Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 26: Dead end

　　 "General! A telegram from the 1st Infantry Division and Headquarters!" Another signal soldier ran up with two telegrams.

　　 "Give it to me."

　　 Montgomery took the telegram and read it. He looked at the telegram of the First Division first. He wondered why the First Division sent a telegram to himself. Didn't it mean that the Second and Fourth Divisions were supporting him? After reading the telegram, Montgomery showed a surprised expression.

　　 He hurriedly read the telegram from the headquarters again. After reading the telegram from the headquarters, a smile appeared on Montgomery's somber face.

　　"The retreat order is cancelled. We must insist here until the first division arrives and order the forward position to be reinforced again. The enemy's shelling will be more accurate after dawn."

　　 Then Montgomery walked back to the command post regardless of the doubts of the staff around him. Montgomery was so happy in his heart, but he resisted not letting others see his own joy from his expression, and he was always proud of not allowing others to see his inner world.

　　 is finally saved, maybe it is possible to get rid of the current beaten situation and turn defeat into victory. Lord Gott ordered all troops without defensive missions to rush to Arras as soon as possible, with himself and the two brigades as the vanguard, with the Second and Fourth Infantry Divisions of the Second Army as backup. The main force of the expeditionary army followed last.

　　 But what I didn't expect was that the Army's First Infantry Division, as one of the main forces, acted too agilely. As a result, they have now surpassed the two support divisions and become the unit closest to them. They had just contacted Gott's headquarters and learned of their situation here, but they asked Gott to fight, asking them to support themselves first. Gott has also agreed to their request, and now they are approaching themselves as quickly as possible, believing that they will be able to rendezvous with him in an hour.

　　Montgomery couldn't help being very grateful to the First Infantry Division for being able to lend a helping hand in time, and fortunate that he finally did not have to violate the military order.

　　 What pleased him most is that the 1st Infantry Division also brought the only Second Royal Tank Regiment in the entire British Expeditionary Force that has not been damaged. It has 18 Matilda II tanks and 60 Four "Matilda" tanks. This is the support I need most.

　　 I was planning to retreat because even if the two supporting infantry divisions caught up in time, they would not be able to help their offense. Relying on infantry will never be able to capture that city. With the support of the air force, there is still a half chance of success. But the Royal Air Force’s planes in France suffered heavy losses, and the airports were all behind France, which could not help me at all. Moreover, even if they are dispatched, the German air force is not to be watched there, and it will not be outnumbered and flee. The air force on the mainland was ordered not to leave the British mainland, so it was even more hopeless.

　　 But now that there is a tank, that’s different. Montgomery has a special interest in this heavy armored tank. He believes that the Germans still don’t have a weapon that can deal with that tank. He has seen it with his own eyes. The German anti-tank artillery shells hit the tank immediately after being bombed. If these tanks are allowed to attack suddenly and advance quickly, then the time to pass through that battlefield will be very short, and they can break through the opponent's forward position before the Germans can organize such heavy artillery bombardment. Even if the Germans had time to fire their guns, there would only be one or two rounds, and if it were not for a direct hit, the shrapnel alone would not damage their armor.

　　Wait until they rush into the enemy’s forward position, then these tanks can wreak havoc on the enemy’s forward position and cause chaos to the enemy. Then, while the Germans were busy dealing with those tanks, their infantry could swarm forward, break through the enemy's frontier, and take advantage of the momentum to rush into the city. When their infantry and the Germans began to mingled in the city and started fighting in the streets, the terrifying heavy artillery of the Germans could no longer function unless they were ready to kill themselves together. At that time, relying on the strength of almost three infantry divisions to occupy the city of Arras would be a sure thing. If the speed of the infantry's impact is fast enough, it may still be possible to capture those terrible cannons. After all, the movement of those artillery is so slow that it is impossible for the Germans to drag them to escape.

　　 Montgomery conceived his own battle plan excitedly. He felt that if he attacked according to his plan, he would definitely succeed. Now he just waited for the tanks and the 1st Infantry Division to arrive.

　　 When the first light appeared from the horizon on May 27, 1940, Montgomery finally looked forward to the reinforcements he was waiting for.

　　 Harold, the commander of the 1st Infantry Division. When General Alexandria walked into his command post, Montgomery leaped forward and embraced him enthusiastically. Montgomery couldn't use other methods to express his joy for the arrival of the First Infantry Division.

　　 After the two division commanders had agreed with each other as usual, Montgomery talked to Alexandria about his battle plan. After listening to this, Alexander couldn't help frowning. Although he passed the destroyed artillery position in Montgomery on his way, he still didn't want to believe that the two ordinary German infantry regiments could have such powerful firepower. He expressed that he would go to the forward position to take a look.

　　 Montgomery accompanied him to the forward command post, and was stunned when Alexandria saw the miserable sight of the forward position. Leaving aside the wounded soldiers, just look at the collapsed trenches and bunkers to see how powerful the shells are, not to mention the hellish scene on the battlefield. A whole regiment of broken bodies of British officers and soldiers lay at the place where they sacrificed last night. The blood flowing along the huge craters has accumulated small blood pits, making the miserable battlefield even more terrible. .

