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Text Chapter 421 Fighting on the Western Front!  (two)

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    ~.< >-~ The tanks are dispatched.

    But Xue Yue, who graduated with first place from the Armored Forces Training Course of the National Defense University last year and underwent half a year of actual combat exercises, was stunned.  There is no wedge formation to exert firepower, no infantry hiding behind thick steel for protection, and no artillery to protect the front wings!  More than fifty French tanks lined up in a straight line, and then rushed towards the battlefield where the smoke had not cleared, to challenge the infantry front with a complete and solid defense system.

    This is simply asking for death!

    While he was jumping and cursing and shouting, the infantry group finally appeared several hundred meters behind the tank group This huge gap could be easily blocked with artillery fire. Even the trainee staff officers behind him covered their faces.  Cai E, who had just arrived, frowned as he couldn't stand it anymore. After three years of fighting, is the French army at this level of tactics?

    Soon after the German outpost discovered the French tanks, they called for artillery to quickly adjust and carry out covering bombardment of the French armored groups. The heavy artillery shells fell next to a tank that was slowed down by mud and craters. This seven-ton Renault ft17  The tank instantly turned into a ball of fire.  Fortunately, howitzers completely rely on luck to hit tanks. Unless they are so dense that every inch of land is covered, not many tanks will actually be hit.  But the infantry at the back were in dire straits!  Artillery shells kept falling all around them, and the mud kicked up by the explosion quickly suppressed this wave of infantry on the ground and could no longer follow the tanks.  Seeing that the French tanks were clearly out of touch with the infantry, but they continued to rush towards the German first line of defense. Even Qiu Wenbin, who was usually taciturn, stamped his feet: "Stupid! The Germans have already seen tanks in Verdun.  , the trenches have been changed to a standard of at least 3 meters wide, and it is impossible to rush through without the support of engineers!"

    As if to prove it, the French tanks that broke through the barbed wire and reached the German first line of defense were attacked by a large number of 37mm infantry cannons. A mere 25mm thick steel plate could not withstand direct firepower.  Due to the design problem of the Renault FT17 fuel tank, many tanks burst into flames as soon as they were penetrated.  Not even the tank crew could escape.  It can be clearly seen in the Zeiss eight-fold telescope that two German soldiers suddenly jumped up from the front position.  Then he threw a grenade at the tank that was close at hand, and then the tail of the tank started to catch fire.  Inspired by them, more and more German infantry used bunkers and bomb craters to get close to the tanks, blowing up the tanks with simple grenades, and a few even had their fuel tanks hit by infantry, causing them to catch fire.  In just half an hour, nearly half of the fifty-odd tanks were destroyed by artillery shells and infantry, and the rest had to turn around and retreat when they saw that the situation was not good.

    "See?" Yue Peng looked at Xue Yue, raised his eyebrows and warned: "Don't underestimate the enemy! The German army was the first army to equip tanks, and it also experienced a lot of anti-tank combat training in Verdun. Recently, we  I found that they began to equip a 13.2mm anti-tank rifle. After experiments, it was found that after using special bullets, it can penetrate 15mm steel plate at 200 meters and 25mm at 100 meters!"

    "Oh? There is such a gun! Doesn't it mean that it can easily penetrate the front armor plate of our T2 tank?" Cai E also became solemn for the first time. After all, no one wants the country to spend a lot of money and travel thousands of miles to transport weapons that are not available yet.  When you enter the battlefield, a nemesis will appear.  Zhang Xiaozhun gave a rough description and then said: "We don't know how much equipment they have. But this kind of gun is difficult to shoot. The recoil is so strong that it requires the best gunners to use it. The number will definitely not be very large."

    During a conversation between several people.  The fighting did not end with the withdrawal of the tanks.  In order to test the German defense line, even though the power of the artillery was greatly reduced due to the rain, Mang Ran, who was personally in charge, still ordered the infantry to continue the attack.  The French soldiers all over the mountains bent their heads and charged forward, and the artillery shells covered the infantry group assault at a speed of 100 meters every three minutes.  However, due to the influence of rain, the German fortifications could not be effectively destroyed. The surviving Maxim heavy machine guns began to take over the battlefield. Bullets denser than raindrops instantly bit off a large piece of the front end of the charge formation!  Thousands of French soldiers were torn apart by bullets.

