Andrei sat on the sub-hatch on the turret, feeling the bumps of the tank's hull, shaking his body with the shaking. Beside him, Wren leaned against the captain's unique rear-opening hatch lid and closed his eyes.

On the side of the road, trucks drove forward at a faster speed, and from time to time a truckload of soldiers laughed and passed by the new tanks, waving to Andrei. Because there were so many vehicles on the road, there was a smell of dust in the air.

Tanks, automobiles, and armoured vehicles could move forward on the road, and the light infantry had to carry their rifles and fight on the wet mud on both sides of the dusty road. They faltered, and many of them dragged their luggage.

The formation of these units was already a little disheveled, and some soldiers even wore only white vests, with their uniforms padded between their shoulders and rifles. Of course, there were some with dogs, others with listless horses, and many more with wagons with mountains of supplies stuck in the mud, surrounded by Wehrmacht soldiers helping to push them.

I don't know if it was because of the jolt or if he heard something, Wren opened his eyes in a shaking, he took out his graduation commemorative pocket watch, and glanced at the time through the faint rear car light: 12:36.

There are still 4 minutes left before the stipulated rest time.

So he grabbed the large headphones and laryngeal intercom that hung on his belt, put them on his head, and adjusted the position, except for the hissing radio waves, which were all full of complaints.

"Parking...... Stop the car!...... Each company ...... Parking! Each car ...... Conductor...... to the front...... "At 12:40, the command came from the headset on time.

Wren sometimes really wanted to complain about the manufacturer of the radio, and if this was on the battlefield, what if this kind of call quality missed any important orders? As the tank troops stopped advancing, many soldiers on the dirt road cast eager eyes, and some even went directly onto the road to hand out cigarettes to these tank crews, hoping to take them on the next march for a while.

Soon, the cooking squad began to distribute food to the various car groups, and the steaming tomato soup and those potatoes and black bread made the infantry on both sides envious, and they all cast their eyes eager for a piece of the pie.

When Wren returned, the entire tank unit was back in motion, and behind the turret of the tank, above the engine vents, sat three lucky Wehrmacht infantrymen, who watched their SS comrades with curious and cautious eyes. They enjoyed the treatment of mechanized infantry with peace of mind, because they paid the fare—two full packs of cigarettes.

"In two hours, we will be on the border, and as we guessed, just now, the Reich has declared war on Poland. The tank shook again, but Wren did not close his eyes and recuperate, but took the rare initiative to say to Andrei: "We have about three hours of rest, and then we may go into battle." ”

"We haven't had systematic training yet, Commander. Andre glanced at Wren beside him, sighed and said, "Just going to the front line like this, we will kill many people, including ourselves and our friends." ”

"I didn't have enough time to train. Wren also said helplessly: "But the good news is that I heard that the Polish army on the border is not large in number, and there is a lack of heavy weapons. That is, they do not have many weapons and equipment that can threaten us. ”

"It's heavy though, you can see it from the ruts and the feeling when you stop. But there are so many things that can make us see God, if the distance is close enough, and the angle is just right, a heavy machine gun is enough. Andrei said, staring ahead.

Not far ahead, a heavy towed 150 mm cannon was stuck in the mud, and a dozen soldiers were shouting slogans to push the cannon, and behind this cannon, two military jeeps were parked, and a radio was stacked on top of it.

André didn't see it, but Wren saw it from the angle, and the three Wehrmacht soldiers sitting in the back of their car saluted the jeep. It looks like these two vehicles belong to the chain of command of this infantry unit.

Hearing Andrei's words, Wren laughed: "Based on the above analysis, as well as the feedback from the reconnaissance troops, I heard that the resistance of the Poles was very small. ”

They had no training, which was a common problem of the three newly established SS units, but they also had their own advantages, firstly, although these units were not trained, they were incorporated into a large number of retired Wehrmacht cadres, and their combat capability should be quite reliable; second, they had very powerful weapons and equipment in their hands, which was slightly more significant

"The most unbelievable thing is the above analysis, followed by the information feedback from the reconnaissance force. Andrei said with a frown.

"You don't seem to take these things seriously, which means that you have suffered in this area. Wren smiled and said, "Would you like to talk about it?"

Andrei laughed: "There's nothing to keep secret, the operation in the Sudetenland, I don't know if you've heard about it?"

