"Hold your ground! No retreat! ”

In the smoke of gunpowder, a German officer wearing a pointed helmet and a beard shouted an order, holding a standard Luger 08 pistol in his left hand and a black hiking stick in his right hand. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info More than a dozen German infantry crouched behind the bunker and opened fire, only to see them pull the bolt of their guns as best they could - unloaded, loaded, and then raise their guns to aim - pull the trigger, with a calm posture of the enemy pressing the situation, but these few men alone could not resist the rushing French infantry.

After the final hand-to-hand combat, the position at the west bridgehead fell silent. Except for five German soldiers who withdrew to the bridge, the rest of the officers and soldiers sent to the West Bank were completely annihilated.

The troops of both sides began to fire at each other across the bridge.

Directly opposite the bridgehead, the Germans deployed an MG08 water-cooled heavy machine gun, flanked by an MG08 and a captured Hatch Chase from the French, and three machine guns easily blocked the bridge deck, and none of the French infantry trying to force the charge could break through the bridge deck midpoint.

The French troops who were engaged in the counterattack tried to cross the river from under the bridge, while directing their own artillery to bombard the bridgehead positions on the opposite bank.

The German officers and men belonging to the "Iron 17" regiment had been deeply impressed by the power of the French 75-mm rapid-fire field guns after two days of fierce fighting, and as soon as they heard the characteristic and short scream, they would subconsciously disperse and dodge, and then wait for the enemy to take the initiative to stop the shelling -- in an offensive state, it was difficult for the German field artillery and light howitzers to suppress the French field artillery, and as for the aerial bombardment of the Zeppelins, they usually only appeared in those strategic points that required heavy troops, and there was very little opportunity to take care of ordinary battles. And the actual effect of the bombing is also much less than the psychological effect.

It didn't take long for the fierce attack of the French field artillery to come unexpectedly, and the bridgehead position held by the German army seemed to be attacked by a hurricane. This war has just begun, and the vast majority of people below the officer level have never been baptized by the flames of war, and even those who have participated in colonial or semi-colonial wars are bullies, and they have never been subjected to the fierce artillery fire of the other side. At this point, it was inevitable that some mentally fragile soldiers would break down and go mad, as was the case with the French and the Germans, but on the positions of the "Iron 17" regiment, the infantry endured the ravages of French artillery fire with astonishing perseverance. After a few minutes, when the artillery fire had ceased and the bridgehead on the west bank had almost become the surface of the moon, the French officers and men on the other side of the bank rose to their feet, their bayonets and brisk steps, and the sound of their footsteps was chaotic from the beginning, and it was clear that everyone wanted to reach the other side of the bridge as soon as possible and regain their positions.

Stepping over the remains of their comrades, the French soldiers approached the bridge, but just as they feared in their hearts, the clatter of German heavy machine guns suddenly sounded ahead. A barrage of bullets swept through, and there was a terrifying sight of blood gushing and splattering everywhere, and the screams of dying were incessant......

Driven by the sound of machine guns, the German soldiers leaned out of their dusty and mud-covered covers, and they did not hesitate to shoot their guns. The explosive rate of fire of the Mauser 1898 was certainly inferior to the British Lee-Enfield rifle, but in such a battle at hand, 7. 92 mm rifle rounds were the maximum lethal to the French infantry crowded on the bridge deck. In less than half a minute, there was not a single French soldier standing on the bridge, and near the east bank of the bridge, the farthest point within the reach of the French counterattack, the dead French officers and soldiers were stacked into a waist-high wall of corpses!

The French infantry attack had just been hit head-on, and the field artillery company assigned to the "Iron 17" regiment by the division headquarters was also engaged in the battle, and the well-trained German gunners used 77 mm field guns to bombard the positions on the west bank of the bridge occupied by the French for nearly ten minutes, and now it was the turn of the French to experience the painful feeling of being bombarded by five thunders.

After the shelling, the positions fell silent.

Although the position on the east bank of the bridge was difficult to defend, the "Iron 17" Regiment sent two companies of officers and men with machine guns to recapture it, and they crossed the bridge with the corpses of the French infantry, and the remnants of the French troops on the opposite bank only put up a symbolic resistance before giving up this position. The German officers and men who crossed the bridge decisively used every second to strengthen their positions, and before the trenches had time to dig deep, they used the remains of the enemy to build the breastwork, and in order to reduce the lethality of the French artillery fire as much as possible, the officers ordered some of the soldiers to retreat to the river bank and dig individual bunkers in the loose mud and sand of the river beach to avoid shelling.

After two defeats, the French had to take a long time to reorganize the offensive, during which the "Iron 17" regiment gradually deployed the main forces to the positions on the east bank of the bridge, and when night gradually fell, they were suddenly attacked by the French from the direction of the Ardennes. It turned out that the German 5th Army Corps under the command of Crown Prince Wilhelm quickly switched from defense to attack with advance preparations, and it took only half a day to break through the French army's defense line on the Longvi-Montmetti line, and then break through to the Maas River at all costs. The French were ill-prepared for this, and all plans were disrupted, and when the German advance force reached the Maas, there were still a large number of French troops left on the east bank, either holding fortified positions or slowly retreating under the entanglement of the Germans, while the meandering Maas River ran from south to north through eastern France, and had to cross the river to reorganize forces on the second front behind the border line.

