Anti-Japanese blood sacrifice mountains and rivers

And now the German army in France has 19 more divisions than in history. These troops are all elites who have withdrawn from the Eastern Front and rested. The No.[-] Armored Division did not return to the Eastern Front in accordance with the previous order, but waited for new tanks and self-propelled artillery in France. i^

Among them, most of the original members of the Skeleton Armored Division came from the Skeleton Army, and the Skeleton Army can be traced back to the skull pattern on the funeral flag of Frederick William I in 1740. In order to commemorate the late emperor, the first Royal Guard was established the following year And the [-]nd Guards Hussars, they wore black uniforms and embroidered skull logos on fur hats. In World War I, the skull pattern also became the symbol of the German elite troops.

The previous defenders in the Normandy area were six divisions and three regiments belonging to the Seventh Army. Among them, three coastal defense divisions had weak combat effectiveness, two infantry divisions, and one armored division had slightly stronger combat effectiveness. The two regiments were two independent The infantry regiment and a paratrooper regiment have a total strength of about 9, and their fortifications are relatively weak. Only a few independent support points of reinforced concrete have been built. Most of the fortifications are field fortifications, and only a few anti-airborne obstacles are set up in depth.

In March 1944, the German armored forces deployed in France had only one full-staffed armored division, namely No. The 3nd Infantry Division originally stationed in St. Lo was transferred to Normandy. In history, it was this newly transferred elite division that brought disaster to the U.S. military at Omaha Beach. i^

After Marshal Rommel took office as the commander of Army Group B, he attached great importance to the defense construction of the coastal areas. He personally led a special delegation to inspect the coastal defenses of Denmark, the Netherlands, and France, and specifically requested that the frontier defenses be pushed forward to the sea. At the beginning of the high tide line, mines are laid in the deep sea, and obstacles are set up in the shallow sea. These wooden piles inserted obliquely into the sea are called Rommel asparagus by the Allied forces. On the beach are jagged concrete pyramids, tank traps, and in between. There are a large number of mines, and concealed firepower points are built at commanding heights overlooking the beach. In the open area behind the beach, a large number of anti-aircraft landing piles are laid out. The deployment of these explosives and obstacles is a huge project.Anti-Japanese Blood Sacrifice Mountains and Rivers 987

Rommel requested that the Skeleton Armored Division, the Viking Division and the No.19 Armored Division of the Army be deployed in France, especially in the Normandy area, to increase troops by three to five divisions, in response to possible Allied landings. This plan was miraculously accepted by Hitler. During the Normandy landing, the task of the Allied Airborne Forces was to land on both sides of the landing beach at a shallow depth of [-] kilometers to [-] kilometers from the coast, to prevent reinforcements from the enemy reserve forces, and to attack the German coast defense positions from the side and rear. Cooperate with sea landing.

Because in the first three days, the Allied landing force could only put the armored division into combat after establishing a large landing field for the armored division to deploy.If the German army breaks through the defense line of the landing force before the armored forces land, it will bring disaster to the landing. Therefore, the actions of the airborne troops in the early stage of landing are crucial to the success of the landing.

The British [-]st Airborne Division, the [-]st Division and the [-]nd Division of the Chinese Paratroopers were the first troops to be put into combat operations. They were airdropped to the left flank of the landing area as early as midnight. Their goal was to capture the Pegasus Bridge and the vicinity bridges to prevent German armored forces from heading to the coast for support.

Due to the rapid reinforcement of the German army, especially the rapid deployment of the Skeleton Armored Division and the No.19 Armored Division, the British [-]st Airborne Division and the Chinese [-]st Paratrooper Division fell into a fierce battle. The [-]nd Paratrooper Division organized flank counterattacks many times in an attempt to respond However, the German Skeleton Armored Division had a very strong combat effectiveness and was baptized by the Soviet-German War. The paratroopers of the three divisions failed to complete the expected mission and were forced to retreat to the beach.

In contrast, the U.S. No.80 20nd and 327st Airborne Divisions fell directly within the defensive range of the German No.[-]st Armored Division and the [-]th Infantry Division. Coupled with the interception of the intensive German anti-aircraft artillery fire, the troops were scattered everywhere.Some paratroopers unfortunately landed in the sea or in low-lying areas inland where the Germans deliberately flooded. Many were drowned in knee-deep water due to heavy equipment.

The U.S. airborne troops suffered heavy losses during the entire operation. The troops of the two divisions were surrounded and annihilated by the German No. 20th Armored Division and the 327th Infantry Division. They only relied on air support to persist. Its mission to flank Omar Beach was a complete failure. No. The .80th Airborne Division and the [-]st Airborne Division themselves were also in danger from the German army.

The total length of Omaha Beach is 352 kilometers. Most of the coasts are cliffs with a height of more than 352 meters. The terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack.The mission of landing operations here is undertaken by the U.S. Ninth Army.Due to erroneous intelligence, the Allied forces believed that the German garrison here was only as strong as one regiment, and most of them were reservists, without armored vehicles, and their combat effectiveness was very poor.In fact, Rommel transferred all the elite 352nd Infantry Division of the German Army to Normandy in March, and a main regiment of the [-]nd Division was stationed at Omaha Beach.It is a pity that the Allied intelligence agencies did not find out the whereabouts of the [-]nd Division until after the landing force set off.

The weather conditions on the day of landing were extremely bad. Before landing, the Allied forces lost ten landing craft and more than 37 officers and soldiers due to excessive wind and waves.Most of the officers and soldiers on the landing craft suffered from seasickness and humidity, and were basically exhausted before reaching the combat location.The landing operation was also very difficult. Of the 27 amphibious tanks prepared in the western section of the beach, [-] sank due to excessive wind and waves as soon as they entered the sea. Nine of the surviving ten tanks were quickly blown up by German artillery fire. .Due to the impact of the tide and the chaos, many American soldiers who landed were confused about the direction and assembly point. A large number of soldiers crowded on the beach and let the German artillery attack. For a full two hours, no American soldier washed up on the beach in the western section. In the eastern section, only a nine-meter-wide section of the beach was occupied, and the landing operation almost completely failed.

Because the German army had five more divisions than expected, so that the operation of the airborne troops in the rear completely failed. After the second division of the Chinese paratroopers occupied the Pegasus Bridge, they could not receive effective support, and the landing troops were delayed. It was too late to land and open up a beachhead, and the German air force had already begun a large-scale strategic transition to France. A large number of troops with as many as 29 divisions who had just left France for the Eastern Front and Belgium garrisoned for Normandy. The Allied response within 48 hours of landing was perfect.