The mission of the 12th Division and the 15th Division was to retake Vimy Ridge. Since Rock took over as Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, this was the third time that Vimy Ridge changed hands, which shows how fierce the battle was.
It is the Second Regiment of the 1st Armored Division that is responsible for cooperating with the 12th Division and the 15th Division. After all, Roque still cannot take human lives. The cooperation of the tank troops should greatly alleviate the 12th Division and the 15th Division.
division casualties.
Before the troops launch an attack, as usual, the air force bombs and artillery clears the ground. The German army has been equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns, but the expeditionary force air force is also making progress. When the air force is prepared, the anti-aircraft machine guns can actually play a small role in fighting for air supremacy.
In the end, you still have to rely on airplanes.
In the first half of the year, the 12th Division and the 15th Division also conducted multiple infantry-tank collaborative training. The troops are no strangers to cooperation with tanks. The British Expeditionary Force's artillery bombardment lasted only about 40 minutes.
The artillery fire began to extend to the rear of Vimy Ridge, and the tank troops that had been waiting for a long time immediately set off to attack Vimy Ridge accompanied by infantry.
In the observation post behind the position, John Monash and Brad Nancy, who were using telescopes to observe, felt a little bitter. If the ANZAC could also have tank troops to cooperate, then Vimy Ridge would not be taken away by the Germans, and the Australians
The casualties of the new legion will also be reduced a lot.
Of course, what frustrated John Monash and Brad Nancy even more was that the attacking infantry and tank units of the 15th Division were very skilled in cooperating with each other. This was a combat method that the ANZAC had never been exposed to.
In the shots of John Monash and Brad Nancy, the tank troops were not advancing very fast. They stopped and followed the landing point of the artillery shells, and from time to time they had to stop to attack the German machine gun positions and artillery positions.
Shooting, after the Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge, they renovated the Vimy Ridge position. Now the bunkers on the Vimy Ridge position are facing the direction of Germany. This has caused great trouble to the German defense. The German army has not had time.
After renovating the position, the 15th Division had already launched an attack. Therefore, the machine gun positions and direct-fire artillery positions faced by the tank troops were temporary positions made of sandbags. The tanks could easily deal with such temporary positions with one shot.
Just like beating a child, one quickly came to the edge of the position.
Here, the tank troops encountered their first real obstacle. The mountains of Vimy Ridge are still relatively steep. The current tanks are not strong enough to overcome obstacles. Many tanks cannot continue to move forward. The next battle will depend on the 15th.
The division infantry came to complete it.
Fortunately, the 15th Division did not rely entirely on external forces to achieve its outstanding military exploits today. As a meritorious unit, the 15th Division's own combat effectiveness is also very outstanding.
After being separated from the protection of the tank troops, the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division did not panic. They had already planned for the current situation before setting off. The officers and soldiers carried more grenades and weapons more suitable for close combat.
After two consecutive rounds of grenades, the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division poured into Vimy Ridge like a tide.
The overall situation has been decided, and war in an asymmetrical form is so cruel. The winner wins everything and the loser loses everything.
"Congratulations, General Adrian -" John Monash's mood was indescribable. After the bloody battle of the Anzac Army, the position that was still undefended was easily recaptured by the 15th Division. The 12th Division did not even have a chance to dispatch.
From what John Monash observed, the casualties of the 15th Division definitely did not exceed a thousand.
Prior to this, the Anzac Army had paid a price of 16,000 men at Vimy Ridge.
"You're welcome General Monash, leave the next task to us. The Anzacs need a good rest -" Adrian was not proud. If the 12th Division was attacking, then the 12th Division would have performed as well.
"Take care and see you later." John Monash was graceful, and he breathed a sigh of relief even though he was regretful. He was finally leaving the damn front line. John Monash now understood Max Lloyd's mood very well.
At this time, the battle on Vimy Ridge was still going on. The officers and soldiers of the 15th Division who broke into the German positions encountered strong resistance from the Germans. However, the 15th Division was not an ANZAC that was not good at trench warfare. It was equipped with automatic rifles at the squad level.
It played a huge role. Although the weight of the automatic rifle was a bit heavy, its close-range firepower advantage was unparalleled. With a self-defense pistol in hand, the German army was retreating steadily and was unable to organize effective resistance at all.
The first line of defense of the German army was quickly breached. This was originally the second line of defense of the Canadian Legion. The first line of defense had been completely destroyed by German artillery fire.
The engineering troops finally opened a channel for the tank troops, and the tanks roared up Vimy Ridge. The battle finally ended. The surviving German troops surrendered helplessly, and some people fired the grenades they carried with them in desperation. Simply speaking from the perspective of fighting will, the German troops really
Very tenacious.
In the subsequent process of cleaning the battlefield, the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division finally knew what the Anzac Army had experienced.
