Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 1042 Be patient

Just before the German army launched an offensive, Ludendorff's youngest son Erich shot himself in an unknown forest in Château-Thierry.

Ludendorff does not know the news now, he may still be waiting for his son to return in victory, but he will never wait for the news.

After the gunshots sounded, the gendarmes rushed into the tree hole where Erich was hiding, and then Erich's body was carried out and placed in the open space among the trees. The military doctor performed a simple examination on Erich, and ten seconds later Announces Erich's death.

Although this was not the best result, the Australian soldiers present still paid due respect to Erich's body.

In any case, Erich did not dishonor his family for his actions.

The Australian soldiers put Erich's body in a coffin they found in a hurry, and buried it in this woods. On the tombstone, it was written in scrawled handwriting: "Here is buried a German pilot Erich, he is a Brave man, fought to the last moment."

At nine o'clock in the morning, the German army officially launched an offensive.

In this attack, the German army used the A7V tank that had just entered service.

A7V是德军装备的第一种坦克，这种坦克和协约国装备的“轻骑兵”相比是标准的巨无霸，它有8米长、3米宽、3.5米高，战斗全重30吨，装备有1门比利时生产的马克沁57毫米诺登菲尔德火炮，或者是1门俄罗斯生产的57毫米索科尔火炮，再加上6挺马克沁7.92毫米08型或者是15型机枪。

The A7V tank has the largest crew in the world, with a standard crew of 18. In addition to the commander, driver, gunner, and loader, there are 12 machine gunners and 2 mechanics.

When the A7V tank appeared on the battlefield, the line of defense that the Reorganized First Division had worked so hard to build overnight collapsed in an instant.

Because the departure was too hasty, the Reorganized First Division did not carry heavy weapons, nor did it have tanks to cooperate in combat, so it could not cope with the frontal impact of A7V tanks.

The Germans are not stupid. They have already experienced the power of the tank troops of the Allies, especially from the British Expeditionary Force's use of tanks. At this time, the German army showed amazing adaptability. Better than the French.

There were about 7 A20V tanks participating in the battle. When the German tanks were found, the near-ground support aircraft of the British Expeditionary Force launched successive attacks on the German tanks, destroying 20 of the 12 tanks, but there were still 8 German A7V tanks Roaring and rushing to the position of the Reorganized First Division, the German tank engines also showed excellent reliability. None of the tanks lay down in the charge, which was not done by the "light cavalry" tanks.

Just in the early hours of the morning, the defeated French army was ridiculed by the Anzacs.

Now, no one is in the mood to laugh at the defeated Anzacs all over the mountains and plains. The French army is overwhelmed, and the second and fourth divisions that rushed to the rear are building new positions behind the reorganization of the first division.

Fortunately, the German A7V tanks did not have the ability to fight for a long time. After breaking through the defense line of the reorganized first division, the German tanks were forced to withdraw from the battle.

Germany's war potential is indeed about to be exhausted. Even with all its strength, Germany has only produced 22 A7V tanks. This is the first and last time that A7V tanks have appeared on the battlefield.

After breaking through the line of defense of the Reorganized First Division, the Germans advanced another 5 miles before being stopped by the lines of the Anzacs.

On the afternoon of the 21st, the Canadian Legion finally arrived and merged with the Anzacs.

Pétain sent reinforcements and arrived in time. The number of Allied troops blocking the German forward increased to 25, and 60 troops surrounded the huge salient of Reims. The defense line finally stabilized.

Foch came to Roque's headquarters on the morning of the 21st. Since the German army began to implement the Michael plan, Foch has not slept at all. His eyes are red and bloodshot. The folds of the boots have not been changed for a few days, and the boots are covered with mud spots, which fully proves how busy Foch is these days.

"Locke, don't hesitate anymore, order your troops to attack the Germans immediately, once Paris falls, you know what that means." Foch's voice was severe, and his words were accompanied by violent gestures, which is rarely the case Appeared on this suave man.

"Ferdinand, I have done what I can, exceeding my promise to you. I cannot give up my current position for the sake of Paris. Opposite me, there are also millions of German troops waiting in full force. Once the expeditionary force's position is strong, The German army will attack without hesitation." Roque resolutely refused, Roque had previously promised Pétain ten divisions, and now Roque has sent 26 divisions to the French defense line, far exceeding the promise to Pétain .

To put it bluntly, if Ludendorff chose the position of the British Expeditionary Force as a breakthrough point, then Petain might not be able to provide such strong support.

