.“ General, a telegram from the General Command! ”

Rommel received the telegram from the communications officer, and there were only a few lines on it, but it was a fine word:

The 1st Air Wing can join the battle after two hours.

Putting down the telegram, Rommel glanced at the American armored forces that were slowly approaching in front of him, and his heart was very calm. Since General Ollie of the General Headquarters has spoken, a large number of fighters will arrive on time, and even if the commander of the American army in front of him has three heads and six arms, I am afraid that there is no hope of escaping from the ascension.

At the other end of this battlefield, the middle-aged man with a cigar in his mouth was still venting his emotions loudly:

"Haven't the artillery been deployed yet?"

"General, Lieutenant Colonel O'Neill said it would take another 10 minutes!" The communications officer's voice was a little apprehensive.

"Hell, it's another 10 minutes! This O'Neill ......" Barton looked very dissatisfied, but looking at the frightened eyes of the people around him, he still softened his tone, "Tell him that if the shells haven't landed on the Germans in 10 minutes, he will go back to Louisiana to be his elementary school physical education teacher!" ”

Patton's armored division did not fully reach full strength when the war broke out, but eighty percent of the soldiers and corresponding equipment still made them half larger than the German armored division of the same level, the division had three tank battalions, three armored infantry battalions, three armored artillery battalions, a mechanized cavalry search battalion, an armored engineer battalion and troops directly under the division headquarters, and the three tank battalions had 220 tanks according to the establishment, but Patton's division was less than 200 when it set out, and it lost some in the first wave of German air raids and the blocking of German armored battalions. At present, there are only 162 tanks left, of which 34, 45, 33 and 49 are T-2 fast tanks, M-1919 Hamidon medium tanks, M-3 tanks, and M-1923 heavy tanks; The three infantry battalions suffered heavy losses in the air raids, and the 210 combat armored vehicles that escaped the air raids were only half of the full strength, and even the remaining armored combat vehicles, a considerable part of the infantry on them were injured by fragments of German bombs.

As for the artillery unit under the command of Lieutenant Colonel O'Neill, because the German planes had not completely left the smoke screen area at the time of the air attack, they were lucky to escape. His 36 150-mm self-propelled howitzers and 45 105-mm self-propelled howitzers were the best-preserved units of the Patton Panzer Division.

Under the mental deterrence of General Patton, O'Neill's artillery opened fire in time after nine and a half minutes. With the sound of artillery grenades whizzing past, a large number of shells began to fall on the German positions. In the clearing behind the woods, there were still many wreckage of combat vehicles that had not had time to be cleared, and American self-propelled howitzers on half-track armored vehicle chassis were deployed here. Dressed in vests or simply shirtless, the artillerymen did their best to maintain the highest rate of fire during training, and the deafening momentum of each round of shelling could boost the morale of the American officers and men in front of them a little.

Patton looked at the German positions through his telescope, and it seemed that the Germans did not have much time to prepare, and the fortifications were fairly simple, with only two fairly straight trenches and some tank bunkers as far as the eye could see. Judging by the dirt piled up in front of the trenches and bunkers, the trenches and bunkers were not very deep, so when the German positions were shrouded in fire and smoke, Patton had a vague picture of German officers and soldiers suffering heavy casualties in the shelling.

It is a pity that the German Army, which has experienced many large and small battles, from officers to soldiers, knows very well how to survive in the face of enemy artillery fire, and the position deliberately exposed in front of the Americans is only General Rommel's "suspicious formation", but the real position is four or five hundred meters behind, where the trenches and tank bunkers are not very deep, but they are covered with camouflage nets.

O'Neill's artillery repeated the firing motion so hard that at the end of an hour's shelling. Most people are so tired that their muscles are numb and their hands are shaking.

