The Ardennes offensive in 8721939 was seven crucial 24 hours

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble......

More than a hundred tanks of the squadron of the No. 40 caliber 75mm cannon of the No. 2 opened fire. The Chinese tankmen, who had the advantage of caliber and range, of course, would not give the French tanks a chance to fire closely, and when dozens of S35 medium tanks that led the charge had just entered the 800-meter range of the No. 2 tank, they were hit by a rain of bullets composed of 75mm tungsten steel armor-piercing shells.

Before the sound of more than 150 tank guns firing a salvo died down, a dazzling fire rose in the phalanx of French tanks on the opposite side, and suddenly more than a dozen large steel giants burned into fireballs, and they moved forward a short distance under the action of inertia, and then remained motionless like dead fire bulls.

"Well done! Kill the French! ”

The Chinese Panzergrenadiers, who accompanied the tank attack, let out a burst of cheers. Amid the cheers, the roaring cannons came out of the barrels of the Chinese tanks one after another, and the shells dragging the red tail flame broke through the air one by one, and in an instant crashed into the queue of the French tanks that were charging bravely. More than a dozen S35 tanks were hit and caught fire, and more than thirty blazing fires suddenly appeared on the battlefield. And at this time, the phalanx of French tanks was still 700 meters away from the wedge formation of Chinese tanks! The French tank advanced only 100 meters before receiving two salvos and losing 32 S35s. Such a terrible loss rate made the rear-watching battle let. Major General Pierre trembled with fear. The French tanks advanced 100 meters against two salvos, and if they wanted to close the engagement distance enough for the 47mm and 37mm guns to threaten the opponent more than the 60mm bulletproof steel plate arranged at an angle, they would have to advance at least 200 meters! That is, you have to take four salvos from the other side! Even if the hit rate of the Chinese tank guns does not increase due to the closer distance, the French tank cluster will lose another 60 tanks......

It's not a war, it's suicide! Let. Pierre suddenly remembered the words of the major general de Gaulle, who had already left in disgrace. Aren't their more than 200 tanks sent to the door for the Chinese to shoot? How is it different from suicide?

"Retreat! Order all tanks to retreat! Pierre yelled at the chief of staff beside him. This reaction is somewhat similar to that of Charles de Gaulle a few hours ago.

"General, we can't retreat now, our tanks and the enemy are less than 600 meters away, and the retreat will be beaten just as well! Only fight! The chief of staff gritted his teeth and suggested.

Pierre raised his binoculars again and looked at the battlefield in front of him, and the 20-ton S35 was now all dead, turning into burning wreckage. The remaining more than 100 10.6-ton Renault R35 light tanks were still charging, and the more than 1,000 French infantry accompanying the tank attack were also shouting "Long live France!" The slogan launched the final decisive assault. It seems that it is only a little bit away from rushing to the Chinese tanks and inflicting heavy damage on the Chinese tanks with the R35's 37mm guns or the infantry's anti-tank grenades.

Suddenly, a low, dense "boom" sound came from the depths of the woods, and dozens of mortar shells, hundreds of rounds, flew around the charging French troops. It was hidden Chinese mortar positions in rapid fire. Although the sound and impact of mortar shells are far inferior to those of 105mm and 150mm shells, and compared to the 75mm high-explosive shells fired by tanks. But their lethality to the infantry was staggering, and shrapnel of all sizes scattered like raindrops, sweeping past the charging French and knocking them to the ground piece by piece. The terrible screams were accompanied by the sound of motors, and the sound of explosions filled the entire battlefield, which was really a miserable scene of purgatory on earth!

"Dada...... Dadada......"

While the mortars were firing wildly, the grenadiers who accompanied the Chinese tanks also began to strafe with their Min-25 automatic rifles. This automatic rifle uses 7.62mm intermediate rounds, so it has a shorter range than a regular rifle, but the firepower of the continuous fire is very impressive, almost similar to that of a light machine gun. At present, the infantry of China's elite units such as Panzergrenadiers, Airborne Corps, and Marines are armed with automatic rifles. More than a thousand automatic rifles, as well as dozens of 12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on half-track armored vehicles, spit out tongues of fire at the same time, and more than a thousand streams of fire were intertwined into a huge net of fire, completely blocking the route of the advance of the French infantry. These poor Frenchmen are now lying on the muddy and wet ground, barely breathing under the cover of tanks or craters. The 10.6-ton R35 light tanks were even more unlucky, not only could the 75mm armor-piercing shells of the No. 2 tank smash them, but even the 57mm recoilless guns mounted on some half-track armored vehicles could easily destroy them!

"Retreat! Retreat! Seeing this, Major General Pierre almost cried out bitterly and gave the order to retreat again.

"General, let the infantry go first in the Somme. Occupy the high ground in the town of Leuse and set up a defensive line. Bring in the opposing tanks again and solve them with anti-tank grenades and 37mm guns! The chief of staff on the side made another suggestion.

"Okay, that's it, bring in those Chinese devils to fight!" Major General Pierre gave the order in a slightly trembling voice.

