For what reason did Kruger say those words to himself?
Did he lead someone to save their lives? He feels he owes something, so he should repay it to himself this time? Or maybe he just doesn't want to get involved in this matter and wants to protect himself as a person who has nothing to do with him?
There are so many possibilities, and Enschel himself can’t say exactly why. But from the beginning to the end, only he and he knew about it. He, Kruger, even hid aside and waited.
After Wittmann left, and when he left Hank, he stopped himself to specifically talk about this matter. The meaning of this was naturally obvious.
"It's better... don't tell Wittman yet, let's leave it at that."
The matter of allowing the Yankees to fly on the original plane came to an end, but the emergency evacuation operation at sunset had just begun.
There was still some time before the sun really set. In order to rush for time and prevent the Allied forces from suddenly coming over, Enschel issued an order to set off immediately and not stay any longer.
The 101st Heavy Armored Battalion is the first batch of independent heavy armored battalions established by the SS. Compared with the independent heavy armored battalions starting with the number 5 in the Wehrmacht, it is not inferior in terms of personnel quality or equipment level.
Even more so.
In terms of personnel composition, the vehicle crews of the 101st Heavy Armored Battalion are basically directly drawn from the elite armored divisions of the Waffen-SS. For example, Wittmann previously served in the Guardsmen Division, and Enschel himself served in the Reich
division.
As an aside, a very interesting thing is that Enschel and Wittmann met for the first time in Prokhorovka on the southern line of Kursk. The two brothers still know each other quite fondly about that first meeting.
The memory is still fresh.
That battle should have been a glorious battle worth remembering. Except for the Viking division, which was absent from the four aces of the Waffen-SS, the three ace armored divisions of the SS, the Reich, and the Totenkopf all participated in the battle! And they were all deployed in
In the same war zone, they received coordinated combat missions with the same mission goal: to kill the notorious Stalin Guards Division and eat it completely.
But the result was that the three top ace armored divisions of the Waffen-SS army all lost their troops, their vitality was severely damaged, and they lost miserably.
On the way to retreat, which was almost swarmed by Russian planes, Wittmann, who had lost his way, accidentally bumped into Enschel of the Imperial Division with his only two remaining tanks.
, the two got to know each other. At that time, Enschel also gave Wittmann the last few boxes of spare oil that he kept as a trump card, so that Wittmann would not abandon his vehicle and retreat to the defense line as infantry.
What happened next was that neither of them expected that they would become partners in the newly formed 101st Heavy Armored Battalion as first and second-in-commands. Sometimes you have to lament that fate is so magical.
Enschel and Wittmann also began to think about it from this time on. One day, they would have the opportunity to recover the scene of the previous disastrous defeat in Prokhorovka and find the "Steel Butcher" again.
"Malashenko has to go through the motions. Men are all about revenge, right? If you are slapped in the face, you have to hit him back with your own hands to get revenge.
However, he never had the opportunity to return to the Eastern Front. He had been waiting on the Western Front battlefield of the Atlantic Defense Line for a long time until the Allied forces landed.
Today's 101st Heavy Armored Battalion is still strong after the last round of replenishment before the war. It is fully equipped with 45 King Tiger tanks, 40 of which are late-model Henschel turrets and 5 early-model Porsches.
turret.
The protection is relatively poor. The thickness of the turret front armor is only 100 mm, and there is also a bomb-housing area. The Porsche turret King Tiger has never been very likable, at least not by Wittmann or Enschel.
This thing.
Especially when we clearly know that the Russian's 122mm cannon can penetrate the Tiger's 100mm armor no more difficult than kicking through plywood, it's really hard to love such a hip-stretching turret frontal protection.
In line with the principle that the elite SS troops that the Führer often asked about had to give priority to the best equipment, some people who were well-versed in flattering the Führer sent the latest Henschel turret King Tiger to the 101st Battalion as a priority
Come and deliver it for use.
There is no doubt that the spontaneous combustion incident was a good thing for Enschel and Wittmann.
But at this moment, Enschel leaned his upper body out of the turret of his car, and when he looked back at the almost invisible long steel dragon behind him, the extreme worry in his heart was almost like a dark cloud before a storm.
Not going.
"I hope the Allied pilots are lazy and get off work early as soon as it gets dark."
Enschel couldn't imagine what would happen if the marching troops in this state were attacked by Allied air raids. The explosions would probably result in blazing steel debris all over the ground. There would be no place in front of the village or any store in the back.
There are no other friendly forces in sight, and there is no cover from our own air force. The probability of escaping from the allied air attack is really low. We can only wait for these flies to blow up and leave on their own.
But many times the world is so wonderful. The more you are afraid of something, the more it will come. And as soon as you say it, it will come in reality extremely fast. It is almost like an evil thing.
"Enschel, something's wrong. There are a few small black dots on the horizon in the one o'clock direction... Wait, it's coming towards us, it's a plane!"
The familiar voice of Wittmann that came to his ears turned into a roar in the end. Also, half of his body was exposed outside the turret and he could see the situation in the distance. Enschel reacted quickly and immediately pressed his throat.
Enschel has not forgotten the newly equipped Corian anti-aircraft tanks under his command. Although these have not been used once, and they are not sure how effective they are against aircraft, they are better than nothing. At worst, they are dead horses.
Enschel, who had a medical mentality, still ordered the Corians to prepare as soon as possible.
Enschel still couldn't determine whether the planes flying over from the one o'clock position in the direction of his own retreat were his own or those of the Allies. It may be that his own planes saw a march on the ground and came to see the situation, or it was possible that
It's those damn allied flies who are planning to come over to have a toothpaste and boost some performance before getting off work.
Both situations are possible, so Enschel must not take it lightly now. Even if he prefers the former situation to happen, he still cannot deny the latter.
With his hand on the microphone button on his throat, Enschel watched the planes approaching quickly, while his other hand kept holding the telescope and never dropped it.
When the planes finally got close enough for the telescope to see the details clearly, Enschel, facing the setting sun, finally saw clearly the horrifying marks printed on the planes.