Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 426: Go to war

In the hour from 12 midnight on the 20th to early morning on the 20th, the German Wehrmacht launched a full-scale offensive on the border between Austria and Italy. ★√★★1★★A dense road traffic network is built in the border area between Austria and Italy. This is the result of the construction of hundreds of predecessors, connecting the isolated towns in the Alps.

The German mechanized infantry, riding on trucks and armored personnel carriers, easily broke through the Italian border defense line and invaded Italian territory along the intermountain highway. These troops attacking along the inter-mountain highway were only feigning tasks. Their goal was to quickly occupy the southern Alps, consolidate the two wings of the main attacking troops, and ensure the smooth flow of the two important mountain railway supply lines between the east and the west.

For large-scale battles like this, the most important thing is to maintain the smoothness and safety of the supply lines. An ordinary infantry division consumes hundreds of tons of materials and supplies every day during combat, of which only the food required for the officers and soldiers’ three meals takes up a small half, and the ammunition, fuel and various war consumables are the bulk of the consumption. , These data will double day by day when the war is fierce. In this military operation, Germany still organized various division-level units into a mixed army. A large part of the reason was for the convenience of logistical management.

Germany is increasing the mechanization of the army. With a stable source of fuel, the German Wehrmacht finally removed the shackles on its neck and accelerated the reform of replacing military horses with fuel vehicles. In the past, German infantry units were still equipped with a large number of mules and horses, which were used to transport the weight and towing artillery of the company-level troops. It was not that the Sixth Army could not be equipped with vehicles. The main reason was to reduce the pressure on fuel. Expensive fossil fuels make it easier for Germany to obtain fodder for mules and horses.

Now that the fuel problem has been resolved, the German Wehrmacht has finally been able to let go of its hands and begin the process of fully mechanizing the Sixth Army. At present, the overall mechanization of the German troops on the Austrian line has reached more than 40%. Most pure infantry units have received their own trucks, and the number of trucks in the logistics units has reached the level calibrated by the command. These assault infantry regiments can almost be divided into quasi-motorized units, and the group army headquarters has equipped them with a large number of trucks to increase the mobility of these units.

Currently, only part of the mountain chasers and artillery, as well as the scout cavalry units of the infantry divisions, still retain the horses they use.

Only while increasing the mobility of the troops, a large number of vehicles also put some new pressure on the logistics system, and the demand for motor vehicle parts and various fuels is rising rapidly. However, due to the large-scale popularization of mechanization of the corresponding logistics units, the original transportation capacity has also been greatly increased.

Now the logistics officers of the German Wehrmacht are trying to find out how to maintain the normal operation of this system. It is foreseeable that Germany’s logistics supply system will usher in a qualitative leap. It belongs to the German [Red Ball Transport]. It thrives in swaddling clothes.

The German offensive plan is still the old-fashioned pincer offensive. This tactic was chosen not because it was old, but because it was really effective. The main task of attacking the west is the f assault group dispatched from Innsbruck. They will maneuver along the railway line and strive to break through the natural dangers of the Alps as quickly as possible and enter the fertile Po river plain.

Brennero is the first and most important Italian border town that needs to be conquered. Just as Colonel Filiberto had foreseen, the German side must take this railway hub in its entirety. There are perfect The repair and dispatching equipment, as well as a large amount of professional materials and equipment needed to maintain the Italian railways, can play an important auxiliary role for the subsequent actions of the German army along the railway.

Because Yuan’s wayward declaration of war was advanced for a long time, the Germans lost the unexpected conditions, but for the Germans, it didn’t really matter. They had already figured out the details of the Italian comrades opposite.

In the border town of Gris on the Austrian side of the Brenner Pass, two German assault infantry regiments have been here for a long time. In order to avoid exposing their targets, these soldiers are strictly limited in their range of movement and can only live in the marshalling yard. On the two troop transport trains inside, these energetic soldiers had already had enough energy to find a place to vent.

Prior to this, ordinary soldiers had no idea that the target of the attack was Italy. Many people speculated that they would eventually be transferred to the east front, such as Yugoslavia and Romania.

