Honor

The underside of the tank is the weakest point of its armor. Although a bundle of grenades isn't particularly powerful, it's still capable of piercing through it. As a result, the tank quickly came to a halt, billowing black smoke. Of course, the German soldier who destroyed the tank also vanished without a trace.

A German soldier, holding an anti-tank grenade, charged toward the group of tanks. He was extremely agile, sometimes hiding in craters and other times darting out like a rabbit. The British infantry quickly noticed him, and bullets began raining down on him, forcing him to stay low.

However, the German soldier knew how to handle the situation. He calmly pulled out a grenade from his belt, ignited it, and threw it out, using the cover of the smoke from the explosion to rush forward. 

Yet, he was still hit and fell to the ground. A splash of bright red appeared in the dust, and he lay there without any movement for a long time.

Just when everyone thought he was dead, suddenly, an anti-tank grenade flew into the air in a graceful arc. Its tail opened up like a dandelion as it soared toward a tank... "Boom!" The tank instantly turned into a ball of fire.

A few German soldiers pushed an anti-tank gun into position on the flank... They had no other choice; the PAK 6 anti-tank gun couldn't penetrate the frontal armor of the enemy tanks, so they had to target the sides.

The anti-tank gun could indeed achieve this, as evidenced by the sight of one tank after another being immobilized by its shots.

But as it destroyed its targets, it also revealed its position. The British tanks and infantry quickly focused their fire on the anti-tank gun... Bullets flew at the anti-tank gun, striking the shield with a metallic clang. Even worse, a few tanks stopped and slowly adjusted their main guns, aiming at the anti-tank gun's position.

At this point, the anti-tank gunners should have abandoned their post, as they had done enough, and the rest was beyond their control.

But they didn't. They held their positions, aiming at one tank, firing, then aiming at another tank, and firing again...

Finally, after a few more shots, the anti-tank gun was blown into the air by the sound of explosions, then crashed to the ground, a twisted heap of scrap metal. The gunners lay nearby on the sand, bloodied and motionless.

Qin Chuan was deeply shaken by the scene before him, not just because of the brutality of war, but also because of the spirit displayed by the German soldiers.

What drove these soldiers to fight so fearlessly?

Defending their homeland?

Of course not, they were on Libyan soil.

Resisting invasion?

Even less so, as the Germans were the invaders.

Yet despite this, the combat will and courage displayed by the German soldiers were far stronger than those of other nations.

Qin Chuan vaguely sensed that these soldiers were likely not fighting for any specific gain. They fought simply out of duty as soldiers, or perhaps for the honor of being a soldier. Just like how they couldn't tolerate Burg's betrayal earlier.

With this realization, Qin Chuan silently raised his rifle and pulled the trigger...

The battle quickly escalated.

The British forces had a clear equipment advantage, but the Germans skillfully used the terrain and smoke for cover, getting close to the British tanks and destroying them one by one... Soon, the battlefield was littered with the wreckage of British tanks. Some had been abandoned by the British after their tracks were blown off, others were destroyed by anti-tank grenades and were burning with thick black smoke, while still others had exploded entirely, scattering their turrets and other parts all over the place.

If the fighting continued like this, the outcome would likely be a German victory at the cost of heavy casualties, forcing the British to retreat.

But the situation changed...

Just as both sides were locked in a fierce battle, a new wave of British planes and bombers appeared in the sky.

It's well known that air power is crucial in desert warfare because troops have almost nowhere to hide in the desert. Everything on the ground, including tanks, becomes a target for air attacks.

At this point, the Germans had only just entered North Africa, and their air force hadn't even arrived yet... This was one of the reasons why Hitler strongly opposed Rommel's advance into Egypt.

As a result, the tide of battle quickly turned in favor of the British. British fighters and bombers dove down from the sky, launching reckless attacks... Their targets included German artillery as well as soldiers.

German artillery, when firing, would emit a flash of flame and smoke, making it easy to spot even when hidden among buildings.

So, the bombers dove down and dropped several aerial bombs.

German soldiers, while holding off the British, would form a defensive line. Although most of them blended in with the sand, British pilots could still pinpoint the line's location by the muzzle flashes.

Fighter planes then swooped over the defensive line, unleashing a hail of bullets.

"Retreat!" Qin Chuan heard the long-awaited order: "Fall back to the city!"

The order was given, and the Germans quickly retreated in units of companies and platoons, covering each other as they fell back.

Qin Chuan found Alfredo hiding behind a broken wall, clutching a pistol. Qin Chuan couldn't tell whether it was the loaded one or the empty one; all he knew was that Alfredo seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. When Qin Chuan called out to him, Alfredo reflexively pointed the pistol at him.

"We're retreating, Alfredo!" Qin Chuan repeated loudly. "Fall back to the city!"

It took Alfredo a long time to respond, and then he shouted in panic, "No, I'm not leaving! I can't take this anymore!"

"Leave him, Sergeant!" Viper Kuhn shouted at Qin Chuan from a few meters away. "Let him stay here; he'll get us all killed!"

Qin Chuan ignored Kuhn's order. He grabbed Alfredo and dragged him towards the city. Keller followed, grabbing the other side of Alfredo without a word, while Werner covered them from behind with his submachine gun, firing as they retreated. They finally made it back to the city before the British tanks arrived.

Once inside the city, Qin Chuan roughly dropped Alfredo to the ground and leaned against a wall, gasping for breath... Alfredo's weight had been a real burden, perhaps due to the Italian love of good food.

But before Qin Chuan and the others could catch their breath, the British tanks rumbled into the city.

Then came the deafening roar of explosions as the tanks began pounding the buildings in the city, kicking up clouds of dust and debris. Some tanks even charged straight at the buildings... Then came the dull sound of collapsing structures as the flimsy Libyan houses were pushed over like toys, with the tanks emerging from the rubble like steel monsters.