afterglow

Chapter 397 The ending of the herbicide operation; the long-lost time
From the afternoon of the 26th to midnight on the 27th, the earth-shattering bloody battle lasted for one day and two nights.

In order to continue to intercept the 40 fleeing British and French coalition forces, Army Group Coblenz must eliminate the British blocking forces across the Arras line.

In order to ensure that the main existing army forces of the British Empire escape, the British army must do everything possible to gain time. This counterattack and blocking operation is codenamed "Herbicide".

The 27-hour battle was not outstanding in terms of duration, but its intensity reached the highest record since the outbreak of the war. It is not known how long it can last.

The combat log of the 15th Royal Artillery Battalion, one of the artillery units of the 28th Scottish Infantry Division of the British Army, briefly recorded in cold descriptors a day and two nights that both parties involved in the war would never forget.

"Sequence 12 | 17:51, suppressed firing, constant rapid fire, a total of 24 high-explosive rounds, average effect | Note: The forward observation unit discovered enemy vehicles and infantry, and then implemented fire coverage."

"Sequence 18｜19:32, blocking fire, rapid fire, a total of 124 high-explosive rounds, invalid｜Note: The enemy's follow-up echelon successfully passed through the blocking area, the 6th Royal Scottish Fusiliers Battalion lost its combat effectiveness, and Solti Village was Enemy occupation."

"Sequence 19｜20:14, suppressive fire, rapid fire, a total of 78 high-explosive rounds, average effect｜Note: The 2nd Glasgow Light Infantry Battalion launched a counterattack against the village of Solti and carried out close artillery support."

"Sequence 23｜23:51, harassment shooting, single shot, a total of 4 high-explosive rounds｜Note: None"

"Sequence 1｜0:39, lighting support, single launch, a total of 7 illumination bombs｜Note: The enemy launched a night surprise attack on the village of Solti. The commander of the 2nd Glasgow Light Infantry Battalion was killed and lost combat effectiveness. The enemy occupied Solti again. Erti Village."

「序列4｜5：45，遭到敌军空袭，转移阵地，损失4门QF25磅炮、3部炮队镜、3部交换机｜附注：戴维斯上尉在内的21人阵亡。」

"Sequence 11 | 11:04, blocking fire, rapid fire, a total of 116 high-explosive rounds, average effect | Note: A large number of enemy tanks and infantry are attacking the south of Arras Town."

"Sequence 23｜14:35, suppressive fire, rapid fire, a total of 52 high-explosive rounds, invalid｜Note: The enemy attacked the 9th Scottish Rifle Battalion, and observed a close combat between the enemy and ourselves."

"Sequence 11 | 15:19, blocking fire, rapid fire, a total of 44 high-explosive rounds, invalid | Note: The 6th Infantry Division lost its combat effectiveness, and the enemy crossed the Scarp River."

"Sequence 30 | 18:07, self-defense, direct shooting, a total of 72 high-explosive bombs and 5 smoke bombs, average effect | Note: The enemy tank unit attacked our artillery position and prepared to evacuate the position."

……

It can be said that the Germans went all out from the beginning. They put four infantry divisions and one armored division into the battle at the upper limit of the battlefield width, and the air force also provided maximum support.

In just 26 hours, the British 1st Armored Division, 6th Infantry Division, and 15th Scottish Infantry Division suffered a total of more than [-] combat casualties, and most of the tanks were destroyed.

The Royal 2nd Tank Regiment was beaten down to single digits of tanks - the lack of 2-pounder high-explosive shells left the British tanks unable to fight back when bombarded by the Flak 36 88mm anti-aircraft gun.

5月28日半夜2：02，德军第66步兵师的一个排在阿拉斯东北方向遇上了被分割开来的先头部队第5装甲师的一个战斗巡逻队。

At first, the two sides mistakenly thought that the other side was an enemy force, so they fired at each other for a while, until the officers and soldiers who recovered their senses recognized that the other side was a friendly force through the sound of gunfire.

At this point, the herbicide operation implemented by the British Expeditionary Force completely collapsed. More than [-] British troops suffered heavy losses and were forced to retreat westward.

The main force and vanguard of Army Group Koblenz successfully merged and immediately prepared to continue marching north.

Although it ended in tactical failure, from a campaign perspective, the British efforts were still effective.

In the next two days, although several division-level units of the British and French coalition forces were still annihilated by the formation, the main force successfully broke through and retreated through Erondelle towards Rouen, where they temporarily stabilized their position.

