CHAPTER 691: REVISED: CHAPTER 691 AMPHIBIOUS TANK

The 96th Infantry Division was replaced by the 52nd Engineer Regiment, which had less than two thousand soldiers.

This resulted in a severe lack of firepower density along the defensive line, with roughly only 2 rounds per meter per minute.

(Note: Typically, the firepower density should be over 10 rounds per minute per meter. During World War I, this was achieved through sheer manpower, but in modern times it relies on automated equipment.)

However, Admiral Nicholas did not see this as a concern.

"Shire’s troops have almost no chance of crossing the river." Admiral Nicholas pointed to the Meuse River on the map and analyzed:

"It’s the period when the ice is melting; the river is flooded and has overflowed its banks, reaching a width of nearly 2 kilometers."

"Even if Shire takes the risk of building a bridge, they won’t be able to finish it in a short time."

"Therefore, as long as there are sentries stationed there, it’s enough to fire a warning shot upon detecting any anomaly!"

The staff officers also agreed with this idea.

The river was a natural barrier, difficult to cross. Shire couldn’t just appear suddenly and succeed in landing before the German Army could send reinforcements.

Consequently, Admiral Nicholas’s order was implemented.

...

The position of the German Army’s 52nd Engineer Regiment: The soldiers shivered in knee-deep water, clutching their rifles.

It was torturous; they dared not stand straight for fear of becoming targets for enemy artillery.

But they also couldn’t crouch because the ground was flooded.

What they could do was sit on chairs to keep their upper bodies dry.

But even so, their feet remained submerged in the icy water.

Lieutenant Jerry was particularly unlucky; during an inspection of the defensive line, he tripped over a submerged tree branch and got drenched.

He had no choice but to take refuge in an abandoned shack, stripping off his clothes piece by piece to wring them dry, hoping to feel a little better.

"You should change your clothes, Lieutenant," his orderly suggested.

Lieutenant Jerry replied helplessly, "I left my backpack on a chair when I arrived, but guess what happened? When I got back, the water level had risen, and it was floating right in front of me."

Sometimes the river can be magical; you think it won’t change, but suddenly it rises to heights you can’t imagine.

The orderly suggested, "Then you should start a fire to dry your clothes, or else you might not make it through the night."

Lieutenant Jerry steadfastly refused, "That would just give the enemy a target; their artillery would blow me to bits."

He hung his spare clothes outside the shack, hoping they would be dry by morning.

Then he hid inside, shivering as he lit a cigarette, savoring the small warmth it brought him.

He made it through the night and felt fortunate he hadn’t frozen to death.

As dawn approached, a sliver of sunlight pierced through the overcast sky and dense fog, bringing a hint of warmth to the world.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; the freezing night had finally passed.

But no one spoke. They looked up at the sun, hoping it would rise faster.

Just then, Lieutenant Jerry heard an unusual sound amidst the artillery fire, coming from the center of the river.

He peered toward the river but could see nothing through the white fog.

Initially, he thought he had misheard, but the sound grew louder and more distinct, and the soldiers began to notice, casting puzzled glances toward the river.

"Alert!" Lieutenant Jerry shouted, issuing orders: "Enemy attack, prepare for combat!"

The soldiers tensed up, disregarding the water soaking their pants, each one kneeling and raising their rifles toward the river, eyes nervously peering through their gun sights at the fog.

Closer, ever closer.

The sound unmistakably was propellers churning and oars splashing.

Lieutenant Jerry wondered if Shire would be foolish enough to attempt a forced crossing with fishing boats or canoes?

That would almost certainly fail; they would be picked off in the middle of the river, and their bodies would be swept away by the cold water!

Suddenly, a square white fabric appeared before them, three hundred meters away, nearly invisible as it blended with the fog.

Then another appeared, and another, emerging one after another until the river was filled with them.

"Open fire!" Lieutenant Jerry ordered loudly.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Rat-tat-tat!"

...

Rifles and machine guns roared, but hitting the white fabric seemed to have no effect. They just swayed a bit, without even slowing down, continuing to slowly approach the German bank defenses.

"What are those?" exclaimed the German soldiers:

"Are they Shire’s new equipment?"

"Our weapons are entirely ineffective against them!"

...

Lieutenant Jerry remained calm, shouting to the radio operator, "Artillery! Contact the artillery immediately!"

But it was already too late to call in the artillery, as the "square fabric" had reached within a hundred meters of the front lines, and then with a "whoosh" sound, engines roared — it was tank engines.

Indeed, they were tanks. A few had already reached the shallows, revealing their tracks and chassis.

Some had stopped and fired a shell, revealing the turret hidden beneath the surrounding canvas as it pierced the forward defenses.

The German soldiers were dumbfounded:

"My God, their tanks can travel through water!"

"Their tanks have crossed the river!"

"How can we stop such monsters?"

...

(The above image shows an amphibious tank adapted from the "Sherman" tank used by the American forces during World War II. This model, "Sherman DD," features a simple structure, with a life ring-like canvas surrounding it for buoyancy, driven by two external propellers below.)

(The above image shows the tank with its canvas retracted.)

...

One tank after another successfully landed, impervious to the German weapons, with bullets bouncing off their armor harmlessly.

Several tanks got stuck in the mud, unable to move.

This was Shire’s concern; the waterlogged ground might not support the weight of the tanks.

However, because the water had overflowed the banks, the tanks that had successfully landed were in no danger and could still rotate their turrets to fire 37mm guns or machine guns at the Germans.

Following them were groups of French Army soldiers rowing wooden boats and rubber dinghies.

The long-awaited German artillery finally roared, shells exploding in the river and sending some boats flying to pieces.

But this could not change the outcome...

Shire’s biggest fear had been artillery attacks on the tanks while they were in the river.

These amphibious tanks, relying on their canvas for buoyancy, were extremely vulnerable; a single wave could sink them, let alone withstand artillery bombardment, even if the shells missed their mark.

Luckily, none of this happened.

The tanks had successfully landed and broke through the defensive line, covering the infantry.

Their next mission was to penetrate the German Army’s artillery positions...