The convoy of the "Greater Germany" mechanized infantry regiment followed the 7th Infantry Regiment and set off. Behind the "Großdeutschland" mechanized infantry regiment was the reconstructed 42nd Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion, which now consisted of soldiers who had survived the bloody battle of Arras and veterans drawn from various infantry and panzer divisions. It has also been strengthened, with the exception of the remaining 37mm anti-tank guns, which have been newly supplemented with new 50mm anti-tank guns, which, if combined with new high-explosive armor-piercing grenades, can already threaten the main armor of heavy British and French tanks. Now the guns are being towed by British "Bulldog" medium trucks captured in the Battle of Arras.

Xu Jun turned his head and said to Lieutenant Colonel Harron, who was standing behind him.

"Lieutenant Colonel, your tank is ready to go."

"Yes, General!"

Haron climbed onto Command Tank Three, which was parked on the side. He first nodded to Xu Jun, and then waved his hand to the 25th Armored Regiment tank group parked in the wilderness behind him, 217 tanks increased the throttle at the same time, and then followed by a column following the 42nd Anti-Tank Battalion onto the dirt road. The tanks were spaced every two with steel tow ropes between the front and rear tanks. Xu Jun looked at the majestic tanks and smiled with satisfaction.

The infantry on board the tank cheered and waved to Xu Jun. German tanks did not have the habit of carrying infantry in the early days of combat, but Xu Jun still arranged for a battalion of infantry to march on tanks. Because although the headquarters replenished a large number of trucks and armored vehicles for troop transports, the number of trucks was still insufficient because Xu Jun ordered his troops to use mechanized vehicles to transport all ammunition and supplies except soldiers. As a result, at least one battalion of infantry had to march on foot.

In order to maintain the speed of the march, Xu Jun proposed this method by drawing on the combat methods of American and Soviet tanks. These soldiers are specially selected from various infantry regiments to fight alone, and they can not only fight with the tanks, but also follow the tanks into the attack as the first spearheads. Xu Jun organized them into a battalion, called the Special Infantry Battalion of the 25th Armored Regiment, and placed them under the command of the 25th Armored Regiment.

The only troops left behind were the 6th Infantry Regiment and the 78th Artillery Regiment directly under Xu Jun, as well as the engineer logistics baggage troops.

Xu Jun climbed into his command car, gave the order to set off to the command convoy behind him, and then drove forward with the command vehicles of his command. The Sixth Infantry Regiment hurriedly followed.

The 78th Artillery Regiment was finally fully mechanized, and the 18-ton half-track tractor dragged the heavy cannon and pressed deep marks on the field. The sappers also followed behind in captured British "Bulldog" and French Renault trucks, towing their various engineering transport trailers. Finally, there were the division's logistics baggage troops, in addition to a large number of French miscellaneous trucks, there were also a lot of horse-drawn carriages, which were full of large and small oil drums, and judging from the depth of the imprints of the wheels, a large number of oil drums were empty.

Now Xu Jun's troops are like a steel dragon more than ten kilometers long galloping across the vast land of France, aiming directly at Cambrai, an important town in the rear of the German army.

Xu Jun sat in the compartment of the cramped armored command vehicle and thought about it with a few telegrams he had just received. Now it seemed that everything was working according to its plan, and all the German units were ready for action. The commanders of the major legions are already in place, just waiting for their orders to start the operation tonight. Xu Jun rehearsed the next plan of action in his mind, fearing that he had missed some key issues.

"General."

Hans, who was sitting next to him, put down the papers in his hand.

"I have a question that I don't know if I should ask."

"Oh, what's the problem?"

Hans touched his nose and said a little embarrassed.

"I've seen all of your plans, and I think your plan is really wonderful, it's a perfect example of the art of war, and I think the only thing that can be compared to this plan now is the 14-year-old Schlieffen plan. But I'm still a little confused about the details of this plan, for example, you require that all tanks going to the starting point be connected by tow ropes before the start of the operation, and that all armoured divisions on the march carry all the empty oil drums, so I don't know why you did this. ”

Xu Jun replied to Hans with a smile.

"My dear Hans, now I don't want to tell you why I gave this order, I think you will soon figure it out for yourself, remembering that all the details are prepared for a big goal. I think that with your ability, I will definitely find out the answers to these questions, otherwise how can I expect you to help me even more in the days to come? ”

"Understood, General, I'll think of an answer." Hans replied excitedly, he heard from Xu Jun's words that Xu Jun still had greater expectations for him, it seemed that he would not stay in the position of this adjutant forever, and he might still have the opportunity to show his talents in the combat army.

The convoy had left the dirt road and was on the road to Cambrai, which was a concrete road, so the convoy was not as dusty as the dirt road. Xu Jun pushed open the roof of the car and stood up, he poked his entire upper body out of the car, letting the warm wind of early summer blow on his face. On the other lane, a steady stream of oil trucks heading in the opposite direction swept past Xu Jun's troops, and Xu Jun looked at the oil trucks with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

Then he began to look up at the sky.

"Why haven't you come yet?"

He seemed to be waiting for something, his face full of anticipation and longing.

At this time, a slight buzzing sound suddenly sounded slowly from the sky, and Xu Jun seemed to have waited for what he was waiting for, and couldn't help but laugh with satisfaction.

