The catkins are fluttering, the summer breeze is warm, and the front-line command in Koblenz, Germany, is already a jubilant scene at this moment. From Ludendorff, who commanded the campaign, to the reserve staff officer who had just graduated from the military academy, everyone's faces were filled with irrepressible joy: in 1913, it took the German army 20 days to win the border battle and enter France, but today, it took them less than half a month to complete the complete encirclement of the main force of the coalition army. As many as 20 divisions of motorized infantry kicked up billowing dust and sand, following the tanks at a speed several times that of ordinary infantry, and now blocked all the southward escape paths of the main coalition forces. Compared with the repulsion of those years, the encirclement achieved by the German army today is undoubtedly of decisive significance; By the time the elite of these 40 divisions had been wiped out, the coalition forces would no longer have enough strength to stop the Germans from continuing southward!

"After forty years, Count Schlieffen's vision has finally come true." Looking at the huge combat map hanging on the wall, Ludendorff said with emotion. In 1894, at the age of thirty, he joined the General Staff, and after being fascinated by Schlieffen's idea of scythe, Ludendorff devoted all his research enthusiasm to perfecting the plan, determined to put into practice the idea of Schlieffen, who he considered to be equivalent to a genius. After the regret of the last big battle, this plan has finally become a reality today. Although the German army's breakthrough direction was chosen in the middle this time, its core essence was completely different from Schlieffen's original intention, and it was finally a long-cherished wish for himself!

"Marshal, we have not yet achieved complete victory. Although the main forces of the coalition have been surrounded by us in northern France, Dunkirk and the port of Calais are still in their hands. It is possible that they escaped from our capture by sea. "Look at the optimistic Ludendorff. Qingying couldn't help but remind. The historical Battle of Dunkirk was certainly a complete victory for the German army. But it also let nearly 340,000 coalition soldiers slip out of their fingers; After being rearmed, these people not only became the biggest obstacle to the implementation of the Sea Lion plan by the German army, but also stirred up the situation in the North African theater and directly affected the subsequent situation on the southern front. For Qing Ying, who was determined to wipe out all the elite of the British Army on the French mainland, this kind of boiled duck flying away was absolutely intolerable, and once he let it escape, he did not know how much effort it would take to catch it on British soil in the future.

Ludendorff looked stunned when he heard this. Although the port of Boulogne fell smoothly into German control, Calais was unable to be conquered due to the preemptive arrival of the British; Dunkirk was under the complete control of the coalition forces at this time, and the 10th Panzer Division only drove into the outer areas. It's still a whole city away from the port beach. As long as there are these two ports. The encircling pincers of the Germans could not be called a real closure.

After pondering for a long time, Ludendorff slowly spoke: "Your Majesty, if we want to capture these two ports in a short time, it may be very difficult. Since the breakthrough on the Maas River, our armored forces have been galloping continuously for a week; Even if they don't have to walk the 400-kilometer journey on their legs, the continuous combat advance will also make the officers and men extremely tired. They fight and advance during the day, and maintain and replenish vehicles at night, and the time they can actually rest is quite limited, which has to worry about their current actual combat capabilities. In addition to this, the core mission of the armored forces is to carry out large-scale breakthrough intersperses. Instead of street battles with enemies in complex cities; When we captured Paris, we paid a terrible price. ”

"Marshal. Do you mean to prepare for the armored forces to stop their attacks on Calais and wait for the follow-up infantry to catch up before attacking? Qingying said lightly. Before Ludendorff could speak to state the pros and cons, Qingying had already made an unstoppable voice again; "In any case, the armored tracks of the central cluster must not stop until the day comes when the coalition forces completely lose all windows to escape."

Seeing Qingying's attitude so resolute, Ludendorff couldn't help but be stunned. Due to the limitations of elevation angle and terrain, the tank cannot exert its inherent power after entering the city, not to mention that the armored division with the armored regiment as the core cannot muster many infantry that can be used for infantry combat, which is undoubtedly particularly disadvantageous in street battles that need to be fought from house to house. Taking a step back, even if Calais is a small city and its own armored division can take it in one go, Dunkirk is a place that should be stopped from any point of view. It is low-lying and densely populated with buildings, and the other side only needs to blow up the breakwater against the waves, and the entire south side of it will become a mud pool; Its own armor force marched on it, and its power was greatly reduced. Ludendorff, however, knew that the monarch in front of him was also aware of these situations; Although he no longer directly commanded the army, 24 years ago he was the savior of the Marne and the conqueror of Paris, the commander of the most victories of the German army on the entire Western Front!

