"Your Excellency, it seems that the British and the Yankees are going to fight hard!"

On the evening of 9 January, at the headquarters of the German Third Army in Hartlepool, Commander General Halder had received reports from the 7th Paratrooper Division, the 1st Marine Division, and the Italian 185th Lightning Division that were under onslaught by British and American troops. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Zeitzler, said to Halder, who was standing in front of a large sand table: "The enemy has launched an offensive on all fronts, using a large number of M10 tank destroyers and Churchill tank destroyers. ”

"Do you know where the main direction of attack is?" Admiral Halder asked unhurriedly.

A few days after the capture of the port of Hartlepool, the commander of this army group finally had some troops in his hands.

In addition to the 7th Paratrooper Division, the 1st Marine Division and the 516th Heavy Armored Battalion from the beachhead, there are now the Italian 185th Lightning Division, the German 2nd Marine Division arrived and completed the unloading operation, of which the Italian 185th Lightning Division has also completed the deployment.

In addition, the 506th Heavy Armoured Battalion, the 3rd Tank Destroyer Battalion (part of the 3rd Armoured Division), the 11th Rocket Artillery Brigade and the 11th French Heavy Artillery Division arrived at Hartlepool from the island of Ireland and are currently unloading.

Moreover, in addition to the 185th Lightning Division in Italy, the divisions, including 1 German paratrooper division and 2 German Marine Divisions, had a considerable amount of mechanized equipment.

Among them, the 7th Paratrooper Division has 1 self-propelled anti-tank gun battery (6 "Weasels") and 1 armored reconnaissance company equipped with SD.KFZ.234/3 heavy armored vehicles (Puma), as well as 1 armored company equipped with 38T tanks.

The two Marine Divisions each have an armored company equipped with amphibious tank No. 3, an anti-tank artillery battalion armed with a Weasel tank destroyer, an assault gun battalion armed with Assault Gun No. 3, and a self-propelled artillery battalion armed with a Wasp self-propelled gun. The level of mechanization was almost comparable to that of panzergrenadier divisions, except that there were not a sufficient number of half-tracks of trucks for infantry.

"Commander, the enemy's main direction of attack is around the bridge over the Tiz River." Lieutenant General Zeitzler used a baton to point both sides of the bridge over the Tiz River on the sand table, "The enemy launched simultaneously from the north and south banks of the Tiz River, on the scale of a regimental mechanized cluster, under the cover of heavy artillery, and the offensive was very fierce. The 1st Marine Division, which defended the south bank of the Tiz River, was able to cope with it relatively easily, but the 7th Paratrooper Division on the north bank was struggling to deal with it. ”

The equipment of the 7th Paratrooper Division is not as heavy as that of the 1st Marine Division, and it is of course more difficult to fight in the face of a large number of M10 tank destroyers and Churchill series tanks and tank destroyers.

"General, are you going to send 1 company of Tiger tanks?" Zeitzler whispered, "As long as there is one company of Tiger, the 7th Paratrooper Division should be able to hold the north bank of the Tiz River." ”

Halder shook his head and said, "The 506th Heavy Battalion, the 516th Heavy Battalion, and the 3rd Tan Annihilation Battalion are our trump cards and should be used for counterattack rather than defense. ”

The three battalions had a total of 88 Tiger tanks and 45 Rhino tank destroyers, plus 44 Type 4F tanks (armed with 24x diameter 75mm KWK37 tank guns). When concentrated and launched a surprise attack, the force is definitely not inferior to that of a standard German panzer division!

So Halder didn't want to take this force apart that could act as an iron fist.

"But Your Excellency, if you don't invest in heavy tanks, it will be difficult for the 7th Paratrooper Division to hold on." Zeitzler reminded that "once the enemy has defeated the 7th paratrooper division, they will be able to advance along the Tiz River and cut our front into 2 sections." ”

"I know," Halder nodded, "but now is not the time to send in heavy armor. Kurt, arrange for me to take a look at the front line on the north bank of the Tiz River. ”

"Yes, General."

……

"Jie Ji ......"

The shrill gunfire of the MG42 machine gun rang out again, and the bullets flew over a distance of several hundred meters and hit the backs of the British soldiers who were retreating in a hurry.

It's like a saw blade that harvests life, cutting off dozens of British or American lives with sprayed bullets, bringing a bloody flower on the battlefield.

Mixed with the sound of gunfire and screams was the roar of tank/armored vehicle motors. A dozen American M10 tank destroyers retreated at a rapid pace, leaving behind burning or slowly retreating Churchill tanks and Churchill tank destroyers, as well as retreating British infantry on foot.

Although they had the advantage in strength and equipment, the British and American forces encountered the "lightly armed troops" with the strongest combat effectiveness of the German Wehrmacht - the 7th Paratrooper Division! So their battle on the north bank of the Tiz River did not go well at all.

