On November 30, heavy snow once again covered the Ardennes Mountains. Because the heavy snow hindered traffic, the search teams scattered in the Ardennes Mountains retreated quickly, especially because they needed to drag the artillery they collected in the mountains, and even damaged and abandoned tanks.
In short, retreat takes time.
On the mountain road, Zhao Changan, carrying a carbine, blew into his palms from time to time. Born in Suzhou, he had never experienced such a cold winter, even in the winter when the Anti-Japanese War broke out, he walked with his parents all the way to Anhui, Hubei, and Sichuan... He had walked so far, but he had never seen such heavy snow and such a cold day.
In the middle of the road, a huge M25 "Dragon" tank trailer was towing not only a "Black Panther" tank but also a Type 4 tank. The entire task force had only twelve Dragon heavy trailers. After all, the U.S. military used them to tow back the tanks abandoned by the German army, and repaired the damaged U.S. tanks as much as possible or transported the damaged tanks to the rear repair point for towing.
For this reason, the task force could only use the backward M19 tank transporter to tow the tanks. Even the M19, there were only 22, and the insufficient number of tank transporters, especially "Dragon tank trailers", had always restricted the collection of weapons.
Now, it also hindered the march. When passing a hillside, the engine of the M25 heavy trailer roared that shook the entire valley. If it weren't for the shoulder-high wheels of the trailer still turning forward, Zhao Changan was even worried that the trailer would slide down.
"Come on..."
Soon, the convoy passed the hillside and entered Bastogne in the evening. However, the convoy did not stop. Instead, after unloading the towed tanks, artillery and ammunition, it returned to its previous station again...
"The Ardennes Mountains are part of the Siegfried Line. In addition to the weapons and ammunition abandoned by the Germans in a few fortresses, there are also a large number of artillery and tanks scattered in the mountains. Unlike the French, Russian and Belgian goods we seized in France before, most of them are German goods, and most of them are new artillery in 1943 or this year, almost brand new..."
Carrying the weapons and equipment found in the mountains, Chu Yunhui couldn't help swallowing his saliva.
"We found 71 15-centimeter howitzers, half of which are intact. Even if they are damaged, only the barrel is damaged. As long as the barrel is replaced, they can continue to be used..."
Then, Chu Yunhui said.
"Three days, Chief George, just give us three days, we promise to bring back everything..."
Another one that needs time, the other two teams also need time.
It's either three days or four days...
After thinking for a while, George said.
"Two days! You have two days, try to drag the intact weapons here, we still have to send these weapons to Metz, time is tight, General Patton's Third Army will soon launch a new round of offensives, once the German Siegfried Line is broken, the weapons that can be picked up by then, it will be countless."
Using Patton's attack on the Saar region as an excuse, this is George's excuse to withdraw the three search teams. As for whether the Siegfried Line can be conquered, it is not important at all. The important thing is to avoid casualties on our side.
While giving them two days, George also dispatched trailers and trucks from several other search teams to transport the collected materials to Metz as quickly as possible.
With Patton's Third Army there, safety is absolutely no problem.
On December 1, after several days of rush transportation, the tanks and artillery piled up at the Sixth Search Brigade's base had almost all been transported to the rear, leaving only a few severely damaged tanks and artillery. Although these tanks and artillery were only worth disassembling parts, the Chinese people, who were used to being poor, were still reluctant to give them up.
Although the main force had withdrawn to Bastogne, there were still two squadrons left here. At night, most of the remaining team members were writing letters to their relatives and friends.
"Where we live is a noble manor, and the house is very bright..."
By the light of a small candle, Peng Shangwu was writing a letter to his family with a fountain pen.
"Tonight, we are eating American canned Spam. Mother, you don't have to worry about your son not having enough to eat here. It's different from China. We can eat canned Spam every day. We can't even finish it. By the way, did you receive the two boxes of Spam I sent you last time? It tastes very good..."
Peng Shangwu, who just graduated from high school last year, responded to the call to join the army with the idea of serving the country in the war of resistance, but soon suffered a heavy blow - he couldn't even eat enough in the army until he and his comrades protested, and it got a little better, but still... not enough to eat.
But from the day he was transferred to France as a supplementary personnel, everything changed. Not only could he eat enough, but he could also eat well - he could eat meat every day.
Although every day he either fried Spam or boiled Spam, it was still meat!
What else is there to do when you have meat to eat?
Not only did they have meat to eat, but they also had thick and warm American military cotton jackets and down quilts. Even though it was freezing outside, they felt warm inside the down quilts.
These days were so comfortable.
At 10 o'clock in the evening, Peng Shangwu, as the squad leader, urged the team members to rest quickly. For him, tomorrow would be exactly the same as today - comfortable, quiet, and a little cold.
Maybe they would be more tired than today, after all, they still had to train.
The next morning, before dawn, Peng Guoliang, like everyone else, was awakened by the violent explosion.
"Somewhere is the artillery firing..."
"It's artillery fire, artillery fire..."
Before the shouting ended, a flash of explosion came from the dark window. Although they were far away, they could still feel the tremor of the earth.
"Germans, Germans are coming..."
The team members woke up from their dreams and picked up their weapons. As a search team, they only had light weapons. After they picked up their respective M1 carbines, various explosions mixed together rapidly.
Feng Zhijie, the captain of the 13th squadron, rushed into the command post.
The continuous sound of artillery fire suddenly frightened them. They were confused and at a loss. What should they do now?
"Are the Germans attacking?"
A shell fell more than 100 meters away. The shock wave of the explosion directly shattered the glass on the window. The scattered glass pierced the bodies of several team members. In an instant, the room was blood red.