Chapter 143: Crushing the Withered, Ripping the Rotten

"Report! The East Front breach has already expanded to 5 kilometers!"

Lin Yu looked at the Battlefield Situation Map, the moment had arrived.

"Order the main force of the Ghost Division to break out west. The German Armored Division's entire main force to thrust through the East Front breach, executing a pincer attack. The Great German Infantry Corps to cooperate with the armored division's action."

On the battlefield, two elite units began the anti‑encirclement operation.

East Front, the German Armored Division's main force surged onto the battlefield like a torrent of steel.

Armored Division commander Feng Schmidt stood on the command vehicle, directing this steel storm via radio: "First Armored Brigade frontal assault, Second Armored Brigade left‑wing flanking, Third Armored Brigade right‑wing encirclement. Armored Grenade Troop to follow up and clear. Artillery Brigade, prepare fire!"

Twenty‑four 150mm Self‑Propelled Guns, each bearing a Marshal's Staff, fired simultaneously. Their barrels spewed orange‑red flame, and a deafening roar echoed across the battlefield. The 150mm shells whistled toward the Allied Forces positions, each carving an 8‑meter‑diameter crater in the ground.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The blast wave overturned the trench, hurling soldiers and equipment into the air. Soil, shrapnel and flesh mingled, tracing a terrifying arc overhead. An Allied Forces soldier who had just emerged from the trench was blown by the shockwave, slammed onto the ground dozens of meters away, and never got up again.

"Advance!"

The First Armored Brigade, composed of 69 Leopard Tanks, led the charge. The roar of the tank engines shook the earth, and the tracks grinding the soil sounded like thunder. Each tank surged forward at 60 km/h, making the ground tremble under the weight of the steel behemoths.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The 75mm Long Barrel Cannon roared continuously, its muzzle flame glaring in the night. A shell precisely struck the Allied Forces' Han Yang field artillery, shattering it. An Allied gunner who had just finished loading, before he could aim, was hit directly by a tank shell. His body was torn apart by the explosion, and blood dyed the entire gun position red.

Tank tracks rolled over the trench, flattening everything in their path. An Allied soldier tried to attack the tank with a Hand Grenade, but was spotted by the tank's machine gunner. A 7.92mm bullet instantly pierced his chest, spouting blood from the wound and staining his uniform red.

The Second and Third Armored Brigades flanked from both wings, and the 42 Tiger Tanks' 88mm Heavy Cannons aimed at the Allied Forces' artillery positions.

"Aim! Fire!"

A volley of simultaneous fire instantly crippled the Allied Forces' fire‑support system. The 88mm shell's armor‑piercing power was astounding, easily breaching the Allied gun shield and shredding the gunner. One Allied field gun was hit directly, its barrel twisted and its carriage ripped several meters away. Nearby gunners were torn by exploding metal fragments, their screams dwarfed by the cannon roar.

"Heavens!" the Allied commander shouted in terror, staring at the Battlefield Situation Map, "Where did all those tanks come from?"

But no one could answer, for the answer had already been drowned out by the booming cannon fire.

The Armored Grenade Troop followed the tank formations into the battlefield. Two hundred forty Half‑Track Armored Vehicles carried fully armed grenade throwers, clearing the residual resistance left by the tanks.

"Clear!" the Armored Grenade Troop commander ordered.

Each grenade‑thrower squad was equipped with two MG42 General‑Purpose Machine Guns, delivering astonishing fire density. The MG42's rate of fire reached 1,200 rounds per minute, and soldiers called it "Reaper's Scythe". When it fired, the sound was not the usual "rat‑a‑tat", but a chilling "Ripping!" that seemed to tear the air itself, as well as the enemy's bodies.

Grenade throwers leapt from the armored vehicles, carpet‑bombing the trenches and bunkers. The staccato fire of MP40 submachine guns rose and fell, 9mm bullets pouring out at 500 rounds per second. An Allied soldier who had just stuck his head out of a bunker was hit in the face by a burst of bullets; his skull was nearly shattered, and brain matter and blood sprayed onto the trench wall.

