At eight o'clock in the morning of April 2, the counterattack of the British and French forces finally began. www.biquge.info In order to drive the German troops crossing the Marne back to the north of the Marne, the Anglo-French forces could be said to have invested their main forces in the Marne defense line. Not only were the new forces such as the 8th and 9th armies of the French army mobilized, but the four armies on the front line were also mobilized to launch the main force to attack, in order to win this battle in one fell swoop.

"Order the troops to launch an offensive according to the predetermined plan. God bless us, warriors of the French Republic, attack! Marshal Xia Fei gave the order to counterattack in high spirits. Although, he is personally full of worries about this counterattack. However, in front of others, he still looks full of confidence, as if this is the only way to infect others.

"Fire!"

The artillery commander of the Anglo-French forces gave the order to open fire.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

More than 2,000 75-mm field guns, 105-mm howitzers, 83.8-mm field guns and 114-mm howitzers on the artillery positions of the British and French forces began to roar and smashed one shell after another at the Germans.

The German positions on the south bank of the Marne, as well as the pontoon bridges erected over the Marne, became the focus of the British and French artillery shelling.

The German army's previous strong firepower preparation taught the British and French forces a good lesson. It can be said that the reason why the German army was able to easily cross the Marne River had a great deal to do with the strong preparation of firepower. Otherwise, the Germans would not have crossed the Marne so easily, and at the same time, the casualties would have increased exponentially.

It is a pity that the Anglo-French forces did not have great air power and could not replicate the powerful fire strikes of the German army. At the same time, their artillery positions, once fired, would inevitably be suppressed by German fire.

It is precisely because of this that the artillerymen of the British and French forces received orders to fire as many shells as possible in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, once the Germans launched a fire suppression on them, they would have no way to continue firing.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

Shells fell from the sky and landed on the German positions. After the shell exploded, earth and rocks flew. The German soldiers cowered in the trenches, allowing the dirt or stones to hit their steel helmets.

Because the time was so close, they simply did not have time to dig anti-artillery holes. Therefore, they could only hide in trenches and other bunkers, and suffered from the heavy shelling of the British and French forces.

"Boom!"

A 105-mm howitzer shell in the middle of a trench. After the shell exploded, it not only blew up the trench, but at the same time the shrapnel also set off a bloody storm inside.

"Boom!"

A 114-mm howitzer shell, which fell on the Marne, hit exactly a pontoon bridge. The wooden pontoon bridge simply could not withstand such a violent explosion, and it was suddenly blown up in a section.

The fierce shelling of the British and French forces not only caused the German troops on the front line to begin to pay huge casualties. At the same time, the pontoon bridges on the Marne River were destroyed one after another.

When Qin Tian saw this scene, his face turned pale.

"Damn, I didn't expect the French and the French to hide so much artillery. It seems that our firepower preparation yesterday was not sufficient! Ordered the artillery, immediately suppressing the artillery of the Anglo-French army. At the same time, let the aviation team go out at once and destroy their artillery. Qin Tian ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness." Major General Manstein immediately went to give orders.

"In addition, let the sappers be ready, and when the artillery of the British and French forces is suppressed, they will rush to repair the pontoon bridge. In any case, it is also necessary to ensure the need for ammunition in front. Qin Tian then ordered.

It was foreseeable that after the heavy shelling of the Anglo-French forces, it was the infantry that launched a large-scale offensive. When the time comes, the consumption of ammunition on the front line will undoubtedly become very alarming. If the needs of the front line could not be guaranteed, this would have caused great casualties to the Germans, and even caused them to be defeated in this battle.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

A few minutes later, the German artillery returned fire. Those 150-mm heavy howitzers and 105-mm howitzers began to suppress the artillery of the British and French forces. As for the 75-mm field guns, they were on standby for the time being. Their task was to provide fire support to the front line once the Anglo-French forces were engaged in an infantry attack, and to kill and injure the living forces of the Anglo-French forces with powerful artillery fire.

The German air force also arrived on the battlefield ten minutes later. Thousands of fighters and bombers rushed to the artillery positions of the British and French forces.

"Da Da Da!"

The fighters' aviation machine guns strafed, slaughtering the artillerymen. The bombers dropped bombs directly, leveling those artillery positions.

Under the heavy artillery fire and bombardment of the German army, the artillery losses of the British and French forces began to soar in a straight line. Artillery positions one after another, destroyed by the Germans.

And the pressure on the German troops at the front began to decrease.

"Your Excellency Marshal, the Germans counterattacked very violently. They sent a large number of warplanes against us. Our artillery, with heavy casualties. An artillery general reported to Marshal Xia Fei.

Marshal Xia Fei looked at the German fighters hovering in the sky, his eyes full of hatred. Indeed, in this battle, those German planes inflicted great losses on the British and French forces. If it weren't for these fighters, they probably wouldn't have made such a mess.

"Order the artillery to hold out for a while, and after twenty minutes, the infantry will attack." Marshal Xia Fei ordered.

"Yes, Marshal!"

Although it was only twenty minutes, it was a complete ordeal for the artillery of the British and French forces. They could only pray to God that German shells or bombs would not fall on their heads. Otherwise, it's a dead end.

Twenty minutes passed quickly. From the time they opened fire to the time they withdrew from their positions, it was only an hour. However, the Anglo-French army lost more than half of its artillery. There are no more than a thousand cannons of various calibers left. It seems like a lot, but if it is spread out over a line of defense that is hundreds of kilometers long, it is undoubtedly nothing.

"Rush!"

After the artillery bombardment of the British and French forces ended, the infantry, which had already been prepared, jumped out of their positions and launched an attack on the German line a few hundred meters away.

Countless soldiers of the British and French forces, armed with rifles and chanting slogans, ran forward desperately. They were given the order to rush into the German line in the shortest possible time. Otherwise, what awaits them is the slaughter of the Germans with intensive firepower.