The Modlin Fortress in the northeast of Warsaw is one of the two gates guarding the Polish capital. It is located at the confluence of the Dambug River and the Vistula River. It has always been a strategic location for the Polish army's defense. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
After Germany repeatedly protested against the Polish government's failure to return Danzig, the Poles have not thought about war with Germany, and have also thought about increasing defense efforts in the direction of Germany, but to a large extent this only exists in the words of the generals.
After all, the Germans only protested verbally, so what were they afraid of?
Today, Poland finally tasted the bitter fruits of its own sowing. That bastard German head of state not only shouted loudly, but he was also unambiguous in his actions.
First, Poland was confused and described as an invader by Reinhardt, and then the German army counterattacked into Poland as quickly as lightning.
Now, the German vanguard troops have arrived at the city, cutting off the connection between Modlin Fortress and Warsaw.
Fortunately, Modlin Fortress is in a very important position. There are ample weapons and ammunition, food, medicine, and drinking water inside, and the morale of the soldiers is also maintained well.
After successfully repelling a test attack by the German army, some people even optimistically believed that the Modlin Fortress could be used to contain the German army and consume their strength.
Then if France and Britain strike hard at Germany's back, Poland can organize a counterattack to regain the lost territory, and then invade Germany itself, reaching the pinnacle of history.
If we win this time, it will not be as simple as letting Germany cede Danzig.
But the beautiful imagination was interrupted not long after, not because Britain and France were reluctant to take action, but because Germany began a serious attack on the Modlin Fortress.
After a reckless probing attack by the vanguard failed, General Bock, the commander of the German Army Group North, continued to besiege the Modlin Fortress without attacking it.
Although the Poles also wanted to organize a counterattack, the German army had already built various fortifications around the Modlin Fortress. In addition, the people in the fortress were already able to defend themselves inside, but if they went out to attack, it would be a bit worse.
As a result, the attack plan just came to nothing.
After learning about the German army's siege of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, the fortress defenders were also anxious, but there was nothing they could do.
As soon as troops leave the fortress area, the German artillery deployed in the blind spot of the artillery in the fortress will immediately take good care of them. In addition, the German snipers have never been idle.
After several attempts to support Warsaw failed, the supreme commander of the Modlin Fortress also gave up on this unrealistic action. After all, there was no problem with their attitude, but their ability.
But today, things have changed!
The defenders in the fortress could vaguely see through their telescopes that there was clearly a reinforcement coming from the German army, and they seemed to have a lot of large equipment.
But because the distance was too far, the Polish troops in the fortress couldn't tell what it was.
The top commander of the Polish fortress was very worried. If it was a German siege artillery, the colors he painted were not enough for others to fill their teeth.
During World War I, the German Krupp 420mm Big Bertha gained a reputation far and wide, and no one in the entire continent knew it.
The same goes for Skoda's 15-inch siege gun, which can be called the fortress nemesis!
Now that the Skoda factory is in German hands, and Krupp is Germany's chief artillery supplier, who knows what other crazy things these factories have come up with?!
However, the Poles may or may not have guessed correctly. Germany did come up with an experimental siege weapon, but it was not a crazy large-caliber mortar, but an assault gun!
German engineers lengthened the chassis of the No. 3 assault gun to nine road wheels on one side, then added a fighting room with 100 mm of frontal armor and an inclination of 45 degrees, and installed a 150 mm cannon in the middle.
As a result, the Grizzly assault gun, which was more powerful than ever before, was born.
Now, these guys are parked on the German position, and next to the four Grizzly assault guns, there is an even bigger guy that stands out from the crowd.
This big guy attaches a heavy rear fighting compartment to an experimental heavy-duty chassis, and then mounts a 170mm cannon with a shortened barrel.
The entire layout is very rough and simply stacked, especially the 170mm barrel. Although it was shortened to reduce weight, it still looks ferocious.
And this 170mm gun, which is now only 32 times stronger, still showed unparalleled destructive power when it was tested on the shooting range.
When it fires concrete-destroying projectiles to attack common reinforced concrete fortifications, it can often destroy bunkers that are immune to ordinary 150mm howitzers with just one shot.
According to what those German engineers said, when this gun fires grenades, it can even destroy a building with one shot!
The Poles don't know all this. Of course, even if they know, there's nothing they can do about it.
