Superfortress did not go to Remagen, but to Cologne, the third largest city in Germany.
As one of the oldest cities in Germany, Cologne has a very important status. It is located in the center of the Ruhr Industrial Area and is also a railway hub in southern Germany. As early as 1942, Cologne was repeatedly bombed by the Allies. The entire city
Most of the buildings have become a pile of ruins.
Before the outbreak of the World War, Cologne had a population of 800,000 and was one of the largest cities in Germany.
On May 30, 1942, under the command of British bomber commander General Harris, the Allied forces dispatched 1,000 aircraft to carry out saturation bombing of Cologne, dropping about 3,000 tons of bombs in 90 minutes, killing about 20,000 people in Cologne.
After the bombing, more than 95% of Cologne's population was lost, and 80% of the city's buildings were destroyed. Even the Cologne Cathedral, which had been built for 600 years, was in danger of being destroyed and was seriously damaged.
While reinforcing Remagen, the Southern African Expeditionary Force carried out indiscriminate raids on cities on the south bank of the Rhine. Cologne was naturally on the attack list, although Cologne's importance plummeted after the bombing, and the Allies - especially France
People are determined to win Cologne.
The key is the Ruhr Industrial Area.
The Ruhr Industrial Area plays a very important role in Germany. It was the material basis for Germany to launch two world wars. During the two world wars, the Ruhr Industrial Area played a major role in Germany's economic recovery. Its industrial output once accounted for 100% of the country's total.
Of these, steel production accounts for 50% and coal production accounts for 38%.
The final destination of the Allied attack, whether it is the Anglo-American coalition or the Southern African Expeditionary Force, is the Ruhr Industrial Area. As long as the Ruhr Industrial Area is captured, the Third Reich will lose its combat capability.
Cologne is the southern gate of the Ruhr Industrial Area.
The Southern African Expeditionary Force still attached great importance to Cologne. Patton did not use his precious airborne troops to break through the Rhine River, but sent them to Cologne, which fully proved the importance of Cologne.
Second Lieutenant Hooker from Tanganyika, with the 112th Parachute Division, took the first batch of transport planes to parachute to Cologne.
The equipment of the airborne troops in Southern Africa is much better than that of the British and American coalition forces. The British and American coalition forces can only airdrop field SUVs as heavy equipment with the airborne troops, but the Southern African Expeditionary Force can airdrop armored vehicles or light tanks weighing 15 tons, and 152
The millimeter heavy artillery was airdropped along with the airborne troops, which greatly enhanced the airborne troops' ability to attack difficult targets.
The first batch of airdropped paratroopers totaled only 1,500 people. The division commander, Major General Xue Gang, was bold and careful and ordered the paratroopers to attack Cologne immediately after completing the assembly. This caught the German 106th Armored Division responsible for defending Cologne by surprise.
After a day of fighting, the 106th Armored Division had only 20 tanks left and had to retreat to the center of Cologne.
This cannot be blamed on the lack of strength of the 106th Armored Division.
The 106th Armored Division is a division in name, but in fact it is just an under-staffed armored brigade. This armored brigade was formed from the remnants of the Tongshuaitang Armored Grenadier Division. It was just withdrawn from the Russian battlefield in June last year. It was replenished.
Some recruits and Panzer III and IV tanks came to Cologne in a hurry without undergoing complete training.
As an "armored division", the 106th Division only has 42 tanks and more than 60 half-track vehicles. The size of its armored force is inferior to that of ordinary infantry divisions in southern Africa.
Although the 112th Paratrooper Division does not have heavy tanks, it is equipped with rocket launchers that can cause fatal damage to No. 3 and No. 4 at close range.
The paratroopers conducted intensive training on attacking armored units last winter. In the previous battle, Hooker only used two rockets to successfully destroy a Panzer IV tank. With this record, Hooker is fully qualified to fight in the battle.
Later he received a medal.
"Armored division! Are you sure this is an armored division?" Hooker was surprised. He thought the opposite side was an ordinary German army.
"Yes, it is indeed the case. They were just formed last year and are probably used as cannon fodder to fill the defense lines -" Henry, who came from the Lorraine area, could speak German. He had just interrogated several German prisoners of war and obtained some intelligence.
Alsace and Lorraine also had a fateful fate. Germany and France have repeatedly fought over these two areas, and there is still a dispute.
The same goes for the Ruhr Industrial Area.
