I asked you to escape, but you became a soldier in World War II

Chapter 117 Tank Battle (V) Please don't keep reading

The dense bullets hitting KV85 were like tickling.

The tank ignored the harassment of this garbage firepower and just asked Sergei to pay close attention to whether there were any "smart" anti-tank grenades thrown over. Once the tracks were blown off, it would be really finished in the enemy camp.

Fortunately, the German army did not prepare such a killer weapon in a hurry. Instead, a major staff officer in the Imperial Division headquarters reacted in time and immediately ordered his men to use the only light anti-tank gun in the division headquarters to shoot at the tanks of Lin Chen and others.

The opponent's shooting target was the tracks of Lin Chen and his team!
If Lin Chen could get out of the tank, he would definitely find that everyone was an old acquaintance. This was Major Hummels who had asked Lin Chen and others to escort the prisoners.

Because of his ineffective handling of this incident, he was eventually transferred away from the front-line combat units. Fortunately, his family had a close relationship with a senior SS officer, who protected him and transferred him to the headquarters of the Imperial Division as a major staff officer.

Although the rank has not been lowered, as the saying goes, if a staff officer is not accompanied by a chief, his fart will not make any noise.

Originally, he was the battalion commander of the 2nd Armored Regiment, and even had a good chance of being promoted to deputy regiment commander. However, as a result of this, it has become a sinecure. The division commander basically did not adopt some of his suggestions, and he was so depressed that he could only smoke outside the division headquarters to relieve his boredom.

That's why he was the first to react when Lin Chen and his men suddenly attacked.

"boom!"

A Pak38 50mm anti-tank shell came over, scaring Lin Chen.

Fortunately, the German troops left behind in the division headquarters were not familiar with this kind of old stuff, so when they hit the tank's body, they were ruthlessly bounced off.

Sergei used a 7.62mm machine gun to teach them a lesson.

Dense machine gun bullets hit the anti-tank gun, making a clanging sound.

Several bullets penetrated the steel baffle and hit Major Hummels who was commanding nearby. The poor guy didn't know until his death that the person who killed him was actually his worst enemy.

If he knew, he would probably operate the cannon himself, and the outcome might be very different.

However, there are no ifs on the battlefield. When the other anti-tank soldiers saw the miserable condition of the major and others, they immediately ran back. Sergei's machine gun bullets would naturally not let them go.

"Da da da!"

Blood splattered immediately on the spot.

"Target the oil depot ahead! High explosive bombs, fire at will!" Lin Chen saw that he had entered the absolute shooting range of the tank. At such a close distance, what kind of crappy aiming system was still needed?
"boom!"

"boom!"

Two 85mm high-explosive bombs were fired. The first one missed the target, but the second one hit the oil depot, immediately creating a chain reaction.

A series of explosions set off rolling heat waves, and the huge shock waves blew up several barrels of fuel, which landed on an ammunition box not far away, creating more explosion points.

Seeing the German headquarters and supply station in a mess, how could Lin Chen not understand the principle of quitting while he is ahead?
"Guys, we have to evacuate! If we don't retreat now, the Germans will go crazy." Lin Chen half-jokingly stepped on the accelerator and began to evacuate along the road they had retreated.

"Captain, the situation is not good. Enemy tanks are coming from behind us!" Sergei shouted.

"Fuck, these must be German reinforcements! This is bad."

Lin Chen cursed in his heart. The German army actually had reinforcements? And they were behind him?
Judging from the situation, it seems to be a Panther tank.

That’s right, the commander of this Leopard tank Type D was actually Captain Franz, the former head of the gas station. He was forced to be idle because the gas station was destroyed by Soviet bombers.

Fortunately, the recent battle situation was too tragic, and the experienced tank commanders in the German armored forces suffered heavy casualties. So this Panther tank, which had just been repaired in the rear, welcomed Franz as the tank commander and rejoined the Prokhorovka tank battle.

He was supposed to report, but he saw a huge explosion. Franz was very experienced and felt that the Soviets must have come to attack. So he rushed over at full speed, but he didn't expect that there was only one Soviet tank.

He had never seen this kind of tank before. It was larger than the T34, but how could a single Soviet tank cause such heavy losses to his side?