    Although the smoke is thick and the rain is dense, experienced officers like Cai E can still judge the intensity of firepower from the machine gun fire net.  Zhang Xiaozhun saw the corners of his mouth twitching.  He introduced: "Don't forget about Songpa. From what we have seen before, there is an average of one Maxim machine gun every 100 meters. There are about 13,000 Maxim machine guns on the entire Hindenburg defense line! After the appearance of tanks, the German army also strengthened  The number of 37mm infantry guns, which can penetrate tank armor from a thousand meters away."

    Before Xue Yue could wake up from these scary numbers, several German artillery shells fell in front of the observation post.  After the guards protected everyone and retreated to the bunker below the observation post, Zhang Xiaozhun immediately laid out the Hindenburg Defense Line map he carried on the table, pointed at the section of defense line from Reims to Soissons and said: "During the Hundred Days War, we planned on this line of defense.  After conducting some exploratory reconnaissance, we found that the section from Reims to Soissons is known as the tightest protrusion of the Hindenburg Line of Defense. The Germans called it the Siegfried Line of Defense and housed 13 German infantry divisions. From aircraft reconnaissance photos and various  Based on the intelligence summary, the entire defense line is divided into four layers. Chapter 1The first floor is the outpost line about one kilometer in front of the main fortifications. It does not have much heavy equipment but has laid a lot of mines and barbed wire. Deep trenches have also been dug to guard against tanks, mainly to slow down and hinder the speed of the attacking troops.  The second to fourth floors are the main trench defense line, with many branch lines, tunnels, and air defense trenches excavated.  The first and second trenches are mainly composed of machine guns and light infantry. There is a heavy machine gun bunker every 100 meters or so, equipped with grenades and mortars, as well as 37 infantry guns.  The main breakthrough point chosen by Nivele and Mangran is 5 kilometers to our left. The complex terrain is the area with the strongest German defense!  There are many swamps and deep valleys between the three mesas, and there is the 200-meter commanding heights of Sherman Dedam Mountain to the northwest. The German army built many permanent cement fortifications on the mountain and deployed hundreds of cannons, including at least 48 K16 long-range cannons.  Block all targets within 15 kilometers!  Judging from the previous record on the Eastern Front, Hindenburg and Ludendorff were very good army commanders, so Zian and I both felt that given the current morale, tactics and chaotic command of the French army, we wanted to break through the Siegfried line of defense.  It's very difficult.  "

    Although it is only a rough introduction, the scale, hugeness and firepower density of the Hindenburg Line are deeply shocking.  In particular, the Siegfried Line of Defense located in the Champagne-Ardennes area can be said to be one of the strongest areas on the entire defense line!  Therefore, Cai E found it very strange. When the two armies faced off with similar firepower, the first priority to break through the defense line was to find weaknesses. But why did Niweiler and Mangran choose the stronger one to break through?  Yue Peng answered his doubts: "Nivelle's qualifications are not as good as those of P¨¦tain and Foch. His coming to power was beyond the expectations of many people, so since he came to power, he has been preaching everywhere about a decisive battle. The purpose should be to consolidate his position.  . So he and Mang Ran fought this battle as a decisive battle! He believed that a strong breakthrough could severely damage the main force of the German army, and as long as the breakthrough was passed, the weak German army would surrender without fighting. "

    "This is unreasonable!" Cai E slammed the table, remembering what he said when he and Yang Qiu were studying this line of defense, he said angrily: "When the commander-in-chief and I were studying the war situation, he said it himself, Lu  Dendorff was very good at using troops. When defending on the Eastern Front, he used Tian Ji's horse racing strategy. He used the third line of reserve troops to guard the trenches, the second line to play the main force, and the first line of elite troops to act as reserves! So he will definitely continue to use this tactic after coming to the Western Front.  , once the French army is entangled by the reserves and the second line, the casualties will be huge. Even if it breaks through, it will encounter an elite head-on interception and attack. The exhausted division that has completed the breakthrough will definitely be defeated. This is not a war, it is basically using soldiers.  Blood stains his crown!¡±

