Kriegel was intently driving the tank, staring at the periscope, observing the movements of the Red Army on the opposite side. It was the first time he had really been in a fight, and he was a little excited.

"Stop!"

With the commander's order, Kriegel quickly stepped on the brakes, and the panther stopped steadily, and at this moment the commander's new order came: "Three o'clock direction, enemy machine gun fire point, grenade, ready!" ”

The loader quickly removed a grenade from the rack, quickly fed it into the chamber, and then screamed: "Ready!" ”

At this time, the gunner Webb had already completed the aiming work, and the cross in the scope had firmly lassoed the target, and he shouted: "Release!" The tank shook violently, the shells flew out in the blink of an eye, and the camera was filled with fireworks.

"Beautiful!" The commander praised him.

But his praise immediately turned into a curse, for the simple reason that the smoke that "flowed back" from the barrel of the gun quickly filled the tank, and the pungent smell caused everyone to start coughing violently.

"Damn it, open the cabin!" The commander lamented, and then had to open the hatch.

According to the combat regulations, tanks are not allowed to open the hatch during battle, and it is best not to poke their bodies out, which is very dangerous, because snipers, air-burst grenades, and grenades thrown at close range will threaten the safety of the cabin members.

Of course, not all tankers take this regulation seriously, for example, quite a few commanders like to drill out of the turret to direct the battle, for the simple reason that it is difficult to detect the existence of a threat in the first place with the view of the commander's periscope. And compared to the stuffy cabin. The air outside is much better. Anyway, quite a few German commanders were accustomed to going out of the cabin to direct the battle. For example, Kriegel's car captain.

Unscrew the hatch. The gunpowder smoke in the tank finally had an outlet for catharsis, and suddenly Kriegel and the others felt much better. In fact, if it weren't for the strict orders of the commander, Kriegel would have wanted to open the window and drive.

The Panther tank continued to advance, but Kriegel felt a little idle, and according to the arrangement from above, it was the No. 4 tank in charge of the lead, who was responsible for providing fire support directly with the infantry. The Panther tank, on the other hand, is mainly used to kill the enemy's important firepower points at a distance because of its more powerful artillery.

And now. Under strong pressure from the tank forces, the Red Army's points of fire were almost destroyed, and the Panthers were not given a chance to play at all. Sometimes Kriegel is a little depressed, when will he be able to fight face-to-face with Russian tanks. He'd heard that the Russians had strong tanks, and they had been overwhelmed before.

Kriegel especially wanted to take on the T-54, which is said to be the strongest tank in Russia. And he just wanted to oust the T-54 from the throne and prove that the German tank was the best. He was very confident in this, and this confidence came from the powerful firepower of the Panther, and he believed that the 75mm tank gun on his tank could easily destroy the T-54.

It's a pity. No trace of the T-54 has been found on this battlefield for the time being, and in fact the Russians do not have tanks at all. This gives Kriegel a bit of a sense of heroic uselessness.

Just when Kriegel was in a state of depression, a large cloud of smoke rose from the Red Army position, which was very large, but it did not look like the product of artillery firing.

"What's that?" Kriegel asked.

The gunner Webb replied: "Mortars? ”

The commander shook his head: "Not like that! ”

While they were arguing, a black package flew over their heads, a volume that would definitely not have such a thick cannonball unless a battleship came!

Just when Kriegel and the other monks were confused, these big guys exploded. Some exploded in the air, like thunder, while the other part fell to the ground for a few seconds before exploding, but they caused an earthquake.

