Pratica di Shadowing: When the Desert Fox Hunted Desert Rats - Impara a parlare inglese con i video

Creazione lezione...
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It's the morning of May 27th 1942 and 200 tanks and 10,000 support vehicles find themselves under fire in the Libyan desert.
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German General Erwin Rommel has assembled this massive armoured fist
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which is racing forward trying to outflank the British Army's defensive line at Ghazala.
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The radio crackles with situation reports as the leading vehicles of his 15th Panzer Division start firing back at the British.
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In a Panzer III, Hauptmann Johannes Kummel leads the fight back
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and quickly manages to identify the enemy vehicles as M3 Stuart light tanks.
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At this range, their 37mm guns aren't accurate and can't penetrate the Panzer III's armor.
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Kummel barks orders into his throat microphone and the battalion quickly arranges itself into attack formation.
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Half of his unit halts and lets off a barrage of shells from their 50mm guns
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As the shells streak towards the enemy, the other half of the battalion roars forward across the sand.
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Then they switch roles, firing again and advancing forward.
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Just like the British, the German fire is still inaccurate, but the panzers are rapidly closing the distance while the British tanks are stuck in place.
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Soon Kamel's battalion is within effective range of the enemy and his gunner lines up a Stuart tank in his sights.
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The loader shoves the 50mm round into the tank's breach and calls up to Kummel.
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Kummel gives the firing command and the gunner pulls the trigger to fire the main cannon.
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The shell slices through the desert air before smashing straight into a Stuart tank and cooks off the ammunition,
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sending the small tank exploding in a roaring fireball.
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Over on the British side, Lieutenant Bill Close is fighting against the overwhelming German force.
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All around him, Stuart tanks are being knocked out by enemy fire.
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He and his fellow desert rats from the 4th Armored Brigade were already outnumbered 5 to 1 by the German tanks, and now those odds just keep getting worse.
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They've got to keep firing back, reinforcements should be on their way.
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Kloes shouts to his crew to load armor-piercing ammunition.
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Load armor-piercing.
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Target's 1200 yards, 12 o'clock.
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Down below, the loader pulls a 37mm round from storage and shoves it home into the breach.
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The gunner gets a Panzer III lined up in his sights.
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Close gives the order to fire and the gunner squeezes the hand trigger sending the round towards the panzer.
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It strikes the German tank's front plate kicking up a huge fountain of sparks.
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But Close and his crew are disappointed to see that the round has bounced straight off.
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The panzer keeps advancing as if nothing has happened.
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Over on the German side Rommel stays close to the action as the battle progresses.
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As commander of the entire Panzerarmee Africa he should stay well behind the front lines in a headquarters tent.
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But Rommel is rather upfront with the men, seeing the battle play out before his own eyes.
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He looks through his binoculars and sees British tank after British tank go up in flames.
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Map in hand, he gives orders to his radioman, urging the German units to keep pressing forward.
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If they can just break through the British forces here, there's nothing but empty desert all the way to the vital Allied port in Tobruk.
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Kamel confidently leads his tank forts, certain that the British lines are on the verge of collapse.
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But then he's swung by an enormous blast as one of the Panzer III's close to him is hit and explodes.
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Kamel can't believe what he's seeing as the German crew scrambled to escape the burning tank.
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It wasn't a mine and it wasn't artillery.
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This was an enemy tank.
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Kamel desperately scans the British lines to try
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and get a look at what on earth could have knocked out a brand new up-armoured Panzer III.
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Then he sees it.
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In between the tiny Stuart tanks, a series of much larger tanks have taken up position.
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The huge vehicles are American-made M3 Grant tanks, armed with 75mm guns that can punch right through a Panzer III.
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Kummel hurriedly orders his gunner to target the nearest tank.
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The gunner gets the huge British vehicle positioned in his sights.
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Fire!
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The round hurtles towards a Grand and smashes into its thick frontal armor, but the shell bounces right off.
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Kummel instantly orders another shot.
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The Panzer's shell flies again to the target.
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Once more, it just pings away.
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Return fire comes immediately.
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A massive 75mm shell punches into the front armor of another Panzer III, setting it up in flames.
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Kummel's mind races.
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He immediately activates his radio and calls up the chain of command.
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He needs fire support or his panzers could be immediately wiped out.
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The radio message arrives at Rommel's half-track.
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He has no idea that the British had grand tanks in this sector.
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Their appearance could throw his entire plan into jeopardy.
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Rommel orders his aide to call up the motorized artillery regiment.
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But the radio brings terrible news.
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The artillery is still trying to catch up to catch up, they're too far away to provide fire support.
