afterglow

Chapter 393 Paris!big max

Ideally, after achieving a series of goals, the European communist forces led by Germany and France can make full use of the continent's advantages.

Using a huge air force to suppress British-controlled sea areas such as the North Sea and the English Channel, and blocking the routes between the British Isles and the Atlantic Ocean, the British mainland, which relies heavily on overseas material supplies, fell into a resource shortage dilemma, forcing the British top brass to sue for peace.

During this period, the oil fields of Romania and Russia, and the grain of Hungary and Ukraine will keep the industrial machines of Germany, France, and the Czech Republic operating at full capacity. Relatively more efficient administrative means can eliminate a certain amount of waste.

This wartime system will maximize the industrial power of the entire Europe while ensuring a sufficient living standard for the European people. In theory, it is very scary.

But there are also variables, that is, will the United States still intervene in Europe?If it intervenes, what are its demands?

A series of interventionist regulatory policies by the Democratic Party have made the United States drift away from the laissez-faire capitalist system in recent years. The federal government has a tendency to shift from small government to big government. The United States has become increasingly authoritarian in order to get rid of the shackles of the economic crisis.

The United States and Canada have a combined population of 1.5 million, a steel production of no less than 6000 million tons, and hundreds of large slipways and docks.

If evaluated from the perspective of total war, it can even form an army of tens of millions within five years.

Variables are just variables after all, and this does not hinder the current actions of Deshe.

The Germans are relatively optimistic that after Americans see their own powerful national defense capabilities, the bottom line for European issues should be that the British Isles are inviolable.

Fortunately, we can also take the opportunity to use methods including but not limited to garrison and military aid to export influence, disintegrate the colonial system of the British Empire, and then take over all of them.

May 5, 23:15 pm, Paris.

The temperate maritime climate has four distinct seasons and even precipitation, but Paris can experience sudden weather changes from time to time in summer.

On this day, the heavy rain continued all day long, and then gradually subsided.

Countless people gathered in the square and on the road outside the Prime Minister's Office in the rain, with crowds of people and umbrellas hugging each other. The banners with appeals written on them were soaked by the rain.

"Cease hostilities!"

"A truce! A truce!"

"This is not a reasonable war. Correct the mistake immediately!"

The military and police officers present had serious faces and maintained order nervously, for fear of accidentally offending the Paris citizens. You must know that they are really ruthless people who dare to confront others head-on.

In the past few years, when far-right factions were at their most rampant, the Popular Front composed of PR, PS, and PCF defeated them.As time went on, however, political discord led to the Popular Front existing in name only.

The PR, the French Radical Party, a bourgeois party, continues to support various restrictions on the German society even today.

Now, even PS and PCF still have many differences, especially now that the German army is rolling in. Should they be regarded as enemies or friends from the standpoint of the country and the nation?
In order to eliminate differences and avoid internal strife, everyone simply proposed a compromise method-negotiating a peace anyway, ending the blockade and restrictions on the German Society, and re-establishing friendly diplomatic relations.

Reynaud has only been in office for a few months, but he has to face this precarious situation head-on.

As a conservative politician and a maverick center-right figure in the Third Republic, the team headed by Renault was not favored from the beginning because it continued its previous conservative policies and was unable to control the excessive issuance of currency.

He is also a nationalist who has a strong sense of pride in France. He firmly opposes the overt and covert ideological offensive of the German Society and will never allow ▇▇▇ism to gain momentum.

At the same time, he is also inclined to cooperate with Britain in diplomacy to deal with the huge threat from the new life.

It is clear that the Reynaud government cannot gain widespread approval from its own people in this period of crisis and turmoil.

Just as the magic flute was blown, those far-right forces that had almost disappeared after being repeatedly attacked in the previous two years appeared one after another upon hearing the sound.

So at this time, other processions continued to come from nearby, and conflicts immediately broke out.

"You shameless traitors! Now, the Germans are advancing on French soil, and you are here asking for peace."

"We must fight to the end. France will never give up resistance like this. Do you still want to separate Alsace and Lorraine again?"

Suddenly, the military and police officers felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.

The Lieutenant Colonel of the Gendarmerie who was personally holding the battle had serious eyes, and the Paris Municipal Police Superintendent beside him was even more pale.

