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.

Western Breach — Sector 9KJanuary 29, 1943, 6:25 p.m.


It was mud, fire, blood, and shattered steel.


Falk no longer knew if they were still in the same place or if the world had spun around them. The only certainty was that they were still alive. The Tiger still roared. The Panther, to his left, panted like a wounded animal. Everything else had vanished.


—They're coming again! —Ernst shouted—. Twelve tanks! Infantry behind and flanking!


Konrad said nothing. He simply bowed his head and loaded the second-to-last armor-piercing shell.


Falk gave no orders. He didn't need to. They all knew what was coming.


Soviet shells howled like swarms of death. One struck a meter from the Tiger. Another tore apart a shattered log they used as cover. And another, finally, struck the side of the Panther.


—Schuster! —Falk shouted into the radio.


A second shell landed squarely on the turret. This time there was no doubt.


The Panther exploded into a thousand pieces. The blast shook the inside of the Tiger. The hatch flew into the air like a warning shot to the gods.


Ernst lowered his head. Konrad clenched his jaw. Helmut said nothing. Lukas only muttered:


The Soviets threw everything they had. Portable anti-tank weapons, rifles, grenades… even Molotov cocktails. As if trying to swallow the Tiger by sheer mass.


—Fragmentation fire! —Falk ordered.


The Tiger slowly turned its cannon and fired an explosive shell into an enemy squad. Men and metal flew through the air. But more followed behind.


—Last armor-piercing round —Konrad said, sweating.


—That one's for the biggest bastard. If he shows up.


A T-34 got too close. It fired from less than a hundred meters. The round slammed into the Tiger's frontal plate. The Tiger held. Roared like an insulted beast. And struck back.


—No more armor-piercing rounds. Just fragmentation —Helmut reported.


—Then we aim for the legs —Falk replied, his tone like forged steel—. At their infantry. At their soul.


Konrad fired again and again. Explosions. Screams. Hot blood over snow.


The wind shifted. The smoke thickened. Falk straightened and looked ahead.


There they were: the last Soviets in the sector, charging with everything they had. No tactics. No cover. Just final chaos.


—Everyone out there knows —Falk said to his crew—. If they don't kill us now… they never will.


—Then they won't —Ernst replied, eyes wet but unflinching.


And they fired. Everything they had. Machine guns, cannon, fury.


Chapter 86 - Chapter 85: Until the Last Roar