The decisive battle against the Third Reich

The New Zealand soldiers' offensive was fierce and fast. Although mines continued to explode around them along the way, they still charged forward with bayonets in hand.

This fighting style is awe-inspiring, but it's also stupid.

It is awe-inspiring because the Germans installed the "S" type bouncing mine in front of the position. This type of landmine was called "Bounce Betty" by the Allies.

As the name suggests, bouncing landmines are landmines that can bounce into the air and explode again after being triggered... Ordinary landmines explode underground, and most of their energy will be absorbed by the land and can only cause damage in a small range.

The "S" type bouncing mine uses a very creative design. It installs a sleeve with an open upper end and a closed lower end at the lower end of the projectile. This sleeve is equivalent to a gun barrel.

After the mine is triggered, the first thing to detonate is the propellant at the bottom of the projectile. Then the projectile will be launched from the sleeve like a mortar shell and bounce to a height of about one and a half to two meters. Detonate... Then, the 360 ​​steel balls preset around the projectile will explode in the surroundings.

Sometimes such a mine can knock down infantrymen within a few dozen meters of the surrounding area. What's worse is that most of these soldiers are injured but not dead... On the battlefield, an injured soldier will always be more valuable than a dead soldier. Even more troublesome, because not only did it lose its combat effectiveness, but it also needed several soldiers to rescue it.

This made the "S" mine the Allies' worst nightmare.

The soldiers of the New Zealand 2nd Division actually charged in front of such a powerful anti-infantry mine... I am afraid that even the Germans did not have the courage.

That's not why New Zealand soldiers are stupid. Although they are stepping on minefields with their lives...but sometimes they have to do this on the battlefield.

They are stupid because they are not British but New Zealanders.

From the perspective of "only interests matter between countries", why should New Zealand soldiers help Britain fight the war? Moreover, they were often used as cannon fodder by the British.

Similarly, there are few Australian troops... These two colonial armies were even more heroic than the British infantry on the battlefield. In World War I and World War II, the whole world participated in wars, but they did not have much benefit to their own country.

The root cause is actually the political immaturity of these two countries. On the other hand, the psychological servility to the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets" is blinded by the glory of "the world's most powerful country", plus some The sentiment towards the "mother country" was embraced by Britain without any thought.

Under the power of the "S" type mines, the New Zealand Division's momentum was much weaker when it rushed to the second line of defense. At this time, the German army's firepower was stronger, and it suppressed the charging New Zealand Division several times. Go down.

This is normal in the eyes of Lieutenant General Austin. The opponent is the German army. Its quality and firepower are unmatched by the British army. It is normal to be slightly hindered.

At the same time, Lieutenant General Austin continued to receive reports that New Zealand soldiers discovered many fake tanks hidden in the bushes during the charge.

This convinced Lieutenant General Austin that he was right and that he would win... He planned to use this victory to boost the morale of the soldiers, even though there were not many German troops in front of him.

However, just as the tanks of the British 15th Armored Division were charging forward at full power, and the British troops were rushing forward behind the New Zealand soldiers, three red flares slowly rose into the sky.

Lieutenant General Austin immediately felt that something was wrong. These three red flares were fired from the direction of the German army.

Flare...

Its meaning, of course, is to order troops distributed in different locations to attack... In some cases, signal flares are more effective than communication equipment. Orders issued using communication equipment may also be interfered with and other reasons, resulting in some troops not receiving them. Once the signal flares are lifted into the air, The order was conveyed simultaneously and surely.

This means...the Germans have other troops.

Lieutenant General Austin was vaguely aware that he had jumped into the German trap, so he hurriedly ordered into the walkie-talkie: "Retreat, all troops withdraw to Matruh!"

But it was too late to retreat at this time. It was very difficult for tanks to turn around, especially since most of the British tanks were still on the coastal road. A U-turn would inevitably take up most of the road, and it would also have to go forward, reverse, and turn several times. Action... This is one of the reasons why most modern tanks require the ability to turn around on the spot. This action is not for coolness, but to shorten the tank's turning time and avoid traffic jams and chaos when encountering emergencies in combat.

Several loud noises came from the highway... It was the explosives planted by the German army on the Corniche Avenue. Its position was in the back half of the British tank formation, and the two tanks happened to be directly above the explosive position, so " With a bang, it was blown upside down and fell to the side of the road.

A big hole appeared on the road in an instant. The tank behind it couldn't hold back, or maybe it was because the tank couldn't observe the outside situation and thought it was just an ordinary artillery shell, so it slowly drove into the hole... …

Needless to say, what happened to it. With the weight and failure rate of the "Matilda" tank, it would definitely be impossible to get down and get back up. The tank crew inside would not be easy either. They might have suffered a bruised head or even fainted. .

Then, German tanks drove out of their hiding spots one after another... In order to avoid the detection of British scouts, they all adopted the hiding method in the desert, that is, digging a hole in the ground and driving the tanks into it. , with a layer of boards on top and even mud for camouflage, British scouts may not be able to spot them even if they pass over their heads.

As soon as they got the order, they roared out of their hiding places like giant beasts emerging from caves... Then the British tanks were in front of them, and they immediately stopped and adjusted their muzzle aiming.

The tank gun moved slowly, and with the sound of gunfire, armor-piercing shells were fired at the British tanks turning on the road with a whistling sound.

The main force of British tanks on the road was paralyzed in an instant, because many of them were turning around and lying across the road. After being penetrated by armored shells, they could not move, so they became an obstacle and blocked all the tanks on the road. superior.

Some tanks were eager to escape and desperately rushed to the roadside to go around. However, the wheat fields on the roadside obviously could not bear the weight of the infantry tanks, so they were stuck in them and unable to move, just like salted fish left to dry on the beach. .

The machine guns of the German tanks also rang. They and the bullets of the infantry gathered together and poured fiercely into the wheat field. The wheat that had grown more than one meter high was hit by the high-speed flying bullets, and the wheat stalks broke. And the ripe wheat was carried into the air by the inertia of the bullets and splashed everywhere.

Of course, the focus is not on the wheat, but on the New Zealand soldiers charging in the wheat field... They fell down in rows, screaming, and the blood that burst out quickly dyed the wheat field in patches of red.