The 150-meter-long Ludendorff Bridge was built in the middle of World War I. The bridge was built with future tasks in mind. Once faced with a threat, the German army could easily blow up the entire bridge to prevent the opponent from attacking.
Enter Germany.
The information Lei Zhen received was incomplete. The Ludendorff Bridge was not the only bridge within a 50-kilometer radius, but the only surviving bridge within a full 350-kilometer radius.
When German engineers lit the fuse, Lei Zhen had already reached the Rhine River.
The armored command vehicle is not equipped with artillery and cannot shoot directly at the other side.
But arriving at the same time as Lei Zhen, there were more than 20 Tiger tanks of the 9th Armored Division. The 88mm tank guns equipped by these Tiger tanks could pose a fatal threat to the German firepower points on the other side. Just before the German engineers ignited the fuse
When the rope was being pulled, the scout troops who had arrived in advance had already passed the bridge and launched an attack on the other side.
"The bridge must be captured at all costs!" Lei Zhen was anxious. The significance of the Ludendorff Bridge now went beyond the bridge itself.
When the Allied forces on the Western Front launched their offensive, the Russian army commanded by Marshal Zhukov on the Northern Front was less than 40 kilometers away from Berlin. Under normal circumstances, it was less than an hour's drive for the T34 tanks equipped by the Russian army.
Compared with the Western Front Allies, the Northern Front Allies pose a greater threat to Berlin. Germany's most elite SS troops are concentrated on the Northern and Eastern Fronts. The Western Front is relatively relaxed and the German resistance is not strong.
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As the saying goes, don't be afraid of opponents who are like gods, but be afraid of teammates who are like pigs.
The Southern African Expeditionary Force and the British and American Allied Forces launched attacks almost at the same time. With the British and American Allied Forces paratroopers being completely surrounded, the Southern African Expeditionary Force became the only bright spot of the Allied Forces on the Western Front. If the Ludendorff Bridge could not be captured in time, then the Allied Forces on the Western Front would
The offense will be in trouble, which neither Lei Zhen nor Tony Anderson can accept.
"Attack, attack, send recon tanks, the Germans lack anti-tank weapons!" Tony Anderson made a desperate move. The recon tanks are all light tanks, and their defense power is about the same as that of armored vehicles. If there are anti-tank weapons on the opposite side, there will definitely be heavy losses.
As a railway bridge, the Ludendorff Bridge has a bridge deck width of less than ten meters. After a tank rushes onto the bridge deck, there is almost no room for shelter. Only an 88mm anti-tank gun on the opposite side can completely block the entire bridge deck.
The 9th Armored Division can only dispatch light tanks. There is no need to think about the "Lion" and "Tiger" with a total combat weight of more than 50 tons. No one is sure that after the bridge structure is destroyed, once "
If you climb the bridge in lion or tiger style, will the entire bridge collapse instantly?
Faster than the light tank is the scout.
The smoke caused by the explosive explosion had not yet dissipated, and the scouts led by Qin Ning had already rushed onto the bridge. They were more urgent than Lei Zhen and Tony Anderson.
The German army was not without the ability to resist. On both sides of the Ludendorff Bridge, there were two two-story towers more than ten meters high. These two towers became the strongest bunkers for the German army.
On the beach on the other side of the river, the German army also built more than ten defensive positions. About 100 meters away from the other side, there is an 80-meter-high slope. The threat of this hillside has been removed for the time being.
In previous air force bombings, high slopes became a top priority. At least twenty aerial bombs fell on this high slope with an area of only more than a hundred square meters. All twenty German troops deployed by Brakdi on the high slope
Destroyed, no one was spared.
As soon as Qining and his six scouts rushed onto the bridge, they were fired upon wildly by two Maxim machine guns on the other side.
The tower is also part of the bridge. In order to avoid damage to the bridge, the tower was not attacked during previous air force bombings.
Brakdi was very smart. He placed all the two Maxims on the tower. If the allies rushed to the bridge, these 150 meters would become the life and death line for the Allies.
Ding ding ding ding——
A string of bullets hit the steel beam next to Qining. Qining lay down in time and was not hit. However, a scout next to him was hit by more than ten bullets. His entire body was shattered. The scene was horrific.
Qining had no time to mourn, so he casually picked off a smoke bomb and threw it forward.
When attacking, smoke bombs are really more effective than offensive grenades.
"Sir, we can swim across the water -" Kargil, who came from the Ottoman Republic, was hit by bullets and could not lift his head. His cheek was scratched by a stray bullet and blood flowed across it.
