September 1, 1939, 12 noon, Poland, east bank of the Brachy River.

The sound of artillery, gunfire, explosions, the roar of tank motors, the neighing of war horses, the piercing whistling of Ju.87 Stuka dive bombers, and the screams of men and dying screams mingled together to form the most terrible war Yamato song in the world.

The Battle of the Brashi River Bridge, known in history as the "Battle of Tuhora Forest", is now in full swing.

On one side of the battle was a part of the German Army's 3rd Panzer Division, which included an armored group consisting of an armored training battalion, the 15th Heavy Armoured Vehicle Reconnaissance Company (Panzer Meyer), and the 14th Motorized Reconnaissance Company.

On the other side of the exchange of fire were the Polish tactical cluster of Dzesk plus the remnants of the Polish 15th Division, and since the commander of the Dzesk tactical group, Major General Grzymot Skonitsky, had not yet arrived - this group was already a little scattered along the way with bombs, and many troops did not know where to go - so Major General Pzhyakovsky, who had been defeated in the Tuhora Forest, had no choice but to continue his command.

Now the entire Polish Primorsky Army is hanging by a thread! The 15th Division, located in the center of the western line of the army, had almost collapsed, and the bridge over the Brachy River was already the last line of defense, and if it did not delay enough time here, the 9th and 27th divisions of the Primorsky Army would retreat to the east bank of the Vistula to rebuild the line.

Then in a few days, the Primorsky Army, with 5 divisions and 2 brigades, will completely collapse. And the flanks of the Poznan Army to the south of the Primorsky Army and the southeast of the Modlin Army (south of East Prussia, which is currently under onslaught by the German Third Army) will be exposed, and the entire Polish defense line may collapse with it!

And on the other side, the commander of the German 3rd Panzer Division, Major General Schwevenberg, was almost at the front. His armoured car was parked just west of the Brachy River Bridge, and a fierce exchange of fire took place on the east side of the bridge. The Poles desperately blocked the exit to the east of the bridge, turning a grove less than 300 meters from the exit to the east of the bridge into a fortress "piled up" with 37mm guns!

Although they were constantly bombarded by German 75mm guns and dive bombarded by Ju.87, whenever German tanks tried to cross the bridge, one or two 37mm guns would fire desperately.

The use of 37mm anti-tank guns by the Poles in 1939 was a "big road", and the armies of almost all countries had this weapon. The armor-piercing ability of this class of artillery (the 37 guns used in European countries are almost the same) at a distance of 300 meters is about 30mm (the armor-piercing shell can barely reach 50mm with tungsten steel), and the power is limited when attacking the No. 4 tank head-on (the performance of the No. 4 in this time and space 39 years is better than the same period in history).

But the woods were not facing the bridge, but on the side of the bridge, and the cannons could be placed there to shoot at the flank of Tank No. 4, so it became a small obstacle. After a No. 4 tank was damaged, Rear Admiral Schwebenburg was not going to let the precious No. 4 take any more risks.

However, a small Brachy River could not stop the 19th Panzer Corps' advance, and Major General Schwebenburg organized a frontal diversion attack while sending men to find a shoal to cross.

As a result, Armored Meyer and his brothers are now searching along the Brachy River. And Meyer's luck was good, he soon made a discovery.

"The muzzle of the gun is raised, the gun is raised, and it is enough to scare them, but you can't kill them." Armored Meyer shouted. He was now chasing a few Polish cavalrymen along a path on the bank of the river with a few heavy wheeled armored vehicles - they were supposed to cross the river to reconnoitre. Meyer estimated that these Poles must have known where the river was shallow, and where the cavalry could wade, the tanks would be able to cross!

"Click......"

Following Panzer Meyer's instructions, Gustav. Schwarzenegger carefully maneuvered the coaxial machine gun, allowing the bullets to fly over the heads of several Polish cavalrymen.

The Poles, as if frightened, whipped their horses so hard that they forgot that tanks and armoured vehicles could also wade across, and soon ran to the shoal where they had crossed, and galloped away without thinking.

"Found it!" Armored Meyer picked up the intercom and shouted, "Found a place to cross the river, there is a place to cross the river about 2,500 meters north of the bridge!" ”

The voice of the division commander, Major General Schwebenburg, soon came from the intercom: "Leave two armored vehicles to guard the ferry, and the other vehicles cross the river to investigate." ”

"Understood, Commander." Meyer adjusted the frequency of the intercom a little more, and then gave orders to his brothers, "Cars 4 and 5 hold the west bank of the ferry. All the other vehicles crossed the river, and car No. 6 was the first to pass, followed by car No. 1...... Brothers, come after me! ”

"Click......"

