At the end of August, all preparations were basically completed, and Qin Zhiyuan launched another attack on Lance.
This attack was different from the previous ones. Qin Zhiyuan no longer planned to attack step by step, but decided to carry out a large-scale assault operation.
Some time ago, the armored troops had to be equipped with communication devices and were unable to participate in battles. Now that the modification has been basically completed, Qin Zhiyuan finally has a reliable assault force in his hands.
Compared with the troops without communication devices, the combat effectiveness of tank troops equipped with communication devices is absolutely different. If tanks without communication devices are compared to fists, then tanks equipped with communication devices are like meteors.
hammer.
When it was time to launch an attack, Chen Kangjian's tanks had increased to 470, making it the largest tank force on the planet.
It's not the largest. In the past few days, the British are also preparing to attack in Flanders. The British have also prepared an armored force of 500 tanks to launch an attack in the direction of Clareken.
The British tank force has developed rapidly, but they have been taking detours and running wildly on the road of diamond tanks. From the initial small nomads to the current Mark IV, they are all big guys.
During the battle a while ago, although Qin Zhiyuan had a large tank in his hands, he had been deliberately holding back and not letting go. Therefore, the tank unit only performed auxiliary combat tasks and did not unleash its full combat effectiveness.
Qin Zhiyuan wanted to see how much combat effectiveness Chen Kangjian could bring to the tank unit if he was allowed to let it go now.
The artillery force, which has been replenished several times, is powerful, with nearly 600 heavy artillery pieces of 120 mm or more caliber. These are not only owned by the Foreign Legion, but also equipped by Bastian's troops, but now they are all under the command of Qin Zhiyuan.
The first stage of the battle looked no different than before, with long fire preparations, endless shelling, and seemingly endless death and darkness.
Compared with the winners and losers in Reims, the Germans seemed to be at a disadvantage in Flanders, so more fighter jets were transferred to Flanders to help Bavaria resist the British attack.
This allowed the air force in the Reims area to see an opportunity. Even fighter jets dared to dive and use machine guns to fire at the German positions. The bomber force seized the opportunity and dispatched several times, destroying a German artillery position and two ammunition depots.
The bomber force is now very skilled, with about 40 all-Chinese bomber crews participating in the battle, as well as more than 50 Chinese fighter pilots. So far, a total of four pilots have won the title of ace, and Bao Deshui's record has been
The number reached 11, which can be regarded as the leader among the air forces of the entire Allied Powers.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the tank troops left their starting positions and divided into four echelons to attack the German army.
This time the attack was not accompanied by infantry, only armored vehicles and trucks responsible for logistics support followed. Everything had to be solved by the tank crews themselves.
In previous battles against elastic defenses, tank troops would always strictly control the attack distance, regardless of whether they had any remaining strength, and immediately stop attacking and set up defensive positions after achieving certain results. This time it was obviously different. When they broke through the first German defense line
After that, the tank troops did not stop as the German army expected, but continued to attack the German hinterland under the horrified eyes of the German soldiers.
Advancement is now the main thing. Even if German soldiers are discovered along the way, as long as there is no threat, the tank crews will not stop and kill them, but continue to move forward. Their mission is to disrupt the German deployment and penetrate directly into the German hinterland.
, turned Lance upside down.
After the tank troops were dispatched, the infantry was also dispatched immediately. This time Qin Zhiyuan spent a lot of money. Not only the Liu Zizheng division and the Griffith division were dispatched, but also the Wu Yuanting division and Ruan Juncai division were dispatched. At the same time, Bastian's command was also dispatched.
of six divisions.
From May to now, Qin Zhiyuan and the others have been fighting continuously for three months. Now it is time to reap the results again. In addition to the four new divisions that were added later, Qin Zhiyuan has dispatched almost all his troops, just to gain enough military exploits.
.
At this time, the German command headquarters was already in chaos.
In the long-term confrontation, Hu Dier was already exhausted. He had fully felt Qin Zhiyuan's difficulty. Although he tried his best to support him, he still felt stretched. However, Hu Dier did not lose his confidence. He still firmly believed that he could withstand it.
Even if Qin Zhiyuan's attack cannot defeat Qin Zhiyuan, it can at least maintain the current situation.
Of course, this must be based on the premise that Berlin will give him sufficient support.
Ludendorff indeed gave Hutier his trust. Even though Germany was in a bad situation, Ludendorff still tried his best to provide Hutier with enough support, from soldiers to weapons.
Ever since the weather cleared up, Hutier had expected that Qin Zhiyuan would launch an attack. In order to increase the depth, Hutier extended his position to Bitney behind Reims, which was more than ten kilometers away from the German forward position Gaiyu, including
Including Reims, the huge area in between is now covered with German bunkers, anti-tank trenches and barbed wire, waiting for Qin Zhiyuan's troops to attack.
If calculated according to previous progress, if Qin Zhiyuan's troops want to penetrate these ten kilometers of defensive positions, the war may last until 1918. When he thinks of the difficult winter, Hu Tier is full of confidence.
Reality is always unsatisfactory. As soon as Qin Zhiyuan launched the attack this time, Hu Tier realized that the situation was not good.