According to preliminary statistics, the British Expeditionary Force participating in the European war comprised a total of 8 infantry divisions and 1 armored division, plus some independent units. The total number of casualties reached 2.2, of which the 3rd Infantry Division was completely annihilated.

The French troops suffered a heavier blow, with a total of 3.1 casualties, of which 4 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division were annihilated.

During this period, a large number of soldiers fell behind or were scattered. The German army captured 5.3 prisoners of British and French troops alone, not including tens of thousands of Dutch and Belgians.

Due to the logistics disruption caused by the emergency retreat, countless vehicles were abandoned midway because they ran out of fuel. The German army recovered 4.4 cars, 3.9 motorcycles, and 373 tanks of various types along the way. This does not include Broken but repairable.

In order to quickly break through to the west, the well-oiled British and French forces had to abandon a large number of heavy weapons, including about a thousand suppressed artillery pieces, more than 500 anti-aircraft guns or anti-aircraft machine guns, more than 400 anti-tank guns, and 60 tons of military supplies.

But overall, this is actually a much better outcome than the Dunkirk evacuation. The loss of technical equipment was reduced by one-third, and the small weapons were relatively intact.

Historically, after the Dunkirk evacuation, the British troops who fled back to their homeland didn't even have a few heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns left.

The herbicide campaign inevitably left a colorful and controversial mark in the history of world warfare.

If in history it was unbelievable that the German army received an order to suspend the attack on Dunkirk due to various reasons, then the reason why the German People's Army failed to make a 40-man dumpling today is because of flaws in its own establishment and organization. It had not done so before. A massive campaign to expose these issues.

As for the British and French, the latter were in shock, while the former were quite calm.

Unsurprisingly, the Ansa people showed their talent for building public opinion and described the Battle of Arras as a glorious and tragic great battle.

"We pay high tribute to the heroes who died in the battle against the German army. Their bravery will always be remembered in the glorious history of the British army. God bless Great Britain, these evil enemies will surely be defeated... …”

On the afternoon of the last day of May, Zhou Changfeng took a rare leave to rest at home. Luo Fu called him and told him that the BBC was broadcasting the latest war situation, so he turned on the radio and listened.

The BBC has always had programs targeting the Ming Dynasty, but the court did not allow domestic broadcasting companies to broadcast the programs during the Ming Dynasty, so the British had always asked the Manila Broadcasting Corporation of the Philippines to broadcast the programs on their behalf.

"It's a skill passed down from our ancestors. The British are very good at propaganda."

The current situation is difficult to judge. In these days, order in Paris has not been restored.

Most French troops did not dare to use violence to suppress the situation, and the small number of troops who opened fire on armed citizens became an outlier.

The May [-] incident that happened the day before yesterday brought the situation to a weird and confusing stage——

The French 19th Reserve Infantry Division opened fire on a barricade and residential building guarded by armed citizens, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle.Afterwards, two fighter jets from the French 42nd Fighter Squadron took off without authorization and strafed the infantry division. The two pilots were subsequently arrested by the military police after returning to land.

According to the latest news from the Ming Dynasty's military attaché in Paris, the Prime Minister's Office is still under siege. Armed citizens even drove tanks captured from the French army to the Prime Minister's Office with great fanfare.

The trapped Reno government ministers don't know what the situation is, and until now they have not given a clear answer - whether to negotiate a separate peace with the German Society, lift the sanctions policy, and end the war.

"Sir, given this situation, are they still unwilling to agree? I think if the temper of the Paris people is followed, when their patience is exhausted, they will really have to break through."

On the recliner next to her, Xia Xiaoshi said while breastfeeding Jian Jian. "Forcibly break in? You're laughing...Xiao Shi, you underestimate the Parisians. They are old revolutionary areas that have been around for hundreds of years." Zhou Changfeng peeled an apple casually, "It's better to say they know how to attack by force. They really dare to suppress the current French government. .”

"But if it really comes to that, they will order the army to go to Beijing to quell the rebellion, right?"

"There is no need to fight. In a big city like Paris, there are reinforced concrete and masonry buildings everywhere. It takes months to capture it, not to mention that the French army has no intention and morale at all."

"In that case, things will really change in Taixi?"

"Indeed, after this battle, the British Expeditionary Force has lost the ability to take the initiative and lost most of its artillery. Now it can only hold on reluctantly. France is even more in a mess. It has no equipment, no command, and no morale. Morale.”

Zhou Changfeng shook the long string of peeled apple peels a few times, teasing Jian Jian in his wife's arms. Her long eyelashes were obviously inherited from Xia Xiaoshi.

