Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 25: Heavy artillery

　　"Woo...Boom!"

　　 Another large-caliber grenade hit near the division’s command post. The whole ground trembled a few times, and then a burst of hot wind brought in various fragments and sand, gravel and mud from the lookout hole of the shelter. , Slammed the staff officers who were looking there to the ground.

　　 "God, forgive me."

　　 Montgomery looked desperately at everything in front of him, his heart full of guilt and anger. Everything started at ten thirty last night.

　　 Montgomery interest rate led his army to finally reach the predetermined position within the time specified by Gott. He has confirmed from the reconnaissance report of the reconnaissance force that he dispatched before that there is no German army within ten kilometers nearby. Now he can finally put aside the doubt in his heart, and put all his energy into the attack that is about to launch.

　　Montgomery first ordered the troops to immediately build offensive field fortifications according to the positions arranged in the previous plan, and set up their respective forward command posts. All the artillery were concentrated and placed two kilometers behind the offensive position, protected by a regiment of infantry. He did this to ensure that his vanguard troops can get the maximum firepower support when attacking, and to ensure sufficient firepower intensity. After all, their ammunition is insufficient. If these 25-pound guns are placed separately, it will be difficult to achieve the firepower density required for offense.

　　 After all this was arranged, Montgomery sent a telegram to the Expeditionary Force Command that he had arrived at the starting position on time. Then he brought his staff to the forefront position and began to observe the situation of the opposite German army.

　　 Such a large unit can't hide its tracks, and now the Germans on the opposite side obviously knew the arrival of this unit. The entire city of Arras was shrouded in darkness, and only a dark outline could be seen under the bright moonlight. Except for the faintly heard short commands of the German army from a distance, the whole city is silent like a dead city, and this strange atmosphere makes people feel the back straight and cold.

　　 "Why can't I hear the voices of the residents in the city? There are no dogs barking. The city feels very bad for me, like...like..." A staff officer frowned and said to Montgomery. To.

　　"Don’t say that word, because I feel the same way. It’s very unusual. Did the Germans move all the residents here?" Montgomery interrupted the staff, and he felt that the city The atmosphere is suffocating.

　　"Go, go to the forward command post. I want to see what the Germans have prepared for us."

　　 Indeed, he didn’t see anything of value after watching here for a long time, and he was depressed, so he was going to launch a small-scale probing attack, at least as the first fire reconnaissance.

　　 Montgomery led his men into the forward command post. He picked up the telescope and looked at the dark city.

　　"First send a regiment of troops to conduct a tentative attack on Arras. I want to know the strength of the opponent."

　　 "Yes, General."

　　The forward commander picked up the phone and began to deploy troops. After a while, he reported to Montgomery.

　　"General, the troops are ready. They will attack from three positions. The Fifth Division, the Fifth Division, and the Third Division will each send a battalion. The artillery is also ready for artillery cover."

　　 "Ok, let's get started."

　　 Following Montgomery’s order. The entire frontier position of Britain immediately became a boiling cauldron, and all kinds of light and heavy weapons swarmed towards the German position and started fire. The flares hit the sky all over, illuminating the German positions. The tracer bullets gathered into a huge net in the night sky, covering the past towards Arras. They are like sharp electric whips lashing back and forth in the trenches of the German army.

　　 With the harsh screams, the first round of 25-pound shells exploded on the German positions. The explosion of fireballs and smoke with splashed mud turned the entire German position into an erupting volcano. The shocking scene full of destruction made all the British officers a heartfelt admiration.

　　 The Germans seemed to have been beaten by a sudden attack by the British army, but they did not respond. The entire German position was under the ravages of British artillery in silence.

　　 After three rounds of artillery strikes on the German forward positions, the artillery extended the artillery fire toward the depths of the German positions. The first British infantry jumped out of their trenches, armed with bayonet-mounted rifles, shouting and rushing towards the German front. Montgomery and his staff watched nervously at the German position.

