In terms of weapons and equipment, Germany has a greater advantage. Although the number of German tanks is similar to that of the five-nation coalition, the quality is at least twice as high, because most of the German tanks are imitations of the federal "Cheetah" medium tanks.
The "Panther" medium tank, in terms of armor defense, main gun power, off-road performance and stability, far surpassed the French B1-BS, R-35 and the British "Crusader" and "Watt" at that time.
Lundin" tank.
These British and French tanks are still in the transitional period between World War I tanks and World War II tanks. The armor is only a few tens of millimeters thick, and most of the main guns are 50 mm in diameter. Their armor-piercing capabilities are weak. Only the 75 mm main gun of the French B1-BS tank is still available.
It can pose a certain threat to the "Panther" tank.
In terms of aircraft quality, the BF109e fighter jets and JU87 Stuka dive bombers equipped by the German Air Force are slightly higher in overall performance than the British "Hurricane" and the French "MS460" and Curtiss sh75. More importantly, the German aircraft
Because the engines adopt some of the technologies of the South China Sea Federation, they have higher power, lower fuel consumption and lower failure rate, making German fighter jets and bombers far ahead of aircraft from Britain, France, the United States and other countries in terms of range.
Although France also has a more advanced aircraft, the 520, when the war started, this aircraft was still in factory condition and was not equipped with troops. Therefore, France was really not equipped for this war. There is a saying in later generations that France was in Macedonia.
Too much national power was consumed on the defense line, which affected the development of the French army.
In addition to the quantity, quality, and weapons and equipment of the army, war also depends on the wisdom of the generals. That is, the tactical use of the commanders on both sides. In this aspect, Germany still has the advantage. Speaking of this, there is another coincidence.
Or did the plot happen intentionally.[
In fact, when Mustache was preparing to attack France, he was opposed by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army and many German Army generals. They believed that the German Army was not ready yet. If a war was hastily provoked, Germany would repeat the mistakes of World War I.
.But Mustache did not listen to the suggestions of these army generals and insisted on formulating a plan. As a result, a combat plan similar to the "Schlieffen Plan" of World War I was formulated. It was codenamed "Yellow Plan".
But in January 1940, the plane of a German staff officer carrying this plan got lost in the heavy fog and was forced to land in Belgium. As a result, the plan was captured by Belgium and handed over to Britain and France.
.After learning that the "Yellow Plan" might be leaked,
Mustache had to consider an alternative plan. At this time, a staff officer from the General Staff Headquarters submitted a brand new plan to him. This staff officer was named Fritz Erich von Manstein. This was the same plan as Rommel
, Guderian and later generations were called the three most famous German generals in World War II.
Manstein's new plan changed the original plan of placing the main force of the installed troops in Army Group B in the north. From the Netherlands and Belgium all the way to France, and then a head-on battle with the British and French coalition forces, Manstein proposed instead to put the highly mobile armored forces
The group army concentrated in the center will pass through the Ardennes area, and then be divided and surrounded from behind the British and French forces, and then the German forces on both wings will annihilate them.
Mustache, who likes military adventures, very much agreed with this plan, so the deployment of the German army changed. However, Britain and France were still arranging their defenses according to the original "yellow plan" they captured, and moved their main forces
The troops were placed near the Franco-Belgian border.
In the early morning of May 10, three German army groups simultaneously launched attacks on their respective targets. Groups of Stuka dive bombers, under the cover of fighter jets, bombed airports, railway hubs, and heavy troops in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Assembly areas and other important targets. Then the northern Army Group and the central Army Group B began to enter the borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Army Group B, which was responsible for assisting, first used airborne paratroopers to control many important bridges and transportation hubs in the Netherlands and Belgium. Then it used armored units to clear the way, followed by infantry, and launched a fierce attack on the Dutch and Belgian armies.
The main British and French troops deployed on the French-Belgian border saw that Germany was really going to launch an attack from the Belgian side of the Netherlands. They immediately crossed the French-Belgian border and provided support to the Netherlands and Belgium. At this time, the armored group of the Army Group was under Guderian.
