Chapter 323: The Outskirts of Amiens

On the French army’s position, a soldier with a rifle on his back swayed and yawned as he walked to the post where he was to relieve the guard. At a little after 7 AM, a thin mist still permeated the cold outskirts of Amiens.

The German bombing of Amiens half an hour ago had not disturbed the outer defenses, so the soldiers here, while enduring the bombing, had actually gotten a good night’s sleep. The trenches had been swept quite clean, because according to the experience of the First World War, any trench could potentially be held for several weeks. If you didn’t maintain hygiene, then the place would become incredibly foul later on.

This French soldier walked to the end of the trench. Here was a concealed observation post, with flare guns and a telephone, even a seat and an extremely well-hidden firing slit. He walked in and kicked the comrade who was leaning against the wall. “Hey, I say, if you’ve slept enough, then hurry up and get up. It’s time to change the guard.”

The comrade his foot had kicked did not move. This made him very unhappy. After all, for a sentry to be sleeping so soundly was not good news for the other soldiers.

“Hey! Get up, quick! How can you sleep so soundly? What if the Germans attack?” the soldier who had come to relieve the guard said, joking as he kicked the sentry again. But only then, by the sunlight coming in from outside, did he see the situation clearly.

The hand this soldier was holding to his throat was already stiffly stuck there, and his body was also long since cold. There were large patches of red blood on his chest. It seemed that he had struggled to live for a long time before he died.

“My… my God! Help! Help!” the soldier who had come to relieve the guard was so scared that he stumbled and sat on the ground and began to scream frantically. Several soldiers who were on guard nearby hurried over with their guns, only to see a scene that stunned them.

“Crack!” A French soldier immediately fired a shot into the air and then shouted, “Quick! Quick, notify the company headquarters! German troops have infiltrated and killed someone! Quick!” And just as he was roaring, on a machine gun nest not far away, the French army’s old Hotchkiss heavy machine gun opened fire without any warning. Soon, the originally very quiet position became noisy. The sound of long guns and short guns rose and fell one after another, because as long as one’s eyes were not blind, one could see, not far away, German tanks crossing the bushes and charging over.

“Fire! Push back the infantry behind them!” a French officer shouted, lying flat on the position.

“Sir! The German army has no infantry cover. I saw a different kind of tank. It’s very far from us. In front are three Panther tanks. They are coordinating very well. Our machine gun nest on the left flank has already been taken out,” a soldier reported loudly.

“Have the anti-tank infantry attack and take out the German tanks that have charged into our position! Quick! Otherwise, it will all be over!” The officer had been thrown into disarray by the sudden appearance of the German army. He gave the order and then, holding his steel helmet, he dodged the bullets that were sweeping over and hitting the mud. The dust splashed onto his steel helmet, making a clanging sound.

“Boom!” Not far away, an anti-tank gun opened fire. The 47mm anti-tank shell seemed to be helpless against the frontal armor of the Panther tank in the distance. This cannon had hit its target but had failed to stop it.

“Who let these idiots open fire? At this distance, how can they possibly penetrate the Panther’s frontal armor? Are they insane?” The officer was somewhat hysterical with anger at his stupid subordinates. He pointed to the artillery position not far away and began to curse. As if in response to his curses, a high-explosive shell from a German tank hit that anti-tank gun position, directly blowing the 47mm anti-tank gun to pieces. Flying up with it were the five or six French soldiers at this position. Most of them were turned into fragments and were thrown into the distance.

“Hello? Hello? Is this the battalion? This is 2nd Company! Our defensive line is about to be broken by the German army! Requesting support! Requesting support!” This company commander quickly grabbed the phone beside him and began to call for support, but he had only shouted twice when he found that the telephone line had been cut, and his telephone operator had been shot in the head and was lying in the trench with a face full of blood.

“Signalman! I need a signalman!” the company commander shouted twice, then lay on the trench and poked half his head out, staring at the approaching German tanks. He had just thought of pulling his head back when a bullet pierced his steel helmet. His vision went black, and he knew nothing more.

About 300 meters away, a young German sniper lowered his sniper rifle and said with an excited face, “I got an officer! He was right there just now, exposing half his head to see the battlefield situation. I saw him the last time he showed himself!”

Beside him, a middle-aged sniper with a beard squeezed the trigger. The rifle let out a crisp “crack.” The bearded man did not lower the rifle in his hand and said calmly, “Shut up! Get back to work! Our mission is to cover the tanks, not to shoot at some useless targets! Hurry up!”

