Just before the German army launched its attack, Ludendorff's youngest son Erich shot himself in an unknown forest in Chateau Thierry.
Ludendorff doesn't know the news yet. He may still be waiting for his son to return victorious, but he will never wait for the news.
After the gunshots were fired, the military police rushed into the tree hole where Erich was hiding. Then Erich's body was taken out and placed in an open space among the woods. The military doctor conducted a simple examination on Erich. Ten seconds later
Erich was declared dead.
Although this was not the best result, the Australian soldiers present still paid due respect to Erich's body.
In any case, Erich did not bring shame to his family because of his actions.
The Australian soldiers put Erich's body in a hastily found coffin and buried it in the woods. The tombstone read in scrawled handwriting: "A German pilot Erich is buried here. He was a
Brave people fight until the end."
At nine o'clock in the morning, the German army officially launched its attack.
In this attack, the German army used the A7V tank that had just entered service.
A7V is the first tank equipped by the German army. Compared with the "light cavalry" equipped by the Allied Powers, this tank is a standard giant. It is 8 meters long, 3 meters wide and 3.5 meters high. The total combat weight is 30 tons. It is equipped with
One Maxim 57mm Nordenfield cannon produced in Belgium, or one 57mm Sokol cannon produced in Russia, plus 6 Maxim 7.92mm Type 08 or Type 15 machine guns.
The A7V tank has the largest crew in the world, with a standard crew of 18. In addition to the commander, driver, gunner and loader, there are 12 machine gunners and 2 mechanics.
When the A7V tanks appeared on the battlefield, the defense line that the reorganized first division had worked hard to build all night collapsed instantly.
Because it set off too hastily, the reorganized first division did not carry heavy weapons and had no tanks to cooperate with the battle, so it was unable to cope with the frontal impact of the A7V tanks.
The Germans are not stupid either. They have already experienced the power of the Allied tank forces, especially from the use of tanks by the British Expeditionary Force. At this time, the German army showed amazing adaptability. Their infantry and tanks collaborated to complete the task.
Better than the French.
There were about 20 A7V tanks participating in the battle. After discovering the German tanks, the British Expeditionary Force's close ground support aircraft launched successive attacks on the German tanks, destroying 12 of the 20 tanks, but there were still 8 German A7V tanks.
Roaring and rushing to the position of the reorganized 1st Division, the German tank engines also showed excellent reliability. Not a single tank fell down during the charge. This was something that even the "Light Cavalry" tanks could not do.
Just in the early morning, the defeated French army was laughed at by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
Now, no one is in the mood to laugh at the defeated Anzac Army in the mountains and plains. The French army has nothing to do, and the hurriedly arrived Second Division and Fourth Division are reorganizing and building new positions behind the First Division.
Fortunately, the German A7V tanks did not have the ability to fight for a long time. After breaking through the defense line of the reorganized first division, the German tanks were forced to withdraw from the battle.
Germany's war potential is indeed about to be exhausted. Even with all its efforts, Germany has only produced 22 A7V tanks. This is the first and last time that A7V tanks have appeared on the battlefield.
After breaking through the defense line of the reorganized 1st Division, the German army advanced another 5 miles before being stopped by the ANZAC defense line.
On the afternoon of the 21st, the Canadian Legion finally arrived and successfully merged with the ANZAC.
Pétain sent reinforcements and arrived in time. The number of Allied troops blocking the German forward increased to 250,000, and the number of troops surrounding Reims, a huge protrusion, was 600,000. The defense line was finally stabilized.
Foch came to Roque's headquarters on the morning of the 21st. Since the German army began to implement the Michael Plan, Foch had not slept. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and there were obvious stains on his military uniform.
The wrinkles on his boots showed that they had not been changed for several days, and the boots were stained with mud, which fully proved how busy Foch was these days.
"Locke, don't hesitate any longer. Immediately order your troops to attack the Germans. Once Paris is lost, you know what that means." Foch's voice was stern, and his words were accompanied by fierce gestures. Such situations were rare.
Appear in this gentle man.
"Ferdinand, I have done what I can, more than I promised you. I cannot give up my current position for the sake of Paris. Opposite me, there are also millions of German troops waiting in full formation. Once the expeditionary force's position is strong,
The Germans will attack without hesitation." Roque decisively refused. Roque's previous promise to Pétain was ten divisions. Now Roque has sent 26 divisions to the French defense line, far exceeding his promise to Pétain.
.
To put it bluntly, if Ludendorff had chosen the position of the British Expeditionary Force as a breakthrough, then Pétain might not be able to provide such strong support.