In the words of Kriegel, "O my God! I've never seen such a horrific explosion, like a black lightning bolt struck overhead, a thunderous sound that made the cochlea buzz, and the explosion produced a shockwave like someone punched you in the face. The commander was unlucky, he was directly exposed to the killing range of the overpressure, and was stunned before he could understand. ”

"And that's just the beginning! These shells exploded in the air with great power, and the grenadiers who followed them were miserable, and they were blown away in pieces, and some of the poor insects flew five or six meters upside down. This round of air-burst bombs alone killed a third of our infantry. And then when these monsters fell to the ground and exploded, the grenadiers were even worse, one fell directly into the crowd, and after the violent explosion, all objects within a radius of 50 meters were 'vaporized', you must know that there is a whole infantry squad around! And when the smoke cleared, there was only a shallow pit left, and everything else was gone! ”

It was not only the German grenadiers who suffered, but also the heavily armored Panther tanks were not spared under this round of "shelling", and Kriegel saw a "shell" explode next to the No. 205 Panther tank, and the shock wave directly overturned the steel monster weighing more than 40 tons. This is not the worst, the worst thing is a "shell" that exploded directly under the chassis of the Panther, after the explosion, the Panther directly sat on the earthy plane, the huge turret flew directly to ten meters away, and the entire chassis was blown apart.

"Not a single crew member survived, and all of them were crushed. At that moment, we felt cold from the top of our head to our toes. Before, we thought that there were no weapons on the battlefield that could threaten us, and our morale was high and we were full of pride. But now, we are all like chickens in soup, like deflated balls......"

This round of heavy artillery bombardment directly eliminated more than 100 German infantrymen, and also destroyed two Panthers and three No. 4 tanks. But more important is the psychological blow to the Germans, so to speak, the Germans were scared to pee!

According to the battle log of the Greater German Panzer Infantry Regiment: "...... The battle went smoothly at first, and when our troops were about to achieve a breakthrough, they were suddenly fired by enemy large-caliber artillery (it is believed that this was the enemy's 203 mm B4 artillery) coming from depth. Our troops suffered heavy losses under shelling and had to abandon the offensive......"

Ghost B4 artillery. Weapons of mass destruction like the B4 are directly in the hands of the Military Commission. Generally, they are assigned to the group army or front army level. How could it be used to support a small infantry company?

The weapons that really hit the Germans are actually very dirty. It is just the so-called conscienceless cannon of the Turkish Communist Party, that is, an explosive bag launcher transformed from gasoline barrels. A bag of 30 kilograms of explosives can fly up to 500 meters away under the action of a projectile. Of course, it can't be said about accuracy, this weapon is not intended for precision strikes, and its super-large charge can completely make up for the weakness of accuracy.

It has to be said that the Germans were stunned and thought that they had been attacked by heavy artillery. In a panic, he retreated. Of course, it will not work if you don't retreat, whoever lets the grenadiers who are following behind have already been exhausted by the unconscionable artillery, and let the tanks break through alone, I'm afraid the losses will be very heavy.

After withdrawing, the Germans felt that it was tricky, and they also had heavy artillery, how to get it? If you don't knock out the enemy's heavy artillery, the infantry will deliver food when they go up. But it is not easy to destroy the enemy's heavy artillery hidden in depth. Anyway, it's pretty good.

At this time, you can see the importance of infantry fighting vehicles, with infantry fighting vehicles. Infantry can fully accompany the tank, even if it is bombarded with heavy fire. The losses will not be particularly heavy either. At that time, most of the world's equipment was infantry carriers, and most of them were half-tracked. This also determines that the infantry is exposed to fire for more time. After some research, the Germans finally decided that the infantry should accompany the tank attack in a loose formation, and in addition to increasing their firepower, they would try to blow up the enemy position in one go.

"Company commander, the enemy is coming up again!"

In fact, without Boris's guidance, Shi Nengzhi also saw the Germans moving forward, and compared with the last attack, the number of tanks and infantry has become smaller, and the formation is looser. This fully shows that the devil is afraid of being beaten by a conscience.

Boris also sighed: "I knew that those earthen cannons were so effective, and I should have made a few more yesterday!" ”

In this regard, Shi Neng Zhi only smiled, and it didn't have much effect to do a few more, after all, the number of explosives is limited, and no matter how many "cannons" there are, it is useless to have insufficient ammunition. What's more, he had just received a call from the battalion headquarters telling him that reinforcements were about to arrive.

