As the distance closed, the small-caliber Flak30 anti-aircraft guns began to fire, and the formation of the French bomber formations had been disrupted by the endless explosions.

Some of the Br693s that were hit slowly fell into the distance, some were torn apart in the air, and some planes continued to break away from the formation due to panic.

In the end, there were only ten planes that managed to reach the target, and they came in the face of the dense fire coming from the ground, but they were completely unable to aim.

The huge railroad cannon had been hidden in the billowing gray smoke, and the gray-white smoke mixed with the nearby woods, and the scene was clouded and mist.

Br693, who took the lead in the pilot, no longer dared to joke with his own life, so he had to drop the bomb towards the approximate position.

The rest of the planes that followed also hurriedly dropped bombs, and one 100kg bomb fell from the belly bomb bay and fell to the ground.

I saw that a cloud of fire and smoke suddenly erupted from the thick layer of gray smoke on the ground, as if it was about to tear open a freshly rolled smoke carpet.

Thanks to the tight defense of the air defense and chemical units, the French air raids against the Einhausen railway artillery were ineffective.

Dozens of aerial bombs were more than 100 meters away, and most of them landed in nearby forests or wilderness, and the nearest 100-kilogram aerial bomb only blew up two trucks and caused several casualties.

The German Society named the two giant 740mm railway guns "Einhausen" and "Hespe" respectively, both of which were named after the heroic towns that fought against the British and French intervention forces.

In the Battle of Einhausen, the Germans managed to stop the attacking French 11th Cavalry Division and repelled it with outnumbered enemies.

During this period, the commander of the division, Major General Raphael, was killed by a 77mm grenade, becoming the highest-ranking officer killed in the Anglo-French intervention forces.

The Battle of Hespey is even more legendary, small and short in size and duration, but incredible.

At that time, at the beginning of the intervention war, the British 3rd Infantry Division, known as the Iron Division, drove straight into the industrial city of Hanover.

The bloody trench warfare had been fought for many years only near the border, but this time it was able to penetrate deep into German territory, and the British generals could be described as arrogant.

However, they were stubbornly resisted in the small town called Hesper, and the regular army defending Hespey actually had only a gendarmerie platoon and a communications squad of more than 40 people, but local civilians, police, fire brigades, and veterans all took part in the battle spontaneously.

The British 3rd Infantry Division launched seven successive attacks without success, and finally had to retreat because it found that the German army was approaching.

Now, two giant railroad cannons named after the Hero Town are ready for firing.

At 7:15 a.m. on May 19, the Einhausen railway guns opened fire on time.

The German officers and soldiers present looked at this behemoth excitedly, and in an instant, the dazzling brilliance appeared at the muzzle of the gun, making people subconsciously raise their hands to cover their eyes.

Immediately, the violent muzzle explosion swept around, shaking people's eardrums and making them feel like their internal organs were trembling in their chests and torsos.

A 6.2-ton 740mm concrete-destroying bomb smashed into the SFL fortress 21 km away.

The Maginot Line is actually made up of a series of forts, and the SFL Fortress is one of the Western Sector Forts, which consists of a total of 7 VDP observation forts, 8 LG mortar forts, 15 GM machine gun forts, and 6 AM anti-tank gun forts.

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And this is only the tip of the iceberg, because the body deep underground has another mystery, and there is a complete command center, accommodation room, ambulance room, rest room, ammunition depot, food depot, and the air filtration equipment of the ventilation system also has anti-virus function, which can be described as solid.

Garrisoned here was a battalion of the 105th Fortress Division, with a total of 427 soldiers and 13 officers.

In fact, since a week ago, the French officers and men had already noticed signs of the activities of German reconnaissance detachments, and on several occasions they were very "bold" and very close.

But after being driven away by machine-gun fire, the French did not find them again, and the two days were dull.

However, it is clear that this is just the calm before the storm.

"Whoa—"

Because of the Doppler effect, the whistling sound caused by the huge cannonball squeezing the air is particularly sharp and makes people's hearts tight.

The concrete destruction bomb, which contains huge kinetic energy and potential energy, smashed down hard, and the soil was as soft and weak as tofu.

The shells penetrated a layer of soil more than ten meters deep, easily penetrated the outer wall of reinforced concrete three meters thick, and exploded inside the fortress.

