Chapter 947: Meeting

“If we attack now, it will certainly allow the Das Reich Division on the flank to withdraw, but our own losses will be heavy. Besides, our reconnaissance hasn’t checked out those woods. It could be dangerous,” Rein said, lowering his binoculars. He spoke to an officer sitting in a vehicle on the side of his tank. “I only have two tanks left. Even with the four Tigers you brought from battalion, we only have six. Launching an attack at a time like this is clearly not a wise choice.”

Like a hound with a keen sense of smell, Rein had a very sharp intuition for danger. He sensed a dangerous aura emanating from that patch of woods, so he frowned and offered his opinion to his battalion commander. “I have a bad feeling. This attack might be very dangerous.”

“The Das Reich Division suffered heavy losses in the last battle, so this time we’re covering their withdrawal,” the battalion commander replied helplessly to Rein’s concern. The Das Reich had indeed taken the brunt of Zhukov’s fierce attack in the earlier battle for the salient, and the entire division had suffered terrible casualties.

“As if our battalion’s losses were any smaller,” Rein said with a bitter smile, no longer arguing. “Leave one Tiger behind. I need someone to cover our retreat and also to watch the situation in the woods. It would be better to request some additional support.”

The battalion commander nodded and said to Rein, “I’ve already requested support, but you also know that our forces are very stretched thin recently. After all, it’s not an easy thing for our one army group to stand against the entire Soviet southward-advancing group.”

“Markus! Start the tank! We have to launch a local attack to cover the Das Reich’s retreat. The woods in front of us haven’t been scouted, and I have a bad feeling. This is going to be tricky. You and I will provide support from the center, let the battalion’s Tigers take the lead,” Rein said into his throat mic, arranging the attack.

Rumble… Rumble… A Tiger tank had already started up. The tank’s commander nodded to Rein and accelerated to the very front of the unit. This time, it was the battalion’s Tiger tanks leading the way, attacking the Soviet defensive positions from the flank.

“Markus! I have a hunch, that bastard Wolf is nearby! Be careful, be on high alert,” Rein said, having Baumann start their tank. He continued to speak to Markus over the throat mic. “Stay 20 meters behind me. If I’m attacked, help me suppress the enemy’s fire.”

“Rein! If it’s that guy Wolf, I think we should pop smoke. It’s not good for us to be on the offensive against Stalin tanks. They have the first shot. Wolf will wipe us all out in one go,” Markus’s voice came through the headset, but his tank still started up and followed behind Rein’s.

Rein ignored Markus’s complaints and instead raised his binoculars, doing his best to observe the woods in front. His gaze carefully swept over some of the dangerous sections, and as he observed, he said to Andre, “I can’t see any problem in the woods, and that’s the biggest problem. We’re very likely to expose our flank, which is not good news.”

“Bruce! Armor-piercing, load! If they don’t take us out on the first shot, I think we should at least return fire,” Andre shouted to Bruce beside him. “Use the tungsten-core armor-piercing. Prepare the same type for the second shot! I don’t see any danger in my sight. What about you, Rein?”

“I don’t see anything either…” After speaking, Rein called the Tiger tanks that were advancing in front and had them report their own observations. No one had spotted any sign of the enemy, but everyone felt they should continue to monitor the suspicious woods.

“If we deploy smoke, we won’t be able to aim and return fire,” Rein replied to Markus, who had once again requested smoke cover, with a frown. “Compared to that, I’d rather leverage our advantage in firepower and armor. The Soviets are nearby. All tank commanders, watch your own safety.”

BOOM! From the woods in the distance, an armor-piercing round drew a bright straight line and struck the side armor of a Tiger tank. Due to the angle, the shell did not penetrate but ricocheted off at a sharp angle, flying up into the sky with a dazzling flash.

“Enemy contact! Soviet tank has opened fire!” With a shout, all the German tanks began to turn. After all, they were veterans forged on the battlefield. At the first moment, they began to point the thickest frontal armor of their tanks in the direction from which the enemy had fired. The three Tiger tanks turned in unison, and Rein’s and Markus’s King Tigers also completed their turn with the fastest possible speed.