"Erich, I fully understand your consideration. It's just that we can't give our opponents any respite now. For each day we delayed, the coalition forces were able to build the harbor defenses tenth, and they had an extra 24 hours to raise ships to withdraw the troops from the encirclement. Qingying slowed down his tone, and there was a hint of helplessness in his words, "Even if the weather over the strait is fine, the Empire's air force can destroy any ship that dares to approach, but in the night when there is no light, these warhawks are powerless. With the help of nine hours of darkness a day, the British were undoubtedly able to remove a considerable number of fighters from the beach; On average, 20,000 people slip through our fingers like fine sand every night! Therefore, the armored forces must take on the task of attacking Calais and Dunkirk, after all, today's sacrifice is to be able to carry out a more smooth cross-sea landing in the future. ”

Hearing these words, Ludendorff fully understood Qingying's plan. Although he had a lot of resistance to the Emperor's light throwing of armored power, when there was no second better way to deal with the situation on the battlefield, he could only accept it as his unshirkable mission. From the point of view of marginal effect, paying a little more to ensure the encirclement and annihilation of the main force of the British army is obviously the most correct choice in terms of the overall strategic situation, not to mention that the armored tanks themselves are consumables that can be mass-produced.

Under the leadership of Qing Ying, the various armored divisions of the central cluster mustered up their courage and launched a final attack on the last hope of the coalition retreat. At the same time, the Luftwaffe began bombing Calais and Dunkirk with unprecedented intensity. In order to win the game, Kesselring amassed a force that was even more powerful than it was at the time of the Maas River breach, and almost all the front-line bombers were used in it. An officer of the German 10th Panzer Division recounted in his diary what he saw in Dunkirk on May 27:

"As soon as the morning sun rises behind the hills in the east, a deafening hum comes from the sky. The whistling sound of the plane was completely different from what I had heard before, as if there was no place in the sky or on earth that could escape its envelope. We looked up and were stunned by what we saw in the air: hundreds of bombers formed an unprecedentedly large group, sweeping the battlefield we had passed yesterday like a god, and their numbers seemed to be so large that even the sun could block them. They flew over the enemy city and dropped their bombs like sharks ovuating, and just a few dozen seconds later, Dunkirk, three kilometers away, was like a volcano erupting in rage, setting off a surging wave of light that stretched for nearly 10 kilometers and reached a height of more than 200 meters. I stopped the cheers of the soldiers and told them to immediately hide behind the tank and cover their ears, and in a few moments, the earth-shattering explosion swept in with a hurricane-like wave of air, and several unlucky ghosts who reacted slowly were blown to the ground, and more than 100 military hats flew into the sky......"

The same is true of Calais, another port to the west. After the heavy bombardment of the Luftwaffe, the resistance of the Allied forces in these two port cities was greatly weakened, and a large number of Allied soldiers became confused and mentally disordered in the continuous thunderous rage, and many soldiers even chose to commit suicide after suffering the air strikes as if the end was coming. After three days of fierce fighting, Calais was finally captured on the evening of 30 May, and the southern defensive ring of Dunkirk was broken by the Germans, and most of its ports and beaches were under their control. In the muddy ground crisscrossed by the waterways, the German tank crews, with stubbled beards, bloodshot eyes, and a foul smell, mobilized their mounts again and continued to advance in a rushing mud; Inspired and motivated by victory, they have reached their full potential.

At noon on May 31, Kalius, who was gritting his teeth on the sandy shore, suddenly saw a gray tank figure more than 1,000 meters ahead. Kalius, already somewhat confused from extreme fatigue, was startled and hurriedly ordered the gunners to prepare for fire. However, when he saw the appearance of the tanks in the distance, he couldn't help but let out a hoarse cheer: it was a team of its own Tiger tanks, and the H letter sprayed on its front was a proof that it belonged to the 4th Panzer Army of Hort on the right flank! The armored forces of the center and right flanks have already met on the beaches of Dunkirk, which means that the German encirclement of the main forces of the coalition forces has been closed, and in this oval more than 100 kilometers long, more than 400,000 main forces of the coalition forces are surrounded! (To be continued......)

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