There is definitely no time to treat the wound at this time, so rush over first.
"No, the current is too fast and we can't swim through it-" Qining was very conscious.
The weather in March alternated between warm and cold, and the Rhine River had just been unsealed. A large amount of ice in the river channel had not completely melted, mixed with melted snow from the Alps, flowing down the river.
When crossing at this time, regardless of whether the current is fast or not, the cold river water alone and the ice cubes rushing across the river can pose a fatal threat to the scouts.
"I'll cover——" Parker, the sniper of the unit, raised his precision rifle and tried to suppress the machine gunner in the opposite tower.
At a distance of more than 100 meters, a precision rifle has almost no advantage when facing Maxim.
Since its invention in the last century, Maxim has almost single-handedly changed the mode of war. Its suppression effect is unparalleled. Parker only fired one shot and was shot continuously by Maxim. There was no chance to counterattack.
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Don't watch movies where snipers appear and kill everywhere.
In fact, on a real battlefield, if it is a frontal battle, the role of a sniper is extremely limited.
The Southern African army has a mature process for dealing with snipers.
Against a sniper?
Don't even think about it.
If the Southern African Expeditionary Force discovers a local sniper on the battlefield, the first reaction is not to send out snipers to counterattack, but to use artillery to provide fire coverage. Even if the sniper cannot be killed directly, the smoke and dust stirred up by the artillery shells will also hinder
Under the sniper's sight, it will not be light infantry who will appear later, but tanks and armored vehicles to encircle and suppress them with all their strength.
"I shouted one, two, three, and we threw smoke bombs together." Qining didn't take any chances. The brave one wins when we meet on a narrow road. Now it's time to compete in courage.
The effect of smoke bombs is still very good. Five smoke bombs were thrown together, and the entire bridge deck was enveloped in smoke, making it really difficult to see even one's fingers.
"Bazooka, tank gun, direct-fire gun - don't worry about the gun, cover at full speed -" Lei Zhen was also furious. There were only two Maxims, so the threat was not great.
The bombers had too many concerns and were unable to directly attack the tower.
The tank driver didn't have any worries. At a distance of more than 100 meters, there was no problem in hitting the tower regardless of where he pointed.
At this time, don't think about killing all the machine gunners in the tower with one shot.
It is only necessary to cover the tower with shooting. Even if the tower cannot be knocked down, the machine gunners in the tower must be suppressed.
Boom boom boom boom——
The intensive shooting from dozens of tanks really caused great trouble to the machine gunners in the tower.
The scouts' smoke bombs also played a huge role, and they finally rushed across the bridge and approached the tower.
Qining rushed halfway, and when he passed Thomas, Thomas was not dead yet and was in a dying state.
The moment Qining discovered Thomas, Thomas also raised the pistol in his hand.
Qining did not give Thomas a chance. He raised the assault rifle in his hand and fired a short and rapid shot, sending Thomas directly to see God.
"Fa Keyou——" Cargill flew up and kicked Thomas' body into the river. Without any hesitation, several people rushed across the bridge with the help of smoke and came directly to the tower.
Qining said nothing, took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and signaled Cargill and the other two scouts to attack the tower opposite. He led Parker to the left and right to control the only entrance to the tower.
Parker put the precision rifle on his back, took out a python-type military pistol, and took out an offensive grenade, raised his head and signaled to Qining.
Qining replaced the assault rifle in his hand with a new magazine, nodded to Parker, raised the assault rifle, aimed at the door bolt and fired a burst, then kicked the door open with a flying kick.
The scouts have practiced this kind of door-breaking operation countless times, and they will definitely not make mistakes.
The moment Qining kicked the door, Parker pulled out the latch of the offensive grenade. Before throwing it out, he shook it in his hand, shouted "Baozi, it's hot!", and then threw the grenade in.
Bang——
The 300-gram offensive grenade has a killing range of 15 to 30 meters and can produce a strong flash equivalent to about 8 million candles and a huge noise of about 170 decibels.
The purpose of this grenade is not to kill people, but to make the opponent lose the ability to resist. Since the visual cells of the human eye have a picture retention effect, it takes at least 5 to 10 seconds to restore vision. If you don't wear earmuffs, such a loud noise is enough.
Stun people unconscious.
The German troops in the tower were unprepared for the offensive grenades. The light was so dazzling that it blinded people, and the shock was so strong that it caused deafness. The German troops in the tower could only let out bursts of painful wails.