In any case, Rock will not cause the defense line of the British Expeditionary Force to be breached because of supporting the French army.

It must be emphasized that Rock still retains the orders given to Rock by Winston and Kitchener. Once the situation on the Western Front deteriorates, Rock will bring the British Expeditionary Force back to the mainland as much as possible.

In the port of Flanders, there is a fleet on standby at any time. The French know this situation, and so do the Americans.

On the 21st, the US military led by Pershing launched an attack on the Fortress of Liege. At this time, there were many famous figures in the US military in the future, such as Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, and George Patton Jr., and they are still not famous. Apparently, the future is their stage.

Pershing, who holds a million soldiers in his hand, really showed the strength of "General Hammer". The American troops concentrated all their heavy artillery to suppress the artillery in the Liege Fortress, but the effect of the artillery bombardment was not good. Inside the bunker, there is a one-meter-thick reinforced concrete protection. In order to clear the shooting area, the German army burned all the trees in front of the fortress and blew up all available obstacles. The US army attacked under the cover of tanks. Now the German army is not only There were only direct-firing guns, and there were also anti-tank rifles with a caliber of 13mm. The American tank troops suffered heavy casualties. Of the 250 tanks that participated in the attack on the first day, nearly 130 were destroyed by the Germans. The wreckage of these tanks is not worthless. In the subsequent offensive of the US military, it finally provided some cover for the US offensive troops.

"Locke, American troops have begun to attack the fortress of Liege. The German army in Reims is about to arrive in Paris. You have to do something. Millions of troops stand still under your orders. If the worst happens, we will all It is hard to escape the blame." Foch was very anxious, and Roque could understand Foch's mood, but he could not follow Foch's suggestion to launch an attack on the German positions.

"Ferdinand, I understand, but please calm down, the situation has not reached the worst point yet." Rock is not in a hurry, the more calm he is at this time, Rock now understands why Joffre has "general dullness" "This nickname is sometimes really rushed.

At night, the Anzacs finally sent back a telegram. After the bloody battle between the Anzacs and the Canadian Legion, the German army stopped less than [-] kilometers away from Paris.

Roque received the telegram when he was having dinner with Foch, and Foch finally breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Paris had turned the corner.

"Thank you Locke, if it wasn't for the Anzacs and the Canadian Legion—" Foch's face was full of aftermath, in case Paris fell—

dare not think, dare not think!

"You're welcome, this is what we should do." Roque is not too proud, just like Foch said, if Paris falls, then Roque, Foch, Pétain, and Pershing are all to blame.

"The German attack this time is extraordinary. We must be careful that Ludendorff may make other moves." Foch did not dare to be careless. Ludendorff still has hundreds of thousands of reserves in his hands, and the current defense line is not stable. , Still need Rock and Petain to continue to increase troops.

"I will send the air force to attack the German transportation line—" Rock tried his best, but the German army is very smart now, and has learned to use the night and camouflage to mobilize troops to transport supplies, and the air force reconnaissance aircraft of the expeditionary force is limited to technical conditions. It cannot be dispatched, which brings great difficulties to the Air Force's investigation.

However, no matter how the Germans disguised themselves, some nodes could not be bypassed, such as the railways within the German defense line.

Whether it is mobilizing troops or transporting materials, railways are the fastest means of transportation. Before that, the air force of the Expeditionary Force repeatedly attacked the railways in Germany. The railway line was damaged, and the German engineers used the night to make emergency repairs. However, the air force is not dispatched every day. If the weather is bad, the planes can only be parked in the hangar. There are often dense fogs in northern France in winter. Fog also poses a great danger to air units.

"If possible, why not transfer the [-]st Armored Division to Reims?" Foch actively suggested that the [-]st Armored Division is Rock's biggest trump card. The German army can be driven back to the starting position before the start of the campaign.

"The armored forces have to wait for the right time to deploy at the most critical locations." Rock was waiting for the most favorable time.

The current Lance is like a huge funnel.

After the Germans broke through the Reims line of defense, at least two armies had poured into the funnel.

As time goes by, more and more German troops will pour into the gap, and the farther the German army advances, the greater the logistical pressure will be. In the end, the German army will become weaker and weaker.

At that time, Roque will invest in armored forces, regardless of the German army in the funnel, but directly attack Lance.

If the armored forces capture Reims, then the German army in the funnel will become a turtle in the urn.

(End of this chapter)