Chapter 854: The Battle of France (Part I)
The Dutch war ended when the German paratroopers unexpectedly held the captured airfield, and the Dutch were unable to retake the airfield while a steady stream of reinforcements were sent to the Netherlands.
The Dutch campaign, which had been a stalemate for three days in history, ended in just two days. Instead of bombing Rotterdam to rubble, as in history, Germany transported troops through airfields on the one hand, and ground forces led by General Schmidt on the other: the 9th Panzer Division and Adolf. The Hitler guards broke through the line directly.
In order to avoid further losses, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, after full communication with the ministries, was led by the commander Jan. Joseph. Baron Hodfried went to the German Propaganda Department on behalf of the Netherlands to decide to surrender.
At the same time, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands led others to form a Dutch government-in-exile to England.
The Belgian army, which had entered the Netherlands and intended to defend itself against the German attack with the Netherlands, could only choose to leave the Netherlands and return to Belgium in the end.
At this time, Belgium was also at war with Germany, and the war was not going well.
The fortress of Eben-Emel between Belgium and Germany, which was crucial, had been occupied by German paratroopers, and Belgium was preparing to defend itself against the German attack, including troops from the French and British powers.
"That's the way it is now. Guys, what I want to know is what to do next?! In Brussels, King Leopold III of Belgium looked at several generals in front of him and said in a deep voice.
In front of him was Maurice Murphy, commander-in-chief of the French Army and commander of the British Expeditionary Force. Maxim Gram, commander-in-chief of the French forces in Syria and Lebanon. Wei Gang, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, 6th Viscount John Gott. Verrick and the exiled commander-in-chief of the Dutch army, Henry. Winckelmann.
"We have lost the fortress of Eben-Emer, and there is no doubt that the Germans will launch a large-scale attack next. I don't have the confidence that I can withstand their attacks, even if you're all there. ”
Leopold III hummed unceremoniously at the men: "I warned you! Germany could invade with the Manstein Plan, and Plan D would be dangerous not only to the strategic position of Belgium, but even to the left flank of the entire Allied front! But you have never heard from us! ”
Long before the German attack. The Belgian High Command had warned Britain, France, and Germany of a possible invasion with the Manstein Plan.
Leopold III and Raoul of Belgium. Van warned Gammerin and the French Army command that Plan D would be dangerous not only to the strategic position of Belgium, but also to the left flank of the entire Allied front. But their warnings were not heeded by the French side.
"Your Majesty, this is not the time to pursue these matters." Gan Molin was a little annoyed, and he had to admit that he had made a mistake in judgment in this regard.
But admitting it in front of so many people undoubtedly made him extremely humiliated. Yes, he will definitely not admit it. And he chose to change the subject.
"What we need to do is think about how to fend off the Germans. They have already taken the Netherlands, and I am sure that soon their forces will form an encirclement of Belgium! When the time comes......"
"Belgian servicemen will fight to the death to protect their homeland. There is no doubt about that! But what can you do, that's all I care about! Leopold III interrupted Maurice irritably. Gan Molin's chatter continued, and he said loudly: "If you want to tell the truth, then I will tell you: I don't trust you at all!" ”
Morris. Gammelin's face turned red, and he knew that his error in judgment had led to the French commander-in-chief, Maxim, who had sent the French army to Syria and Lebanon. Wei Gang sent.
In order to let Wei Gang judge whether he was suitable to stay in the position of commander-in-chief of the French army. If he is not suitable, then Weygand will take his place.
Weygand was the French commander of World War I, Ferdinand. Foch's chief of staff, with the rank of general. In 1920~1922, he served as the head of the French military mission in Poland and helped Joseph. Pilsudski regrouped his army and defeated Mikhail. Nikolaevich. The Western Front of the Soviet Red Army under the command of Tukhachevsky.
Originally retired in 1935, he was once again remembered by the French. It was reactivated and sent to Belgium ready to replace Morris at any time. The location of the Ganmal Forest.
"Your Majesty the King. Whether you trust Gammyrin or not, the war will not stop because of you. "Finally. Weygand spoke his first words when he arrived in Belgium.
"Our task now is to defend ourselves against the Germans, and there is no doubt that we are your allies and of Belgium. Otherwise, I and the commander of the expeditionary force would not be here. Our soldiers will not be here either. ”
Wei Gang's words finally made Leopold III's face look good, which was also based on Wei Gang's great achievements in the First World War. This bit of face still has to be given.
