Chapter 63: D-4
"The weight of the soldier must be strictly limited, the success of the landing, the speed of the assault is important." Xu Jun handed the 98k rifle in his hand to the side, and Tysenhofen immediately stepped forward to take it.
"My Führer, the High Command has conducted many experiments, and according to your requirements, while ensuring the speed of the soldiers' attacks, the soldiers' tactical movements are not out of shape." Yodel replied respectfully as he stood aside.
"The task of the first wave of the landing force was to tear a breach in the enemy's defensive line, and then outflank the two flanks and completely occupy the enemy's beachhead defensive positions. Their mission is daunting, and they will be under heavy fire from the bunkers and bunkers, so it is important to be flexible. Xu Jun walked under the large awning on the edge of the cliff.
There are several long aluminum folding tables covered with white embroidered tablecloths, and a row of drink barrels and various small meals are placed on the small table next to it. The staff officers and adjutants of the headquarters were drinking juice and soda around the small table, and when they saw Xu Jun coming over with a group of generals, everyone immediately put down their cups and stood up in greeting. Xu Jun waved his hand to the staff officers, then walked to the largest table and sat down.
"We still have some specific information that needs to be confirmed, and we must do this pioneering work strictly and carefully, and I don't want to see the beachhead of the landing site become a cemetery for the German Army." Xu Jun took off his military hat and put it on the table, and the orderly who was waiting on the side immediately took out the cold towel from the thermos bucket.
"The sappers on the naval side, already equipped with the latest light scuba, will lurk to the beach of the landing site the night before the landing begins, and when the landing begins, they will use explosives to clear the underwater obstacles in front of the landing site. To tell the truth, the British did not put up too many obstacles, there were only some large wooden barricades and steel rails on the beachhead, and there were not many of them, and they were now very short of supplies. Keitel picked up a towel from the orderly's plate. He said while rubbing the back of his neck.
"Hydrographic data has been sent to battalion units, and we require the commander of each commando team to know the location and terrain of their landing, including the depth of the water, the distribution of obstacles, and the location and number of fire points they will face. We never imagined that the Intelligence Bureau would be able to obtain such detailed information on the enemy's forces, and if this battle is won, our intelligence officers will be indebted. If these reports are true, judging by the current level of preparation of our army, this campaign will be as easy as an exercise. Yodel took the juice from the adjutant.
"The soldiers who landed in the first wave were all lightly armed and carried only the necessary weapons and special equipment. Each person carries a half-base amount of ammunition, isn't it a little less. "Rundstead had just returned from the headquarters in Paris last night, and the commander of Army Group was still wearing a white summer dress.
"Their mission is to storm enemy beachheads and infantry positions, until then the Navy and Air Force will carry out saturation strikes on large fortifications, and the Air Force will always maintain air supremacy in the landing area, and provide fire support to the infantry at any time and anywhere, destroying all obstacles in front of them." Yodel drank all the juice and motioned for his lieutenant to get himself another glass.
"The ammunition replenishment of the infantry must be timely, and the timing of the second wave of troop transfers must be precise at the same time. Bock was ready to personally command in the field. He is working out the transfer table at the headquarters, when the second wave will be coming, how many people to send, and how many supplies to send. This is related to the victory or defeat of the entire landing battle. Rundstead took his coffee.
"What to send ashore is the key, according to the plan, if the first attack wave lands successfully, it successfully occupies the beachhead. Then first of all, it is necessary to send the armored units of the 1st Assault Group to the enemy, immediately assault the enemy in depth, and completely disrupt the enemy's defensive arrangement. Keitel said, banging on the table.
"Tank landing ships will occupy a large beachhead. If a similar problem occurs, I believe that the landing ship should be turned into a firepower point on the beachhead, so it is necessary to strengthen the firepower of the landing ship. At the same time, you also have to take into account the loss of landing craft, so the second wave of landings must have enough reserves ready. Xu Jun handed the towel, which had become hot, to the orderly.
"That kind of ship has already been installed with two machine guns, and there should be no place for the bow of the ship."
"Leave this question to the Navy, they should still have a way, and now time is running out, immediately go and send a report to Raeder and convey my suggestion."
"Yes, my Führer." The staff officer standing on the side hurriedly trotted towards the communication vehicle parked on the side of the cliff.
