The advantage brought by absolute air supremacy was vividly demonstrated in this battle.
In the following time, four bomber groups took turns to provide air cover for the 6th Armored Division, and two transport aircraft groups brought a steady stream of material support. For the first time, the Free French Army truly experienced the logistics support capabilities of the Southern African Army.
Let everyone be stunned.
Traditionally, the Free French Army's understanding of the air force was still in the First World War, and they did not realize the subversive changes that air supremacy brought to the war.
Under repeated bomber attacks, the 4th SS Armored Division never organized an effective attack. Every time the German tanks just started to gather, they would be baptized by high-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs, even the heaviest tonnage.
The "King Tiger" cannot fight in such intensive bombing. Although the aerial bombs cannot tear apart the armor of the "King Tiger", the tank crew cannot withstand the impact of the shock wave. On the surface, the "King Tiger" has no damage.
, in fact all the tankers inside were dead.
The support brought by transport aircraft to the 6th Armored Division is also surprising.
The Sixth Armored Division did not lack bullets and grenades. What it lacked was rocket launchers and anti-tank guns, both of which could be replenished through airdrops. Patton was also wealthy and airdropped 24 anti-tank guns at one time. Jacques de Broglie and
Luke Grote suddenly felt confident.
When the battle was at its fiercest, de Broglie was ready to die for his country. Free France could have generals who died in battle and would never surrender!
This is the bottom line De Broglie gave himself.
"The performance of the Air Force is so great, it's unbelievable!" Grote looked at the sky full of umbrella flowers and couldn't help but sigh. When the war first broke out, if France had an air force of this size, the Germans would have had no chance.
"I proposed to the Ministry of War ten years ago to build a world-class air force, but it's a pity that those old guys prefer to build warships." De Broglie was a little depressed. The air force did perform well, but it is a pity that this air force did not
Belongs to Free France.
It doesn't matter, the ally's rounding can also be counted as your own.
If rounding can be used like this.
"It doesn't matter, we still have a chance." Grote was not disappointed. France also had the opportunity to build an air force of this size after the war.
De Broglie shook his head and said sadly after a long time: "——We have no chance."
Let’s not talk about how much it costs to build a world-class air force.
Even if France has money and determination, who is it prepared to deal with when it builds a world-class air force?
Against Germany?
Germany is doomed this time, and the same mistake cannot be made twice. These leaders of the Allied Powers sometimes get dizzy, but most of the time it is normal.
Against Britain?
Although France and Britain did not confront each other, they were not enemies on the whole.
Especially in the current environment, if France wants to maintain its position, it may have to cooperate with the United Kingdom. In the future, France's enemies will no longer be Germany, but will be replaced by Russia, which is more difficult to deal with, and potentially southern Africa and the United States.
Speaking of Russia and the United States——
It's better to go to bed, this idea is unrealistic.
Let’s talk about the future later. At least for now, the officers and soldiers of the 6th Armored Division who narrowly escaped death are very grateful to the Southern African Air Force.
"Telegram from Lyon, the 7th Division and the 29th Division have set off and will arrive on the battlefield in four hours -" the communications officer sent the latest telegram, which both de Broglie and Grote were a little disgusted with.
Without air support, the daylilies would be cold after four hours.
Kruger felt even colder.
After experiencing the cruel Russian battlefield, Kruger's understanding of war has improved to a higher level. In his opinion, the cruelty of the Russian battlefield is already the ultimate.
Unexpectedly, when he came to France, the war started in another way, which Kruger could not accept even more.
Although the Russian battlefield was tragic, the German army took advantage of it in the early stage, and now it is capable of fighting Russia back and forth. Although the overall battlefield is retreating, local battlefields can still counterattack.
The French side was simply defeated.
Even the 4th SS Armored Division, equipped with the most advanced "King Tiger", suffered heavy losses in the bombing of the Allied Air Force. Which other unit can withstand the Allied attack?
Although Russia's war potential is large, it takes time to mobilize, and the balance of strength between the two sides has not changed significantly.