Three yellow flares were raised over the beaten French troops, which was a signal to retreat. The hundred or so tanks remaining on the battlefield almost simultaneously stopped the "suicidal charge" and then began to reverse and retreat. The accompanying French infantry climbed up from their hiding places and began to flee with a speed of 100 meters.

But the few hundred meters back is also a path of death full of dangers. A shrill whistle suddenly sounded, and the Chinese grenadiers who had been shooting in a lying position also jumped up one after another, holding the Min 25 automatic rifles, running in pursuit and firing wildly. The No. 2 tanks stayed where they were, just continued to slaughter the R35 light tanks that were reversing and retreating with their 40 times caliber 75mm tank guns.

There were less than 70 light tanks left in the rapidly reversing 200 French tanks that had charged the charge, and the entire battlefield was filled with burning, smoking, blackened French S35 and R35 tanks and a dead French-made man lying motionless on the ground. On the side of the squadron, only a few half-track armored vehicles were destroyed and injured by the opponent, and more than a dozen No. 2 tanks were broken and temporarily unable to move, and the casualties of the grenadiers were only a few dozen.

……

"Whew, the French have today!" Luo Youlun, who was standing on an armored command vehicle to command the battle, put down the binoculars in his hand, and a triumphant smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He raised his wrist and looked at the time, it was exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, and the tank battle that had just passed lasted less than half an hour, and half of the armored division of the French had collapsed! And the losses of the Chinese side are so small that such a battle cannot even be called a battle, but a massacre! Just like the massacre of the Manchu army by the Anglo-French army at Bali Bridge outside Beijing 80 years ago, but today, 80 years later, the target of the massacre has been changed to the French, and the location has been changed to Belgium.

"Okay, call the division headquarters and report the situation of the battle here."

After sighing for a while, Luo Youlun turned around and began to issue combat orders to the staff officers who had been waiting for a while:

"Order the troops to take the Somme. After the outlying positions of Lez, the offensive was suspended, and the position was consolidated, waiting for further instructions. ”

"Call the divisional artillery command again and ask for the transfer of two No. 3 self-propelled howitzers to help in the battle."

"Order the artillery battalion to move forward to the Somme. 2,000 meters south of Leuses. ”

"Order the battlefield repair team to go out to repair the damaged No. 2 tank, and by the way, see if the French tanks can be repaired."

After recording Luo Youlun's order, the chief of staff of the 3rd Armored Brigade hesitated for a moment and asked, "Brigade seat...... Do you order the tanks and grenadiers to take advantage of the victory and chase them, maybe they can capture Somme in one fell swoop. Lez. ”

Luo Youlun thought for a moment and asked, "Find out what kind of troops the other party is and how many people there are?" ”

The chief of staff took a report from the staff officer beside him, looked at it a few times, and said: "According to the confession of the prisoners captured by the scouts, the other party is the 3rd French Light Mechanized Division, as well as the remnants of the 1st Panzer Division. The 3rd French Light Mechanized Division has a light tank regiment, 5 motorized infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, an engineer battalion, an armored search battalion and other units, with a total strength of about 15,000 people. The French 1st Panzer Division still has about a squadron of tanks and a motorized infantry regiment left, but their artillery regiment, engineer battalion, armored search battalion and other auxiliary units are still intact, with a total strength of nearly 5,000 men. ”

"That's 20,000 people." Luo Youlun nodded slightly, "The battle just now wiped out at most 2,000 of them, and there are still 18,000 people holding on to this small city, so we need to be a little patient!" You can't blindly assault with tanks...... We still need to keep these tanks behind for the battle ahead. Let's let the grenadiers launch a tentative attack first, and destroy it with self-propelled guns after finding out the opponent's firepower point, take more time to fight slowly, we still have time, and now it is the French who should be in a hurry. ”

……

“…… From 12:50 p.m. to 2 p.m. on April 28, our 1st Panzer Corps was in Somme. A decisive battle was fought south of the city of Lez with the Chinese 2nd Panzer Division. China's 2nd Armored Division dispatched about 150 No. 2 tanks, dozens of 57mm anti-tank guns (including 57mm recoilless guns), more than 100 half-track armored vehicles, and about 1,500 infantry to assist in the battle. Our army has only 206 tanks, of which 52 are S35 medium tanks, and the rest are R35 light tanks, which cannot compete with the No. 2 tank of the squadron...... The two sides fought for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, including about half an hour of tank fighting, and our army lost all 52 S35 tanks, 112 R35 tanks, 16 47mm anti-tank guns, in addition to 1063 killed, 635 seriously wounded, and 321 missing. At present, more than 18,000 of our army have retreated to Somme. The city of Lez is ready to hold on, but the disparity between the enemy and our forces is huge, and our army may not be able to hold out for more than 48 hours, and I hope that the group army headquarters can send reinforcements as soon as possible......"

