"Your Excellency General, it seems that the British and Americans are going to fight to the death!"

On the evening of January 9, in the German Third Army Command at the Hartelpool Port, Commander General Halder had received reports of British and American troops attacking the 7th Paratrooper Division, the 1st Marine Division and the 185th Italian Lightning Division.

Lieutenant General Zeitzler, chief of staff of the Army, told Halder, who was standing in front of a large sand table: "The enemy launched an attack on all fronts, using a large number of m10 tank destroyers and Churchill tank destroyers."

"Do you know where the main attack direction is?" General Halder asked slowly.

A few days after capturing Hartelpool Port, the commander of the army finally had some strength.

In addition to the 7th Paratrooper Division, the 1st Marine Division, the 516th Heavy Armored Battalion and other troops that were airborne from the beach, there are now the 185th Lightning Division in Italy and the 2nd German Marine Division in Germany and completed the unloading operation, among which the 185th Lightning Division in Italy also completed the deployment.

In addition, there are the 506th Heavy Armored Battalion, the 3rd Tank Destroyer Battalion (affiliated with the 3rd Armored Division), the 11th Rocket Armored Brigade and the 11th French Heavy Artillery Division and other units that arrived at Hartelpool Port from Ireland and are currently unloading the ship.

Moreover, in addition to the 185th Lightning Division in Italy, each unit including one German Paratrooper Division and two German Marine Divisions has a considerable amount of mechanized equipment.

Among them, the 7th Paratrooper Division has a self-propelled anti-tank gun company (6 "weasels") and an armored reconnaissance company equipped with SD.kz.4/3 heavy armored vehicles (jaguars), and an armored company equipped with 38t tanks.

The two Marine divisions each have an armored company equipped with amphibious tank No. 3 tanks, an anti-tank gun battalion equipped with weasel tank destroyer, an assault gun battalion equipped with No. 3 assault guns, and a self-propelled gun battalion equipped with Wasp self-propelled guns. The level of mechanization is almost comparable to that of the armored grenadier division, but there are not enough trucks of semi-tracked vehicles for infantry use.

"Commander, the enemy's main attack direction is around the Tiz River Bridge." Lieutenant General Zeitzler used a baton to tap the banks of the Tiz River Bridge on the sand table. "The enemy dispatched from the north and south sides of the Tiz River at the same time, with a regiment-level mechanized cluster as the scale, and took turns to attack under the cover of heavy artillery. The offensive was very fierce. The 1st Marine Division, which defended the south bank of the Tiz River, can handle it relatively easily at present, but the 7th Paratrooper Division on the North Bank was very difficult to fight."

The equipment of the 7th Paratrooper Division is not as heavy as that of the 1st Marine Division. Faced with a large number of m10 tank destroyers and Churchill series of tanks, tank killing is of course more difficult to fight.

"General, do you want to send a company of Tiger tanks?" Zeitzler whispered, "As long as there is a company of Tiger tanks, the 7th Paratrooper Division should be able to defend the north bank of the Tiz River."

Halder shook his head and said, "The 506th Heavy Battalion, the 516th Heavy Battalion and the 3rd Tanks and Killing Battalion are the trump cards in our hands and should be used for counterattack rather than defense."

These three battalions have a total of 88 Tiger tanks and 45 Rhino tank destroyers, plus 44 No. 4 F tanks (equipped with 24-diameter 75mm KK37 tank guns). The force when concentrated to launch an assault is definitely no less than that of a standard German armored division!

So Halder didn't want to break up this force that could act as an iron fist.

"But, if you don't put into heavy tanks, it will be difficult for the 7th Paratrooper Division to defend." Zeitzler reminded, "Once the enemy defeats the 7th Paratrooper Division, they can advance along the Tiz River and cut our front into two sections."

"I know," Halder nodded, "but it's not the time to send heavy armored troops. Kurt, arrange for me to go to the front line on the north bank of the Tees River."

"As for orders, general."

...

"Hehe..."

The harsh gunshot of the mg42 machine gun sounded again, and the bullets flew hundreds of meters away and hit the backs of the British soldiers who were retreating in a hurry.

It was like a saw blade that reaped life, and sawed off dozens of British or American lives with sprayed bullets, bringing blood on the battlefield.

Mixed with gunfire and screams, the roar of tanks/armored vehicles. More than a dozen American m10 tank destroyers retreated quickly, leaving behind the Churchill tanks and Churchill tank destroyers that were burning or slowly regressing, and the British infantry retreating on foot.

