7/9/18

On the same day, thousands of Allied planes formed large and small groups and flew across the border to strafe and bomb targets in Germany, thus opening the prelude to the air war.

The Luftwaffe and anti-aircraft machine-gun positions were forced to counterattack, and on the thousands of kilometers long European front, fighter planes roared into the sky, chasing and fighting in twos and threes, and from time to time downed fighters fell to the ground with black smoke and exploded into a dazzling fireball.

Eastern Front Battlefield ~ Western Ukraine Battlefield

for a week

The Royal Air Force of the Ocean Empire was furious with warplanes, indiscriminately bombarding exposed German artillery positions, and bombing troops and material assembly points deep into the rear, destroying armored vehicles, and diving and strafing the marching troops.

During this period, the Luftwaffe organized a surprise attack, concentrating more than 200 German fighters to sneak up on the large group of planes that were being bombed, and shot down more than 60 "Farmer" bombers on the spot.

But the good times did not last long, and these German fighters were entangled by the group of fighters of the Ocean Empire that followed them, and a fierce battle was launched in the air, with the fighters roaring and the cranes dancing in the sky.

The fighters of the Royal Air Force of the Ocean Empire came one after another like a swarm, and the situation was reversed in an instant.

One German fighter plane after another was shot down, and the battlefield was fought from the skies over western Ukraine to Warsaw, and only 33 of the more than 200 German fighters that attacked returned to the airport, and many of them were riddled with bullets and narrowly escaped.

This was followed by a frenzied retaliation by the Royal Air Force of the Great Ocean Empire, bombing airfields and major buildings around Warsaw, chasing trains, and bombing German barracks and outposts.

July 17th

While the German Fifth and Ninth Armies on the Northern Front were weak in attack, the 2nd Army, which had been gaining momentum for a long time, launched a powerful counterattack on all fronts.

After more than four hours of covering strikes from the air and artillery fire from the ground, the armored assault regiment made its debut.

The assault corps was dominated by the armored dragoon division, and on the frontal battlefield more than 30 kilometers wide, the three armored regiments formed three goose-shaped attack arrows, supplemented by two divisions (134th Division and 209th Division) composed of half-tracks and armored trucks, with a total of more than 70,000 troops.

As soon as the armored assault corps of the assault corps appeared on the scene, it crushed the four German infantry divisions of the German Ninth Army on the northeast flank, and after more than two hours of fierce fighting, it broke through the battle line and advanced to the deep rear.

In cooperation with the offensive operations of the assault corps, the five divisions of the 9th Army under the 2nd Army, totaling more than 110,000 people, together with the Belarusian army of more than 60,000 people, also launched a comprehensive counteroffensive on the northeast front.

Fierce fighting lasted until about 3 p.m

A large gap of more than 40 kilometers was torn in the northeast flank of the German Ninth Army, and the army rolled in, the air fighters roared, and the German soldiers who fought broke and fled in all directions.

The battlefield with a radius of more than 170 square kilometers was full of battles and gunsmoke, and hundreds of tanks and ironclad fighting vehicles were rampage across the great plains of western Ukraine, crushing the German army's attempts to regroup, and then it was pursued all over the mountains.

How is it possible for a human leg to run over 4 wheels?

Many fleeing Germans, after being heavily surrounded, wisely laid down their arms and surrendered, no longer resisting to the death, and that sacrifice was meaningless.

After breaking through the frontal enemy, the tank armored assault group swept horizontally along the rear of the German army, and was invincible along the way.

After successively defeating several German troops, they rushed to the northwest and seized the center of the material hub in the rear of the German army.

The main force of the Imperial Expeditionary Force moved along the big gap that broke through, and the 300,000-strong army attacked with great momentum, and the flood spread like a spread, tearing the big gap more than 40 kilometers long bigger and bigger.

It's evening

The entire northern defense line of the German army had collapsed, and the Ninth Army in particular had suffered heavy losses, with more than 40,000 casualties and more than 30,000 captured in the battle, and had to move closer to the direction of the 5th Army in an attempt to warm up.

Fierce fighting continued throughout the night, and the main forces of the 2nd Army, led by artillery fire and aerial bombardment, steadily advanced, and in 24 hours had advanced 42 kilometers into the depth of the German rear.

More than 200,000 elite troops of Belarus on the battlefield of the Northwest Front accompanied the assault, forming a heavy group of more than 500,000 troops, rolling forward, pressing the space for the German army to move around.

By the afternoon of the second day

The bad news came that the armored assault corps of the Ocean Empire had occupied a 127-kilometer material transfer center in the rear of the German army, completely cut off the connection with the German troops in the direction of Warsaw and Lithuania, and formed a large encirclement of more than 20,000 square kilometers.

