The sea breeze blows away the smoke of gunpowder, the sun returns to the earth, the bloody slaughter fades away, and the cheerful or passionate military songs drift through the fields. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info In the distance, a group of neatly dressed soldiers marched, tall and short, the steel helmets on their heads shook rhythmically with the footsteps, and many of them rolled up their sleeves, revealing their thick and tight arms, and their high fighting spirit was unmistakable through their determined gaze and expression; Military vehicles painted with iron crosses or shamrock logos rolled along the dirt road, the soldiers in the carriages were armed with weapons and marching backpacks, some with open necklines, while others seemed to be going to a banquet, each button was in the right place, and the song made them put aside the negative emotions such as nervousness and anxiety, and rushed to the unknown battlefield with a full state of mind......

After a morning of fierce fighting, coalition air forces temporarily took control of the northern part of the Cohen Peninsula, and the coalition forces that landed at Porte Clen had a golden opportunity to make a big stride. The veteran 40th Infantry Division took the lead, breaking through the British front with the main force and the Greater German 5th Tank Regiment, followed by the elite German 3rd Marine Division, the 55th Infantry Division and the newly arrived 7th Royal Guards Tank Battalion. The Irish Army fought with the 19th Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Marine Regiment, and thousands of Irish soldiers fought alongside German officers and soldiers on the front lines of artillery fire......

At noon, Portkren was no longer the quiet seaside town it had been before dawn, two beaches no more than a kilometer wide had been turned into a busy landing ground, and the engineering units had erected four pontoon bridges, which greatly accelerated the disembarkation of coalition troops and war materiel.

"Forward, forward, forward, good! Turn right and your assembly point is northeast of the town, and you can see signs along the way, good luck! ”

The Irish soldier who spoke, wearing the armband of the field gendarmerie, held a small flag in each hand, and constantly guided the vehicles that had disembarked from the landing ship across the beachhead to the intended assembly area. The vehicle in front of it is a "Celtic Warrior" with a striking shamrock logo painted on the turret and sides of its body, and its tactical designation indicates that it belongs to a unit that has not yet made its debut in war. There was no threat of an enemy air raid at the moment, and the members of the tank leaned out of the hatch or simply sat outside the cabin, looking around curiously, only the driver was particularly attentive at this time.

"Thank you! Mr. Gendarmerie! The commander on the turret smiled and saluted the gendarmes in charge of the traffic, "I hope we can see you again in London!" ”

The gendarme grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth, but his expression was not smiling, and he did not seem so optimistic about the prospect of the coalition forces slaughtering London.

One by one, the Irish chariots arrived at a ranch northeast of Portcran, adjacent to the railway line, and were greeted with a hot beef and vegetable soup. The outbreak of war was like a summer thunderstorm, with a ferocious force that did not give much time to prepare, and few people expected before the war that the coalition would choose the Cohen Peninsula for a landing attack, and the owner of the ranch fled with his family and family, without time to transfer his livestock. As a result, most of the cattle and sheep were killed in the shelling and bombardment, and those who survived were cheapened by the coalition troops, and the orderly personnel who landed in advance were in a hurry to slaughter and cook, and the enticing aroma whetted the appetite of the soldiers who had been on the ship for several hours.

After a full meal, two tank companies belonging to the 1st Royal Irish Armoured Brigade took the lead, and more than 30 "Celtic warriors", more than 10 half-track armored vehicles and several motorcycles formed a small mechanical column. The weather was so clear that the road was smooth and they soon passed through the British positions captured by friendly forces after fierce fighting, and stopped beside a pine forest that had almost scorched the earth to await new orders.

A German infantry unit was already resting here, the soldiers were neatly dressed, not a single wounded was missing, and it was clear that they had been drawn directly from the landing ground. After a while, two German soldiers came on horseback, first talking with the commander of the infantry unit for a while, and then to the Irish chariot unit.

"The 21st Tank Battalion of the Irish Army?" The leading German lieutenant colonel craned his neck and counted, "I have been told that you have 55 medium tanks and 21 armored vehicles, but I have seen less than two-thirds of them, and your progress is seriously behind. ”

The commander of this Irish chariot unit, also of the rank of lieutenant colonel and wearing a delicate gold clover medal on his chest, replied rather helplessly: "Unfortunately, we have lost a lot of transports and landing ships on the voyage, and some of the tanks and their crews will never reach England, and the carrying capacity of the consignment fleet is constantly decreasing, so the landing will naturally be slower than planned." ”

This was an objective fact, and the German lieutenant colonel with a look of great dignity had no reason to be harsh, staring at the battle map in his hand, which he had scribbled on with pencil and made some marks in simple letters that he could probably only understand.