The 210kg of TNT explosives filled inside the concrete bomb were so powerful that the first aid room, the No. 2 personnel rest room, and the nearby passage collapsed on the spot, burying 11 soldiers, 3 nurses, and 1 military doctor alive.

This is also because they are in a state of battle, so most of the people are in their respective posts, and there is no one in the rest room.

"My God, what the hell is going on?!"

"Check the ammunition depot, is there a fire?!"

"Lieutenant, report the situation!"

There were only a few survivors near the blast site, and most of them were bleeding, confused, and close to shock.

At first, the French officers and men stationed there thought it was an explosion caused by a fire at the ammunition depot, but they soon realized that something was wrong.

Both ammunition depots in the SFL fortress were intact, and the explosion just now could not have been caused by gadgets.

The red warning lights were constantly flashing, reflecting the nervous and frightened faces of the officers and men present.

Major Leno, whose face was pale, looked at the large pile of rubble and rubble, and saw the twisted steel bars with teeth and claws, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood, and there seemed to be some gaps in the top, through which the light shone obliquely.

That is, the fortress was completely penetrated from top to bottom ?!

But the main body of the SFL fortress is buried nearly 20 meters deep underground, and the reinforced concrete outer wall is up to 3 meters thick, how is this possible?!

Surprise quickly turned to panic, and apprehension quickly spread through everyone.

It was in this state that the French officers and soldiers received the second shell.

About twenty minutes later, a second concrete-destroying bomb was slammed down.

It hit an AM anti-tank gun bastion unbiasedly, easily penetrating its 200mm thick cast-steel casing.

The cannonball continued to penetrate deep into the ground before exploding, destroying the cast-steel fortress and destroying the underground passage that connected it to the main body of the fortress.

While the Einhausen railway guns were throwing steel and explosives at the SFL fortress, in the southeast, the Hesper railway guns were also firing at the SFMA fortress.

Two giant railroad guns were deployed in the area, about forty kilometers apart.

The Germans decided to carry out several exploratory attacks on the western sector of the Maginot Line to assess the feasibility of a large-scale attack, and even the worst outcome would actually relieve pressure on other fronts.

A total of three army groups were deployed on the entire front from north to south:

On the northern front, attacking the Netherlands and Belgium was the Essen cluster; Crossing the Ardennes Forest on the middle line is the Koblenz cluster; On the southern front, attacking the western sector of the Maginot Line, it was the Mannheim cluster.

And now, the 7th Infantry Division, the 24th Infantry Division, and the 5th Panzer Division of the 5th Army Group of Mannheim are responsible for a frontal attack, trying to break through the Maginot Line.

Although it was a fortified area with a large number of strong and permanent fortifications, the Maginot Line was never impregnable and could be conquered at a sufficient cost.

But one of its practical effects was to delay the attacking forces, greatly slowing them down, so that the French had ample time to send reinforcements through the extensive rail network.

The French believed that in this way, the exhausted German army, at the end of the crossbow, would run head-on into the French reinforcements that were waiting for them.

In that case, the best outcome would be a successful counterattack, and the worst outcome would be a stalemate.

Throughout the day of 19 May, the Einhausen railway guns and Hespé were firing incessantly.

According to the uninterrupted guidance of the artillery observation machine, the Einhausen railway artillery fired a total of 11 concrete-destroying shells and 3 high-explosive shells, basically destroying the SFL fortress.

Progress was slower with the Hesper Railway Cannon, which fired 13 concrete-destroying rounds that day, but the SFMA fort remained undestroyed.

The advance detachment of the unwitting 62nd Infantry Division conducted fire reconnaissance, but was immediately overfired by several GM machine-gun forts and was pinned down in place.

The rear forces fired smoke bombs into the middle area, hoping to cover the retreat of the advance detachment, but the French had already locked on this detachment, and the two LG mortar forts kept firing, and 81mm mortar shells fell one after another, cutting off the retreat road.

The detachment commander was hit by a bullet and died of serious injuries because he could not be evacuated for surgery. It wasn't until nightfall that they were able to escape.

The next day, the 5th Panzer Division and the 24th Infantry Division began an orderly advance.

The SFL fortress was in ruins, reconnaissance planes flew by, and the pilot lamented that "there are many large craters on the ground, like the surface of the moon that I saw in my telescope".

The division's engineer battalion blasted minefields, barbed wire, and deer barricades, clearing these obstacles and opening up a wide passage for tanks and infantry.

