Rush to the beach, break through, and wait for help. This abbreviated mode of operation is the standard setting for amphibious operations given by www.biquge.info the Marine Infantry Section of the Kiel Naval Academy. Therefore, in addition to adapting to long-distance navigation and wading landing, the two most important combat skills of naval infantry are short-range forced assault and absolute defense according to local conditions -- at first glance, they do not seem to be much different from the operational requirements of ordinary army units, but in fact there is an essential difference.

At dusk, Huttier and his entourage moved to Amiens Cathedral. The main reason why these German officers came here was not to admire its majesty and sacredness. In Amiens, a French inland city dominated by the textile industry, except for a few towering factory chimneys, there are no more than five floors of buildings as far as the eye can see, and the cathedral of Amiens, which is more than 40 meters high, is like a birch tree growing in the bushes, standing on the top of the side walls of this cathedral, people can get a great view of the whole city, and in the previous battles, the French army did not use it as a combat stronghold, and the long-range artillery fire of the German army also avoided this historic religious building, So that it is largely undamaged.

Looking at the city full of devastation, Natsuki had a feeling: "In modern warfare, it is difficult to defend an open city, but to capture such a city, unless it is razed to the ground with fierce and protracted artillery fire, otherwise, the attacker will inevitably pay a very heavy price, and may even be trapped in it and unable to extricate himself." ”

Before the 3rd Marine Brigade could be played, the French troops had been expelled from the city of Amiens, and Huttier's mood was much lighter than before, and he turned his head and complimented: "I used to think that the army and navy were completely different services, and those who were proficient in naval warfare must not know land warfare, and officers who were good at land warfare often knew nothing about naval affairs, but His Highness corrected this misunderstanding with his impeccable talent." ”

Natsuki smiled at him: "Maybe it's because I've lived for a long time, so I've learned a lot more than ordinary people." ”

Apparently unaware of the true meaning of this statement, he took it as a humble excuse for Prince Joachim, or as a way of mocking himself, and thus did not care at all.

"Your Highness really thinks...... Will a defeated French army gather the remnants and quickly launch a counterattack? ”

"They already did that in the Marne." Natsuki quickly replied, "Don't underestimate the determination of any army to defend their homeland. ”

Hurthier nodded wordlessly, whether the French army launched a counterattack tonight or not, the hard-fought marines had to stop and recuperate, and according to the German army's combat doctrine, the field troops should organize and defend themselves in this situation. At present, except for two infantry regiments of the 2nd Marine Brigade, which have advanced to the western outskirts of Amiens, the rest of the Marine units are in various sub-districts of the city. Naval infantry had dug infantry bunkers at every point in and out of the city and occupied surrounding buildings as tactical strongholds, while most of the artillery units had crossed the Somme and deployed new firing positions in the city. All in all, a complete and war-ready defense system was in place, and what was missing was a directive that put the ministries on high alert.

It wasn't long before a reconnaissance report from the 5th Naval Infantry Regiment prompted Hurtier to issue a warning order to all participating units of the Marine Division that "the enemy is likely to launch a tactical counterattack at night, and must strengthen the garrison and be ready for battle."

This important reconnaissance report showed that French troops of about one to one and a half regiments were present on the western outskirts of Amiens, and that the French soldiers spread out along the north-south road, and that they had assembled twenty or thirty trucks and a considerable number of artillery pieces.

At the request of the 1st Marine Division, the German Naval Air Force immediately dispatched aircraft to conduct aerial reconnaissance of the western suburbs of Amiens, and the pilots' reports confirmed the findings of the ground reconnaissance units, and signs of a build-up of French troops were observed in two other areas. Immediately afterwards, naval planes bombed the French army, but because the French army was clearly prepared, the air raid did not achieve much effect.

Through the information obtained from ground and aerial reconnaissance, Natsuki deduced that the active direction of the French counterattack was southwest of the city, and their combat goal was not only to drive the German army out of the city, but also to recapture the bridge over the Somme, and then to annihilate the German troops trapped on the west bank of the Somme in the future. With the tactical acumen smelted on the football field, Natsuki adjusted the combat deployment-for-tat, he transferred a battalion of fresh troops to the Verne railway bridge to strengthen the defense, and then gathered two full infantry regiments of the 3rd Marine Brigade and half of the naval combat vehicles near the stadium in the west of the city, laying a dumpling formation for the main force of the French counterattack.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, the French artillery let out a vengeful roar. With the superior rapid-fire capabilities of the Type 1897 field guns, the French artillery quickly turned the German positions west of Amiens into a sea of fire, and many shells fell into the city, killing and injuring German officers and soldiers who used the streets as communication trenches. Immediately afterwards, more than 500 French cavalry, including nearly half of the cuirassiers, attacked the German defensive positions in the southwest of the city. Ignoring the fire of the German field artillery and positional machine guns, they used the speed of the sprint to force their way through the German infantry trenches, but unfortunately, the German defensive positions were not only simple infantry trenches, on the edge of the city, the French cavalry was helpless by bullets from all sides, and finally entered the streets of the city only the horses that had lost their riders......