"Hmm!" Wren nodded: "I've heard about it, I've heard that some areas have counterattacked, and we have killed a lot of people." ”

"At that time I was a second lieutenant in the Wehrmacht, commanding a tank platoon No. 3. Andrei stared at the front with his eyes and said slowly in a majestic voice: "The order of the superior is that we go and receive a tank company of Czechs stationed on the border. ”

"There should have been no resistance, but it happened. Car No. 2, which was in front of me, was hit by a Czech 38T tank, and smoke blocked my view...... When I gave the order to reverse, I saw one of my captains crawling out of car number two, his face burning like a demon from hell. Andrei looked at Wren: "Have you ever seen a dead man?"

"There's always going to be a little guy who carries the cauldron, so you're fired, right?" Wren said, swaying his body to the tank's rocking, "Nice to meet you, second lieutenant." ”

"I answered your question, can you answer me a question?" asked Andre, looking at Wren.

"Of course. Wren nodded.

"Why don't you say something?" asked Andre, looking at Wren earnestly.

"What do you mean?" Wren asked, frowning.

"I went off target. Andrei replied.

"Ah, I got a perfect score for shooting fixed targets in school, and since I can do it, then why do I want you as a gun commander?" Wren smiled.

Andrei laughed too, following such a commander - very interesting.

When they stopped to camp, the entire tank company was already in Poland, and they had set up tents on the ruins of a checkpoint on a border road, and several people in the company were standing on the side of the road in a silent daze, because they saw the bodies of a dozen Polish soldiers on both sides of the road that had been carried to the roadbed below the road.

However, most of the personnel chose to sleep, because they were exhausted after most of the night's journey, and they needed to recuperate and recuperate for the first battle that greeted them tomorrow morning.

Before dawn, the battalion commander Hans summoned all the commanders of his company and assigned them the combat mission that was to begin in a moment.

"Marcus, Wren, your two crews are responsible for covering Captain Carter's tank, and following his tank to attack the village on the side of the road, where the Poles may have set up a defensive position, so you need to cover the Panzergrenadier capture there. ”

"Air Force reconnaissance shows that the Poles are strengthening their border defenses, so you have to be quick to attack the village!" Battalion Commander Hans concluded as he folded his map, pointing to the map and explaining the basic mission.

"Sir!" Marcus asked, raising his hand, "How many infantry are following us, and how far do we stop after taking the village?"

Hans laughed and patted the dust on his pants with the map in his hand: "Two companies of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Panzergrenadier Regiment will follow you to attack! After taking the village, some infantry will be left to garrison, and as for us, I have been given the task of pushing forward as much as possible." ”

Having received his assignment, Wren rushed back to his No. 113 tank, where he saw German grenadiers loading their rifles and others jumping onto armored personnel carriers.

"Clark, get your ammunition in order, including those three submachine guns!" As soon as he got back into his tank, Wren began to give orders: "Also, check the radio station again! I need to keep the communication with the company commander's car open." ”

Then he called out to the driver of his chariot, "Bowman, start the engine, test the throat intercom, I need you all to hear me." ”

Then he looked at the gorilla-like Bruce next to him and pointed to the ammunition bay next to him: "Bruce! Choose a high-explosive grenade! Our mission this time is to support the infantry attack, and there is no threat from enemy armored forces." But you'd better find an armor-piercing bullet and put it in a handy place! ”

Bruce is usually broken-mouthed, and he is very dismissive of young Wren, but he will still carry out this kind of decent orders, after all, he is trained to cooperate in order to survive on the battlefield. So he nodded, pushed a grenade into the chamber of the cannon, and closed the bolt.

Wren, who had leaned his upper body out of the car, raised his binoculars and looked into the distance, where the fog was thick in the early hours of the morning, covering the small Polish village in the distance.

Not far away, Carter's No. 111 tank started, a puff of black smoke erupted from the tail, and the tracks were taut, and the whole tank moved forward slowly.

Immediately after, Tank 112 Commander Marcus nodded at Wren, made a fist gesture, and then began to move slowly forward with the shaking of his vehicle.

"Let's go!" Wren commanded with his hand on the throat intercom, his tank shuddered slightly, then shook violently, and the entire vehicle began to move forward, leaving a cloud of green smoke behind him.