One night seemed to be not enough time to calm the frightened remnants of the French army, and the 5th Panzer and 24th Infantry Divisions met little decent resistance.

Because it was going too well, the commander of the 5th Panzer Division sent a telegram to Army Group Command asking for instructions on what to do next - should he make a detour to the rear of the SFMA fortress that was still resisting and help the 62nd Division take it?

Gerhard Cotter was quick to send back a reply – that was their mission.

So, the 5th Panzer Division, which had no worries, drove along the road due west, regardless of whether the infantry could keep up with it.

The German air force deliberately avoided the road during the air raid to avoid hindering the speed of their own advance.

In the months since the beginning of the war, the Germans have airdropped leaflets to the French border area many times, to the effect that they are self-evident, and several radio channels are also indicated.

The German agency has set up a propaganda radio station in Stuttgart to inform the civilians of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg about its policies and objectives.

After all, in the earliest industrialized Western Europe, the number of radios in these countries was very considerable, not to mention the urban dwellers, even the rural people, a considerable number of them bought radios.

Even if nationalism is prevalent and strong, how much hostility can ordinary people really have?

Obviously, the hostility of most French people towards the Germans was far from the point of fighting to the death as soon as they met.

Hundreds of III C and IV A tanks of the 5th Panzer Division roared past, each maintaining a standard distance of 50 meters between them.

Many of the tanks were crowded with hitchhikers, and while the tankmen didn't like it, there was no reason to say no right now.

As they passed through one French countryside after another, the civilians looked in amazement at the rolling German tanks with disbelief in their eyes.

In the field, French farmers drove Peugeot tractors, while German officers and soldiers drove and rode Mercedes-Benz tanks along the road on the edge of the field.

Many people were stunned, and some of the spirits hurriedly ran home, vigilant and apprehensive.

The sun was setting in the west, and the 5th Panzer Division, which was advancing westward, was advancing against the setting sun.

"We are still nine kilometers from Bonkuor, comrades, keep going!"

On one of the advance detachment's command tanks III, the commander, Captain Heinrich, lowered his binoculars, turned to a group of infantry at the rear of the vehicle and said, "There must be enemy troops in Boncul, and you must get out of the car at once." ”

The accompanying group of infantry was a company of the 24th Regiment of the 71st Division, among which the company commander, Captain Otto, was among them.

"Of course, you'd better spread out as a horizontal team at that time, so that my people can follow."

"That would be too much trouble, we might use a trapezoidal formation."

As the two spoke, several soldiers were grinning and greeting nearby French civilians, and a sergeant casually spilled a handful of candy at a group of children.

Viewed from the sky, the ranks of tanks are endless, at least ten kilometers long.

Tanks that had broken down due to mechanical failure also tried to drive to the side of the road by inertia to prevent hindering the follow-up tank column.

From morning to evening, although there was a long pause and delay due to French air raids, the 5th Panzer Division drove more than 60 kilometers to Boncourt.

At the Poncourt railway station, the 42nd Infantry Division of the French Army, which had been ordered to rush to reinforce the train, had just gotten off the train, and had not yet had time to assemble the team, and the heavy weapons had not yet been unloaded.

Only a battalion of the 30th Infantry Regiment of the 11th Infantry Division was stationed here, and the German tanks were in disarray in the face of the oncoming German tanks.

The German infantrymen on the tanks jumped down one by one, carrying rifles and machine guns, and quickly spread out to break the formation, preparing to attack directly after the tank troops......

At the same time, the SFMA fortress was also at the last moment.

Yesterday failed to destroy it, but how could the Hesper Railway Cannon allow it to survive today?

"Boom !!"

After firing seven concrete-destroying bombs and one high-explosive bomb, the ground shook violently and startled the front-line troops, and a large cloud of fire and smoke rose into the sky, and the rumbling explosion was deafening.

After judging that this should be the explosion of the ammunition depot, the 62nd Infantry Division immediately launched a strong attack.

At sunset, the few remaining VDP observation forts and GM machine gun forts fought on their own, but due to the lack of unity of command, they were quickly divided and surrounded.

Under the cover of smoke bombs, dozens of combat sappers carrying flamethrowers and large bags of explosives arrived at the scene.

"Fire cover!"

"Whew-"

Flames were poured into the firing ports of the fort, and the heat was so hot that the nearby German infantry could not help but frown, and the mournful howls could be faintly heard from within.

(End of chapter)