Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2578 Cannon fodder troops
Super Fortress did not go to Remagen, but to Cologne, the third largest city in Germany.

As one of the oldest cities in Germany, Cologne's status is very important. It is located in the center of the Ruhr industrial area and is also a railway hub in southern Germany. As early as 1942, Cologne was repeatedly bombed by the Allied forces. Most of the buildings in the country have been turned into a pile of ruins.

Before the outbreak of the World War, Cologne had a population of 80 and was one of the largest cities in Germany.

On May 1942, 5, under the command of the British bomber commander General Harris, the Allied Forces dispatched 30 planes to carry out saturation bombing on Cologne, dropping about 1000 tons of bombs within 90 minutes, resulting in the death of about 3000 people in Cologne.

After the bombing, more than 90.00% of the population of Cologne was lost, and 80.00% of the buildings in the city were destroyed. Even the Cologne Cathedral, which was built for 600 years, was doomed and severely damaged.

While reinforcing Remagen, the Southern African Expeditionary Force carried out indiscriminate raids on cities on the south bank of the Rhine River. Cologne was naturally on the attack list. Although Cologne's importance plummeted after the bombing, the Allied forces—especially France Man, it's a must for Cologne.

The key is the Ruhr industrial area.

The status of the Ruhr Industrial Zone in Germany is very important. It is the material basis for Germany to launch the two world wars. During the two world wars, the Ruhr Industrial Zone played a major role in the economic recovery of Germany. The industrial output value accounted for 40.00% of the country. Above, the output of iron and steel accounts for 50.00%, and the output of coal accounts for 30.00%.

Allied attacks, whether it was the Anglo-American Allied Forces or the Southern African Expeditionary Force, were ultimately destined for the Ruhr Industrial Zone. As long as the Ruhr Industrial Zone was captured, the Third Reich would lose its combat capability.

Cologne is the southern gate of the Ruhr Industrial Area.

The Southern African Expeditionary Force still attached great importance to Cologne. Patton did not use the precious airborne troops to break through the Rhine River, but dropped them into Cologne, which fully proved the importance of Cologne.

Lieutenant Hooker from Tanganyika, with the 112th Parachute Division, was the first to parachute to Cologne in a transport plane.

The equipment of the Airborne Forces in Southern Africa is much better than that of the British and American Allied Forces. At most, the British and American Allied Forces can only use field off-road vehicles as heavy equipment to airdrop with the Airborne Forces. The millimeter heavy artillery was air-dropped together with the airborne troops, which greatly enhanced the airborne troops' ability to attack fortified positions.

The first batch of airdropped paratroopers consisted of only 1500 people. The division commander, Major General Xue Gang, was bold and careful, and ordered the paratroopers to attack Cologne immediately after they were assembled. This caught the German 106th Armored Division, which was in charge of defending Cologne, by surprise. After a day's fighting, the 106th Panzer Division had only 20 tanks left and had to retreat to the center of Cologne.

This cannot be blamed for the lack of strength of the 106th Armored Division.

The 106th Armored Division is a division in name, but in fact it is just an armored brigade that is not fully formed. This armored brigade was formed with the remnants of the Armored Grenadier Division of the Commander Hall. It was just withdrawn from the Russian battlefield in June last year. After some recruits and the No. 6 and No. [-] tanks did not undergo complete training, they hurried to Cologne.

As an "armored division", the 106th division has only 42 tanks and more than 60 half-track vehicles. The scale of its armored forces is not as good as that of ordinary infantry divisions in southern Africa.

Although the 112th Paratrooper Division does not have heavy tanks, it is equipped with rocket launchers that can cause fatal damage to No. [-] and No. [-] at close range.

The paratroopers conducted intensive training for attacking armored units last winter. In the previous battle, Hooker only used two rockets to successfully destroy a No. [-] tank. With this record, Hooker is fully qualified to be in the battle Then get a medal.

"Armored division! Are you sure this is an armored division?" Hook was surprised. He thought it was an ordinary German army.

"Yes, indeed, it was formed just last year. It is probably a cannon fodder unit used to fill the defense line—" Henry from the Lorraine area can speak German. He has just interrogated several German prisoners of war and obtained some information.

Alsace and Lorraine are also ill-fated. Germany and France have repeatedly fought over these two regions, and they are still disputed.

