However, in this night's time, although no important nodes were lost, no results were achieved.

To say that the number of German paratroopers exceeded 100,000, Dill would not believe it. So, he knew that his troops were defeated by an inferior enemy, or rather, at least dragged down.

Although it is known as the most elite unit in Britain, the 1st Army on the ground can actually be regarded as a force, and there are only more than 50,000 people.

This number is almost the basis for the training of the troops who have been evacuated from Dunkirk, France. The rest of the troops were all recruits, trained for anywhere from 3 to 5 months.

From this point of view, what the troops of the 1st Army were really capable of fighting was almost the total number of German paratroopers.

And they were facing only two-thirds of the German paratroopers, because the 3rd Paratrooper Division, at this time in the direction of attacking the chalk cliffs, did not participate in the battle to block the British armored forces.

By this time, General Stud had realized that their opponent was much weaker than he had estimated.

In other words, after a series of weakenings, the combat capability of the British home forces has actually begun to decline. The Germans, according to their pre-estimates, somewhat overestimated their opponents.

Now the German paratroopers have taken control of two roads, and three paratrooper divisions have taken control of a safe landing ground, and even destroyed a large number of British anti-aircraft gun positions and captured a lot of artillery aimed at the coastline.

This was definitely a strong support for the landing force, because these artillery positions were originally impossible to target, but now they have been killed by the Germans.

The British defenders in the Dover area, having lost about half of their artillery, were estimated to lose many opportunities due to insufficient firepower when intercepting the German landing force.

However, the counterattack of the British armored forces cannot be said to be of no effect at all. Their attack at least held their ground, giving the scattered infantry some time to recover.

In desperation, Sir Deere personally rushed to Maidstone, hoping to personally organize a counterattack there. The 1st Army on the ground was now in disarray, and the only unit capable of fighting was still entangled with the German paratroopers.

In order to regain the initiative before dawn, Sir Deere ignored the bombing of Maidstone by German bombers, and finally arrived at the headquarters of the 1st Army at about half past three in the night.

"The 1st Panzer Division was blocked at Canterbury, and while Canterbury is still in our hands, the German paratroopers seem to be ready to attack there." The commander of an infantry division replied dejectedly.

His men had just been routed from that direction, one infantry regiment was scattered, and the remaining one lost almost 300 men.

Most of the British infantry had not been trained for night combat, and were not at all on the same level as the German paratroopers, who had long been accustomed to attacking at midnight.

After a simple engagement, the British forces were often routed, interspersed and scattered by German paratroopers. The British infantry, having lost its organization, then retreated, and then lost more soldiers in the darkness.

The losses were not necessarily great, and perhaps the next morning they would have recovered their lost troops and found that only a few hundred had been killed. But often at this time, an infantry division loses its combat effectiveness.

"No more time wasted! For the 2nd Army to reinforce to the north, the German paratroopers near Dover must be taken out before the Germans can expand the size of the landing! Dears thought about it, but finally felt that he should counterattack as soon as possible and disrupt the enemy's deployment.

The situation now is that the Germans have disrupted his disposition, and even now the German paratroopers are beginning to shrink their lines of defense and lose their defensive depth of the coastline, and it is estimated that they will suffer in the battle against the landing.

"Hell! How dare the Germans land at Dover? There are patches of chalk cliffs, and it's the place we're most prepared for! Looking at the map hanging on the wall and listening to the sound of bombs dropped by German bombers outside, Dill muttered irritably.