Chapter 126: Dark Advantage

As Lynn cautiously made his way out of the collapsed building, a flare soared into the sky. It blossomed overhead, illuminating the area, though not as brightly as a standard artillery flare. It was likely a small illumination flare fired from a signal gun. The surrounding street brightened, but only within a small area, and the duration of the illumination couldn't compare to a searchlight. Taking advantage of this, Lynn quickly rallied his combat team. Leading the way himself, with Wolfroom guarding Eva, Techimel closely following Tanze, and Bruhl and the others bringing up the rear, they retreated from their previous firing position while the attention of the Soviet forces remained focused on the breakout unit of German troops at the street junction ahead. They waited for the illumination flare to fade before leading their small team across the street.

There were no traffic lights, no pedestrian crossings, and no vehicles shuttling back and forth. Lynn wore an M42 helmet and donned what seemed like a fluffy but lightweight and agile "pea combat suit." He held a rifle in his right hand, constantly gesturing for the soldiers behind him to follow, displaying the confidence and composure expected of a squad leader. Behind him, Graff, Eva, Wolfroom, Techimel, Tanze, and the others crossed the silent but dangerous street in various postures, now only waiting for Bruhl to bring up the rear.

As Lynn turned to assist, Bruhl's figure through the infrared night vision goggles reminded him of Quasimodo, the bell-ringer from "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame." Being of short stature, his movements while bending and running looked rather peculiar, and he had to stop periodically to survey the surroundings with the night vision goggles.

Indeed, the person at the rear needed to be extra cautious. However, at that moment, Lynn faintly heard squeaking noises from the south end of the road, the direction of the street junction he had been watching all afternoon but eventually abandoned. The engine sounds of tracked vehicles were discernible amidst the slow, steady movement, as the engines of tracked vehicles tended to produce relatively low-pitched noises while in motion, making them more detectable to human ears.

Alerted, Lynn called out in a low voice, "Bruhl, hurry!"

Through the infrared night vision scope, "Quasimodo" still hunched over, but his pace suddenly accelerated. However, carrying the battery box providing continuous power for the infrared night vision equipment, weighing over twenty kilograms, made it easy to shift the center of gravity forward while running bent over—a sensation Lynn had experienced many times during the assault team training camp. As a reserve night combatant for the night combat team, Bruhl must have received training only after being selected for the team, with relatively little experience using night combat equipment. Coupled with the tension caused by the environment, he stumbled almost to the point of falling over, completing the last stretch mostly by crawling and using both hands and feet.

Seeing this bedraggled night combatant about to pass him by, Lynn called out again, "Hey, Bruhl! I'm here!"

In pitch darkness, Bruhl did not display the extraordinary skill of "listening for the body to locate," but rather relied on the infrared equipment to find his way to Lynn's side.

"Damn it!" he muttered, panting heavily.

Lynn didn't respond but instead raised his rifle to observe the direction of the sound.

As the advancing Soviet armored vehicles entered a range of one hundred meters, they appeared as heat sources in the infrared sight.

This was technology.

One, two, three... Lynn calmly counted up to seven, almost certain that these seven were the Soviet tank squad he had observed in the afternoon.

All seven were probably T-34/85s.

Initially, Lynn had planned to rush across the street, coordinating with the breakout unit to quickly breach the street junction and ultimately escape from Oranienburg—until nightfall, gunfire could still be heard in the peripheral areas to the east, southeast, and south. However, with the appearance of this small Soviet tank unit, Lynn realized that the situation had become more complicated. If the two armored vehicles of their breakout unit were taken out by the enemy before breaching the street junction, the likelihood of successfully leaving Oranienburg would decrease significantly. German infantry, including himself, would likely fall into utter despair under the combined onslaught of Soviet tanks and infantry.

It was either fight to the death or surrender; there was no third option.

Lynn knew just how terrifying life could be in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp.

In a fair fight, the German Panther tanks only held a slight advantage over the Soviet T-34/85s. Pairing a regular StuG III against seven T-34s, the only chance of victory was to fully utilize the infrared night vision equipment. However, the German tankers on the other side of the street might not have noticed the Soviet tanks sneaking up from this side, so it was essential to alert them!

"Everyone take cover!"

Lynn turned and growled lowly behind him, then took out an anti-tank grenade from his belt.

Although these powerful throwing weapons were heavier than regular grenades, fortunately, Lynn's right arm injury had already healed.

Pull the pin, toss it out, duck—these basic actions weren't particularly impressive in the hands of this SS corporal, but this throw wasn't meant to directly threaten the enemy. Instead, it served as a reminder to friendly forces: Look here, the wolves are coming!

Boom!

A strong blast accompanied by a deafening explosion echoed from the street. Traditional throwing weapons had very limited combat range, but in night combat and urban warfare, their concealment nature was fully exploited—in the case of being hit without knowing the attacker's exact location, the Soviet tanks blindly sprayed gunfire, completely missing Lynn's group.

Restarting the infrared night vision device, Lynn observed Soviet infantry dismounting from the tanks, taking cover and advancing on both sides of the tank column.

Is that all they've got?

Taking out a second anti-tank grenade and placing it nearby, Lynn could accurately judge the enemy tank positions in the dark environment thanks to the infrared night vision equipment. When the first Soviet tank approached from the side, Lynn calmly pulled the pin, tossed it out, watched the smoking grenade disappear into the darkness, then lowered his head, retracted his rifle, and crouched down, covering his ears with both hands.

Boom!

Before Lynn could even see the explosion effect of this anti-tank grenade, he heard a completely different thunderous sound—was it the Soviet tank firing?

Before Lynn could confirm, the consecutive blasts immediately disrupted his hearing, and a night battle between tanks and infantry unfolded on the streets resembling a ruined city!

The German Panther tanks equipped with vehicle-mounted infrared night vision goggles clearly had an incomparable inherent advantage. As long as the fuel lasted, they didn't have to worry about the battery life of the night vision equipment.

After finally finding a gap to look, Lynn saw that the first Soviet tank remained motionless in place. In addition to the engine position, there was now an additional dimming heat source in front of the turret.

Well done!

Lynn shouted inwardly, then shifted his aim. Unable to turn on their lights and without the support of friendly lights, the six Soviet tanks behind had difficulty distinguishing friend from foe. They were unwilling to remain on the road passively under fire, so they each turned and drove down the road. The original formation was lost, and the accompanying Soviet infantry were now left in the dark, some managing to keep up with the tanks while others continued forward along the road.

What else to wait for in this situation? Direct shots, one after another. At that moment, Lynn became a true night assassin. Technology was paramount, coupled with Bruhl's cooperation, the figures in the infrared sight one after another fell.

Although the Soviet soldiers saw the dark red bullets flying from the roadside, their panicked and hasty counterattacks posed little real threat.

Boom!

The cannon sounds from the direction of the street junction were so calm, as if an experienced hunter calmly killed foolish and clumsy wild boars. At that moment, Lynn witnessed a spectacular scene through the infrared sight: a dazzling light streaked by, erupting into a brilliant flame in front of a heat source, creating a splendid fireworks display right before his eyes!

Driven by these intense gunfire sounds, another illumination flare finally ascended into the sky. Although the brightness it provided was limited, it was easier to control its position. The white light covered the street junction, providing some faint light for those farther away. Unfortunately, the incoming Soviet tanks and infantry were now exposed in the open. Seizing the opportunity, Lynn's comrades joined the battle, and under the roar of assault rifles and submachine guns, the remaining few Soviet infantrymen also fell quickly.