Although they had the advantage of military strength and equipment, the British and American coalition forces met the 7th Paratrooper Division, the strongest combat effectiveness of the German Wehrmacht! So their battle on the north bank of the Tees River did not go smoothly at all.

I suffered enough in Stodonk town alone, and I was repelled by the Germans after several waves of attacks!

"It's really his damn. Is the British Churchill tank made of paper? Why is it so easy to be smashed?"

Looking at the several burning Churchill tanks and Churchill destroyer tanks at the entrance of the town not far away, General Patton, who was standing on an m10 tank destroyer watching the battle, couldn't help but scream and scold.

"General," said Captain Hobart Guy, the chief of staff of Patton, standing in the carriage of a jeep and loudly to Patton, "The German armor-piercing bombs are very powerful. They should be pointed tungsten core armor-piercing bombs, which can penetrate the front of Churchill tanks from a distance of 750 meters to 1,000 meters!"

"Can the front of our m10 tank destroyer block their armor-piercing bombs?" General Patton asked quickly.

Colonel Guy had just come down from the line of fire and he was going to check the situation of the destroyed Churchill tank and the m10 tank destroyer.

“The situation is better for m10,” Guy said, “not many people are completely penetrated from the front.”

The front armor of the m10 tank destroyer is 3.2 inches (81.25mm) thick and has a 50-degree inclination angle. The equivalent armor value is about 4.98 inches, equivalent to 126.5mm. If this thickness is a homogeneous steel plate, it cannot stop the pointed tungsten core armor-piercing bombs fired by the 75mm cannon used by the Weasel Tank Destroyer. However, the lives of the American tyrants are very expensive, so of course they have to use high-hard alloy steel to save their lives. Moreover, the American tank soldiers still feel that it is not safe, so they welded several sections of tank tracks on the front steel plate of the tank, which is equivalent to thickening the armor.

Therefore, the 75mm gun that is enough to reach the Weasel Tank Destroyer at a distance of 1000-750 meters can be carried at a distance of 750-500 meters. 500 meters will be used stably.

Although the British Churchill tank had 4-inch front final armor, the inclination angle was not very large, and the armor steel used was not as good as that of the Americans. Therefore, the weasel's 75mm cannon could not be blocked at all from 1,000-750 meters.

At this time, the British and American soldiers who were retreating had returned to their starting position. General Patton looked at the embarrassed soldiers and shook his head to Colonel Guy and said, "Let's try another place after dark, attack from the northeast of this town to see if we can go around."

...

Next to the Tiz River Bridge, the command post of the 7th German Paratrooper Division. Next to a very strong railway station, six "Java" heavy armored vehicles were parked in the center of the station square, with their muzzles raised high, and one after another was firing shells to the northwest. These six armored vehicles with 24-diameter 75mm cannons are now regarded as self-propelled artillery.

Next to the six heavy armored vehicles, there is a very luxurious Mercedes-Benz G4 military off-road sedan. This kind of luxury car with 6 wheels is rare in the army. Only high-ranking generals and above can own it. This thing is both advanced and fuel-intensive, and it is smaller in its original history. However, Germany is much more prosperous than in history, so since the end of 1942, Hessmann has used military budget to issue Mercedes-Benz G4 to all generals and marshals.

On the British Isle, only General Halder is qualified to ride in this military off-road car.

General Halde was inspecting the front line of the Tiz River at this time.

"Genius," Major General Wolfgang Edman, commander of the 7th Paratrooper Division, pointed to the map and said to the general who came to inspect, "The enemy is currently attacking Stodonk Town, which is a large town. We have a regiment and a self-propelled anti-tank gun company there. The enemy is probably a division-level mechanized cluster, and there should be follow-up troops. If you do not receive reinforcements from heavy tanks, Stodonk Town will be occupied by the enemy in 2-3 days. However, the problem is not big at the moment. We have repelled several of their attacks and destroyed many Churchill tanks.

In addition, our right wing is now very thin. There are only one and a half regiments of paratroopers on the 10-kilometer front, 20 38t tanks and 2 recoilless gun companies. It is entirely up to the Germans at the mouth of the Tiz River to maintain the front line with naval guns. I am worried that the enemy will strengthen the offensive in this direction after dark."

"So what if I shrink the troops?" Halder asked suddenly.

"Shrink?" Major General Edman looked at Halder, "Grand, where do you want us to shrink?"

"How about Stodonk Town and the Tyz River Bridge...? Can it be kept?"

"Is the 1st Land War Division on the other side of the river..."

"They will evacuate to Middlesbrough."

"Oh my goodness, then we will be surrounded!"
Chapter completed!