"Boom! Rumble! ”

The Germans' E-25 tank destroyer and No. 4H tank both fired, and neither the 70-caliber 75mm gun of the E-25 tank destroyer nor the 48-caliber 75mm gun of the No. 4H tank was comparable to the 57mm gun. The former www.biquge.info can penetrate the front of the Soviet IS-2 heavy tank at a distance of 1500mm when it fires a tungsten core armor-piercing projectile, and the M4A3 tank cannot resist it at all. The latter carried only two types of ammunition, armor-piercing shells and high-explosive shells - this was a special configuration to strengthen the combat capability of the No. 4H tank of the Air Assault Army, and it also had enough firepower to destroy the No. 4H tank.

Since the tank crews who joined the 1st Air Assault Corps were all veterans, and the distance of fire was not far, within 1,000 meters (because of the use of night vision equipment, it was possible to hit targets within 1,000 meters at night without the help of flares), so the shells fired by the E-25 and Type 4H both hit. Two more M4A3 tanks were destroyed in front of Brandt's position, but they were also not killed, just stopped there and did not move, just like the one destroyed by the 57mm guns.

Having lost 2 tanks at once, the attacking Americans were clearly frightened, and the last tank did not dare to fight again, but roared backwards. The American GIs, who had been advancing with the four tanks, also fled with them.

Seeing that the Americans were retreating, the German paratroopers' fire also stopped, on the one hand, because the night was too heavy to see the target clearly (because there were night vision devices, the German paratroopers did not shoot flares, but when the other side withdrew from the effective range of the night vision devices, they could not see the target clearly); On the one hand, it was to seize the time to shift positions - as soon as the American tanks and infantry withdrew, the shelling would definitely begin! This time they will definitely not skimp on shells, so they can't stupidly stay on their ground and be bombed.

So they also retreated like the Americans, and this short exchange of fire did not cause casualties to Brandt's platoon, but the previous shelling cost Brandt three men. On the side of the Americans, the losses were not very large, 3 tanks were shot and abandoned (which could be repaired), and more than a dozen tank crews were lost.

However, these losses are not on the entire front, the losses of the American and German armies are only the situation on the 700-meter front that Brandt is responsible for. The exchange of fire of the same magnitude took place on the entire front, and the exchange ratio between the two sides was about the same as that of the front in charge of Brandt, which was greatly beneficial to the German army. After all, German paratroopers are seasoned veterans, while most of the American troops are new recruits for the first time.

But the comparison of firepower between the two sides is extremely different! Therefore, the German army, which had won the first battle, retreated about 1,500 meters back on all fronts, and although this retreat escaped a burst of heavy shelling, it also lost its position. Because the time for the deployment was too hasty, the German paratroopers did not have time to dig a few trenches, but only dug some foxholes and built some improvised fire points, which are now all lost.

However, in the engagement of mechanized infantry and armored units, a strong position is not a necessary condition for victory.

After abandoning their defensive positions, the German paratroopers received some more mines, which they planted in front of the new line of defense by taking advantage of the American shelling, which could be used to delay the pursuit of the Americans.

At the same time, 29 E-25 tank destroyers and No. 4 H-type tanks all drove to the front line, but they did not disperse to fight cold artillery, but concentrated in the center of the battle line -- after the previous tentative fire, the Germans basically determined that the focus of the US attack was on the center. So now it's time to concentrate the armored forces and give the Americans a hard blow!

Twenty-nine tanks and tank destroyers pulled out a horizontal formation of less than 1,000 meters. More than a hundred 57mm guns (captured) and 105mm recoilless guns were loosely placed on both flanks of the defensive line.

Ensign Brandt and more than 30 of his men have now been turned into "Panzergrenadiers" covering the operations of the armoured cluster, and are assigned to the "Schwarzenegger cluster". This was done after the commander of the 101st Air Assault Battalion, Gustav. Regimental armored battle group named after the surname of Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger. In addition to 29 tanks and tank destroyers, there are more than two dozen wheeled armored vehicles and command vehicles, including 6 Cougar armored vehicles armed with 50mm guns.

Brandt's platoon was assigned to a tank destroyer platoon with four E-25 tank destroyers. In the dim darkness of the night, Brandt observed the low-looking steel behemoth. It looks a bit like the Stalker and Olga Hammer, but it's noticeably "fatter" and has a longer main gun at 70 times the caliber - which means more penetration!

In addition, each E-25 tank destroyer was equipped with two blacked-out searchlights, which Brandt knew were infrared searchlights, which would allow the Germans using infrared night vision binoculars to see targets up to 1,000 meters away in the dark!