Seeing the dust clear, there was no sign of life activity on the German positions. General Patton waved his hand, "Attack!" Offensive! ”

With the help of a small gentle slope, more than 120 US tanks rushed like tigers descending from a mountain to the silent German positions more than 4,000 meters away. They were followed by two armoured infantry battalions of combat infantry in armored vehicles, armed with Springfield rifles, Colt 1911 pistols and Lewis light machine guns, huddled in the open Cadillac Model 1921 wheeled armored personnel carrier. Weighing 6.5 tons, equipped with a Lewis heavy machine gun mounted in a thin armored turret, protected by 8 mm thick homogeneous steel plates, and capable of carrying up to 11 heavily armed infantrymen, this personnel carrier is quite similar to the Trojan armored personnel carrier used by the German army, but the overall design and protection are superior to the Trojan, but do not forget that the Troy in the German army has long been replaced by the light cavalry half-track armored personnel carrier jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and Krupp, which naturally has a higher level of performance.

Furthermore. The U.S. armored infantry battalion is equipped with another two-man tracked armored combat vehicle, which uses the hull of a Christie light tank, has no turret, and is mounted in a semi-open hull with a 7.92mm machine gun mounted on the ground and air targets, the Vulture DD that was shot down in the previous air raid is their masterpiece.

Coincidentally, the Germans were also massively equipped with crossbowman infantry fighting vehicles, which were also capable of firing at ground and air, using a half-track chassis that was slightly smaller than the cavalry half-track armored personnel carrier, with a double-enclosed, almost triangular turret in the middle of the hull, above the wheelhouse. Two 20-mm guns were located on the sides of this turret with a firing range of -5 to 80 degrees.

(This kind of vehicle, which can be called a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, has been developed by the United States in the twenties and thirties in the twenties and thirties, equipped with knives and millimeters, millimeter machine guns or 27mm large-caliber machine guns, but for various reasons, many have not been equipped in large quantities with troops, terrible industrial and scientific and technological strength!) ）

Time passed in an atmosphere that wanted to be pleasant but felt strange no matter what, and with this mood, the American officers and soldiers approached the German positions step by step, 4,000 meters, 3,500 meters, 3,000 meters......

3000 meters! 2800 meters! 2600 meters!

Near him, German and Mexican soldiers quickly lifted the thick layer of canvas from the anti-tank guns, and in the tank bunkers under the camouflage net, the thick tank barrels were already raised their heads.

In the new command post less than 100 meters away from the forward position, Rommel still calmly looked at the US armored units that came with a large cloud of smoke and dust, on those tanks of different styles. Some commanders also poked their upper bodies out of the turret.

1600 meters! 1400 meters! 1200 meters! 1000 meters!

Finally, when it was time for the number he was waiting for, a bright light flashed in Rommel's eyes: "Fire!" ”

"Fire!" The Correspondence Officer then relayed the order.

When the German position, another position about 500 meters behind the heavily shelled German position, sounded countless cannon shots in an instant, Patton's mind was shocked, and his quick thinking made him quickly react: the Germans used a damn camouflage net!

Tank guns, assault guns, infantry anti-tank guns, all the weapons in the hands of the Germans that could threaten the US tanks at a distance of 1,000 meters opened fire one after another. Armor-piercing shell after armor-piercing shell hit one U.S. tank after another within 1.5 seconds of leaving the chamber with a deadly trajectory, and 50mm and 75mm armor-piercing shells with thick-walled steel shells, built-in explosives, bottom fuses, and tracer had only one target to tear apart the hull of the opposing tank and explode inside the vehicle. Several M-1919 Hamidon mediums at the forefront of the U.S. military queue were disemboweled by one or more German armor-piercing shells almost at the same time, and the chain reaction of the detonation of the ammunition in the car even lifted the turret of an M-1919 to an altitude of more than 20 meters.

"The howitzers of the artillery regiment fired! The 3rd Panzer Regiment is on attack! ”

Rommel was unusually calm and strategic.