In any case, Roark would not cause the British Expeditionary Force's defense line to be breached by supporting the French army.
It must be emphasized that Roark still retains the orders given to Roark by Winston and Kitchener. Once the war situation on the Western Front deteriorates, Roark must try his best to bring the British Expeditionary Force back to the homeland.
There is a fleet on standby at any time in the port of Flanders. The French know this and so do the Americans.
On the 21st, the U.S. Army led by Pershing launched an attack on the Fortress of Liege. At this time, there were many big names in the U.S. Army who would become famous in the future, including Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, and George Patton Jr., but they are still not well-known.
The future is their stage.
Pershing, who held millions of soldiers, truly showed the strength of "General Hammer". The US military concentrated all its heavy artillery to suppress the artillery in the Liege Fortress. However, the artillery bombardment was not effective. The German artillery was set on solid ground.
The bunker was protected by one meter of reinforced concrete. In order to clear the firing range, the German army burned all the trees in front of the fortress and blew up all available obstacles. The US military attacked under the cover of tanks. The German army now not only
With only direct-fire guns and anti-tank rifles with a caliber of 13 mm, the US tank troops suffered heavy casualties. Nearly 130 of the 250 tanks that participated in the attack on the first day were destroyed by the Germans. The wreckage of these tanks was not without value.
In the subsequent US military attack, it more or less provided some cover for the US military's offensive troops.
"Locke, the US military has begun to attack the Liege Fortress. The German troops in Reims are about to arrive in Paris. You must do something. Millions of troops are standing still under your order. If the worst happens, we will all
It's hard to blame him." Foch was worried. Roque could understand Foch's mood, but he could not follow Foch's suggestion to launch an attack on the German positions.
"Ferdinand, I understand, but please calm down, the situation has not reached the worst point yet." Roque is not in a hurry. The more times like this, the more calm he has to be. Roque can now understand why Xiafei has "Slow General"
"This nickname, sometimes really can't be rushed.
In the evening, the Anzac Army finally received a telegram back. After a bloody battle between the Anzac Army and the Canadian Army, the German army stopped less than fifty kilometers away from Paris.
Roque received the telegram while having dinner with Foch. Knowing that Paris was out of danger, Foch finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you Locke, if it weren't for the Anzac and Canadian Legion -" Foch's face was filled with the hope of surviving the disaster, if Paris fell -
Don't dare to think, don't dare to think!
"You're welcome, this is what we should do." Roque was not too proud. Just as Foch said, if Paris fell, Roque, Foch, Petain and Pershing would both be to blame.
"The strength of the German attack this time is extraordinary. We must be careful that Ludendorff may make other moves." Foch did not dare to be careless. Ludendorff still had hundreds of thousands of reserves at his disposal, and the current defense line was not stable.
, Roque and Pétain still need to continue to increase their troops.
"I will send air forces to attack the German transportation lines -" Rock tried his best, but now the German army is very smart and has learned to use night and camouflage to mobilize troops to transport supplies, and the expeditionary force's air force reconnaissance planes are limited to technical conditions and cannot be used at night.
Unable to dispatch, this brings huge difficulties to the Air Force's reconnaissance.
However, no matter how disguised the German army is, there are some nodes that cannot be bypassed, such as the railways within the German defense line.
Whether it is mobilizing troops or transporting supplies, railways are the fastest means of transportation. The air force of the Expeditionary Force has repeatedly attacked railways in Germany. The transportation of the German army has been greatly disrupted. Usually the bombers of the Expeditionary Force will attack the German army during the day.
When the railway line was damaged, German engineers used the night to make emergency repairs. However, the air force was not available every day. If the weather conditions were bad, the aircraft could only be parked in the hangar. There is often thick fog in northern France in winter. These
Fog also brings great danger to air forces.
"If possible, why not transfer the 1st Armored Division to Reims?" Foch actively suggested that the 1st Armored Division is Roque's biggest trump card. If Roque puts the 1st Armored Division into combat, then he will definitely
It can drive the German army back to the starting position before the battle started.
"The armored forces must wait until the right time and deploy them at the most critical locations." Roque was waiting for the most favorable opportunity.
Lance now is like a huge funnel.
After the German army broke through the Reims defense line, at least two army groups had poured into this funnel.
As time goes by, more and more German troops will pour into the gap, and the farther the German troops advance, the greater the pressure on logistics will be. Eventually, the German troops will become exhausted and become weaker and weaker.
When the time comes, Rock will commit his armored forces, ignore the German troops in the funnel, and launch an attack directly on Reims.
If the armored forces capture Reims, the German troops in the funnel will become a turtle in a urn.