“I didn’t see the enemy! Where are they firing from?” a Tiger tank commander asked with a frown, observing the movements in the woods with his periscope. But he still hadn’t found where the shell had come from.

While he was asking the other tank commanders over the radio if they had seen anything, another shell flew out from the depths of the woods. This time, the shell struck the frontal armor of a Tiger tank. It still failed to penetrate, and once again, it ricocheted.

“It’s a 76mm! A T-34! Not a Stalin!” The voice of the tank commander whose tank had been hit was a little more relaxed. After all, whether the opponent was a pushover T-34 or a deadly Stalin tank made a huge difference.

Two choices circled in Rein’s mind. If he were to follow his usual operational plan, he might have ordered all units to advance immediately, preparing to enter the woods and engage the Soviet tank units. But now he vaguely sensed a dangerous aura. The shadow of Wolf loomed over him, making him afraid to rashly make the decision to assault.

After all, the power of a 122mm tank gun was immense. If they were to encounter a Stalin tank at close range, both the Tiger and the King Tiger would be in danger, especially when facing an opponent of Wolf’s caliber. The slightest mistake, and all their tanks might be destroyed here.

“Hold formation! Continue to search for the enemy’s position! Don’t panic. And don’t advance!” Rein ordered over the throat mic. He wanted to use the German tanks’ advantage in armor and firepower to first observe his opponent.

BOOM! The third shot from the Soviet tankers landed on the roadbed not far in front of a Tiger tank, kicking up a cloud of white smoke. The German tanks did not rush to charge or retreat. They lined up on the road, as if waiting for some opportunity.

“Our position is not good now. Let’s reverse and fall back,” Rein finally decided to stabilize his own side of the battlefield. After all, the retreat of the Das Reich Division did not have to come at the cost of the entire 502nd’s battalion headquarters. And in this situation, Rein knew that even if he were to force an attack, it probably wouldn’t have much effect.

All the German tanks began to slowly reverse. But in the process, the Soviet ambush position fired another two shells. As these two shells flew out from the woods, the Soviet tank units, seeing that the Germans were not approaching, began to take the initiative to attack.

A Soviet T-34 charged out of the woods, but it was quickly destroyed by a shell from Rein and turned into a burning wreck. Rein’s and Markus’s tanks had the thickest armor, so they were bringing up the rear to provide cover. And this unlucky T-34, having just driven out of the forest, was easily destroyed by Andre, who had been aiming at it for a long time.

“I’ve destroyed that T-34. Markus, have you seen the second tank?” Rein asked Markus’s crew, who were not far away, over the throat mic. But what he heard was Markus’s roar: “I see it! Retreat! Rein! There are a lot of Soviet tanks here!”

Rein shifted his gaze to the direction Markus’s tank was covering and saw one after another of T-34s and Stalin tanks charging out of the woods. There were at least 30 of them, which was not good news for the German force, which had only six tanks.

“Hold steady! Reverse and fall back! Keep your frontal armor pointed towards the enemy’s direction of attack!” Rein ordered loudly. “All tanks, aim for the roadbed! The enemy might try to cross it to pursue us. Destroy these damn Soviet tanks while they’re climbing!”

The Tiger tanks were slowly reversing. Rein’s and Markus’s tanks also reversed off the road at top speed. The roar of the engines rose and fell. It was clear the Soviets had no intention of letting the big fish that had come to their lips escape, so these Soviet tanks began to fire frantically and sped up their pursuit.

Shells struck the roadbed next to Rein’s tank, kicking up one cloud of dirt after another. What no one saw was that a few seconds after Rein had retreated from the road, a Stalin tank with a black pentagram painted on its turret charged out of the woods. Wolf leaned against the open turret hatch, his cold eyes fixed on the direction of Rein’s retreat.

“Hello, Rein! Remember me, Wolf?” He hadn’t been confident of hitting Rein’s tank with one shot just now, so he had chosen to hide his position. Now the Soviet tank units had all charged out of the woods. This was his own personal offensive. “I never thought that with all the great tank battles on the Eastern Front, the two of us would finally meet! Now, let’s prove who is the stronger killing machine!”

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