Chapter 810: Déjà Vu

On the battlefield, a hail of bullets rained down. An engineering tank was slowly moving forward. It stopped in the center of the German positions and then hooked up a reel of demolition charges that had been prepared there. This obstacle-clearing tank was readied with utmost speed, and then the sapper on board, with the loudest voice he could muster, shouted a warning to the surrounding friendly troops: “Demolition! Watch out for the blast!”

“Sappers are clearing an obstacle! Hold onto your helmets! Watch your feet! Beware of the shockwave and shrapnel!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! With two muffled thuds, rockets carrying the explosive charges flew towards the far end, two white, flexible lines unspooling and twisting as they laid across the front between the two armies’ positions. The sound of guns and cannons all around seemed to stop. The world was plunged into a silence, a silence so eerie it was absolute.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM-BOOM! Starting from the German positions, a massive, continuous explosion stretched towards the Soviet lines. Earth was thrown into the air, mines were detonated and cleared, barbed wire was destroyed by the explosives, and the wooden stakes holding the wire were sent flying dozens of meters into the air before crashing back down into the earth, which had been softened by the blasts.

Before the Red Army could even react to the massive explosions, a second rocket-propelled mine-clearing tank was already in position. Following the path cleared by the first vehicle, it launched a second clearing operation. Two rockets flew out one after the other, landing on the Soviet positions, followed by a continuous roar of massive explosions.

“Alright! Gentlemen! Now it’s our turn! Grenadiers! Charge!” a company commander shouted to his soldiers, holding his G43 rifle. He then led the way, leaping out of the trench and starting to run forward along the soft earth. Behind him, many German soldiers followed, leaping out of their trenches and charging towards the dangerous opposite side.

In the woods behind them, a Panther tank crashed through a small tree and burst out of its concealed position. Following it out of the woods was an armored car with a machine gun mounted on top. The machine gunner was constantly strafing the enemy, covering his friendly infantry.

The ground trembled. The demolitions were still ongoing. A huge cloud of smoke rose into the air. A third clearing tank was widening the safe passage that had been created. This highly efficient and simply practical German obstacle-clearing tank, like the Friedrich rocket launcher, had left a very deep and unforgettable impression on its Soviet opponents.

Then a second Panther tank drove out of the woods, its long gun barrel spitting fire. A cloud of smoke from an explosion rose on the enemy’s position, and many Soviet soldiers were already in a full rout.

Lowering his binoculars, the commander of the grenadier unit leading this main attack looked up at the Tiger tank waiting beside him and pointed to the front. “My grenadier unit is opening the breach. Your flanking 1st Panzer Division will follow up to provide cover. This is as far as I can help you, Captain Rein.”

“Thank you! I hope to see you again at the ‘Lid’ railway bridge,” Rein said, touching the brim of his cap. He then pressed his throat microphone, signaling his entire crew to start the tank and prepare for their marathon assault.

Beside the Tiger tank, five self-propelled 150mm howitzers, modified from Panzer III chassis, were firing frantically, pouring one shell after another from the piles on the ground onto the Soviet Red Army positions. These self-propelled howitzers were the most mobile of the German artillery and were one of Guderian’s favorite weapons.

Panzer III assault guns and “Assault Panthers” (assault guns modified from the Panther chassis), accompanying the Panther tanks, tore open the Soviet defenses. The chaotic Soviet positions were being hammered by the German panzers with no ability to fight back. The entire defense line was collapsing. It was clear the Soviet commander had lost control of the battle. What they were entangled in was not how to stop the German attack, but who the traitor was.

The tanks of the 1st Company, 2nd Platoon of the 502nd SS Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion charged out of the woods at the head of the column, following behind the first wave of armored attack forces that had already advanced a good distance, and pushed towards the Soviet positions. Their tracks rolled over the soft earth, which was already covered in track marks, kicking up clumps of muddy soil.

As heavy tanks, they rarely entered the battle in the second wave, because their reason for existence, like heavy cavalry, was to break the line and shatter the enemy. Therefore, they often faced the enemy’s hail of bullets directly and rarely reaped the fruits of victory behind others.

But this time they got to enjoy it for once. There was not much resistance left on the position. The German tanks at their front had already torn open a huge gap. They just had to roll over the collapsed trenches, drive through the burning village, and they would see the railway line they needed to follow. By advancing along it, they would soon reach their final destination.

