In stark contrast, until this time, behind the German bridgehead, there were still stubborn French troops resisting. At Sedan on June 14, 1940, after an unprecedented victory for German tanks, the Germans on other fronts frightened the French without having to cross the river. Or rather, stubborn German infantry and unprecedented air assault, combined with the dizzying speed of the German army since 10 June, made this victory.

The disbanded 55th Infantry Division was like wildfire, sending the shock wave of the German attack to the rear. The 2nd Army tried to contain the rout, but as far away as 50 kilometers away, a large number of routs were seen, including units of the 55th Division and artillery attached to it, and they exaggerated the scale of the German attack by a hundredfold.

In the confusion, the commander of the 55th Division also requested that the headquarters be withdrawn, and the commander of the 10th Army asked him to make his own judgment, and then the commander of the 55th Division and his headquarters disappeared. That night, many officers of the division came to the headquarters to ask for orders, but they only saw an empty house, so they also found a reason to retreat. The impact of the ruptured troops was so severe that the commander of the 213th Infantry Regiment of the divisional reserve had no confidence in his rightful task as a reserve - to counterattack.

Another B-class division, the 71st Division, which was moving forward, was also deeply affected. While still on the move, the division received the news from the military headquarters that the German tanks had arrived at Borson, and the commander of the 71st Division immediately pointed the division he had just set up and moved it back about 6 kilometers, along with the divisional artillery headquarters. As a result, all night. The artillery was left uncommanded, and many joined the rout. BY MORNING, 4 OUT OF 4 OF 75MM ARTILLERY GROUPS OF THE DIVISION, 6 OUT OF 4 HEAVY ARTILLERY GROUPS WERE ABANDONED. And these heavy artillery groups were precisely the firepower of the German crossing of the river. In this case, if the 71st Division is attacked by the Germans tomorrow, it is self-evident what will happen.

The French counteroffensive was nothing to do at all, because the French army simply failed to organize an effective counterattack. The French army in front of Flanders lost the best chance to counterattack because of the lack of offensive spirit, and the French rout itself spread fear. They were all terrified.

The reserve in the hands of the commander of the 10th French Infantry Corps, General Grandesard, had the following parts: the 4th and 7th tank battalions. 205th and 213th Infantry Regiments. Behind them were the French 3rd Panzer Division and the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division, which were arriving on the orders of General George. General Grandsad placed all the existing forces, two tank battalions and two infantry regiments, under the control of the commander of the 55th Division, who then ordered these units to counterattack the Germans in pincer formation. One tank battalion and one infantry regiment on each road. The time is scheduled for the morning of the 14th.

If it's really going according to plan. It is quite possible to "throw the German infantry" into the river, which is not yet covered by tanks and anti-tank guns, and at least buy time for the arrival of the 3rd Panzer Division and the 3rd Motorized Division.

As a result, not a single force was able to execute on time. The commander of the 213th regiment first persuaded the commander of the 55th Division due to the low morale of his troops. Operating at night, the troops were afraid of being affected by the rout. The 7th Tank Battalion simply did not receive orders on time. The 205th Regiment was marching at night, and it really encountered the scattered troops, and under the warning of "goodwill" - in front of it was a fierce German tank cluster that had no chance at all, so you should not go and send it to death.

Coupled with the fact that out of nowhere another order was received to cancel the counterattack, the regiment stopped. It seems that the fears of the commander of the 213 regiment were still justified, and the 205th tank battalion, which was designated to accompany the 4th regiment, also received false news that the German tanks had crossed the river and also decided to stop against the order.

The planned counterattack did not begin until 7 a.m., when German tanks and anti-tank guns had already crossed the river. During the night, Lieutenant Colonel Balk was keenly aware of the weakening of the French resistance on the opposite side, and despite the exhaustion of the Germans, he desperately drove the German infantry forward. By morning, the Germans had advanced another 8 kilometers without resistance, almost doubling the depth of the bridgehead. Li Mo was on the west bank at this time, anxiously watching the progress of the bridge. Almost all of them realized that the enemy had given up resistance for the time being. In the early morning, pontoon bridges were erected, and German tanks quickly entered the bridgehead, which at this time was already 8X11 kilometers in size.

Li Mo was very happy, and after returning to the headquarters, he couldn't help but send a telegram to the commander-in-chief of the Western Front to tell him the progress.

The German offensive was well advanced on both the left flank and the center of Flanders, but the Panzer forces of Reinhardt on the right flank were experiencing great difficulties. The division first had a bad start and was mistakenly attacked by the Luftwaffe as soon as it reached the river. (The Luftwaffe had given them less support, and now it was being used in the wrong place).

The opponent of the division was not a B-class division like Elephant Sedan, but the 102nd Fortress Division, which was a regular unit. Moreover, the banks of the Mez River here are very steep, which is not conducive to attacking. As a result, although a small number of German troops crossed the river, they were firmly pinned down by the river. Reinhardt's Panzer Division would not make any progress for the next two days until German offensives elsewhere affected the area.

In the north, the situation in the Netherlands has reached the point of "the last hours". The French 1st Army was somewhat able to gain a foothold after retreating, but the Wehrmacht's 9th Panzer Division was also able to unleash its onslaught on Rotterdam. In order to quickly free up forces, the commander-in-chief of German Army Group A ordered that day to "quickly crush the resistance in Rotterdam by all means." This also laid the groundwork for the tragedy that followed.

The front remained calm, but the cavalry corps of the French 1st Army, the vanguard of Prios, finally engaged two Wehrmacht armoured divisions. German tanks stormed two light mechanized divisions of France under the cover of dive bombers. The Germans were apparently surprised by the French armor, and the German No. 4 tank was unable to destroy the French infantry support tank from a distance of 1,500 meters. Still, the Germans found a weakness in the tactics of French tanks.

First of all, the rate of fire of French tanks was very slow (single turret), so German tankmen always tried to reduce the distance as much as possible. Secondly, due to communications and tactics, the French tanks worked poorly with each other. The Germans were able to use their concentration and maneuver to overcome the French army. By night, the Germans actually took control of the battlefield, and losses on both sides were significant. However, the loss of the French will have far-reaching consequences.

By the night of the 13th, General Georges, commander of the French Northeast Theater, finally realized that the German offensive in the Sedan area was the main direction, not Belgium. Bad news about the Sedan region is flying like snowflakes. At 3 a.m. on the 14th, General Dominic was woken up from his bed. When he arrived at George's headquarters, he found that all the staff officers were busy nervously, but the atmosphere of the whole headquarters was unusually heavy, "like a dead man." All the people were very quiet. Chief of Staff Rodon sat down in his chair dejectedly, while George, pale, told Dominic briefly:

…… (To be continued......)

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