Reinforcements were indeed near, a tank company and two infantry platoons were on a rapid march, only three kilometers from the town. Released believes that with the support of tanks, the next battle will be easy to fight.

"Tell the first and second rows, don't hardtop. Save your strength and wait for reinforcements to arrive before launching a counter-charge! ”

In fact, the first and second platoons are not willing to hard-top, and the infantry is really at a loss to fight tanks, almost fighting with human flesh and steel. With the order of Shakti, they were also happy and relaxed.

The Reds were relieved, and the Germans were even more relaxed, knowing that they were even more nervous than the Reds when the attack was launched, for fear that they would be covered by the enemy's heavy artillery as soon as they jumped out of the trenches. They had been bombed badly before, and they didn't want to take a dirt plane anymore.

The Germans rubbed forward little by little, and the cautious look looked like a thief with a thief's heart but not a thief's guts, and I was afraid that as long as there was any trouble, these goods would swarm back.

"Do you want to give them another one?" Boris licked his lips excitedly, it can be seen that this person is addicted to playing with no conscience cannon, but Shi Neng smiled and refused: "Don't worry, we have limited ammunition, let's get closer, and then fight when they are concentrated!" ”

The Germans did not know that the Red Army was preparing to cast a long line to catch a big fish, and seeing that the resistance of the Red Army was not fierce, and that they did not mean to use heavy artillery again, they became much more emboldened and began to charge the Red Army positions at a faster pace.

"The battle went relatively smoothly at first," Kriegel recalled, "and the Russian resistance was not strong, and the suffocating heavy artillery did not come alive again." We approached the positions of the Red Army without any problems, and then ......"

Then it was gone, and the unconscionable artillery began to bombard, and the Germans once again experienced the sensation of a landslide and a crack, with large swaths of exposed infantry flying in all directions under the action of the shock wave, while the few lying on the ground were shaken to death.

"The shelling was so intense," Kriegel recalled afterwards, his hairs standing on end, "the shelling lasted about five minutes, and in that five minutes we lost nearly two-thirds of our brothers." And in the remaining third, there are many people in urgent need of treatment. ”

Once again, the Germans were in disarray, the infantry really wanted to retreat immediately, and the tanks did not know whether to advance or retreat. Seeing that this German offensive is about to come to naught. An important role was played by the commander of the 1st company of the 51st Tank Battalion, Heinz.

"Keep going. Only allowed to move forward. No backwards! ”

At the urging of Heinz, the tank units ended the chaos and began to continue the assault under heavy artillery fire, and the remaining infantry, led by the tanks, also summoned up the courage and began to charge the positions of the Red Army!

Worst!

Shi Neng knew that the dish was going to be bad, and the cannon without conscience would not be used for a while, and the first and second rows were too weak. There is a possibility of collapse in the front-line position!

"Three rows, follow me!"

At the critical moment, Shi Neng had to go out again, leading the third platoon as a reserve, and he ran to the front line.

"Leave the tanks alone! Hit the infantry first! ”

After saying that, Shi Neng held an SKS30 rifle and fired at the German infantry, and under his leadership, other fighters also carried light and heavy guns to spray bullets at the infantry behind the German tank.

And on the other side, the Germans also reacted, it seems that the enemy's heavy artillery is a three-plate axe? As long as you carry this paragraph. Then it's their turn to abuse the vegetables?

Kriegel was excited and added a foot of throttle. Crushed towards the position of the Red Army, and his jealous little friend Weber was having fun this time. The juxtaposition of machine guns and artillery never stopped, and from time to time a single cannon knocked out a machine gun, or the infantry of the Red Army violently assaulted.