By this time

The German Eastern Front Command suddenly realized that the 2nd Army of the Ocean Empire wanted to swallow the German Fifth and Ninth Armies in one bite and annihilate the German Eastern Front Heavy Army Group of up to 630,000 people in one fell swoop, which was simply an April Fool's joke?

Not only did the British and French dare not think so, but the Germans never imagined that the 2nd Army of the Ocean Empire would be so rampant that it wanted to make dumplings for the German army in one bite?

It has been two weeks since the fierce battle in Western Ukraine, and the German army has lost about 140,000 people as a whole, including more than 90,000 troops in the all-out counterattack in the past two days.

Even so, the German Fifth and 9th armies still have more than 490,000 troops, and the 2nd Army of the Ocean Empire and the White Russian subsidiary army together are less than 800,000, where did they have such a good appetite?

In the calculations of the German army, the White Russian army was not counted at all.

On the Eastern Front in the past few years, the German army often fought one division against five or even six Russian divisions, and won the battle.

The enemy in front of him was about 400,000 Belarusian vassal troops, and a few German divisions could be contained.

This is how it is calculated

The Germans were almost 1:1 with the 2nd Army, which totaled more than 380,000 men, and even had a partial superiority in strength.

General Schmidt-von Manstein, commander-in-chief of the German Eastern Front and commander of the 5th Army, was really stimulated by General Duan Qixiang's audacity and ordered the Ninth Army to move closer to the other side and prepare to fight hard with the other side on the western Ukrainian plain.

The pride of the Germanic Junker military aristocracy, which was deeply rooted in his heart, made Admiral Schmidt von Manstein make an extremely wrong decision, not choosing to escape, not choosing to break through, but choosing a frontal hard bar.

Although the German rear was cut off, he was not worried.

With the existing material reserves on hand, the German army could hold out two weeks of high-intensity fighting to meet a month's food needs.

And immediately adjacent to the German front is the million-dollar Allied army of Austria-Hungary, what to retreat?

Just do it and it's over, are the Germans still afraid of fighting?

Admiral Schmidt-von Manstein knew the German army very well and was convinced that they were the best military men in the world, and there was no one.

The Great Plain of Ukraine is full of roads in the southeast, northwest and northwest, even if the war is unfavorable and it is not possible to retreat to Warsaw in the northwest direction, but also to the southwest ~ that is, the Caucasus.

In the heart of Admiral Schmidt-von Manstein, blind belief in the strong combat effectiveness of the German army directly ignored the great risk of retreating in the direction of the Caucasus.

How can the rugged trails of the Caucasus mountains withstand the retreat of hundreds of thousands of troops?

When the time comes, you will fight for me, and thousands of troops will cross the single-plank bridge, won't it turn into a disaster?

After surviving the initial confusion, the more than 200,000 troops of the German 9th Army, which had fled under the support of the German Fifth Army, finally breathed a sigh of relief when they crossed the hastily established new defensive line.

Now that the door is closed

The 2nd Army of the Ocean Empire Expedition was not in a hurry, gathering the main forces to form a semi-arc encirclement, rearranging the attack sequence, and preparing to modulate the Germans.

After consolidating the defense, the Panzer Assault Corps left the 209th Division to defend against German reinforcements from Warsaw, and then the Panzer Dragoon Division (302nd Division) joined the 134th Division, and after a few days of rest and replenishment, returned with a swift blow.

On the new defensive line established by the German Fifth Army, the Air Force of the Great Ocean Empire once again displayed the stunt of wanton and indiscriminate bombing, supplemented by the covered shelling of ground artillery, and under the precise guidance of the air calibrators, the German troops on the defensive line were eager to die and suffered heavy casualties.

It's only 4 days

More than 100,000 people in the six German divisions on the front line were reduced by more than three and a half percent, and then, before the German troops on the front line had time to replenish and change their defenses, they were subjected to a fierce assault by the armored dragoon division, and the defensive line collapsed directly.

The Imperial army covered up, broke the counterattack of the German reserves, advanced 38 kilometers in one day, completely annihilated 2 German divisions, severely damaged 5 German divisions, and dealt a severe blow to the Germans' stubborn will to fight to the end.

The Germans retreated more than 60 kilometers again to establish a new defensive line, and General Schmidt von Manstein was much more sober after being hit hard, and after counting the personnel, he felt that something was wrong, but unfortunately it was too late.

The new line of defense fought fiercely for a week

The German 5th Army, dominated by 89,000 casualties, suffered more than 20,000 prisoners, lost all artillery in the enemy's indiscriminate bombardment, had less than 370 heavy machine guns left, and lost countless food baggage, tents, vehicles, and other military supplies.

Today's German 5th Army and 9th Army together have only more than 380,000 troops capable of fighting, and there are also a large number of wounded and sick, which is simply a faltering giant.

