Chapter 241 The Longest Day IX

September 1, 1939, 12 noon, Poland, east bank of the Brush River.

The sound of artillery, gunfire, explosions, the roar of tank engines, the neighing of war horses, the shrill whistling of Ju.87 Stuka dive bombers, and the shouts and screams of dying people intertwined together, forming the most terrible war chorus in the world.

The "Brush River Bridge Battle" in the "Tuhola Forest Battle" is now in full swing.

One of the warring parties is a part of the German Army's 3rd Armored Division, including an armored group composed of the armored training battalion, the 15th heavy armored vehicle reconnaissance company (Armored Meyer Division), and the 14th motorized reconnaissance company. Major General Schweppenburg, the commander of the 3rd Armored Division, arrived half an hour ago and took over the command of the entire group.

The other side participating in the exchange of fire was the Polish Zhesk Tactical Group and the remnants of the Polish 15th Division. Since the commander of the Zhesk Tactical Group, Major General Grzymot-Skonicki, had not arrived yet - this group had come all the way near bombs and was already a little scattered, and many troops were unknown - so Major General Przyjakovski, who was defeated in the Tuhora Forest, had to bite the bullet and continue to command.

Now the entire Polish Coastal Army is on the verge of death! The 15th Division, located in the center of the western defense line of the Army, is almost collapsed. The Brachy River Bridge is already the last line of defense. If it cannot delay here for enough time, the 9th and 27th Divisions of the Coastal Army will retreat to the east bank of the Vistula River to rebuild the defense line.

Then within a few days, the Coastal Army with 5 divisions and 2 brigades will completely collapse. The rear of the Modlin Army (located in the south of East Prussia and currently under attack by the German Third Army) to the southeast of the Poznan Army to the south of the Coastal Army would be exposed, and the entire Polish defense line might collapse!

On the other side, Major General Schweppenburg, the commander of the German Third Armored Division, was almost at the front line. His armored car was parked to the west of the Brachy River Bridge, and fierce fighting took place on the east side of the bridge. The Poles desperately blocked the exit on the east side of the bridge, turning a small forest less than 300 meters away from the exit on the east side of the bridge into a fortress "full of" 37mm guns!

Although they were constantly bombarded by German 75mm guns and dive-bombed by Ju.87, every time a German tank tried to rush across the bridge, there would always be one or two 37mm guns firing desperately.

The use of 37mm anti-tank guns by the Poles was a "commonplace" in 1939, and almost all armies in almost all countries had this weapon. The armor-piercing capability of this level of artillery (the performance of the 37mm guns used by European countries is similar) at a distance of 300 meters is only about 30mm (tungsten steel armor-piercing bullets can barely reach 50mm), and the power is limited when attacking the No. 4 tank head-on (the performance of the No. 4 tank in 39 years of this time and space is better than the same period in history).

However, the forest is not directly opposite the bridge, but on the side of the bridge. Placing the cannon there can shoot at the flank of the No. 4 tank, so it becomes a small obstacle. After a No. 4 tank was damaged, Major General Schweppenburg did not intend to let the precious No. 4 take risks again.

However, a small Brach River could not block the tracks of the 19th Panzer Corps. Major General Schweppenburg organized a frontal diversionary attack while sending people to find a wading ford.

So, Panzer Meyer and his brothers are now searching and advancing along the Brach River. And Meyer was lucky, he soon made a discovery.

"Raise the muzzle, shoot from above, just scare them, don't kill them." Armored Meyer shouted loudly. He was now chasing a few Polish cavalrymen along a path along the river bank with several heavy wheeled armored vehicles - they should be crossing the river for reconnaissance. Meyer estimated that these Poles must know where the river is shallower, and where the cavalry can wade, the tanks can definitely pass!

"Tatatatat..."

Following the instructions of Armored Meyer, Gustav Schwarzenegger carefully operated the coaxial machine gun and let the bullets fly over the heads of several Polish cavalrymen.

Those Poles seemed to be frightened and whipped their horses desperately, completely forgetting that tanks and armored vehicles could also wade across the river. They quickly ran to the shallow ford where they crossed the river, and galloped away without thinking.

"Found it!" Armored Meyer picked up the intercom and shouted, "We found a place to cross the river. There is a place to cross the river about 2,500 meters north of the bridge!"

The voice of the division commander, Major General Schweppenburg, soon came from the intercom: "Leave two armored vehicles to guard the ferry, and the other vehicles cross the river for reconnaissance."

