Four Hundred and Twenty Eight Chase

Will Wittmann, who is as sharp as a hungry wolf, let go of the prey that comes to his mouth? Not now. When he saw the British tanks start to reverse and retreat, he let his "Mr. Driver" drive the tanks and rushed out.

The tiger tank engine made a huge roar, and the piston was pushed by the expanding gas, and began to work crazily. As the driver closes the gears of the clutch, the tank moves forward immediately.

The wide track was driven by the driving wheel, and accompanied by the roar of the engine, it rolled forward, smashing the remaining broken wall in front of the track in an instant. The Tiger tank was raised high by the slope formed by the collapse of the wall, and then as the terrain suddenly flattened, it was pressed back to the ground heavily due to the influence of gravity, splashing a burst of dust.

Then the Tiger tank painted with the number 007 turned on its full horsepower and began to rush towards the retreating British tank troops at the maximum speed it could drive.

"Gunner! The first tank on the left! Roughly aim! Let our driver stop!" Wittman loudly issued an order as the vehicle body continued to shake: "Fire the heading machine gun! Put those British infantry Get out of our way! We don't have time for these little fish and shrimp!"

"Stop!" With a shout, Wittmann's Tiger tank nimbly stopped in place, and the cannon was slightly adjusted for two seconds, and an armor-piercing projectile was fired. The huge impact made the Tiger tank Shake back and forth twice.

"Boom!" The shell hit the target again, and the rainwater hit the steel of the German tank with a crisp ticking sound, which sounded extremely pleasing to the eye. And the scene of two German tanks rushing forward in the rain remained in the hearts of all German grenadiers and British troops participating in the war.

After seeing the British retreat, one after another German tanks rushed out of their hidden positions, so many that the British were surprised. They didn't know that there were so many German tanks here, and they didn't expect these German tanks to attack the British army unreasonably.

After so many years, some people still remember this crazy rainy night, and the scene where the muddy water rolled up in the rain and rushed towards the British armored forces like a tiger out of the gate. In the smoky rain, the German armored forces once again created a miracle, a miracle that belongs only to them.

Wittmann led his teammates to fight a classic defensive counterattack with the strength of a tank company. Five German Tiger tanks chased for 3 kilometers in one breath, and they gave up the massacre of the British troops when they reached the small village they had abandoned before. Along the way, a British tank unit of an entire armored regiment left the wreckage of more than fifty tanks.

Germany stunned the British armored forces with textbook-like tactics, and it also completely woke up the arrogant British. If people began to realize the strength of the German armored forces from the Battle of France, then it was not until after the Battle of the Woods and this tank battle in a small village that the whole world really confirmed the difference between the armored forces in their hands and the German armored forces. huge.

Following Wittman's firing orders one after another, British tanks ignited flames one after another in the heavy rain, like a lamp, illuminating the gray battlefield with flames dancing in the rain. In just 50 minutes of fighting, the British tank regiment was counterattacked by a German tank company, knocking out almost half of the tanks.

This second lieutenant tank commander, Mitchell Wittmann, used his actual actions to prove the excellence of the German armored forces, proved his excellence in tactical command of the armored forces, and proved that only luck can affect the ranking of German tank aces. nothing else.

After this massacre, the No. 2 German tank killer broke the record of single-vehicle destruction of enemy tanks by a German tank, and became the new number one tank battle ace in Germany—because the original ace Rennes was currently in the east. The line rested and did not participate in any combat missions.

This is Wittmann. This is Mitchell Wittmann who can seize every opportunity. As long as he is given a chance, he can continue to expand his advantage until he destroys his opponent so that his opponent will never stand up.

If Rennes is the kind of cruel death who disregards life and death and fights with a detached attitude, then Wittmann is the deadliest sharp blade hidden in the dark. The two had slightly different styles, but enemies of the German armored forces would probably be the last to see either of them.

Taking advantage of this continuous spring rain, the British launched an unprecedentedly powerful counterattack, investing almost all the forces they could find. The British 6th and 7th armies, including 150,000 infantry, both went into battle. The first minute was almost white-hot.

