Chapter 437: The Path

Repeated attacks had cost the British defenders a large number of their mobile forces. The armored unit that Montgomery had painstakingly bu

Repeated attacks had cost the British defenders a large number of their mobile forces. The armored unit that Montgomery had painstakingly built up had, in several counter-attacks, become nothing more than targets for German tankers to pad their kill counts.

Germany’s Panther and Tiger tanks held too many advantages over the American-made M3 tanks—advantages so great that they were sufficient to turn the tide even in an inferior situation. And in terms of the practical combat skills of the two nations’ armored crews, the German panzer forces were absolutely superior to the British.

In another timeline, some of the ace units of the German panzer forces often achieved heaven-defying results, with one panzer battalion even recording the terrifying statistic of knocking out an entire enemy armored corps within two years. This gave rise to one “Michael Wittmann” legend after another and produced a dazzling array of outstanding tank commanders such as Rein and Otto Carius.

Many people do not believe these combat records, thinking they were a deification movement by the German panzer forces, a deliberate boast by the Nazis. In fact, German statistics were, to a certain extent, relatively rigorous, and most of those ace tankers were genuinely “tough characters.”

The reason these aces with their astonishing, almost perverse, kill counts were able to emerge was directly related to the organization and combat style of the German army. To understand this, we must start with Germany’s industrial production.

As is well known, Germany’s industrial production capacity in World War II was notorious for its low efficiency and chaos. German tanks were also criticized by many for their weight and frequent breakdowns. Therefore, from their inception, the German panzer forces were the cherished darlings of the Wehrmacht. So, just how large was this cherished force?

At the time of the all-out war against France, Germany had a total of 3,466 tanks, of which 2,691 participated in the battle. For Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union, they deployed over 3,400 tanks. In 1941, the total number of German panzer divisions was 22. By the time of their defeat in 1945, they had had a total of 30 panzer division designations.

Only 30 division designations in total. Factoring in watered-down units and understrength formations, it is estimated that even at its peak, the German army only had about 20 panzer divisions, with at most 15 capable of fighting on the front lines simultaneously. For a German army that had a total strength of over 5 million men at its peak, isn’t this number a bit small?

Therefore, the German panzer forces were concentrated and used as a “fist,” to achieve overwhelming breakthroughs and deep penetrations in key offensive sectors. This method of fighting later became what everyone is familiar with as “Blitzkrieg.”

This tactic was indeed incredibly sharp in the early stages of the war, shattering the trench warfare system left over from World War I. However, this concentration of tanks was, in fact, a “stopgap measure” that came at the cost of the combat effectiveness of other infantry units. In essence, it was a helpless move born from the inability of industrial production to meet the demands of the front lines.

In offensive operations, the large but less effective German infantry was initially overshadowed by the glory of the panzer forces. Later, due to a lack of armored support, they were beaten back time and again by the counter-attacks of the Soviet armored forces. This is the most realistic embodiment of this operational philosophy. On the defensive, the German infantry had to find their own ways to establish a defensive system, while the expensive tanks were held tightly by corps, army, or even army group commanders as a last-ditch lifeline.

So, what did these expensive tank units do in the German defensive system? The answer is that they were used as a battlefield “fire brigade.” They were placed on the second line of the deep defense, and wherever a crisis arose, they were sent to plug the gap, responsible for driving back the enemy armored forces that had broken through the first line. Under the guidance of this tactical thinking, one after another, the names of famous German panzer units were remembered: the 502nd Battalion, the SS-Lehr Division…

Thus, these German tank units that achieved astonishing combat records were, in fact, benefiting to a large extent from having the right conditions of time, place, and people. That is why they were able to achieve such enviable results on the battlefield.

Specifically, the enemies they faced often had the following problems:

First, these enemy units had often just broken through the German infantry lines and had been fighting continuously for a long time. For example, the battle Wittmann fought at Villers-Bocage against the British, or the surprise attack by Carius on the Soviet forces at Malinava, all occurred under such circumstances.

Second, after continuous fierce battles with the German infantry, these units were basically out of ammunition and low on fuel, and they were deep behind German lines. In this situation, if they won, they couldn’t pursue the German tanks, and if they lost, they couldn’t retreat. Coupled with the gap in combat quality between the tank crews of the Allied nations and the German crews, who had been honed for two or three years, the astonishing results of the German panzer forces are not surprising.

