Chapter 669: Catch Up and Fight

It had been almost a year since the Wehrmacht’s 7th Panzer Division, Germany’s best long-range assault unit, had moved at such a pace. But when they were ordered to pursue Patton’s routed 8th Army Group, they still set off at top speed.

Everyone rediscovered that long-lost feeling from the days in Poland and France. In those days, it seemed the enemy was made of paper, collapsing at the first touch. The daily battle had become a relentless chase, chasing them to the ends of the earth, and one country after another was extinguished under the invincible steel torrent of the German army.

Now, everyone had rejoined the great army on the move. They rode in Kübelwagens, armored cars, and tanks, heading east through the dusty desert, chasing the soldiers of the 8th Army Group who were also fleeing for their lives in a frenzy. The positional warfare that had seemed to become the main theme of desert combat had suddenly vanished. The only things that could stop them were fatigue and fuel shortages.

The 7th Panzer Division had its pride. They were one of the earliest panzer divisions established in Germany, their predecessor being the 26th Light Cavalry Division that Akado had entrusted Rommel to build. In France, they had once swept away an Allied army of 100,000 men, capturing nearly three times their own number in enemy troops.

Before coming to Africa, this division had been split to form new panzer divisions, but even so, more than half of the entire division’s soldiers had been awarded the French Assault Badge, and over 1,000 had received the Iron Cross. They were the undisputed main force of the German panzer troops, the most powerful ace in the hands of the Afrika Korps.

The reason this division had been invisible in the previous battles was mainly because Rommel had kept his old unit in the rear as a strategic reserve. Moreover, the previous battles at Tobruk and Alexandria had mostly been trench warfare, and Rommel was reluctant to waste this division, which excelled in flexible assaults, in a war of attrition.

Now, the time was right for this division. Just as when they had first arrived in Africa, they began a long-distance, long-duration assault operation. Now, besides the roar of the engines and the bumpy ride, they were accompanied by the entire 30,000 elite grenadiers of the 7th Mechanized Infantry Corps.

The German Air Force’s Stuka dive bombers arrived late. These shorter-range dive bombers could not pursue the fleeing Patton’s forces deep after bypassing the British anti-aircraft circle around Alexandria. After all, this type of aircraft was not strong in dealing with American fighter attacks. Ever since the U.S. Air Force, at the cost of 19 fighters, had shot down 17 Stukas that had bypassed the defense line to attack a logistics supply station, the German pilots in North Africa had been strictly forbidden from using the slow Stukas to attack targets deep behind enemy lines.

And in the morning, the main force supporting the paratrooper operations had been the “Butcher” bombers, which had to take off from far away on Crete. But it now seemed that the effect of using strategic bombers to support frontline ground operations was not very good. Because this type of aircraft had higher airfield requirements, in most cases they could only take off from places far from the front line, making their support timeliness too poor.

A German Panther tank sped along the road, the sand kicked up by its tracks making it look like it was moving at a great speed. In fact, the Panther’s speed on the road was indeed not slow, at least in terms of mobility, it was a little bit faster than the Tiger tank. But soon, the tank slowed down, because the soldiers riding on top and the commander, who was exposed from the turret, saw two American tanks blocking the road in the middle almost at the same time.

“Advance slowly! Infantry, go up and check the situation! Have the men behind us surround them from both sides! They’re M4 Sherman tanks, be careful!” the commander waved his hand. The Panther, which had been advancing rapidly, came to a stop. The four infantrymen riding on it jumped off from both sides. From a half-track armored car following the Panther, more German grenadiers also jumped out. Further back, the soldiers on another Panther were also dismounting, and then from a truck, more and more infantry were being unloaded. In less than a minute, the elite German infantry had spread out into a huge attack formation, cautiously approaching the American tanks from both sides of the road.

“All clear! Both of these tanks have been destroyed inside, and a grenade was tossed in!” In the end, a grenadier climbed onto the wreck of an American tank and shouted to the soldiers around him. But it was only when they got closer that they discovered that not only were there these two American tanks, but a whole pile of American half-track transport vehicles and several 105mm field guns had also been abandoned on the road.

