noffsinger Chapter 169 Tank Showdown
Chapter 169 Tank Showdown
Pu Zhengsong seized the opportunity to order two tank columns to rush out and attack the German 15th and 21st Tank Divisions. A large-scale tank battle immediately broke out between the two sides.
When von Einstein's tank platoon faced three M3 tanks, he secretly laughed. He had four Panthers and the enemy had three M4s. He had an absolute advantage in firepower and numbers. He didn't know why the enemy was so bold to attack him head-on.
Von Einstein commanded tank No. 015 to immediately aim at enemy tank No. 112 and calmly ordered to open fire.
"Boom——", the shells spewed out flames and shot towards the enemy rapidly, hitting the opponent accurately. The No. 112 M4 tank instantly produced a huge explosion!
"Another one destroyed. This is the 99th. If I destroy one more, I'll successfully join the Third Reich's elite ace team!"
Before von Einstein could get excited for a few seconds, the flames dissipated and the No. 112 M4 tank continued to rush towards him quickly, without any sign of damage at all.
"What's going on? We clearly hit the enemy's vitals accurately. Could it be that the loader picked up the wrong shell?" Without time to blame anyone, von Einstein ordered the driver to turn around and shouted to the loader, "Armor-piercing rounds, don't load them by mistake! Quick!"
Tank No. 112 was staring at von Einstein and his men as they rushed towards them. The distance was still more than 1000 meters. The opponent was also very calm. They knew that their tank guns had to be within a range of 800 meters to completely destroy the Panther, so they had no intention of opening fire at this moment.
Tank 015 weaved left and right, trying to distance itself from the enemy and buy time to reload. Next to him, his teammate's tank, Tank 017, was hit by a shell on its tracks, forcing it to stop, right in front of him. Without hesitation, the driver of Tank 015 circled around Tank 017, and the loader finally loaded the shell. The driver immediately turned the tank upright, and the gunner also turned the turret, aiming at the oncoming M112 Sherman, Tank 4.
"Boom——" the shell hit the enemy again, and similarly, the M4 exploded violently again.
"Are you dead now?" von Einstein said to himself.
After the smoke cleared, this 112M4 was like an indestructible cockroach, with no intention of slowing down at all, and still rushed straight towards No. 015, with the muzzle adjusted to the shooting state.
Von Einstein was shocked: What's going on? The loader couldn't have loaded the wrong shell twice. Just as he was wondering, he heard his teammates' calls through his headset: "We can't penetrate the enemy's armor, we can't penetrate the enemy!"
Von Einstein immediately realized that the enemy was an improved tank. Looking at the approaching No. 112 and its cold muzzle, Von Einstein shouted: "Go! Go! Get away from him!"
Despite being an elite crew, von Einstein and his crew were slow to react after two setbacks and the effects of the unexpected. Tank 015 lost the initiative and ultimately failed to evade the M112 tank 4. At a range of 800 meters, the 112mm shell from the M75 tank 015 struck von Einstein and his crew, piercing the vulnerable rear of the tank. The metal jets from the shells pierced the tank, killing all within 015. Tank then erupted in flames. Minutes later, the shells within detonated, and von Einstein and his elite crew vanished in a hail of flames and debris.
Cruwell watched all this in amazement. The German tank cluster, which thought itself to be powerful, was being destroyed bit by bit due to its absolute advantage in numbers and firepower. The area was littered with burning German tanks and pursuing Chinese M4 tanks. The more clever German tank crews reacted quickly, immediately disengaged at full speed, withdrew from the battle desperately, and fled madly.
At this time, a cry of alarm came from the grenadiers' position. The enemy's light tanks attacked the anti-tank positions at all costs. The anti-tank units and supporting artillery of the 3rd Tank Army were severely damaged.
Knowing that he could no longer change the situation, Kruwell ordered the various units to evacuate in turns, hoping to retain as much strength as possible for the 3rd Tank Army.
This tank duel north of Kom Ombo and south of Luxor lasted from morning until dark, ending when the tank columns of the Second Army were exhausted and unable to fight anymore.
In this battle, the Germans lost over 230 tanks and tank destroyers of various types, while the Second Army lost 87 tanks and tank destroyers of various types, mainly the light tank column, which was almost completely destroyed. Over 8700 Germans were killed or captured, while the Second Army lost over 4000 men.
A week later, the British 7th Tank Corps and the Chinese 3nd Army began their northward movement. Three days later, another fierce battle erupted with the remnants of Rommel's Southern Group on the Luxor front. Here, the British 7th Tank Division suffered heavy losses from Rommel's secret weapon, the 8th Grenadier Division, losing over 130 tanks of various types. Finally, with the assistance of the Chinese 8nd Army, the British th Tank Division inflicted heavy damage on the German th SS Grenadier Division. Rommel was forced to withdraw from the Luxor front. The British and Chinese forces also suffered heavy losses and were temporarily unable to continue their northward advance.
At the same time, Montgomery took advantage of Rommel's troop weakness in North Africa and launched an attack on Benghazi and Bayda. The progress was very smooth at the beginning, but when approaching the port of Benghazi, it was stubbornly blocked by the German army. A tank division of the British 1st Army launched a strong attack on the port area, but was destroyed by unknown artillery fire. Before they could understand what was going on, more than 10 huge tanks rushed out from the surrounding tropical bushes. Their movements were not fast, but the artillery fire was very fierce and accurate. After a while, all the tanks of a battalion of this tank division were destroyed. The British Churchill tanks continued to bombard the opponent and hit him many times. The opponent seemed to be unharmed and continued to rush forward fiercely, constantly destroying British tanks. The 1st Army had to retreat and use its speed advantage to break contact.
Similarly, a mechanized division of the 3rd Army that was making a flanking attack on the city of Benghazi was ambushed by the German army's new tanks, losing dozens of tanks and armored vehicles and was forced to withdraw from the attack on the city.
Based on feedback from frontline troops and information about German Tiger tanks in the Soviet-German theater, the British realized that the Germans had sent new Tiger tanks to Rommel's Afrika Korps. The British had no effective countermeasures against the Tigers with their current weaponry, so Montgomery ordered the British to withdraw from the Benghazi offensive. The Germans, however, pursued the British First and Third Armies, forcing them back to the Tripoli line.
The Chinese Second Army, with its smaller numbers and weaker forces defeating a stronger force, broke Rommel's southern front, shocking the US and British military once again. Even Churchill, far away in Britain, personally inquired about the matter. Reactive armor quickly gained the attention of the US and UK, and their factories began mass production, retrofitting tanks with it.