Third, although the combat processes of the German panzer forces were varied, and several of their famous victories were achieved in local offensive operations, such as Wittmann’s Battle of Villers-Bocage, overall, the German panzer forces in the later stages of the war were fighting defensive support battles. Therefore, after carefully selecting and constructing defensive positions and even ambush pockets, it is not surprising that German tanks were able to defeat larger forces and produce a large number of tank aces.

After all that explanation, the point is simply to say that it should not be surprising why the 501st Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion, also used as a battlefield fire brigade by Army Group A commander Rundstedt, and why Michael Wittmann, who was sent all over Britain to counter British attacks, was able to paint the terrifying record of 101 tank kills on the barrel of his cannon.

This Tiger tank, painted with the number 007, became the undisputed number one in the German panzer forces, the first tank in the entire army to destroy over 100 enemy tanks, the “King of Tanks,” the steel god of death sourly nicknamed by the enemy the “Tiger of Britain.”

It wasn’t that Wittmann was exceptionally lucky, because the reason Rein was able to destroy 22 French tanks in one battle at the pass was also a kind of “luck.” Which of those aces who could destroy dozens of enemy tanks didn’t have their own share of damned good luck?

In fact, Wittmann’s ability to destroy so many British tanks was directly related to the reckless counter-attacks launched by the British armored forces after Montgomery’s dismissal. The British tanks, inferior in both skill and equipment, were practically lining up to give the Germans kill credits. And Wittmann, as part of the 501st Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion, was frequently sent to the most dangerous areas to counter the British armored forces, which directly led to the terrifying increase in his total number of tank kills.

Now, this “Tiger of Britain” was behind a thicket of bushes, quietly aiming its powerful 88mm cannon down the end of a road. Wittmann was leaning against the commander’s hatch, observing the distance with his binoculars.

“Ah… the good times are over,” the gunner sighed with boredom, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. He seemed to be reminiscing about the good old days when the enemy would desperately charge forward and offer up their heads.

This same sighing man had, in a battle on the plains two days prior, achieved an astonishing accuracy of 6 hits out of 10 shots at a range of 1,300 meters. In that one battle, he had destroyed 13 charging enemy tanks, forcing the last remnants of the British armored forces to retreat from the battlefield with their tails between their legs, and had also elevated this Tiger 007 to the divine status of over 100 kills.

“If it were you, and you’d been beaten back for several days in a row, would you still come?” Wittmann asked. Behind him, not far away, was the important British town of Cambridge, which had just been captured by the Germans. Rundstedt had anticipated that the British would counter-attack at all costs to retake this strategic location, so he had ordered the 501st to set up an ambush near the front line, waiting for the British to walk into the trap.

But after waiting for two hours, the British counter-attack had not come. It seemed that the losses of the past few days had bled the British armored forces dry.

Wittmann had been promoted to First Lieutenant in the German panzer forces, and the Knight’s Cross at his throat now had the exquisite Oak Leaves attached. This medal, of which there were only a handful in the entire German army, had been personally placed around his neck by Rundstedt, which made Wittmann very proud. He was now, in every respect, the de facto number one tank commander in the German army.

“Be content! At least we still have a war to fight. Rein and Carius are the ones who are truly idle now. All they can do is drink coffee and read newspapers in Poland, train new recruits, and look at our combat records with a wry smile,” Wittmann said proudly.

“Carius will definitely regret not coming to Britain,” the gunner chuckled. “But that Rein guy, he’ll probably just smile when he sees your record.”

“You know, you’re right, he probably would just smile,” Wittmann said with a sense of helplessness. “That kid is so young, yet he’s more world-weary than I am. He’s an interesting and rather pitiful child… although calling him a child is a bit inappropriate. That baleful aura he has, I find it quite terrifying.”

This road was a necessary route for any British counter-attack. On both sides of it, the Germans had already hidden a dozen or so tanks in ambush. But the battle never happened. The anticipated British counter-attack never came. That afternoon, Wittmann was ordered to leave. The road that should have been filled with death remained quiet and peaceful, as if nothing had ever happened.

And at the same time on the same day, several British transport ships, having unloaded food and weapons in port, were ordered to begin loading a special cargo. It was the British 3rd Infantry Division, a mainline unit that had originally been deployed at Dover. This division was mostly composed of veterans, and its combat effectiveness was firmly at the top of Britain’s remaining forces. They were now under orders to board ships bound for Canada, to pave the way for the Royal Family’s retreat, and to prepare for the continuation of the British Empire’s bloody battle to the end.