“It’s a roadblock! It seems the Americans don’t dare to stay and fight us,” the Panther tank commander said with a sigh, lowering his binoculars. They had been in pursuit for several hours and seemed to be not far from the American rear guard, but so far they had not officially engaged these American troops.

“Have the tanks move up and push these roadblocks onto the roadbeds on both sides! Be quick! We don’t have time to waste here,” the commander said with a wave of his big hand. The other Panther also drove up. The two tanks slowly approached the American tanks, then at full throttle, they pushed the two steel behemoths down the embankment.

The German Panther tank was designed with a large power reserve, which was one of the main reasons why the German tanks could be urgently up-armored at the Kiev vehicle plant. Now, being able to push aside the blocking American Sherman tanks at full power without the help of other vehicles, although a bit of a strain, fully demonstrated the German armored troops’ confidence in their tanks.

Soon, these German troops were on their way again, following the dense tracks on the road into the distance. If they could catch up with these routed troops before they reached the Suez Canal, then Germany’s chances of attacking the Suez would be even greater.

“Damn it! Are these Americans doing this on purpose?” Not long after, they saw two more American tanks and a pile of junk blocking the middle of the road again. After all, the failure rate of American tanks was currently higher than that of the mature and reliable Panther, so as they chased, they always saw American equipment abandoned on the roadside.

“Don’t stop. Just ram those two American tanks out of the way and continue the pursuit!” the lead Panther commander said with a frown. He saw that the enemy’s turret was pointing in his direction and instinctively felt a sense of danger. So, when the distance was about 500 meters, he immediately added to his order, “Stick to the left side of the roadbed and see if the enemy’s turret moves! Slow down and approach carefully!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the 76mm cannon on the American tank opposite suddenly spat out flames. This time, there were clearly men in the tanks left behind. The Americans wanted to fight a rearguard action here to delay the Germans’ pursuit.

The American armor-piercing round instantly hammered into the German tank’s frontal armor plate. After striking a shower of sparks, it ricocheted. The deflected shell flew off at a strange angle and happened to blow away the Panther’s front driving light. Unfortunately, this headlight flew right at the infantry riding on the back, smashing one soldier’s head to pieces.

Blood splattered all over the surrounding soldiers. A startled soldier didn’t even know what had happened, but the soldiers around him were already screaming and jumping off the vehicle. At this moment, the second American tank also opened fire. This shell also hit the lead Panther, but its frontal armor was still not penetrated. The shell left a deep pit on it and then disappeared.

BOOM! The German tankers were by no means going to just stand there and take it. They fired their own shell with utmost speed. The power of the 75mm cannon combined with an armor-piercing round was clearly a bit stronger than the 76mm cannon on the Sherman, and the American tank’s armor was indeed no match for the Panther’s.

And so, this one shot cleanly hit one of the two American tanks, and then easily penetrated its armor, sending a torrent of steel ricocheting around the entire tank’s interior, turning the soldiers inside into a real sieve. When the armor was penetrated, there was only a small hole on the outside, but inside, the shell caused the armor to spall, and in an instant, dozens of fragments hit the unlucky men.

BOOM! The American tank opposite immediately exploded, ending the suffering of the American soldiers inside. The massive black smoke and the surrounding sand were kicked up by the shockwave of the explosion, and for a moment, everyone’s vision was blocked.

The remaining American tank started up, drove off the roadbed, and, avoiding the black smoke, tried to aim at the German tank again. Not far behind the German tank, another Panther had seen the firing up ahead, and had also immediately driven off the roadbed. It just happened to see this American tank, so without a second word, it fired a shot.

This shot happened to hit the American tank’s turret, and just as easily penetrated the Sherman’s turret armor. This Sherman also exploded, and the battle, though bloody, was over in just a few dozen seconds. The German side had lost one infantryman, and the lead Panther’s front armor had two shallow pits in it and looked like it needed repairs and replacement. On the American side, two tanks were lost, successfully delaying the speed of the German pursuit.

“2nd vehicle, continue the pursuit. You have command of the front. I’ll wait here for the battalion repair team,” the lead tank commander said sullenly over the radio. “Catch up with the American bastards and give them a few extra armor-piercing rounds from me!”

Published: 2025-09-16T09:41:22.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2026-02-15T17:01:03.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c669-catch-139012981

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