By this time, the 11th Panzer Division had already embarked on the offensive, and its vanguard had reached Lyon. At this time, www.biquge.info the vanguard of the 45th Infantry Division of the US Army had also occupied the town of Messimex northeast of Lyon and cut off the road to Lyon, and the situation was very critical.

The next day, the 11th Armored Division's 111th Guard Regiment launched a powerful attack on the positions of the US 45th Infantry Division after a short period of preparation, and took advantage of the situation to attack the town. After fierce fighting, the 11th Panzer Division surrounded the headquarters of the 179th Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division in the town and captured most of the regiment.

After that, the main force of the 11th Panzer Division marched non-stop towards Boer. When its vanguard advanced to the area north of Bull, it was attacked by the Anglo-American cavalry near Montreal, and the division immediately met it with a reconnaissance battalion, which was heavily damaged after a short engagement, and the remnants fled south.

At the beginning of October, the 3rd "Algerian" Division, the vanguard of the French 1st Army (armed with M4 "Sherman" tanks), broke through and advanced at full speed towards the French border, in an attempt to take advantage of the favorable terrain to cut through the mountainous area on the border between France and Belgium before the 11th Panzer Division.

The main force maneuvered to the 11th Panzer Division north of Montbelle, and when the British and American forces broke through and attacked, they decided to seize this advantageous opportunity and take advantage of the favorable terrain on both sides of the road near Montbelle to ambush the "Algerian" Division.

The ambush mission was handed over to the 277th Air Defense Battalion, which destroyed 59 British and American tanks, so that they no longer dared to venture out of the encirclement.

In early October, the 4th Panzer Division under the command of General Patton's 3rd Army, known as the Tiger General (nicknamed "Jack Tiger") under General John Wood (nicknamed "Jack Tiger"), which landed from Normandy, broke through the German bridgehead position on the Maas River, attempted to take Nancy eastward, and waited for an opportunity to break through the German defensive line laid out in France.

Rommel urgently ordered the 111th and 113th Panzer Brigades to counterattack General Wood's Battle Group A (equivalent to the Panzer Regiment), which was located near Arricott. "Jack Tiger" led his troops to meet the attack, and after several days of fierce fighting, he was defeated.

When the 11th Panzer Division arrived in the Alikot area, it incorporated the remnants of the two defeated armoured brigades into the division's formation and implemented positional defense in the area east of Alikot.

Although the division's defensive position was very wide and its strength was seriously insufficient, the 11th Armored Division, which was in full position, made the "Jack Tiger" dare not take a step beyond the thunder pool.

The 11th Panzer Division was then reinforced with 70 Leopard tanks and other vehicles and moved to the area east of Metz to serve as a reserve for Army Group A, implementing a strategy in depth and counterattacks. After receiving the mission, the division chose the Delmu Ridge and the Ned River in depth as the two basic positions, and formulated a number of anti-breakout plans.

On the rainy night of October 11, the 11th Panzer Division was ordered to occupy positions north of Morhanga in order to meet a possible breakthrough operation of the British and American forces in that direction. The division had just taken up positions in the rain when Patton's 3rd Army (6 infantry divisions, 3 armored divisions, and 38 artillery battalions) launched a fierce attack at dawn the next day, under heavy artillery fire.

On the 12th, the Anglo-American forces broke through the forward positions of the German army, and the tanks immediately overtook the infantry and advanced in depth, and the 11th Panzer Division seized this advantageous opportunity to carry out a counterattack.

That night, the 111th Regiment captured the town of Vivels in a counter-shock operation, and attacked the two tank battalion columns of the vanguard of the "Jack Tiger" that reached Hannocourt, cutting off and inflicting heavy damage on this tank column.

The town of Fonteny, which was held by the 110th Regiment, was fiercely attacked by the American army, and fierce street fighting ensued between the two sides. The 110th Regiment stubbornly held out and inflicted heavy losses on the American troops, and the American troops were forced to retreat.

At the same time, a battalion of the 15th Armored Regiment of the 11th Armored Division fought a desperate battle with the British and American forces in the village of Salin, where it was stationed. On this day, the scouts hurried to the battalion headquarters to report that hundreds of tanks were approaching the village.

The battalion commander immediately led five "Leopard" tanks under maintenance to meet the battle. When he had just arrived near the village of Darhain, he discovered that the 37th Tank Battalion contingent of the "Jack Tiger" had approached the Little Sil Pass to the west.

The battalion commander immediately ordered the tanks to occupy a concealed anticline position on the path that the opposing side had to pass. When the tanks of the "Jack Tiger" advanced along the road to about 1,500 meters in front of the battalion's ambush position, the "Leopard" tanks suddenly opened fire, and dozens of tanks of the "Jack Tiger" were destroyed, and the rest were in disarray.

The five "cheetahs" who had "eaten a full meal" took advantage of the chaos to evacuate safely. In the town of Rodabo, the 111th Regiment launched a counterattack against the 26th Infantry Division of the US Army on the 13th, under the cover of 10 tanks.

After fierce fighting, more than 1 regiment of the 26th Infantry Division was annihilated. Then, the division commander ordered one armored company of the 15th Armored Regiment (about 15 tanks) to go out to the "Jack Tiger" overnight to carry out a destructive attack in front of him.

In the early hours of the next day, the company launched an attack under the cover of dense fog and encountered a strong opponent, one armored battalion and one infantry battalion of the "Jack Tiger".

In close fire between the Leopard and M4 tanks, the 15th Panzer Regiment lost about 10 tanks, and the U.S. Army lost 35 tanks and was forced to withdraw.

The 11th Panzer Division took advantage of the momentum to cross the Dodder River defended by the American forces and stormed to the strategic point of Singreen, where the battle for the point of Singrin began.

One company of the 37th Tank Battalion (equipped with 14 tanks) of the "Jack Tiger" attacked the town from the south with tanks and infantry, despite the muddy roads.

Several tanks of the 1st Battalion of the 111th Regiment occupied the anticline position on the ridge of Wellschauffer Farm and destroyed four American tanks with heavy fire at a distance of 1,100 meters. The battalion, supported by artillery, then charged with 1 armored company, forcing the Anglo-American forces to abandon the town.

"Jack Tiger" was dismissed by General Patton due to several defeats and disagreements with his superiors, and the 4th Panzer Division was transferred north the next day to participate in the siege of Bastoni. Although the 11th Panzer Division had one less strong opponent, its pressure did not lessen.

In mid-October, under the heavy fire of the Germans, the British and American forces were forced to retreat to the area of the Saar River. Although the Anglo-American defense line is strong and perfect, because the Anglo-American coalition forces are surrounded on all sides, ammunition and fuel are already very scarce.

The 11th Panzer Division of the German Army, in the operation that lasted nearly one month, galloped vertically and horizontally, repeatedly thwarted the offensive of the British and American forces, and achieved remarkable results, becoming a heroic and good fire brigade.

Its main experience: First, it acted quickly, the division moved 1,500 kilometers in more than 1 month, with a daily average of 50 kilometers, and acted quickly, causing the British and American forces to be dizzy and at a loss.

second, tactical flexibility; Whether it was retreating or counterattacking, the division was able to seize the fighter planes, flexibly use a variety of tactical means such as blocking, ambushing, and attacking, make full use of the terrain, and attack the opponent suddenly and covertly, and won many brilliant results of winning more with less.

The third is to be brave and tenacious. Under the condition of being passive in the overall strategic situation, the division was not afraid of a strong enemy, was not afraid of fatigue, calmly coped with the battle, and defeated the opponent with amazing courage and perseverance.

…… (To be continued.) )