What was even worse for the release was not here, but that the German troops in the rear immediately increased their forces again as soon as they saw the possibility of a breakthrough, and as the second group of German tanks and grenadiers drove out of the trenches, the position of the relief was precarious.

"Company commander, a platoon can't stand it, the enemy's firepower is too strong!"

"Company commander, the second platoon has suffered a lot of losses, when will the reinforcements arrive?"

Shi Nengzhi felt the pressure again, glanced at the rumbling enemy tank, and then at his own fighters, who were so suppressed that they could barely lift their heads. Whether to continue with the hard top or retreat for the time being, he must make a decision.

"The third platoon and the fire platoon were responsible for support, and the first and second platoons immediately retreated!"

Shan Neng was a decisive man, and for him, the position on the outskirts of Krosten was important, but it was not worth putting the entire company here. Reinforcements arrived soon, and even if part of the position was temporarily abandoned, it would be possible to recapture it later.

The Reds had finally begun to retreat, which made the Germans even more excited, and Kriegel really wanted to kick the accelerator to the end so that he could rush up and kick the Reds in the balls. However, the new commander strictly ordered him to stay calm, and the tank units must maintain a good formation, as they are too prominent and vulnerable to the Red Army's concentrated fire.

For the 51st Tank Battalion, the Panthers are extremely precious, and three Panthers have been scrapped for various reasons in previous battles, and two more are under intense repair. These ten Panthers left on the battlefield are all baby bumps, and they really can't be wasted!

Slowly but forcefully, the Panthers ran over the first Red Army trench and opened fire on the retreating Red Army inside the city. Just as Krieger was about to beat the water dogs, the commander's shout came from the headphones: "The enemy tank is in the direction of three o'clock!" ”

Kriegel turned his head, and at three o'clock there was a half-blown house, and on the path next to the house, a long cannon barrel was exposed. I have to say that the commander's eyes are good!

After a few seconds, more than a barrel was exposed, half of the T-34's body was poking out, and the enemy's artillery was already pointing at Kriegel's car. Although the enemy had not yet opened fire, Kriegel felt his hairs stand on end, and in the headset it was Weber shouting: "Armor-piercing bullets, quick!" ”

Kriegel could feel the turret slowly turning, and then he saw a ball of fire coming out of the muzzle of the T-34 opposite, and his heart fluttered at that moment. Although it has been repeatedly said that the Panther's armor is quite powerful, it has not been tested in actual combat, and who dares to say that the Panther will not penetrate it.

When!

Kriegel felt the body of the car tremble, could it be said that he was shot? However, he did not hear the wails of the other members, nor did he feel the fire in the car. He didn't feel anything, as if the panther was just shivering.

The T-34-76 really couldn't help the frontal armor of the Panther, and Kriegel's tank was indeed shot, but the armor-piercing shell was mercilessly bounced off, leaving only a shallow crater in the Panther's turret.

Under the orders of the commander, Kriegel stopped the tank, and three seconds later, Webb fired decisively, and the armor-piercing shell accurately hit the T-34's upper armor. In less than three seconds, smoke and flames came out of the cracks in the T-34, and several members of the team panicked to open the hatch and prepare to escape, but before they could lean out, the explosion occurred.

The blast blew the turret away, and the few poor Red Army tankmen disappeared from the battlefield in the blink of an eye. And all this gave Kriegel and the other Panthers great confidence.

"Keep going! Kill the Russians! ”

With a roar from the grenadiers who followed, the Panthers continued to assault decisively, and T-34s kept coming out in front of them to try to stop them, but none of the T-34s could stop the Panthers.

"We are confident that the enemy's tanks will not be able to do anything against us. My tank has been hit at least twice, but each enemy armor-piercing shell has been mercilessly intercepted by thick armor. In my opinion, Germany has finally regained its technological superiority over tanks! It's finally the Russians' turn to pee their pants! (To be continued......)

PS: On a business trip, bow and thank the friends who voted and rewarded!