Several artillery officers were writing and drawing on the ground, and from time to time a few stood up and observed the situation on the opposite shore with scissor periscopes. Six 150 mm guns were being deployed here to fiercely attack the targets on the opposite side.

In addition to the one cannon that Wren had just seen, not far from where their tank was parked, there were five more that stretched out to another block. In order to cover the crossing of the river by infantry and armored fighting vehicles, the 1st SS Panzer Division also obtained four 75-mm field guns, and deployed a full seven Bofors 40-mm anti-aircraft guns and three 88-mm anti-aircraft guns.

"It's really a bloody investment. Wren got into the chariot and put on his headphones to diminish the deafening sound of the cannons, which had been fighting for almost ten minutes, and were still roaring tirelessly.

"Bowman! Clark!Check the ammo for the guided machine gun!Bruce, reload the high-explosive round. Wren pressed the throat intercom and gave the battle order: "Be careful when driving on the pontoon bridge, the turret is slightly inclined to the left, and our artillery suppression is weaker there." ”

"This is Tank No. 113! This is Tank No. 113! Please reply if you hear it!" Then he changed the frequency and began to test the radio system.

"This is tank No. 112. I'll follow you. I'll try to keep any threat out of it. Marcus' voice came.

Another voice came out of the earphones, it was the company commander tank: "I'm Carter, I can hear your voice very clearly, you can start moving! There will be infantry following us, don't slow down the whole process of crossing the river." ”

"Forward, forward, let's go. Wren shouted loudly. With his shout, Tank 113 began to shake slowly, and then, with the sound of metal crashing and grinding, accompanied by the bumps and ups and downs of the road, Tank 113 with side skirts took the lead and rushed to the pontoon bridge that the sappers had just erected.

On the sides of the pontoon bridge, there were improvised machine-gun emplacements. Two G42 and one 75-mm anti-tank gun were firing heavily at the opposite side, and it was clear that the French fire was suppressed by the fierce German grenadiers, and from the movement, it was clear that the return fire on the opposite bank was not strong.

It is said that it is a pontoon bridge that has been erected, but in fact it is still a few meters away from the opposite bank, and then an iron plate is hastily laid down, turning into a downhill road leading to the bottom of the river. Because of the desperate return fire of the French soldiers, the corpses of several German sappers were scattered here and there, so it is clear why the pontoon bridge was not erected to the opposite side.

As the tank shook, the Wren crew finally came to the area where they were fighting. Bypassing a low wall, their tanks appeared in the field of view of the German covering forces. There was a cheer, and Wren saw grenadiers waving at them.

Showing his head and carefully looking at the French positions on both sides of the opposite bank with a telescope, Wren ordered André: "On the left side, do you see the broken little tree? Yes, it is the one, about two meters to the left of it, there is a deliberate area, give a shot first, so as not to trouble for a while." ”

"Boom!" adjusted the angle, and without the slightest hesitation, Andrei carried out Wren's order, and the shell accurately hit the target, bringing up a cloud of black smoke. There didn't seem to be any worthless targets there, but now it was certain that there wasn't any threat there.

Loaded with a high-explosive shell again, Wren burrowed into the turret and slammed his hatch shut down. Then his tank began to cautiously drive onto the pontoon, little by little towards the opposite bank.

"Da-da!" The French defenders on the other side saw that something was wrong, and a machine-gun position hidden in the corner opened fire violently, and the bullets hit the German tanks like a storm, splashing a field of sparks.

Wren and the others sat in the tank, as if listening to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof of a car, although the sound was not very obvious inside the tank, but it could reflect the intensity of the battle. He leaned his eyes against the driver, looking around the periscope, carefully examining his surroundings.

"Boom!" A shell landed in the river not far away, and the French artillery began to counterattack, although the accuracy was not very good, but it could be judged that the caliber was not small by the sound of the explosion.

"Marcus, did you find anything?" Wren asked Marcus, who was still not on the bridge, holding down the intercom.

Marcus's voice came from the headset immediately: "I didn't find any heavy weapons!" but I've been helping you watch your right side, and you need to solve the left side yourself." ”

"Bowman! Keep going! Don't let the tank go out! The other side is firing at us, and I'm afraid there is hidden anti-tank fire. ”

"Phew!" On the German position, a sniper pulled the trigger, and the bullet from the G43 automatic sniper rifle flew across the river, and a shot hit the forehead of a French soldier, who smoked the grenade and fell into the trench, causing a scream of the surrounding French soldiers.