This scene not only made Franz feel deeply humiliated, but also gave rise to a fanatical desire to avenge his previous humiliation.

The Panther tank was one of the most advanced tanks in the German Army.

Commonly known as the "Black Panther", the tank's sloped armor was developed based on the Soviet T34 tank. It increases the effective thickness of the tank's protection, making the protection capability of 80 mm of sloped armor at 55 degrees equivalent to 140 mm of vertical armor.

The 75mm main gun is not considered a large-caliber artillery piece, but thanks to its extended barrel and powerful propulsion force, it has the outstanding attack power of German tanks in World War II.

In addition, the advanced aiming device on the tank makes it easier for the Leopard tank to hit enemy tanks.

"Armor-piercing bullets, reloading! The target is at 11 o'clock ahead!" Franz's blood was boiling. For a pure soldier like him, nothing could make him calmer than fighting on the battlefield.

"Hurry up, what are you dawdling about?" The only thing Franz was dissatisfied with was that the crew assigned to him was too young. He didn't know if there was a 17-year-old guy with a childish face. Apart from the fact that his right hand salute was more standard than his own, he was completely useless.

He now especially misses his old buddies in the previous crew. Although their military discipline and appearance are average, they cooperate well and are very skilled in operation. Often, his subordinates have already completed most of the work before he gives any orders.

They are nothing like these clumsy guys. Once they get nervous, they can easily make mistakes when choosing ammunition.

"Captain, the loading is complete!" After struggling for a long time, the young loader finally completed the task and reported with sweat all over his forehead.

It is summer now and the temperature in the car is close to 40 degrees, but adapting to and resisting the heat are qualities that every qualified armored soldier must possess.

Franz looked at the rookie with dissatisfaction, then adjusted the speed of the car and put the KV85 tank on the opposite side into his sight again.

"Fire!"

As the Leopard tank's main gun roared, a 75mm armor-piercing shell flew towards the enemy with extremely high initial velocity.

Lin Chen felt an unprecedented sense of crisis at this moment, and his muscles tensed up instantly. Although the main gun of the KV85 was not inferior to that of the Leopard tank, the biggest difference between the two was the opponent's advanced fire control and aiming equipment.

The German tanks could hit almost anything they pointed at at a distance of 1000 meters. There are even records that the Tiger tank could effectively hit the target at a distance of 2000 meters, while the Soviet tanks often had to be very close to be accurate. This difference in effective range has always led to a large difference in the combat loss ratio of Soviet and German tanks.

The aiming system of the KV85 driven by Lin Chen was broken, which meant that if he wanted to fight a Leopard tank in a one-on-one duel, he had to rush to a distance of about 200 meters. At this distance, the Leopard tank could hit him several times, and he would definitely not be able to defeat it.

"boom!"

The huge explosion made the Soviet heavy tank, which had just been deployed on the battlefield, feel extremely painful. The cab was filled with smoke and everyone's heads were buzzing from the shock, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

The fucking thing got hit? Are we going to die?

This was everyone's first reaction, but Lin Chen keenly felt that the front armor of the KV tank should not have been penetrated, but the huge impact force might have caused damage to the tank.

"Report the damage immediately!" Lin Chen felt a little dizzy, but he still stepped on the accelerator firmly and almost reversed the car. When he knew there was a Leopard tank behind him, he immediately turned the car around and tried his best to retreat backwards.

I didn't expect that this trick actually saved my life at the critical moment.

"Report, our tank turret is damaged and cannot rotate!" Sergei was a little desperate. This was almost a death sentence!

After hearing this, Lin Chen realized that he had absolutely no ability to attack, and his only chance of survival now was to escape!
Franz was very happy when he saw the Soviet tanks being hit by his main gun at first. He thought that except for the big KV1 monster, the Soviet tanks might be difficult to deal with. Even if they encountered a T34 tank, they would be killed with one shot!

But this time it just bloomed but did not bear fruit? Why were the Soviet tanks still running despite the thick smoke?

What kind of tank is this that can withstand the heavy blows of a Leopard tank?
"Captain, shall we continue the attack?"

"Reload armor-piercing shells! Chase at full speed. Let's get closer before attacking. Save some shells. Our ammunition depot is empty. We must maximize the value of our limited ammunition!"