"Haha, it's finally here, Hans, give me the binoculars." Xu Jun shouted eagerly.

"Here you go, General."

Hans opened the lid on the side of his head and stepped forward, and he handed the telescope to Xu Jun.

"Thank you." Xu Jun took the telescope and looked at the sky.

"It's a plane, general, I don't know which way it is, it's flying very slowly, it should be a reconnaissance plane." Hans covered the sun with his hands and looked at the sky.

It was a British "Blenheim" light bomber, but judging by the fact that she only had one lonely, it should be a reconnaissance type. Haha, I was afraid that she wouldn't come, but now she should see us. ”

Xu Jun got into the carriage and put on the intercom, then stood up again and shouted into the microphone.

"Mueller, do you hear me?"

"It is very clear, General, that now a British bomber is approaching." Muller's voice is crisp and loud in the headphones.

"I also saw it, it should be a reconnaissance plane, she has already discovered us, and now I order to start the operation according to the original plan."

"Yes, General!"

Xu Jun drove the intercom into the car, he ordered the pilot to slow down, and then he picked up the binoculars and continued to observe the plane.

The entire long convoy is now slowly slowing down. The tanks of the 25th Panzer Regiment slowed down slowly. The tanks at the rear end of the tow rope all turned off their engines and began to be dragged forward by the tank in front. The steel leash was stretched straight, and there was a cacophony of metal rubbing.

The logistics convoy was now starting to disrupt the formation, and all the trucks were overtaking each other as if they were panicking, and the wagons were even more chaotic, and a few even overturned under the roadbed, and as a result, the empty oil drums were rolling all over the place.

The infantry in the truck in front of them raised their rifles one by one and fired at the plane in a random manner, and the soldiers sitting on the half-track personnel carrier also set up MG34 machine guns and began to fire in the air in a panic. However, the marksmanship of the machine gun shooters seemed to be a little rougher, and the strings of machine gun tracer rounds were all far off target.

The "Blenheim" saw from afar the huge army that was slowly marching on the unsheltered French country road, and she turned around and flew slowly. As a result, she clearly saw the lively and chaotic scene below. Probably afraid that this was a trick by the Germans, she first carefully flew back and forth over the convoy at high altitude, only to find that there was still chaos below, and no effective anti-aircraft fire was organized.

The plane's audacity immediately began to grow, and she slowly descended in altitude, and then began to fly back and forth over the convoy in a big way, slowly circling in a figure-eight circle at the height of the maximum range of the machine gun. Although the German machine gunners were shooting tracer bullets all over the sky, not a single shot came close to the plane.

Two minutes later, the convoy was still moving slowly, and the Germans continued to attack Naja in a chaotic and ineffective manner, but it seemed that they had run out of ways to do anything about it. Xu Jun looked at the time and saw that the time was almost up, and the photos of the people above seemed to be almost taken, Xu Jun shouted into the intercom.

"Muller, it's all right, now get rid of this lucky bird."

"Yes! Checkmate! ”

The whole convoy began to slowly come to a halt.

At this point, the German machine gunners seemed to have finally found some sense, and the bullets began to slowly move towards the plane, and then four or five bullets hit the skin of the plane in succession.

The plane was taken aback, and its flight trajectory shook. However, it seems that she still does not want to give up, she just pulls up a little height, and is ready to continue to circle around the convoy to take pictures.

Suddenly, two thick strings of tracer bullets rushed past her, scaring the pilot of the plane into a cold sweat. Only then did he realize that the German infantrymen had set up the 20mm guns they were dragging behind the trucks and were pouring shells at him frantically. What frightened him even more was that the Germans seemed to be preparing to erect 88mm anti-aircraft guns.

The plane finally felt that it was in a bad situation, and quickly turned its nose and fled in the direction she came from. As a result, she still couldn't get out of it, and a 20-mm anti-aircraft gun slammed into one of her wings with a shell. The plane dragged a long white smoke and staggered out of Xu Jun's field of vision.

"It's so dangerous, that shot is too accurate. It's a good thing it was only wounded and didn't shoot her down, otherwise the artillerymen would have been in big trouble. However, the results were even better than I expected, and it seems that my plan will succeed. Xu Jun shouted happily at Hans.

Hans also smiled and said, "General, although I don't know the purpose of this part of the plan, Colonel Müller's soldiers did complete this step perfectly."

Xu Jun nodded to Hans, and then commanded into the intercom with the command channel.

"Gentlemen, now let your troops pack up their equipment at once. In five minutes the whole army will begin to advance at full speed. We are to reach Cambrai as fast as we can, and then turn to Tulnay in Belgium, where the other two forces are waiting for us, and we must arrive before dinner. We still have four hours, so at least keep the march at about 30 kilometers per hour, and now we can't delay, we have to be fast, understand? ”

"Understood, General."

"Yes, General."

"Got it, General."

The firm answers of the commanders of each unit came from the earphones, and Xu Jun felt very satisfied.

Xu Jun looked back at the floating clouds in the distance, he felt a burst of excitement, now the most critical step has been achieved, and his battle will start tonight.

Wait for me, Dun Cork.

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