The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943-Chapter 132 - 142: All It Takes Is a Charge

Gmünd—both ends of the mechanized engineer bridge were crowded with tanks from the 130th Panzer Lehr Division.

The massive King Tiger tanks caused the steel bridge to tremble slightly as they crossed, making people wonder if the bridge could really bear the weight of these behemoths.

But their worries were unnecessary. Soon, the limited number of King Tigers had successfully reached the far bank, followed by one Panther tank after another from the 5th Panzer Army, also crossing the Ulm River.

Now, the 130th Panzer Lehr Division was finally on the move.

"We’ll take Bastogne tomorrow."

Division commander Major General Fritz Bayerlein turned to the officers beside him and said,

"This attack will have a decisive impact on the battle. I’ll be at the head of the vanguard—whether I live or die doesn’t matter. What matters is that we must attack, attack without pause!"

As the strongest armored division on the Western Front, the Panzer Lehr Division had always had a certain madness about it—a relentless will to win at any cost.

Although the division had lost nearly all its tanks during the Normandy campaign, thanks to the accelerated pace of German armaments production in recent months, they had managed to replenish with fifty Panther tanks...

...and they even managed to reinforce with five more King Tiger tanks.

Having largely recovered its strength, the Panzer Lehr Division surged forward as soon as it crossed the Our River. The 902nd Panzergrenadier Lehr Regiment, now reinforced with armored units, encountered fierce resistance from American forces but still advanced rapidly. Under the cover of tanks, the grenadiers quickly destroyed one American strongpoint after another, capturing several American tank destroyers and armored vehicles in the process.

Thus, they pressed forward with relentless momentum, heading straight for Bastogne.

The northernmost tip of the tiny Grand Duchy of Luxembourg resembled a wall wedged between Germany and Belgium. By the end of December 3rd, several German armored columns had already penetrated deep into this "wall," with all their offensives aimed at the Belgian town of Bastogne on the other side. Bastogne was the most important railway and road hub in the Ardennes region.

In just two days, the 902nd Panzergrenadier Lehr Regiment had successively smashed through American defenses, completely opening the road to Bastogne.

While the German panzergrenadiers advanced toward Bastogne, two companies of the 6th Battalion had already been deployed to Neufchâteau. As they prepared to defend the town and its outskirts, an American company, having withdrawn from the front lines, was retreating to the rear.

"Germans!"

A lieutenant shouted,

"Their attack is ferocious—you won’t be able to hold them. You’d better come with us!"

The lieutenant deliberately warned them.

"When the Germans arrive, they won’t care whether you’re Americans or not..."

He looked over the group before him. Although they wore American uniforms, none bore any rank insignia. Clearly, they weren’t real American soldiers—probably just military contractors.

"Sir, we will hold our ground here, even if it means to the last man,"

Gu Changchuan replied calmly. The American lieutenant glanced at him, shook his head, as if to say, "You’re just throwing your lives away."

Even if it means death, we’ll die here!

That was the mindset of Gu Changchuan and everyone else. They would never give up easily. After all, this battle held extraordinary significance for them.

They smashed out the windows of the houses they were using as fortifications to avoid being injured by flying glass during combat, set up mortars in the town, and rolled anti-tank guns into the middle of the road.

While the task force prepared, the Panzer Lehr Division was advancing along several muddy back roads a dozen miles to the south. Sharing these same roads was the 26th Volksgrenadier Division.

Two other German divisions were also converging on Bastogne. Despite the slow progress due to terrain and weather, General Heinrich von Lüttwitz, who commanded all three divisions, was quite satisfied.

"At least we’re ahead of schedule."

The 56-year-old General von Lüttwitz, with his beer belly and monocle, was the very image of a classic Prussian officer.

Soon, his intelligence officer reported the latest findings.

"What? Are you sure?"

The intelligence officer’s report left General von Lüttwitz visibly surprised.

"The Chinese are defending Bastogne? When did the Chinese arrive in Europe?"

"General, those Chinese are a task force under Allied Command. Their mission is to collect abandoned German weapons on the battlefield and ship them back to China—they’re just a group of logistics personnel..."

The intelligence officer explained, but he had precious little information on this task force. After all, no one ever bothered to gather intelligence on logistics personnel.

"Logistics personnel? Eisenhower must be out of troops if he’s trying to use these Chinese to slow us down and buy time for reinforcements..."

General von Lüttwitz smiled and gave his orders.

"Have the 130th Division launch an all-out attack on Bastogne immediately. We must seize Bastogne before their reinforcements arrive. If all goes well, a single assault should be enough to take Bastogne from the Chinese."

To General von Lüttwitz, this battle seemed almost too easy. After all, they weren’t facing elite, well-trained American troops, but a group of logistics personnel—likely untrained at that.

Just a bunch of Chinese laborers. Even if they’re armed, so what? They’ll still be no match for us.

"Gentlemen, if nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow we’ll occupy all of Bastogne. When that happens, we’ll have won this battle."

Bastogne was of critical importance.

Even those with no military background could see, just by glancing at a map, that Bastogne was the linchpin of this offensive.

With or without General von Lüttwitz’s orders, the Panzer Lehr Division under General Bayerlein was already driving toward Bastogne like a spearhead.

A brutal battle often begins in the most ordinary of ways. The vanguard of the German assault was the 2nd Battalion of the 902nd Panzergrenadier Lehr Regiment. They halted about a kilometer from the town. On the lead StuG IV assault gun, the commander poked his head out to observe the town’s defenses, unaware that on the hillside behind the town, a camouflaged 88mm anti-aircraft gun was slowly swinging its barrel to target the half-track at the rear of the column.

"High-explosive shell..." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Zhang Kun, manning the gun and aiming at the half-track, felt his throat go dry. In truth, he wasn’t a trained artilleryman, but over the past few months...

When collecting weapons, they inevitably had to conduct test firings and make adjustments. Basically, anything an artilleryman could do, they could manage as well—just not quite as skillfully.

"Zhang Kun, aim carefully. We have at most ten shots!"

What would happen after those ten shots?

Either this place would be blanketed by artillery fire, or it would be smashed to pieces by German tanks. The greatest pity, of course, would be losing this 88mm gun.

"Don’t move, don’t move..."

Aiming at the half-track, Zhang Kun gently turned the crank. Soon, the crosshairs settled on the vehicle.

"Target in sight!"

"Fire!"

At the squad leader’s command, Zhang Kun pressed down on the firing pedal.

With a thunderous boom, the powerful blast scattered the camouflage net. The shell screamed toward the half-track, and two or three seconds later, it landed on the highway. Although it missed slightly, the shockwave and shrapnel from the close-range explosion still destroyed the vehicle, flipping over several German soldiers along with it.

At the same time, another shell landed near the convoy. Amid the violent explosions, the Germans on the road shouted,

"It’s an 88!"

No sooner had they spoken than a Panzer IV assault gun was hit. Flames and black smoke instantly engulfed the entire road.