The sound of exploding Hand Grenades was incessant. German-made M24 Grenades were thrown into the trench, and the resulting steel balls and shrapnel tore the Allied soldiers inside into fragments. An Allied soldier tried to flee, but the blast wave flipped him over; as he struggled to rise, a grenade thrower was already standing before him, the MP40's barrel aimed at his head.

"Bang!"

A crisp gunshot ended the Allied soldier's life.

West Front, the Ghost Division also began its counterattack.

Division commander Shiteyin personally directed: "First Brigade breakthrough, Second Brigade follow, Third Brigade flank maneuver. Artillery Brigade, provide fire coverage!"

Eighteen 150mm Howitzers and twenty‑four 105mm Cannons fired simultaneously. The dense barrage fell like rain on the Allied positions, leveling everything. The explosions merged into a roar, and the ground cracked under the violent shaking. An Allied soldier was lifted by the blast wave, slammed hard onto the ground, his eardrum ruptured, and blood streamed from his ear.

"Charge!"

The Ghost Division's assault troops pierced the Allied lines like phantoms. They were well‑equipped and tactically proficient. Each squad had clear task assignments, and each platoon had detailed assault routes.

Bloody close‑quarters combat erupted in the trench. Ghost Division soldiers wielded MP40 submachine guns and bayonets, clearing every corner. An Allied soldier who tried to raise his hands in surrender was pierced in the throat by a Ghost Division soldier's bayonet. Blood gushed from the wound, staining the trench mud red. The trench quickly became soaked with blood, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and gore.

"Retreat! Full‑line retreat!" the Allied commander finally issued the order.

But it was too late. The German Armored Division and the Ghost Division had already formed a pincer, encircling the Allied main force in the center.

The Great German Infantry Corps, under the armored division's cover, cleared the Allied outposts. Battalion commander Feng An personally led a force, commanding 850 elite infantry.

"First Company, frontal assault! Second Company, left‑wing flanking! Third Company, right‑wing encirclement! Heavy Weapons Company, fire support!"

Six 81mm Mortars and nine 50mm Mortars fired simultaneously, the dense shells landing precisely on the Allied machine‑gun positions. The blast waves lifted the guns and gunners alike, scattering severed limbs across the ground.

Twelve MG42 Heavy Machine Guns deployed, forming a crossfire net. Allied soldiers who just stuck their heads out of cover were riddled by the dense bullets. An Allied soldier's head was hit, exploding like a watermelon, with brain matter and blood splattering onto nearby comrades.

"Hand Grenade!"

Hundreds of German-made Hand Grenades whooshed toward the trench. The explosions rose and fell, and smoke filled the air. An Allied soldier was lifted by the blast wave, slammed hard onto the ground, his legs blown off, and blood gushed from the stumps, staining the surrounding mud red.

"Assault!"

Seven hundred fifty infantry launched a simultaneous charge. Their roles were clear—light machine gunners provided suppressive fire, riflemen cleared the trench, grenade throwers handled the outposts. Every tactical move had been rigorously trained.

An Allied soldier tried to flee the trench, but was spotted by a German Infantryman. The K Rifle cracked, and a 7.92mm bullet struck the soldier's occipital region, blasting his skull clean through. Blood and brain matter sprayed, reddening the soil behind him.

On the battlefield, the Allied Forces' defeat was inevitable.

"Report!" the communications officer reported to Lin Yu, "The Allied Forces have collapsed across the front, casualties exceed 60%, and the remaining units are retreating south!"

Lin Yu looked at the Battlefield Situation Map, nodding with satisfaction. In this anti‑encirclement battle, they secured victory with overwhelming superiority.

The battlefield statistics were shocking:

Allied Forces dead: over 8,000

Allied Forces wounded: over

Allied Forces captured: over 5,000

Artillery lost: over 120 pieces

Vehicles lost: over 300

Ammunition and supplies of all kinds: countless

Meanwhile, Lin Yu's side suffered negligible losses:

Armored vehicles: 12 lightly damaged

Killed: 86

Wounded: 210

"Order the troops to continue the pursuit, giving the Allied Forces no chance to breathe." Lin Yu issued the final command.