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A more cautious commander would likely call off the attack, but Rommel's been in this situation before.
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Within moments, a team of four half-tracks rushes up from the rear, each towing an enormous 88-millimeter FLAC gun.
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The massive weapon was designed to shoot down allied bombers, but it can also rip through enemy tanks.
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The vehicles screech to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust.
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Jumping down from the rear, the soldiers quickly spring into action.
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Unhooking the guns from the trailers, they disconnect the transport wheels.
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An explosion rocks the German gun crews.
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The British Grant tanks have spotted them and are already sending high explosive 75mm rounds towards their position.
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The Grants are struggling at this range and their shots land scattered around the guns.
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But soon a round manages to find a way to its target and smashes directly into one of the 88mm guns.
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Smoke and flames rise from the devastated weapon.
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The German flak artillerymen drop down to the sand as shrapnel rains down upon them.
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Rommel wastes no time and runs over to one of the surviving guns
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and helps haul down a steel outrigger from the side.
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Inspired by his example, the German troops jump up and return to their work and soon have the guns ready.
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The loader heaves the 88mm armor-piercing shell onto the breech of the gun.
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The gun commander identifies his target and shouts out the targeting information to the gunner.
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The 88 braws and the high-velocity shell streaks across the battlefield.
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and right through the frontal armor of the grand tank.
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The big British tank explodes at a fireball, sending shards of metal flying through the air.
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The German gunnery teams work like clockwork as they load and aim their massive guns.
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The 88s fire off their deadly shells cutting through the desert air.
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Then the spent cases fly backwards leaving a massive pile of hot steel in the sand.
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One by one, huge columns of smoke and flames rise into the sky as the British tanks go up in flames.
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Because of the power of the 88mm guns, the German tanks can start their advance again.
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Panzer, forward!
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Befehle halten!
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All Panzer, forward, front.
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At the front of the German force, Kummel starts driving his battalion forward again with new urgency.
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The British lines are in disarray and his tanks are soon closing in on the remaining enemy vehicles.
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Kummel races against time, bringing his tank group onto the British flank to hit the enemy's armor from the weak side.
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The tanks leave behind streaming orange trails as they roar over the sand.
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The Grand tanks are pinned down facing forward, still trying to compete with the 88s.
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They don't see the danger moving around their flanks.
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Soon Kummol's battalion are in position.
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The large slab sides of the Grand tanks are visible through the haze.
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The loader slams around into the breach.
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Kummol's gunner brings the sights onto the side of the nearest Grand.
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The round streaks through the air and punches into the side of the British vehicle.
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Inevitably, flames burst up from the hull.
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The rest of Kummer's battalion joins in, as the Grants turn themselves once more to face the Germans.
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The British tanks start returning fire and a Panzer III goes up in a column of flames.
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But while they turn to face the new threat, the flak guns continue their barrage and more 88 rounds come tearing into the Grants.
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The British tanks are trapped as vicious German fire pours in from the front and from the side.
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Soon the British line begins to buckle and Kamal calls for his tanks to advance again.
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Just 100 yards behind the Grants, Lieutenant Bill Close watches the British line give way.
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He knows this will likely be his last stand, but still maneuvers his steward into position into position to meet the next German attack.
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Target Mk.
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3, 100 yards at the front.
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Determined to keep fighting, he drops back down through the hatch.
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The loader slams home another round.
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The gunner quickly gets the German tank lined up. On target.
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Fire!
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The steward's 37mm cracks and sends a round towards the nearest Panzer III.
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This time the shell blasts through the German tank's armor.
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Smoke rises from the hatches and the German crew scramble from the tank.
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At this range the Stuart finally has some bite.
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It's one panzer down, but there are dozens more behind it.
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Close gets on his radio and tries to call for some artillery covering fire.
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But the response is negative.
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The British artillery isn't ready to fire.
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The Stuart tanks have to hold the line.
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There's a massive blast as yet another tank near Lieutenant Close takes a hit.
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The tank commander is killed instantly and the rest of the crew struggle to bail out.
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Just as they drop down to the sand, machine gun fire thumps into the ground around them.
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The Germans are trying to pick off the survivors.
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Their only hope is Lieutenant Klose and his tank.
