Chapter 35: A New Crisis

The artillery bombardment that lasted for nearly half an hour had just ended, and the outer French forces seized the opportunity to launch another assault on the positions facing Monceix. However, the pure infantry formation posed no threat to the heavily fortified positions of the Waffen-SS. The battle started and ended quickly, once again confirming that the term "listless" could not only describe a man's performance in bed.

"Landmines are everywhere outside, don't wander around!"

After settling "Petite Sophie Massot" and her family next to the new field hospital and providing them with a pot of water, Logan cautioned in French.

"Are we going to die?" the French girl asked, her eyes filled with fear, her fair hand tightly gripping Logan's sleeve. It was this small gesture that made him believe that his previous recklessness was not entirely in vain.

"Don't worry! The battle will end soon, and so will the war. With me here, you will all survive, I promise!"

"Is your promise reliable?" The girl looked up, her gaze fixed on Logan with great seriousness.

As a pseudo-paratrooper officer without any faith, facing such a situation, Logan didn't know what oath to swear by. After a moment's thought, he said, "Yes, I guarantee it! In the name of a dandelion!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a loud bang not far away, and the concept of "Heaven's punishment and thunder's wrath" immediately came to Logan's mind, not just something from legends, but... he had no intention of retracting!

However, the experienced Air Force lieutenant immediately regained his composure: this was the battlefield, and the sound just now was clearly an explosion of some kind, and it didn't sound much like artillery fire!

"Someone has entered the minefield!"

This voice made the German soldiers nervous again: the defense positions to the south and north of the town had not been attacked before, and compared to the low-lying terrain to the south, the terrain to the north was relatively higher. In order to attack the town from this direction, one had to cross a long slope, which was considered the most defensible side. After the Fuhrer's Guard Flag Team occupied Monceix, in addition to setting up a temporary airfield here, they also established temporary field hospitals and arsenals. In the previous artillery bombardment, this area suffered the least damage.

It seemed that this last refuge was about to become a battlefield too!

"Stay here, don't wander around!"

After saying this, Logan led the paratroopers towards the nearby German positions - although defending here was not their responsibility, if the Allied forces broke through the lines and eventually captured Monceix, they would either die in battle or be captured. This was an immense tragedy for Logan, who was transitioning from a state of apathy to ambition!

Along the way, many Waffen-SS soldiers who had left their positions for various reasons were rushing back.

Boom!

Another loud bang, and a fireball rose from the dark wilderness to the north, disappearing in an instant!

"It's the enemy! Prepare for battle!"

A Waffen-SS officer, no more than five meters away from Logan, shouted to his soldiers. But a second later, there was a crisp sound of machine gun fire in the distance, and dark red dots shot out from the darkness, hitting unfortunate soldiers who fell to the ground!

This time, without Stephen's "assistance," Logan made a graceful side roll to the ground, followed by bullets whizzing past from above.

"Damn! The enemy machine gun is right in front of the position!"

In the darkness, it was difficult to estimate the distance accurately, but the bullets couldn't possibly come from beyond the machine gun range!

The attackers had already advanced into the machine gun range, so the infantry should be launching the final assault soon?

Logan was extremely worried.

Taking advantage of the gap in the enemy machine gun fire, he quickly got up and, with the paratroopers, ran towards the trench at the fastest speed.

Having not slept all night, his posture was more agile than ever.

After entering the trench, Logan found that although the battle had started very suddenly, many Waffen-SS soldiers were already firing their weapons towards the front. Many MG-34 machine guns were roaring, and although the sound of rifles was thin, it was quite imposing when gathered together.

A few meters to the left was a machine gun position, where an officer-like figure was directing two machine gunners to fire forward. Logan was about to go over and ask about the situation when a sharp whistling sound was heard, and before he could dodge, a dazzling light flashed nearby, followed by deafening waves of sound!

Logan was immediately pushed to the ground by this invisible force. When he got up and looked around, the machine gun crew had disappeared, leaving behind charred bodies, and the famous MG34, known for its rate of fire and consistency, was now just a small piece!

His head was still spinning, but when he saw that the machine gun crew further away encountered the same fate, his thoughts became unusually clear: cunning Brits set off landmines, used machine guns to attract German forces to expose their firepower, and then used small-caliber artillery to destroy them one by one - as a result, the resistance faced by the infantry in launching an assault would be much smaller!

But why didn't the enemy use this tactic in the battles on the eastern and western fronts before?

Logan forced himself to calm down: right, the machine guns on the German positions before always waited until the Allied infantry approached to a sufficient distance before firing uniformly. If the Allies wanted to use small-caliber artillery to "clean up," they had to confront the German artillery pre-built under the illumination of flares! And this time, the Waffen-SS soldiers on the positions were firing in panic, unable to be so organized at all, and without the support of their own artillery fire, they were fooled by the enemy!

Thinking of this, Logan had no time to rejoice. He found a Waffen-SS soldier nearby and asked, "Hey, buddy, where is your field command post?"

"The field command post?" The soldier was obviously puzzled by Logan's improvised term, but he was smart enough, "If you mean our assault team's command post? It's about 50 meters east!"

"Okay! Don't fire for now, be careful and stay hidden!" Leaving these words that still puzzled the other party, Logan quickly ran east along the trench.

The so-called assault team command post was not much better treated than Pete's artillery command post: it was a two-meter by two-meter space protruding outward at the bend of the trench, with a shed on top and some soil cover, which could withstand bullets and bomb fragments, but would be a dead end if a shell hit.

There were only three people in the command post, one holding a phone, "Hello? Hello?" one holding binoculars looking out through an observation hole, and one standing dumbfounded on the side.

As the saying goes, when enemies meet, they are particularly jealous. Logan immediately recognized the one making the call as Marco Rost, Dieterich's deputy, a Waffen-SS second lieutenant - one rank lower than himself.

"Where is your commander? Why let the soldiers fire recklessly?" Logan asked urgently.

The officer with the binoculars turned around. "You are... Oh, Lieutenant Logan, are you referring to our squadron leader, Karl? He was ordered to take the reserve team to the eastern front lines, and he still hasn't returned! I heard..."

Logan had no impression of this SS assault squad leader (equivalent to a staff sergeant), and he continued to ask, "Heard what?"

"Um, sir, it's said that the units on the eastern front lines suffered heavy casualties in the recent artillery barrage. It's possible that Captain Karl..." The squad leader's words were cut short as Marco Rost hung up the phone, looking frustrated.

"Damn it! The headquarters can't find the squadron leaders or other unit leaders! No one knows where they are, and no one knows what to do next! Damn it! Oh... Lieutenant Logan, you're here, cough! That's great! I was just worried about you and your soldiers..."

Although Logan was not pleased with this guy, he wasn't in the mood to argue now. Through the fragmented information, he guessed the situation: After the intense bombardment from British warships, the communication and command systems of the Reich Guard Flag Unit were damaged. Subordinates couldn't find the senior officers and didn't know their current status. They also didn't dare to issue orders to frontline soldiers without authorization.

"Well then! I'll take over command here now!" After about forty-one stick incense's worth of consideration, Logan made this decision solemnly.

"What?" The most intense reaction came from Marco Rost. At this moment, perhaps he was also considering whether to take over command of this unit.