Chapter 130 A Great Ambush

Can night combat troops who have lost their night vision devices still be called night combat troops?

This is undoubtedly an ambiguous concept. If he and his combat team were still assigned to dangerous reconnaissance missions, Lin'en wouldn't find it surprising, but fortunately, reality wasn't too cruel. He and his combat team arrived at the right flank of the position, tasked with dealing with Soviet infantry.

Soviet tank battalions had formidable firepower, but their infantry... Lin'en had never feared them.

After meeting up with Major Zigler's breakout unit, Lieutenant Furtgen freed up two half-track armored vehicles to send the war correspondent Eva Sutrich, two nurses, and a seriously wounded soldier ahead to the defense zone of the 5th Mountain Division. The rest of the unit stayed behind to support the subsequent breakout forces from Oranienburg – although they knew this choice was extremely risky, both he and Major Zigler still dutifully made the decision.

After inventorying, the German combat unit at the assembly area consisted of one "Night Panther," eight Panzer IV tanks, and five Sturmgeschütz III assault guns, with 162 infantrymen remaining after the evacuation of the wounded, four armored vehicles, and two 150mm mortars. Zigler was in charge of the infantry units, while Furtgen was in charge of the armored units.

With about an hour left until dawn, the sounds of gunfire suddenly increased from the direction of Oranienburg.

With the strength of such a force, advancing openly along the road towards Oranienburg was not wise, so the two commanders decided to set up an ambush along the highway.

Lieutenant Furtgen, the young officer, deployed the ambush positions.

Contrary to traditional tactics, Furtgen did not deploy the main force in the frontal area near the road. Only two Sturmgeschütz III assault guns, one armored vehicle, and half of the regular infantry were left to build temporary positions there – Major Zigler personally commanded from there.

The real elite forces, the tanks, were concentrated on the flanks of the front line, especially on the right flank where Lin'en happened to be, with the "Night Panther" and five Panzer IV tanks lying in ambush, along with Furtgen's armored command vehicle on this side.

The reason Lin'en felt it was "coincidental" was because he knew that his current performance and strength were far from enough to make the battlefield commanders treasure him. Experienced infantry were abundant on the battlefield, but rare and elite equipment like the "Night Panther" were the real aces in their eyes!

With a pure intention to learn, Lin'en intentionally approached Furtgen's armored command vehicle to see how he deployed his troops.

Before long, the previously dispatched motorcycle reconnaissance soldiers returned with a report: a German breakout unit of about fifty men was retreating towards them, followed by a weak Soviet force.

Furtgen almost hesitated and immediately ordered, "Contact their commander and have them lead the enemy along the main road!"

The motorcycle reconnaissance soldiers wearing black trench coats were also the most agile messengers on the battlefield. Since World War II, their presence had never been lacking in battles of all sizes in the German army.

As the enemy approached, Furtgen did not urge his tank crewmen to return to their vehicles but instead instructed them to continue camouflaging their tanks with branches and dried grass – once it was daylight again, Soviet aircraft would quickly regain control of the battlefield, and at that time, the German armored vehicles on the ground would become tasty prey for Soviet ground-attack aircraft.

Lacking effective anti-aircraft weapons, German tankers could only rely on camouflage to preserve their strength.

As the sound of gunfire drew closer, jumping flames soon appeared in view. With dawn approaching, the darkness turned into a dim gray, and the visibility gradually extended from being unable to see beyond arm's reach to reaching into the distance.

Despite being close to combat, Lin'en no longer felt the urgency he did in the urban area, especially when the distinct outlines of the Panzer IV tanks emerged from the darkness, he felt a strange sense of reassurance.

The value of a weapon does not solely lie in its combat effectiveness; sometimes, the psychological effect is more meaningful than the lethality itself.

Soon, the retreating German soldiers finally appeared in front of them. Looking through the scope of his ordinary sniper rifle, Lin'en saw that these soldiers were all staggering and in a sorry state.

When he had just retreated from the urban area of Oranienburg, he probably looked like this too!

About four to five kilometers away from this German unit, a Soviet unit closely followed suit. They were led by two T-34 tanks, followed by a string of armored vehicles and trucks. If it weren't for a small number of Germans trailing behind and desperately hindering them, they would probably have caught up with the leading German breakout unit!

