"The Germans appeared in Sedan, the Meuse was breached, the Reims crisis! Paris crisis! ”

Moltke Jr.'s armored forces broke through the French lines one after another, causing an uproar in Paris, and after the war began, the citizens of Paris found that the war was so close to them, although it was still hundreds of kilometers away, they felt that the next moment the shells would fall on their heads.

French President Poncale was questioned by the parliament, and the call for a quick defeat of Germany was raised wave after wave, and the French were not prepared for a long battle, in fact, Britain, Germany and other countries participating in the war were not prepared for a long war. Wasn't even Marshal Schlieffen's plan to defeat France in a few weeks, and then turn back against Russia?

The commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, General Xia Fei, was also under tremendous pressure, and his response was to order the main force of the coalition forces in the northern border region to draw a corps of troops south to strengthen the defensive thickness of the west side of Sedang. It's not that he doesn't want to take out more troops, but Xia Fei also has a lot of helplessness -- taking the initiative to attack Germany and recapture Alsace and Lorraine has become the heart of almost all French people, who have endured humiliation for too long, hoping to wash away the shame with this war, so the strength of nearly 40 divisions of the French army in the German-French border area cannot be moved lightly; The main force of the British and French forces on the northern front was coerced by the main force of the German army, and the power of the Germans' millions of troops also made Xia Fei dare not draw too much, just the transfer of an infantry army has already made the northern coalition army feel the lack of troops.

Xia Fei judged that the north was the main direction of attack of the Germans, and the strength of nearly a million people was not a joke, and the armored forces of Moltke in the direction of Sedang were only holding back the troops. The coalition agreed that the main forces of the Northern Coalition would slowly retreat and build fortifications along the Marne line, while the main French forces on the German-French border would attack Germany and force the Germans to withdraw.

The ideal is very plump, the reality is very skinny, in order to achieve this strategy, the key is to block the armored forces of Moltke in the middle, and the existing forces are slightly insufficient, and the rest of the place can not draw more troops to support. Fortunately, according to cavalry and aerial reconnaissance, Moltke Jr.'s troops lacked large-caliber heavy artillery and air support, which was a weakness that the French could exploit, and as long as there were enough troops, Xia Fei was confident that all Moltke Jr.'s armored forces would remain in France.

"I need more soldiers, give me another 500,000 to completely drive the Germans out of the country, and give me another million to completely defeat the Germans and win the final victory!" In the face of Peng Jiale's inquiry, General Xia Fei promised unashamedly.

Pengalle believed Xia Fei's words, so a large number of French boys were mobilized, they left the countryside and the city, left the arms of their parents, said goodbye to the warmth of their girlfriends, went into the barracks to pick up weapons for training, and were sent to the front after just a few weeks. As a major European army power, France's reserve mobilization ability is not weaker than Germany's, but will Moltke Jr. give Xia Fei more time to mobilize?

The 1st Panzer Army was creating a miracle in the speed of its advance, and in just three days, the 1st Panzer Army had advanced 150 kilometers to the front. They tore through the fragile defenses of the French army on the Meuse, and instead of marching in the direction of the fortified Paris, they went straight west to the English Channel.

"Dada! Click! "The unique sound of the Maxim heavy machine gun rang out, and the tracer bullets were a little glaring during the day. The bullet flew over a distance of several hundred meters and hit the bushes in the distance.

The actual combat of the Chinese military proved the role of heavy machine guns in battle, and the Russo-Japanese War carried forward the Makqin heavy machine gun, and since then countries have increased the proportion of heavy machine guns in their own armies, and developed different models of heavy machine guns but with the same roots. As a result, on the European battlefield, almost the same heavy machine guns sprayed bullets of the same caliber, which was quite a bit of a roommate.

The bullet knocked off the branches of the bush and splashed a cloud of debris. With the screams, a French soldier was shot in the neck, and the French machine gun, which had just been fired at the German machine gun, was suddenly dumbfounded. At this time, the Germans, whose pressure was suddenly relieved, began to return fire fiercely, and the manual rifles were powerless in front of the Maxim machine guns. Soon, another French attack was repulsed.

