Can a night soldier who has lost his night vision device still be called a night soldier?

This is undoubtedly an ambiguous concept. Lynn would not have been surprised if he and his combat team had continued to be placed on a dangerous reconnaissance front, but fortunately, the reality was not too cruel, and he and his combat team arrived on the right flank of the position, tasked with dealing with the Soviet infantry.

Soviet tank battle groups have formidable attack power, but their infantry ...... Lynn was never afraid.

After joining up with the breakout force under the command of Major Ziegler, Lieutenant Vortagan freed up two half-track armored vehicles to replace the war correspondent Eva Brown. Wütteridge, two female nurses, and the seriously wounded were sent to the 5th Mountain Corps' defense zone ahead of schedule, while the rest of the troops remained to meet the follow-up troops that had broken through from Oranienburg—a risky choice, but he and Major Ziegler dutifully made their decision.

After counting, the German combat units in one place had a total of 1 "Night Leopard", 8 No. 4 J tanks, and 5 No. 3G assault guns, and in addition to the wounded soldiers who had evacuated first, there were still 162 combat infantrymen, 4 armored vehicles, and 2 150-mm mortars. Ziegler was in charge of the infantry units, and Fotagan was in charge of the armored units.

About an hour before dawn, gunfire increased sharply in the direction of Oranienburg.

With the strength of such a force, it was not wise to advance openly along the road towards Fort Oranien, and the two commanders decided to set up an ambush by road.

The ambush position was deployed by the young Lieutenant Vortagen.

Contrary to the traditional line of operation, Vortagan did not place the main force in the frontal area near the road, leaving only two No. 3 assault guns, an armored vehicle, and half of the ordinary infantry to set up a temporary position, which Major Ziegler personally commanded.

The real elite, the tanks, were concentrated on the flanks of the battle line, especially on the right flank, where Lynn happened to be located, ambushing the "Night Leopard" and 5 No. 4 tanks, and the armored command vehicle that Vortagan was riding on was also on this side.

The reason why I think it is "coincidental" is because Lynn knows that her current performance and strength are far from enough to be regarded as a treasure by field commanders. Experienced infantry grabs a lot on the battlefield, and the elite and rare equipment of the "Night Leopard" is the real trump card in their eyes!

With the pure purpose of learning, Lynn deliberately approached Vortagen's armored command vehicle to see how he could deploy his troops.

A short time later, the motorcycle scouts who had been sent earlier came back to report that a German breakout force of about fifty men was retreating towards this side, followed by a weak Soviet unit.

Almost without hesitation, Vortagan ordered: "Contact their commander and let them lead the enemy along the main road!" ”

Motorcycle scouts in black trench coats are also the most handy communicators on the battlefield, and since World War II, the German army has never lacked their presence in large and small battles.

As the enemy approached, Vortagan did not urge his tankmen to return to their vehicles, but let them continue to plant dead grass on the tanks - once dawn, Soviet fighters would soon return to air supremacy on the battlefield, and German armored vehicles on the ground would become a delicacy for Soviet attack aircraft.

Lacking effective anti-aircraft weapons, the German armored corps had to rely on camouflage to preserve their strength.

As the gunfire approached, jumping fires soon appeared in sight. As the dawn faded, the sky turned from complete darkness to a misty gray, and the visual distance gradually extended from being out of sight to the distance.

Also close to the battle, Lynn did not have the sense of urgency that she had when she was in the city, especially when the angular outlines of the No. 4 tanks emerged from the darkness, and there was a wonderful sense of steadiness in her heart.

The value of a weapon does not lie entirely in its actual combat performance, and sometimes the psychological effect is more meaningful than the lethality itself.

Soon, the retreating German soldiers finally appeared in front of their eyes, and Lynn looked at them with the scope of a regular sniper rifle, and they were all staggering and embarrassed.

When I just withdrew from the city of Oranienburg, I probably looked like this!

At a distance of four or five kilometers from this German unit, a Soviet unit was indeed closely following. They started with two T-34s, followed by armored vehicles and trucks, and if it weren't for a small number of German troops dragging behind and trying their best to stop the attack, they would have caught up with the German breakout troops in front of them!

The Soviet troops soon came into the maximum range of tank guns, and Lieutenant Vortagan remained calm with his binoculars and did not give the battle order for a long time. It was not until the Soviets approached the makeshift position organized by Major Ziegler that the sound of artillery finally rang out.

