my head

Subsequently, Pensley also reported that German tanks were found near his headquarters, and not only withdrew his headquarters, but also ordered the artillery group to retreat.At this time, Guderian did not have a tank on the west bank, and Pensley's headquarters was more than 8 kilometers away from the nearest German.The two artillery commanders were apparently largely responsible for the collapse in the Sedan area.

Three hours after Germany crossed the river, the officers and soldiers of the 3th Division finally couldn't bear it: there were crowds of deserters on the road, without weapons, and some people shouted all the way, the German tanks had already arrived at Burson.Artillery was also in the mix.Almost all of these people were in a state of hysteria, and the commanders at all levels, whether true or false, received the retreat order from nowhere.

The collapse of the French army at Sedan undoubtedly began with artillery, which has always enjoyed a high status in France throughout history.As long as the artillery holds its ground, the infantry will not retreat. The German breakthrough in Verdun in 1916 also started with a B-class division, but the French artillery did not retreat at that time, and the breakthrough was subsequently blocked by the resolute counterattack of the infantry.The Luftwaffe's attack helped, but Poland's artillery was almost all lost in the field by comparison, and France's apparent disenchantment after World War I led to low morale in the French armed forces.

In stark contrast, until this time, behind the German bridgehead, there was still a tenacious French army resisting.At Sedan, on June 1940, 6, after the unprecedented victory of German tanks, the German troops on other fronts frightened the French army without crossing the river.Or rather, it was the tenacious German infantry and unprecedented aerial attack, combined with the dizzying speed of the German army since June 14, that achieved this victory.

The disintegrated 55th Infantry Division spread the shock wave of the German attack to the rear like wildfire.The 2nd Army tried every means to control the rout.However, a large number of routs were seen in villages 50 kilometers away.Including the units of the 55th Division and the attached army artillery.They exaggerated the scale of the German attack a hundredfold.

In the confusion, the commander of the 55th Division also requested to withdraw the headquarters. The commander of the 10th Army asked him to judge for himself, and then the commander of the 55th Division and his headquarters disappeared.That night, many officers of this division came to the headquarters to ask for orders, but only saw an empty house, so they also found a reason to retreat.The effects of the disintegrated troops were so severe that the commander of the Divisional Reserve 213th Infantry Regiment had no confidence in his rightful role as a reserve force - counterattack.

Another B-class division that is moving in.The 71st Division was also deeply affected.While still on the move, the division received the news that the German tanks from the military headquarters had arrived at Burson. The commander of the 71st Division immediately moved the division point he had just set up about 6 kilometers backward, and at the same time, the artillery of the division was also moved. Command.As a result, there was no artillery command all night, and many people joined the ranks of the collapse.By morning, 4 of the division's 75 3mm artillery groups and 6 of the 4 heavy artillery groups were abandoned.And these heavy artillery groups are the firepower for the German army to cross the river.In this case, if the 71st Division is attacked by the Germans tomorrow.What will happen next is self-evident.

The French counterattacked.There is nothing at all, because the French army failed to organize an effective counterattack at all.The French army in front of Flanders lost the best chance to counterattack because of lack of offensive spirit. The French routs themselves were spreading fear, and they were all scared out of their wits.

The reserve in the hands of General Grande Sade, commander of the French 10th Infantry Corps, has the following components: the 4th and 7th Tank Battalions, and the 205th and 213th Infantry Regiments.Behind them is the French 3rd Armored Division and 3rd Motorized Rifle Division, which are coming under the order of General Georges.General Grand Sade handed over the existing troops, two tank battalions and two infantry regiments, to the commander of the 55th Division, who then ordered these troops to counterattack the Germans in a pincer shape, with one tank battalion and two infantry regiments on each road. Infantry regiment, the time is scheduled for 14 on the morning of the 0400th.If it really goes according to plan, it is very possible to "throw" the German infantry into the river without the cover of tanks and anti-tank guns. At least it can buy time for the arrival of the 3rd Armored Division and the 3rd Motorized Division.

As a result, none of the troops could execute on time.The head of the 213th regiment first persuaded the commander of the 55th division that due to the low morale of his troops and their operations at night, the troops were afraid of being affected by the rout.The 7th Tank Battalion did not receive orders on time at all. (The 55th Division refers to the result of the movement) When the 205th Regiment was marching at night, it really encountered a broken army. Under the warning of "goodwill"-there is a group of fierce German tanks in front of it that has no chance at all, so don't To die.In addition, an order to cancel the counterattack was received from nowhere, and the regiment stopped.It seems that the concern of the head of the 213th regiment is still justified. The 205th tank battalion assigned to accompany the 4th regiment also received false news that German tanks crossed the river, and decided to stop in violation of the order.

