Chapter 1,637 General Attack 1
Chapter 1637 General Attack 1
"Quiet, too quiet." A French veteran poked his head out of the trench and observed the German front line in the distance. At this time, the sun had risen from the east, and the golden light shone on the horizon, which made people look a little surprised. It is not clear that the German army broke through some of its positions last night. People from top to bottom are saying that today will be a decisive battle. If the French can block the German attack, then the previous breakthrough at night The German army will be killed by the superior French reserve force, the Germans will miss the opportunity, and the two sides will return to an almost balanced situation. If they cannot be stopped today, then the French will be finished. Therefore, both sides are holding back Take a breath and wait for today's battle!
If the previous situation on the Western Front had been followed, the German Army would have carried out fire suppression for several hours before dawn. Anyone who has experienced the Western Front will never forget the shells falling like raindrops and the shaking earth. The fires and ruins, as well as the smoke reaching into the sky. This has become a habit of both warring parties, as if they would not feel comfortable without throwing hundreds of tons of artillery shells.
As a veteran, the Frenchman was obviously familiar with the previous routine. They stayed quietly in the rock mass, eating today's breakfast while waiting for the arrival of German artillery shells. However, before they could wait for the artillery fire from the front line, the first thing they heard was the exchange of fire from the rear defense line. Before the front line started, the concentrated French reserves had already begun to launch an attack on the German troops that had penetrated into the rear of the position.
"The Germans are attacking!" The news from the observation post surprised a group of French soldiers who were hiding in the rock mass for breakfast. Without any fire preparation, the Germans actually attacked... This is not normal. And when the French hurried to the battle line and looked at the tanks that were gradually becoming clearer in the distance, they suddenly felt angry - the Germans didn't take themselves seriously!
But then, when the French on the defensive line saw the full picture of the German offensive troops coming out of the morning fog, it was quite shocking! On a 6-kilometer-wide front, six huge wedge formations composed of at least 150 tanks and self-propelled artillery advanced slowly like a steel wall. They were not advancing very fast, and the infantry behind them could follow on foot. superior. An atmosphere of chilling terror gradually spread on the battlefield. At this time, the artillery behind the French did not conduct interception fire. When the German troops approached the city, the battlefield showed unusual silence!
"We have no support, and we can no longer count on the artillery group behind us. They can't protect themselves now." When the German tanks approached 1,000 meters away, the artillery support that the French soldiers expected still did not come. The French soldiers could already see the transport vehicles and cavalry behind the tanks. Without cover, they were such good targets!
A sense of powerlessness came to the heart of the French army. Although the position was also equipped with 75MM rapid-fire guns and mortars at this time, the former was used to deal with tanks. If armor-piercing bullets were to be used to attack infantry, it would be a real waste. , as for the mortar troops, although they can also reach,
But they also have to cooperate with the rapid-fire cannon in anti-tank operations, and they must not expose themselves before the rapid-fire cannon fires!
What should a normal defensive battle look like? The howitzer unit attacks the opponent's infantry and lightly protected targets outside of the opponent's direct fire, while the rapid-fire artillery must put the opponent within 500 meters before shooting. When the German Wolf tank comes into service, it is recommended that the frontal shooting distance be shortened Arrived at 300 meters! But now, after the howitzers in the rear misfired, the actual defense strength of the entire French defense line has actually been reduced by about 60% of its combat effectiveness. Because the French cannot expose themselves in advance, they must let the Germans walk arrogantly in their faces. !
700 meters! Some German tanks stopped advancing, using 105MM cannons and 75MM rapid-fire cannons to wildly tilt the deadly rain of bullets towards the target. At the same time, the mortars located behind the attacking troops also began to fire, rolling barrage toward the rear of the position. Stretching out, a safe passage was cleared directly in the minefields and obstacles ahead.
At this time, the Wolf tanks at the front of the offensive queue began to accelerate their charge. Under the cover of friendly forces, they would pass through this last dangerous area as quickly as possible! At this time, the French finally stopped holding back. At the critical moment, rapid-fire artillery, mortars and machine guns in almost all defensive areas began to fire wildly! In less than a minute, the entire battlefield was detonated instantly, and countless flames and explosions enveloped the area only a few hundred meters between the two sides.
"Open the first phase of supporting fire! Shoot out all the artillery shells!" At this time, the supporting artillery of the Bavarian Army in the rear finally showed its power. After kicking the French heavy artillery troops off the battlefield, they could comfortably look for targets. , and then kill or suppress the opponent with absolutely superior firepower. The tank troops in the front and the supporting firepower in the back formed two rolling barrages moving on the battlefield. The artillery shells from the rear fell almost 200 meters in front of the front-line attacking troops!
The French troops on the second line of defense were covered by several times the Bavarian offensive troops and intensive artillery fire in a very short period of time. It took the Bavarian Army less than 20 minutes to destroy the entire breakthrough position! And just after tearing apart the second line of defense of the French army, the German army that broke through did not stop, but rushed directly towards the third line of defense. At this time, the howitzer group used to suppress the main line of defense of the French army finally opened fire. !
"The Germans' attack speed is very fast, and their pace exceeds our imagination!" The French soon discovered that their previous experience was not enough to cope with today's situation. Ordinarily, the truly effective suppressive bombardment would have to wait at least until dawn. Therefore, the French's presumed timetable is as follows. The Germans will start shelling around 6 o'clock, and then continue for 45 minutes to an hour, and then launch an attack. It will take about 45 minutes for them to break through the first line of defense. Including passing through the gap between the second line of defense and the main position, this time plus 1 hour. Well, in this case, the Germans will arrive at the main line of defense in about 2 and a half to 3 hours, and then they will start to suppress the main line of defense.
According to the French plan, they will not use long-range firepower before the Germans attack the French second line of defense, because during this period, it is the time for the French reserves to deal with the German troops deep in their own rear. They did not intend to expose their artillery until the German breakthrough force had been destroyed.
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