Chapter 171: The War Begins

Advanced chapter until 400+ at patreon.com/caleredhair

Andre sat on the auxiliary hatch of the turret, feeling the jolting of the tank’s hull and swaying with its movement. Beside him, Rein was leaning against the commander’s unique rear-opening hatch cover, resting with his eyes closed.

On the side of the highway, trucks drove forward at a faster speed. From time to time, a truck full of soldiers would pass by the new tanks, laughing and joking, and would wave at Andre. Because there were so many vehicles on the road, the air was filled with the smell of dust.

The tanks, cars, and armored vehicles could advance on the highway, but the light infantry could only carry their rifles and struggle through the dust on the sides of the road and in the wet mud. They trudged along, and many were dragging their luggage.

The formation of these troops was already somewhat messy. Some soldiers were even wearing only their white undershirts, using their tunics as padding between their shoulders and their rifles. Of course, there were also some leading dogs, some pulling listless warhorses, and even more pushing carts piled high with supplies that were stuck in the mud, surrounded by Wehrmacht soldiers helping to push.

It is unknown whether it was due to the bumping or if he heard something, but Rein opened his eyes amidst the shaking. He took out his graduation commemorative pocket watch and, by the faint light of the taillights behind him, glanced at the time: 12:36.

There were still four minutes until the scheduled rest time.

So he grabbed the large headphones and throat microphone hanging from his web belt, put them on his head, adjusted the position, and aside from the hiss of static, it was filled with a chaotic mess of complaints.

“Halt!… Halt!… All companies… halt! All tanks… commanders… assemble… at the front!” At 12:40, the command came through the headset on time.

Sometimes, Rein really wanted to complain to the manufacturer of the radio. If this were on the battlefield, what would happen if some important command was missed due to this call quality? As the tank column came to a stop, many of the soldiers on the muddy road cast eager glances their way. Some even walked directly onto the road to offer cigarettes to the tank crews, hoping to be taken along for a stretch on the next leg of the journey.

Soon, the field kitchen began to distribute food to the various tank crews. The steaming hot tomato soup, potatoes, and black bread made the infantry on the sides extremely envious, and they all cast longing glances, hoping for a share.

When Rein returned, the entire tank column had resumed its advance. And on the back of the tank, on top of the engine’s heat dissipation grille, sat three lucky Wehrmacht infantrymen. They observed their SS comrades with curious and cautious eyes. They were enjoying the treatment of mechanized infantry with a clear conscience, because they had paid the fare—two whole packs of cigarettes.

“In another two hours, we will reach the border. As expected, just a moment ago, the Reich declared war on Poland,” Rein did not go back to resting with his eyes closed as the tank began to move again. Instead, he took the rare initiative to speak to Andre. “We will have about three hours of rest, and then we will probably be thrown into battle.”

“We haven’t had systematic training, commander,” Andre said with a sigh, glancing at Rein beside him. “Going to the front line like this, we’ll get a lot of people killed, including ourselves and our friends.”

“There’s no more time for training,” Rein said, also very helplessly. “But the good news is that I hear the Polish army on the border is not large in number and lacks heavy weapons. That is to say, they don’t have much that can threaten us.”

“Although this tank is very heavy—you can feel it from the tracks and the feeling when it stops—there are plenty of things that can send us to God. If the distance is close enough and the angle is just right, a heavy machine gun is enough,” Andre said, staring ahead.

Not far in front of them, a cumbersome towed 150mm cannon was stuck in the mire. A dozen or so soldiers around it were shouting in unison as they pushed the cannon. And behind the cannon, two military jeeps were parked, with a radio set piled on one of them.

Andre didn’t see it, but Rein, because of his angle, did. The three Wehrmacht soldiers sitting on the back of their tank saluted the jeep. It seemed these two vehicles belonged to the command system of this infantry unit.

Hearing Andre’s words, Rein smiled. “According to the analysis from above, and feedback from the reconnaissance units, I hear the Polish resistance is very light.”

Lack of training was a common problem for the three newly formed SS divisions. But they also had their advantages. First, although these units were untrained, they had incorporated a core of retired Wehrmacht veterans, so their combat capability should be fairly reliable. Second, they had very powerful weapons and equipment, which slightly…

“The last things you should believe are the analysis from above, and secondly, the information feedback from reconnaissance,” Andre said with a frown.

“You seem to take these things very lightly. This suggests you’ve been burned in this regard before,” Rein said with a smile. “Care to talk about it?”