“Tank 111, stay with our armored repair vehicle. It can ensure we can quickly fix some minor faults and maintain a relatively high speed of movement,” Rein said, observing the surroundings through his periscope while reminding his teammates to protect the most vulnerable equipment in their team.

Soon, nine tanks and one armored repair vehicle charged into the village, which was already on fire. On the side of the road lay a row of Soviet civilians who had just been executed. A dozen or so disarmed Soviet prisoners were digging graves for these bodies under the guard of German grenadiers—or perhaps, their own graves.

Rein opened the tank’s hatch and poked his head out. He saw two German soldiers on the roof of the only building that was still relatively intact, shouldering their guns and carefully unfurling a huge German national flag. This place had been occupied. There was no doubt that the German army had successfully torn through the frontal defense system of the Soviets.

Crashing through a low wall, the lead tank, No. 122 of the 2nd Platoon, drove onto the flat road. On one side of the road, three gray-painted German Panther tanks were parked. This paint scheme was for the newest factory equipment. Because winter was about to pass, they had not used white paint.

The German grenadiers, who had just fought a fierce battle, were leaning against the Panther tanks, smoking. From their dirty faces, pairs of bright eyes looked through the shadows under their helmet brims at their comrades’ Tiger tanks driving past them. These infantrymen knew their mission was complete. The rest was up to these more heavily armored big fellows.

A column of German tanks appeared on the road in the Soviet rear. Some of the routed Soviet soldiers watched in terror as this German vanguard advanced frantically along the road. They did not dare to disturb this German detachment, which was composed of tanks, because these Soviet soldiers knew that they were not even enough to fill the gaps between the teeth of these steel beasts.

BOOM! Tragedy still befell this advancing small German armored detachment. The lead tank, No. 122 of the 2nd Platoon, ran over a Soviet mine. The track and one of the road wheels were completely destroyed.

“Can’t be fixed! The track is one thing, but the shock absorber inside the road wheel is broken. It’s a miracle no one was hurt. How can it possibly be repaired in the field?” After looking at the situation, the several technicians from the repair detachment came to a conclusion. This tank could only be left here to wait for the follow-up units to catch up before any further plans could be made.

Of course, the repair vehicle had not followed them for nothing. With the crane and winch on it, and with the help of another tank for towing, the men of the 2nd Platoon managed to get the tank off the road and hide it in a lower place on the side. To ensure the safety of this tank, tank No. 125 was left behind to cover the immobilized No. 122 until the main force caught up.

Soon, this special action team was on its way again, but this time their strength was even weaker, with only seven tanks and one repair vehicle. This scene reminded Rein of his first battle, the Polish campaign. At that time, they had also hit a mine on the road, and then the entire company had continued to advance.

At that time, Poland had no decent armored forces. The pitiful Renault tanks were no match for the German Panther tanks. The war at that time did not require one to be as scared and worried as now, nor did one have to worry about being shot through the head by the enemy by accident. Compared to now, the war at that time was more like an outing, a hunt filled with joy and a sense of conquest.

Thinking of that time, he thought of that poor radio operator, Clark, and of his company commander at the time, Carter. Many familiar faces were gone. Of the ace crews that had been together back then, he had heard that Carius and Wittmann’s combat records were becoming more and more outstanding. He had also heard that some others had already died in battle in some unknown place.

He couldn’t help but sigh that the good old days were gone forever. The Soviet tanks had already caught up with the German tanks in terms of main performance. Both sides at least had a chance to defeat the other. Such a war seemed fairer—but unfortunately, from the German army’s point of view, what they least wanted was fairness… damn fairness!

The sky had already darkened. Their small team had been on the road for several hours. Because they had encountered some Soviet harassment on the way and had captured a small resisting village, they had only traveled less than 40 kilometers. By tomorrow morning, they had to reach the railway bridge as ordered. Otherwise, the Soviets might retake that place and cover their routed troops as they fled to the outskirts of Stalingrad.

“Let’s travel through the night! If we stop! It’s very likely we’ll run into the routed Soviet troops, and we might even have to fight a rearguard action here,” Rein said, looking at the gradually setting sun, leaning against the tank’s hatch.

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