"Alright, I'll now turn to the issue of the first attack wave. The British reacted quickly, and they should be able to perceive our preparations here. Over the past two days, more than a dozen British high-speed reconnaissance planes have carried out forcible reconnaissance of ports and beachheads, and although some of them have been shot down by the air force, quite a number of reconnaissance planes have successfully escaped. I think the British have had enough of the intel they wanted, and as we expected, the surprise nature of the campaign is no longer there, it will be a face-to-face direct collision, and we need to be mentally prepared for a tough battle. Xu Jun hugged his shoulder with one hand.
"Although I also hope that the campaign will go smoothly as Yodel said, as easy as a drill. But obviously something is unrealistic, the battlefield situation is constantly changing, the overall framework that has been formulated can no longer be changed, we can only adjust the plan in real time. Brauchitsch nodded. The British should have noticed our movements, but they did not know the exact time of landing. However, they have begun to speed up their defensive deployment, and the other side is going all out to prepare for war. Therefore, I have to remind you that the information we have received earlier indicates that the British will disperse chemical agents into the landing area when our troops land, and I think we must take this seriously. Keitel said with a serious expression.
"This has been confirmed, and now the British have taken out all their reserves, and the intelligence indicates that there are four hundred and fifty tons of mustard gas, which they are going to disperse all at once on the entire beachhead, because of the characteristics of mustard gas, even if the light infantry wears gas masks, they cannot avoid skin contamination, and at the same time it is impossible to carry a change of clothes, and if they are suppressed by the British defenders on the beachhead at this time, the soldiers will not have time to wash it. The casualty rate could end up being 100 percent. With that, Keitel turned to look at Yodel.
"I always thought that the British would not use chemical weapons, because it would cause resentment among American civilians and the top brass, after all, there were many American casualties in the last war under poison gas, and they thought it was an evil weapon, and the righteous side would not use it first. Britain has been trying to seek help from the United States, and is still negotiating assistance with the United States, so ......" Yodel scratched his head.
"You are underestimating the bad character of Churchill, who was an old politician who would do anything to win. can trample on all laws and moral norms without hesitation, and it can be said that there is no bottom line for being a human being. Xu Jun shook his head and said to Yodel.
"We can only rely on the Air Force to do this, the British have not yet been able to use the chemical shells fired by artillery, most of them are barrels of stock liquid, which can only be sprinkled with aviation cloth. And the beachhead poisoning requires specialized chemical units to use specialized equipment to accomplish it, and it is basically impossible to do this in the course of the battle. At the same time, my intelligence officers have figured out where and how much they are stored, and I will order the Air Force to destroy these poison depots at all costs before the war begins, so that the British can taste their own products first. Other than that. Assault infantry were to prepare gas cloaks and masks, as well as test strips for chemical agents. At the same time spread the word that Churchill was preparing to use poison in Britain, and then I would issue a warning that the British would use poison gas first. Then we will fight back with 100 times more force, our poison is more advanced than theirs, and experiments have proved that the current gas masks of other countries in the world are not defensible at all. Xu Jun said confidently.
"Also. The Intelligence Service has just received information this morning that the British Army is moving their only tank division from the north to the south, in terms of time. We may be attacked by enemy armored forces in the landing area. Xu Jun stretched out his hand to Tysenhofen, who immediately pulled out a document from his bag and handed it to him.
"One hundred and twenty infantry tanks, one hundred and fifty cruiser tanks, the British have gathered all the armored vehicles they can scavenge, and they are still trying to form a second armored division." Xu Jun flipped through the papers.
"It is alleged that there are also a dozen of the latest heavy infantry tanks in them." Xu Jun closed the file and handed it to the nearest Brauchitsch.
"The Air Force has begun the second phase of the operation, in addition to continuing to attack the fighter units of the British Royal Air Force, and at the same time starting to bomb British military enterprises, such as tank factories, aircraft assembly plants, and gun and artillery factories, to disrupt the production of weapons to the greatest extent. However, I am not going to completely destroy those factories, so I am just wasting the attack power of the Air Force, as long as I strike at some key production nodes to achieve good results. Xu Jun lit a cigar.