However, when these five tanks belonging to the equipment experimental unit launched an attack, the Poles immediately understood one thing. Any weapons in their hands would be powerless against their thick skin.
When they discovered that the shells of the Polish 75 rapid-fire guns were completely useless to them, the German assault guns immediately became more unscrupulous.
Moreover, the area they chose to attack happened to be a blind spot for the Polish army's large-caliber artillery due to the terrain restrictions of the fortress.
Originally, the Poles wanted to block this area with 75 rapid-fire guns and British 5-pound howitzers, but when they saw the grizzly bear eating a 25-pound grenade with its 100 mm armor, they just paused and continued to move forward.
At that time, the Poles were desperate!
Five German tanks drove to a stop close to the fortress, then adjusted their bodies, aimed at their assigned targets, and began to pour artillery shells on the Polish fortress.
The concrete destruction bombs blew up pieces of the fortress, mixed with shrapnel and the limbs of the soldiers in the fortress flying in the air. These steel behemoths were demolishing the fortification area that Poland had spent so much effort to build one after another!
"God, someone come and save us!" a young Polish soldier wailed.
"Warsaw is surrounded, who can save us? Let's wait to die..." Beside the young soldier, a pessimistic veteran was spreading his desperate words.
Ten meters away, their Polish platoon leader also heard the veteran's complaints. However, the platoon leader did not step forward to stop the veteran's behavior that affected the morale of the army, because he himself had long been affected...
Every time the Grizzlies fired, it was like a heavy hammer, hammering the hearts of all Poles. The sudden dull sound of the 170mm heavy artillery heralded that another fortress was destroyed by the German "demolivation team".
The sound of artillery continued intermittently for an hour and a half. After all, the assault guns had thick armor and huge cannons, but they also had to pay a price.
The price is the slow speed and ammunition load.
The Grizzly's ammunition load is only 30 rounds, but the installed artillery barrel is longer than in history. In addition, although the chassis is lengthened, the ammunition load of the Grizzly assault gun has also been reduced by 8 rounds.
The 170mm heavy assault gun carries even less ammunition, only 18 rounds!
However, the reason why the artillery bombardment stopped this time was not because they ran out of shells, but because the assault gun crew was exhausted and had to retreat.
The members of the Grizzly assault gun are better, but the 170mm heavy assault gun weighs 70 kilograms just for the reloaded projectiles! Even if there are two loaders in the large rear combat room, they will be tired after a round of shelling.
It was not light. Therefore, when their driver saw this, he could only shift into reverse gear and pull back first.
But the German army is not limited to these attack methods!
When the assault guns had just returned to the German position, a group of small black dots immediately appeared on the horizon. As the small black dots gradually grew larger, their identities were gradually exposed to the Polish fortress defenders - they were a group of Stukas!
Accompanied by the harsh "laughing" sound caused by friction with the air during the dive, the Stuka bombers dived almost vertically and dropped the special armor-piercing bombs very accurately on the top of the Polish fortress.
With the speed of the dive, the 500-kg armor-piercing projectile easily penetrated the reinforced concrete roof and then detonated inside the fortress.
After dropping their bombs, this Stuka bomber formation flew over the fortress with confidence, as if silently laughing at the "shrunk turtles" inside the fortress.
What they left behind was the Polish fortress that had turned into a large ruin.
In the distance, Colonel Erhard, the supreme commander of the German experimental force who was watching all this with a magnifying telescope, smiled contemptuously and said lightly to the adjutant:
"Records show that the two experimental assault guns are ideal for attacking fortified areas, especially the 170mm concrete-destroying projectile. Its actual combat damage capability has exceeded that of domestic shooting range experiments. It is initially estimated that this is due to the lower cement grade of the Polish bunker."
"It is recorded that the assault gun has weak mobility and is not suitable for large-scale maneuvers. Correspondingly, its defensive capabilities are very outstanding and it is basically immune to attacks by the Polish army."
"Also, the 500mm armor-piercing projectiles dropped by the Stuka were particularly effective at attacking the top of the fortress. However, this result was achieved when Poland lost air supremacy and the target lacked the protection of anti-aircraft guns. The combat effectiveness was still high when other factors interfered with it.
To be determined.”
"—Above, the Weapons Experimental Group directly under the Waffen-SS."