After the news of the complete loss of the defense line on the west bank of the Lev River, the Russian 9th Army command was in a mess. The staff and officers tried to contact the front-line troops, but most of their efforts were futile. Nearly 100,000 Russian troops on the first line of defense had long been defeated under the fierce artillery fire and armored troops of the German army.

In a corner of the command center, General Lezsky looked at the large map on the wall in a daze, and his mind was in chaos at this moment. For him, the offensive plan that took a whole week to formulate had become a pile of waste paper. Those seemingly perfect hard attacks, forced crossing and attacking the east and west tactics had no meaning in the face of the German sudden attack. In the afternoon, he was still clamoring that if the Germans really attacked, they would definitely not return. Now that the other party came, his defense line was smashed to pieces.

"Quick! Send a newspaper to Grand Duke Agreni. The main force of the German army has launched an attack on our troops. Please ask them to launch a fierce attack on Biavestok quickly. The German defense there must be very empty!" After a long time, General Lezsky remembered something. He called a staff officer and wiped his cold sweat while ordering, "Also, order all departments of our army to organize defenses on the spot and must resist the German attack! Artillery, all artillery positions immediately launch artillery attacks on both sides of the Lev River!"

The adviser looked at him in confusion and whispered: "General, I'm afraid many of our soldiers have not had time to withdraw from the West Bank position..."

"I can't care about that much now, just think they sacrificed their lives for the country!" General Lezsky's expression was full of firm expression, and to be precise, he looked like he didn't care at all.

On the Lef River Bridge, Colonel Orger and his armored command vehicle were slowly advancing to the west side of the bridge. The bridge deck was full of follow-up troops participating in the attack, and countless armored vehicles, trucks, cannons, motorcycles and infantry were passing through the bridge in an orderly and quickly. On the river surface, several temporary pontoon bridges have been built, and many infantry were running quickly to the west bank of the river from there.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded in the sky, and people could see with their naked eyes that orange-red highlights broke through the sky, as if it was a spectacular meteor shower.

"Let's go down!" Org shouted to the infantry outside the car. However, before many people could react, the Russian artillery shells were already roaring and falling. Sparks emerged on both sides of the river, and countless thick white water columns rose on the surface of the river. Although the bridge was not directly hit by the shells, the bridge deck was soon covered in a white water curtain composed of water waves and shrapnel, and soldiers near both sides of the bridge were constantly brushed under the bridge.

"ah……"

Orger was frightened to see an officer squatting in the armored carriage falling down with his chest covering his chest. The wall of the car next to him was actually penetrated by a large shrapnel.

"Quick! Get out of the bridge quickly!" Org shouted at the cab, but the bridge deck was already in chaos, and the vehicle could only move forward slowly. He could only pray helplessly. At this time, most of the attacking troops had completed crossing the Lev River, and the Russian artillery fire was still a little late. However, if he, the commander of the armored army, died in this artillery, the Russian artillery would have made up for it.

"God bless!" In the armored vehicle, several other officers prayed not to explode at too close distances, but the violent swaying and bumping of the armored vehicle still made everyone's hearts hang up. Smaller shrapnel hit the steel plates on the wall of the car, which made people feel even more frightened and uneasy.

The explosion of shells outside was endless, as if the next shot would hit the armored vehicle directly. Orger felt that his life was so fragile. He began to regret that he had not chosen a tank as his command vehicle, although the poor transmitters on the tank could not meet the communication needs of the army command. In fact, in this violent shelling, the German tanks that were clearing the Russian defensive positions on the west bank of the Lev River were also greatly threatened, and some unlucky

The German tank was directly hit by the Russian large-caliber howitzer shells, and the entire tank turned into a pile of scrap iron in a violent explosion. Even the huge impact of the shell explosion and the flying shrapnel brought them a lot of trouble. Key parts such as the engines were likely to malfunction. In that case, the tankers could only hide in the tank helplessly and use their tank guns and guns to attack nearby Russian soldiers. No one could repair the tank in such a flying shrapnel environment.

Fortunately, a few minutes later, as the soldiers on the bridge rushed to the west bank or retreated back to the east of the bridge, the bridge finally became smooth, and the armored command vehicle drove to the west bridge calmly. Only then did Orger and everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Org poked his head out of the carriage, and there were explosions of fire everywhere outside. The bridge deck had become empty, with only a few burning motorcycles and some corpses lying quietly there. Under the Russian artillery, the infantry on the pontoon bridge encountered more direct shrapnel strikes. Many soldiers had not had time to dodge and were already swept into the river, and crossing the river fell into a temporary pause. On the east bank of the river, German soldiers who were about to board the pontoon bridge retreated back to their starting positions, and the artillery was busy looking for the Russian artillery positions, but there were no balloons and planes to shoot in the dark night. They did not have a good way to suppress the Russian artillery fire.