"Now back to the issue of landings, when we land the first wave of light infantry, the air force will make enemy armored targets the first target in addition to destroying the beachhead fortifications. At the same time, when the infantry occupies the beachhead, the armored forces that follow up on the landing should be mainly heavy tanks, and their task is to stop and defeat the British infantry and tank units that intend to attack the beachhead with the cooperation of the air force, and at least hold out until the third wave of follow-up troops landing, which I think my tankers will not let me down. ”
"I am also convinced of this, my Führer. The British are already well aware that we are going to land, and they are well aware of where we will land. But time is on our side, as evidenced by the Air Force's attacks on several British coastal positions at the previous stage. Due to the tight schedule and material shortage, their coastal fortifications are actually very fragile, and at present they have only had time to construct some simple civil fortifications, at most some steel plate reinforcement, and they have no time to pour the reinforced concrete structure of the fortress.
Many of the concrete bunkers on the beachhead in Dover had only concrete foundations, and now they had to build their firing points out of sandbags and bricks. On the battlefields of France, we have already found that the fortifications of this structure are not able to withstand the aerial bombardment and large-caliber artillery attacks of our troops, and they will be crushed after the first strike. Yodel said triumphantly.
"Don't forget that there are also hidden fire points, as well as their shore artillery units, as well as mines and obstacles, and they have set up traps and minefields on the beachhead and in the depths, at all important transportation hubs, as well as anti-tank trenches and dragon tooth piers, which will affect the advance of the armored forces." Brauchitsch put down the papers.
"Therefore, it is necessary to have a part of the combat engineers in the first wave of landing troops."
"The first armored units must carry engineering vehicles, and auxiliary roads must be paved immediately after landing"
"The fuel and ammunition supply depot must also land as soon as the beachhead gap is opened, and the artillery units will be integrated into the third landing force."
"After occupying the beachhead, naval engineers should be allowed to go out immediately and build a pontoon dock, so that the efficiency of landing heavy equipment will be greatly improved."
"To establish a communication base station and keep communications open, the laying of submarine cables will be completed on the first day."
"What about the communication with the Air Force, it's time for Richthofen's air-ground coordination training to bear fruit, training so many ground guides."
"The naval fire guides are already in place, and now they have been assigned to the first-line companies and are getting acquainted with the infantry. The navy has mobilized all the main warships this time, and the firepower projected to the beachhead will be unprecedented in the history of our army, and since we have never had similar experience before, we must formulate strict regulations, especially when calling for artillery assistance, the positioning of the troops must be accurate, because if we are not careful, we will cause accidental damage. ”
"Walkie-talkies were distributed to platoon-level units last night, and the communication distance is five kilometers, which is enough for command and liaison between companies and platoons, but the number of long-range communication radios is still insufficient, and according to the forecast of the Operations Department, we will have to mobilize 50 units."
"The armored forces also lacked communications equipment, and at the Führer's suggestion, the assault group had to have a transmitting and receiving radio for each vehicle, in addition to a command vehicle for armored vehicles."
"Then mobilize all the reserves and carry out it immediately, it will take time to install, and in addition, the frequency table of each unit formulated by the communications department must be overturned and redone, otherwise there will definitely be communication chaos."
"Fuel and supplies will not cause confusion with the landing of the infantry, and the order of the landing must be carefully arranged to relieve the pressure on the transport troops. The first night is a crucial one, whether it can withstand the counterattack of the British army, material supplies are indispensable. ”
"It is necessary to establish a beachhead command as soon as possible, as well as a gendarmerie unit, to maintain order for the landing in accordance with the situation at that time. We probably don't have many officers with similar experience who need the assistance of the Navy. ”
"What to do with mines, what if there are minefields on the beach, and mine-clearing vehicles should also be brought ashore as soon as possible." The officers began to talk about it fiercely.
"Gentlemen!" Xu Jun clapped his palms, and the officers suddenly closed their mouths and looked at the dictator quietly.
"You can summarize the specific problems, and then put them forward at the regular meeting of the Command in the evening, we will deduce the whole plan on the sand table tonight, find out all the omissions and deficiencies, and the time left for the Command is running out. Tomorrow the warships of the Navy, as well as the convoy of transports, will enter the English Channel. Xu Jun stood up.
"So, gentlemen, this is a critical moment in history, and Germany needs each and every one of you to contribute all your wisdom and courage at this glorious moment, and we will surely win this great battle. The Wehrmacht will be the first foreign army to land on British soil in this millennium, and all of you here will be witnesses to this great moment, and you will become the conquerors of the empire on which the sun never sets, and you will go down in history for this. ”
"Hey! Reinhardt! Hi! Reinhardt! Hi! Reinhardt! ”
The marshal and the generals stood up excitedly and shouted long live with the young officers and soldiers around them. (To be continued, please search, the novel is better and updated faster!)