Synopsis:

After the brutal Ukrainian campaign and the battles that culminated in Kyiv, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler is no longer the same. Battered but not broken, its armored core regroups in France just as the push toward Moscow grinds to a halt beneath the weight of winter—and of strategic doubt. No one knows exactly where the war is heading… except for a few.

As Falk Ritter and his crew receive a new long-barreled Panzer IV, still bearing the scars of the Eastern Front, a new destination looms: Africa.

In a sudden redeployment, part of the division is sent to reinforce the Axis campaign in the desert, where the forces of Rommel, Italy… and Spain—under the command of General Yagüe—are advancing toward Cairo, Palestine, and beyond.

But under the scorching sun, there is no shelter for the conscience. Among ancient ruins, dust storms, and enemy fire, Falk and his men must adapt to a different war—without snow, without trenches, but with the same shadow of death… and even more questions left unanswered.

History marches on. The Reich expands. But war, as always, moves faster.

Corridor Line — Western front, StalingradJanuary 29, 1943, 17:08 hours


But it wasn't artillery. It was deeper. A constant vibration rising from the east, like a murmur beneath the snow.


Falk raised his binoculars. What he saw froze his blood: an endless line of T-34s, armored transports, infantry trucks, mobile artillery pieces. In the distance, through the smoke, human shapes ran, shouted, charged.


Konrad summed it up with one word over the radio:


The platoon held positions at the mouth of the breach: the Tiger at the center, the Panther on the right, three Panzer IVs forming a semicircle that now looked like paper.


—"Do we wait for orders?" Helmut asked.


—"There won't be any. This is it.Here or never."


The first shells fell like hammers. One, two, five, twelve. The sky filled with fragments and earth.


Ernst tried to keep the radio open, but all he heard were screams, static… then silence.


—"They've cut us off," he said. "It's just us now."


Lukas turned the Tiger. His knuckles white on the controls.


The Soviets were less than a thousand meters out. A wave of steel. The Panzer IVs fired first. The Panther followed. The Tiger let out its deep, thunderous roar.


CRASH — another hit a friendly mine at the corridor's edge.


The leftmost Panzer IV took a direct hit. Flames burst from the hatch. One crewman tried to escape… he didn't make it.


Helmut cursed. Konrad kept firing without blinking.


—"They're flanking us!" Ernst shouted.


—"Hold the line!" Falk ordered. "Not now!"


Soviet infantry advanced between the tanks. Some carried flamethrowers. Others, simple rifles. All of them with empty eyes and firm steps.


The German line was beginning to bend. It hadn't broken.But it was bleeding.


Chapter 82 - Chapter 81 – The Roar from the East