However, at this time, the 2nd SS "Reich" Panzer Division actually did not have much strength, because like the other first Panzer Divisions that rushed to Normandy, it was bombed by the Allies along the way, and the number of armored vehicles and tanks had been sharply reduced from more than 300 to more than 100. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Among the more than 100 vehicles, more than 20 tanks with better performance were also requisitioned by the armored instructors who were used to attack Normandy...... The Panzer Instructor was also heavily damaged, and if he wanted to launch a strong enough offensive against the American forces in Normandy, he had to concentrate as many resources as he could, such as the 2nd SS Panzer Division, which was severely short of fuel.

As a result, the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Reich" had only a few dilapidated tanks and armored vehicles that had just been repaired or were still being repaired.

Rommel was not unaware of this, but the 2nd SS "Reich" Panzer Division was the closest to Caen, and he believed that the Chinese army could reach Caen and launch an attack in such a short time, and the Chinese army must have lacked heavy equipment, plus the Chinese army did not gain a firm foothold in Caen, so if the 2nd SS "Reich" Panzer Division could take the Chinese army by surprise, it could recapture Caen within an acceptable range of losses.

Rommel's "acceptable losses" here meant the ability to recapture the supplies concentrated in Caen.

Rommel underestimated Zhang Chi when he thought so.

At this time, the Chinese troops had opened one warehouse after another in Caen...... In fact, these warehouses did not need to be opened at all, they were always open, and the Germans were transporting supplies to the front line almost around the clock.

As mentioned earlier, Caen was a transportation hub, a transit point and a gathering place for supplies, so the Chinese Expeditionary Force was confronted with artillery and mountains of equipment, ammunition and food...... The destruction of German supplies at the beach of "Omaha" and the capture of American supplies were present in Caen at this time, but the enemy and the enemy turned in a different direction.

Zhang Chi's first order was: "All the German equipment is changed, and the adaptability training is carried out immediately!" ”

"Yes!" The soldiers responded, and immediately replaced the rifles and machine guns in their hands with German-style equipment in the warehouse.

This is something that cannot be helped, as Rommel thought, because of the overnight attack on Caen, the Chinese expeditionary force basically has no heavy equipment, not only does it not have heavy equipment, but it also does not have much ammunition, and it is foreseeable that there will be no supplies and reinforcements for a long time in the future.

Then the expeditionary force has only one choice, to use the enemy's weapons and equipment, and this change of equipment should be sooner rather than later...... Wait until the battle starts before changing your outfit, and then there will inevitably be all kinds of confusion and discomfort.

Of course, all the weapons of the warriors themselves were kept in storage.

This was something that Rommel did not expect, and he thought that the Chinese army would not immediately change its German armament no matter what...... This will inevitably affect combat effectiveness to a certain extent, and there are even many operational and familiarity problems.

However, the Chinese army is a unit that has used equipment made in all countries, and not long ago there were German armorists in the Chinese army, so the expeditionary force is no stranger to German weapons, and it can almost be said that it can be used to fight.

In terms of adaptation, there is indeed a part, after all, the rifle is changed from a semi-automatic rifle to a bolt rifle, which is not at the same level at all, but there is always no perfect thing on the battlefield, and there is always some sacrifice if you want to have sufficient supplies.

What's more, Zhang Chi knew early on that the 2nd SS "Reich" Panzer Division was near Caen, so he was prepared early in the morning.

The 2nd Panzer Division of the "Reich" prepared for two hours...... In fact, they were preparing for half an hour, and the previous hour and a half were waiting for fuel, and as soon as the fuel arrived, they immediately drove all the 21 tanks and 33 armored vehicles that could be driven towards Caen.

As usual, they were still shouting and singing while marching, and the cars were full of ammunition and pulling shells to follow the tanks, and the front was reconnoitred all the way from side to side.

The division commander, Major General Cole, thought the same thing as Rommel, and he thought that the battle would have to be fast enough...... Attacking Caen before the enemy could prepare and gain a foothold in Caen, so that Caen could be taken down without much effort, the dozens of tanks and armoured divisions in the army gave Cole a lot of confidence, and he believed that Caen would be in the pocket of the 2nd "Imperial" Panzer Division if he reached Caen.

However, neither Cole nor Rommel expected that it was not only a regiment of the Chinese Expeditionary Force that attacked Caen, but also the 1st Division of the Zoaf Corps.

At this time, the 1st Division of the Zoaf Corps had reached a position about ten kilometers south of Caen and set up an ambush in the high ground on both sides...... Ambushing in a storm with low visibility was not a difficult task, as the wind and rain would quickly wash away the traces that had been inadvertently left outside, and this greatly limited the ability of German scouts to move.

As a result, the 1st Division of the Zoaf Corps watched the Germans pass by in triumphant songs, and they even counted the number of German tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and automobiles to report to Zhang Chi.

Needless to say, what happened next is needless to say.

At the time of the attack of the 2nd SS "Reich" Panzer Division towards Caen...... In fact, Zhang Chi also pretended to be defeated and gave up part of his position, which was to allow the Germans to enter Caen to fight street battles with the expeditionary force, and partly to let the Germans put more troops into Caen.

The Germans were fooled, and tanks and armored vehicles poured into Caen with groups of German soldiers "rumbling", and at this moment...... The 1st Division of the Zoaf Corps launched an attack on the Germans from the rear, and from the very beginning, it was hand-to-hand combat, and the Zoaf Corps was good at this.

You must know that the German army in the rear are artillery and logistics troops, the Zoaf Corps secretly came out of the rain curtain and waved a scimitar to slash and kill, only to kill the German army in a big chaos and flee in all directions, while the German troops in front of the charge did not know what was happening in the rear and continued to rush forward, but were attacked from both sides by the Zoaf Corps and the Chinese Expeditionary Force rushing out from Caen, and immediately killed and fled in embarrassment.

In this battle, the Chinese army lost only more than 100 men, the Zoaf Corps suffered more than 500 casualties, and the Germans were killed and wounded more than 2,000 people.

What's more, the Germans fled with almost all of their heavy equipment, including five No. 4 tanks...... These pieces of equipment are like the claws of the 2nd "Imperial" Panzer Division, and if they are lost, the 2nd "Imperial" Panzer can only look at the city and sigh.