"Boom!" the grenade exploded, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris in all directions. But after only a short silence, the whole position was once again lively, and all kinds of weapons opened fire fiercely at the Leopard tanks that had reached the middle of the river, and the bullets were as dense as raindrops.

However, it is obvious that the French army lacks the support of heavy weapons, after all, the German artillery attack on the French defense line on the opposite bank is very intensive, and the French cannot deploy their heavy weapons here under so much firepower. But it would be a mistake to say that the French gave up their resistance.

Soon, Wren encountered his first major trouble since he began to cross the river, and a French tank drove up the opposite embankment bit by bit under German fire.

However, as soon as this bulky French tank appeared, it was spotted by Rennes, who said loudly to Andrei: "On the left! 11 o'clock, a French tank!

"Boom!" Without the slightest hesitation, a high-explosive bomb slapped directly on the face of the French tank, which was a Soma S35 tank equipped with a 47 mm gun.

The S35 was the best French tank during World War II, it had better mobility, stronger firepower and armor protection, and was superior to the P-3 tank equipped by the German army in terms of protection, but it was slightly inferior in firepower and power.

However, due to the poor tactics of the French army, they only used tanks to carry out some individual combat operations, so they did not fully play their due role. The turret and hull of this tank are cast of steel and have a graceful arc. The S-35 tank has a combat weight of almost 20 tons, a crew of 3 people, a thickness of 55 mm of armor on the front of the turret, 40 mm on the body armor, and 20 mm in the weakest rear.

The S35 is armed with a 47 mm cannon, the most powerful tank gun in the hands of the French armored forces, almost identical to the B1 heavy tank. The powertrain is an eight-cylinder petrol engine with 190 hp and a top speed of 40 km/h on the road.

However, like other French tanks, the weakness of the S35 tank was that the commander was overburdened, and the commander had to command the tank and be responsible for the loading, aiming, and firing of the guns and machine guns, which would inevitably affect the rate of fire and prevent the tank from being as effective as it should be.

However, now the tank obviously does not have the ability to fight again, and the second armor-piercing shell of the Leopard tank arrived as scheduled. The shell tore open the hull of this advanced French tank with devastating force, destroying the equipment inside and killing the personnel inside. After the loss of this tank, it was clear that the confidence of the French defenders was destroyed, and the guns of the counterattack began to loosen.

Clark controlled the guide machine gun in front of him, and had already exhausted the two machine gun drums. The French line on the river beach was crumbling, and many French soldiers crawled out of the trenches and fled, only to be knocked to the ground by German snipers and machine guns on the opposite bank. Clark had killed at least ten French soldiers, but he still didn't relent.

"Wren, our tanks are going into the water! Get ready. Bowman's voice came, and then the whole tank began to tilt downward.

"Our upper armor is exposed, take a closer look! Don't be attacked!" Wren shouted loudly.

As soon as their tank entered the water, the tracks behind it had not left the pontoon bridge, and the No. 112 tank, which couldn't wait for the back, rushed onto the pontoon bridge, and Marcus's voice also came: "Wren!

Wren did not answer, because their tanks had already washed up to the opposite bank with the water. The feeling of touching the ground was really good, and the tank tracks rolled up the mud and sand dripping with the icy river water, and it looked like it had a chill.

"Company commander, I'm on the other side! The French troops are retreating! I'm expanding the bridgehead! What about our infantry? What about the infantry supporting us?" Wren asked aloud as he pressed the intercom.

"The infantry will have to wait for Marcus to cross the river before they can follow, and now it's up to you alone. Carter's voice came through the headphones.

"Sue sù support fire, we need cover from the rear!Extended shooting! Extended shooting!" Wren asked for support as he adjusted the frequency of the intercom and began to give his own orders: "Bowman! Reverse! Try to find some cover! Clarke! The machine gun continued to fire and suppressed the enemy fire directly ahead. ”

The Leopard tank clumsily twisted its butt on the river beach, and it didn't look good, but this tank stood like a primitive beast, standing tall in the rain of bullets. No matter how the French soldiers attacked, the tank was still functioning normally, its turret spewing tongues of fire, sweeping the French soldiers to the ground one by one as they tried to get closer.