In the cold heavy rain, the German grenadiers held on to their defensive positions. Tracer bullets were particularly conspicuous under the gray sky. In the foxholes, most of the German soldiers who had been soaked and soaked were shivering and opened fire. , pouring the ammunition in their weapons on the counterattacking British troops.

On the artillery position, the raindrops falling from the sky hit the barrel of the German 150mm artillery. Several cannons of this artillery battalion fired up the artillery shells stored by their own battalion within two hours of the battle between the two sides, so they had to wait for the shells in the rear to be replenished in the continuous rain.

In order to improve the firepower density and assault capability of the landing troops, most of the supporting artillery units transported by Germany were Friedrich rocket units, but there were only a few 150mm artillery. Most of the front-line troops rely on weapons such as 105mm howitzers and 120mm mortars as support.

Therefore, in some areas, the German army was overwhelmed by the numerical superiority of the British artillery, and many lines of defense were too violent because of the British artillery coverage, and there was a danger of the British troops breaking through their positions.

However, the German defenders used their actions to prove to the British what kind of army can be called the world's most powerful army. They endured the biting cold in the wild, endured various unfavorable factors, and stubbornly blocked the British attack.

The fierce battle for positions reminded Montgomery of the Battle of Versailles during the First World War. The German army dragged the battle into the night of the day by relying on the hastily built defensive positions.

The British army lost 15,000 soldiers and still failed to break through the German Grenadier's defense line. retreat.

"It's not the way to fight like this." Montgomery stared at the map and sighed, "The German armored force is indeed not an enemy we can defeat now. If we continue to entangle with these elite German tanks, we will not only win If you don't return to the expected position, you will even lose your limited reserve team."

"However, General, Prime Minister Churchill has strictly ordered us to take back several of the most important port towns. If we fail to complete the task, it will be difficult for the Prime Minister and the King to explain." The adjutant said in a tangled voice.

"I didn't say to stop the attack, I just want to change the way of fighting." Montgomery pointed to the map and said, "We won't make any progress in counterattacking across the board. Why don't we concentrate all our forces and storm Norwich and Great Yarmouth?" These two places! If you can get away with taking back Norwich, it would be the best, if you can’t take back Norwich, try to find a way to make a fuss in Great Yarmouth.”

In fact, the British offensive force was not inactive on this day. They successfully pushed back the siege of Bangji by the German Army Group A, and relieved the crisis of Bangji, which had been besieged on three sides. In this direction, the infantry of both sides launched a large-scale interspersed attack. The British army killed 617 German soldiers at the cost of more than 1,200 soldiers, and regained a position several kilometers deep.

That night, the weather conditions improved, and the rain finally stopped, which allowed the German army to lose 1,500 non-combat personnel. Although the dark clouds and strong winds remained, the German army finally held its position on the most difficult day. The troops were dejected, while the German defenders cheered.

Britain did not attack at night, which gave the German troops a long respite, because they could not take off reconnaissance planes, and Germany was not sure about the true size of the British counterattack force this time, so they did not know that the British were dispatching troops. .

Following Montgomery's order, his heavily-lost armored forces began to gather towards the Lowestoft area, preparing to raid Norwich and Great Yarmouth in this direction. Accompanying these armored units headed north was an infantry division of the 7th Army.

Britain has a very complete road network and railway network. Although the roads and railways in the landing area were destroyed by the German bomber force, the speed of movement in the UK is still very fast. They rushed to the theater in the afternoon of the next day. At 2:15 p.m., the attack on the German defenses was launched on time.

This time the German defenders did not react so quickly. Lundstedt did not know the movement and concentration of the main force of the British army. He could only passively strengthen all his defense lines, and then held the reserve team and waited for the British thunder. One blow, and it wasn't until the second battle for Norwich that he realized that his opponent had changed his tactics and concentrated his forces in an attempt to compete for the Norwich area.

There are not many German reserves in the vicinity, but the 502 heavy tank destroyer battalion where Wittmann, who just completed the Battle of Xiaocun, happened to be between Bungie and Norwich, so this 502 heavy tank, who is lucky or unlucky The destroyer battalion was ordered to go north to reinforce the important town of Norwich.

And just as the troops of the 502nd Battalion set off, the second battle for Norwich had already kicked off. The difference is that this time the British attacked and the Germans defended.