One-on-one training, the No. 3 assault gun is no match for the T-34, but in an ambush, experienced gunners will choose to grasp a large distance and position to fire.

The T-34 in front of it immediately lay down in the middle of the road, and the second one resisted a little, but could not escape the fate of annihilation.

Next, the assault guns began to "name" the armored vehicles at the front of the Soviet convoy one by one, and they were blown up one after another, and from the flanks, it looked like fireworks.

The German 150 mm heavy mortars were also considered to be more powerful weapons, and the mortar shells fired by them fell into the Soviet convoy one after another, directly destroying one truck, injuring several others, and forcing the remaining Soviet trucks to turn around and evacuate in panic.

The Soviet infantry, who got out of the car and fought, were quite numerous, and they saw that the Germans were in positions and equipped with assault guns, and after attempting the attack, they quickly retreated to safety.

In Lynn's eyes, Fratagan was an old hunter who didn't see a rabbit or a hawk, watching with terrifying poise as the Soviet soldiers and the remnants of the trucks retreated until they were out of combat. In fact, in the whole course of the battle, as long as he gave an order, the tanks and infantry deployed on both flanks could cut off the enemy's rear at any time, and it was easy to completely annihilate this Soviet army.

Half an hour later, the prey that Fotagen was waiting for, a squad of Soviet tanks, finally appeared at the end of the road.

But the sky is getting brighter, and Soviet planes deployed on the front line may appear at any time, and the commander of the 5th Mountain Army also said that he can only hold out until dawn? Lynn was puzzled. What kind of medicine is sold in this gourd of Forta Gen?

A good commander would not be foolish in front of his own people, and after a while, Vortagan asked the communications corps to convey instructions to the infantry combat squad platoon accompanying him: after the battle began, the infantry should follow the tanks closely, killing any enemy infantry who tried to get close to the tanks during the battle; If no enemy infantry is approaching, the enemy's armored targets should be dispersed as far as they can; Last but not least, once the battle is over, one must not hesitate to retreat with the tanks, and must not sweep the battlefield or pursue the enemy without permission.

After listening to these instructions, Lynn finally had a rough judgment of Vortagen's intentions: to fight a fierce battle, which made the Soviet commanders feel the pain, so that they would no longer have any scruples to hunt down the retreating German troops with small armoured units before mobilizing large forces to attack. In this way, it should be conducive to the orderly withdrawal of all units of the 5th Mountain Army.

The Soviet infantry, which had been severely attacked and retreated, saw their tanks approaching and joined the attack with great excitement. Under their guidance, the Soviet tanks at the head of the platoon began shelling nearly two kilometers away from their previously destroyed companions, and the high-explosive shells flew across the road in a wide arc into the side woodland, futile blasting up branches and mud near the positions where the German assault guns had previously been hiding.

Vortagan radioed the vehicles to prepare for the sortie.

Soviet tanks advancing along the road opened fire as they went, and when they approached the wreckage of their companions, they left the road and entered the fields on the side, advancing towards the German positions in a loose but echoing battle formation. At this time, the two No. 3 assault guns that had changed their latent positions opened fire calmly, and their shelling was still very accurate, but at a slightly longer distance, the armor-piercing shells fired by the 48 times diameter 75 mm guns were not always able to penetrate the thick armor of the T-34, so the Soviet combat unit composed of more than a dozen tanks had a clear advantage. If the battle was allowed to develop, it would not take long for them to run over the temporary positions of the Germans, and it was at this time that Lieutenant Vortagan gave the battle order.

Amid a dull but pleasant roar, the German tanks painted in gray and green camouflage were launched - the No. 4 tank, known as the "German military horse", was not the most difficult to serve the Tiger and the Tiger King, and as soon as they left their hiding positions, they quickly flanked the Soviet tanks, and the accompanying infantry had to run hard to keep up with them. By the time they reached the kilometer range, the German tanks began to show their marksmanship. After a round of artillery fire, smoke rose from two T-34s on the other side of the road.

Unexpectedly caught on three sides by the Germans, the Soviet tankers appeared to be in a hurry. Turning around to meet the attack, the weak flank rear was exposed to the German tanks in other directions, and the accompanying German infantry fought bravely to take the lead, and the battle situation that had just been favorable to the Soviet army immediately appeared a 180-degree reversal......

(To be continued)