After the German army occupied Vimy Ridge, they were attacked head-on by the 15th Division before they had time to clear the battlefield. In the trenches after the bloody battle, there were not only the bodies of German soldiers, but also the bodies of Anzac officers and soldiers who had not had time to move.
In a lounge, the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division discovered 69 ANZAC corpses. After inspection by the field doctor of the 15th Division, they found that a considerable number of the corpses were stabbed to death with bayonets, and some of the corpses died of death.
Suicide, compared with the tenacious German army, the performance of the ANZAC was not bad.
In another lounge, the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division discovered the bodies of Anzac and German soldiers at the same time. The corpses of the Anzacs had not had time to be moved and were piled randomly in the corner of the lounge. Some of the corpses had rotted.
The smell was unbearable. The officers and soldiers of the 15th Division sorted out the corpses of the Anzac officers and soldiers and sent them to the rear. Then they gathered the German corpses, poured gasoline on them and burned them. However, the rest room after cleaning could not be reused. Although the corpses
Even after cleaning, the air was still turbid. The 15th officers and soldiers would rather sleep in the trenches filled with sewage than use the rest room.
Later, the army reporter from The Times boarded Vimy Ridge and interviewed the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division who captured Vimy Ridge.
No one wanted to face the reporters' cameras. Although the Germans had been expelled from Vimy Ridge, the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division were not very excited. They also began to get tired of the war. In the past, after the Southern African Expeditionary Force won a victory, they would always
Clean the battlefield with enthusiasm and not miss anything valuable.
Now the officers and soldiers of the 15th Division no longer pay attention to the trophies, or are no longer so interested in the trophies. Some of the personal belongings of the German officers and soldiers, such as wallets with photos, will be taken away by the 15th Division officers and soldiers after taking away the money.
Put the wallet back.
It took a week for the enemy to launch a new attack on Vimy Ridge, and the scale of the attack was not as large as before.
Compared with the British Expeditionary Force, the French troops who had just recovered from the chaos suffered more heavy losses.
Obviously, not all French troops have recovered from the chaos. During the chaos, many officers who were unwilling to join the ranks of the soldiers were killed. After Pétain became the commander-in-chief of the French army, about 5,000 more people were shot.
The commanders of the French army's grassroots units suffered heavy losses.
The loss of soldiers can be recruited at any time, but the loss of officers is the most fatal. It is not easy to train a qualified officer. The collapse of many troops begins with the loss of command. This is why the precision shooters of the Southern African Expeditionary Force are keen on the grassroots officers of the German army.
The reason for focusing on sniping.
The German offensive had just begun, and many sections of the French defense line were crumbling and had problems. The best performer at this time was actually a "butcher" like Mangin. Under Mangin's high pressure, the First Army under his command was the best performer.
Excellent.
But this high pressure could not last for long. Just ten days later, the troops commanded by Mangin began to collapse first. This time, it was Pétain who turned the tide. He ordered the colonial servants from Africa to resist resolutely and set up behind the defensive troops.
He fired his machine gun and killed the fleeing officers and soldiers directly, whether they were French or African.
In fact, most of the natives of France's colonies in North Africa are Persians. They were formerly territories of the Ottoman Empire. However, France also has vast colonies in Central Africa, and these colonial soldiers performed very well in combat.
In order to recruit colonial servants, the French government also promised to give the African colonies a dominion status similar to Southern Africa after the war, but it is not known whether the French will honor it by then.
If so, France will gradually lose control of its colonies.
If not, then the colonial natives will alienate themselves from the French government.
Don’t think that the troublemakers in African colonies are all Africans. In fact, they are not. Those who most desire autonomous status are white people who have immigrated to the colonies. To put it bluntly, they are all for profit and have nothing to do with democracy and freedom.
After Pétain toughened up, the French troops finally stabilized the defense line at great sacrifice.
At this time, the newly established coalition headquarters came into play. As the chief of staff of the coalition, Foch rationally allocated the coalition's supplementary troops and logistics supplies. The U.S. military obtained some tanks and formed the first armored force. The tank force
The commander is the future famous Patton, but now Patton is just a colonel and staff officer.
The strong medical resources of the British Expeditionary Force have also been used more effectively. Although the field hospital was nominally treating all coalition officers and soldiers, it was actually selective. Perhaps the second lieutenants of the British Expeditionary Force could receive timely and effective treatment.
The majors of the French army had to wait.
This situation is becoming less and less common now. With more and more field hospitals, ordinary soldiers gradually have the opportunity to receive effective treatment.
In mid-September, the intensity of the German attack was weakening, and the coalition held another meeting. This time, in addition to discussing how to launch a counterattack against the Germans, an important task was to determine the candidate for the commander-in-chief of the coalition. Chief of Staff Foch finally got this position.