"The original idea of the command was for your tank battalion to attack this place in conjunction with our 48th Grenadier Regiment and 201st Infantry Regiment, which we call Heights 64, one of only two hills in the northern part of the Cohen Peninsula, with an altitude of 64 meters on the map. Aerial reconnaissance showed that the British had built defensive positions here with some artillery. It's only four kilometers from the coast, so our fleet has already launched an artillery bombardment on it, which should be pretty good, but we decided to be cautious. Now it's not just that you're missing a company, and our 201st Infantry Regiment hasn't been able to arrive on time, so I'd like to ask your opinion on whether to attack with the forces you have now, or wait for all the troops to arrive? ”

He took the opponent's combat map and studied it for a moment, then took out the telescope. The German lieutenant colonel said that this high ground is in sight, and its outline and shape can be observed through telescopes.

"Actually, the tank is not good at climbing high, and if we are to provide fire support at the bottom of the mountain, we have no problem, but if we are allowed to climb to the top of the mountain, then I am afraid I will say sorry."

The German lieutenant colonel calmly replied: "Your first task is to cover the infantry to seize the British positions on the hill, and the second is to defend against the attack of the British tank unit, because in yesterday's aerial photographs we found that the British army had deployed a tank unit near there, but it is not clear its size. ”

"However, I have heard that the British lost a large number of tanks in last night's attack, and with the losses they have this morning, they should not have much of a tank force left. If I were the commander of the British army, I would naturally use this valuable combat force on the most critical battlefields, rather than near a high ground seven or eight kilometers away from the front line. The Irish lieutenant colonel argued without humility or arrogance.

"But you are not the Supreme Commander of the British Army after all, and neither am I, and none of us can be absolutely sure about the enemy's disposition. To tell you the truth, in the morning battle, we encountered only a small number of British tanks, so General Gerk feared that the British had hidden the tank troops, and when night neutralized our superiority in the air and sea, he would throw in heavy forces to launch a counterattack. Well, there were two companies of British chariots in ambush in the woods in front of us, and if our scouts hadn't been vigilant enough, they might have tripped over this pit during the attack. ”

"And then?" The Irish officer asked curiously.

"Later?" The German lieutenant colonel smirked, "We had a bonfire dinner with cannons and bombs, and turned most of the British tanks into food on the barbecue grill, and if you're in the mood, you can go and check it out in the woods." By the way, there are some destroyed British chariots on the north side of the woods, which escaped from the woods and were picked up one by one by us like rabbits. ”

Since something like this has already happened, the Irish lieutenant colonel no longer questions anything, but asks: "What did your grenadier commander say?" He was confident that he would take that high ground with a regiment of troops? ”

The German lieutenant colonel, who served as a corps-level staff officer, replied without hesitation: "As long as you are sure that you can deal with the British tanks there, they will be confident that they will capture the British positions, and while the fleet is still in the nearby seas, we can call for artillery support at any time." ”

Lieutenant Colonel Ireland thought for a moment: "We had a company that was almost completely wiped out in the battle last night, but I heard that they had destroyed more than fifty British tanks one after another. According to this ratio, it should not be a problem for us to fight a British tank regiment if we are prepared. ”

The German lieutenant colonel finally showed a satisfied expression: "Please allow me to report the situation here to General Gerk, and he will make the final decision, and you can rest for a while and be ready to go at any time." ”

Before he left, the Irish lieutenant colonel hinted: "Maybe there is a need for chariot units somewhere else." ”

The German lieutenant colonel looked the other party up and down very seriously, and left with a smile. He did not go far, but rode to a nearby position, where the field call was apparently answered. About five minutes later, the lieutenant colonel and his entourage returned from their horses, still resting on the side of the German infantry, and without saying a word, the grenadiers let out bursts of cheers.

The Irish waited for the German lieutenant colonel, who happily announced that the Allied forces advancing south from Portcran and counterattacking from Abersoch had been united, which not only meant that the Abersoch siege had been lifted, but also that many British troops had been cut off by the Allied forces in turn, and if they could not break out, then they would be destroyed.

Upon the news of this exciting news, the German lieutenant colonel said to his Irish colleagues: "As you wish, your original assignment has been cancelled, and the new assignment is to turn west and sweep the remnants of the British army." In our judgment, at least one division of British troops is blocked west of our battle line, and it is possible that they will withdraw to the western part of the Cohen Peninsula to contain our forces, and we will try to resolve this potential threat before dark. Most of them were infantry, with relatively few cavalry and chariots, but they should not be taken lightly. ”

The Irish lieutenant colonel was very satisfied: "This is a task that I like, and a task that we are good at. Then goodbye, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, wait for the news of our victory! ”

The German lieutenant colonel rode his horse and stood still, watching the Irish armored unit fly away, and on the side of the grenadier regiment, the commander had already begun to mobilize his subordinates: "Glorious Prussian grenadiers, the difficult task lies before you, whether to follow in the footsteps of your predecessors and win your glory, or to be eliminated by the merciless history, the decision is in your hands......"

(End of chapter)