Chapter 322: Peripheral Reconnaissance

A sharp bayonet came around from the darkness behind and was pressed against the neck of a French sentry. The French sentry, who had been dozing just a moment ago, immediately opened his eyes wide but did not dare to make a sound.

Soon, Rein’s slightly freckled face emerged from the darkness. He pressed his face close to the French sentry’s ear and, in a calm tone and with not-so-fluent French, asked, “How many men are here? How many heavy weapons?”

“I am a soldier of the 9th Army. Not far behind, there are two anti-tank guns, 47mm caliber. Behind the buildings, there are tanks of the 10th Armoured Corps. I have seen about ten of them. I have told you everything I know! I beg you, don’t kill me…” the young French soldier pleaded, crying.

Rein’s fingers tightened slightly, and the bayonet cut open the French soldier’s throat. Blood gushed out, but the French soldier could no longer make a sound. Every breath he took and every attempt he made to shout only made more blood spurt from his cut throat. Soon, the military uniform on his chest was soaked with his own blood.

The French soldier clutched his throat with his hands, struggling helplessly. His feet kicked continuously, and his rifle had already been thrown to one side. Rein wiped the French bayonet on the still-struggling body of the French soldier and then, bent over, he retreated back into the darkness.

He climbed over the French army’s trench, leaped into a bush not far away, and continued to walk forward. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, because two patrolling French soldiers were walking over, talking and laughing. They were taking off their trousers near the place where Rein was hiding, looking as if they were about to “open the floodgates” here.

Rein moved his body bit by bit and came to the front of these two French soldiers. With a flick of his hand, the bayonet he had taken from the French soldier flew directly into the eye socket of one of the French patrolmen. And the other French soldier, before he could come to his senses, saw Rein appear in front of him. With a twist of his two hands, the French soldier heard the sound of his own neck breaking.

In terms of familiarity with the human body, Rein had already reached a supernatural level. His speed and methods of killing were such that even Marcus admitted inferiority. It might be a little difficult for him to assassinate the President of France, but to deal with a few frontline French sentries was truly an overkill.

He did not go to pick up the French bayonet that was stuck in the corpse, because that bayonet was the one he had just secretly pulled from the interrogated French soldier. Rein just bent over and walked past the two bodies, which were beginning to grow cold, and returned the way he had come to his starting point.

Running bent over across a narrow one-way road, and jumping over the bushes on the side of the road, Rein saw Marcus and several other tank commanders waiting there. Behind them were their tanks, which struck fear into the hearts of their enemies.

One was a Tiger tank with the number 113 painted on it, and there were three Panther tanks that looked as if they had already been through a great deal of hardship. The armor on these tanks all had mottled marks, and the barrels recorded their dazzling combat records. The one with the fewest kills had already destroyed a dozen or so tanks. The Tiger tank with the most had small white circles painted on its barrel, proving that it had already destroyed 55 tanks.

“Next time, let me do the reconnaissance, Rein. If they capture you alive and see the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves around your neck, they’ll make a big deal out of your identity,” Marcus said. In front of him was a broken wooden board that he had picked up from somewhere, on which was spread a combat map of the vicinity.

“Shut up, Marcus! Rein is our company commander now. You have to be more respectful!” the middle-aged commander of tank 115 said to Marcus with a smile.

Rein kicked Marcus in the ass, then, without answering his question, just pointed to the map and began to speak. “There are two concealed anti-tank guns here and here. They have deployed three machine guns here, here, and here. If the infantry follows up, the losses will be a bit heavy. It would be best if we rush in first and take out all these heavy weapons.”

“No problem. Just tell us what to do,” the commander of tank 114 said, staring at the map and nodding.

“We are already very clear about the positions of these weapons. Once the battle starts, we just need to be on guard against some infantry getting close for demolition,” Rein said, pointing to the buildings on the edge of the city. “But the enemy has some tanks here. I don’t know the model, because this vicinity is the enemy’s rest camp, and I couldn’t get close. The French sentry said there are about ten of them. Based on the usual proportion of French tanks, there will be one to two B1 tanks, which will be a bigger threat. Everyone, be careful.”

“What about the infantry? When do they follow up?” two grenadier officers behind the tank commanders asked. They were responsible for following these elite tanks into the city, but it was clear that on the perimeter, it was a bit dangerous for them to follow behind the tanks.