"Understood, division commander." Meyer adjusted the frequency of the intercom again, and then ordered his brothers, "Car No. 4 and Car No. 5 guard the west bank of the ferry. All other vehicles cross the river, Car No. 6 will go first, followed by Car No. 1... Brothers, follow me!"

"Tattattatt..."

Almost at the same time that Car No. 4 under Meyer's command rushed across the shallows, the Polish machine guns sounded. They were not completely unprepared. Every shallow ford that could be crossed was defended by people, not only equipped with machine guns but also a small number of WZ35 anti-tank rifles.

"Hit it! I hit it..."

A young Polish soldier yelled excitedly. A WZ35 he operated accurately hit the No. 4 vehicle of Meyer Company. But the eight-wheeled armored vehicle seemed to feel nothing and continued to charge, rushing onto the river beach in the blink of an eye.

"I obviously hit, how could this happen? Damn it, this gun is useless!" the Polish soldier shouted, at a loss. In fact, the effective range of this WZ35 is not very large. When facing the Sd.Kfz.231 heavy-duty wheeled armored vehicle with a maximum frontal armor thickness of 14.5mm, the opponent must be placed very close in order to succeed in a sneak attack.

"Go, go, go!" Meier's voice sounded in every armored vehicle. "They don't have 37 guns or 20 machine guns. They can't stop us!"

…

"Breaked through? God!" Major General Grzymot Skolnitsky, who had been blown away by the German planes, had just arrived when he heard the unbelievable bad news. Not only did the Polish defense line set up in the Tuhola Forest no longer exist, but even the Brasi River had been breached by German armored forces.

Is Poland going to die again?

An ominous premonition arose in everyone's mind.

"Let's withdraw to the line of the Vistula River." Major General Przyakovsky said desperately, "We can hold on there for a few days."

"No, it's impossible!" Major General Grzymot Skolnitsky shook his head, then pointed to the sky, "The German planes will not let us escape!"

Major General Przyakovsky thought: Their tanks and armored vehicles will not let us run away! Army Group Marina is going to be finished, then Army Group Poznań and Army Group Modlin... and finally Poland!

"What should I do?" Major General Przyakovsky asked.

"I will lead the 16th Lancer Battalion, the 18th Lancer Battalion and the 11th Cavalry Artillery Battalion to drive the Germans back to the other side of the Brasi River. You will lead the remaining troops to continue to hold on... For Poland, we will always fight to the end. of!"

"Okay!" Major General Przyakovsky nodded, "For Poland! Poland will never perish!"

"Yes, Poland will never perish!" Major General Grzymot Skolnitski got on his horse, drew his saber and waved it, "Brothers of the 16th Lancer Battalion, the 18th Lancer Battalion and the 11th Cavalry Artillery Battalion Come with me and kill the Germans! Sing "Poland Never Dies" (this is the Polish national anthem)!

One tank after another, the tanks crossed the Brachi River from the ford discovered by Panzer Meier, and then formed an attack formation on a wheat field that could not be seen. Trucks and half-tracks also brought a lot of infantry. They got off on the west bank of the Brachi River and forded across the river. When they arrived, the attack formation composed of tanks and armored vehicles advanced southeastward accompanied by them.

Panzer Meier and his brothers were also riding behind the Panzer IV and III tanks in wheeled armored vehicles.

Because the wheeled armored vehicle was taller than the tank, Armored Meyer stood up straight and held up the telescope to act as the eyes of the entire group. Soon, an incredible scene appeared in the telescope - the Polish cavalry holding their spears high seemed to be rushing toward them like a tide.

"Oh my god! It's the cavalry! There seem to be thousands or more Polish cavalry... What are they going to do?" Armored Meyer shouted loudly into the intercom.

Then the calm voice of the group commander, Count Hazint Stachwitz, commander of the Armored Training Battalion, came over the intercom: "No matter what the Poles want to do, I admire their courage, but in this era , Courage alone won’t do! Now let’s destroy all the brave Poles! Armored soldiers, charge!”

Major General Grzymot Skoniecki also saw the German tanks rolling in. They were so big, much larger than his TKS tanks (most of which were blown up by the Luftwaffe on the road). It also has a 75mm gun. The cavalry is definitely no match. The only hope is the 1st artillery of the 11th Cavalry Artillery Battalion. As long as they can be put out, there is a glimmer of hope. But this takes time. It takes time to deploy the artillery...

"Cavalry artillery, spread out your position!" He gritted his teeth and ordered loudly, "Others, charge with me!"

He pointed the saber in his hand forward and shouted: "Poland will never perish. As long as we have one breath left, Poland will not perish. Raise the saber, return to the lost ground, move forward, move forward, move forward..."