Now four E-25s are lined up, and eight infrared headlights have been turned on. With the help of these eight infrared headlights, Brandt can see farther targets with his night telescope.

Soon the offensive of the American armored forces began again, and this time the Americans seemed to be going to make a real move. As soon as the shelling stopped, Brandt heard the roar of the tank engine coming from a distance. After a while, Brandt saw through the eyepieces of the night vision binoculars a few large ones that looked very different from the M4 tanks - the turrets and main guns of these tanks were very large, and they looked a bit like Soviet JS-2 "Stalin" tanks from a distance!

Brandt immediately put down the night vision binoculars in his hand, turned around and ran to an E-25 tank destroyer with the top hatch open, and shouted to an SS ensign who was leaning out of the hatch on the roof of the body: "Ensign Schmidt, did you see that?" Heavy tanks for the Americans! ”

"See, it's their T-26 tank." The SS second lieutenant, surnamed Schmidt, was also looking through a night vision telescope clipped to the roof of the vehicle, "but they were unlucky to meet the E-25...... The E-25 was made to deal with such big guys. ”

"But there seem to be a lot of them!" Brandt was a little worried.

Now on the battlefield is the M-26 Pershing tank (a modification of the T-26), with a total combat weight of 41.9 tons, armed with a 70 times caliber 90mm cannon, and has the ability to destroy the E-50 tank at a distance of 1,000 meters.

In fact, this heavy tank was developed to deal with the E-50, but they met the E-50's little brother E-25 tonight. If it was daytime, the E-25, with a total combat weight of only 27 tons, would certainly not be able to deal with the huge M26, but fortunately it was night.

"Don't be afraid of more," said Ensign Schmidt, "it's night, and we have night vision equipment, and they don't!" ”

"Click......

The conversation between the two men was interrupted by a shrill burst of gunfire from the coaxial machine gun of an E-25 tank destroyer, and tracer bullets slammed into the front of the huge tank like a glittering chain, sending a cloud of sparks. Then there was a "boom", a 75mm caliber pointed tungsten core bullet slammed into an M26 tank more than 800 meters away with a frontal thickness of 120mm upper armor plate, effortlessly penetrated, the shell exploded inside the hull, although there was no detonation of ammunition, but still made this seemingly indestructible combat vehicle instantly lose its combat effectiveness.

The E-25, which fired first, was personally controlled by Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger and was the signal for the whole to open fire.

Seeing the first hit, the remaining E-25 tanks and No. 4H tanks also opened fire immediately. The bullets of the coaxial machine gun and the 75mm armor-piercing bullets shot out like raindrops, and the seven or eight "Pershing" and "Sherman" tanks that rushed to the front were immediately enveloped in them, and they were shot and caught fire one after another!

Presumably, the "Pershing" tank was effortlessly destroyed to frighten the American troops, and all the American tanks on the battlefield stopped advancing at the same time. Then a volley of flares came in, illuminating the center of the battlefield and around the German tank cluster as if it were daylight.

"Boom! Rumble! Boom ......"

German tank/tank destroyers continued to open fire, several more Pershing and Sherman were shot, and two of them were killed and caught fire. The remaining American tanks, having already found the position of the German tanks with the help of the light of flares, began to turn the turrets.

"Smoke bombs! Smoke bombs! Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzenegger, standing in a Steyr command car, yelled into the communicator.

This order was not given to Brandt's paratroopers, but directly to the various types of combat vehicles on the battlefield. It turned out that the E-25 tank destroyer, the No. 4H tank, and the Cougar armored vehicle were all equipped with smoke launchers, which could be directly controlled by the commander to fire smoke grenades.

In fact, this design was available at the beginning of World War II, but at that time, German armored vehicles had the advantage on the battlefield and did not encounter too many threats, so the design was hidden so as not to be copied by opponents. It was not until the end of the Soviet-German war that the Wehrmacht Panzer Command installed smoke launchers on tanks and armored vehicles that they had hidden for several years, preparing to use smoke to cover the transfer of tanks in the following operations in the Americas.

Therefore, it was the first time that the American tank crew encountered a tank that could emit smoke on the battlefield, and they were also a little stunned in the face of the battlefield that suddenly became full of smoke, and they didn't know where to shoot the artillery.

Taking advantage of the opportunity for his opponent to be stunned, Schwarzenegger immediately gave the order to retreat -- the capital in his hand was too small for him to fight head-to-head with the Americans. As long as it can be delayed until the main forces of the 1st Air Assault Army occupy Port Cabernier and Port Grace, it will be considered complete.