In 1923, due to Germany's delay in paying World War I reparations, France brazenly sent troops to the Ruhr, resulting in the "Ruhr Crisis", which was later resolved through the mediation of the United Kingdom, the United States and southern Africa.
After the Battle of Moscow, Germany turned from prosperity to decline. Especially after the Battle of Volgograd, the Axis powers were insufficient in strength. While recruiting more servants, Mustache also formed a large number of new infantry divisions and infantry divisions in the country.
Armored divisions, these troops are collectively referred to as "cannon fodder".
"No wonder, they behaved very unprofessionally." Sergeant Major Fox suddenly realized that many questions finally had answers.
In the early days of the war, the German army gained a great reputation with its "Blitzkrieg", especially the classic cases of blitzing Poland and bypassing the Maginot Line to attack France. They were studied repeatedly by the southern African military and everyone is familiar with them.
Before the spring offensive, the Southern African Expeditionary Force was wary of the German armored forces, but after the battle, it was discovered that the reputation was difficult to live up to, and it felt like a concentrated blow to hit cotton.
"Whether they are elites or cannon fodder, they will all be defeated by us!" Hook was very happy, but he had to pick the weak ones.
War is not a game. No one wants to fight against the ace troops who have experienced the baptism of blood and fire. Those troops should be left to Russia to deal with. Paratroopers lack the ability to attack difficult positions, so they are good at dealing with cannon fodder troops.
Then keep going.
The battle process was actually lackluster, and it couldn't even be called a battle. The 112th Parachute Division only broke out some less fierce battles when attacking the outskirts of Cologne, and the 106th Armored Division retreated across the board with only slight resistance. This was different from the Southern African Expeditionary Force.
The information obtained before was inconsistent.
Just a month ago, the Russian army lost hundreds of thousands of people in order to capture Budapest.
Although the Russians do not admit it, the southern African side has obtained relatively accurate information through different channels.
At the same time that the Allied forces on the Western Front launched their spring offensive, the German and Russian troops were still fighting in Vienna. The battle had already reached the most brutal street fighting. Every member of the 112th Paratrooper Division had already prepared the necessary equipment before boarding the plane.
Be mentally prepared.
It was only after the fight that we realized that we were completely vulnerable.
In the bombing raids of 1942, more than 80% of Cologne's buildings were destroyed.
After that, the Allies organized bombings of Cologne many times. It was not until Cologne almost lost its strategic value that the Allies turned their targets to other cities.
It can be seen that the Germans have not tried to restore Cologne. Many ruins have not been cleared, and the few remaining houses are in dilapidated condition. Occasionally, citizens appear in the ruins and disappear briefly.
"Be careful of German snipers, don't be exposed outside the cover of armored vehicles -" Hook reminded his soldiers that the cover armored vehicles can provide is actually limited, and can only be said to be better than nothing.
Not to mention tank guns, even 88mm anti-aircraft guns have the ability to easily penetrate the armor of armored vehicles.
In order to enhance the protective capabilities of armored vehicles, the expeditionary force covered the armored vehicles with a layer of external armor, at least so that the armored vehicles would not have any resistance when facing the 37mm anti-tank gun.
This is enough for a cannon fodder unit like the 106th Division, and the Germans do not have the ability to equip units like the 106th Division with larger-caliber anti-tank guns.
As for the legendary tank destroyer——
Perhaps in Vienna, only the most elite SS armored division of the German army is qualified to equip it.
Anyway, the 112th Paratrooper Division has not encountered a tank destroyer so far.
"Second Lieutenant, I feel like I'm just an old hen with a bunch of chicks -" In the compartment of the armored vehicle, Second Lieutenant Chen Shu held his short-barreled assault rifle with a lewd smile.
Unlike the full-version assault rifles issued to field troops, the assault rifles issued to armored soldiers and paratroopers are all short-barreled models, which are also called carbines.
The cabin of the transport aircraft and the compartment of the armored vehicle are relatively narrow, and full-size assault rifles are inconvenient to carry. In order to more effectively enhance firepower, paratroopers and armored soldiers are equipped with short assault rifles, which are easier to carry but sacrifice some range and firepower.
Accuracy.
This doesn't matter, after all, most of the battles encountered by paratroopers and armored soldiers are at close range.
"Chen, if I were you, I would put all my energy into searching for the enemy!" Hook was still nervous. The remaining tanks of the 106th Division were basically No. 4 tanks, so they couldn't be careless.
