Chapter 855 The Battle of France (Part 2)
At 12:30 noon on October 30, 1938, the Belgian garrison of the Eben-Emel Fortress announced its surrender. The Belgian garrison, totaling more than a thousand people, surrendered to the German army.
By this time, the Cork Commando's airborne assault on the three bridges and the Eben-Emare Fortress had been a complete success; the artillery held by the Eben-Emare Fortress was ineffective, and two of the three designated bridges were in
Destroyed and captured by Cork Commandos.
The capture of the bridge and the inactivation of the fortress' artillery allowed the infantry and armor of the German 18th Army to advance past the rest of the Belgian defenses and into the heart of Belgium.
Resistance had lost its meaning, and the Belgian defenders chose to surrender to the Germans. After having their weapons confiscated, they were imprisoned in prison camps.
"The Eben-Emel Fortress...is gone..." Leopold III slumped back on his chair after receiving the battle report.
"Our tank troops have been concentrated in the line between Hanni and Gembloux. I believe this will give the Germans a head-on blow!" Maurice Gamelin, commander-in-chief of the French Army and commander of the British Expeditionary Force, gritted his teeth and said: "We
There’s still a chance! These Germans won’t do whatever they want in Belgium!”
Leopold III raised his head and looked at Maurice Gamelin mockingly without saying a word. At this moment, he seemed to have aged several years. He was slowly dying under the support of General Raoul Fan.
Walked out of the headquarters.
"You can do whatever you want. But I will always be with my country and people." Leopold III turned his head and glanced at these generals fiercely.
"Even if Belgium falls, I must stay to fight for people's rights..."
Maurice Ganmo turned pale when he heard this, and looked at Leopold III with anger in his eyes. However, Leopold III ignored him and walked straight out of the headquarters.
After occupying the Eben-Emel Fortress, the German Army on the Hanni-Janblu line also received the last ammunition replenishment. Everyone was waiting quietly. Waiting for the attack order from Berlin.
At noon on November 1, 1938, the French support troops arrived at the Horemont-Uyi line and deployed defenses: the 2nd Light Mechanized Division was located on the Hannut-Uyi line, and the 3rd Light Mechanized Division was located on the Horemont-Uyi line.
Nut line.
At the same time, the German armored forces advanced towards the center of the two divisions' defense line.
"Buzz buzz... chirp... boom boom boom..." At 8 a.m. on November 2, a group of Stuttgart dive bombers of the German Air Force's 8th Air Force launched a fierce bombing on the French positions!
Immediately, the 35th Regiment of the 4th German Armored Division moved forward to search for weaknesses in the French defense line!
"...A whole division of tanks assembled 3 kilometers away... This huge group of tanks is really an unforgettable sight, especially when viewed through a telescope, it is even more terrifying!"
This was a French officer's description of the German formation at the time, which actually confirmed the feeling of powerlessness of the French troops facing the German armored forces at that time.
On this day, the German army first broke through the village of Ghorn, southwest of Hannut. Historically, they encountered fierce resistance from French tanks and then retreated rapidly. But now?!
"Boom...Boom!!" A French tank was directly shot through by a German Tiger tank. The shell detonated the gasoline and shells in the car. The entire armored vehicle was first submerged in a sea of fire and then exploded into a ball.
Burning scrap iron.
"Boom...dang!...Boom!" France was horrified to find that the shells they fired back on the German tank were cut open as if they hit a spring!
Even if a few artillery shells hit the German tanks, they were unable to break through the armor of the German tanks. These monsters ran rampant on the French positions and blew up the French tanks one by one without any scruples.
After holding on for more than an hour, the French army finally retreated from their position. The village of Ghorn was immediately occupied by the German army.
Then in the evening, the 35th Chariot Regiment, after repairing, attacked the village of Disne to the west of Hannut, where there were two French cavalry squadrons and artillery.
"Kerala..." The sound of tanks' tracks shattered the peace here, and the ensuing French artillery fire continuously lifted up the soil on the position. Chariots of two cavalry squadrons rushed out of the village and fought with the Germans.
The fighting began.
But the facts proved that this resistance was meaningless. The two cavalry squadrons lost more than half in more than half an hour. The artillery unit of Disnei Village quickly retreated when the situation was not good.
In the end, the French cavalry squadron was forced to withdraw from the village of Disney after paying two-thirds of the casualties.
"These French tanks are really difficult to deal with..." Colonel Abelbach, the leader of the 35th Regiment, said angrily with a sullen face as he looked at the destroyed French tanks.
In fact, he was complaining rather than boasting. After being hit by four bullets, his car was still able to break through the French army's position and even directly destroy three French tanks. And what about the French army?!
"Damn! Where did these damn Germans learn thick armor?! Assholes! Are all those bastard intelligence agencies eating shit?! Why is there no news about such an important thing?!"
