Five Hundred and Eleven Is Really Big

The vast Ukrainian plain has always been rich and beautiful, but at this moment it was destroyed by the flames of war, and there was thick smoke everywhere. The fleeing carriages and refugees were stranded on the road, crowded with the retreating Soviet Red Army.

Above their heads, there are German fighter jets flying by from time to time. These planes return when they are running out of fuel or ammunition. In most cases, they will turn a blind eye to these low-value Soviet targets. After all, the Soviet Union has too many targets. , Now it's not that there is no chance of bombing, but it is simply impossible to bomb.

Putting down the binoculars in his hand, he pouted at the German fighter jets flying farther and farther in the sky. Ren jumped off the turret of the Tiger tank and leaned against the turret to look at Alice who was cleaning the heading machine gun.

I have to say that after serving in the army for three years, a sow is better than Diaochan. Looking at Alice's delicate butt wrapped in military uniform pants, Renn took a lot of effort to look away. He resentfully stuffed the bread in his hand into his mouth, then unscrewed the lid of the kettle and took a sip of cold boiling water to calm down his agitated body.

A German scout riding a motorcycle with an iron plate on his chest passed by Rennes' Tiger tank, stopped and saluted Rennes: "Sir! The nearby Soviet troops are retreating towards Kyiv. , I and the other scouts found no enemy tanks."

Ren nodded, then politely opened the storage compartment behind the tank turret, took out a box of cans and threw it to the dusty scout under the tank, thanking him for the information: "Thank you! Thank you! you guys."

This is the way of getting along in the army. From time to time, send some things to these scouts, and they will work harder when scouting. Sometimes a few minutes of warning and intelligence in advance can avoid some fatal mistakes. Make fewer mistakes or try not to make mistakes, this is the secret of survival on the battlefield.

The vast Ukrainian plains have stretched the German army's strength, and the 502 heavy tank destroyer battalion where Rennes is located is now torn apart. The battalion headquarters and the 2nd company were 3 kilometers away, and the 3rd company was about 5 kilometers away on its own flank. And now the 1st company where Rennes is located has also been divided into three groups, and discarded ones are everywhere.

On the way to Kyiv, the No. 114 tank was left behind due to a mechanical failure caused by the blockage of the oil circuit. In order to rush to the village in time, the No. 111 tank was ordered to stay to cover the No. 114 tank that was behind. Therefore, as the commander of the 1st company and 1st platoon, Rennes now only has 3 tanks for combat.

Of course, the Grenadiers of the 1st Battalion and 2nd Company of the 1st Regiment of the 3rd SS Armored Division were also advancing with them. These soldiers were responsible for reconnaissance and cover work. They, Ren dared to kill the village where they are now.

An hour ago, the grenadiers found the Soviet army left behind by them near the village, so Marcus's No. 112 car volunteered,

Taking the No. 115 tank to cover 40 infantry to intercept - they did this no less than five times along the way, and each time there was an unexpected gain.

The grenadiers captured at least 1,000 Soviet defeated troops along the way, almost 10 times their number. About 20 soldiers escorted these prisoners back to the regiment headquarters camp behind, so the grenadier company is not full now, only about 80 soldiers.

Therefore, there are only about 40 German infantrymen left near Rennes. Excluding the company's mortars, communications, and messy non-combatants, there are not 30 of them who can fight. The troops were also resting, leaning against the outer walls of buildings in the village, falling asleep from exhaustion.

They were so tired that they hadn't had a good rest for four consecutive days. These German soldiers put on raincoats and all kinds of warm equipment, and then lay on the ground like this, snoring one after another. .

Bruce and Andre are also sleeping, and they are also very tired. Although they are not walking on their feet, they should really rest these days. Because the two of them were snoring loudly in the tank, Alice couldn't bear the noise, and she was embarrassed to sleep in the car, so she came out to clean the machine gun. Presumably the sound that is more desperate than the engine is the snoring of a few big guys?

The more advanced a weapon is, the more it needs high-quality soldiers to maintain and maintain it, so that it can play the role of advanced weapons and equipment in battle. Don't underestimate every revolution in military technology. Every such development marks a steady improvement in the quality of the military at the grassroots level.

If there is only one rifle, soldiers need to disassemble and clean the rifle frequently, and then maintain and oil it. But what about a motorcycle? Then soldiers need to inflate the tires of the motorcycle, add lubricating oil, and even repair some simple mechanical failures by themselves.