On the west bank of the river, many Russian soldiers were still resisting on positions. After the German tanks drove, many people rushed out of the trenches to fight against the German infantry behind. So, when the Russian artillery shells fell, many entangled Russian and German soldiers were hit by Russian artillery fire together.

Seeing this situation, Orger decisively issued an order:

"Send a report and order the vanguard tank troops to find the Russian artillery positions as soon as possible and occupy them!"

At this time, the tank company of Rontiris and other German armored troops advancing westward had advanced several kilometers away from the river bank. Russian artillery shells did not visit here. However, looking at the flames and smoke rising near the river bank, they understood the urgency of finding and seizing the Russian artillery positions.

Rontiris braved the sporadic bullets of Russian soldiers and drilled out of the turret. He waved toward the tank behind with a flashlight. Soon the other captains opened the hatch and poked their heads out. At this time, Rontiris shouted loudly: "Car No. 2 comes with me, we are heading southwest, car No. 3 and car No. 4 are heading northwest, and passing through these fields should be the Russian artillery position!"

Tank No. 1 slowly turned down the field on the left. On the soft land, the tanks were moving a little slower and the bumpy feeling was stronger. However, Lontiris no longer cared about these. After a slight pause in the armored forces behind, their commanders also issued similar orders: some tanks and armored vehicles continued to advance along the railway line, while others turned into the fields on both sides, scattered in formation and searched for progress.

The frogs and crickets in the fields seemed not affected by the war, and they were still singing happily. But with the rolling tank tracks, frogs jumped away quickly, and then squatted beside to watch the deep traces left on the soil after the tank drove.

Lontiris poked his little body out of the turret and used a telescope to observe the situation ahead. Soon after, he vaguely saw the white smoke of the launching medicine spread over a forest on the other side of the field. The orange-red highlights rose from behind the woods, and then roared across the night sky and flew into the distance. The young lieutenant glanced around. In addition to the No. 2 tank in their company, there were three tanks and four armored vehicles moving in the same direction. He quickly sent a signal with a flashlight and asked them to cooperate with the action. The other party happily agreed.

As the woods got closer and closer, Rontilis could clearly hear the roar of Russian artillery fired, and the shouts of Russian artillery were faintly mixed in between.

At this time, the Russian soldiers guarding in the woods suddenly opened fire. Nearly a hundred Russian infantry built a shallow trench in the woods, plus several heavy machine guns to protect the artillery positions. White machine gun bullets and lonely rifle bullets kept rushing out of the woods, but these bullets could at most peck out shallow troughs on these thick steel plates.

Soon, a tank stopped, and the Russian soldiers in the woods felt joy. In the darkness, they could only see the black outline of the tank, but did not find that the tank's turret was slowly turning, and the black holes quickly aimed at these ignorant Russians.

The sound of tank gun shooting and the sound of shell explosion were closely linked. A brilliant spark appeared in the woods, like a golden cosmos and a white peony. Around the spark, several Russian soldiers and the machine guns they controlled disappeared in an instant, leaving only a smoke pit on the ground.

Rontiris's No. 1 tank did not stop at all. He could see two long strings of flames shot out from his tank from the observation window, ruthlessly whipping the Russian trenches and the soldiers there. When Rontiris and his No. 1 car drove onto the slope in front of the woods, then the tanks roared over the short shrubs, and the steel body easily broke the slender trees. The crackling sound made the Russian soldiers in the woods panic. They decided to give up their futile resistance, flee the trenches with weapons, and ran towards the artillery positions without looking back, and kept shouting something.

Lontiris ignored the fleeing Russian soldiers. His tank No. 1 continued to march violently in the woods, and other tanks began to open roads in the woods, while armored vehicles followed them into the woods.

The forest is a standard Russian heavy artillery position. More than 20 large-caliber howitzers are neatly arranged on the square position, with hundreds of Russian artillery and dozens of infantry of the avant-garde troops who had just retreated in a mess. After a brief battle just now, the infantry had already appreciated the terrible beginning of the German armored troops. However, the other Russian artillery did not understand what the "invincible monster" they mentioned, but they still began to look for the weapons at hand. For the artillery, their only melee weapon was the few rifles and pistols. The artillery without guns even held the engineer shovel in their hands, trying to block the iron monsters.

Finally, after rolling down the last little tree, the dark and hideous body of "Stone II" appeared in front of the Russians. The angular turrets, riveted bodies, and short and concise gun barrels all emitted a horrifying murderous aura in the dark. It was facing hundreds of Russian artillery soldiers standing on the flat ground, holding simple weapons.

When the Russian artillery position was fully displayed in front of him, Tank No. 1 stopped, and a ball of orange flame appeared at the muzzle. At such a close distance, the shells were fired and almost immediately touched the target. The first gun of Tank No. 1 overturned a Russian artillery, and several Russian artillery soldiers next to them were even thrown several meters away by the air waves.