At the very least, before the French machine gun nests were completely destroyed by the tanks, it was not very suitable for them to follow behind. If they did, they would have to pay the price of at least 20 soldiers to get close to the French positions and counter-attack.

“I’ve already looked at the terrain. You set up machine gun fire here, on this high ground. There’s no need to suppress the enemy’s machine gun nests. Just find a way to cover our two flanks and prevent the French soldiers from getting close to our tanks,” Rein said, pointing to a small slope not far away. “Their firepower is not a huge threat to us. On the contrary, I hear that the French army has recently urgently developed a type of anti-tank bomb, which has destroyed several tanks of the 7th Panzer Corps. The regimental headquarters has specifically held a meeting to instruct all tank crews to be careful of this weapon.”

The grenadier officer nodded and then confirmed, “We will set up machine gun fire here to cover the rear and flanks of your tanks. I will arrange for the grenadiers to organize some fire at a safe distance to block the French soldiers who try to approach you as far away as possible.”

“That’s right! Your sniper team can act freely. As soon as we take out the French machine gun nests, I will signal you to attack by radio. At that time, you can approach under the cover of the armored cars, and there will be no threat,” Rein said, signaling for Marcus to put away the map.

He then stood up and began to assign tasks to his subordinates. “The anti-tank gun on the left flank is for tank 114. No problem, right?”

“No problem!” The commander of tank 114 nodded. Recently, Rein had deliberately arranged some missions with combat records for them to improve the overall combat level of their crew. This made the commanders of both tank 114 and 115 very grateful to him.

“Then the anti-tank gun on the right flank will be destroyed by tank 115. These are all low-threat targets. Don’t have any accidents,” Rein said with a nod.

“I understand!” the commander of tank 115 followed with a nod.

“Marcus, pay attention to the gaps between the buildings in the distance. The French tanks could charge out from anywhere. I’m leaving this to you,” Rein said, finally looking at Marcus.

“Alright! Just wait for my good news!” Marcus said with a smiling nod. “I’ll save the cigarettes and chocolate for you later.”

“All vehicles, check your ammunition! Start your engines!” Rein commanded loudly. “Adjust your radio frequencies. Prepare to move out!”

Rein jumped onto his own tank and, at the same time, looked at the smoking city in the distance. That was the important French town of Amiens. Half an hour ago, 50 German bombers had just flown over there, and now it seemed that the sound of continuous explosions could still be heard from the city.

“Radio communication check!” Rein said, putting on his headset and holding the throat intercom. “Can all tanks hear my voice?”

This point was worth affirming. At least since Alice had come to their platoon, the communication radio had been much better. This little girl seemed to have a natural understanding of radio systems and could easily tune to the clearest channel for everyone to use. Soon, replies came from all the tank commanders. Rein then began to check the internal communication of his own tank.

“Baumann, heard!” the voice of the driver, Baumann, came through.

“Bruce in position!” the loader, Bruce, replied.

“Andre is here,” Andre replied with a chuckle.

“Alice, heard!” the sweet voice of the radio operator, Alice, came through. Bruce let out a wolf howl in the microphone. Bruce was a lecher of the highest order, so Rein had warned this猥琐 man to stay far away from Alice. Of course, Bruce was also very tactful. Apart from occasionally teasing the little girl, he had not done anything that was offensive.

“Check the spare ammunition for the hull machine gun! And then report to me!” Rein commanded loudly.

“Ready!” Alice replied loudly in the headset.

“It’s alright! Baumann, follow Marcus’s tank forward. Bruce, load armor-piercing!” Rein said, poking his head out of the turret and then raising his binoculars to look at the city. “Andre, 11 o’clock. Watch the gaps in the buildings that will appear in your sight in a moment. French tanks are very likely to appear there!”

“Baumann, this time we are providing cover. Follow the Panther from a distance, and use the advantage of our powerful artillery. Keep your distance! Alice, watch your left!” Rein suddenly remembered something. He lowered his binoculars and then said, pressing the throat intercom, “Alice! The last time, your machine gun didn’t fire. I know rookies have some timidity! But please don’t get us all killed. If you hesitate like last time when I tell you to open fire, I will kill you myself! Understood?”

“O… okay,” Alice replied weakly in the headset. She straightened the ammunition on the machine gun, then looked through the sight at her front and right side. She only saw a patch of bushes.

“Entering alert distance. All tank commanders, get into your turrets! Close your hatches!” Rein commanded loudly. He then retreated into the turret and closed the hatch with his hand.