"General Weygand. What I'm worried about now is what should we do if the Germans come over from the Netherlands?! Leopold III sighed and said helplessly: "We don't have many cards in our hands now, and if we want to withstand the German attack, we must have a large number of mechanized troops." And none of us have that. ”
"According to our intelligence. The Germans had at least three hundred or more tanks. What do we use to stop their tanks ?! Is France sure of this?! ”
The words of Leopold III. What ushered in was Wei Gang's silence. He didn't say a word, and that's already the best answer. He himself was not sure that he would be able to completely stop the German offensive.
"Now our commander is still Gammelin, and we should listen to him." After being silent for a while, Wei just said in a deep voice.
And everyone turned their heads to Gammelin, although Leopold III greatly disliked Gammelin as a person, but had to admit that he was now the supreme commander of France, and at the same time the supreme commander of the British expeditionary force.
"Knock knock......" At this moment, a sharp knock sounded on the door. Leopold III said with a gloomy face, and he could hear the rush of the knock at the door. It's not good news.
"Your Majesty, according to our latest information, the Germans are assembling in Hannut. Our intelligence officers got the news that the Germans had gathered a large number of tanks. I'm afraid I'm going to launch a massive offensive at Hannut......"
Coming in was the Belgian general Raoult. Fan. His face was gloomy, and he had a telegram in his hand. As he spoke, he handed the telegram to Leopold III.
Leopold III read the telegram and did not give it to Gammelin but directly to Weygand.
"General, I would like to receive an answer from you. How the hell should this battle go?! Leopold III's face was very ugly.
Wei Gang hurriedly read the telegram before raising his head and saying in a deep voice: "Our tank troops are immediately assembled and immediately march towards Hannut!" Rest assured, Your Majesty! We will do everything we can to protect Belgium. ”
At the same time, the Belgian army near the Eben-Emer fortress was frantically attacking the Eben-Emer fortress. Trying to recapture the fortress occupied by the German paratroopers, they knew that once it was captured, the Germans would be able to use it to go straight into the heart of Belgium.
The Belgian troops who were raided by the "Sudden ......" were so anxious that they not only did not receive effective artillery support, but also did not coordinate with each other.
The mere swarm of swarms rushed towards the fortress, which resulted in the German paratroopers occupying the fortress being able to knock them back with their machine guns.
"Boom! "This is the German paratrooper Granite squad that has captured the fort detonating the forming explosives used to destroy the machine gun holes and external observation ports.......
The Germans were outnumbered and simply could not support the entire fortress. But fortunately, they had already obtained the topographical map and construction map of the fortress, which allowed them to understand the structure of the fortress and make a corresponding defense plan.
After destroying all the bullet holes that could be observed or fired at outside, any counterattack by the garrison of the fortress was blocked by having to pass through a single spiral staircase.
This forced the Belgian army to force a forced attack on the only passage occupied by the Germans, resulting in huge casualties and losses.
"Tom...... Rumble!! "Here are several smaller batteries and Belgian field guns in the distance, who are targeting the captured fortresses with artillery strikes.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of coordination, most of their shells fell on their own heads. The Belgian soldiers who were attacking screamed and were knocked down by their own shells.
The German paratroopers, on the other hand, could take advantage of the cover of their bunkers to hide from the shelling from the small batteries.
"Damn it! Are all the artillerymen raised by these bitches defecting to the Germans?! Those are our own people! My own people! A second lieutenant shouted angrily: "Guards! Guardsman! Go tell those bitches that they blew up the wrong person! ”
"Yes!!" The guards, too, were furious that their attacking troops had been bombed, and after answering loudly, went to the rear to trouble the artillery.
At this time, the 51st Engineer Battalion of the Wehrmacht began to pass through the Mooss River in a clatter. In the original plan, the Granite squad could get a change of guard from the 51st Engineer Battalion within hours of occupying the fortifications.
In reality, however, the stubborn resistance of the Belgian army and the fact that several bridges over the Moose River were blasted by the Billy Army necessitated the construction of new bridges by the engineer battalion, which greatly delayed the operation.
It was only now that they had crossed the bridge and hurried towards the fortress. And behind them, a whole regiment of German infantry troops.
When the Belgian major, who was in charge of the attack, saw the German troops approaching from afar, he despaired. He knew that there was no point in holding on any longer.
PS: Chapter 1! Keep coding words, there's a chapter in a moment!