In the face of the front and rear attacks of the French army, the "Iron 17" regiment quickly demonstrated the tenacity of a first-class army unit. The German infantry held the trenches, outnumbered the enemy, and repelled the attacks of the remnants of the French army on the east bank of the bridge, and the German field artillery also bombarded the French attacking team from the flank, and the fallen French officers and soldiers actually paved the entire road leading to the bridgehead......

By the night of 22 August, the bridge over the Maas River that flowed through the Lorraine-Alsace region was either in the hands of the French or blew up by the French themselves in a hopeless position to hold on, leaving the only one captured by the Germans. If this inconspicuous road bridge was lost, the German attacking troops would have to cross the river by erecting pontoon bridges and ferrying boats, which would not only slow down their advance, but would also be easily damaged and blocked by the French troops on the other side. With such a clear battlefield context, not only the headquarters of the 6th Corps attached great importance to the development, but also the headquarters of the 5th Corps of the Crown Prince William was also actively deploying troops, and even the chief of the general staff, Moltke Jr., called overnight to inquire about the situation, and promised to dispatch a whole squadron of Zeppelin airships to help the battle early the next morning.

Fierce battles around an ordinary road bridge lasted for several hours, and thousands of German and French soldiers died here. After nightfall, several German units ordered to reinforce the position of the "Iron 17th Regiment" were blocked by the French before approaching the target area, or were shelled from the other side of the Maas River or even from the river - during the day, the French river gunboats were also arrogant for a while, and then they were severely attacked by the German field artillery and withdrew in disgrace, but at night, it was difficult for the German artillery to judge the position of the French ships by the flashing of artillery flames, and these gunboats returned to the battle area without hesitation. Under the guidance of their own ground forces, the Germans were shelled from time to time.

On the map, the Iron 17 Regiment looked like an isolated force, but surprisingly, the telephone lines from the Iron 17 Regiment headquarters to the division headquarters remained open most of the time, and several German infantry companies crossed the French line to their defense area without firing a single shot.

The French improvised front was riddled with holes, but the point was that the Germans were unable to pinpoint the exact location of these holes. In order to completely cut off the hope of the French to recapture the bridge, the headquarters of Crown Prince William's 5th Army urgently mobilized two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade, and more than 50,000 horses launched a strong attack on the French front from the south side overnight.

With the cover of night, the German officers and men did not need to worry about the accurate shelling of the French field artillery as they did during the day, and they advanced at the beginning at a rapid pace, but the closer they got to the bridge, the stronger the French troops they encountered, as if the French troops stranded on the east bank of the Maas River had already rushed towards the bridge, and they had to pass here to return to the rear. As a result, the bridgehead positions of the "Iron 17" Regiment were attacked by only a few hundred or thousands of French soldiers at a time, while on the outer battlefields, tens of thousands of troops on each side were fighting according to the constantly adjusting deployment.

In the middle of the night, the telephone line to the headquarters of the "Iron 17" regiment was completely cut off, the wireless telegraph was not available, and to make matters worse, after continuous fierce fighting, the German army's losses and ammunition consumption were close to the limit, and if reinforcements could not be sent up in time, it was probably only a matter of time before the bridge was lost.

In order to supervise the attack, the commander of the German 6th Corps, General von Gers, went to the front line, the front regiment was withdrawn due to heavy casualties, the rear regiment was immediately filled, and the artillery units of the corps were all engaged in battle, and some of the artillery continued to fire until the barrel overheated and was forced to stop firing.

Just after midnight, eight "Hubert-13" tanks finally arrived on the east bank of the Maas River. Most of their companions have already been laid down on the road that is definitely not a long distance, some have been repaired by the driver and can be put back into operation, some have to replace parts to continue on the road, and those who can reach their destination in one breath are undoubtedly in excellent condition and endurance. These German tanks are male and female, the turret is uniformly equipped with a 37 mm caliber short-barreled rapid-fire gun, and the front of the hull is equipped with an improved model of MG08, the designer is obviously inspired by the French Renault FT-17, which has not yet been launched at this time, but the "Hubert-13" with a total weight of 12 tons is larger than the French light tank, and has an additional crew, and the combat division of labor is more refined and reasonable.

Regardless of whether they are in name or in reality, these "Hubert-13s" are still naval equipment, and the pilots are all naval officers and sailors, and they only accept the command of the admiral without special authorization from their superiors -- Natsuki is undoubtedly the best person to perform this duty, but he will not go to the front line to personally command a few combat vehicles to charge into battle, so he entrusted his classmate and friend, Eikeller, a lieutenant officer of the 1st Marine Brigade of the German Navy, to take command on his behalf.

(End of chapter)