Chapter 252: The End of France (22)

The German soldiers on the battlefield stared at the sudden bombing.

When the smoke cleared, a scene that could only be described as horrific appeared before everyone's eyes. At a glance, there were dense craters, and the French bodies were scattered around these craters. Because the bombardment came too suddenly, most people didn't even have the chance to lie down before being pierced by the storm of shrapnel.

Countless bodies, some without heads, some without limbs, almost none of them were intact. The entire battlefield was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood, making it difficult to breathe.

A German soldier murmured. "What kind of cannon is this?" After all, even German soldiers, not everyone has seen the "performance" of this rocket launcher.

"This should be a new weapon. I have never seen such a dense firepower attack." The German soldier in the nearby foxhole lit a cigarette tremblingly, looking at the empty space in the distance like a Shura field and responded blankly.

The heavy floating bridge was finally built after a long wait. Guderian ordered five self-propelled rocket launchers to cross the river first to support Hill A. These 122mm self-propelled rocket launchers have a range of more than 10,000 meters. They stopped and fired a wave of rockets not long after crossing the river.

Each self-propelled rocket launcher armored vehicle is equipped with 4 rows of 60-tube rocket launchers. Five vehicles fired at the same time, and 300 rockets hit the battlefield.

When the rockets fell, the French division commander in the rear command knew that it was impossible to continue the attack, so he decisively issued an order to retreat.

Unfortunately, before they could leave, German tanks appeared on the opposite high ground.

One after another, German tanks drove down the high ground and headed straight for them.

Seeing this scene, the French soldiers on the front line suddenly became a mess and collapsed instantly. The terrible round of bombardment just now instantly extinguished all the determination and courage of these soldiers. At this moment, they threw away their backpacks, rifles and all the things that became a burden, and fled to the rear without hesitation. Between honor and survival, they firmly chose the latter.

And those who were injured could only kneel on the ground and raise their hands high, constantly praying that the German army rushing over would mercifully let them go.

But Guderian didn't want to waste time here to take in these prisoners. "I don't have time to capture you! Put down your weapons, leave the road, and don't block the way!"

It was not easy to drive these French surrendered soldiers aside, and the armored forces continued to rush forward.

There were a few French tanks that bravely tried to stop the German attack, but they had no effect except for a vivid interpretation of what "a mantis arm trying to stop a chariot". Well, it's not that they didn't work. Seeing those heroic tanks being blown up in an instant, the rest of the tank crews quickly climbed out of their beloved cars and raised their hands high.

Just as the French front collapsed, the rear command was also in chaos. Logisticians and wounded soldiers scrambled for seats on the truck. The staff was busy dealing with various telegrams and documents at hand, destroying radio equipment. The troops had been defeated, and no one cared about anyone now.

But before they had time to escape, another round of rockets hit. Although it did not directly hit the French command, it scared the people in the command. No one knew whether the next shell would fall on their heads.

The overly frightened division commander hurriedly ordered to find a piece of white cloth to hang up, the higher the better.

Guderian also ignored them and went straight to Montcornet. Montcornet is more than 70 kilometers away from Sedan, where the French 2nd Army and the 9th Army meet.

Soon, the news that the main force of the German army crossed the Meuse River quickly spread to Paris, France.

French Prime Minister Reynaud panicked and called Commander-in-Chief Gamelin. "Commander-in-Chief, I heard that the main force of the German army has crossed the Meuse River. Is it true?!" He prayed from the bottom of his heart that Gamelin could tell him that the news was false and that the German army was stopped on the other side of the river.

Unfortunately, reality is so cruel.

Gamelin was also overwhelmed by the news at this time, and replied weakly. "Yes, Prime Minister, the main armored force of the German army has crossed the Meuse River. The troops we sent to intercept them were defeated. They are now heading towards Montcornet."

"Then what do you have to deal with it?" Renault is certainly not a fool. From Gamelin's frustrated tone, he could vaguely hear that he was helpless. After all, to become an excellent lawyer, it is essential to observe words and expressions. And Renault was also an excellent lawyer before.

It seems that this commander may not be able to bear this heavy responsibility!

Renault's mind flashed the idea of ​​changing the commander-in-chief! And he immediately thought of a more suitable candidate.

Maxim Weygand!

Weygand can be said to be the hero of France's victory over Germany last time. He served as Chief of Staff to Ferdinand Foch, the commander-in-chief of the Allied forces during World War I, for five years. He was capable, witty, experienced and energetic.

In fact, Reynaud had privately discussed with Daladie earlier about replacing Gamelin with Weygand, but he gave up because he could not convince Daladie.

In this situation, Daladie probably has no reason to object.

Gamelin on the other end of the phone certainly didn't know that Prime Minister Reynaud had made up his mind to replace him. "We have sent two armored divisions (not fully staffed) to intercept the German army, but if we fail to stop them, not only the 9th Army and the 2nd Army are facing huge risks, but even the troops fighting in Belgium are at risk of being surrounded."

"What?!" Renault was shocked. He didn't expect the situation to be worse than he expected. "Then we have to withdraw the troops in Belgium quickly?"

Gamelin wanted to, but if they retreated rashly, the German troops in Belgium and the Netherlands would close in; if they were not careful, an active retreat would turn into a big retreat, and they couldn't afford this risk.

Hearing Gamelin's explanation, Renault's disgust for him increased a little. It was Gamelin who vowed that the main attack direction of the German army was Belgium, and all the troops were transferred to Belgium. Now it seems that he is jumping into the fire pit? ! "What should we do? You don't plan to watch our soldiers fall into the encirclement, right?"

"Of course not. What we can do now is to stabilize the 9th Army as much as possible, and the 2nd Army will try every means to counterattack and see if the gap can be blocked." At this point, Gamelin hesitated for a while before telling his plan. "Our troops in Belgium must also be prepared to retreat by sea, but this requires assistance from the British."

"Retreat by sea?" As long as these troops can escape the encirclement, Renault will agree to retreat by sea, even by digging a tunnel. "Then you should quickly make a detailed plan, and I will contact the British."