my head

In the air, the Luftwaffe still focused on attacking airports and transportation hubs, and the main force concentrated on attacking the Netherlands.In the direction of Ardennes, keep quiet so as not to reveal the intention.German aircraft also played a major role in aiding the march of German armored forces, who were able to spot traffic jams quickly.The French Air Force still did not launch any attacks. The only attack on the Germans in the direction of the Ardennes was launched by the British Air Force. Heavy anti-aircraft fire shot down 8 of the 7 aircraft.Fifteen Belgian bombers attempted to destroy the bridge over the Alport Canal, which had been captured by the German glider force. Ten were shot down, leaving the bridge undamaged.At 15:10 p.m., Kamaling ordered to concentrate the air force in the direction of Belgium, obviously still confused by the German feint attack.

The Allied forces advancing into Belgium were in the northernmost part of the front line and had the farthest distance. The French 7th Army, which rushed to Breda, marched smoothly all the way, which made people quite suspicious.Tens of kilometers away, the Luftwaffe is bombing the Dutch, why let them go.The march of the French army also went smoothly, without interference from the Luftwaffe. (Obviously the Luftwaffe did not want to prevent them from throwing themselves into the net), the morale of ordinary British soldiers was high. That night, the French army had basically arrived at the designated line along the Belgian border and began to deploy its defenses.

The French 1st Army was not so smooth. Along the way they encountered a flood of Belgian refugees, a pessimistic scene.The cavalry army of its forward General Prios had arrived at the designated position, and they were shocked to find that the fortifications that the Belgian side promised to repair in advance did not exist at all.Immediately afterwards, news came that German troops had broken through the defenses of the Albert Canal in Belgium, and that the fortress of Emaar had also fallen.General Prios estimated that the Germans would soon attack his cavalry corps and he would not have time to prepare his positions.Therefore, he suggested to the commander of the 1st Army Group, General Bill Ott, through the 1st Army Group, to withdraw the cavalry army to the line of the Sürd River. Alder River Plan.Shocked, Bill Ot hurried to see General Prios and told him.It is now impossible to reverse the Breda plan.He will speed up the timetable for the march of the 1st Army, and at the same time, require the cavalry to hold out until June 6.

In the Netherlands, where resistance was collapsing with frightening speed, the German 9th Panzer Division crossed the Meuse in Belgium from a bridge captured by the Brandenburg troops.The Dutch had to shrink their defensive line to cover the Dutch hinterland and Rotterdam.Thus, when the French 7th Army arrived in Breda to try to contact the Dutch, the Dutch troops had withdrawn.noon.The 7th Army and the German 9th Panzer Division met near Tilburg.This time the Luftwaffe really started to bomb indiscriminately. The 7th Army was caught off guard by the air strikes and sudden encounters of enemy planes, and retreated towards Antwerp.So far, it can be said that Ganmaling's Breda plan has basically failed.

News of the day from the New York papers: Germany claims to have seized an important fortress, which, even if true, is of little importance.Because only one captain was awarded the medal.

The general Allied newspapers of the day gave the impression that the German offensive had been stopped by the Netherlands and Belgium.This is the cornerstone of the Ganmalin project.But in reality the situation in the Netherlands is almost hopeless.In the north and center of the Netherlands, German troops with the help of paratroopers (which had captured Arnhem on the first day) had broken through the Dutch defenses and were already threatening the heart of the Netherlands.In the south of the Netherlands, the 9th Armored Division killed Moordijk, where paratroopers were still holding the bridge over the Meuse.to this evening.Murdijk had fallen into German hands, and all hope of a confluence of the French 7th Army and the Dutch Army was lost.

By this time, the Dutch army could only retreat to the sea to cover Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and The Hague in the Netherlands.The Netherlands Air Force has only one aircraft left.The situation of the French 7th Army is also extremely bad.They were constantly attacked by the Luftwaffe, and most of the tanks were still being transported on the railroad.Its right flank was seriously threatened by the 9th Armored Division.Under these circumstances, General Giraud decided to retreat to cover Antwerp.

In front of the French 1st Army.The Belgian army is in full retreat and trying to occupy the Antwerp-Mecillin-Leuven line. (i.e. between the French 7th Army and the British Expeditionary Force).In this way, the cavalry army of General Prios, the forward of the French 1st Army, lost its barrier.General Bill Ott, the commander of the 1st Army Group, was aware of this yesterday, and he ordered other units of the 1st Army to arrive at the predetermined location 24 hours in advance.To do this, the French had to march in daylight and leave most of their artillery behind.The Luftwaffe bombarded the marching columns of the French army indiscriminately.

