stonecrandall Chapter 496
Chapter 496
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Deep in the Ardennes Forest, Guderian personally boarded a tank and shouted loudly to his men
“We ran 1,500 kilometers along the way, from Eastern Europe to Western Europe. I know everyone is very tired, so I ordered to enter the Ardennes Forest to rest after conquering Luxembourg!”
Guderian’s troops were the protagonists of this operation. They were responsible for the surprise attack on Gaul!
After the troops were dispatched on January 3, Guderian’s First Army quickly conquered Luxembourg. Luxembourg is not large in area and its troops are not strong. It was destroyed by the German army in just a few hours.
After conquering here, the German army cut off Luxembourg’s contact with the outside world, so that the whereabouts of the German army were not exposed.
After conquering Luxembourg, Guderian’s troops plunged into the Ardennes Forest.
The terrain of the Ardennes Forest is not conducive to the advancement of tanks. The German army opened roads and built bridges when encountering mountains and rivers in the depths of the forest. It was extremely difficult to walk all the way. It took them about four days to get out of the Ardennes Forest.
Historically, before the outbreak of World War II, the Gauls felt that the terrain in the Ardennes Forest area was complex, with high mountains and dense forests, and it was almost impossible for the army to pass through here.
Because of the passage, the defense here was relaxed, resulting in the German army unexpectedly breaking through the Allied defense line from here, causing the Allied forces of the Low Countries to be surrounded on three sides and had to retreat urgently to Dunkirk.
It is true that the terrain in the Ardennes Forest area is complex and the roads are tortuous, but this does not mean that troops are really unable to pass through here.
In fact, in Gaul, there have always been people who believe that more attention should be paid to the Ardennes Forest and the defense here should be strengthened to prevent attacks by the German army.
In order to prove that the German army could raid from here, the French army personally tested it once in the exercise. They sent their own tank unit into the Ardennes Forest. As a result, this tank unit successfully walked out of the Ardennes Forest after more than 60 hours!
This proves the fact that tank armored units can pass through the Ardennes Forest, but the French high-level officials did not They did not pay attention to this point. They stubbornly believed that the German army could not launch an attack from here, which eventually led to the bitter fruit of the failure of the Gallic Campaign!
Guderian’s First Army was much larger than the Gallic army that conducted the experiment, and the tonnage of the Type 4 tank was also much heavier. When they advanced, they had to scout and guard against possible enemies along the way. These slowed down the speed of the German army, making it take them nearly 100 hours to cross the Ardennes Forest!
However, it is better to come at the right time than to come early!
If Guderian’s troops had passed through the Ardennes Forest four days ago, then the troops sent by Gaul to Belgium might have met the German army on the way. At that time, Guderian’s First Army would definitely be besieged by the Gauls, and even the 300,000 vanguard troops sent to Europe by the British would have been given priority. Attack Guderian’s troops!
In that case, Guderian is likely to be surrounded. At that time, let alone a surprise attack, he might even have to sacrifice himself!
At this time, Guderian’s troops came just in time.
The Gaul troops have entered the Belgian country, and the reinforcements of the Sun Never Set have also entered the Belgian country. All of their attention has been attracted by the Seventh Army and the Second Army.
This has led to almost no one defending the German front in the Ardennes Forest!
Guderian appeared here at this time, not only did not have to worry about being surrounded, but he could also comfortably surround others!
Moreover, after entering the Ardennes Forest, Guderian let the troops take turns to rest at the beginning, keeping some soldiers in front of the way at any time, and some soldiers resting in the back, so that the fatigue of the German army’s long-distance running was completely eliminated!
At this time, the non-tired division that appeared in front of the Allied forces was a tiger and wolf division with high fighting spirit after recuperating!
“Now, we have enough food, and our allies have created the most favorable conditions for fighting. The remaining task for us is very simple. Break through their defenses, surround their army, and capture their capital!
When the time comes, General Mainz will award you medals and celebrate your success in the Iron Tower City. The 80 million people in the country will remember your names because you are the ones who created miracles!”
Guderian’s description made all the German soldiers feel very excited, and they all became excited!
“Now, tell me loudly, are you willing to follow me and create this miracle that belongs to all of us?”
“willing!”
“willing!”
“”Yes!”
The soldiers raised their arms and shouted loudly. The sound of hundreds of thousands of people in unison frightened the birds and beasts in the dense forest and made them flee in panic!
The murderous aura emanating from this army was like a sharp blade, making people dare not look directly at it!
“Very good, in that case, please follow me and charge forward. I will personally lead you to victory!”
After Guderian finished speaking, he personally boarded a tank and rushed to the front! On
November 8, 192, the long-lost First Army suddenly appeared in the Bastogne area. On the 8th, the Bastogne area fell. On the 9th, the German army captured Sedan! When the news came out, the Allies were in an uproar!
The top leaders of the three countries of Sedan, Gaul, and Belgium were all panicked!
The fall of Sedan meant that their retreat route behind them was cut off by the German army, and they were about to face pressure from the German army from three directions!
This was a disaster for the coalition forces!
At this time, in the territory of Belgium, the coalition forces had a lot of troops, including 600,000 French troops, 350,000 British troops and 500,000 Belgian troops, forming a scale of more than 1.4 million. A huge combat group!
This force has 150 tanks, 12,000 artillery pieces and 2,200 fighter planes. It is the largest field group that the Allies can currently produce!
Their expected opponents are the five armies that have already invaded the Windmill Country, totaling 1.65 million German troops. The situation on the battlefield at this time is: the German Seventh and Second Armies are moving south from the Windmill Country to attack Antwerp, an important town in the north of Belgium. The German Third, Fourth and Fifth Armies in the west are gearing up to attack the Liege
Fortress.
This German army has a total of 3,800 tanks.
, 18,000 artillery pieces, 1,200 fighter planes.
The German army has obvious advantages in numbers, tanks and artillery.
Although the number of fighter planes is at a disadvantage, their fighter planes are one generation ahead of the coalition’s fighter planes, resulting in the coalition’s fighter planes can only rely on the advantage in numbers to deal with the German army, but cannot gain air superiority on the battlefield!
Obviously, the situation at this time is that although the coalition forces have a large number of troops, they are still at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.
Therefore, including Gaul and the Sun Never Sets, they are desperately sending troops to the front line to try to erase the gap in manpower with the German army!
And just as they are gearing up, ready to fight, When Belgium was preparing to fight the German army to the death, the German army suddenly appeared behind them and cut off their retreat!
This made the coalition forces panic!
The first to react were the Gauls!
After learning that Sedan had fallen, the Gauls immediately realized that something was wrong!
When General Gamelin, the Chief of the French General Staff, heard the news, his eyes went dark and he fainted!
After he was awakened by his generals, Gamelin immediately shouted:”Quick, send troops to stop the Germans.
Don’t let them occupy Dunkirk.
Once they occupy Dunkirk, we’re all finished!
” Gamelin’s mind was still clear, and he knew that he had to ensure the safety of Dunkirk at this time!
After learning that the German army had surrounded their retreat, the Belgian coalition forces would inevitably lose their confidence in the battle.
They must withdraw from the German encirclement as soon as possible, otherwise what awaits them will be a massacre!
And the best way to retreat is not to entangle with the German army and to escape from the German encirclement.
Dunkirk is their best and only choice!
By occupying this place, they can either withdraw to Gaul or retreat to the mainland of the sun under the cover of the navy of the sun!