stonecrandall Chapter 801
Chapter 801
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On October 17, the vanguard of the US Army encountered a German reconnaissance unit on the way to the south.
Fierce exchanges of fire broke out between the two sides. The German army was outnumbered and retreated southward after repelling the US attack.
This signal made Marshall judge that the German army intended to shrink its defense line, so he instinctively felt that this was an opportunity to expand the results of the war.
If the main force of the German army was in the south, then they only needed to bite this German army and keep putting pressure on them. The German army would be restricted by them and lose the ability to maneuver and sneak attack them!
So Marshall immediately ordered the vanguard of the US Army to speed up and move south, trying to capture the town of St. Marys before the German army!
This town is less than 40 kilometers away from Jackson. If they take it, they can break through the German blockade and join the friendly forces in the encirclement by moving a little further south.
Therefore, for the U.S. military, this inconspicuous town is particularly important, because this town controls an important stronghold on the railway leading to Florida!
Marshall judged that if their vanguard encountered fierce resistance from the German army on the way south, then it can be basically judged that the main force of the German army is here!
Once this matter is confirmed, then their right-wing troops can go south boldly without hesitation, detour from the flank, and try to outflank the German army’s retreat.
At that time, as long as they take St. Marys, they can try to contact the U.S. troops in the encirclement, and attack the German army together with the inside and outside!
Their military advantage is very obvious. As long as the cooperation between the two sides can be achieved, they will definitely win this battle!
Now, Marshall is worried about only one question: Is the main force of the German army in the south?
On the afternoon of the 17th, the U.S. troops advancing to the outskirts of St. Marys encountered fierce resistance from the German army. The German army used heavy artillery groups and dive bombers to launch a fierce attack on the attacking U.S. troops.
The American troops who were preparing to seize the important railway bridge outside the town of St. Marys were severely damaged, and a division was crippled and fled back in embarrassment!
As a result, after hearing the news, Marshall was not angry, but very happy!
“Great, the main force of the German army is in the south!”
He found MacArthur and prepared to tell him about the follow-up matters, and then he would go to the front line to command the battle himself!
Although he lost half a division of troops, compared with winning this battle or even completely annihilating the German army, this half a division is naturally nothing!
“General, don’t you think this is very strange?”
MacArthur saw Marshall was so excited that he didn’t want to speak, but he couldn’t watch him step into the trap prepared by the enemy!
After all, if they lost this battle, it would not be good for anyone, so MacArthur still hoped to win!
“What’s so strange about this? Our army is heading south. In order to prevent us from getting close to the friendly forces in the encirclement, they will definitely set up a line of defense near Jackson to block us. St. Marys has a railway and an important railway bridge. It is very suitable for defense. With Model’s reputation for being good at defense, he will definitely set up a line of defense here and wait for us!”
Marshall was very confident in his judgment. If the German army had sent out Guderian instead of Model, he would definitely not think so. After all, everyone knows that Guderian is very good at attacking, especially commanding armored forces to launch attacks.
So when facing Guderian, the first thing they have to consider is how to do their own defense.
However, this time they are not facing Guderian, but Model!
Although Model and Guderian are equally famous and are called the three famous generals, Model’s style is completely different from Guderian. This person is good at defense, and his attack ability is much weaker than Guderian!
Since Model is very good at defense, it is impossible for him not to see the important value of St. Marys.
And once he sees the value here, he can’t help but… We can abandon this place and let the U.S. troops pass through here.
However, as long as Model sets up a line of defense here, he will fall into Marshall’s trap!
The reason is simple: the German army has far fewer troops than the U.S. army!
Their advantage lies in the mobility of their armored forces, and their disadvantage lies in the huge gap in strength!
Once they are allowed to set up a line of defense here, it means that the German army will have to fight a positional war with the U.S. army!
In a positional war, the German armored forces will lose their mobility, and the battle between the two sides will enter the field where the Eagle Sauce is good at.
Even if there is a big gap between American soldiers and German soldiers in tactical literacy and combat experience, such a gap can be eliminated under the huge disparity in troop strength!
Therefore, as long as the mobility of the German army can be restricted, in Marshall’s view, the outcome of this battle will be decided. There is no suspense anymore!
At this time, the German army appeared in St. Marys and severely damaged one of their divisions at once, which means that most of the German troops are here! Does n’t this represent the success of his plan?
MacArthur frowned. In fact, he felt that something seemed to be wrong, but Marshall’s judgment seemed to be correct.
If the German army had not deployed heavy troops in St. Marys, it would not have been so easy to severely damage one of their divisions.
The losses of that division were very heavy. They were attacked by German heavy artillery and were dizzy. Then, they were attacked from the flank by the German armored forces, which directly broke up their formation and caused the US military to be defeated!
If it weren’t for the friendly forces behind them to pick them up and block the German pursuit, they would not have been able to defeat them. The loss will be even more severe!
Like Marshall, MacArthur didn’t care much about the loss of this division. After all, there are always casualties in war.
This division was defeated and lost a lot of soldiers and weapons and equipment. These are not related.
What he cares about is whether this unit has found out important intelligence about the German army!
Obviously, they have found out very valuable intelligence:
First, the German army has deployed defenses in St. Marys, and there are still a lot of people, with the assistance of heavy artillery and air force.
Secondly, the German armored forces are in St. Marys. In addition to the defeated division, there are many other US troops who can confirm this. They have seen the fierce pursuit of the German armored forces!
Combining these two pieces of information, it is easy to conclude that the main force of the German army is in St. Marys!
If this conclusion is correct, then Marshall’s arrangement is very correct, and MacArthur would do the same!
However, MacArthur always felt something was wrong in his heart. He always felt that Model’s tactics were not so simple!