And in his scope, the German Tiger tank was slowly moving forward. Rein was constantly observing the surrounding situation, and what dissatisfied him the most was that he had not yet found an opportunity to train the female signal operator sitting in front of him.

“Boom!” The tank gun of tank 115 spat a tongue of flame. The shell accurately hit the French anti-tank gun hidden behind the bushes. At this time, the French position was already a complete mess.

“Rein! I have destroyed that anti-tank gun! I haven’t found any French tanks coming to reinforce! I see the surrounding French soldiers are in retreat,” the commander of tank 115 called out to Rein on the intercom after firing.

“Andre! Is there any reaction from the French tanks over there? Marcus! What’s the situation on your side?” Rein asked loudly, gripping the intercom.

“I haven’t found any French tanks. If you don’t mind, I can fire a shot to test it,” Andre replied loudly.

Marcus’s voice also came through the headset. “I don’t see a target either. I don’t know if the French tanks are behind those buildings or not, but I know that if they don’t charge out soon, the French infantry here will be finished.”

“Watch out for the French infantry in those trenches! They might have those anti-tank bombs!” Rein reminded him, then adjusted the radio frequency. “Grenadier 1st Company, we’ve pretty much taken care of things here. Your men can follow up! Pay attention to covering our rear and flanks.”

“Grenadier 1st Company, roger!” On the other end of the radio, the German grenadiers began to move. Several armored cars charged out of the bushes, covering the German infantry following behind, and began to approach the French positions.

“Alice! Right side, there are a few French soldiers. Open fire!” Seeing the German infantry begin their attack, Rein commanded his radio operator loudly. “Cover the infantry behind us. Hurry up!”

“Alice!” After waiting for a long time without feeling the front hull machine gun of his tank open fire, Rein shouted loudly, “Alice! Open fire! Are you waiting for me to kick your ass?”

“Rat-tat! Rat-tat!” The front hull machine gun finally opened fire, but the bullets were really a bit too far off. They kicked up a shower of mud a few meters from the feet of the several French soldiers but did not hit their target.

At this moment, behind tank 114, a hidden French light machine gun nest opened fire. The machine gun spat a tongue of flame, and the bullets flew toward the German infantry, instantly cutting down two of them. Everyone stopped advancing. The German troops lay flat on the ground, waiting for the machine gun fire from Rein’s tank in front to suppress that position.

“Left side! A machine gun nest! The infantry on the right front is on you, Alice! Andre, traverse the turret and take out that machine gun nest with the coaxial,” Rein commanded loudly. With his command, the turret began to turn rapidly.

“Rein! Rein!” Alice’s voice suddenly came through the headset. “Those French infantry are charging over with something in their hands! Rein!”

“I don’t have time! Deal with it yourself!” Rein shouted back. He had seen the French soldiers through his commander’s panoramic periscope. These soldiers were holding a strange-looking bomb. It seemed this was the new weapon that had destroyed the German tanks.

While saying he didn’t have time, Rein grabbed the assault rifle from a handy place. He checked the ammunition and then said to Alice, “Alice! They have anti-tank bombs! You must take them out, or we will be blown up! If you don’t want to die, do it now!”

“Rein! Help me! I don’t want to do this!” Alice screamed in the headset. And the hull machine gun still had not fired. The French soldiers were getting closer and closer.

“This is something you have to rely on yourself for, Alice!” Rein said, reinserting the drum magazine into the assault rifle, then worked the bolt and patted Andre’s shoulder. “Keep aiming! Take out that light machine gun nest!”

Seeing Andre nod, Rein continued to command loudly, “Alice! Open fire! Or we’re all finished!”

“Ah!” The unique scream of a woman almost made Rein throw away his headset. With this painful cry, the front hull machine gun also began to roar, and a rain of bullets swept toward the charging French soldiers.

Rein threw open his hatch, leaned out with his gun, and sprayed at the nearest target. The bullets accurately hit their mark. The first and second bullets hit the arm of the French soldier who was holding the bomb.

The bullets hit the bone with a crisp sound. The front arm of the French soldier was broken by Rein’s bullet. And the third bullet coincidentally hit the French soldier’s head. The blood instantly exploded, a very spectacular sight.

But Rein knew that he was still a second too late. The bomb in the French soldier’s hand still flew toward their tank due to inertia.