The first line of defense was defended according to the original plan, and the German army would return to the second line of defense and prepare to launch a counterattack. But unexpectedly, Qin Zhiyuan's tank troops did not stop, and it took less than half an hour to break through the poorly prepared third line of defense.
Second line of defense.
Although the second line of defense is a defense line in name, the defenders are not well prepared for defense. In the defenders' drills, they are required to launch a counterattack at any time. Therefore, although the defense line exists, it only has its name.
The third line of defense was broken next. It seemed that because the tank crews were more skilled, it only took about 20 minutes this time.
The third line of defense is located in Saint-Bric, which is about six kilometers away from Geyu and is already in the heart of the German army. If the depth of the previous position is followed, when Qin Zhiyuan's tank troops arrive here, they have already penetrated the German defense.
position.
At this time, it was less than 3 hours before the war started.
The attack speed of the tank troops shocked Hutier. Hutier's headquarters is in Bremont, which is only about eight kilometers away from Saint-Bric. If Hutier doesn't do something, then before dark,
Qin Zhiyuan's tank troops can reach Hu Tier's headquarters.
More than three months ago, Nivelle used 120 French divisions, but failed to achieve this tactical goal. Now Qin Zhiyuan only spent three hours, and it seemed that he was infinitely close to this strategic goal.
Hutier issued five orders within ten minutes, mobilizing mobile troops as far away as Köfuler to immediately enter the field and enter the German positions on the line from Beitni to Kursi. They must withstand the front of the tank troops no matter what.
After giving the order, Hutier suddenly remembered a problem. Kefuluo was six kilometers away from Bitney, while St. Brick was only five kilometers away from Bitni. In other words, the tank troops would be stronger than Kefuluo's infantry.
The troops arrived at Bitney first.
five kilometers
So far away
After all, Hutier was not an ordinary person. He stared at Bitney for five minutes, and then ordered Keffler's troops to stop advancing and march to the rear of the Xupu River to set up defenses. Later, this order was changed to march to the rear of the Aisne River.
Arm your defenses.
The Xupu River is 15 kilometers away from Reims, while the Aisne River is 35 kilometers away from Reims.
Hu Tier's order was tantamount to admitting that his 18th Army had been completely defeated in the confrontation with Qin Zhiyuan's 17th Army.
According to German army habits, the Eighteenth Army may be disbanded after this battle, and Hutier himself will have an uncertain future.
Compared to Hu Tier who was packing up and preparing to retreat, almost everyone in Qin Zhiyuan's joint operations headquarters was in a state of excitement.
It was really exciting. From the first moment of the battle, this excitement enveloped everyone in the headquarters. The combat staff would even trip over themselves out of excitement when reporting the war situation, and the dispatch and reception staff in the reporting room were so excited.
The staff would review almost every telegram because the numbers on it were unbelievable.
At 10:35, the 2nd Armored Regiment broke through the German position and continued to attack.
At 11:45, the 1st Armored Regiment broke through the German second line of defense and continued its attack in the direction of Thiruva
Xu Sheng's regiment broke into the second line of defense of the German army and initially estimated that 3,500 German soldiers were killed. It is currently continuing to attack in the direction of Reims.
The 279th Regiment of the 35th Division entered the second line of defense to accommodate prisoners of war. According to preliminary statistics, there were more than 40,000 prisoners. The 280th Regiment and the 285th Regiment continued to attack in the direction of Tiruva.
Attack, attack, all the news is attack, all the troops are moving forward, ten divisions of troops advance hand in hand on a battlefield up to five kilometers wide. They have a clear division of labor and each performs their own duties. The German army on the opposite side is vulnerable.
Qin, we are going to win. Bastian had blisters on the corners of his mouth, his eyes were red, and his expression was weird. He couldn't tell whether he wanted to cry or laugh.
Bastian, we have already won. Maxim pursed his lips and looked at Qin Zhiyuan with eyes filled with disbelief and sigh.
Two months ago, Qin Zhiyuan played that shocking victory in Fernandez de Noir. If Maxim was not deeply impressed by Qin Zhiyuan at that time, now, Maxim has finally experienced it all. Now
Maxim was able to confirm without a doubt that Qin Zhiyuan was already the top and unique one among the active generals of the French army.
Don't rush to send a telegram, let us see how much we can gain. Qin Zhiyuan is not in a hurry, the meat will be in the pot even if it is rotten anyway.
I'm going to get the champagne, it's worth a glass of wine. Bastien looks like he wants to get drunk.
General, you are ready. Pierre pointed in the direction of the corner of the room, where four or five large boxes were piled up.
The First Armored Regiment captured Courcy. They were less than two kilometers away from Bremont. Bastian's chief of staff, Armstrong, stumbled over and shouted in a hoarse and high-pitched voice.
Almost instantly, everyone's eyes turned to Qin Zhiyuan, with eyes that had no clear meaning.
Brimmont was the target of Nivelle's spring offensive. At that time, Nivelle tried to encircle Brymont, but was completely defeated, which eventually led to a mutiny and a major earthquake in French politics.
Now, Blimen is right in front of Qin Zhiyuan, seemingly within reach. To be continued.