Almost as soon as the No. 4 car under Meyer rushed through the shallows, the Poles' machine guns went out. They were not completely unprepared either, and every shoal that could be crossed was defended, armed not only with machine guns but also with a small number of WZ35 anti-tank rifles.

"Hit! I hit it......"

A young Polish soldier yelled excitedly that one of the WZ35s he operated accurately hit the No. 4 car of the Meyer Company. But the 8-wheeled armored vehicle continued to charge as if it didn't feel anything, and in the blink of an eye it rushed to the river beach.

"I obviously hit, how can this be? Hell, this gun doesn't work at all! The Polish soldier shouted, bewildered. In fact, the effective range of this WZ35 is not large, and it must be very close to the opponent when facing the Sd.Kfz.231 heavy wheeled armored vehicle with frontal armor up to 14.5mm thick in order to succeed in sneak attack.

"Rush Rush!" Meyer's voice sounded inside every armored car, "They don't have 37 guns and they don't have 20 machine guns, they can't stop us!" ”

……

"Broken through? My God! "Major General Grzymot-Skonitsky, who had been bombed by the Germans' plane, had just arrived when he heard the bad news that made him unbelievable. Not only did the Polish defensive line set up in the Tuhora Forest no longer exist, but even the Brachy River had been broken through by German armored forces.

Is Poland going to die again?

A sense of foreboding rose in everyone's heart.

"Let's get back to the line of the Vistula." Major General Pzhyakovsky said in despair, "There we can hold out for more or less a few days." ”

"No, it's impossible!" Major General Grzymot-Skonitsky shook his head, then pointed to the sky, "The planes of the Germans will not let us run away!" ”

Major General Pzhyakovsky thought to himself: their tanks and armored vehicles will not let us run away either! The Primorsky Army was going to be finished, then the Poznan Army and the Modlin Army...... And finally, Poland!

"What should I do?" Major General Pzhyakovsky asked.

"I took the 16th Lancer, the 18th Lancer, and the 11th Cavalry Battalion to drive the Germans back across the Brachy. You lead the rest of your troops to hold on...... For the sake of Poland, we will always fight to the end! ”

"Good!" Major General Pzhyakovsky nodded, "For Poland!" Poland will never perish! ”

"Yes, Poland will never perish!" Major General Grzymot-Skonitsky turned on his horse, drew his saber and waved it, "Brothers of the 16th Lancer Battalion, the 18th Lancer Battalion and the 11th Cavalry Battalion, follow me to kill the Germans!" Sing with me "Poland Will Not Perish" (this is the Polish national anthem)! ”

One by one, the tanks crossed the Brashi River from the shoal that Panzer Meyer had found, and then formed an offensive formation on a wheat field with no end in sight. Trucks and half-tracks also brought in a number of infantry, who disembarked on the west bank of the Brachy and waded across the river. When they arrived, the attack formation of tanks and armored vehicles advanced in a southeasterly direction accompanied by them.

Panmoured Meyer and his brothers also rode in wheeled armored vehicles, following behind tanks four and three.

Because wheeled armored vehicles are taller than tanks, Panzer Meyer is standing up straight, holding a telescope to act as an eye for the entire cluster. Soon, an incredible sight appeared in the binoculars - the Polish cavalry with their spears held high seemed to be rushing towards them.

"Oh my God! It's cavalry! Polish cavalry, it seems that there were thousands or more...... What are they doing here? Armored Meyer yelled loudly at the intercom.

Then came the group commander, the commander of the armored training battalion, Hazinte. Count Stachwitz's calm voice: "I admire the courage of the Poles no matter what they want to do, but in this day and age, courage alone will not do!" Now let's go and destroy all the brave Poles! Panzers, charge! ”

Major General Grzymot-Skonitsky also saw the German tanks rolling in, they were so big, much larger than his TKS tanks (which were half blown up by the Luftwaffe on the way), and they also had 75mm guns. Cavalry was certainly no match for it, and the only hope was the 11th Cavalry Battalion's 16 75mm cannons. As long as they can be put on the table, there is a silver lining. But it takes time, and it takes time for the artillery to unfold......

"Mounted artillery, spread out the position!" He gritted his teeth and ordered loudly, "Others, charge with me!" ”

He pointed forward with the saber in his hand and shouted: "Poland will never perish, as long as we live, Poland will not perish, raise the sword, return to the lost ground with your hands, advance, advance, advance ......" (to be continued. )