The Russians were stunned again. They didn't know whether to use the weapons in their hands to fight back, or find a place to hide first. The artillery on the German tanks looked short and small, but could be shot at close range. Although the howitzers on the Russian positions were powerful, they could not attack German tanks from this angle or distance.

Soon, tank No. 2 also appeared on the edge of the woods. Its first shell hit a pile of ammunition on the Russian position. The violent explosion caused the Russian artillerymen present to fall to the ground. The violent shock wave forced Rontilis to close the narrow observation window. Flying shrapnel hit the tank armor and made a sound, like a heavy rain fell. Although the explosion lasted for only a few seconds, the Russian artillery positions were shrouded in thick smoke and dust. A small area centered on the explosive ammunition pile had become unrecognizable. A cannon next to it was left with a thick gun barrel. The gun stand and the gun wheel were unknown. The Russian soldiers within ten meters of the ammunition pile all became bloody and bloody, and a disgusting burnt smell was emitted in the air.

After a brief silence, other tanks and armored vehicles roared out of the woods. Rontiris opened the observation window again. The rattle of machine gun shooting on the tanks and armored vehicles began to grow. Bullets swept through, dust on the ground, sparks splashed everywhere on cannons, and Russian soldiers kept making muffled sounds.

Tanks 1 and 2 started to move again. They no longer used artillery fire, but fired wildly with machine guns above. Inside the tank, a waterfall composed of shells fell from the machine gun to the bottom plate, but the crisp impact sound was completely covered by the roaring engine sound.

The Russian soldiers lying on the ground were still fighting back with powerlessness. They soon discovered that the light weapons in their hands could not cause any damage to these steel beasts, but the bullets fired from German tanks and armored vehicles could easily penetrate their bodies. There was no hidden place except cannons and ammunition piles.

The tanks rumbled forward, and the tracks rolled over the land with a strong force. Some Russian artillery soldiers who had no time to hide watched the steel tracks appear in front of them. After the bones and steel met, they made extremely terrifying and harsh sounds, which made everyone feel heartbroken. In extreme fear, some Russian soldiers began to get up and flee backwards. Countless machine gun bullets shot from behind them mercilessly. Some people didn't even have time to take a look at the blood hole that appeared in their chests and fell straight to the ground.

Finally, the Russian artillery soldiers completely collapsed. People who were closer to the German tanks threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, holding their hands high, and people who were farther away ran to the back of the position without any chance. It was not until the figures of these people were hidden in the dark that the German machine guns stopped.

After the Russian army stopped resisting here, Rontiris' tank slowly stopped. He opened the top cover again and drilled out of the turret. The entire position was silent, and the ground was filled with Russian corpses, with a pungent and strange smell everywhere.

After a while, other tanks and armored vehicles were also parked on the Russian artillery positions, and the infantry above the armored vehicles quickly jumped down to start cleaning the artillery positions.

"What should we do now?" Longtilis shouted as the gunmen of other tanks drilled out of the turrets, "Does these cannons be blown up, or are they waiting for the support troops to arrive?"

The others looked at each other and found that the highest rank here was Lontiris and the captain of another armored vehicle. The lieutenant thought for a while, "I think we should wait for the support force here. There are more than 20 heavy artillery here, which is an important batch of spoils for the legion!"

Rontilis nodded, while asking Lao to send a report to the regiment headquarters, and while sending tank No. 2 to reconnaissance in the direction of the Russians' escape. After the infantry on the armored vehicles struggled to extinguish the remaining fire on the position, they took nearly a hundred surrendered Russian artillery to a corner of the position. The fleeing Russian artillery was intercepted by a large group of Cossack cavalry in dark green uniforms. One of the fierce-looking officers rode the horse to the poor artillery.

"You are artillerymen? Where are your cannons?"

"In the open space there, the Germans' iron-clad car suddenly rushed out of the woods in front of our position. Our rifles and machine guns had no effect on them, so we had to withdraw!" an artilleryman replied tremblingly.

"We were fighting against the Austrians not long ago, and they also encountered trucks that were modified with iron. Those things were nothing special. As long as our cavalry approached those trucks, they could use a sword to chop off the hands of the soldiers on it! How many cars did you encounter that kind of car?" The cavalry officer looked disdainful. He had indeed fought with the iron trucks of the Austro-Hungarian coalition, but he did not know that what he would face this time was a real steel chariot.

"It's not very clear about the specificity. It seems that there are seven or eight iron chariots!" As soon as the artillery finished speaking, the cavalry officer couldn't wait to take the troops away with the whisk.

Artillerymen look at me, I look at you, and finally follow the cavalry toward the artillery positions.
Chapter completed!