Chapter 170 Armor Column

The "Night Panther" advancing along the road maintained a speed of about 30 kilometers per hour, which wasn't particularly fast but seemed quite powerful nonetheless. It didn't need to avoid the scattered rocks on the ground; it simply plowed through them, creating a cacophony of cracking sounds in addition to the rumbling of its tracks.

Returning to his car, Lynn stared blankly as the "Night Panther" made a slight turn at the intersection ahead, heading southwest towards the street that led directly to the Havel-Tegel Canal—exactly the retreat route he had envisioned towards the south of the city. Moreover, before nightfall, the bridges on that canal were still intact and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would still be passable.

Following the first "Night Panther" were the second and third tanks, similarly equipped with infrared lights and night vision devices. These tanks had a wide and agile body, embodying the Germans' resilience, precision, ferocity, and cruelty, all melded into their sturdy steel frames, making them the fiercest land predators of their time!

Amidst the thunderous roar, four regular "Panthers" followed suit. Though lacking night vision equipment, their configurations and paint schemes were identical to the "Night Panthers," and they appeared sleek without any infantry on board, unlike the Soviet tanks. Following them were five sdkfz251 medium half-track armored vehicles. The first of these had a similar infrared light and night vision goggles mounted on its machine gun position, similar to the "Night Panther." Lynn had seen such equipment in the "Vampire" assault team's training grounds and was now deeply curious about the nature and mission of this German armored column. It must have had a close connection with Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Bach, and there was a strong possibility... he was among them!

Speculations aside, Lynn chose not to break through the checkpoint to appeal to Colonel Bach for a ride. At best, he had a friendly appreciation and expectation from the lieutenant colonel, which extended only to professional courtesy, not personal favoritism. Depending on such a relationship for a favor during a critical moment was clearly insufficient.

The first three half-track armored vehicles ahead seemed to be loaded with infantry, while the fourth had a circular antenna array around its roof, clearly a command and liaison vehicle. The fifth was the anti-tank variant with a turret that Lynn had seen before. Following them were six Panzer IV tanks with long-barreled guns and armored skirts. But that wasn't all; two "Panthers" and two "Night Panthers" led four half-track armored vehicles to cover the rear of this long armored column, one of which was an armored command and liaison vehicle with a circular antenna array.

As all the vehicles turned at the intersection and headed southwest down the street, Lynn could still hear the rumble of their engines in his ears.

The motorcycle-mounted guards looked at their watches. After a full minute, when the armored column was almost out of sight, one of them raised his left hand and said, "You can go."

That statement became Lynn's leverage. He quickly started the car and called out to the guard who had previously stopped him to "let him go." The man seemed bewildered by the unusual situation and obediently opened the barrier. By that time, Wolfrum and Brühl, who had already disembarked, quickly removed the wire mesh barriers blocking their path and jumped onto Lynn's military bucket car, which was now in motion.

As they accelerated past the checkpoint, before the soldiers on the opposite side could reset the wire mesh barriers, Lynn skillfully maneuvered the steering wheel and made a beautiful S-turn, smoothly passing through the checkpoint in pursuit of the armored column. In his mind, he couldn't help but wonder: with the downfall of figures like Göring and Himmler, who were arrested and stripped of all their positions on charges of treason, and with the imminent fall of Berlin and the desperate resistance of the defending troops, who among the high-ranking officials could still command such a large armored force?

Before reaching the Havel-Tegel Canal, Lynn pondered but still couldn't come up with a reasonable answer. After all, the Führer hadn't yet committed suicide or been captured, so such a grandiose evacuation from Berlin didn't quite make sense.

As they approached the canal, Lynn slowed the car down. The checkpoint officer at the bridgehead was no longer fooled by his deception. He rigorously checked the identity of each soldier in the car and called the command headquarters to verify the mission. This time, the call didn't go through. No matter how Lynn pleaded, the officer refused to let them pass, adhering to the command from the headquarters to allow no one to leave. After more than ten minutes, Lynn was finally convinced by the officer's stubbornness. He turned the car around and drove eastward along the canal, planning to try the Göring Bridge a few kilometers away or the Friedrichstrasse Railway Bridge further down. However, as the car had just left the bridgehead, shells suddenly came whistling from a distance. At first, they only fell on the opposite side of the bridge and into the canal, but moments later, an ordinary high-explosive shell landed squarely on the bridgehead checkpoint, blowing the duty officer and several sentries into the air. Seeing this, Lynn quickly turned back to the bridgehead, but heard someone shouting, "The Soviets are coming, blow up the bridge!"

