Chapter 800: Tank Battle

While the spearhead of Army Group A in the central region was engaged in a fierce battle in a nameless village, Rein and his crew were likewise slaughtering the pitiful Soviet soldiers. These Soviets, lacking heavy weapons, were powerless against the German heavy tanks, yet they still used their flesh and blood to block the German army’s advance into the heart of the Caucasus.

Bullets striking the frontal armor of the Tiger tank could only scrape off some paint; their remaining effect was negligible. The massive steel behemoth led the German grenadiers, easily tearing through the hastily formed defense lines of the Soviet Red Army, destroying positions as if cutting through tofu, inflicting casualties, and finally breaking through to continue their advance into the depths.

For the soldiers on the front lines, war meant bland food, filthy personal hygiene, and the constant danger of death. If soldiers who had been to the battlefield were given a choice, perhaps all the wars in the world would never have happened. As for slogans like “the great cause of the nation” and “the glory of the motherland,” in the face of the cruel reality of war, they were all unconvincing.

Of course, the ones who truly decided everyone’s fate were not the ordinary soldiers fighting and dying on the front lines. So, no matter how cruel the war was, it had to continue. And so, more young men were armed, shouldered their rifles, and marched off to the front lines for a distant dream, staking their lives on a glorious, unseen future.

Rein knew that killing was a meaningless thing. Only victory, or rather, achieving one’s own goals, would make the killing in the process a necessary means. He now had a more important task, which was to solve that terrible problem on the battlefield: the Wolf King, Wolf.

It was precisely because of this terrifying opponent, an opponent who could appear before him at any moment, that Rein had recently become more and more cautious, reining in his original, almost reckless, fighting style. He carefully observed the surrounding terrain and used the safest tactics to achieve his tactical objectives. Sometimes he even gave up the pursuit to avoid getting into areas with insufficient intelligence and being forced to fight in an unfamiliar environment.

Even so, he still encountered the most dangerous battle he had faced since the Battle of Ston. Because on the defense line opposite them, a tank had appeared that was just as capable of threatening their own as the KV-2: the Stalin tank.

Just as the entire armored company was launching a breakthrough attack on the Soviet defensive positions according to their usual offensive plan, the Soviet armored forces finally bared their sharp fangs. After advancing nearly 100 kilometers, the German army had finally run into the well-rested and prepared 2nd Guards Tank Army in the Caucasus, one of the Soviet army’s top armored forces.

A Stalin tank opened fire first from a distance of about 900 meters. A shell from its powerful 122mm cannon grazed past a German Tiger tank, but the immense force of the projectile still sent it crashing into a dirt mound far behind the Tiger, kicking up a cloud of black earth.

This powerful shot was like the swing of a giant’s greatsword. Although it had not hit its target, it had indeed startled the advancing German tank unit. Before they could even confirm what kind of tank the enemy had, some of the German tanks had even begun to reverse.

“Hey! Andre! Did you get a clear look at what kind of tank that is? From the attack, it doesn’t look like that junk, the KV-2,” Rein asked his gunner, Andre, with a frown, while looking at the surrounding situation with his periscope.

“I didn’t even see the shell! How would I know what kind of thing you’re talking about!” Andre replied to Rein’s question while turning the turret in the direction of the danger. “In the woods over there! Something’s moving!”

“Yes, I see it! It’s not a KV-2, its profile is much lower! It’s a Stalin! Move carefully! Point the front of the hull towards the enemy’s direction! Baumann! Turn slowly!” Rein ordered loudly.

His Tiger tank was turning bit by bit. The Soviets clearly did not want to miss such an offensive opportunity. One after another, Stalin tanks charged out of the woods, followed by even more T-34s. These tanks continuously advanced, then stopped to fire. More and more shells flew past the German tanks.

BOOM! A 76mm shell fired by a T-34 struck the frontal armor plate of a German Tiger tank. The huge force knocked off the things hanging on the tank, but the shell clearly did not penetrate the armor. The Tiger tank swayed twice and continued to reverse and retreat.

“Cover! The tanks on the left flank, pop smoke! Cover the hit tank as it continues to fall back! Markus! Aim for the closest Soviet tank and open fire! They are trying to close the distance with us!” Rein shouted orders to the other crews while also ordering his own. “Bruce! Armor-piercing, load! Andre, open fire as soon as you have a target! Don’t wait for my order!”

