"Small-caliber rapid-fire guns! No 25-pound howitzers? Are they all British? Or do the French have some too?"
Listening to the booming outside, Pet murmured to himself, but neither Dietrich nor Logan, who were very close to him, could hear what he was saying.
Squeezed into the trembling "sardine can," Logan felt a sense of suffocation, especially as the smoke from the explosions drifted in, causing him to cough again. He suddenly wondered: Could Hans Logan have had bronchitis or some other lung condition? Or were his respiratory organs naturally more sensitive?
The enemy artillery barrage continued, and suddenly, a helmeted figure rushed in at a speed of 70 yards per second, almost pushing another person out on the other side!
"Re... report... Enemy spotted... spotted..." The man, dressed in SS combat uniform, was out of breath.
"What did you spot?" In the noisy environment, Dietrich had to shout.
"The enemy! It seems... French! A large number of..."
"Hmm? Frenchies?" Dietrich said nonchalantly, "Those idiots have come to their deaths again? Tell Jankel to deal with them properly!"
After catching his breath, the man finally managed to complete his sentences: "The French have deployed tanks this time! Renault-17s and Somua-35s! Approximately 30 in total!"
"30? Where did they get so many junk tanks from?" Dietrich seemed more curious than surprised. After the battles at Sedan, Lyon, and in Belgium, the French armored units had almost ceased to exist as organized forces, with many tanks abandoned along the way. As they approached Dunkirk, sightings of French steel behemoths became increasingly rare!
"I don't know, but they're definitely advancing towards our positions, along with over 3,000 French infantry! I'm afraid... Jankel's troops won't be able to hold on independently!"
Upon hearing this officer's report, Dietrich's expression finally became less indifferent. The artillery outside still raged on, and he decisively said, "Let's go, to the positions!"
"It's dangerous outside..." Pet hadn't finished his sentence when the "Fanatic Leader" fearlessly rushed out.
Without much thought, Logan followed suit, leaving the not-so-sturdy "sardine can" behind.
The pre-dawn world should have been asleep in the deep darkness, but it was now being awakened by bursts of fiery light. The air still carried the strong and pungent smell of gunpowder, irritating not only Logan's nostrils but also his throat. The small town, along with over 3,000 German troops deployed around it, was now deserted, with only Dietrich and his officers visible on the stone road.
Swoosh... Boom!
A shell hit a pointed-roof stone house just over 20 meters away from Logan and the others. The young Air Force lieutenant watched in amazement as stones, wood, and various fragments soared into the air, followed by a cascade of debris. The scene was truly spectacular!
In the midst of this, Logan suddenly felt a strong push from behind, staggering and almost falling. Before he could think much, his collar was forcefully pulled, and he heard a tearing sound—his clothes must have ripped. After being pushed and pulled twice in quick succession, Logan ended up completely falling to the ground, clumsily rolling over twice.
"Watch out, brave paratrooper! Aren't you afraid of getting hit by stones?"
The person beside him also fell to the ground due to inertia. When Logan looked up, he saw it was Pet.
As the fallen debris clattered onto the ground and rooftops, creating a cacophony of sounds, Logan realized how fortunate he was not to be hit on the head. If he had, he might have needed stitches again!
"Phew... thank you!" Logan rubbed his sore elbow as he sat up.
Pet kindly admonished, "Don't mention it! Don't just stand there next time you encounter such a situation!"
Realizing his thoughts had been seen through, Logan felt a bit embarrassed. Battlefield experience was certainly not something one could gain just by watching movies. The higher mortality rate among new recruits compared to veterans was probably due to their inability to respond correctly to danger. He realized he owed his current ability to move freely, instead of lying incapacitated in a hospital bed, to the guidance of Sergeant Berg earlier!
Seeing the "brave paratrooper" lost in thought, Pet patted his arm and asked, "How are you holding up?"
"No problem!" Logan quickly got up from the ground. The enemy's artillery fire had not subsided, and this street was not a place to linger!
The two of them swiftly made their way through the town towards the northern defenses. Similar to the other three sides, the defensive works on this side were constructed on the basis of trenches dug by the Allied forces earlier. Currently, there were barbed wire, trenches, and anti-tank gun positions. The defenses on all four sides of the town were interconnected, placing Monke within a circular defensive perimeter. On the operational map of the British Expeditionary Force headquarters, this, along with three other small towns on the outskirts of Dunkirk, served as support points for the last line of defense. Originally intended to withstand the strong attacks of the German forces, it had now become a stage for the German Waffen-SS to prove themselves.
Dietrich had already arrived ahead of them and was currently discussing something with a tall, bald military officer. Logan had already noticed that the officers and soldiers of the Waffen-SS shared several common characteristics: they were generally tall, handsome, and relatively young.
Following Pet's lead, Logan walked over and happened to hear them mentioning the "Panzer IV tank."
"Are you planning to mobilize the armored units so quickly?" Pet interjected as soon as he approached.
Seeing his old comrade, Dietrich seemed unsurprised. He said, "Our infantry guns can't deal with the French Somua S35 tanks. Right now, only the Panzer IV tank's artillery can stop them!"
The bald commander standing nearby, who strangely resembled a prominent striker from Germany in the 1990s, added, "Our minefields are weak, and we've almost exhausted them in the previous enemy attack!"
Logan was about to mention the 88mm anti-aircraft guns that had been temporarily assigned to him, but he heard Pet say, "Not necessarily! I think keeping the Panzer IV tanks for a counterattack would be more effective. As for these Somua S35s, we could try another method!"
"What method?" Dietrich asked.
Pet said slowly, "Anti-aircraft guns!"
"Anti-aircraft guns?" Dietrich couldn't help but glance more at Logan standing beside him.
"Yes, the 88mm anti-aircraft guns!" Pet continued, "Although I don't know why Lieutenant Logan was given command of them before, I just remembered several instances on the Spanish battlefield where our Condor Legion used these high-caliber guns to destroy enemy tanks, and the effect was said to be very good!"
Then, Pet turned to Logan. "Lieutenant, could you temporarily lend them to me?"
Logan broke into a sweat again. He hadn't expected this artillery commander to also know about the "usefulness" of the 88mm guns. At first, he had thought that he might have been possessed by the soul of a time-traveler! It turned out that the use of the 88mm guns to combat tanks was not solely the brainchild of Rommel. If it weren't for the Battle of Arras, the artillery commander of the Waffen-SS in front of him might have also become famous for this tactic!
"Hehe, since we have the same goal, then... I'll officially hand over their command to you now!" Logan said, going along with it.
"Oh? You... both plan to use anti-aircraft guns to attack tanks?" Dietrich looked at the two figures in front of him, who differed greatly in stature, age, and experience, with surprise.
"Yes!" This time, the two of them answered in unison, then exchanged a smile.