No one could have imagined that it was this idea that would cause Franz to regret for the rest of his life.

If it is a pure competition of speed, the Leopard tank is undoubtedly better, but at this moment Lin Chen does not care about the fuel consumption issue. He steps on the accelerator frantically. The powerful thrust brought by the diesel engine allows his tank to reverse at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, which is close to the limit.

In order to save his half-tank of gasoline, Franz was afraid to step on the accelerator, and finally could only chase slowly, slowly closing the distance between them.

I didn’t kill you at a distance of about 1200 meters just now. As long as I get closer to about 1000 meters, I don’t believe you can hold on!
This is what Franz wanted.

Lin Chen was also very experienced, so how could he not know what this guy was thinking? But he had no other ideas at the moment, so he could only run backwards erratically, with the accelerator making a rumbling sound.

near,

closer.

It is obvious that it cannot outrun the Panther tank when reversing, and this is when Franz did it to save fuel. You can imagine how excellent the performance of this "Black Panther" tank is.

Lin Chen seemed to have anticipated that the Leopard tank in the distance was about to open fire, and that his side would end up with a tragic turret being blown off.

At this critical moment, the Panther tank suddenly stopped.

What's happening here?
Lin Chen simply couldn't believe his eyes. If the other party chased him for a few more seconds, his miserable tank would definitely not be able to escape.

But the key point is that the other party just stopped like that. Is this considered a Dunkirk-style way of letting me go?
However, although Lin Chen was confused, he had no intention of stopping and was still trying his best to evade the rules.

After all, we are still within the enemy's effective range.

What Lin Chen didn't know was that it wasn't that Franz was being kind-hearted, but that the German army had long lost the courage and determination to continue fighting due to the attack on their divisional headquarters and supply stations, and was forced to issue an order for a full retreat.

Franz's Panther tank was the only fresh force nearby and had to ensure the retreat of the division.

He is a soldier and can only obey!
Although he was extremely unwilling to do so, he also missed a great opportunity to shoot and kill his opponent.

Despite this, he ordered the fire to try to attack from a distance, but the shot still missed.
"Oh! It's God's will!" Franz was exhausted, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

"Captain, what should we do next?" The recruit was still waiting for his instructions.

"Go back and cover the division's retreat!" Franz waved his hand weakly.

The tank duel that Lin Chen participated in was just a microcosm of the Prokhorovka tank battle. When he returned to the battlefield, the German army had already retreated and the Soviet army had begun to clean up the battlefield.

At this moment, the battlefield was silent, with only the occasional sound of wind and the groans of wounded soldiers in the distance breaking the silence.

The soldiers were exhausted. Some sat next to the tanks to smoke and rest, while others were busy treating the wounded.

The captured German soldiers were dejectedly lined up in long columns and escorted to the rear. Only God knew what fate awaited them.

The injured German soldiers obviously didn't even have that much luck, and being dealt with promptly was the best way to get relief.

The entire battlefield was filled with a solemn and tragic atmosphere, which made people sigh at the cruelty and ruthlessness of war.

When they came out of the tank, they found that the KV85 tank was so badly damaged that except for the power system which was barely usable, everything else had almost lost its function.

Through this actual combat, it is obvious that this tank is not outstanding, and no wonder its production volume is so pitifully low.

When they met Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich again and reported to him the feat of raiding the German Imperial Division headquarters and supply depot, Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich and his staff were so surprised that they were speechless.

"No wonder we felt that the German army's attack and defense were not as calm as before. We were all wondering what was going on with the German army. Did they deliberately reveal their flaws to lure us into the trap? It turns out that you have made a great contribution!" Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich was very happy. This Chinese officer was simply a god of war. He always came up with a brilliant idea to turn the tide of the battle.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, should we prepare for a counterattack?" Lin Chen clearly remembered that after the Battle of Prokhorovka, the German army was about to begin a general retreat. If the force for the counterattack was prepared in advance, the results of the battle would undoubtedly be more fruitful.

"We have reported the situation here to the headquarters of the 5th Guards Tank Army. We believe they will make an accurate judgment, and our mechanized brigade will certainly continue the attack at that time!" Lieutenant Colonel Parosovich could only comfort Lin Chen in this way. He was facing considerable difficulties now.

(End of this chapter)