The same goes for the Ruhr industrial area.

In 1923, due to Germany's delay in paying World War I reparations, France brazenly sent troops to the Ruhr, which led to the "Ruhr Crisis", which was later resolved with the mediation of the United Kingdom, the United States and southern Africa.

After the Moscow Defense War, Germany turned from prosperity to decline. Especially after the Volgograd Defense War, the Axis powers were insufficient. While recruiting more servants, the mustache also formed a large number of new infantry divisions and Armored divisions, these units are collectively referred to as "cannon fodder units".

"No wonder, they are very unprofessional." Sergeant Major Fox suddenly realized, and finally got answers to many questions.

In the early days of the war, the German army gained a great reputation with its "blitzkrieg", especially the classic cases of blitzing Poland and bypassing the Maginot Line to attack France, which were repeatedly studied by the southern African military, and everyone was familiar with them.

Before the spring offensive, the Southern African Expeditionary Force was still wary of the German armored soldiers, but it was only after the fight that they realized that it was hard to live up to their reputation.

"Whether it's the elite or the cannon fodder, they will all be defeated by us!" Hook was very happy, and the persimmon had to be picked softly.

War is not a game. No one wants to fight against the ace troops that have experienced the baptism of blood and fire. Let Russia deal with those troops.

Then move on.

The battle process was actually lackluster, and it can’t even be called a battle. The 112th Paratrooper Division only broke out some not-so-intense battles when it attacked the outskirts of Cologne. The 106th Armored Division retreated across the board with only a slight resistance. The information obtained before is not consistent.

Just a month ago, the Russian army lost tens of thousands of people in order to conquer Budapest.

Although the Russians do not admit it, the southern African side has obtained relatively accurate information through different channels.

At the same time when the Allied Forces on the Western Front launched their spring offensive, the German and Russian troops were still fighting in Vienna. The battle had already reached the most brutal street fighting. Every member of the 112th Paratrooper Division had already prepared for the war before boarding the plane. Mentally prepared.

As a result, I found out when I fought, it was simply vulnerable.

During the bombing of 1942, more than 80.00% of the buildings in Cologne were destroyed.

After that, the Allied forces organized the bombing of Cologne many times. It was not until Cologne almost lost its strategy that the Allied forces turned their targets to other cities.

It can be seen that the Germans did not try to restore Cologne. Many ruins have not been cleaned up, and the few remaining houses are also dilapidated. Occasionally, citizens appear in the ruins, fleeting.

"Be careful of the German snipers, don't be exposed to the cover of armored vehicles—" Hook reminded his soldiers that the cover that armored vehicles can provide is actually limited, and it can only be said that it is better than nothing.

Needless to say, tank guns, even 88mm anti-aircraft guns, have the ability to easily penetrate the armor of armored vehicles.

In order to enhance the protection capability of the armored vehicle, the expeditionary force put a layer of external armor on the armored vehicle, at least so that the armored vehicle will not have any resistance when facing a 37mm anti-tank gun.

This is enough for cannon fodder units like the 106th Division, and the Germans are not able to equip units like the 106th Division with larger-caliber anti-tank guns.

As for the legendary tank destroyer——

Perhaps in Vienna, only the most elite SS armored divisions of the German army are eligible to be equipped.

Anyway, the 112th Paratrooper Division has not encountered a tank destroyer so far.

"Second Lieutenant, I feel like an old hen with a flock of chicks—" In the compartment of the armored vehicle, Second Lieutenant Chen Shu held his short-barreled assault rifle with a wretched smile.

Unlike the full version of the assault rifles issued by field troops, the assault rifles issued by armored soldiers and paratroopers are all short-barreled models, which are also known as carbines.

The cabin of the transport plane and the compartment of the armored vehicle are relatively narrow, and full-size assault rifles are inconvenient to carry. In order to enhance firepower more effectively, paratroopers and armored soldiers are equipped with short assault rifles, which are easier to carry and at the same time sacrifice some range and precision.

It doesn't matter, after all, most of the battles encountered by paratroopers and armored soldiers are at close range.

"Chen, if I were you, I would devote all my energy to searching for the enemy!" Hook was still nervous. The remaining tanks of the 106th Division were basically No. [-] tanks, so we should not be careless.

In wargame deduction, if you fail, you can start all over again.