As expected, a group fight involving fists and kicks broke out in just ten seconds.

"It's too bad, it can't go on like this!"

"Lieutenant Colonel, we..."

"boom!"

The sound of a gunshot was like a sharp arrow, piercing the bustling square.

The expressions of the gendarmes and policemen present changed instantly - God, it's over now!

The lieutenant colonel stared at the direction of the gunfire, which was where the two groups of people were fighting fiercely. It was probably someone with ulterior motives who was willing to shoot in order to provoke a larger-scale conflict.

"Sir, what should we do?!" a captain a few steps away asked eagerly.

The military and police did not receive orders to suppress. They were only here to maintain order. No one now dares to order a strong suppression without authorization. There have been countless examples of such consequences in the history of Paris.

"Retreat 20 meters and ask them to stop the conflict."

"Yes!"

This kind of response was equivalent to no response. In the next 10 minutes, the military and police stationed around the Prime Minister's Office almost watched helplessly as the two sides exchanged fire.

The shouts from the loudspeaker were simply ignored, or their voices were easily drowned out by the gunshots and shouts.

Stray bullets flew in from time to time, even breaking the glass windows of the official residence, and there was a clear and heart-wrenching "crash" sound.

Angry citizens rushed into a nearby gun store, picked up their guns and ran outside, leaving behind a confused salesperson.

Automatic pistols, shotguns, shotguns, rifles, gun racks were swept away one by one.

The blood was also rising, but some students were relatively more sensible and polite. In anger, they first threw their pens or watches on the cashier, then picked up their guns and left.

"Bang! Bang!"

In a nearby residential building, some people even fired guns from their balconies.

The situation was completely out of control, gunshots were heard constantly, and the French troops who came for reinforcements were helpless when they saw the situation.

The light rain was still falling, and the blood was diluted by the rain, but soon more bright red blood thickened it again.

As time went by, some buses and trolleybuses were driven onto the main road in an organized manner and then overturned in a concerted effort, blocking the road one after another.

On the north bank of the Seine, the Place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI was killed many years ago, has become one of the gathering places for armed citizens.Citizens with service experience were elected as team leaders. They were organized into squadrons and rushed to guard important intersections and buildings.

Overnight, Paris seemed to be back 70 years ago.

At 8:33 a.m. the next day, several Renault R2 light tanks of the French 35nd Reserve Infantry Division finally passed the Madeleine Church and turned onto the Royal Road leading to Place de la Concorde.

Here, two buses and three cars were lying on the road, and more than a dozen armed citizens were guarding the place.

The French tanks tried to push away the roadblock, but were quickly surrounded by armed citizens who swarmed up.

The driver pressed the brake pedal to the bottom and did not dare to move at all.Not long after, as the hatch cover was lifted, four tank soldiers were pulled out one by one.

The situation here is relatively harmonious. Near the Arc de Triomphe in the south, a fierce battle involving thousands of people has been going on for half a day and a night.

Yellow bullet casings can be seen everywhere. If you are not careful, you may step on them and slip. There are dozens of corpses lying on the ground that are too late to be cleaned up.

The remaining more than 100 members of the Cross of Fire and Action Française were compressed into two apartment buildings and the surrounding park, but they were still resisting.

The army infantry who rushed to the scene were at a loss. They could neither advance nor retreat. They seemed to be able to only watch the exchange of fire between the two sides.

But the situation quickly turned into a three-way melee. The specific cause is unknown, and the army claimed that it was attacked multiple times before it had to fight back.

“Are we already obliged to leave Paris before the Germans have arrived?”

"Pierre, do you know what you are talking about? This is extremely funny and ridiculous."

"No, the government cannot evacuate, otherwise everything will be over and we will no longer have any land to maneuver."

"Yes, if we just give up the resistance, we will be criminals in the history of France, you, you, you, and me, all of them!"

In the splendid Prime Minister's Office, a group of ministers of the Reno government were arguing loudly.

There are really not many options left for these Third Republic bosses.

The Maginot Line, which had high hopes, did not work. The front line was almost collapsed. Although hundreds of thousands of British and French troops on the front lines of Belgium and the Netherlands were retreating with all their strength, they were very slow due to continuous air strikes and German pursuit.