"Hold on, don't blow up the bridge!" Lynn shouted as he accelerated past the bridgehead. The wire mesh barriers were still in place, and the car plowed straight into them. Fortunately, with many people pushing, the military bucket car, although jolted and with its front hood raised, managed to push through the barriers and onto the bridge. It was like escaping a disaster scene at the last second in a disaster movie. Lynn stepped on the accelerator, praying for "just one more second," as the engine roared extra loudly, paying no heed to the shells that could hit them at any moment, letting the violent gusts toss his hair and collar wildly. With determination, he drove the car forward. Thankfully, the canal on this side was not as wide as the Spree River on the other side, and the bridgehead was soon in sight. Once again, he directly plowed through the wire mesh barriers, and the front hood of the VW82 military bucket car flew off, revealing the exposed engine, still emitting hot steam but stubbornly refusing to stall. "Hold on, everyone!" Lynn gritted his teeth and shouted, shifting gears and accelerating, the gas pedal pressed to the floor. The Soviet artillery fire wasn't coming from the south; judging from the flashing lights in the distance, the artillery positions should be in the southeastern part of the city. Fortunately, they hadn't resorted to the terrifying "Katyusha" yet.

To bypass the defense bunkers constructed by the defending soldiers with sandbags or even cement along the roadside, Lynn continuously and frequently turned the steering wheel—it wasn't like driving a car but more like maneuvering a bumper car in an amusement park. Despite the cramped space inside the car, passengers swayed helplessly as Lynn made sharp turns, feeling like they might be thrown off at any moment. The farther they went, the more similar the dismal scene in front of them was to what they had seen in the eastern part of the city: many buildings, having endured long-term Allied bombings and ground battles between attackers and defenders, were riddled with bullet holes, bomb craters, and fire damage, looking completely dilapidated. Corpses in military uniforms were scattered throughout the ruins, their identities indistinguishable in the chaotic darkness.

Thud, clatter... Suddenly, the sound of artillery and machine guns could be heard from the front. Lynn seemed to awaken from a spell, quickly slowing down the car. The speedometer needle dropped from over 70 to 40, but even that felt too fast when danger loomed. Lynn soon reduced the speed to 30, and by then, the bright flashes of exploding shells were clearly visible ahead.

Had the armored column encountered Soviet forces?

Lynn wasn't surprised by this; after all, Berlin Radio had announced a day earlier that the capital was surrounded by Soviet forces, calling on all Berliners to join the glorious fight in the name of the Führer, to continuously deplete the Soviet forces and support the military's strategic counterattacks from both flanks.

The talk of counterattacks was just wishful thinking by a few individuals; Lynn was only concerned about the extent to which Berlin was surrounded by Soviet forces: whether it was heavily fortified or just occupied and blocked the main roads. Could they still pass through the remote paths, or would they need a low-intensity battle to break through the Soviet blockade? If the Soviets had tanks and heavy artillery guarding everywhere, their only chance of breaking out would be to take full advantage of the terrain and the cover of darkness.

As the sound of gunfire grew closer, with bullets even whizzing overhead, Lynn stopped the car by the roadside. Though there were only two types of people on the battlefield—friend or foe—blindly getting involved in the fighting was extremely dangerous. Standing up on the car's footboard, he raised a pair of binoculars for observation, while Wolfrum and the others quickly got out of the car to be on guard. Judging from the flashes of gunfire, the main fighting seemed to be between tanks. The relatively dark light undoubtedly favored the German side equipped with night vision equipment, but they were already out of effective German-controlled territory here. If they accidentally stumbled into an area heavily occupied by Soviet infantry, the situation would be dire!