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They frantically call over to him and Klose orders his driver to move the steward over.
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The tank rumbles closer to the survivors
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and Klose uses the commander's hatch as cover while he peeks out to direct the rescue.
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Just 100 meters away, Johannes Kummel spots Klos' stuart tank.
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He can see Klos giving orders from the turret.
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An enemy commander is always a valuable target, and Kummel makes a quick decision to take out the stuart.
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The Panzer III's cannon thunders and the round streaks towards Klos' stuart.
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The shell strikes the frontal armour of the steward and the tank starts smoking.
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Klos' tank is riddled with shrapnel and is completely immobilised.
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The driver is hit with shrapnel on the shoulder but the rest of the crew survive unscathed.
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Bail out!
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Move!
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Move!
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Klos orders them to bail out
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and then hauls himself out of his hatch before dropping down onto the scorching hot engine compartment.
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The metal hull is hot enough to fry an egg and Klose quickly jumps down to take cover behind the tank.
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The rest of his crew evacuate as quickly as possible.
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They keep their heads down out of the incoming fire.
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Behind the battle, Rommel is still with the mighty 88mm guns as they continue their lethal work.
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The radio crackles into life over the crescendo of firing with the latest report from Kummel.
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The Africa Corps has smashed through the British lines.
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We have the English lines crossed.
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Rommel listens to the radio message with satisfaction.
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His decision has paid off.
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Now the Desert Fox wants to be exactly where the action is.
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Bring us forward!
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The half-track roars off across the desert towards the gunfire and explosions.
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In a desperate last stand on the British lines, Bill Close has managed to commandeer a tank from another crew in his unit.
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He and his crewmen clamber aboard their new steward and take the tank forward into battle as rounds whiz past all around.
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The enemy is almost on top of them.
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Mark 3, 12 o'clock, 200 yards.
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The gunner trains the gun on the target. On target!
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Fire!
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The round smashes into the Panzer III's armor.
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It's a direct hit and the crew abandon the burning tank as it's still moving forward.
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Kloes scans the battlefield.
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The German Panzers are closing in from the front and from the side.
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Another round slams into a steward next to Kloes, setting it ablaze.
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The enemy has totally outflanked the British and their position is now hopeless.
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Pull back!
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All tanks pull back!
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The British tank force start to roll back across the desert sand and then go into full retreat.
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Just a few hundred yards away Johannes Kummel knows he's got to press home the attack.
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His tanks have suffered from the big guns of the Grants and the fierce resistance of the little Stuart tanks.
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But even with just one third of their number remaining, they're strong enough to take out the remaining enemy tanks.
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His tank battalion keeps advancing.
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They push through the burning British hulls and maintain a steady rain of fire towards the retreating survivors.
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More British tanks go up in flames and it looks like it's going to be a complete rout of the enemy.
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But it's then that the battlefield erupts with deep booms as clouds of dust and shrapnel burst around the panzers.
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From 10 kilometers away, the British have finally organized their field artillery and have directed it towards the battlefield.
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Kummel braces himself against the onslaught as 25-pounder rounds smash down into the German tank formations.
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A Panzer III takes a direct hit and belches black smoke while the crew dive out of the hatches the hatches.
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Kummel is devastated but he knows it's not worth the risk to keep advancing into the accurate artillery barrage.
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The British artillery has saved close and the last survivors from being wiped out but it has not saved the battle.
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The desert is filled with burning British tanks.
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Kummel's panzers have punched through the British armored force and sent it into full retreat.
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Rommel's half-track pulls up to the front line as the British artillery fades.
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The Grand tanks and the artillery have taken a toll, and dozens of German tanks too lie wrecked in the sand.
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But the losses were worth it.
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The Desert Fox surveys the battlefield with pride for the efforts of his men.
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Pressing forward against the heavy Grand tanks was a risk, but it has paid off.
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The way to Tobruk is now open.
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In less than a month, Rommel captured the Allied fortress at the port of Tobruk.
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Tobruk.
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For this he was promoted to Field Marshal.
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Johannes Kummel continued fighting in North Africa and Italy, earning the oak leaves to his Knight's Cross.
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He was killed in a car accident near Anzio in 1944.
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Bill Close was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Gazala.
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He survived the war and died aged 91 in 2006.
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Click here if you like this film and want to see another incredible tank battle.

