Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 18: Wait for me, Dunkirk
The convoy of the "Greater Germany" Mechanized Infantry Regiment also set off following the 7th Infantry Regiment. Behind the "Greater Germany" Mechanized Infantry Regiment is the rebuilt 42nd Anti-tank Artillery Battalion, which is now composed of soldiers who survived the Arras Blood War and veterans transferred from various infantry and armored divisions. And its power has also been strengthened. Except for the 37mm anti-tank guns that have been retained, the other are brand new 50mm anti-tank guns newly added to them. If this anti-tank gun is paired with a new type of high-explosive armor Grenades can already threaten the heavy armor of British and French tanks. Now these artillery pieces are being slowly advanced by the British "Bulldog" medium truck captured in the Battle of Arras.
Xu Jun turned his head and said to Lieutenant Colonel Halong who was standing behind him.
"Lieutenant Colonel, your tank is ready to go."
"Yes, General!"
Halon climbed to the No. 3 command tank which was parked aside. He first nodded to Xu Jun, and then waved to the 25th Armored Regiment tank group parked in the wilderness behind him. 217 tanks increased their throttles at the same time, and then one after another lined up with the first one. The 42nd anti-tank battalion opened up the dirt road. For every two of those tanks, steel tow ropes are hung between the front and rear tanks for an interval. Xu Jun looked at the majestic tanks with a satisfied smile.
The infantry on board the tank cheered and waved to Xu Jun. German tanks did not have the habit of carrying infantry in the early battles, but Xu Jun still arranged a battalion of infantry to march in tanks. Because although the headquarters has supplemented a large number of trucks and armored vehicles, because Xu Jun ordered his troops to transport all ammunition and supplies with mechanized vehicles, except for soldiers, the number of trucks is still not enough. In the end, at least one battalion of infantry had to march on foot.
In order to maintain the speed of the march, Xu Jun proposed this method based on the combat methods of the US and Soviet tanks. These soldiers are individual combat masters specially selected from various infantry regiments. Not only can they cooperate with tanks, but they can also follow the tanks as the first group of pioneers to attack. Xu Jun organized them into a battalion called the 25th Armored Regiment Special Infantry Battalion, which was placed under the command of the 25th Armored Regiment.
The only troops behind are the 6th Infantry Regiment and 78th Artillery Regiment directly under Xu Jun, as well as the engineering and logistics units.
Xu Jun climbed into his command vehicle, gave the command to the command team behind him to start, and then drove forward with his ticket of the command vehicles of the headquarters. The sixth infantry regiment from behind quickly followed closely.
The 78 Artillery Regiment is finally fully mechanized. The 18-ton half-track tractor drags the heavy artillery to make deep marks on the fields. The engineers also sat behind the captured British "bulldog" and French Renault trucks dragging their various engineering transport trailers. Finally, there is the division’s logistics unit. In addition to a large number of French trucks, there are also a lot of carriages. These carriages are filled with large and small oil drums. Judging from the depth of the wheels, a large number of oil drums are Is empty.
Now Xu Jun’s troops are like a giant steel dragon over ten kilometers long galloping across the vast land of France, aiming directly at Cambrai, an important town behind the German army.
Xu Jun sat in the cabin of the small armored command vehicle, holding a few telegrams that he had just received, thinking. It now appears that everything is operating according to its own plan, and all German forces are ready for action. The commanders of the major legions are already in place, just waiting for their instructions to start the operation tonight. Xu Jun rehearsed his next action plan in his mind, fearing that he had missed any key issues.
"General."
Hans sitting next to him put down the papers in his hand.
"I have a question I don't know if I should ask."
"Oh, what's the problem?"
Hans touched his nose and said with a little embarrassment.
"I have seen all of your plans. I think your plan is indeed very exciting. This plan has brought the art of war to the extreme. I think the only thing that can be compared with this plan is the 14-year Schlieffen plan. .But I’m still a bit confused about the details of this plan. For example, you require that all tanks heading to the starting point be connected with a tow rope before the start of the operation, as well as all the tanks in the march. The armored division must bring all the empty oil drums, so I don’t know why I did this."
Xu Jun smiled and answered Hans.
"My dear Hans, now I don’t want to tell you why I gave this order. I think you will figure it out by yourself soon. Remember that all the details are prepared for a big goal. I I want to use your ability to find out the answers to these questions, otherwise how can I expect you to give me greater help in the future?"
"Understood, General, I will think of the answer." Hans replied excitedly. He heard from Xu Jun's words that Xu Jun has greater expectations of him, and it seems that he will not stay forever The position of the adjutant, he may still have the opportunity to show his talents in the combat troops.
The convoy has left the dirt road and came to the road leading to Cambrai. This is a concrete road, so the convoy is not as dusty as the dirt road. Xu Jun pushed open the top cover on the car roof and stood up. He leaned his entire upper body out of the car, letting the warm wind of early summer blow on his face. In the other lane, the fuel trucks moving in the opposite direction swept past Xu Jun's troops in an endless stream. Xu Jun looked at those fuel trucks with a smile.
Then he began to look up at the sky.
"Why aren't you here?"
He seems to be waiting for something, his face is full of expectation and desire.
