In order to allow Choltitz to better complete his mission, the Allies would also launch some exploratory attacks on Paris to coordinate with Choltitz's actions.
Leclerc finally had a chance. His troops would complete the important task of regaining Paris. This was a consensus reached within the Allies. Montgomery even sent a congratulatory message to de Gaulle in advance to congratulate the Free French Army led by de Gaulle on completing this great mission.
Task.
This telegram made de Gaulle very angry.
This is not a congratulation at all, but a mockery of De Gaulle.
Because of this telegram, it seems that the British army will give the great honor of recapturing Paris to the Free French, rather than the Free French army achieving this achievement through their own efforts.
"Now you know why I hate the British so much. They always have a way to bring you more bad luck on the most festive days." De Gaulle was very angry, but he was more worried about the impact on the relationship between France and Britain.
Southern Africa and France.
In any case, southern Africa was once a British colony.
Europeans have deep-rooted thinking about the bond between the mother country and its colonies.
"Montgomery does not represent all British people. His jealousy stems from your outstanding performance. The performance of the Free French Army on the battlefield made Montgomery look like an idiot." Patton's feelings towards Britain were much different from those of Emperor Liver.
one level.
Don't listen to the fact that Emperor Gan is non-violent and non-cooperative all day long. This guy is a complete hypocrite. When Weiweier and Mountbatten invited Emperor Gan to dinner, Emperor Gan cooperated. Even if he was on a hunger strike, he would happily attend the banquet.
It has been scientifically proven that people can survive for a week without eating and only three days without drinking water.
If Emperor Gan really wanted to go on a hunger strike, the grass on his grave would be ten feet high.
"But you can't deny that Montgomery's attitude represents the British elite." De Gaulle seemed to have forgotten that the French elite had an equally bad attitude towards Britain.
Not even the elite.
Let’s take the French Resistance Army as an example here. From the support for Operation Overlord and Operation Dragoon, it is easy to see the attitude of the French towards the British.
Not to mention how Montgomery was disgusted with de Gaulle, after Choltitz decided to join the light camp, Leclerc finally got the power to give it a go and launch an attack on the German positions.
According to the Allied habit, the attack still starts from the air first. In the past few days when the 2nd Armored Division stopped attacking, construction machinery was used to build a field airport on the bank of the Seine. The Allied fighter jets no longer need to return to Lyon and can be nearby for the 2nd Armored Division.
Armored divisions provide support.
Before the 2nd Armored Division arrived in Paris, the Allied aircraft fleet had visited Paris many times. The German Air Force initially tried to compete with the Allies for air supremacy over Paris. However, the numbers and technology were lagging behind. After losing nearly 160 fighter jets, the German Air Force gave up completely.
In this attempt, the few remaining fighter planes were withdrawn from Paris at night and the sky of Paris was surrendered.
The battle went on without incident. While the air force bombed, artillery also began shelling the German positions.
The German counterattack was very weak, with a small number of artillery pieces, small caliber, and insufficient artillery experience. Even if the mathematicians in the army calculated the location of the Allied artillery positions based on ballistic trajectories, the German artillery did not have enough strength to attack the Allied artillery.
Counterattack.
The gap among combat troops is even greater.
The Free French Army has not practiced anything else in the past few years, and infantry-artillery coordination and infantry-tank coordination have reached a very high level.
After all, it is a country with traditional land power, and it still has a good army. If it weren't for the fact that France's command level was too conservative, and the money that should have been spent on building tanks was used to build the Maginot Line, France would not have been so miserable.
Now the Free French Army has finally returned to the right path. Two years is not enough for the Free French Army to be reborn. It is enough to deal with the old, weak, sick and disabled in Paris.
In fact, when the Free French Army jumped out of the starting position under the leadership of the "Leopard" tanks, the battle was basically over.
The German army's will to resist is very weak. In the past few months, bad news has come from all sides, and the German troops stationed in Paris have become frightened.
The disastrous defeat of the 4th SS Armored Division some time ago was a real wake-up call for the German army in Paris.
Even the 4th SS Armored Division was beaten to the point where it was almost completely wiped out, leaving other units to fight.