    His words resonated with everyone. They are all officers who hold the life and death of soldiers in their hands.  Even though the French soldier who died now is everyone is very angry.  Zhang Xiaozhun was well aware of this old classmate's straightforward temper.  He comforted: "To put out the fire, let's take a look at the line of defense we are going to fight." After saying that, he winked at Qiu Wenbin, who immediately pointed to the east of Reims and said: "This is our war zone. From the French  The main attack of the Fourth Army is to contain the main force of the Siegfried Line of Defense and break through the German First Army's defense line in the Pontfaverge-Moronvilliers area. According to intelligence, the German First Army belongs to the German Crown Prince's Front and has 10  The infantry division and 1 cavalry division totaled 210,000 people, with more than 1,500 artillery pieces of various types and about 2,000 machine guns. This group army also participated in the Battle of Verdun before. It was a stronger force among the German troops on the Western Front. Since then  From what we can see here, on its right is the Fifth Army, which is confronting the French Central Front north of Verdun. It has 13 infantry divisions. With our current scale and capabilities, we are capable of breaking through Moron with determination, but  The issue is"

    Qiu Wenbin paused and continued: "Because we predict that the French army will not be able to break through the Siegfried section, there will be a big trouble. Once we break through what should we do!"

    Zhang Xiaozhun immediately expressed concern: "According to the plan, after the French Fourth Army completes its breakthrough, it will split off part of the attack on Sedan, and the main force will attack Irsund, forming a pincer attack with the Third Army, cutting off the entire German Crown Prince's Front's retreat in one fell swoop.  , complete the encirclement! According to Mangran's vision, as long as Ilsund is closed, all 700,000 people of the main force of the German Crown Prince's Front can be surrounded, the entire Western Front can be reversed, and the front can be pushed to the border of France and Belgium in one fell swoop.  But we are not optimistic about the Third Army. Even though it has 10 divisions, 6 of them are reserve divisions that were only completed in November last year. In addition, the French army is exhausted from long battles and has generally low morale. It is difficult to break through Saint-Quentin and attack Ile together.  The possibility of loosening is very slim, so even after we break through we will be alone and go deep!"

    A lonely army going deep into the Western Front?  joke!

    If the French Third Army cannot break through and cooperate, then the envisioned two-wings flying together will turn into a dead end!  Even if all 22 divisions of the expeditionary force are brought up, they will become a lone army!  Judging from the map, after breaking through Molong, they will be chased and intercepted by the German First Army. If Mangran's main force cannot break through, it will also be flanked by the Third and Seventh Army. Even if Mangran can drag these two armies back to Luden,  Taofu alsoThe Fifth Army could be mobilized from Verdun and Saint-Mihiel to intercept.  Even if these are not available, you will still encounter 3 German infantry divisions on the way to Ilsund!  If Ludendorff continues to use Tian Ji's horse racing strategy, then these three divisions must be elite troops!  With the current strength of the Wehrmacht, even if the 3rd Division and the 103rd Division cannot form a numerical advantage of more than 3:1 when encountering the elite German troops, they will definitely be held back.

    What is needed in assault mobile warfare is speed. If it is blocked by three elite German divisions I am afraid that less than half of the 400,000 brothers will be able to go home!  Therefore, in front of Yue Peng and Cai E, in addition to waiting for an opportunity to take action, they also need to prepare their combat options after the breakthrough!  Is it to attack Sedan and surround Saint-Mihiel, or to sweep across Ilssonor something else?  Yue Peng and Cai E looked at each other, walked to the narrow observation window together, and looked at the French army retreating like a tide, both thinking about one question.

    If Yang Qiu personally directed this battle, what would he choose?

    ******

    ps: My daughter had her violin exam in the morning and was rewarded in the afternoon, so she went to play. I was delayed in coding, sorry!.

    ??~.< >-~

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