"Colonel, look, the British have rushed out of Sworthtown! There are about a couple of dozens, no, at least 100 cruiser tanks! ”

"It doesn't matter, the Weasel tank destroyer and the assault gun No. 3 will take care of them. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

The ambush on the potato field outside Sworth was just the beginning, after the three patrol tanks on guard had engaged in an exchange of fire with the German No. 3 tank trying to make a detour. The Crusader tanks that had been cowering in the town of Sworth also rushed out, and 12 M7 self-propelled guns that followed the Crusader tanks also began firing 105mm grenades.

Colonel Winck, who was in a wheeled armored command vehicle, had long anticipated this situation - the British would not be willing to be surrounded. Therefore, 60 Weasel tank destroyers and No. 3 assault guns, which were driving a few hundred meters to the left of the No. 3 tank convoy, immediately turned around, aimed the powerful 46 times caliber 75mm guns at the British cruisers, and then began to fire fiercely.

Boom Boom!

Although the British thickened the armored defense of the Crusader tanks after the Battle of the Mediterranean, no matter how much this thin-skinned guy was reinforced, he could not stop the bombardment of 46 times the caliber 75mm gun.

However, the British soon returned to color, and their 2-pounder (40mm) guns were not weak in armor-piercing. Among the tanks/assault guns currently in service with the Wehrmacht, the 80mm armor on the front of the H-4 and 3 assault guns is able to withstand it.

However, the British have long figured out the general armor defense of various German tanks/assault guns, and all the Crusader tanks on the battlefield today avoided the No. 3 assault gun, and used the No. 3 amphibious tank and the 38t airborne tank as a target for a fierce fire, and also achieved a lot of results. Within 30 minutes of the fighting, planes from both sides were over the battlefield and engaged each other while bombing. The plain west of Sworth suddenly became a graveyard for British and German tanks!

And while tanks/self-propelled guns and planes on both sides are fighting, the infantry is also moving.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Lieutenant Skorzny, carrying an FG42 paratrooper rifle, jumped out of a truck and shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Don't let the British infantry run!" ”

There was no doubt that the British infantry in Sworth Town was going to run away. Otherwise, those Crusader cruisers would not have rushed out to find the terrible German tanks to exchange fire - Walter. Colonel Winck had a good grasp of the minds of the British. Either they could not hold out, or they would cover the retreat of the infantry with Crusader cruiser tanks.

Therefore, while sending the tank group on a detour, Vink also sent several paratrooper battalions (including the Moonlight Squadron) and one anti-tank company (belonging to the anti-tank battalion of the 7th Airborne Division) handed over to him by Lieutenant General Sussman. Nor did they ask them to block the British retreat, which would have caused the British to retreat back to Swarthtown. The British vanguard holding Sworth was actually Colonel Wink's biggest headache, as he had limited forces and simply couldn't muster enough men to surround a brigade-sized armored cluster.

So the task of the paratroopers was only to flank the retreating British troops along the roads and railways, and it didn't matter how many were killed, as long as the British fled in a hurry. As soon as the British fled, Colonel Winck led his troops in pursuit, and the momentum was a little bigger, and maybe the British 12th Army could be frightened into fleeing back to Northern Ireland.

"The convoy of the British! They're right on the road! ”

Lieutenant Skorzny looked up and saw trucks coming out of Sworth town one after another.

"Spread out the formation, each infantry platoon turned into an assault formation, and moved in the direction of the road! Mortar crews unfold and fire at the road! "Lieutenant Skorzny was chased all the way from Dundalk to Dublin by the British army in front of him, and many of his comrades were killed by them.

Although there were only a hundred paratroopers left in his Moonlight Squadron, they made a lot of noise as soon as they started firing - they had a FG42 in every man! Although this gun is said to be a "rifle", it can definitely produce the momentum of a light machine gun when it is fired.

More than 100 light machine guns, that's the firepower of a regiment! The retreating British infantry along the road was immediately inflicted heavy casualties.

At the same time, 12 7mmLG1 recoilless guns belonging to the 1st Company of the 40th Anti-Tank Battalion were fired. Although attached to the anti-tank battalion, this recoilless gun can also be used to support infantry. And this gun is very lightweight, Krupp uses a large number of expensive light alloys to make them, so that their full combat weight is only 145 kg, and it can also be mounted on a very flexible gun mount, which is very easy to move and deploy.

The explosion of shells and the firing of a series of FG42 fires soon reached the headquarters of the British 29th Armoured Brigade in the town of Sworth.

