POWs

"Ryan!" Andrea shouted loudly, her voice piercing through the chaos, "I can't see that TF-17 tank! Where is it? Bruce, armor-piercing projectile, reload!"

"1 o'clock direction! Quickly turn the turret! Quick!" Rennes was sharply brought back to reality and quickly ordered, "Bauman! Slow down and back up! Open the distance! Quick!"

Clark was frantically loading bullets in front of the guided machine gun. "My bullets have run out! They have too many infantry, God! Who will help me! My God, who is firing? Someone is behind us!"

A calm voice from Marcus crackled through Rennes' earphones: "You idiots in car #3! My car is right behind you, give me vision, you idiot!"

"Go see your ghost! I'm going to back up and let me go," Ren replied with a grin.

With a thunderous bang, the Polish tank across the battlefield finally turned its turret and fired a shot. The shells struck a fence on the left side of the Leopard tank, shredding the wooden nailed fence. Sand kicked up and pelted the Leopard tank's armor, reminiscent of the sound of rain pelting a car roof.

"Damn! The Poles are fighting back! Fire! Andrea! Fire!" Rennes ordered loudly.

"I can't find the target! Master Captain! I can't find the tank at one o'clock!" Andrea complained loudly over the headphones.

"Choke," Ryan muttered as he pushed open the captain's hatch of his tank and stretched his head out. Then Andrea heard Ryan's voice through her earphones: "Asshole! Go a little further to the left!"

Andrea laughed, tears streaming from her eyes. She had finally found a captain who could lead her through the thorns. With a smile, she adjusted the tank turret and finally located her target in the sight. She waited patiently until the tank body settled after a slight shake, then pulled the trigger of the coaxial machine gun. A row of tracers hit the target, sparking off the turret of the TF-17 tank.

Quickly, she gripped the firing device of the main gun and gently pressed the firing switch. The entire body of the Leopard 113 tank shuddered as an armor-piercing projectile flew towards the Polish tank. It struck with the force of a giant's fist on a dwarf's face, twisting the TF-17's turret. Renn, ignoring the captain's hatch beside him, laughed at the sight of the turret flying off and the remaining body of the tank engulfed in flames.

Only then did Renn notice the nearly a hundred Polish soldiers standing helplessly in front of his tank. He froze for a moment, then shouted loudly, "No movement! You are captured! Move again and we shoot!"

By this time, tank #112 had its cannon aimed at the Polish soldiers. The scene calmed down as everyone's eyes turned to Renn, the young German tank commander.

"Wow," a Polish soldier murmured as he dropped his weapon to the ground and raised his hands. Soon, more Polish soldiers followed suit, dropping their weapons and squatting on the roadside like lambs awaiting slaughter.

Rennes climbed back into the tank, picked up the submachine gun hanging on one side, and leaned halfway out of the captain's cockpit. "I'm going to take the prisoners now! Andre, keep an eye on the tank! Marcus, we have the scene under control! What about Chief Carter?"

"Senior Carter is behind; a truck got lost on the way but brought 20 grenadiers. I think we've made quite a contribution this time," Marcus' excited voice came through the headphones.

Ryan didn't wait to hear more but instinctively jumped out of the vehicle with his submachine gun. Andre also stuck his head out, watching Ryan approach the group of Polish captives crouched by the wall.

On the road lay the corpses of over 30 Polish soldiers, a grim testament to the battle's ferocity. Renn found a 75mm caliber howitzer in a corner with two boxes of ammunition. He smiled, slung the submachine gun around his neck, and pulled the bolt back. The MP-38 submachine gun, issued to armored soldiers, was an improved model using 71-round drums. There was no spare ammunition in the tank; it was meant for self-defense should the crew need to abandon the vehicle, so carrying extra ammunition seemed unnecessary.

Theoretically, tank crew members were advised against leaving their vehicles to engage in combat. However, at this moment, Renn felt the submachine gun in his hand was more useful than ever. He aimed at the prisoners and shouted, "Does anyone understand German? Stand up."