Soon, German ground 150 mm and 105 mm howitzers also fired, and compared to the American all-self-propelled howitzers, these German cannons could only be called semi-self-propelled guns - they were army wheeled howitzers towed by half-tracked armored vehicles, although some were not advanced. But their power is beyond doubt. As large-caliber howitzer shells fell and exploded in the US armored group. The U.S. armored forces finally tasted the taste of being shelled, not to mention those armored vehicles with only thin steel plates, even the Christie fast tanks were very wary of this kind of intensive bombardment by heavy artillery. Fortunately, at this time, only a very small number of T-2s were in the American formation, and most of them were left by Patton as a mobile reserve.

At the time of the heavy artillery fire, the 3rd Panzer Regiment, which had been standing by on the left flank of the main position, made an attack! 12 assault guns rushed out without hesitation, and 20 infantry fighting vehicles and 30 half-track armored personnel carriers followed far behind as infantry support units.

The American tankmen and soldiers on the armored vehicles, who had been stunned by the fierce artillery fire on the German positions, suddenly panicked when they saw the German tanks suddenly rushing out from the flanks, and then regardless of whether they still had any numerical advantage, the tanks at the back of the queue stopped and blindly fired at the front and flanks, and the tanks in front began to reverse and retreat.

Patton was furious at this scene, but the tanks did not have radio communication equipment installed on every tank like the German armored forces. Of course, this is by no means a technical issue. As a result, Patton's communications officer had to convey the order to continue advancing to the combat troops at the front through the flag, but at this time, how many people still cared about the bullshit orders of the division headquarters?

In this extremely unfavorable situation, Patton decisively sent speed tanks to rush to the battlefield like a gust of wind, although these light tanks proved to be vulnerable, but their momentum still greatly encouraged the panicked American officers and soldiers!

On the other side, Rommel ordered unhurriedly: "The 2nd Panzer Regiment is attacking." Quickly intersperse with the opponent's rear to attack! ”

In just a few minutes, the mood of the American officers and soldiers in the center of the battlefield was violently ups and downs, and now there were German tanks on both flanks, although the number was small, but the American armored battalion companies that lacked timely command were in danger of falling into their own battles.

"Let O'Neill first fire the German tank unit on the left flank for 10 minutes! Next is the right flank, don't worry about hitting the enemy, as long as the shells don't fall on your own heads! With a cigar in his mouth, Barton stood in his command car with his hands on his hips and observed the occupation, as if his mood was calmer than before the battle began.

The shelling of the American army began, and there was no trace of surprise or panic on Rommel's face, and he glanced unhurriedly at the front of his position, where more than thirty piles of scrap iron were still burning. From time to time, unfinished ammunition burst into flames, and seven or eight relatively intact American tanks collapsed in place with their barrels hanging low, and the corpses of some American tankers in yellow khaki uniforms were scattered around. In short, all the targets that the tank guns and anti-tank guns were able to hit with low flat ballistics had been hit, and while rejoicing for his soldiers, Rommel put down his binoculars, "The 1st Panzer Regiment is attacking!" ”

Orders were quickly given to the DDD and DV tanks and assault guns that had been firing in tank bunkers, and the tankers started their vehicles without refilling their ammunition.

"Onward! The alliance is invincible! ”

The German officer, sitting in the turret of a DV tank, shouted.

"Onward! The alliance is invincible! ”

German officers and Mexican soldiers responded in unison.

Next. More than 100 tanks of the three German armored regiments formed a three-sided siege against the remaining more than 70 American tanks and more than 150 armored vehicles in the center of the battlefield. When the German tanks finally rushed to a distance of less than a kilometer from the American armored group, the artillery in the rear of the American army began to be embarrassed, taking advantage of this excellent opportunity, the DV tank and assault guns continued to use their own millimeter guns to clean up the American tanks on the battlefield. With the explosion of American tanks one by one, many German tank crews are quickly becoming aces or quasi-aces, and gradually, the only place in the center of the battlefield that can fire is the more than 40 heavy M-1919 tanks, which are described by German officers and soldiers as "extremely bulky, huge and very stocky tanks". The front of these hulls was equipped with a short-barreled 105 mm gun that could not be rotated at will, and a 20 mm machine gun mounted on the turret with a 360-degree rotation was mounted on the ground tank, and the actual weight of the tank was 28 tons. The main armor is more than 78 mm thick, which can easily bounce 50 mm armor-piercing shells fired from 500 meters away, and 75 mm armor-piercing shells fired by DV and assault guns from 1200 meters away cannot tear through its thick armor.