　　The infantry had already rushed halfway, but the German position remained silent, and there was no sign of counterattack. For a moment Montgomery even wondered if the artillery fire in front of him was too fierce. The soldiers on the German forward positions might have been wiped out. But he immediately overthrew his opinion. That kind of situation was impossible. He had seen more terrifying artillery fire during World War I, but he couldn't do anything to the Germans. What tricks the Germans were doing, an ominous premonition filled his mind.

　　The infantry had rushed to within 500 meters of the German position. Those infantrymen were also very puzzled by the Germans' reaction. They held their rifles tightly and fixed their eyes on the position. Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from the German, and then countless steel helmets emerged from the trenches. The British soldiers burst out with a louder roar of excitement, and they accelerated their pace while shooting at the Germans.

　　 fiercely, countless tongues of fire spewed out from the entire German forward position. Accompanied by the heart-piercing sound of MG34 shooting, the British soldiers in the first row fell to the ground violently, then the second and third rows. The shells of mortar and infantry artillery continued to explode in the team, and fragments of corpses and guns were flying in the air. The British infantry were still charging forward, but the horrible sight had deeply shocked their hearts. As the soldiers in the front row fell in batches, the soldiers behind them involuntarily slowed down. The officers were considering whether to let the soldiers lie down or simply retreat. But something more terrifying fell on this group of British infantry.

　　 A dull whistling sound rang above their heads.

　　 "Bunker! Concealed!"

　　 An officer shouted loudly. A second later, a cannonball exploded beside him. With a violent explosion, soldiers within 50 meters of the radius were torn into shrapnel by shrapnel in an instant, human fragments and internal organs of various shapes, guns , Military uniforms, and backpacks were thrown up to a height of 30 meters, and then scattered in the surrounding infantry teams in different trajectories. The shells left a large pit with a depth of 5 meters and a diameter of about 10 meters on the ground.

　　 "God! Heavy artillery." Montgomery was stunned in the command post.

　　How could it be possible that the opponent was just two ordinary infantry regiments? How could it be possible to have such a heavy artillery at the military level? The largest artillery in the infantry regiment is the 105mm infantry artillery, but now the shell I see is at least 150mm or more. Then something even more shocking happened to him. German large-caliber artillery shells began to fall into the infantry group like rain.

　　 "They have at least ten or more such heavy artillery!" Montgomery exclaimed.

　　 "This is a trap, the Germans have been prepared. Contact the headquarters immediately, and I will personally report this to General Gott!" He yelled at the staff in a daze. "Immediately let the infantry retreat, and then order the forward positions to immediately strengthen the fortifications, and the trenches should be deepened by three to four feet. The artillery is ordered to cover and shoot the enemy forward positions. Sending out scouts, we must find out the position of the German artillery positions. "

　　 "Yes, General!" Only then did the staff woke up, picked up the phone, and shouted orders to the various formations.

　　Montgomery rushed out of the forward command post and ran towards his division headquarters. He wanted to report his situation to Gott as soon as possible. Judging from the unusual firepower, solid fortifications, and accurate and terrifying shelling of the German army, the other party was already prepared. Those all show that all of this is a trap. If the infantry is allowed to continue the offensive now, the self without armor will run out of the last drop of blood here.

　　 Montgomery anxiously circled his headquarters. The telegram has been sent for an hour, but Gott hasn’t responded. The regiment still failed to withdraw, and none of them were wiped out in the middle of the battlefield by German artillery. The scouts have not found the German artillery positions, but there are signs that the artillery was shot from the city of Arras. The Germans must have concealed their artillery in the urban area, which explains why the reconnaissance planes failed to spot them during the first two days of reconnaissance.

