-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
''Do not stop. Keep pushing'' I shouted while firing my rifle, using the armored car as cover while the shot of the armored vehicle's machine gun echoed in my ears, cutting down French lives.
I pulled out a magazine and began hearing how a lot of bullets were striking the vehicle's armor. For the moment, it seemed that the armor placed on it, 3 centimeters on the front while greatly neglecting the rear, had served to stop rifle ammunition, so nothing was penetrating.
''Scheiße'' the armored vehicle's machine gunner shouted, hitting the periscope through which he was aiming.
''What happened?'' I asked while feeling my heart beating incredibly fast.
''They hit the sight. I cannot see shit'' he said while still looking through the periscope, squeezing the trigger in short bursts.
''Keep firing anyway. Suppression fire or some bullet will hit someone, it does not matter'' I said, peeking out and noticing the chaos in front of us.
Many of the Frenchmen who were marching in retreat were scattered through the field after the first machine-gun bursts, and many had already begun spreading into the city while I could already see soldiers fleeing through the field.
''We are not going to fight an urban war. We only surround the city and wait for the German vanguard to arrive to replace us, then we continue the journey. Have some vehicles fall back with the information. We block the roads while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Without those, the infantry will have to pass through a sea of bullets'' I shouted at the top of my lungs so those close to me could hear.
The message was quickly passed by word of mouth, since although we had a prototype radio, the radio was static, so we simply could not yet have radio communications, as for the moment the noise of combat was making it very difficult to transmit information.
Even so, we began carrying out the maneuver. The French were too many to fight inside the city and, although we were better equipped than all the German units, it was better not to do it and simply block the possible escape routes, positioning vehicles with machine guns in the possible evacuation zones.
So, moving through the outskirts and firing toward the windows, we positioned ourselves on the roads and surrounded the entire city from the south and east while waiting for reinforcements.
That was where the Jägerkommandos took action, since they began claiming heads that looked at us extremely quickly, exploding skulls and piercing the torsos of any idiot who tried to peek out.
''Panzer, panzer!'' someone shouted, pointing at something that was appearing from the city.
Looking through the telescopic sight of my weapon, I noticed there was some kind of armored vehicle, a small French panzer, and I saw it just as it fired.
The shot landed near one of the vehicles, followed by a strong explosion. Dirt flew through the air while the French tank had stopped still.
''Fall back and bring the anti-tank gun'' I shouted, looking toward the rear where one of the vehicles carried an anti-tank piece.
Slowly, our vehicles fell back while the French tank fired several times, although its accuracy left much to be desired. The shots were landing quite close, since on several occasions the shockwave could be seen hitting the vehicles.
Falling back while the tank continued advancing, I approached the truck carrying an anti-tank piece and watched as a group of soldiers unloaded the weapon from the truck, since we had precisely not brought an anti-tank gun welded to a truck. I needed as much space as possible to move equipment, and one of those would completely waste the chassis of a truck.
''Come on, that thing is still firing'' I said, watching the group of three men begin pushing the weapon while one carried a box of ammunition.
Returning to a position from which we could observe the French panzer unit that was slowly advancing to keep firing, the men stopped pushing and anchored the anti-tank gun to the ground, then began aiming.
''Target in position,700'' the observer said, looking through the range calculation sight after checking with a rangefinder the distance at which they had to fire.
''Ammunition loaded'' one of the soldiers said, loading the cannon and covering his ears.
''Fire'' the group leader said, pulling the weapon's trigger while covering his ear at the same time. The powerful explosion was heard, propelling the fired round at enormous speed.
A tremendous crash was heard when the ammunition penetrated the armor of the French panzer, although to my surprise, the tank did not explode or the round did not fully penetrate it.
''On target. Target still operational. Reload'' the observer said after hearing the crash of steel being pierced.
Another round was loaded and the process was repeated, where it fired again.
''Scheiße'' I said, watching as the tank turned into a ball of fire, sending pieces flying everywhere.
''Target destroyed'' the observer said, putting away the rangefinder.
''What a way to die'' I said, clenching my teeth when I saw that nothing remained but a mass of fire and destroyed steel where a tank had been.
''Karl, orders'' Ernst shouted, approaching again now that there was no risk from the French panzer.
''We maintain the encirclement and give warnings whenever possible about another tank. There must be more and we only have two anti-tank pieces, so we have to try to counter their panzers before they put pressure on us until reinforcements from Army Group Crown Prince arrive'' I said, observing the city while French troops peeked out to see the remains of the tank.
Machine-gun and sniper fire echoed again, maintaining the encirclement, in addition to preventing the French forces from diverting through other areas, positioning our armored vehicles to block passage. Apparently, the only thing the French had in position to bother us were their tanks, which were easy targets for our anti-tank pieces, which were making them explode or disabling them completely when the crew died after a successful shot.
Almost an hour passed maintaining the encirclement until the vanguards of the Army Group began to appear, in addition to vehicles arriving with ammunition and fuel, which we took advantage of to replenish our reserves.