Kruger never imagined that his reckless proactive attack would lead to the loss of morale of all German troops.
The "Charles de Gaulle" assault battalion equipped with "Leopard" tanks is the only unit of the 2nd Armored Division with its own name. The battalion commander, Major Kelsen, is an experienced veteran who participated in the last world war and went to the Umbrella after the war.
I work in a company and have never left the battlefield for twenty years.
"Keep moving forward and leave the work of receiving prisoners to the follow-up troops and guerrillas. We have only one mission, attack! Attack! Keep attacking!" Major Kelsen's tank, the entire turret is painted red, in a large area
The gray-green "leopard" style is extremely conspicuous.
This behavior is very dangerous, and almost all armored force commanders will try their best to avoid exposing the command vehicle.
In the early days, when only some tanks were equipped with radio systems, the commander's tank was easily spotted because of the long antenna.
Later, engineers installed antennas on all tanks, regardless of whether they had radios or not.
Major Kelsen has a strong sense of personal heroism. Commanders of other armored forces, in order to have a more comfortable working environment, usually choose more spacious armored command vehicles and will not go deep into the front line.
Major Kelsen has never been an arrogant person. He has always held himself to the standards of an armored soldier. This has won him the heartfelt love of all the officers and soldiers of the "Charles de Gaulle" assault battalion.
"Major, we have broken through two German positions in a row. If we continue to advance, we will be seriously out of touch with the follow-up troops." Deputy Battalion Commander Lucius has been serving in the colonies. He is serious, practical, mature and prudent, and he is a perfect match with Kelsen, who is brave in all three armies.
.
The German position was very perfunctory. One division was only responsible for one defensive position, and there was no depth at all.
That's right, with Paris behind us, why should we have a deep position unless we place it in a residential area?
If it were a real field force, Kelsen would never dare to go deep alone.
It doesn't matter now. The two lines of defense that have just been broken through are all servants. They are from Romania and Italy. These two countries have already announced their withdrawal from the war. How can their soldiers still be interested in fighting?
The tank driven by Kelsen has only fired one shot so far, and it is not certain whether it has achieved any results. However, Kelsen saw with his own eyes that the number of Axis soldiers who surrendered must have exceeded 3,000.
This is a devastating defeat.
Wherever the "Leopard" tanks went, the enemy had no intention of fighting. They fired a few symbolic shots into the sky and surrendered in large areas, without even having time to destroy the weapons and equipment. Kelsen even found some weapons on the Italian position.
Unboxed 88mm high-flat dual-purpose gun.
I have to say that this is very much in line with Italian habits.
"Don't worry about that, I want to be the first Frenchman to drive a tank back to Paris. Our enemies are vulnerable!" Kelsen laughed wildly, and the "Leopard" engine roared and continued to move forward.
After crossing a small river and bypassing a forest, the scenery in front of him suddenly opened up, the road suddenly widened, and there were vaguely continuous buildings in the distance. Kelsen was ecstatic in his heart, and he was getting closer and closer to Paris.
Ahead is a small town on the outskirts of Paris, which is already the essence of France. Even a small town is not small in size, and it has not been devastated by the war. Allied bombers are relatively restrained in attacking Paris.
Before the "Leopard" tanks entered the town, the town was already boiling with excitement. The streets were crowded with excited crowds. About a company of Axis troops had already laid down their weapons and lined up in the center of the street to surrender.
The situation of these Axis soldiers was very bad. They all looked sad, as if their mother had just died.
People around them yelled, spat at them, and threw stones. Several of the more vicious ones were knocked to the ground. More than a dozen people surrounded them and beat them. Someone brought ropes, tied them up, and dragged them with horses.
Displayed in the street.
Looking at the blood-stained red marks in the middle of the street, Kelsen's mood did not waver.
"You are finally here. We have longed for you and are looking forward to you every day. God bless France -" An old man with white hair patted the "Leopard" tank and burst into tears.
"Are all the Germans here?" Kelsen asked proactively.