　　 And judging from the current situation, they also have artillery of various calibers. At least in the previous attack, the Germans used four different caliber artillery, and various cannons with different ranges completely completed the regiment. Blocked on the battlefield. The Germans still have plenty of ammunition, which can be seen from their way of shooting without hesitation on shells. They are even carrying out sporadic shelling of their forward positions, but since they are still at night, their shelling is not very accurate, so they have not caused a lot of casualties. But in a few more hours, it will be dawn, and his position will be uncovered by the German artillery observers. What should I do then?

　　 "Report, General Gott's call back, General." A signalman ran into the command post.

　　 "Give it to me!"

　　 Montgomery violently snatched the telegram from the soldier.

　　"The British Empire sent the headquarters of the French Expeditionary Force to the commander of the British Army's Third Division Bernard. Law. Major General Montgomery.

　　 Now all kinds of intelligence show that there are indeed only two regiments in the German army opposite your department. And they only have very few artillery, the command is very suspicious of your report that the enemy has heavy artillery.

　　Even if the opponent does possess that kind of artillery, it proves that the German army attaches great importance to Arras and strengthened his defensive ability. It cannot be proved that this is a trap for our army.

　　 So the command requires you to continue to attack continuously in order to break through their defenses. If you can’t do this, you must also find ways to consume the opponent’s ammunition and strength. We must persevere. The headquarters believes in your commanding ability. You are now the key to our plan. The Second and Fourth Division is also approaching you.

　　Finally, the command department ordered your department not to retreat under any circumstances, and must hold on until the friendly forces arrive. You have to understand that any price for victory is worth it. If your troops leave the position without authorization, you will be judged by the most severe military law!

　　 Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force. "

　　 Montgomery couldn't help feeling furious after reading this telegram.

　　 "What does it mean to have only two regiments and no heavy artillery. Why don't those idiots in the headquarters come and listen, what are the things that hit the ground? Is it possible that there are two regiments with this cannon?"

　　 Montgomery angrily crumpled the telegram into a ball and threw it out of the command post. His staff members watched silently as their commander was there swearing at the bureaucrats in the headquarters.

　　 Montgomery vented for a while, and finally calmed down. He looked down at the map on the table, thinking about how to get rid of the current predicament.

　　 At 5:30 a.m. on the 27th, the Germans finally stopped sporadic shelling, and the British positions finally enjoyed a period of peace.

　　The soldiers hurriedly took advantage of this precious gap to repair the destroyed positions and trenches.

　　"They don’t fight anymore, then it’s my turn to fight. Order the artillery to harass the enemy’s positions."

　　 Montgomery decided that even if he couldn't break through the opponent's line of defense, it would at least drag down the opponent's energy, and his artillery's counterattack could reinvigorate the morale of the troops.

　　The artillery faithfully carried out his orders~IndoMTL.com~The rumble of artillery fire was heard from the back of the position, and then they heard 25-pound shells roaring over their heads, and the last thing they heard was the Germans. There was a huge explosion over there.

　　 Suddenly a duller whistling sound rang from the direction of Arras, and then the whistling quickly passed over the command post, and all the staff members raised their ears to discern the direction of the shells.

　　 "It flew toward the position behind us." A staff officer shouted.

　　 "No, our artillery position!" Montgomery jumped up, ran out of the command post quickly, and looked behind him.

　　 At the moment he just ran out, a dozen fireballs were continuously raised from the rear artillery position, and then a thunderous roar came over, and even the powerful shock wave was felt here.

　　 "How could this happen! How did the Germans know the position of our artillery position? Although it is almost dawn, it is still at night." A staff officer yelled from the side with a cry.

　　 Montgomery looked at the artillery positions that were still exploding, without any expression on his face. Only a careful staff member found that the commander's hand was shaking violently now.

　　 "Order the troops! Get ready to retreat." Montgomery turned around and ordered.

　　"But the command of the headquarters is..."

　　 "Don't worry about what the commander-in-chief said, I will bear any responsibility alone. I can't see it as a trap and let my soldiers go to death for nothing."