"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The German anti-tank guns roared incessantly, one British tank after another exploding into fiery infernos.
The power of the 37mm anti-tank gun was enough to penetrate the fragile armor of the 'Hound' tank at distances exceeding a thousand meters. However, to ensure a higher accuracy, the engagement range was reduced to several hundred meters.
Though not overwhelming in number, the German anti-tank guns were by no means few. Even a standard infantry company would be equipped with at least two. These guns were not only effective against enemy armored targets, but also proved invaluable in neutralizing fortifications and machine gun emplacements.
Such was the strength of the German anti-armor capability, and it rendered the British tank assault futile, as if they had struck an impenetrable wall.
"Boom!"
A British 'Hound' tank fired, sending a shell toward the German lines, but sadly, it missed its target.
Yet, in the very moment it fired, it was struck by a German anti-tank shell.
"Clang!" The armor-piercing round from the anti-tank gun slammed into the tank's frontal armor with devastating force. The weak armor was torn apart instantly, and shrapnel sprayed through the cramped interior, killing the tank crew.
Under the relentless barrage of German anti-tank fire, the losses among the British tank forces began to rise exponentially.
General Hagg, observing through binoculars, watched in dismay as the British tank forces were decimated. His face grew as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Initially, he had been full of confidence in the tank units, believing that hundreds of tanks could easily breach the German lines and secure victory. But now, it was clear that all hope was in vain. Those tanks had been reduced to nothing more than burning wrecks.
"My God! How could the Germans have so many anti-tank guns? How are their anti-tank guns so powerful?" General Hamilton's face too darkened. He had once viewed these tanks as precious assets, but now, on the battlefield, they seemed utterly useless.
"Commander, the German anti-tank fire is too powerful. Our tank forces may struggle to achieve their objectives," General Hagg warned Hamilton, his tone grim.
This revelation made Hamilton's expression even more grim.
If the British tank assault failed, it would lead to the collapse of their counteroffensive. The outcome of the battle could prove disastrous for the British in the Southeast, with potentially catastrophic losses.
"Boom!"
An anti-tank shell struck a British tank. However, perhaps due to the angle, the shell failed to penetrate the armor and ricocheted off.
The sharp sound of the impact sent the surviving crew inside the tank into a panic.
"My God! We've been hit!"
"Thank goodness it didn't penetrate. Otherwise, we'd be done for!"
"Dammit, we have to retreat! We can't go any further. If we do, the Germans will destroy us!"
The few surviving crew members quickly agreed and disregarded their orders, forcing the tank to turn around in a desperate attempt to flee the battlefield.
In the midst of this chaotic retreat, the tank collided with another, triggering a chain reaction and causing a collision between several tanks. This only further disrupted the British tank formation.
The sudden chaos among the British tanks did not go unnoticed by the Germans. The commander of the 1st Panzer Division immediately issued orders to attack.
The German armored units, already eager for combat, surged out of their trenches and charged into the fray.
"Boom! Boom!"
The German tanks fired their main guns, turning British tanks into blazing fireballs.
At such close range, the German tanks had no difficulty hitting their targets.
For the British, it was a disaster.
With the German armored units charging into the battlefield, dozens of British tanks were destroyed in an instant, and the losses began to mount dramatically.
"My God! The German tanks are here! Hold them off!" General Hamilton cried out as he witnessed the onslaught.
But the British tank forces, already in disarray, were now completely demoralized by the heavy losses. When they saw the dark mass of German tanks charging like ravenous beasts, they thought only of fleeing, not fighting.
The battlefield became a strange sight: despite having numerical superiority, the British tanks were being driven back, step by step, by the German armor.
Particularly when some of the British tanks turned to flee, exposing their rear to the German forces, they were ruthlessly slaughtered. Many tanks were shot through from behind, reduced to nothing but twisted metal.
As the German armor pursued the British tanks, the Luftwaffe joined the fray. Hundreds of H1 bombers flew overhead, releasing their bombs onto the British tank formations.
The bombs fell like hailstones, shaking the earth with a deafening series of explosions.
Though the bombs were only 25 kg light bombs, they posed a deadly threat to the British tanks.
A direct hit would obliterate a tank, while even a near miss could tear apart its fragile armor with shrapnel.
Under the relentless bombardment of the Luftwaffe, large numbers of British tanks were destroyed, leaving the remaining crew members in a state of panic. With no courage left to continue fighting, they pushed their tanks to the limit in a desperate bid to escape the battlefield.
The British tank corps' first large-scale assault was nothing short of a catastrophe. They were struck down by the combined force of German armored units and the Luftwaffe, suffering devastating losses. Originally, they had over five hundred tanks, but fewer than a hundred managed to retreat safely. The rest were destroyed.
More importantly, the British tank forces' morale was utterly shattered. The surviving crews no longer dared to return to their tanks, let alone face the Germans in combat.
Thus, the British gambit to turn the tide ended in abject failure.