An urgent telegram for help was sent to Lieutenant General Lawrence, commander of the French Chapter 866 regimental army. The 1st Armored Army, which was the main force of the 866th regimental army, actually suffered two consecutive heavy defeats in just 8 hours, losing more than 500 tanks! The entire Panzer Corps is now almost a motorized infantry division. As for the opponent's losses, although Major General de Gaulle and Major General Pierre did not mention it, as a veteran in the French Army, he naturally knew the meaning of this. These two tank encounters are probably one-sided routs, and the opponent's losses are bound to be minimal!

These two consecutive defeats can only show that the tanks owned by the French armored forces are simply no match for Chinese and German tanks! And the level of British tanks, Lieutenant General Lawrence is also very clear, although their Matilda 2 defense is good, but the mobility and firepower can only be described as a tragedy! In particular, the 40mm anti-tank gun, let alone the kind of heavy tank with 110mm frontal armor, is probably difficult to deal with even the relatively thin armor of the No. 2 tank. However, the No. 2 40-caliber 75mm gun was able to defeat the Matilda 2 very easily.

"Where are the Britons now?" Lieutenant General Lawrence put down the telegram in his hand and asked his chief of staff, Major General Miller.

"Got to the town of Clavier, a short distance from the Somme. Lez is still 9 kilometers away, and it should be there in 1 hour. "Miller indicated on the map the location of the British 1st Armoured Division and the British 3rd Division." Our 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division has also advanced to the town of Haflange, and it will take a maximum of one and a half hours to reach Somme. Lez. Lieutenant General, do you want to urge them to ......"

"No, you don't." Lawrence interrupted Major General Miller with a wave of his hand. "Our S35 can't deal with the tanks of the Chinese, and the British Matilda 2 is not good. Let the British and our 2nd Moroccan Division spread out between Clavier and Haveranges to establish a temporary defensive line. Then let the 1st Panzer Army retreat behind this line of defense. ”

"Lieutenant General, that area is all plains, and a hastily established defensive line cannot stop the armored forces of the Chinese at all." Major General Miller reminded.

Lawrence smiled wryly, "A hastily built line of defense is better than no line at all, and besides, I'm not going to let them hold on forever." Wait until it gets dark and let them retreat! ”

"Retreat?" Major General Miller glanced at the Maas River on the map and shook his head slightly, "Lieutenant General, the order of the Chapter 866 Regiment Group Headquarters is to regain control of the Ardennes Forest, if we retreat across the Maas River, I'm afraid there will be no way to carry out the order." ”

"There is no way to execute the order." Lieutenant General Lawrence sulked heavily and sighed: "We were defeated, we were defeated by the Chinese!" They had crushed one of my armoured corps with one panzer division, and if both of their panzer divisions and Bastoni's German panzer division had been dispatched, we would not have been able to gain a foothold on the south bank of the Maas River. ”

"Lieutenant General, should we ask the Army Group Headquarters?"

"I know." Lawrence sighed again and said to Miller: "You go to the arrangement first, and I will personally call the army group headquarters to explain."

Major General Miller looked at the terrible situation on the map again, did not insist any longer, and immediately turned and left Lieutenant General Lawrence's office.

"Mr. General, Chapter 866 The regimental army was defeated by the Chinese devils, and the First Panzer Army suffered heavy losses, and now there are less than 100 light tanks left......"

Dialed the 866th Regiment Commander-in-Chief Joseph. On Admiral George's call, Lawrence reported to the other party in the heaviest tone the terrible situation south of the Maas River, and then cautiously probed: "I propose to temporarily abandon the plan for a decisive battle with the squadron south of the Maas River." Shrinking our forces north of the Maas River, we can build a defensive line on the Maas River, where it will be difficult for the Chinese to break through the French defenses. ”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Admiral George seemed to be stunned by this sudden bad news, and it took a long time for him to spit out a word. "Counting those two British divisions, how many men do you have now, how many tanks and artillery?"

Lawrence thought for a moment and replied: "The First Panzer Corps still has about 18,000 men, the Third and Fourth Infantry Corps have not suffered much losses, the two armies together can still have more than 70,000 people, and the two British divisions also have more than 35,000 people...... The total strength is around 130,000. The artillery losses were not large, counting the artillery of the two British divisions, there should be about 2,000 guns, and more than 500 tanks. ”

"Vernell (Lawrence)," probably heard that the casualties of the regimental army in Chapter 866 were not large, and the voice on the other end of the telephone line seemed to have eased a little. "You still have 130,000 men, 2,000 artillery pieces and more than 500 tanks, you can't just give up the fight! And two more armored divisions are rushing to you, and they will be in place tomorrow morning. By then you will have more than 1,300 tanks and 160,000 troops. If it is not enough, I will send you another Belgian army of 40,000 men, so that you can make up an army of 200,000. ”

"But," Lawrence hesitated, then added, "but the Chinese and Germans are also increasing, and the weather may improve tomorrow morning, and the German planes will return to the battlefield." ”

The voice on the other end of the phone sighed softly and said, "It is precisely because tomorrow the planes of the Germans will return to the sky that I have to order you to continue the attack!" Admiral George on the other end of the phone said in an accentuated tone: "The next 24 hours are extremely important for the French Republic!" Therefore, I order the 866th regimental army to start a decisive battle with the squadron in front of me at all costs! ”

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