BOOM! Over on Markus’s side, he had indeed opened fire cleanly. But perhaps due to the distance, or the bumping, or some other reason, this shot from the German Tiger tank also missed its target, flying past the Soviet tank and snapping a withered tree trunk that was about as thick as a bowl.

Baumann adjusted the tank’s retreat path, pointing the front of the hull in the direction from which the Soviet tanks were coming. He then stopped to give Andre a chance to aim at the enemy’s tank. The Tiger swayed twice and then came to a steady halt. As the tank stopped, the long 88mm cannon on its turret aimed at a target, its dark muzzle full of murderous intent.

Andre did not hesitate and fired the gun directly. The 88mm tank cannon let out a loud “boom,” and a shell flew towards the target at an extremely high speed. But unfortunately, this shell only hit a rapidly charging T-34 and did not hit the most threatening Stalin tank.

The left flank of the German armored force began to release smoke. Some of the tanks were enveloped in the smoke of their retreat. After losing their targets, the Stalin tanks opposite began to turn their turrets and pour their shells onto the five tanks of the 1st platoon, which were in the center, providing cover.

Another shell from a Soviet tank flew over. This time, it hammered heavily into the frontal armor of Markus’s tank. This powerful shell came from a Stalin tank. The penetrating power of its 122mm caliber was indeed not comparable to the small-fry 76mm.

The powerful energy directly shattered the thickened steel plate that had been added to the Tiger tank in Kiev. Then, due to this terrible energy, the new track that Markus had just had replaced was directly broken by the vibration. This Tiger, with the number “112” painted on it, was also paralyzed on the battlefield.

“Hey! Rein! I’m hit! Oh God! My nose… the Soviet’s cannons are really vicious! Hey! Is everyone else alright?” In the headset, Rein heard his comrade Markus’s intermittent voice. Knowing they were alright also put Rein’s mind at ease a little.

“Fire! Cover Markus and the others as they escape!” Rein said, looking at the swaggering Soviet tank in the distance and giving the order to continue firing. He knew that in this situation today, it would not be an easy matter for his company to get out in one piece.

BOOM! He didn’t have to wait long. A shell was quickly returned by Andre to his Soviet counterpart. This 88mm shell from the Tiger tank once again drew a straight line and struck the frontal armor of the Soviet Stalin tank that had stopped to fire.

Without disappointing the German scientists and Akado’s advance deployment, the tungsten-core armor-piercing round demonstrated its powerful penetrating ability. This shell pierced the front armor of the Soviet tank, causing casualties to the crew inside. The Stalin tank quickly exploded, and not a single Soviet soldier escaped from the tank.

“Load ammunition! Quick!” Although Markus’s tank had lost its ability to move, it could still fire. They did not abandon the tank and flee, but began to return fire on the spot. Their second shell was very lucky, hitting a T-34 tank. It could be seen that the hit they had just taken had, fortunately, not affected the gun’s aiming device.

“Markus! Get out of there!” Rein shouted to Markus over the throat microphone while having Andre continue to fire. “Your tank can’t move. It will soon become a target for the Soviets! Dammit! Get out of there!”

“I have to cover your flank! Rein! I don’t want to blow up my own tank! That’s not my style!” Markus shouted back in the headset, not to be outdone.

“Damn it! Andre! Keep firing!” Rein gritted his teeth and ordered loudly, “Baumann! Stop! Fire from a stationary position! All tanks, on my command, advance! Maintain the 1st Company’s attack formation! The tanks on the right flank, concentrate your fire and take out the enemy’s left flank first!”

At this moment, a shell from a T-34 tank hit the turret of Rein’s own tank, No. 113. But it was clear that this shell’s penetrating power was insufficient. Apart from leaving a shallow pit on the well-shaped armor of the Tiger’s turret, it had done nothing.

Just as the entire 1st Company was preparing to charge head-on into the attacking Soviet armored force, a dense barrage of bombs covered the Soviet tanks’ attack area. The powerful explosions immediately engulfed the Soviet tanks, and one after another, black plumes of smoke rose into the air. Several Stuka II attack planes flew past at high speed. The bombs they dropped were astonishingly powerful, and in an instant, they had completely suppressed the momentum of the Soviet tanks on the ground.

BOOM! The turret of a Soviet tank flew a long way, marking the end of this tank battle, still with a German victory.

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