"It's all here—"
"These bad guys also put explosives on the bridge and tried to blow it up——"
"They originally wanted to escape, but unfortunately the railway workers went on strike and all trains stopped running. Even if they could drive themselves, we still have a way to cut off the railway."
People around are talking a lot. The French really have a spirit of resistance. They don't believe in authority. Fortunately, the Free French Army arrived here first, otherwise they might not have cheered them.
"How far is it from Paris?" Kelsen did not forget his mission.
"Less than ten kilometers!" Someone offered to be a guide.
Then keep going.
The tank crews finally broke out of the excited crowd and continued on their journey, which was much more difficult than fighting the Germans.
The German army really cannot care about the Free French Army now, and they themselves cannot protect themselves.
The most effective way to eliminate hidden dangers is to have the German troops voluntarily leave Paris.
Choltitz gave orders to his troops to leave Paris and reinforce the German defense lines around Paris.
Mustache did not fully trust Choltitz. In order to ensure that the order to destroy Paris was resolutely implemented, the people responsible for detonating the explosives were all loyal SS and secret police. One of those secret police made many people
A frightening name - the Gestapo.
Fortunately, the number of this group of people was not large, only about 200 in total, and they were scattered throughout the city. They had to face a total of more than 20,000 rebels, as well as the Vichy French army who defected in front of the battle.
Probably because they have surrendered once and have enough experience, the Vichy French army is familiar with surrendering. Many people were coerced into surrendering before, but now they have finally returned to the camp of justice. They are very motivated and have been humiliated for many years.
The urgency to get snow.
Some people also take this opportunity to accumulate capital so that they can gain career opportunities in the new government in the future.
There are even people who are taking advantage of the situation. No matter what happens in the future, they will make a fortune now. These people will end up miserable.
All in all, Paris is very lively these days.
Choltitz's headquarters in the center of Paris. Before handing Paris over to the Allies, he had to solve one last problem. Colonel Wagner from the SS. He controlled all the detonators in Paris. Choltitz
It was necessary to ensure that Wagner could not issue any orders before the Allied forces entered Paris.
Wagner has noticed the unusual mobilization of the German army. According to Mustache's instructions, Choltitz's troops will conduct an urban offensive and defensive battle with the Allies in downtown Paris. It will not be until the last moment that Wagner orders the complete detonation of Paris.
Choltitz took his guard captain and Karl to find Wagner.
Wagner was on guard against Choltitz. The floor where his office was located was all controlled by the SS. Choltitz ordered the phone lines in the entire building to be cut off before going upstairs. However, this was not enough. Next door to Wagner's office, there were also
There was an independently powered wireless telegraph machine, and the worst could still happen if Wagner gave the order.
"General, are you ready to betray the Führer?" Wagner was in a bad mood. He had already foreseen that Choltitz would not carry out Mustache's orders.
"I am still loyal to Germany!" Choltitz did not directly answer Wagner's question.
"Haha, it's so funny. Isn't it the duty of Juncker soldiers to execute orders? You are called the purest soldier and are trusted by the head of state. Your wife and children are still in Berlin, so you not only betrayed the head of state, you also
Betrayed his family." Wagner tried to redeem himself. He knew how much Choltitz valued his family.
"Open the window and look outside. This city has a thousand years of history and is home to hundreds of thousands of people. Their ancestors have lived here for generations. If we completely destroy this city, it will deepen the hatred between Germany and France to the point where it cannot be resolved.
If the time comes, the French will treat Berlin in the same way, which is something neither you nor I want to see." Choltitz tried hard to persuade.
"Shut up! You traitor, you are not qualified to say such things. You are making excuses for your cowardice. Like your family, you will be reunited in hell!" Wagner was furious and reached for his gun.
In terms of combat effectiveness, SS officers certainly cannot compare with the field army generals who fought bloody battles with the Russians on the Russian battlefield.
Just as Wagner's hand touched the handle of the gun at his waist, Choltitz and the guard captain fired at the same time, and Wagner was hit by several shots at the same time.
"God, you are taking too many risks. I really don't want to see this happen again." Carl was trembling with fear at this time. This was a new experience for him.