When wargaming, if you fail, you can start over from the beginning.
If a mistake is made on the battlefield, there is no chance of a comeback. Hook will be responsible for his men.
"Relax, Lieutenant. Without gunshots, there are no enemies." Chen Shu was not nervous. It was not easy for the Germans to make a sneak attack.
The armored vehicle is not going deep alone, in which case it will not be a target. In fact, there are more than a dozen troops advancing at the same time in the adjacent streets. Once they encounter German tanks, they can call for support at any time.
That's right, call for support.
Paratroopers do not fight tough battles. After encountering German tanks, the correct response is not to attack immediately, but to call for support and surround the German tanks, so as to save themselves to the greatest extent.
Military medals are important, but you only live once.
Chen Shu is right. As long as there are no gunshots, it means no fighting has broken out.
After searching a block, the troops stopped to rest. Henry took his Nyasaland rifle and kicked open the door of the house next to the street, ready to go in and see if he could gain anything.
Hook was not excited and sat on the fender at the rear of the armored vehicle, seizing the time to rest.
If we count from 1942, the city of Cologne has been abandoned for nearly three years.
Throughout Cologne, there are very few complete houses left. These houses have been searched countless times, and almost nothing of value is left.
Even if there were, the officers and soldiers of the Southern African Expeditionary Force would not like it.
"It would be nice if it was always this easy -" Chen Shu was not in a hurry. The spring offensive had just begun, and there would be many opportunities in the future.
The World War lasted for five years, and the German army swept across Europe. It was impossible to count the property stolen. On average, it was a windfall for every German.
Therefore, abandoned cities like Cologne are basically of no value. What are really valuable are big cities like Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich.
In the last world war, Germany surrendered when the Allies were about to invade Germany. Strictly speaking, the German mainland was not affected by the war.
In other words, the wealth accumulated by the Germans over hundreds of years has not actually been lost after two world wars. This can be seen as a modern version of pig farming.
Fatten them before killing them.
"Don't worry, the difficulties we have to face are definitely not as many as those of the Russians -" Now it was Hu Ke who comforted Chen Shu.
Before he finished his sentence, Henry walked out of the room dejectedly, seemingly finding nothing.
"Aren't there any beauties waiting for you in the room?" Chen Shu joked. Veterans like to tease recruits the most.
Before Henry could speak, there was a sudden explosion in the distance.
"Hide, hide, prepare to fight -" Chen Shu kicked Hook down and closed the car door.
Damn, heartless!
Hook was not in the mood to scold Chen Shu, so he loaded the ammunition and raised the gun in one go, aiming it at the empty street.
There were no German infantry or German tanks, and the whole street was as clean as if it had just been swept.
The sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance became more and more intense, and soon a call came in, asking Hooker to lead his troops around two blocks and participate in the attack on a Panzer IV tank.
"Action, follow me -" Hook's blood boiled, as if he saw a military medal waving to him.
Chen Shu was not far behind. The old hen led a group of chicks through the intersection quickly and went around the place where the fighting broke out.
Chen Shu and Hu Ke were more lucky, but the other unit two streets away was more unlucky.
Last year, the German army upgraded the Panzer IV tank again. The latest model of the Panzer IV tank was equipped with an 88mm tank gun, which cannot be resisted by armored vehicles and light tanks.
The Germans were also cunning and hid No. 4 in a house that had not completely collapsed, thus evading the detection of reconnaissance planes and unexpectedly launched an attack on a light tank, destroying it easily.
But No. 4's luck ends here.
The paratroopers were well-trained. Although the tank was destroyed, they did not retreat. Instead, they used the terrain and rocket launchers to deal with the No. 4 tank, and at the same time called for friendly support.
Ding!
A rocket hit the turret of No. 4 and was directly bounced away. No. 4 was unscathed.
"The distance is too far, it's useless. We have to go around to the side or behind No. 4 to have a chance -" The corporal holding the rocket launcher was suppressed by No. 4's machine gun and couldn't even raise his head.
"Our task is to hold it back and leave the opportunity for others to attack -" Ralph, who was also suppressed behind the ruins, was not in a hurry. Holding it back meant victory, and he wanted to avenge the tank crew who died in the battle.
The 88mm tank gun was so powerful that it easily tore through the armor of the light tank before exploding inside the tank. Only one of the three tank crewmen escaped alive.
This is actually not bad, at least there is no pain.