Despite the growing twilight, the German naval aviation sent several aircraft. The pilots did not indulge in the pleasure of bombing and strafing, and dutifully reported the exact position of the French artillery to the ground troops, and the German field artillery immediately countered the French artillery within range. Although the Type 1896 77 mm field guns and Type 1909 105 mm howitzers they were equipped with were not as good as the French Type 1897 field guns, the German army at this time clearly had a better understanding and use of artillery tactics, and the German divisional units were equipped with twice as many artillery pieces than the French. In a short artillery battle, one of the French artillery positions was devastated, and many artillery units were forced to move.

At 6:10 a.m., the German 5th Naval Infantry Regiment, which had advanced to the western outskirts of Amiens, was the first to make contact with the French infantry engaged in the counterattack. With only 300 troops and four field guns, the Germans were able to resist the repeated attacks of more than 2,000 French infantry, and the dense gunfire of the guns and bullets beat the aspiring French to the point that they lost their armor and scattered their corpses.

At a position 6 kilometers from the estate, Colonel Weisman was ready with the main force of his regiment. In the ensuing years, the German naval infantry made full use of the trenching skills they had mastered through daily training to turn it into a strong line of defense capable of withstanding the onslaught of a large number of cavalry infantry. Knowing that the French had abandoned the manor, which was difficult to take in a short period of time, and leaving only a few troops to guard the rear, Colonel Weisman decisively sent a battalion of infantry and ordered them to make a detour to the manor in a hurry, so as to launch a tactical counterattack at the right time and cleanly cut off the rear route of the French attacking troops.

The French troops attacking from the western outskirts of Amiens stopped in front of the positions of the German 5th Naval Infantry Regiment, while the other two French troops, who were attacking from the northwest and southwest of the city, looked more optimistic, and they advanced relatively smoothly to the city of Amiens, only two or three kilometers away from their respective operational objectives, a little distance that would have cost them more than they could have imagined......

In the twilight, Petain's soldiers walked step by step along the familiar road with their heads bowed, their waists hooked, and their rifles with bayonets inserted. The German positions ahead were as silent as death, filled with smoking embers, and the surprise fire of their own field artillery seemed to open the door to victory in this Jedi counterattack. But when the French company at the forefront was still two or three hundred meters away from the German position, a rapid whistle broke the false calm, and the pointed helmets that the French hated so much came out of the trenches with a hula, and most of the German soldiers also had bayonets on their rifles, which meant that they were fully prepared for battle.

The stormy bullets drowned out the cries of the French in an instant, and these poor fellows were like wheat in the field - the sickle was swung and fell in pieces without any suspense. Seeing the dead and wounded of their comrades in front, many French soldiers in the back still rushed forward without knowing whether they were alive or dead, and some clever guys hurriedly crouched down or crawled to shoot, but they were only a little longer than those brothers who were standing, because as the battle progressed, a thunderous cannon suddenly sounded behind the German position, and the terrible shotgun swept across the front of the position, instantly taking the lives of countless French officers and soldiers.

In less than half an hour, the French left flank troops with 2,000 troops were like porcelain vases hitting stones, and they were shattered, and on the right flank, that is, southwest of the city of Amiens, nearly 5,000 French infantry launched a majestic attack with the support of more than 40 guns, and they became the only force among the three French armies to break through the German defense line and attack the city of Amiens, and once advanced to a place just over a kilometer away from the Verne railway bridge, but the farther they went into the city, the greater the resistance they encountered. The German officers and soldiers who had lost their positions did not retreat to the rear to regroup, but occupied nearby houses, factories and even gardens and canals to continue fighting, and the complex terrain of the city made it difficult for the French to play the role of machine guns and light artillery, while the guns and grenades of the German soldiers were able to exert their power with ease. As a result, the French soldiers had to fight for the city with their opponents in the most primitive and direct way, and in order to take a three-story house facing the street, they often had to pay the price of more than a dozen soldiers, and the overall advance was slowed down to the point where it was impossible to recover, giving the opponent enough time to launch a flanking counterattack.

(End of chapter)