Andre laughed. “It’s nothing to keep secret. The operation in the Sudetenland. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it?”

“Mm,” Rein nodded. “I’ve heard a little. I heard there was some counter-attacking in some areas, and we lost a lot of men.”

“At that time, I was a second lieutenant in the Wehrmacht, commanding a Panzer III platoon,” Andre said, his eyes fixed on the front, speaking slowly into the wind. “The order from my superiors was for us to go and accept the surrender of a Czech tank company stationed on the border.”

“There wasn’t supposed to be any resistance, but it happened. The number two vehicle in front of me was hit by a Czech 38t tank. It went up in smoke, blocking my view… When I ordered my tank to reverse, I saw one of my commanders climb out of the number two vehicle, his face burning with flames, like a demon from hell,” Andre looked at Rein. “Have you ever seen a dead man?”

“Someone had to be the scapegoat, so you were discharged, right?” Rein said, swaying with the movement of the tank. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Second Lieutenant.”

“I’ve answered your question. Can you answer one of mine?” Andre asked, looking at Rein.

“Of course,” Rein nodded.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Andre asked, looking at Rein seriously.

“What are you referring to?” Rein asked with a frown.

“The matter of me missing the target,” Andre replied.

“That. I got a perfect score on fixed targets at the academy. If I can do it, what do I need you, the gunner, for?” Rein smiled.

Andre also smiled. Following a commander like this… is very interesting.

When they stopped to make camp, the entire tank company was already inside Polish territory. They set up their tents in the ruins of a border highway checkpoint. A few men from the company stood by the side of the road, staring blankly, because they had seen the dozen or so bodies of Polish soldiers that had been carried to the road’s embankment and unceremoniously dumped there.

But most of the men chose to sleep. After traveling for most of the night, they were exhausted. They needed to recover their strength and rest their spirits to face the first battle that would greet them the next morning.

Before dawn, the battalion commander, Hans, had gathered all the commanders of his 1st company to assign them their combat missions, which were to begin shortly.

“Marcus! Rein! You two tank crews are responsible for covering Captain Carter’s tank. Follow his tank to attack the village on the side of the highway. The Poles may have set up a defensive strongpoint there, so you must cover the panzergrenadiers in capturing it.”

“Air reconnaissance indicates that the Poles are strengthening their border defenses, so you must be quick in your attack on the village!” After explaining the basic mission while pointing at the map, Major Hans concluded as he folded his map.

“Sir!” Marcus raised his hand. “How many infantry will be with us? And how far do we advance after taking the village before stopping?”

Hans laughed, slapping the dust from his trousers with the map in his hand. “Two companies from the 1st Battalion of the 5th Panzergrenadier Regiment will attack with you! After taking the village, some infantry will be left to garrison it. As for us, the mission I’ve received is simple: advance as far as possible.”

Having received his mission, Rein rushed back to his tank, number 113. Along the way, he saw German grenadiers loading ammunition into their rifles, and some were jumping onto armored personnel carriers.

“Clark! Organize the ammunition! Including for the three submachine guns!” Rein began to issue commands as soon as he was back in his vehicle. “Also, check the radio again! I need to maintain clear communication with the company commander’s vehicle.”

Then he shouted to his driver. “Baumann! Start the engine! Test the throat microphone! I need you all to be able to hear me.”

Then he looked at the gorilla-like Bruce beside him and pointed to the ammunition compartment. “Bruce! Select a high-explosive shell! Our mission this time is to support the infantry attack. There is no threat from enemy armored units. But you’d better have an armor-piercing round in a handy position, just in case.”

Bruce was usually mouthy and didn’t think much of the young Rein, but he would still carry out this kind of standard order. After all, the training he had received was that cooperation was the key to survival on the battlefield. So he nodded, pushed a high-explosive shell into the breech, and closed the breechblock.

Rein, with the upper half of his body out of the vehicle, raised his binoculars to look at the distance. In the early morning of this day, a thick fog permeated the air, shrouding the small Polish village in a veil of mystery.

Not far away, Carter’s tank, number 111, started up. A cloud of black smoke spewed from its rear, and then its tracks tightened, and the whole tank began to move slowly forward.

Following that, the commander of tank 112, Marcus, nodded to Rein, made a fist gesture, and then began to move slowly forward with the swaying of his vehicle.

“Let’s go,” Rein commanded, holding his hand to his throat microphone. His tank shuddered slightly, then shook violently, and then the whole vehicle began to move forward, leaving a cloud of bluish smoke behind.