We reloaded machine guns, accumulated more submachine-gun ammunition and refilled our rifle magazines while watching thousands of German troops begin to flood the area.
Thousands of Sturmtruppen had arrived, many carrying their gas masks around their necks, beginning to take our positions in the encirclement.
''Who is the highest-ranking officer with you?'' I said, looking at one of the Sturmtruppen who dropped prone while watching the city.
''Our major is advancing with us'' the soldier said, pointing in the direction he had come from.
Since time was gold, I walked quickly while my men began packing all our equipment, leaving our wounded and dead in the hands of those who had just arrived so they could be transported to the rear and treated, or given whatever rites were necessary.
''Hey, you'' I said, looking at the Sturmtruppen major who was speaking with his officers.
''Eh… who are you to… yes'' the major said, trying to look for insignia that would reveal my rank without finding anything that gave me away.
''I am going to continue advancing with my men toward the south. Have the prince or the general in charge of the offensive in this sector keep mobilizing troops through the south. We are going to try to encircle the troops retreating from Besançon or, if they managed to stop the offensive, pocket them completely. But we need you to keep sending reinforcements, so send an order telling the commander not to stop sending troops'' I said, staring fixedly at the major, who began to tense as he saw me approach.
Seeing the doubt on his face, I kept speaking.
''We are going to Bourg-en-Bresse and then Lyon, so send someone quickly with the order that they must not stop sending men, because we have the chance to quickly pocket the French armies in the area'' I said, looking at the German major, who began to nod. ''What did I say?'' I asked, placing my hand on his shoulder and staring fixedly into his eyes.
''Send men to Bourg-en-Bresse and Lyon'' the major said after swallowing.
''Good, I am leaving. Continue your work'' I said, beginning to move.
It did not take long before I climbed into one of the trucks preparing to depart and observed that it was full of men reloading magazines, placing the rounds manually.
''How are we on ammunition? Did you manage to refill?'' I asked the group of men who were placing the magazines in a pile while they had bullets all around them.
''With this, we have enough to be almost fully operational, although we are taking a long time refilling the machine-gun belts. Not all the armored cars may be ready'' said the one placing bullets into a machine-gun belt.
''Good, it is better than nothing. Come on, hit the accelerator'' I said, striking the driver's cab while he was looking at me, and he stepped on the accelerator.
Our group quickly abandoned the encirclement forming around the city that stood in the middle of the retreat of the French forces protecting the Dijon front.
As soon as we began accelerating, it did not take long before we ran into the remnants of the troops that had managed to pass through our encirclement. While we were moving, we fired at everything we found on the road, killing several who were in the middle of the way while we tried to reach our destination.
On our way, we found small villages whose people simply stared at us, and it was enough to leave a couple hundred men protecting the area, especially our cavalry, who dismounted to take control of the village, since there was almost no resistance, only Frenchmen who had escaped and quickly raised their hands while the rest of the group continued advancing.
Only leaving men to cover our dizzying advance, taking the small villages to facilitate the advance of the vanguards of Army Group Crown Prince.
Finally, our destination appeared in the distance while the sun slowly rose. Without stopping even a little, we passed through the middle of the city and its roads, watching how the people who had risen very early stared at our vehicles.
Jumping down from the truck that had transported me, I got off in front of the town police station.
Letting Ernst kick the door and allowing some of my men to enter, it did not take long before I heard shots and many shouts inside the station.
Upon entering, I found two policemen down, one with a bullet in the abdomen and another in the neck, while other policemen had their hands raised.
''Put them in the station cells and we save time'' I said, pointing to where the holding cells seemed to be.
Opening the door, we found that there were arrested soldiers in the cells, in addition to some criminals, so it did not take long before we put all of them in the same cells after taking away their revolvers and keys, leaving them locked inside, thus leaving 12 policemen imprisoned.
There were some troops quartered there, but many were not prepared for combat and only a couple of shots were enough to secure their surrender.
Quickly, taking advantage of the fact that there was no resistance, we looked for the town mayor, dragging him half asleep from his bed, as well as the rest of the policemen we found using their records, since we knew where they lived inside the city. So we went to their houses and dragged them out, filling the prison with policemen and the mayor.
''I think we arrived long before the French troops. They may not have broken the trench in that area, or if they did, they may still be attacking the camp. So we will send some cars east to block the roads and buy time for the prince's troops. Alexander, you will take charge of protecting the area while we keep advancing. We will see if we can take Lyon with what we have and the garrisons we have to leave behind'' I said while climbing onto the armored car, gripping its sides.
The car quickly accelerated and traveled south while we tried to be faster than the French movement and to temporarily block their retreat or their ability to maneuver calmly, opening the possibility of encirclement by preventing trenches from being formed.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Hello everyone! If you'd like to read chapters in advance, you can support me on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Currently, there are 12 chapters available
without spaces
p atreon. com/Chill _ean_GUY
Thank you all for your support!