The Cars

"Colonel!" When Qin Chuan found Colonel Schleyn, he was surprised to see him fiddling with an MP40.

"You're just in time, Sergeant!" Colonel Schleyn said, "Stay by my side. I've always wanted to witness your marksmanship, but haven't had the chance. Today, I don't think you'll disappoint me!"

"Colonel!" Qin Chuan said, "I hope you can stop the attack. We might have a better plan!"

"No, Sergeant!" Colonel Schleyn responded, "We're out of time. I've just received news that enemy planes will be overhead in a few minutes!"

The German forces had their own intelligence channels, especially in Tobruk. This place had previously been occupied by Italian troops. Before retreating, the Italians had left some informants among the local population. These informants would pass on information to the Italians, who would then relay it to the Germans.

"That's exactly why I'm here..." Qin Chuan said, "Maybe we can make use of the enemy planes!"

"Make use? How?" Colonel Schleyn was baffled. "Sergeant, do you think the enemy's fighters and bombers will listen to us?"

"No, Colonel!" Qin Chuan replied, "But... if you were a British pilot, what would you rely on to identify friend from foe for bombing?"

"The direction of the enemy line, guidance from reconnaissance planes, and our helmets!" Colonel Schleyn answered.

Colonel Schleyn was starting to get impatient because he thought this arrogant sergeant was wasting his precious time.

"What if we hide?" Qin Chuan asked. "Like we did before to avoid the British reconnaissance planes, by covering ourselves with raincoats!"

"Sergeant!" Colonel Schleyn laughed, "You don't think that would make us invisible to British bombers, do you? We have many vehicles parked nearby!"

"That's what I wanted to talk about..." Qin Chuan continued, "What if we park the vehicles near the enemy lines?"

"And what good would that do?" Colonel Schleyn asked, "The British planes can easily bomb those vehicles... Wait!"

At that moment, Colonel Schleyn suddenly realized something, then he looked at Qin Chuan with his mouth agape. After a long pause, he finally said, "Yes, they would drop their bombs on the British lines. You're a genius, Sergeant! My God, we're saved!"

Without any hesitation, Colonel Schleyn quickly issued a series of orders:

"Machine gunners, drive away those pesky 'mosquitoes'!"

The "mosquitoes" referred to the British "Mosquito" reconnaissance planes. As long as these were in the sky, they could guide British fighters and bombers to accurately target the correct areas, which was something the Germans could not tolerate.

Driving away the "mosquitoes" wasn't difficult. The German forces immediately turned their MG34 machine guns into anti-aircraft guns, firing a barrage of bullets into the sky... The Germans hadn't done this earlier because they didn't want to waste their limited ammunition on the "Mosquitoes." But now it was different. Colonel Schleyn's order was "Use all your ammunition to drive away those 'mosquitoes!'" Soon, the two "Mosquito" planes had no choice but to fly away and climb higher. One of them even started trailing black smoke.

"Cancel the attack! Everyone take cover!"

This order was meant to make it impossible for the British planes to find targets... Without the guidance and direction of reconnaissance planes, spotting ground targets from high-speed aircraft was not easy, especially when those targets were camouflaged. The pilots would have to look for other things, like vehicles, to guess the general location of the enemy.

Then came another order:

"Drivers, find a way to get the vehicles into the enemy lines..."

"Colonel!" One of the drivers asked, "How are we supposed to get the vehicles into the enemy lines? They have machine guns and anti-tank cannons..."

Colonel Schleyn cursed, "Use your head, or you can try driving them in yourself!"

The method was actually quite simple: fix the steering wheel, start the vehicle, and weigh down the accelerator with something heavy... The vehicles would then speed towards the enemy lines. The flat desert terrain meant there was little risk of the vehicles flipping over.

Whether the vehicles were destroyed or caught in barbed wire didn't matter. What mattered was that the British pilots would see them.

So, with a series of loud rumbles, the vehicles sped towards the British lines one by one.

As expected, the British bunkers immediately opened fire, spraying bullets everywhere, with the occasional shell being fired... But those shells rarely hit the vehicles, perhaps because the anti-tank guns were manned by British engineers.

Many of the vehicles managed to reach the British lines, only to be stopped by barbed wire, unable to move forward... The engines roared, and the wheels kept spinning, soon digging holes in the ground, causing the vehicles to become stuck.

Qin Chuan didn't pay attention to any of this. He retraced his steps back to his company, found a spot to lie down, and, like the others, took out his raincoat and covered himself.

"Sergeant!" Basil, who was lying two body lengths away from Qin Chuan, couldn't help but ask, "What are you planning? Is it just to drive those vehicles into the enemy lines?"

Werner interjected, "Shouldn't we load those vehicles with explosives or gasoline?"

"Like we did at Tengefer?" The baker said, "That won't work because the enemy is hiding in bunkers. It's hard to hit them, and even if we could, the explosives and gasoline would only be in the trunk... They probably wouldn't do much damage!"

Everyone fell silent, their eyes all turning to Qin Chuan, waiting for him to reveal his plan.

"Just wait and see!" Qin Chuan said, then looked eastward, saying, "They're here!"

The soldiers followed Qin Chuan's gaze and saw faint black shadows of planes in the blinding sunlight, gradually becoming more and more numerous...

"My God!" Someone couldn't help but exclaim, "There are so many of them this time!"

"Yes!" Basil replied worriedly, "They intend to finish us off all at once!"

"The British really think highly of us!" Werner said.

"Sergeant!" The bear, lying in front of Qin Chuan, couldn't help but turn around and say to him, "I'd rather try to break through the enemy lines than be bombed to death by enemy planes..."

"No!" Qin Chuan answered, "Who says these planes won't be here to help us?"