General Prios' cavalry corps had engaged the vanguard of General Hoepner's German 14th Panzer Corps.The cavalry army performed bravely and basically held the line of defense.Although the battle could be said to be a draw, it showed that it was under the same conditions.The French armored forces were comparable to the German armored forces.However, this was probably the first and last time in this campaign that French armored forces fought on equal terms.By night only a portion of the French 1st Army's infantry had reached the line at Dyer, tomorrow.General Prios' cavalry corps would have to deal with the main body of General Hoepner's two armored divisions alone. [

The command system of the Allied forces also began to be chaotic. Although Gamelin was still dissatisfied, due to the situation, he had to agree to General George's arrangement to be coordinated by General Bill Ott to cooperate with the Belgian army.This made the work of General Bill Ott very heavy. He had 5 armies under his command plus the Belgian army.His busy schedule prevented him from giving any instructions to the British Expeditionary Force for several days.

In the air, the main force of the Allies was still concentrated on dealing with Bock's feint.The Allies were still unaware that there was a large armored force beneath the forests of the Ardennes.A few days ago, many French Air Force units moved their bases forward, and the elite 54th Ground Attack Brigade had not received the necessary equipment until noon on the 12th.Therefore, most of the attack missions on the 12th were carried out by the Royal Air Force.Mainly for bridges over the Maas River in the Netherlands. Seven of the nine Branham bombers that attacked the Meuse bridge in the Netherlands were shot down. At noon on the 9th, the 7th Brigade was finally ready. During the low-altitude attack on the target in the Netherlands, 12 of the 54 aircraft were shot down.The other sorties lost roughly the same percentage.The large numbers of 18mm and 8mm that accompanied German armor and infantry proved extremely effective against low altitude aircraft.It must be stated that wasting Allied air power in this direction would seriously affect the critical phase of the campaign.

The French Air Force's reconnaissance report that day showed that a strong German column was passing through the Ardennes Forest, and found that the German troops were carrying a large number of bridging tools.General Georges expressed at 4 pm that he hoped to shift the focus of the air force to the direction of the Ardennes, but the commander of the 1st Army Group, General Bill Ott, only focused on the situation in front of the French 1st Army, and still insisted that the 23rd Air Force be used for the Netherlands and Belgium.Out of its own initiative, the French Air Force used 50 aircraft to attack the German forces in the Ardennes direction, and 18 failed to return.

In the direction of Sedan, on the night of 11-12, Guderian took advantage of the hasty retreat of the cavalry units of the French 9th Army and quickly crossed the Maas River. When the river was crossed downstream, a strong bridgehead was established before the defenders had time to react.Under the cover of this bridgehead, German tanks also crossed the river.In this way, the left flank of the 17th Cavalry Division of the French 2nd Army was exposed to the German attack.In the lower reaches of Sedan, on the front of the French cavalry defense, Lieutenant Colonel Balck's 5st Infantry Regiment also crossed the river on foot in a shallow area.Guderian satisfactorily observed the river crossing and bridge building of the 1th Armored Division and the 17th Armored Division throughout the morning. He personally encountered 18 Allied air strikes.The Allied Air Force repeatedly attacked the German bridges on the Meuse River regardless of losses (as mentioned earlier, 3 of the 50 bombers were lost). The French heavy artillery deployed in Sedan also accurately bombarded the German bridge-building work.In the air, Allied fighter jets showed what could be the result if used correctly. Five American Curtiss fighters attacked the 18 escorting Stuka dive bombers, shooting them all down, before attacking another wave.

By the end of the morning, Guderian's armored forces had mostly crossed the Meuse River and began to rush into France.According to road signs, Sedan is just 18 kilometers away.The German armored forces have passed the "impassable" Ardennes forest, and in the thin morning light, the highlands on the Metz River can already be seen.There, 70 years ago, the King of Prussia and Bismarck commanded the 1st Franco-Prussian War.

At this time, General Hunt Zieger, commander of the French 2nd Army, had realized that the cavalry had to retreat because the flank was outflanked.He ordered the cavalry to retreat to the fortifications on the frontier (between the Meuse and Meuse rivers). A battalion of the 55th Infantry Division assigned to the cavalry was in chaos during the retreat. "The soldiers were scattered in the woods, panicked, No routes or transport vehicles could be found, and a battalion could only concentrate 1 people, completely losing its combat effectiveness." This almost foretells what will happen to the French reserve forces at the same level behind Sedan under the onslaught of German armored forces.

The 2nd French Cavalry Division was still relatively calm in the morning, mainly because the German 18th Panzer Division opposite it also turned towards Sedan, but due to the retreat of the 5th French Cavalry Division, the division was also ordered to retreat.The retreat was relatively orderly, and many soldiers couldn't help crying when they abandoned the fortifications without firing a single shot.However, General Hunter Zigg's plan to hold the border fell through within hours.The tanks of the German 1st Armored Division bit the 1th French Cavalry Division and pursued fiercely.By 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the 2th French Cavalry Division had to retreat to Sedan again. Four hours later, the 5th Cavalry Division retreated across the River Metz and abandoned Sedan, despite Kammering's orders to defend Sedan.By dusk, the main force of the German 4st Panzer Division had moved into Sedan.The bridges on the river have all been blown up (After the French defeat, many people, including Prime Minister Renault, accused someone of treason and deliberately did not blow up the bridge.) Guderian's only concern is that the 5nd Armored Division was killed by the traffic chaos yesterday. , haven’t caught up yet... (to be continued...)