About This Lesson

In questa lezione, praticherai l'ascolto e la pronuncia inglese attraverso un brano intenso dal video "When the Desert Fox Hunted Desert Rats", che racconta una battaglia del deserto nella seconda guerra mondiale. Imparerai a seguire dialoghi veloci, comandi militari e descrizioni di azione, migliorando la tua capacità di capire l'inglese parlato e di riprodurre la sua intonazione. È un'ottima occasione per esercitarti con un contesto storico e dinamico!

Parole chiave e frasi

  • Outflank: Circondare l'ennemy per attaccarlo di lato. Esempio: "The German army tried to outflank the British defensive line".
  • Armor-piercing ammunition: Munizioni progettate per perforare l'armatura. Frase: "Load armor-piercing!" (Carica munizioni anti-armatura!).
  • Heia Safari: Espressione germanica usata da Rommel per incitare le truppe, simile a "Andiamo, avanti!".
  • Breach: La porta del cannone dove si carica il proiettile. Esempio: "The loader shoves a round into the breach" (Il caricatore inserisce un proiettile nella breach).
  • Cook off: Esplodere a causa del calore, riferito a munizioni. Frase: "The shell cooked off the ammunition" (Il proiettile fece esplodere le munizioni).

Consigli per la pratica

Per migliorare la tua pronuncia e la fluidità, usa la tecnica del shadowing: ascolta un frammento del video (5-10 secondi), poi ripetilo immediatamente, imitando il tono, la velocità e l'intonazione. Ecco come fare:

  • Riduci la velocità: Il video ha un ritmo veloce a causa delle azioni militari. Usa lo strumento di riproduzione per rallentare l'audio al 75% inizialmente, poi aumenta gradualmente.
  • Focus sulle comandi: Frasi come "Load armor-piercing!" o "Fire!" sono pronunciate con forza. Ripeti loro per esercitare la chiarezza nelle situazioni stressanti.
  • Usa un shadowing site: Più piattaforme permettono di sincronizzare la ripetizione con l'audio, ma anche un semplice video YouTube funziona. Prova a usare "shadow speak" per imitare ogni dettaglio.

Imparare l'inglese con YouTube è un modo divertente e efficace, e questo video è perfetto per esercitare l'ascolto attivo e la riproduzione. Ricorda: il shadowing in inglese richiede pratica, ma i risultati arrivano velocemente. "Heia Safari!" – comincia ora!

La grammatica di questo video

Le strutture che chi parla usa di più, con le parole esatte del video:

StrutturaNel video
Present perfect have/has + participio passato — un’azione passata che conta ancora adessohas assembled · has bounced · has happened
Forma passiva be + participio passato — conta ciò che accade, non chi lo faare stuck · being knocked · were already outnumbered

Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?

Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.

Tecnica dello shadowing: leggi la guida completa passo dopo passo →