At this time, a slight buzzing sound suddenly sounded slowly from the horizon. Xu Jun seemed to be waiting for what he was waiting for, and couldn't help laughing with satisfaction.
"Haha, it's finally here, Hans, give me the telescope." Xu Jun yelled eagerly.
"Here you are, General."
Hans opened the top cover on the side of his head and stood out. He handed the telescope to Xu Jun.
"Thank you." Xu Jun took the telescope and looked towards the sky.
"It's an airplane, general. I don't know which side it is. It flies very slowly. It should be a reconnaissance plane." Hans covered the sun with his hands and looked towards the sky.
" is the British "Blenheim" light bomber, but judging from her lonely one, it should be a scout type. Haha, I was afraid that she would not come, and she is also I should see us."
Xu Jun got into the car and put on the intercom, then stood up again and shouted into the microphone.
"Mueller, did you hear me."
"Very clear, General, there is a British bomber approaching now." Mueller's voice was clear and loud in the headphones.
"I also saw it. It should be a reconnaissance plane. She has spotted us. Now I order to start the action according to the original plan."
"Yes, General!"
Xu Jun turned the intercom into the car to talk, he ordered the driver to slow down, and then he picked up the telescope and continued to observe the plane.
The entire long convoy is now slowly slowing down. The tanks of the 25th Armored Regiment slowed down slowly. The tanks at the rear end of the tow rope all turned off their engines and began to be dragged forward by the tank in front. The tow rope made of steel was stretched straight, and there was a sound of harsh metal rubbing.
The logistics team is now beginning to disrupt the formation. All the trucks are overtaking each other as if panicking, and the carriages are in a mess, and some even tipped over under the roadbed. As a result, all the trucks were empty. The barrel rolls everywhere.
The infantry on the truck in front all raised their rifles and fired randomly at the plane. The soldiers sitting on the half-track personnel carrier also set up their MG34 machine guns and began to shoot into the air in a panic. . However, the marksmanship of those machine gun shooters seemed to be a little rougher, and the series of machine gun tracers all went far away from the target.
The "Blenheim" plane saw this huge army slowly marching on the uncovered French country road from a distance. She reversed her course and slowly flew over. As a result, she clearly saw the lively and chaotic scene below. She might be afraid that this was a German trick. She first flew over the convoy carefully at high altitude, only to find that there was still chaos below, and no effective air defense firepower was organized.
The plane's courage immediately began to grow. She slowly descended, and then began to fly back and forth over the convoy in a big manner, slowly traversing the eight-character circle at the height of the machine gun's maximum range. Although the German machine gunners shot the tracer all over the sky, none of them approached the plane.
Two minutes later, the convoy was still advancing slowly. The Germans continued to chaotically and ineffectively attacked the plane, but it seemed that they had nothing to do with the plane. Xu Jun saw that the time was almost up. The photos of those people seemed to be almost taken, Xu Jun shouted into the phone.
"Muller, it's okay, now get rid of this lucky bird."
"Yes! General!"
The entire convoy began to slowly stop.
At this time, the German machine gunners seemed to finally find a sense. The bullets began to slowly approach the plane, and then four or five bullets hit the plane's skin.
The plane was taken aback, and its trajectory shook. However, it seems that she still doesn't want to give up. She just raised a little height and prepared to continue taking pictures in circles on the convoy.
Suddenly, two thick series of tracer bullets rushed past her, scaring the pilot of the plane into a cold sweat. Only then did he discover that the German infantry had dragged the 20mm mechanism behind the truck. The cannon was set up, and shells were pouring frantically at him. What frightened him even more was that the Germans seemed to be preparing to set up the 88mm anti-aircraft gun.
The plane finally felt that he was in a bad situation, and quickly turned its head and ran away in panic towards her direction. As a result, she still couldn't get out of the whole body. A 20mm anti-aircraft gun used a shell to give her a wing suddenly~IndoMTL.com~The plane was shaking with long white smoke. Flying out of Xu Jun's vision.
"It’s very risky, that shot was too accurate. Fortunately, it was just wounded and didn’t shoot her down, otherwise the artillery would be in big trouble. But this effect was better than I expected , It seems that my plan will definitely succeed." Xu Jun yelled to Hans happily.
Hans also smiled and said: "General, although I don't know the intention of this part of the plan, the soldiers of Colonel Mueller did this perfectly."
Xu Jun nodded to Hans, and then used the command channel command to the phone.
" Gentlemen, let your troops pack their equipment immediately. Five minutes later, the whole army will start to advance at full speed. We will get to Cambrai as fast as we can, and then turn to Tournai to Belgium, the other two The troops are waiting for us there. We must arrive before dinner. We have four hours left, so we must keep the marching speed at least 30 kilometers per hour. We can’t delay now. We must be fast. Do you understand? ?"
"Understand, General."
"Yes, General."
"I see, General."
There was a firm answer from the commanders of the various units in the headset, and Xu Jun was very satisfied.
Xu Jun turned his head and looked at the clouds in the distance. He felt a burst of excitement. Now the most critical step has been achieved, and his battle will start tonight.
Wait for me, Dunkirk.