Don't think that Bruce is responsible for loading shells for Andre. He is also a maintenance worker who can open the engine compartment of the tank, clean the oil circuit and the filter screen. He maintains and repairs some minor problems on the tank. Including replacing the severely worn tracks and road wheels of the tank.

Of course, Bowman is not just a driver, he also needs to maintain the engine of the tank. He is familiar with the engine of the Tiger tank to an outrageous degree. Where did the problem arise.

And Ren... Well, he is the only car commander who is only responsible for killing people. Now he is eating to replenish his strength, because on the way to this village, he put Andre on alert, and he slept on the shaking tank for 2 hours.

He simply took out the newly drawn nearby map and carefully confirmed the surrounding environment. The local Ukrainians welcomed the arrival of the German army because they were disgusted with the oppression of the Soviet Union. Their cooperative attitude relieved a lot of pressure on the German army. For example, the map in Rennes' hands was modified and refined by the locals in nearby Ukraine on the German military map.

Because this place is too vast, although the German army has carefully planned and prepared, it still cannot grasp all the tactical-level maps in the Soviet Union. By virtue of the opportunity to help the Soviet Union build railways, the German army surveyed and mapped tactical-level maps of some important areas along the Soviet railways, but the drawings in other remote areas are suspected of being fake.

However, with the help of the locals, Rennes' map still marked a lot of useful information. For example, the approximate location of some woods and hills, and the direction and distance of nearby villages. The information provided by these locals is much more accurate than road signs. It is a pity to say that the infrastructure of the Soviet Union is more than a little worse than that of European countries.

Some secondary roads marked on the map are actually small dirt roads with potholes. If you follow the original map, German tanks and trucks are still estimated to be crowded in the Ukrainian border area in eastern Poland. Under the guidance of some voluntary guides and local people, the German army barely completed the seemingly simple marching task.

About 4 kilometers south of where Wren's troops are now, there is a small town that straddles a small river about 10 meters wide and is a relatively famous place nearby. The Soviet troops should be gathering towards that small town, and if nothing else happens, the occupation there will almost open up the main road to Kyiv.

The vast plain is an excellent combat environment for armored troops. Ren was sure to kill the Soviet troops blocking him in the plain area, and approached the small town. He still needs to confirm, and ask the grenadier company commander following him if he is sure to lead dozens of soldiers to capture a strategic location.

"What are you thinking?" Alice finished wiping the machine gun, oiled some parts of the machine gun, found a water source nearby and washed her hands, then she shook her hands and asked Ren while standing beside the tank with a smile.

"Nothing." Ren closed the map, carefully put it in his map bag, then pointed to the place where the smoke was rising in the distance, and replied, "We may go there a little later, and there is probably a fierce battle."

Alice nodded, and then reminded: "In the morning, the battalion headquarters called, saying that the supply of ammunition will be delayed, so we need to save some of the remaining ammunition... The machine gun bullets are fine, and the distance between us and the shells is normal. The quantity is still 20 rounds short."

There is indeed no shortage of machine gun ammunition. When they left the battalion headquarters a few days ago, Renn took 1,000 more rounds of ammunition in one breath by virtue of his familiar face with the old man in the logistics department, so their machine gun ammunition was very sufficient. But the shells are not so lucky, after all, there is no way to safely stuff dozens of shells in the tank.

It happened that there were two encounters with Soviet tanks on the road, and Wren's tank fired about twenty shots. As a result, there are only 50 shells in Rennes' tank now, and if the grenades are not counted, the number of armor-piercing shells is even smaller.

"When the supplies from the battalion headquarters arrive, it will probably be tomorrow evening." Ren said with a sigh. He knew how chaotic the supply near the battlefield was. Most of the time, it was done by the commanders at the company and platoon level. The more modern the war, the larger the scale of the supply.

"The Soviet Union is so big. You can only see it with your own eyes. It turns out to be so big." Alice leaned on the tank and sighed. While talking, she stretched out her arms as if she wanted to embrace the whole world: "If the Poland, the distance we have advanced now is estimated to have reached Warsaw, but we are still far, far away from Moscow."

"Gulu." Ren swallowed a mouthful of saliva, turned his gaze away and looked into the distance—it's really big...