Chapter 145: Chapter 100: Playing CQB in World War II

In other words.

He had to sneak behind enemy lines and get to within just 40 meters before laboriously climbing into the tank.

This was difficult to achieve, but after rushing all the way down, Ler and Eugen already had blind faith in Gu Ji’s capabilities.

“Are we going over now?”

“Wait a moment.”

Gu Ji picked up the binoculars and carefully observed the buildings along the main road; though there were only five floors, there were too many windows, making it difficult to pinpoint.

That’s right.

He noticed that among the infantry of the Hawk Army surrounding the tank, not a single one of the eight men was vigilantly watching their surroundings. Even if they didn’t understand CQB (Close Quarters Battle) from World War II, they shouldn’t lack the most basic sense of military vigilance.

Moreover, there was a commander’s corpse at the turret opening of the abandoned Tiger Tank. Judging by the position of the body fall, it was most likely killed from above.

“Found it, third window on the fifth floor to the right, there’s a machine gunner.”

Based on the way the body was lying, Gu Ji finally spotted the Hawk Army machine gunner hidden at the window opening.

Eugen’s jaw almost dropped in shock.

What was even more surprising was that Gu Ji disengaged the safety of his M1 submachine gun, let it dangle in front of his chest, and with a flick of his right shoulder, the Mauser 98K slipped into his arm.

“The moment the gunfire starts, the Hawk Army will definitely become alert. So the moment I fire, you two must immediately rush to the tank to cover me, understood?”

“Understood.”

Ler gripped his MP40 tightly.

Gu Ji switched the safety of the Mauser rifle to the left side, braced the gun stock against his shoulder, and his right eye aimed through the “V”-shaped notch sight and bead front sight, targeting the dimly lit window.

Although it was iron sights, the straight-line distance wasn’t very far, roughly about 55 meters.

And considering the high accuracy of bolt-action rifles.

He was still pretty confident.

“Hoo…”

Taking a deep breath, Gu Ji gently squeezed the trigger, readying the firing pin. With more force, he pulled down.

Bam——!

The gunshot rang out, and a column of blood spurted from the window in an instant.

Ler and Eugen almost simultaneously bolted out of the alleyway, desperately sprinting towards the Tiger Tank.

“Gunfire from behind!”

“Enemy attack!”

A Hawk Army soldier shouted, and upon seeing the two sprinting down the main road, just as he was about to raise his gun, bam, a bullet came flying.

It was Gu Ji.

Eugen also heard the supportive gunfire from his companions. With the dual burden of danger and emotion, he screamed recklessly, “Ahhh!!”

Finally, they reached the Tiger Tank.

Ler took cover at the back corner of the tank, raised his MP40, and unleashed fire on the Hawk Army.

Two soldiers immediately retreated, planning to use the tank as cover.

But they seemed to forget that to the west of the intersection, directly in front of them, was another squad of the Hans Army. Unable to dodge, one of them took a bullet straight to the back, creating a bloody hole.

The submachine gun had already firmly captured Ler’s attention.

Gu Ji quickly seized the chance to sprint towards his teammates.

At that moment, he couldn’t do anything else; on the exposed main road, even a second of pause offered the enemy a chance to aim. He could only trust his teammates.

“Whizz!”

Eventually, a bullet scraped past Gu Ji’s helmet, so close that he could clearly hear the sharp whistle of air spiraling around the bullet, like someone set off a firework above his head.

Eugen shouted while firing.

“Hurry! Brother Herman! Hurry!”

“I’ll cover you, get into the tank fast!”

Gu Ji rolled over, plunged to Eugen’s side, lifted his M1 submachine gun, and assumed the position to cover the Hawk Army with suppressive fire.

To Eugen, Gu Ji’s words were like the gospel.

Without hesitation, he stepped on the tank’s tracks and climbed into the turret.

“Ah!”

“Ah!!”

The sudden screams startled Gu Ji. Were there others inside the tank?

Could the Hawk Army be this cunning?

Would they even resort to this trick?

But in the next moment, he realized he had overthought it. As the turret rotated, unknown machine gun fire unleashed a barrage of bullets, flushing out the Hawk Army soldiers armed with semi-automatic weapons.

The soldiers fell like straw to the MG34 machine gun.

“Officer Ler, get inside quickly, their tank is turning to attack us!”

Seeing the Sherman Tank ahead rotating its turret, Gu Ji also hurriedly clambered into the turret using the tracks.

A mix of sweat, urine, engine oil odors.

Combined with a strong stench of blood hit his nostrils.

Inside the cramped turret, Eugen was manning the machine gun, while a young Hans Army soldier, scrawny and delicate-looking, was huddled in the corner with a rifle.

Gu Ji quickly pointed his gun at him.

“Who are you?”

“Please don’t kill me! I’m not a deserter!”

The frail soldier was so panicked he was almost on the verge of tears.

“My name is Apu, I’m the radio operator for the 15th Armored Division’s Tank No. 6.”

“Move over.”

Just then, Ler clambered in through the turret opening, entering the driver’s seat through the turret shaft, “The other side has already turned their turret, Eugen, get ready to load and engage!”

Back inside the tank, Ler felt right at home.

He spoke with obvious confidence, much more at ease.

“Officer, I’m loading, who’s controlling the turret?”

“Herman, do you know how to operate the turret?”

“I only know how to use the machine gun.”

Gu Ji indeed had a special skill for proficient driving, but he didn’t have a spare slot to install it, so his ability was limited to faint memories of controlling a ship.

“Eugen, you handle the turret, Apu, you take care of loading, I’ll man the machine gun!”

“I, I…”

“What’s there to ’I’ about, you’ve disgraced the face of a Hans Empire soldier!”

Eugen shouted angrily, decisively vacating the machine gun seat and taking the turret control position.

Forced by circumstance, Apu begrudgingly went to the ammunition rack and picked up a shell as thick as an adult’s arm.

The main gun of the Tiger Tank had a caliber of 88mm, making the shells very heavy.

“Whoa, whoa, careful——!”

Just as Apu lifted the shell, Ler’s voice exclaimed from the driver’s compartment.

The next moment, boom——!

A cannon shot rang out, rocking the whole tank backward. The booming echo inside the cabin resounded as if standing inside a large metal bell struck forcefully, painfully loud!

Apu’s shell dropped onto the iron floor.

“Load the shells and counterattack!”

Ler shouted while maneuvering the tank’s body to dodge the enemy’s second strike.

Luckily, the Tiger Tank boasted a considerable frontal armor thickness of 102mm, and turret face armor of around 135~150mm, made from top-grade nickel-alloy steel. This heavy armor could withstand most shells at regular engagement distances, especially those coming from the front.

Gu Ji shook his head, quickly settled in at the machine gun seat, and unleashed fire on the two Hawk Army soldiers beside the Sherman Tank.

Through the viewfinder, he saw the enemy’s Sherman Tank rapidly sidestepping, possibly attempting to flank their armor.

“Here it comes again!”

He loudly warned.

Apu, finally regaining composure, hurriedly picked up the fallen shell and loaded it into the barrel.

“Shell loaded!”

“Fantastic!”

Sitting next to Gu Ji, Eugen was exhilarated, crazily muttering with excitement while adjusting the turret aim, “Next, we’ll show these shameless Hawk Army what a true Tiger King of the Hans Empire looks like! Ah!”

Bang——!

Bang——!

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