Look at the German tanks helpless against the M1923 at medium and long distances. Patton was not happy at all in his heart, he was not optimistic about his heavy tank, but he must admit that American tank designers had already laid the groundwork for their failure today - M1923 Although the skin is rough and thick, but the 105mm short-barreled howitzer and 20mm cannon are helpless against the German tanks with more balanced speed, flexibility, defense, and firepower, and the next scene also confirmed his judgment - in the face of German tanks coming from three directions, the weakness of the M1923 - After all, the sides and back are still exposed to the opponent's guns, and the old German commanders will never let go of this opportunity!

Watching the last hope of the armored division bloom in the explosion one by one, Patton sighed deeply.

Just as the 6th Armored Division of the 1st Armored Corps of the U.S. Army began to retreat, a staggering number of vultures arrived......

Three days later. In the wilderness more than 30 kilometers south of Dallas, a larger-scale steel collision occurred, and the German army, with Goodry's armored army as the main force, and the Mexican 2nd Infantry Corps, and the 13th and 15th mechanized infantry divisions of the German Royal Combat Army as auxiliaries, laid a wide net on the road to Houston, and rushed the main force of the US 1st Armored Corps to rescue Pershing and the defenders of Houston crashed into it. Technology and, most importantly, air supremacy, are at an absolute disadvantage, facing a German-Mexican coalition of more than 110,000 people. The U.S. armored forces have exposed the fatal flaw of lack of infantry cover.

After the battle between Rommel's Panzer Division and Patton's Panzer Division, Guderian's tank commanders had mastered the performance, characteristics, and weaknesses of various American tanks, with the DV and Type 1918 assault guns being incorporated into a powerful interdiction fire group, and the DDD tank and cavalry infantry fighting vehicles becoming a rapid guerrilla force that specialized in dealing with American armored vehicles with only thin armor and machine guns. In the battle, which lasted two days and one night, the German-Mexican infantry also performed well, they destroyed a large number of American tanks and armored vehicles with anti-tank guns, anti-tank grenades and anti-aircraft guns, and a large number of tank killers emerged again!

For this large-scale tank battle, the German Front General Command specially mobilized a large number of fighters, dive bombers, and horizontal bombers belonging to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Air Wings, and more than 600 fighters made nearly 2,000 sorties in two days, and their bombing and strafing severely damaged the tanks, armored vehicles, and morale of the Americans.

In the subsequent world-famous "Palestan Steel Cemetery", Goodry installed 63 DV and 41 assault guns of one of the armoured armies and 140 tanks of the American army encountered and fought to the death, as a result, in 5 hours of fighting, the Germans completely annihilated half of the American armored division, and only paid the price of 3 tanks and 1 assault gun, and this is only a microcosm of the entire battlefield.

On August 2, starting from the contact between Rommel's Panzer Division and Patton's Panzer Division, the week-long tank battle finally ended, although the German armored forces temporarily stopped advancing due to a large loss of ammunition and more than 100 tank armored vehicles in need of repairs, but the price paid by the American Panzer Corps was extremely heavy - the corps lost more than 85 percent of its tanks and 70 percent of its soldiers, and was unable to fight again in the short term. Although a large number of new tanks and armored vehicles are assembled on production lines across the United States every day, it is difficult to replenish skilled tankers if they are lost, so until the end of the war, the US army can only use tank novices to fight the German army, and the final result is nothing more than a batch of German ace tank killers that have long been established.

On August 4, Houston fell, General Pershing and a handful of high-ranking officers fled on a Navy submarine, and the Battle of the U.S. Southern Frontier ended.