Twenty Polish soldiers stood up, trembling. Renn smiled and asked, "Who is the commander here? I have questions."

"I'm their commander," a Polish officer stood up, dressed in an officer's uniform, his face a mask of defeat. "I'm a battalion commander; these men are my troops."

"My intelligence says there shouldn't be so many Poles here. Can you tell me why, Mr. Campmaster?" Renn asked, still smiling.

"According to the provisions of international law regarding prisoners, I have the right to—" The Polish officer began, but Renn interrupted him by opening fire. Not at the officer, but around him, causing five or six Polish soldiers to fall. The remaining soldiers fled, screaming and crying, away from the killing zone.

"If you want to speak clearly, I don't have the patience for nonsense!" Renn demanded, glaring at the Polish officer.

On the tank behind him, Andre, who had his head out, felt his captain was like a viper at that moment, staring down his prey.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I'll talk! I'll talk!" The Polish officer quickly capitulated. "I was ordered to gather troops here to prepare a tentative attack on German territory. There's a road behind this town that leads north to another small town with a railway. Our division is in that direction... they have 10 cannons and many infantry."

"It seems we are late," Ren commented, looking back at Carter and Marcus who approached with their submachine guns. He pointed to the more than 130 captives squatting on the ground and said with a smile, "When the infantry group arrives, tell them they were too slow and hand these captives over to them. Tell them our vehicle was too small to transport them."

This typical child's revenge made Carter smile. He then questioned the Polish battalion captain further before handing the prisoners over to the grenadiers. Several officers found a broken table by the collapsed church and spread out the distributed combat map.

"In the north of this town, there is indeed a large town with a railroad, but we have no news about the garrison there. In fact, the Polish military positions marked on the map are more than twenty kilometers behind us," Carter observed, studying the map and compass.

"If there's a division of Polish troops there, we can't do much with our current numbers," Ren pointed out, tracing a line on the map. "But our orders were to capture the small town with the railway and use it as a base to control the surrounding villages."

"Let's think about how to protect this bridge! If the enemy counterattacks, we can't hold off so many Polish soldiers with our little force. If they rush us, we'll be in trouble," Marcus added.

"They won't know we've captured this place. No one will know for at least an hour," Ren reassured, smiling. "All the escaped soldiers were just infantry, and several trucks are still here. The news won't get back; we're all set on our side."

"Then I'll deploy the mission," Carter said, examining the map and pointing to the south side of the town. "Marcus, you're responsible for our right-wing defense. Don't fire unless necessary."

Marcus nodded. "Understood!"

"Rennes! You and my tank will be deployed crosswise behind the chest wall at the bridgehead, aiming to wipe out the offensive Polish army across the bridge," Carter instructed, glancing at Rennes, who seemed distracted, gazing at the far horizon.

Carter followed Rennes' gaze and saw a dense formation of planes flying toward Germany. After a few seconds, they faintly heard the engines buzzing like swarms of bees.

Carter swallowed, glanced at the soldiers around him who also seemed captivated by the sight, and stuttered, "I... we... shall we... do air defense camouflage?"

Marcus chuckled. "Those are returning Stuka or Do-217 bombers; they're ours. It seems they started early. No wonder we haven't seen any Polish planes; they must have been grounded."

"It seems air control is ours," Renn nodded, watching the Stuka bombers fly overhead. He glanced at Company Commander Carter and said, "Sir, it looks like their bombing missions are going smoothly. That Polish town full of soldiers is definitely a very visible target. I think the Poles there must be in chaos. We can take advantage by striking now!"

"Yes!" Marcus agreed enthusiastically. "You're right! The SS should have such courage. For the head of state."

Carter also nodded. "Leave two tanks; you follow me to strike!"

The group prepared to move out, their spirits lifted by the sight of their air force's dominance and the prospect of a swift victory in the town ahead. The battle-hardened soldiers readied themselves for the next phase of their mission, determined to seize control and press their advantage.