"Check the ammunition! The machine gun crew shifted positions! All pay attention to concealment, the enemy may carry out artillery shelling. An officer reloaded his Mauser 98K with a loud order: "Check the wounded!" Need a loud shout from the medics! ”

Looking at a French Renault 2 tank burning with smoke not far away, the officer frowned, and then said to the radio operator next to him: "Call the battalion headquarters and ask them to find a way to support a few tanks to come over, the French offensive is getting more and more fierce, and tanks are being used!" ”

This was the first time they had seen French tanks, and they had heard that the French had concentrated their tanks in the main French forces on the German-French border, but unfortunately those tanks did not play their expected role in the face of heavy losses in the face of the German forts and a large number of anti-tank weapons - which once again made the Allied high command sing the praises of tanks as weapons.

"Yes, sir." The radio operator immediately grabbed the receiver: "1 Company calls the battalion headquarters, 1 Company calls the battalion headquarters, we need reinforcements, we need tank reinforcements." ”

Upon hearing the call from the radioman, the company commander officer turned around and began to assign tasks to several platoon officers who had rushed over: "Here reorganize the defensive line, dig the trenches a little deeper, and prevent the French from shelling." I need to lay out crossfire here, and here, to cover our anti-tank crews for the attack. ”

"Company commander, don't we have reinforcements from armored units?" A platoon commander asked puzzledly, "It's not worth it to let our anti-tank men go up and take risks." ”

"It's not very suitable for the deployment of armored forces, so there won't be too many people sent from above." The company commander pointed to the surrounding terrain and said: "There is only one way to attack head-on, and counting the flat terrain on both sides, it is only a few points, as long as there are two or three tanks, it is enough to hold here." ”

He looked into the distance: "So we need to be prepared to hold this treacherous terrain before reinforcements from above arrive." ”

The assembly area of the German front, the command post of the 9th Grenadier Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. In the square of an unknown French town, several armored vehicles were parked next to the fountain in the center of the square, and looking to the side, 4 T01 tanks were parked. A small detachment of the 3rd German Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion was stationed here, and the interval between battles was not so pleasant, most of them were replenishing ammunition, food, fresh water, and the only leisure was to lean against the tank and smoke a captured French cigarette.

"Second Lieutenant Yuri, the situation here is very complicated, our regiment is responsible for holding a defense line several kilometers long, and the forces are too scattered." The commander of the 1st Grenadier Regiment pointed to the map and said: "I am very happy to have sent you from above, but with only 4 tanks, I cannot guarantee the safety of the entire defensive line. ”

"Let's talk about the situation, I was notified when I came, saying that time was pressing." Second Lieutenant Yuri, the leader of the detachment, looked at the map, then pointed to a black line and said, "There is a road here, the widest breach in the vicinity, and if they take the outer defensive positions, they will rush all the way to Stone." ”

"You think the same as I thought, but I just received a call for help from the 1st Battalion, and they are being attacked by French tanks here." The regimental commander pointed to the location of a small road on the map and said: "The Frenchman on the other side is a connoisseur, and he attacked the place with a tank, so that I would have to spread my forces to take care of it." ”

"Can't the anti-tank guns in the regiment and the like?" Rommel frowned and asked, his tank platoon only had 4 tanks, and if it was used in a dispersed manner, the strength would be even smaller.

"There were already three anti-tank guns there, but it was more reassuring for tanks to fight tanks, and I couldn't draw other troops, so I called the division headquarters to ask for reinforcements. I also have a company of infantry reserves, which can be sent to you if necessary. ”

"Well, I'll send one tank to reinforce the path, and three other tanks to deploy on the road." Yuri thought for a moment and said, "In this way, it depends on which way the French choose to attack." ”

"A single tank? Wouldn't it be dangerous? The head of the regiment asked in disbelief.

"It doesn't matter, I'll pick the tank carefully." Yuri marked a few locations on his minimap with a pencil, then asked for a few topographical maps of the vicinity, stuffed them into the leather bag he was carrying at his side, then wiped his nose with his sleeve, and finally smiled: "If there are no other problems, I'll arrange it." ”

Back next to the tank, the four commanders were already waiting for him, and Rommel was the first to ask with an expectant look: "Hey! Yuri, what task? ”

Yuri walked up to the tank, pulled a map out of his map purse, laid it on the slanted armor, pointed to the two dots on it, and said, "We're in charge of guarding these two places." ”

"What are you kidding? Two places? Rommel stared at the map twice, then suddenly realized that Yuri didn't contradict him, so he jerked his head up and looked at Yuri in disbelief: "You're not telling the truth, are you?" (To be continued.) )