　　Alexander completely believed what Montgomery said. He also participated in the First World War, knowing that without the cover of tanks and aircraft, these infantrymen would never want to seize enemy positions covered by heavy artillery. Moreover, his artillery, like Montgomery’s, is also a 25-pound infantry gun. And those heavy 203mm heavy howitzers are still slowly advancing here with the army command, and now relying on their own firing power can’t compete with the Germans. Kind of terrifying firepower to contend. He now completely agrees to Montgomery's battle plan, and he also feels that this is indeed the only way to deal with the Germans.

　　 Montgomery discovered the cause of the annihilation of his artillery at this time. A huge balloon floats above Arras. It was far away from the position of the British army. Due to the threat of German artillery fire, its anti-aircraft gun could not approach the forward position, so it could not threaten it. But it was able to have a panoramic view of its entire position. I believe it was this observation balloon that discovered its artillery position last night based on the fire of its artillery.

　　 Now Montgomery feels that there is a big problem in his plan. If his tank unit strikes, it will definitely be seen by the observation balloon. The attack will lose its suddenness, and the threat of the tank from being bombarded by the enemy will increase. . But if you want to kill the balloon is simply impossible, your own antiaircraft artillery may be discovered by it before it enters the position, and then it will be bombarded into a pile of scrap iron.

　　"Yes, since the Germans can bombard their artillery positions, it means that their artillery fire can cover their entire positions. If it was dark last night they couldn’t see clearly, then it’s dawn now. The positions, including the positions of the new first division, were placed in front of them without any cover. Why didn’t they immediately carry out shelling? The sky has been bright for an hour, and the Germans have not shown any signs of shelling. They have another purpose?" Montgomery lowered his head and thought.

　　 "Mondy, what are you thinking?" Alexandre asked curiously.

　　 "I'm thinking that the Germans' behavior is abnormal, as if there is a conspiracy we don't know. I now feel more and more that we are stepping into a trap." Montgomery replied solemnly.

　　"Where do you see that the Germans are acting abnormally?"

　　Alexander still didn't know what Montgomery was talking about. Montgomery immediately shared his analysis and hunch with Alexandra carefully. After listening to Montgomery's analysis, Alexander also felt that the behavior of the Germans was indeed very problematic. He agreed with Montgomery's opinion very much, and he asked Montgomery.

　　"If you follow your idea, what should we do now? Originally I thought that if we attacked with tanks, we might suffer some losses, but there is still great hope of success. But now listen to what you say, let me I feel that even our tank attack may fail, and according to your premonition, the Germans may have more powerful tricks waiting for us. Are we still going to retreat? Gott will eat us raw, don’t you I know how enthusiastic he is for this plan. Now we are running out of time. If we decide to attack, we have to attack immediately. If this continues, we will wait until the German tank divisions are finished tomorrow. Trouble."

　　 "Tomorrow..." Montgomery felt as if he had thought of some crucial question. He stood there with his head down blankly, thinking desperately in his mind.

　　 abruptly, he raised his head and grabbed Alexandre's shoulders with both hands.

　　 "Alexander! What if those German tanks are okay? What if they have enough fuel and don’t need repairs at all!"

　　 Alexandra stared at the excited Montgomery blankly. He was obviously frightened by Montgomery’s hypothesis. He immediately thought that if Montgomery’s hypothesis is correct, then all this is the most set by the Germans. A sinister trap, and if the Germans succeed, the British Expeditionary Force will be wiped out. But this is crazy. Will the Germans come up with such a trick?

　　"Mondy, you really scared me. If this is true, then it is terrible. But can you be sure that your thoughts are correct?"

　　"Of course! I finally want to understand. I finally know why the Germans would easily expose their weaknesses to us, why they suddenly withdrew their tank troops, and why they are the most important here. Only two infantry regiments were placed in the transportation hub, and why the firepower of these two infantry regiments exceeded one army.

　　 I want to understand everything. They wanted to lure our main force out of the Ayr Canal area. Then use those armored divisions that do not need to be trimmed to suddenly penetrate the main force's side and rear and the two wings. Divide and encircle us and annihilate us in this area. The Arras in front of us is a huge decoy, and it is a decoy that we can hardly swallow~IndoMTL.com~ The job of the two German infantry regiments is to attract us here, and then use their heavy artillery to block our attack. Hold us until our troops are blocked on this plain so that their armored divisions can attack us at a time and place we did not expect.

　　This plan is really wonderful. The person who came up with this plan is a very sinister and cunning bastard, but he is also the greatest war genius I know. I can't believe that there are such guys in the German army. If I have a chance, I must see with my own eyes what kind of person this guy who can play with the entire British Expeditionary Force in the palm of my hand is. I also want to know what method he used to get their staid commander to agree to implement such a large, sophisticated and crazy plan. "

　　 Montgomery was so excited that he couldn't control himself. He thought he had completely seen through Xu Jun's plan. He flushed with excitement that he could discover this huge conspiracy before the expeditionary army stepped into the trap.

　　 "Meng... Mondi. It seems that you are right. You have indeed guessed the German plan, but I think it may be too late for us to understand." Alexandra's face changed Brushed white, staring blankly at the horizon behind Montgomery.

　　Montgomery quickly turned and looked in the direction that Alexandra was looking at.

　　 As the billowing smoke rose in the distance, countless tanks and armored vehicles appeared from the horizon, and they rushed towards the flanks of their positions with a roar. On the turret of the hideous No. 4 tank that rushed forward, a German flag with a red background and black cross was flying high in the wind.