Before the smoke from the grenade cleared, Qining rushed through the door.
There were four Germans in total, scattered throughout the city. Two were behind the sofa, one was in the corner, and the last one was at the stairs.
Qining showed no mercy and knocked down the only German soldier who could still raise his gun with three bursts of fire. At the same time, he shouted: "Put down your weapons!"
Thanks to the winter that just passed, the Allies provided temporary training for expeditionary officers and soldiers.
This sentence is also the only German sentence Qining can speak.
The three German soldiers were still wailing. They could hear no other sounds at all now. The power of the offensive grenades was doubled in the narrow room. The remaining three German soldiers held their heads in their hands and rolled around on the ground wailing.
Bah—bah—bah—
Parker, who followed Qining into the room, also fired.
As a sniper, his shooting skills are better than Qining's. The first shot aims to hit the target and make the target lose its ability to resist. The next two shots aim to kill the target without giving the opponent any chance.
The power of the Python military pistol is huge. At a distance of less than five meters, the huge kinetic energy of the 9mm warhead directly knocked the helmet of a German soldier away. The second bullet accurately hit the head, and the visual effect was like smashing it with a hammer.
It’s almost like watermelon, the scene is bright and bloody.
Qining didn't have time to take in the prisoners. There were German machine gunners on the second floor. He shot the remaining two Germans to death with two rapid fire shots and then reached for grenades with his backhand.
Offensive grenades are gone.
The supplies carried by the scouts are limited, and smoke bombs are indispensable. In addition to offensive grenades, they also need to carry defensive grenades. Now Qining only has one defensive grenade left on him.
Parker was even more embarrassed. As a sniper, he rarely faced close-to-hand combat situations and carried fewer grenades.
Qining was not picky, he walked up the stairs two steps and let the grenade be thrown out.
Offensive grenades rely on soft kill to render the enemy incapable of resistance.
The defensive grenade is a pure hard kill. It weighs 500 grams and can release a full 1,800 steel balls after explosion.
The rainstorm pear blossom needles in the Tang Sect in the novel may be fantasy, but the steel balls used to defend against grenades are real.
boom--
After the violent explosion, Qining hid at the top of the stairs and could feel the strong impact, steel balls scattering to the wall, and the intensive strafing sound.
Maxim's rate of fire was only 600 rounds per minute.
The 1,800 steel balls used to defend the grenade all exploded in an instant. People with trypophobia would not be able to look directly at the scene after the grenade exploded.
When throwing offensive grenades into the first floor, sporadic wailing sounds can still be heard.
After the explosion on the second floor, there was almost no sound, and it was as quiet as death.
Qi Ning still waited a few seconds before slowly going upstairs.
There are also four German troops on the second floor, one shooter, two deputy shooters, and one officer.
All the corpses were a mess of flesh and blood. A German soldier facing Qining had no discernible shape on his face, almost like a honeycomb.
Qi Ning only glanced at the stairs before going downstairs. When he rounded the corner of the stairs, he subconsciously suppressed vomiting.
This scene is really too easy to cause psychological discomfort.
Parker didn't go up at all. He watched Qining come down, put the pistol into the holster on his chest, rushed to the wall in three steps at a time, and picked up a Luger pistol that was standard in the German army.
Although it has gone through two world wars, the Ruger pistol is still the most meaningful souvenir for the southern African expeditionary officers and soldiers.
Qining was not in a hurry to clean up the battlefield. He already had a Luger pistol that he had captured personally.
The reason for emphasizing "personally seizing" is because Qining's father also participated in World War I as a member of the Southern African Expeditionary Force.
When Qi Ning was a child, he listened to his father recount his experiences fighting in Europe countless times.
Now Qi Ning is qualified to tell children about his experiences in the future.
"Kargil, Kargil -" Qining asked about the situation in the tower opposite. After hearing Kargil's voice, Qining did not take it lightly: " - How is the situation over there?"
"Everything is normal, no casualties!" Kargil's voice was filled with relief from the bottom of his heart.
Qining still doesn't know that during the Southern African Expeditionary Force's capture of the Ludendorff Bridge, not a single expeditionary officer or soldier was killed, which was absolutely a miracle during World War II.
Whether it is a miracle or not depends entirely on the support of your peers.
Although the British and American coalition forces had suffered thousands of casualties, the Southern African Expeditionary Force successfully broke through the Rhine River, which is indeed worthy of special mention.
Of course, the battle is not over yet, and it is not time to celebrate.