If you make a mistake on the battlefield, there is no chance to do it again. Hook is responsible to his subordinates.

"Relax, second lieutenant, there is no enemy without gunshots." Chen Shu was not nervous, and it was not so easy for the Germans to sneak attack.

The armored vehicles did not go deep alone, so they would not be a living target. In fact, in the adjacent street, there were more than a dozen troops advancing at the same time. Once they encountered German tanks, they could call for support at any time.

That's right, call for support.

Paratroopers do not fight tough battles. After encountering German tanks, the correct response is not to attack immediately, but to call for support and besiege the German tanks, so as to save themselves to the greatest extent.

Military medals are important, but you only have one life.

Chen Shu was right, as long as there were no gunshots, it meant that no battle broke out.

After searching a block, the troops stopped to rest. Henry held his Nyasaran rifle and kicked open the door of the house next to the street, ready to go in to see if there was any gain.

Hook was not excited, and sat on the tailgate of the armored vehicle, taking the time to rest.

If counting from 1942, the city of Cologne has been abandoned for nearly three years.

Throughout Cologne, there are very few complete houses left, and these houses have been searched countless times, and there are hardly any valuable things left.

Even if there is, the officers and soldiers of the Southern African Expeditionary Force don't like it.

"If only it was always so easy—" Chen Shu was not in a hurry, the spring offensive had just begun, and there would be more opportunities in the future.

The world war lasted for five years, and the German army swept across Europe, and the property stolen was uncountable. On average, it was a windfall for every German.

Therefore, abandoned cities like Cologne are basically worthless. What are really valuable are big cities like Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich.

In the last World War, Germany surrendered when the Allies were about to invade Germany. Strictly speaking, Germany itself was not affected by the war.

In other words, the wealth accumulated by the Germans over the centuries has actually not been lost after two world wars. This can be regarded as the modern version of pig farming.

Fatten up before killing.

"Don't worry, the difficulties we have to face are certainly not as many as the Russians—" Now it was Hook who comforted Chen Shu.

Before finishing a sentence, Henry walked out of the room dejectedly, seemingly getting nothing.

"Aren't there any beauties waiting for you in the room?" Chen Shu joked that veterans like to tease recruits the most.

Before Henry could speak, there was a sudden explosion in the distance.

"Conceal, conceal, prepare to fight—" Chen Shu kicked Hook off, and closed the car door smoothly.

The trough is ruthless!

Hook was not in the mood to scold Chen Shu, he pushed and loaded the gun and raised the gun in one go, aiming at the empty street.

There were no German infantry, no German tanks, and the whole street was as clean as if it had just been swept.

The sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance became more and more intense, and soon a call came in, asking Hooker to lead his troops around two blocks to participate in the attack on a Panzer IV tank.

"Action, follow me—" Hook's blood boiled, as if he saw the military medal waving to him.

Chen Shu was not far behind, and the old hen quickly passed the intersection with a group of chicks, and went around to the place where the fighting broke out.

Chen Shu and Hu Ke were more fortunate, and another army two streets away was more unlucky.

Last year, the German army upgraded the No. 88 tank again. The latest model No. [-] is already equipped with an [-]mm tank gun, which cannot be resisted by armored vehicles and light tanks.

The Germans were also cunning, hiding No. [-] in a house that had not completely collapsed, so they escaped the detection of the reconnaissance plane, attacked a light tank by surprise, and easily destroyed the light tank.

But number four's luck ended here.

The paratroopers were well-trained. Although the tank was destroyed, they did not flinch. Instead, they used the terrain and rocket launchers to circle around the No. [-] tank, and at the same time called for friendly support.

Ding!
A rocket hit No. [-]'s turret and was bounced off, leaving No. [-] unscathed.

"The distance is too far, it's useless. We have to go around to the side or behind No. [-] to have a chance—" The corporal holding the bazooka couldn't lift his head suppressed by No. [-]'s machine gun.

"Our task is to hold it back and leave the opportunity for others to attack—" Ralph, who was also suppressed behind the ruins, was not in a hurry. Holding it back meant victory, and he wanted to avenge the tankers who died in battle.

The 88mm tank gun was so powerful that it easily tore through the armor of the light tank and exploded inside the tank. Only one of the three tankers escaped.

That's actually not bad, at least it's not painful.

(End of this chapter)