But now, Paris has fallen into civil strife. It can be said that misfortunes never come singly, and there is chaos both before and after.

The Minister of the Interior said solemnly: "Right now, at least two divisions of German tanks are marching towards Paris. Maybe they will arrive the day after tomorrow. Do you want to go to prison and then accept trial?"

Under this situation, everyone had to start thinking carefully about where to go next——

Is there any point in continuing to resist?If it makes sense, should Paris be evacuated?

However, time waits for no one, and there is not much time left for them to discuss.

"French tank!"

"Fire!"

"We can't penetrate it, it's a heavy tank!"

The 5th Armored Division has advanced to the Reims line. Here, this armored force encountered the French Charles B1Bis heavy tank for the first time.

[picture]

At a distance of 600 meters, the 37mm capped armor-piercing projectile fired by Type 60C was easily blocked by its thick [-]mm frontal armor.

"Biang——"

Several consecutive rounds of shells hit the leading B1Bis, causing sparks to fly. The scene was quite gorgeous, but the shells either jumped away or were smashed into pieces.

The first attack was ineffective, and the counterattack from the opponent immediately hit the German tank head-on.

"Boom!"

The B1bis heavy tank's famously accurate hydraulic steering system and optical sights gave it excellent shooting accuracy. The 47mm gun on the turret and the 75mm gun on the hull fired fiercely at the German tanks in the trapezoidal formation.

The three heavy tanks took turns shooting, and in the blink of an eye, several Panzer III tanks were destroyed. Holes were smashed into the body by 75mm armor-piercing bullets, and a large hole was torn open in the armor plate.

The invincible vanguard of the 5th Armored Division was unwilling to give up, and they then tried to detour to the left and right.

However, these three heavy tanks did not fight alone. Some French infantry units also established positions in the villages behind and deployed four 25mm anti-tank guns.

After paying the loss of five No. IIICs and two Sdkfz222s being destroyed, the leading troops of the 5th Armored Division returned without success.

"You can't be blocked by them, contact the Air Force immediately!" the division commander ordered.

But the problem is that as they penetrate deeper into the hinterland of France, the German Air Force's stay in the air is getting shorter and shorter, and the advantage of previously occupying air superiority has become less and less.

A few hours later, the Air Force only sent a few fighter jets to swoop and strafe, with almost no effect.

Just when the officers of the 5th Armored Division were planning to send out engineering units to carry out close-range blasting at night, the rearguard sent back good news - the 4th Motorized Infantry Regiment under the 11th Motorized Infantry Division had caught up with them, and then Also coming was a self-propelled artillery battery.

The vehicle equipped by this self-propelled artillery company is unusual - it is based on the chassis of the IV tank, equipped with a fixed open-top fighting room, and is equipped with the SK26 105mm cannon howitzer, nicknamed "Big Max".

[picture]

Different from the only two prototypes in history, the current one was born earlier and was produced in small quantities. However, the engine position was not changed, so the appearance is slightly different.

In the design concept, Big Max was used to deal with the Maginot Line. Its armor could protect it from the threat of medium-caliber artillery, and at the same time, it could accurately bombard those strong firepower points with powerful cannon howitzers.

But now, it seems to be a good choice for use against tanks?

As for the 11th Motorized Infantry Regiment, it seems to be just an ordinary unit, but its commander has a great background.

Erwin glanced at the map, then picked up the telescope, "Now the 5th Armored Division doesn't have to worry about lack of infantry cover. We should be able to break into the west of Reims and cut off the railway line."

As the sun set, the smoke from the previous encounter had dissipated, but the peace was soon broken again.

Amidst the roaring sound of artillery, mortar shells fell one after another around this unknown village, and the French soldiers hurriedly hid in their bunkers.

German scouts used tracer bullets to shoot at those Charles 1Bis to mark targets for their own self-propelled artillery.

At a distance of 1300m, the French tank, which was sitting back and waiting, opened fire first, but this time it was the French tank crew's turn to helplessly witness the shells bouncing off the opponent's armor.

"boom!"

Big Max, No. 306, was the first to fight back, and a 105mm armor-piercing high-explosive round flew out of the slender barrel at high speed!
(End of this chapter)