Enough was enough in the town of Stodork alone, and several waves of attacks were repulsed by the Germans!

"Damn it, are the British Churchill tanks papier-mâché? How can it be broken so easily? ”

Looking at several burning Churchill tanks and Churchill destroyers at the entrance of the town not far away, General Patton, who was standing on an M10 tank destroyer and watching the battle, couldn't help but shout and curse.

"General," Patton's chief of staff, Hobart. Colonel Gay stood in the compartment of a jeep and said loudly to Patton, "The Germans have a very powerful armor-piercing projectile, it should be a pointed tungsten core armor-piercing projectile, which can penetrate the front of the Churchill tank at a distance of 750 meters - 1000 meters!" ”

"And will the frontal of our M10 tank destroyers be able to block their armor-piercing shells?" General Patton hurriedly asked.

Colonel Gay had just come down from the line of fire and was on his way to inspect the destroyed Churchill tank and M10 tank destroyer.

"The situation with the M10 is a little bit better," said Guy, "and there aren't a lot of people who are completely penetrated head-on." ”

The M10 tank destroyer has frontal armor up to 3.2 inches (81.25 mm) thick and a 50-degree inclination, which translates to an equivalent armor value of about 4.98 inches, which is equivalent to 126.5 mm. If this thickness is a homogeneous steel plate, it will not be able to stop the pointed tungsten core armor-piercing bullet fired by the 75mm gun used by the weasel tank destroyer. However, the lives of American tyrants are precious, of course, they have to use high-hardness alloy steel to save their lives, and the American tank soldiers still feel that they are not safe, and they weld several sections of tank tracks on the steel plate on the front of the tank, which is equivalent to thickening the armor.

So at a distance of 1000-750 meters, it is enough to reach the 75mm gun of the Weasel tank destroyer, and it can be carried at a distance of 750-500 meters, and 500 meters is a stable penetration.

And the British Churchill tank, although it had 4 inches of frontal final armor, was not very inclination, and the quality of the armor steel used was not as good as that of the Americans. So at a distance of 1000-750 meters, the weasel's 75mm gun could not be stopped at all.

At this time, the retreating British and American officers and soldiers had already returned to their starting positions. General Patton looked at the disarrayed soldiers, shook his head and said to Colonel Guy, "Let's try to change places after dark, and attack from the northeast of this town to see if we can get around." ”

……

Next to the bridge over the Tiz River, the command post of the 7th German paratrooper division. Next to a very well-built railway station, six heavy Jaguar armored vehicles were parked in the middle of the station square, their muzzles raised, and one by one firing shells to the northwest - these six armored vehicles with 24 times the diameter of the 75mm guns were now used as self-propelled guns.

Next to the 6 heavy armored vehicles, there is a very luxurious Mercedes-Benz G4 military off-road sedan, this kind of luxury car with 6 wheels is rare in the army, and only senior generals of the rank of general and above can own. This thing is both high-end and fuel-intensive, and there are fewer of them in the original history, but the current Germany is much more generous than in history, so from the end of 1942, Hersmann issued Mercedes-Benz G4s to all generals and marshals with the military budget.

And on the island of Britain, the only person who is eligible to ride in such a military off-road sedan is General Halder.

General Halder, who was inspecting the Tiz front.

"Your Excellency," said the commander of the 7th Paratrooper Division, Wolfgang. "The enemy is currently storming the town of Stodonk, which is a large town, where we have a regiment and a company of self-propelled anti-tank guns," said Major General Edelman, pointing to the map and to inspect the generals. The enemy is estimated to be a divisional mechanized group, and there should be follow-up units. Without reinforcements from heavy tanks, the town of Stodonk would have been captured by the enemy in 2-3 days. But at the moment it is not a big problem, we have repelled several of their attacks and destroyed many Churchill tanks.

In addition, our right flank is now very thin, with only 1 and a half regiments of paratroopers, 20 38t tanks and 2 recoilless artillery batteries on a 10-kilometer front. The line was maintained only with the support of the German guns at the mouth of the Tiz River, and I feared that the enemy would intensify the offensive in this direction after dark. ”

"And how about shrinking the troops?" Halder asked suddenly.

"Shrink?" Major General Edelman looked at Halder, "Your Excellency, where do you want us to shrink?" ”

"The town of Stodonk and the bridge over the Tiz River...... What do you think? Can it be held? ”

"Is the 1st Marine Division on the other side of the river also ......?"

"They will withdraw to Middlesbrough."

"Oh my God, we'll be surrounded!"

Hals nodded and said with a smile: "Pretend to be surrounded, I will ask the 1st Marine Division to leave Tank 3, Assault Gun 3 and Weasel Tank Destroyer and Wasp Self-Propelled Gun to you before retreating." You will have to hold on to the town of Stödonk and the bridge over the Tiz River for at least 5 days. (To be continued.) )