The Soviet unit quickly entered the maximum firing range of the tank guns. Lieutenant Furtgen still calmly held his binoculars, hesitating to issue the combat command. It wasn't until the Soviets approached the temporary position organized by Major Ziegler that the artillery finally sounded.

One-on-one, the Sturmgeschütz III was no match for the T-34, but in an ambush, experienced gunners would always choose to fire from a greater distance and position.

The foremost T-34 immediately took shelter in the center of the road, while the second one resisted briefly but couldn't escape its fate of destruction.

Subsequently, the assault guns began targeting the armored vehicles at the front of the Soviet convoy one by one, causing them to explode like fireworks, one after another.

The German 150mm heavy mortars were also powerful weapons. Their mortar shells rained down on the Soviet convoy, destroying a truck, injuring several soldiers, and forcing the remaining Soviet trucks to hastily turn around and retreat.

The Soviet infantry, dismounted and ready for combat, quickly realized that attacking the German positions, fortified with assault guns, was futile, and they swiftly withdrew to safety.

In Lin'en's eyes, Furtgen was like an old hunter who wouldn't release his eagle until he spotted a hare. He observed the Soviet soldiers and the remaining trucks retreating incessantly until they were out of combat contact. In fact, throughout the entire battle, as long as he gave the order, the tanks and infantry deployed on both flanks could easily cut off the enemy's retreat route and annihilate the Soviet unit with ease.

Half an hour later, the prey Furtgen had been waiting for, a group of Soviet tanks, finally appeared at the end of the road.

But as the sky gradually brightened, Soviet aircraft deployed at the front line could appear at any moment. Didn't the commander of the 5th Mountain Division say they could only hold out until dawn? Lin'en was puzzled. What was Furtgen's real intention?

A good commander wouldn't play tricks in front of his own men. Shortly thereafter, Furtgen instructed the communication soldier to relay orders to the accompanying infantry squads: once the battle commenced, the infantry should closely follow the tanks, kill any enemy infantry attempting to approach the tanks during the battle, disperse the enemy's armored targets' firepower as much as possible, and most importantly, once the battle was over, they must unhesitatingly follow the tanks in retreat, without engaging in battlefield cleanup or pursuing the enemy.

After hearing these instructions, Lin'en finally had a rough idea of Furtgen's intentions: if they were going to fight, they would fight fiercely, making the Soviet commanders feel the pain. Before they could gather large forces to launch an attack, they would no longer be able to chase the retreating German units with small groups of armored forces without any worries. This way, it should be advantageous for the various units under the 5th Mountain Division to orderly retreat from their positions.

The Soviet infantry, previously hit hard and retreated, were ecstatic to see their tanks arriving and actively joined the attack sequence. Guided by them, the leading Soviet tanks began shelling at a distance of nearly two kilometers from where their previously destroyed comrades lay, and high-explosive shells flew over the road into the woods, futilely shelling the locations where the German assault guns had previously hidden.

Furtgen notified all vehicles to prepare for the attack via radio.

The Soviet tanks advancing along the road fired while moving, and as they approached the wreckage of their comrades, they left the road and entered the fields on the side, advancing toward the German positions in a loose but coordinated formation. At this moment, two relocated Sturmgeschütz III calmly opened fire. Their shots were still very accurate, but from a slightly longer distance, the armor-piercing shells fired by the 48-caliber 75mm guns could not always penetrate the thick armor of the T-34, making the superiority of the Soviet armored unit, consisting of a dozen tanks, evident. If allowed to develop the battle further, it wouldn't be long before they rolled over the German temporary positions. It was at this moment that Lieutenant Furtgen issued the combat order.

Amidst the dull yet pleasant roar, the gray-green camouflaged German tanks, known as the "German warhorses," launched into action—the Panzer IVs were not as difficult to handle as the Tiger and Tiger II tanks. After leaving their hiding spots, they quickly flanked the Soviet tanks' rear sides, and the accompanying infantry had to sprint to keep up with their pace. When they entered the range of one kilometer, the German tanks began to demonstrate their adept shooting skills. After a round of gunfire, two T-34s on the road emitted thick smoke.

Unexpectedly caught in a three-sided ambush by the Germans, the Soviet tank crews appeared frantic and disoriented. While they turned to face one direction, their vulnerable sides and rear were exposed to German tanks approaching from other directions. With the accompanying German infantry rushing ahead, the battle situation that had just favored the Soviets immediately underwent a complete reversal...