Chapter 1629 The Attack Begins 2
Chapter 1629 The attack begins 2
General Joffre, who personally deployed this line of defense, knew very well that although these lines of defense were nothing, as long as the Germans were willing to fight and concentrate their forces, it would not be difficult to penetrate them. However, launching attacks in more than a dozen places at the same time was obviously tantamount to It distracts one's fighting power. What is their purpose? In less than half an hour at most, the defenses were dismantled one after another, and they relied on infantry. There was only one explanation, and that was that the Germans used their Stormtroopers this time!
Stormtroopers, these are the most elite and dedicated warriors in each division of the German Army. According to intelligence, each German division has a Stormtrooper battalion, with a specific size ranging from a few hundred to 1,000 people. No wait. They were the spearhead and the engine of the entire German infantry division's offensive. It is the most precious resource. But now, the Germans have directly put almost all their elite infantry into the front line, so what do they want to do?
According to Xiafei's previous assumptions, the Germans should choose an attack direction, and then put in their elite infantry one after another, tearing apart the defense line with the tanks, slowly squeezing out the French defense line like hammers driving nails. And what about the French? What needs to be done is to use the defense line and artillery to hinder the opponent's advancement, and then wait until the reserve team arrives, and defeat the opponent in one wave when the opponent is exhausted. But now, the opponent has not followed the script at all. This kind of attack is directed across the board without focusing on the focus. The pressing tactics are rare since the Napoleonic era!
"Your Excellency, Commander, the German infantry is advancing very fast. They have already begun to attack the second line of defense. The frontline reserves are ready to attack. Is it time for the troops in our hands to prepare to go out?" an officer asked.
"Don't worry, we didn't grasp the opponent's attack direction, and at night, the performance of the artillery was greatly affected. Let's take a look. Order the troops to stand firm and wait for reinforcements." Xiafei ordered, and the second line of defense had a certain amount of The mortars fired peacefully. I'm afraid it won't be that easy for the Germans to break through, right? Xiafei said in his heart.
"Crush them completely! All non-vehicle towed artillery concentrates firepower to support the frontline troops, and shoots out all the shells of these artillery! There are also heavy mortars! They only have some effect in shallow positions, use them all! After tonight, I'm afraid we won't need these!" At this time, Count Schmidt also received intelligence that the frontline troops were attacking the French second line of defense, so he ordered.
The French's strategic depth is very deep. Ordinary howitzers cannot hit the rear defense line at all, and if it is after dawn, the French's long-range artillery can easily carry out counter-suppression. Therefore, the Germans chose to give full play to the role of these artillery pieces in the process of breaking through the opponent's shallow defense line at night!
During the thunderous continuous bombardment, half-track self-propelled mortars entered the battlefield one after another. Although these vehicles equipped with 210MM large-caliber short-barreled artillery have a range of only about 5,000 meters, their power can be terrifying when attacking fixed offensives. to describe. At this moment, the French machine gun positions and artillery nests that were roaring in the distance were their targets!
boom! The stubby artillery muzzle spit out a huge fireball,
Nearly 100 kilograms of heavy artillery shells drew dangerous arcs in the air, and then hit the bunkers and bunkers that blocked the path of the German attacking troops under the horrified eyes of the French.
How could the hastily constructed civil structure fortifications withstand such a violent attack? With bursts of loud noises, countless building fragments and artillery parts were blown directly into the sky by powerful artillery. In time, in the night, under the light of the fire, the front line The German troops could still see smoke columns more than ten meters high rising into the sky. Just after the fierce bombardment ended and the smoke had not yet dissipated, the Stormtrooper infantry almost stepped on the impact point of the shells and launched an attack.
The French artillery reacted very quickly. Through telephones and wireless telegrams, and under the guidance of frontline observation posts, patches of fire shone behind the French positions. A moment later, dozens or hundreds of tons of steel rushed toward the breakthrough, carrying destruction and death. Point, after the initial chaos, the French fire blockade began!
"Okay, it's up to us." At this time, at the initial German starting position, the engineers ushered in a group of new comrades. With huge figures moving in the night, each one looked like an ancient behemoth. Wolf tanks appeared in front of the people. With the help of their comrades, more than a dozen tanks entered the offensive position, while an engineer commander next to them was introducing the safe passage they had opened to the tank commander. While the Stormtroopers on the front were advancing furiously, the engineers at the back were also preparing. They also opened up several roads leading to the depths of the French army under the cover of friendly forces.
This is like entering a house. Although they have not knocked on the door of the house, the obstacles outside have been cleared so that these steel beasts behind them can quickly and efficiently knock on the door!
"Tonight, in the second wave of attacking queues, I could not see a single walking infantryman." A German officer wrote in his memoirs. Behind the tanks, there are half-tracks and trucks, and further away there should be a large number of truck guns. All troops, whether infantry or artillery, are fully motorized, without a single horse or gun. A man walking on two feet, such an army is a miracle in itself in this era. An army made entirely of steel and engines is enough to scare anyone!
Of course, the Bavarian Army could not muster many such troops. There were only five in total. It is said that good steel should be used on the blade, but in the environment of World War I, even such a unit may still suffer a loss in the face of a systematic defense system. Tanks are very powerful, but mines buried underground and flying artillery fire. and infantry can cause trouble for these powerful guys. Various defensive measures are enough to hold back the most powerful offensive spearhead, and then, due to the opponent's continuous long-term shelling and constant counterattacks, a wave of powerful offensives will eventually fail.
However, the Bavarian Army has faced such a formation many times at the Iron Castle training ground. How could it be unprepared when it came to the battlefield? In fact, the previous attack by the Stormtroopers was just a feint. The Bavarian military had no intention of using these infantry units to completely penetrate the French second line of defense! Because it’s too difficult and time doesn’t allow!
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