After running around and working hard for several months, Zhou Changfeng felt that it was necessary to spend some time with his wife. He could not always rely on his children to maintain the relationship between the couple.

It was a rare day off today. He actually wanted to relax at home and lie down all day, but in the end he decided to give his wife a surprise.

So he quietly asked Lin Xi to buy two movie tickets at Huasheng Cinema in Nancheng District, and then...

_（OO》∠）3
_（OAO　∠）3
_（QwQ　∠…）3
"Really, can't we wait until night? We have to do it now..."

Xia Xiaoshi, blushing, lay on the bed, muttered, and curled her lips.

At this time, she felt as if light paper fell on her back.

"What is it, money?"

She held it in front of her with her backhand, only to see that it was two movie tickets for "The Death of the Concubine"?The show time is exactly [-]:[-] tonight?
Zhou Changfeng stretched and said with a smile: "Get ready to go. Let's go out to eat tonight and watch a movie after dinner."

The night in early summer is refreshing and cool, and the just-right night breeze seems to be able to take away all the sorrow and troubles.

The street lights on both sides of the streets of Yingtianfu in the capital were on, and the off-duty army was rushing through.

Zhou Changfeng and his wife were wandering around the department store, going from one store to another, as if they were back in time.

"It's so fast. It's been almost three years." Xia Xiaoshi, wearing a white cross-collar shirt and long skirt, held his arm and sighed.

"To be honest, I really want to laugh when I think of that scene."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"Not long after I opened my eyes, you jumped in and started chattering, which made me very confused."

"Hmph!" Xia Xiaoshi was not happy when she heard this, and put her hands on her hips and said: "How can you say it's chattering? I don't want others to say such sarcastic things!"

The two started flirting like this, and it suddenly seemed like they were back to being a couple in the past, instead of being a husband and wife now.

Later, we had a meal and went to the cinema to watch "The Princess", which was just about to be released and had already been controversial.

The noble concubine, of course, specifically refers to Yang Guifei Yang Yuhuan.

The main reason why this movie has been criticized is that the director and screenwriter don't know what they think. They probably want to cater to traditional stereotypes and portray Yang Yuhuan as a villain who brings disaster to the country.

Although ordinary viewers may not care, the same cannot be said for literati.

Some people focused on her arrogant life to criticize her, while others justified it by stating that she was just a canary who couldn't even decide her own destiny.

Newspapers love to stir up hot topics, so in the past few days many newspapers have begun to write editorials to refute each other - did Yang Guifei have any guilt, or was she just a scapegoat who was implicated?
People like Xia Xiaoshi are very unhappy and think that right and wrong are unclear.

"She has no power at all. What does it have to do with endangering the country? It was obvious that Xuanzong was fatuous and incompetent for the rest of his life, so An Lushan was allowed to hold such power..."

Zhou Changfeng really can't talk about this aspect. Anyway, according to the decent historical view, Li Longji's series of mysterious operations in his later years are really criticized.

I'll talk to that woman Zhu Lingjing tomorrow. She's probably very interested in this.

While driving home, he suddenly thought that the home of Sun Cheng, who was killed in the Battle of Demaji, was nearby. I wonder how the widow Xu Baizhi is doing these days?

Xia Xiaoshi suggested confirming first, "It's okay. Let's drive by and see if she still lives here. Come back during the day some other time."

"it is good."

"Um...Sir, I remember she works at a telephone office?"

"Yes, Shangyuan County Telephone Office."

The car turned into the alley and slowly stopped next to the small courtyard. The lights in the adjacent courtyards were on, but this one was completely dark.

"Oh, maybe they have moved away..." Xia Xiaoshi sighed.

Zhou Changfeng stared at the courtyard for a long time and muttered: "It doesn't look like it. There is no dust on the doors and windows."

At this moment, a woman's figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the alley dozens of meters away.

Zhou didn't notice it at first, but it wasn't until Xia Xiaoshi patted his shoulder that he looked in the direction of her finger.

From a distance, you can see several people approaching each other, talking while walking, while the woman is trying to escape?
Xia Xiaoshi, who looked nervous, turned around and said, "Zhou Kexing, something seems wrong. Shall we call the patrol?"

"I found that as long as I pick a day to go out with you, I will encounter this kind of unexpected bad thing." Zhou Changfeng sighed helplessly, turned around and reached out to open a large suitcase in the back seat.

A Type [-] submachine gun was clearly visible inside. Under the dim light, the exquisitely blued gun body exuded a dark blue luster.

(End of this chapter)