Crossed under the leadership of the 19th Armored Corps
The more than 100-kilometer-long canyon between the Ardennes on the Belarus border was rushing towards France. The Army Group on the opposite side of the Maginot Line also launched a feint attack on the Maginot Line, holding back the French troops guarding it.
The purpose of "confusing" the coalition forces to prevent them from going to other areas for reinforcements.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, the British and French forces helped the Belgian army temporarily withstand the attack of the German Army Group B. The solid Maginot Line also blocked the attack of the German Army Group. However, the armored group of the German Army Group escaped from the Ardennes area.
After passing through, it took just over a day to capture the important French town of Sedan and arrive at the north bank of the Meuse River.
On May 13, the German Third Air Force dispatched 400 bombers in batches to conduct indiscriminate bombings on the French artillery groups on the south bank of the Maas River for five hours, disrupting the traffic and communication of the French defenders on the south bank.
paralyzed. In the afternoon, the Germans who followed the armored group
The Chinese mechanized division used amphibious tanks and armored vehicles to forcefully cross the Maas River, and used mechanized bridge-building tanks provided by the South China Sea Federation to lay multiple pontoon bridges at the same time. In the evening, it successfully allowed Guderian's three armored divisions and Erwin Rommel to
Er's 7th Armored Division crossed the Maas River.
Once the Maas River defense line is broken, the road to Paris and the English Channel will be clear. The British and French forces in Belgium will be threatened by being encircled from front to back. The French army huddled in the Maginot Line will also be attacked from both sides. In order to make up for it before it is too late,
, the British and French air forces dispatched Blenheim bombers and Breguet bombers, under the cover of fighter jets, directly to the Maas River, trying to prevent the German armored group from breaking through.
As a result, the British and French bombers encountered the interception of Luftwaffe fighter jets on the Maas River. Thousands of aircraft from both sides strangled the sky, while the German mechanized divisions on the ground set up various anti-aircraft weapons, forming a formation in the airspace near the pontoon bridge.
A network of firepower allowed coalition bombers and fighter jets to deliver accurately.
This air battle lasted until nightfall. Allied aircraft suffered heavy losses under the German ground-air three-dimensional attack, but the German pontoon bridge was still not destroyed. In fact, the British and French allied forces made a big mistake. Due to the adoption of more advanced mechanized laying, even if
The pontoon was partially bombed
Destroyed, it only delayed half an hour, and the pontoon bridge would be unobstructed again. However, the British and French coalition forces paid a huge price for this short pause. More than 300 coalition aircraft were shot down, and almost all the returning aircraft were injured.
, and lost valuable air superiority.
The large-scale armored force's surprise attack was a devastating blow to the British and French coalition forces that were still stuck in the tactics of World War I. They couldn't hold on or escape, and the coalition troops were divided into groups and brigades.
Allied officers and soldiers who had been frightened by the German tanks chose to surrender one after another.
On October 15, French Prime Minister Paul Reynold called Winston Churchill, who had just succeeded Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister, and said: This time we are probably going to lose.
When Churchill heard the news, he was extremely anxious. In order to cheer up his French companions, he flew directly from London to Paris. When he met French Prime Minister Reynaud and Allied Commander Gamelin, Churchill realized that the situation might be more serious than he imagined.
Because the expressions on the faces of these French people were bleak. When Churchill asked Gamelin where the strategic reserves of the coalition forces were, Gamelin shook his head, shrugged and said: There is no reserve.
The advancing speed of the German armored group not only frightened Churchill and Renault, but also shocked Mustache. Although Liu Fu had told him about the strategy of using tanks to advance on a large scale and then divide and surround the enemy, according to Mustache's observation,
Liu Fu was in the military field
He is a pure layman, so his suggestions are regarded as a topic and not a military opinion. Although this tactic is loved by many young German generals, Mustache has never thought that tank clusters can be so powerful and ferocious. (To be continued.