The planned counterattack did not start until 7:8 am, by which time German tanks and anti-tank guns were already across the river.At night, Lieutenant Colonel Balck was sensitive to the weakening of the resistance of the French army on the opposite side. Although the Germans were exhausted, he desperately drove the German infantry forward.By morning, the Germans had advanced another 8 kilometers without resistance, almost doubling the depth of the bridgehead.Guderian was on the west bank at this time, anxiously watching the progress of the bridge.Almost everyone realized that the enemy had temporarily given up resistance.In the early morning, the pontoon bridges were erected one after another, and German tanks quickly entered the bridgehead. At this time, the bridgehead was already as large as 11x[-] kilometers.

Guderian was very happy. After returning to the headquarters, he couldn't help but send a power call to Zhang Jun, the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, to tell him the progress.

The German offensive went well on Flanders' right flank and Guderian's left flank, but Reinhardt's Panzer Army in the middle encountered great difficulties.At first, this army did not go well on the way in, and then, as soon as it reached the river, it was hit by the Luftwaffe by mistake. (The Luftwaffe originally assigned them less support, but now they are using the wrong place).The opponent of the army is not a b-level division like Sedan, but the 102nd Fortress Division, which is a regular army.Moreover, the banks of the Metz River here are very steep, which is not conducive to attack.As a result, although a small number of German troops crossed the river, they were firmly suppressed by the river.Reinhardt's Panzer Corps would make no progress for the next two days until German offensives elsewhere affected the area.

In the north, the situation in the Netherlands has reached "the last hours".After the French 1st Army retreated, it somewhat gained a foothold, but the 9th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht was also able to let go and storm Rotterdam.In order to quickly free up troops, the command of the commander-in-chief of the German Army Group A that day was to "use all means to quickly smash the resistance of Rotterdam."This also laid the groundwork for the later tragedy.

The front is still calm, but the cavalry corps of the French 1st Army forward Pulios finally fought with the two armored divisions of the Wehrmacht.Under the cover of dive bombers, German tanks stormed two French light mechanized divisions. The Germans were obviously very surprised by the French armor. The German Panzer IV was unable to destroy the French infantry support tanks at a distance of 1000 meters.However, the Germans still found a weakness in French tank tactics.First of all, French tanks have a slow rate of fire (single turrets), so German tankers always try to keep the distance as short as possible.Second, due to communication and tactics, the French tanks did not coordinate well with each other.The Germans were able to use concentration and maneuver to overcome the French.By night, the Germans were effectively in control of the field and losses were heavy on both sides.The loss of the French, though, will have far-reaching consequences.

By the night of the 13th, General Georges, the commander of the French Northeast Theater, finally realized that the German offensive in the Sedan area was the main direction, not Belgium.Bad news about the Sedan area came like snowflakes. At 14 o'clock in the morning on the 3th, General Dominique was woken up from his bed.When he arrived at George's headquarters, he found that all the staff were busy, but the atmosphere in the entire headquarters was extremely heavy, "like a dead person."All were very quiet.Chief of Staff Lawton sat in a chair with his head downcast, while George's face was pale. He told Dominic very briefly:

"The front line in the Sedan area has been stormed, and there have been some failures..." Then wept silently.Dominique tried to encourage George: There is always such a thing in war, let's look at the map and figure out what to do.

In London, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army concluded in his diary: So far, the Germans seem to have done nothing but move their mechanized troops forward!

The torrent of German armor was already unstoppable, and all the British and French were in a panic, and Zhang Jun also seized the opportunity to let his two army groups ab and ab rush towards the English Channel. Seeing that the British and French allied forces could not bear it, they hurried Shrink its troops, because Britain has the largest navy in the world, and there has been a precedent for organizing troops to retreat from the sea in Greece before.

Now the UK plans to repeat the old trick. They have arranged a huge semi-circular defensive circle around Dunkirk, the largest port in the English Channel. Dunkirk is also an alluvial plain with soft land, which is not suitable for large-scale operations at all. Armored action.

When the German army was approaching Dunkirk from the west, south, and east, the nearest German tank was only 10 miles away from the port.

On May 5, Zhang Jun received an order from Hitler himself to stop advancing.Ordering all German troops to stop attacking, this almost did not make Zhang Jun vomit blood anxiously. Zhang Jun knew that Hitler was unwilling to lose a large number of tanks for the Anglo-French coalition forces in Dunkirk. In addition, Hitler still had illusions about Britain. Germany and Great Britain can negotiate peace.In the end, the grandsons of the Wehrmacht instigated Hitler to give Zhang Jun the most stupid order.

It is certain that there will be losses in the war, but Hitler had illusions about the United Kingdom. It is surrender. As long as Britain surrenders, it will lose most of its colonies. Just because the resource-poor island country of Britain will fall from heaven to hell in an instant, from the number one power in the world to a third-rate country, so the relationship between Germany and the United Kingdom National interests determine that Germany and Britain will always be in a competitive relationship, and there is no possibility of a slight compromise.

... (To be continued..)