A fully manned German division ranges from about 1.7~19,000 people, and most of the German divisions are not satisfied with the fighting until now, but it can be said responsibly that each German division is a hard bone and has its own glory.

Since the outbreak of the Western Ukraine Campaign, 4 German divisions have been completely wiped out and their establishment has been cancelled.

From the heart

Admiral Schmidt von Manstein was not convinced, unwilling, and unwilling to admit that the soldiers of the army of the Ocean Empire were superior to the German army, why?

The local tyrant army of the Ocean Empire is simply too bullying in its way of fighting.

After gaining air superiority, there was repeated aerial bombardment and ground artillery fire, and more than 60 percent of the German casualties came from heavy artillery fire, and the German front-line troops were crippled before they saw the enemy.

Then, the Ocean Empire relied on the superiority of tank and armored forces to rampage, artillery fire and heavy machine gun fire, and infantry accompanied by assault tactics, directly tearing apart the German defense line, causing the remaining 20% casualties.

The last 20% of the casualties came from the retreat stage, under the surprise attack of the armored forces and the cover of the army, the fleeing German troops withstood the air strafing, artillery fire interception and bombing, ground strangulation all the way to retreat, the loss was not small.

Moreover, the Ocean Empire Expeditionary Force made full use of the White Russian cannon fodder, and in a large-scale frontal assault, it was often these White Russian vassal armies who rushed to the front, which was simply hateful.

It was very difficult for the Germans to kill a soldier of the expeditionary force of the Great Ocean Empire, either hiding behind armored vehicles or behind White Russian soldiers, slippery like loaches, very difficult to fight.

Moreover, the soldiers of the Ocean Empire were all equipped with steel helmets, and the over-the-top shots of the Germans were useless to them.

What is Beyond Shooting?

In the protracted trench warfare, the Germans invented this very terrible method of warfare.

That is, under the guidance of the forward-looking observers, using maps and constantly calculated observation data, the German heavy machine gun positions in the trenches were directed to fire directly into the air, and the bullets were scattered in an oval shape, and the power was huge at a distance of 4,000 meters.

This type of blow is similar to the projectile of ancient bows and arrows.

Pre-Battle of the Somme

The Germans used the method of transcendent fire to deal a heavy blow to the British Expeditionary Force, the main force responsible for the attack, killing and wounding more than 60,000 people in one day, and achieving a result more terrible than artillery bombardment.

According to the memories of the surviving British soldiers at the time;

Even if they were lying down or entering cover, heavy machine gun bullets still smashed down on the head and face, easily penetrating the surface tissues of the human body, killing and wounding the soldiers......

In the German army's "Beyond Shooting Law" regulations, the muzzle of the Maxim heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire was raised by one foot, and the firing method at a large elevation angle was used to shoot at an angle of 30-45 degrees to the enemy's position.

The ballistic trajectory of the heavy machine gun bullets flew in a large parabolic trajectory, and could shoot up to 4,000 meters away, and the dense locust bullets actually fell from the sky, raining down on the infantry who were advancing covertly from above.

It is a pity that this method of warfare is useless against the soldiers of the Ocean Empire.

During the attack, most of the soldiers of the Ocean Empire accompanied the tanks and armored vehicles to advance, hiding behind the first-line White Russian soldiers, on the one hand, they were responsible for escorting the formation, and on the other hand, they were looking for the heavy fire points of the German army, and they were cleared as soon as possible.

The German heavy machine gun fired directly, and there were very few opportunities for oblique fire, and the over-shooting of the master was not good, and the heavy machine gun bullets falling from top to bottom had lost their strong penetrating kinetic energy, and the force of the downward smash alone could not break through the defense of the steel helmet.

If it is hit on the shoulder, at most the bones and tendons will be broken, and it is not a fatal injury.

Once the German heavy machine gun positions were discovered, they were immediately taken care of.

Either they were named by tank fire, or they were bombed into the sky by mortars, or planes were strafing and bombing along the trenches, or they were suppressed by artillery fire, and there was no chance to exert power at all.

Therefore, Admiral Schmidt von Manstein hated the tyrants of the Ocean Empire army, but there was no good way to deal with it.

Now it seems

After another major defeat, the 5th and 9th armies were in danger.

The remaining weapons and ammunition can last a week of high-intensity fighting, but after losing a large amount of baggage supplies, there is not enough food, and only about 10 days are left, which is a very dangerous signal.

Forced

On the one hand, Admiral Schmidt-von Manstein adjusted the rear defensive line and managed to maintain it by continuing to shrink. On the other hand, the Austro-Hungarian army was transferred to fill the gap, and the other was to ask the Berlin high command for help.

Nothing else, as long as he can get rid of these planes that are buzzing overhead all day, he is confident that he will continue to hold on.

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