The French side was immediately shattered. The number of troops participating in Operation "Overlord" reached one million, and there were also many troops participating in Operation "Dragoon". Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops from Spain poured into France, and the Republic of Salou on the Apennine side had already
It's only a matter of time before you give up completely and surrender.
Speaking of which, Kruger now has a lot of troops under his command, but Kruger doesn't feel at all safe.
Now Kruger finally understands how difficult it was for Rommel to be able to hold back Britain and Southern Africa with that little force in North Africa. Rommel's ability was definitely the best choice in Germany.
It is a pity that the once famous North African Fox is about to come to an end.
On July 20, when the fierce battle between Caen and Lyon was in full swing, another assassination incident targeting Mustache occurred in Germany.
This time it was Colonel Stauffenberg who placed a leather bag containing a time bomb under Mustache's desk during a staff meeting.
Stauffenberg made two mistakes. One was to overestimate the power of the time bomb, and the other was to underestimate the thickness of the mustache.
The heavy tabletop withstood most of the power of the bomb. Mustache was only frightened and did not die. Several officers present were killed. After making sure that he was safe, Mustache said happily: Who said that I
No special blessing from God!
The mustache escaped, but many people would suffer, including Rommel.
Rommel recovered quickly after the car accident, but he failed to regain Mustache's trust. This outstanding armored commander never got the opportunity to fully demonstrate himself.
The mustaches given to Rommel's troops were, to put it mildly, scraps.
Being able to make a feast with those scraps fully proves Rommel's excellence. If it had been anyone else, even with the cooperation of the British, the North African Campaign would have ended in 1941.
Mustache still missed his old relationship and did not execute Rommel for treason, but gave Rommel a chance to die with dignity.
Shortly after the assassination, Rommel's residence in Herlingen was surrounded by the secret police. Army Personnel Director Burgdorf and Guard Chief Messer brought potassium cyanide to Rommel. As long as Rommel took it, three
He will die in seconds.
At the last moment of his life, Rommel said to his family: I am about to die within a quarter of an hour. It is very sad to die in the hands of my own people - if I accept death, they will not kill my family members, that is, you.
They won't harm anyone else - as long as a little bit of news gets out, they won't abide by the agreement.
Rommel's son asked him: Can't we resist?
Rommel had already made up his mind to die: that was not a consideration at all. It would be better for one person to die than for everyone to die in random gunfire - besides, we did not have enough ammunition.
Ten minutes later, Rommel committed suicide by taking poison in the car. The cause of death announced by Germany was that he died of a stroke while going to the hospital.
After the news spread, the most saddened one on the Allied side was probably Patton Jr. He completely lost the chance to fight Rommel, and they were separated from each other from then on.
Big Patton was not sad. After the battle between the 4th SS Division and the 6th Division of the Free French Army, the German troops in the direction of Lyon had completely lost their ability to attack, and Paris finally opened its door to the Allies.
Recovering Paris was not only de Gaulle's greatest wish, it was also a special honor for Patton.
Due to heavy losses, the 6th Armored Division had to return to North Africa to rest and recuperate. When the 15th Armored Division led by Ba Xinlei passed the battlefield, it was already a week later.
The retreat of the 4th SS Armored Division was very hasty. Allied air forces chased the 4th Armored Division and attacked in turn. There were destroyed tanks and car wrecks everywhere along the way, most of which belonged to the German army.
"The news from London is that the King Tiger is just a showman, with slow speed and mediocre firepower. It is not difficult to deal with it." Ding Bin was a little excited. The 15th Armored Division is now a forward force and is about to arrive in Paris.
After the 6th Armored Division suffered heavy losses, de Gaulle finally relinquished command completely and stopped sending private telegrams to Free French Army officers.
Patton was well aware of de Gaulle's intentions, but did not reveal them and successfully took over the command of all the troops.
Patton was very cautious. Although the Allies controlled absolute air superiority, the troops were not advancing very fast, and Air Force reconnaissance planes were dispatched very frequently. Large-scale mobilization of German troops would certainly not escape Air Force reconnaissance.