The French commander yelled at the rear headquarters: "We are equipped with such thick armor. Why can the Germans penetrate it?! Who can tell me why?!"
At this time, the two main tanks of the French mechanized cavalry were the Soumier S-35 and the Hachikos H-35/39 tanks. Historically, these two tanks caused great losses to the German army.
Colonel Abelbach, the commander of the 35th regiment who had just expressed emotion, encountered three French tanks in history. The French army immediately destroyed his tank, the deputy commander and another No. 2 tank at close range.
The vehicle's 2cm cannon immediately joined the counterattack. However, although the French tank hit several rounds, it was still able to escape calmly.
Even when the No. 3 tank's gun fires at a distance of 100 meters, as long as it hits the French tank at an angle slightly deviated from 90 degrees, the shell will bounce away!
But now, this history has evolved to the French themselves. Their tanks are completely incomparable to the Tiger in terms of armor thickness. Even though these Tigers still use the old Christie suspension system, they are absolutely comparable in terms of armor and gun caliber.
Completely destroy these two French tanks.
"Organize manpower and prepare for individual anti-tank operations." The French commander said with a sullen face and gritted teeth: "After the war starts tomorrow, let people go around the tank and kick the German guy in the back!
"
"Order everyone to go into repairs temporarily." At the same time, Colonel Abelbach, the commander of the 35th German Armored Regiment, turned to the deputy commander and shouted: "Let everyone have a good rest! Tomorrow, kill those French bitches!"
"Yes! Kill those French bitches! Hahaha..." Since the only one that entered the battlefield was the 35th Armored Regiment, Abelbach did not dare to go too deep into the battlefield. He was waiting for the arrival of follow-up troops.
.
On November 3, the 36th Tank Regiment of the 4th Armored Division and the 3rd Armored Division arrived at the battlefield. After a half-day of repairs, they launched a decisive offensive against the French army together with the 4th Armored Division!
"Buzz buzz..." At 11:30 in the morning, a group of German Stukat bombers suddenly appeared in the sky above the French army's positions. Then the bombing troops carried out precise and repeated bombings on the French army's positions with thunderous momentum.
At the same time as the bombing, the ground artillery troops also launched a large-scale artillery bombardment. The artillery fire and bombing lasted for a full hour! After all this was over, the German armored forces launched an all-out attack on the French army like an overwhelming force.
.
The German improved Tiger tanks No. 3 and No. 4 advanced while fighting. The German and French tank units on both sides exchanged fire fiercely at a distance of 600 meters!
"Boom, boom, boom..." The sound of explosions and the roar of artillery fire continued on the position. Although several French 37mm artillery shells directly hit the front armor of the German tank, they immediately bounced away like tennis balls!
But while the French tanks were attacking the German army, they were also trying to block the German infantry units that followed, causing the tanks from both sides to engage in battle at a closer distance!
The hit tank burst into flames, and the remains of personnel and vehicles were strewn on the ground. When the two sides were fighting in a stalemate, French tanks appeared in small groups behind the German tanks at any time, forcing the Germans to have no choice but to
Divert your attention to cope.
Although the German army finally gained the advantage, the powerful strength and artillery fire of the French army should not be underestimated.
After a large amount of ammunition consumption and the exhaustion of the tank members, the German army was unable to further expand the results. After entering the dark, the German army could only choose a truce. Only after the ammunition supplies had been transported, the German army would launch a new round of offensive.
At this time, the German 4th Armored Division had arrived at the village of Hamiriye, 16 kilometers west of the village of Hannut, announcing that the French Army's Horemont-Yui defense line had been breached. The 3rd Armored Division attacking from the north was also paying a huge price.
Then arrive at the destination.
During the two days of fighting, the breakthrough points of the German 106th Army's tanks of the 3rd and 4th Divisions were pointing at the 3rd Light Mechanized Division on the left side of the French Cavalry Army's defense line, while the commander of the 2nd Light Mechanized Division on the right was
Adhering to the rule of "continuous front", they did not support the 3rd Light Division in the battle, but only held their own line of defense.
As a result, the defense line of the 3rd Light Division could not withstand the fierce attack of the 106th Army and collapsed.
After losing the advantage of the front line, the French 2nd and 3rd Light Mechanized Divisions moved overnight to an area 8 kilometers east of the main position of the Dale River, using the tank obstacles established by the Belgian army to build the last line of defense. During this period, the French Army
Six infantry divisions of the 1st Army Corps entered the position and prepared for battle.
"Tomorrow, tomorrow we must break the defense line of these damn French men." Albert Bach, the commander of the 35th German Armored Regiment, slowly put down his binoculars. Six representatives of the representatives had been painted on his Tiger tank.
Chapter completed!