The commander of the 29th Armored Brigade is Major General Phillips, his 29th Armored Brigade is not in full force now, missing 1 heavy tank regiment (equipped with Churchill 2 tanks) and 1 artillery regiment and some other attached units, but there are more cavalry regiments that originally belonged to the 3rd Infantry Division (in fact, motorized infantry), a total of 1 tank regiment and 2 motorized infantry regiments, with a strength of nearly 7,000 men, which is not less than the German soldiers who want to "surround" them.

However, the Crusader cruiser tanks were hit with fire and explosion (the German losses were actually not small), and the retreating infantry along the road was flanked by "several" German infantry regiments, which immediately panicked the British major general, who had commanded tank companies as early as World War I.

The confidence that Lian Lian had accumulated in the battle was gone, and they even began to suspect that the previous victory was a trap for the Germans - this is very likely, how could the Germans be defeated so easily by the 29th Panzer Brigade because they were invincible in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East?

"Send a telegram to the division headquarters, we are under attack by at least one German Panzer Division in the town of Sworth, and the 29th Panzer Brigade is very likely to be surrounded by the enemy," Major General Phillips frowned and said to the staff officers beside him, "I request that troops be sent immediately to meet our retreat!" ”

……

"At least one armored division?" Montgomery was also taken aback by the news, "Could it be that the one who was transported to Cork Bay on May 3 was an armored division?" But today is only May 4th, and in one day, one armored division completed the unloading operation and arrived in Dublin? The Germans are too efficient, right? ”

"Bernard, what matters now is to send troops to pick up the 29th Armored Brigade, we can't afford to lose this brigade." Admiral Alexander said to Montgomery.

Admiral Alexander, who was five years younger than Montgomery but had much more prosperous official fortunes, now went to the headquarters of Dundalk's 12th Army in person, and was actually meddling in command.

"Of course, we certainly can't afford to lose the 29th Brigade." Montgomery was already timid, and when he heard Admiral Alexander say this, he didn't dare to take risks.

He immediately said to the chief of staff, Major General Ritchie: "Let the 22nd Armored Brigade and the 3rd Infantry Division speed forward!" The 29th Panzer Brigade was then ordered to immediately organize a breakout and be sure to join the 22nd Panzer Brigade before the German encirclement was closed. Ask the Royal Air Force to send fighter planes to support the 29th Armored Brigade to break through! ”

After the order was delivered, Montgomery and Alexander glanced at each other, and the faces of the two British generals were a little unpleasant.

Montgomery advised: "General, when the 29th Panzer Division has successfully broken through, the troops should first retreat to Droheda, then set up defenses along the Boyne River, wait for the Germans to attack first, and then counterattack when their attack has been frustrated." ”

Defensive counterattack is the tactic that the British Army is better at, and it must have an absolute superiority in troops to defeat the Germans.

Alexander nodded, agreeing with Montgomery's suggestion, "Looks like we need more troops in order to achieve a crucial victory in Ireland!" ”

……

"What? The 29th Armored Brigade is prominent? ”

Late at night on May 4, the good news reached the British Wartime Cabinet Headquarters beneath King Charles Street.

"It has already stood out, and the losses are not significant, less than 100 cruiser tanks have been lost, and the loss of personnel is less than 1000."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Fat Qiu let out a sigh and wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead again—not sweat in a hurry, but in heat. It's May now, and he's a fat old man who spends all day in a stuffy basement, and it's not a good time.

"In addition, Major General Phillips reported that the 29th Panzer Brigade destroyed at least 60 German tanks and self-propelled guns in the course of today's engagement."

“100：60…… This exchange ratio is acceptable. Churchill said this, but in his heart he didn't believe it, and it would be good to lose 100 cruiser tanks and achieve 30 results.

"Mr. Prime Minister, at present the two sides have temporarily disengaged from contact, and our 29th and 22nd Armoured Brigades have shrunk to the area of the Boyne River by order of General Montgomery. Generals Alexander and Montgomery prepared for a decisive battle with the Germans there, hoping to be reinforced by at least one armored division and two motorized rifle divisions. ”

"Okay, immediate reinforcements, give 2 armored divisions and 4 motorized infantry divisions first!" Churchill decided to double the number of reinforcements. In this way, the British army in the Irish theater would increase from 14 divisions (including 8 divisions in the 12th Army) to 20 divisions, with a total strength of 350,000 troops.

"Where's that Soviet intelligence chief?" Churchill lit a cigar, took two puffs and asked.

"Just arrived in Belfast."

Qiu Fatzi exhaled smoke, smiled and said, "Be sure to let the Russians see our reinforcements." (To be continued.) )