The 15th Armored Division advances at an average speed of only ten kilometers per day. For tank crews, this distance is just a matter of kicking the accelerator.
The closer we get to Paris, the more guerrillas come to support us. De Gaulle has already formed six new divisions, accepting all comers.
France was once the world's largest army, and it paid as much attention to its army as southern Africa. After the end of World War I, France absorbed a large number of North African servants in order to consolidate its national defense.
Now de Gaulle has finally woken up. The colonial servant army does not have much loyalty to France. It is okay to fight with the wind. But if it really wants to face a life-and-death battle of the level of the Battle of France, the morale of the colonial servant army will soon be reduced.
Collapse, to protect France, we still have to rely on the real French.
While in North Africa, de Gaulle was deeply concerned about the French's enthusiasm for joining the army.
Now this worry no longer exists. There are more than 300,000 rebels in France. Organizing these people is enough to form a powerful army.
"It doesn't matter if it's difficult. The production of King Tiger is limited and priority is given to the Russian battlefield. For the Germans, the Russians are a more deadly threat." Ba Xinlei was also relaxed. Even the Free French Army could withstand the German army's most powerful force.
The Southern African army has no problem attacking strong armored divisions.
Russia lost more than 20 million people in the war. This blood feud cannot be resolved and can only be washed away with blood.
Therefore, some negative news occasionally comes out of the Russian battlefield, but the Allies are still very restrained and basically do not report it. The focus is on how the Germans abused Russian prisoners of war.
Since the German army can run rampant in Russia, it is logical that after Russia invades Germany, it will treat others with their own way. The Russians do not forgive their opponents. They avenge their enemies on the spot.
Not overnight.
Therefore, it is useless even if Kruger is anxious. Germany can only tilt more resources to the direction of Russia. It is also a matter of time for France. It is better to be invaded by the Allies than to be invaded by Russia.
When the Allied forces invaded Germany, they would not kill the Germans. At most, they would just grab some things and leave some way for the Germans to survive.
Russia's invasion of Germany was most likely brutal. In order to fight against the Germans, Russia even bombarded its own cities. Will it show mercy to German cities?
"So there is still great hope for the peaceful recovery of Paris -" Ding Bin felt a little conflicted.
As a soldier, Ding Bin must hope to regain Paris in a hearty and bloody battle. This is how the movie script is written.
But as a human being, Ding Bin still hopes that the Germans can be more sensible.
Germany has now completely offended Russia. If it offends France again——
Maybe Germany will be even worse off than Japan after the war.
"Whatever, we can do whatever we want -" Ba Xinlei didn't hesitate. It would be great if Paris could be recovered peacefully, but if a city offensive and defensive war really had to be fought, the Southern African army wouldn't be afraid.
The key strength is here. The Germans can fight however they want. De Gaulle calmed down and surrounded Paris. For half a year and several months, the German troops in the city starved to death, so there was no need to fight.
If De Gaulle was in a hurry, he would fight the Germans. Anyway, the leader of the battle must be the Free French Army, and it is also the Free French Army in North Africa. The southern African army will not fight the Germans with bayonets.
You fight, and we cheer you on.
On this point, France and the UK are absolutely in agreement.
Why did the British army behave so arrogantly in Normandy? The Allies also had absolute air supremacy in Normandy.
The key is not that there are many Germans who can fight, but that most of the troops sent by the British army to participate in Operation Overlord are Commonwealth troops, and there are not many real British troops.
So far, of the 11 British divisions that have landed in Normandy, four are Indian divisions from India, two Canadian divisions, and one Egyptian division. There are only three real British divisions.
If you add them all together, is there still one missing?
The last one was not made up of British people, but was made up of Poles and French exiles in Britain, who participated in the "Overlord" operation under the banner of the British Army.
With so many troops, not to mention the level of training, there are many languages, and coordination of command is a big problem. The British still tout Montgomery as a peerless famous general. Most British people have misunderstood the word "famous general".
Although the British army was lagging behind in various ways, the Caen direction finally made real progress after the southern African army joined the army.
