The decisive battle against the Third Reich

Just two updates tonight, don’t wait any longer, brothers, there will be three updates tomorrow.

"Chirp!"

With a scream, a rocket headed straight towards a tank with a trail, and then with a "boom", the tank barely moved forward for a while and then stopped moving.

"What is that?" American soldiers shouted in horror in the darkness: "It can actually penetrate our tanks?!"

"I don't know!" another American soldier replied. After a pause, he replied loudly as if he remembered something: "That's a rocket launcher, what the British call a rocket launcher!"

"They have rocket launchers!" the US military commander couldn't help shouting: "Tell those tanks to turn off their lights, they will become targets for the Germans!"

"Yes, sir!"

Then it was too late. Then there were a few more "chirps", and five or six rockets rushed towards the tank with its headlights on, like fireworks set off during the New Year... Anyway, they were with them. Rockets are enough, and they are cheap enough. A few of them can power a tank, which is definitely a profit, and a big profit at that.

Then there were only a few "boom" explosions, and the remaining two tanks of the US military were also destroyed.

One of the cars caught fire after a few seconds. First there was a cloud of smoke that was not obvious... The smoke was not obvious even in the dark, but I felt like something was blocking my view, and then it suddenly started to rise. The fire, because the "Sherman" tank used gasoline, quickly became bigger and soon spread to the entire tank. Finally, with a "boom", the ammunition in the tank exploded.

The explosion knocked the nearby U.S. troops to the ground, and other U.S. troops lay on the ground and did not dare to show their heads.

"Soldiers!" Colonel Slaine ordered loudly: "For the victory of the empire, kill them all!"

The German soldiers shouted and got up from their hiding places, holding guns and rushing toward the American troops like a tide.

The American troops lying on the ground originally wanted to resist, but suddenly a row of smoking grenades rolled towards them in the night, scaring them so much that they ran away...

No one can tell whether it is better to escape or not to escape at this time.

Escape means getting up, so the chance of being killed by a grenade is greater.

Not escaping means that you will soon face the German bayonets and rifles.

In short, it makes no difference whether the American soldiers rushing ahead flee or not, because they are already dead.

The correct approach is to have a premonition beforehand, that is, if you feel that the enemy is going to throw a grenade and launch a charge, throw out the grenade first and organize fire defense or escape.

However, only veterans who have been on the battlefield can do this, and they also need to be highly coordinated with each other. The American soldiers and the rookies can only fall in pieces under the German army's pursuit one after another.

It didn't take long for the Germans to reach the main U.S. tank group.

The US military is organizing more than a dozen tanks to block the German "Plank IV" tanks that are driving in from the "pass". Of course, they don't know what is happening on their sides... The tank's ability to perceive the outside world is very poor, especially at this time. At night, their field of vision is only a periscope about the width of their head, and their ears are filled with the "rumbling" sound of motors and cannons. To the flankers, they are almost blind and deaf.

So, when they were concentrating on aiming at the German tank driving up along the road, there was a sudden roar, and several high-temperature jets passed through the tank and flew around in the tank cabin. The crew of the US tank was instantly killed or injured, and soon inside the cabin It was filled with the smell of burning and the screams of the wounded.

Fifteen "Sherman" tanks turned into piles of wreckage in a short time. At least half of them were on fire. From time to time, there would be one or two explosions, and the firelight shook in the dark night with the explosions. , like burning torches.

Using these torches as indicator lights, the German tanks drove in one by one through the pass... and then spit out tongues of fire mercilessly at the American troops who were still holding on in the darkness.

At this time, Major General Allen was discussing with several staff officers in the headquarters three kilometers away how to launch an attack tomorrow. He was always worried about the Enna Highlands, especially when the British and American troops on the left and right were progressing smoothly. when.

As for defense, he believed that with sixty "Sherman" tanks and geographical advantages, it would be impossible for the Germans to break through, at least not quickly.

This made him unfazed when he heard that the Germans had launched a counterattack.

"Where did they attack?" Major General Allen asked, "Has the location of the main attack been identified?"

"General!" the staff officer who answered the phone replied with a horrified expression: "They say the Germans have broken through the defense line!"

"What? The Germans broke through the defense line?" Major General Allen looked at the staff stunned: "But now it is only a few minutes before they launch a counterattack!"

"Yes!" the staff officer replied: "They launched the attack from Cross Heights!"

The U.S. military calls the high ground at the intersection "Cross Heights."

"Where are our tanks?" Major General Allen asked angrily: "I have arranged thirty tanks there, are they all sleeping?"

"They were all destroyed!"

"This is impossible! What did they use to destroy it? In just a few minutes... they could destroy the thirty tanks controlling the intersection?"

"The Germans got in!" the staff officer replied: "They dressed up as British and destroyed those tanks with rocket launchers!"

Major General Allen couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.

The staff officer shouted anxiously: "General, they are coming here, retreat! If you don't retreat, it will be too late!"

Major General Allen hesitated for a moment, realizing that if he did not retreat, he would probably become a prisoner of the Germans, so he gritted his teeth and ordered: "Retreat!"

At the intersection, the "No. 4" tank took a moment to push the wreckage of the "Sherman" tank blocking the middle of the road to the side of the road. Then the troops divided into several parts and launched a surprise attack in the direction of the enemy along the roads extending in all directions.

Attacking eastward was the 39th Mechanized Infantry Division, and their destination was Catania.

Catania is located between Siracusa and Messina and is the only plain area in Sicily.

Generally speaking, plain areas are not suitable for German mechanized infantry divisions to fight against the powerful British army with sea, land and air superiority.

The problem is that there is a city of Catania on the Catania Plain, which is the second largest city in Sicily. And because the Catania Plain is close to Mount Etna, volcanic ash has been deposited for many years to form a natural fertilizer, so its land The fertility is very suitable for growing crops. It has always been Sicily's main food producing area and is known as the "granary" of Sicily.

The German army occupied the city and relied on rocket launchers to fight street battles with the British army. At the same time, the two regiments of the "Lightning Division" would parachute into the surrounding mountains and cooperate with the 39th Division to cut off the supply of the British army to Syracuse. transportation lines.