As a result, after the battle order was issued, some smart people immediately thought of the targeted training they had received before. It was obviously to deal with this kind of battle. It seems that the superiors have already done a comprehensive job for the invasion. arrangement. This war was obviously premeditated, not a retaliatory action that ordinary people thought, but since these are smart people, of course they would not foolishly share this somewhat dangerous situation with others.

For ordinary soldiers who are frustrated for failing to serve in the European war, this is simply the second chance God has given them so that they can make up for all their previous regrets on the Italians.

On the evening of the twentieth, the soldiers of two battalions quietly entered the pre-determined position. This obviously confirmed the speculation of some smart people, but at this time the arrow was hanging on the string. Time to think again.

On the afternoon of the same day, they unexpectedly received a support army. Two artillery battalions with 36 cannons were transported to this town by train. The artillery is equipped with a French Schneider 97c 155mm howitzer with a range of 10,000 kilometers. Although it is a late-war product, its performance is not out of date.

The German army seized about two hundred heavy artillery pieces of this type on the European battlefield. In addition to returning parts of the French 6th Army, they also absorbed some as a supplement to their own firepower, because the heavy artillery attached to the German infantry unit was all 6 Where the army’s shortcomings are.

These three-ton guns are more suitable for maneuvering with railways. Under the current combat intensity, there is no opponent that can restrain it for the time being. The Intelligence Department of the 6th Army has long been able to get an accurate Italian military map, which shows the locations of all important departments and the coordinates of the semi-permanent positions everywhere. The German artillery can shoot at various elements according to the map, and use precise artillery to open the opponent's line of defense for the assault troops.

But the headquarters seemed to feel that these preparations were not enough. They wanted to take the town completely, so they decided to use paratroopers here.

Actually, the use of paratroopers in the battle against Italy was determined at the beginning of the plan. The biggest advocate was Keitel. The Germans tasted the sweetness of parachuting behind enemy lines in the British operations. The paratroopers were in the battle. His performance left a deep impression on the chief of staff.

Speaking of the early days of the German Airborne Forces Show, Italy gave a lot of technical support. The rz series parachutes that German paratroopers used before were "Salvador" parachutes. Developed on the basis. But now the German paratroopers have replaced their parachutes with new parachutes, and no longer need to land with only a pistol.

Night airborne is no longer a problem for German paratroopers. At present, the biggest difficulty comes from the local complex terrain. This village is located in the middle of a valley, flanked by steep and towering mountains of the Alps. Obstacles such as the old spire buildings and the street lamp and telephone poles in the town are also a serious threat to the landing of paratroopers.

The only airdrop areas that can be selected at the moment are the central station and the marshalling yard line, which is a long and narrow flat land no more than 700 meters long but 400 meters wide. The ground is densely covered with railway tracks and various metal components.

Although the paratroopers have the courage to face these difficulties, their superiors do not want unnecessary losses here. If they are not sure, they are willing to abandon this plan and use infantry to complete the battle through conventional tactics.

Finally, after the paratroopers strongly requested, the headquarters finally agreed to act according to the original plan, except that the paratroopers participating in the airdrop were no longer the originally scheduled paratrooper battalion, but relatively superior airborne technology. The paratrooper teaching battalion, which is a seed force used to train the paratroopers at the grassroots level, is equivalent to announcing to the higher level that they are going to fight back.

Facts have proved that the seed force is indeed well-deserved. Of course, we need to thank the group of transport plane pilots who are willing to accompany the paratroopers to their lives. They rely on the dim moonlight to guide them, risking the threat of hitting the cliff, and forcibly entering the valley at low altitude. The paratroopers of that battalion were accurately thrown into the airdrop area.

In order to reduce the time the paratroopers stayed in the air, the aunts Juncker tried their best, and the plane was only more than 300 meters above the ground during the airdrop~ IndoMTL.com~ The height of the fuselage was lower than the ridges on both sides. .

The elite German paratroopers only stayed in the air for less than 20 seconds, and the heavy paratrooper boots had already stepped on the gravel ground of the marshalling yard, and there was no time for the Italians to strike back. The paratroopers that landed immediately used various weapons they carried to launch a fierce attack on all non-self targets within their sight range, covering the comrades who were still in the air, and clearing a safe landing area.

German paratroopers with fierce automatic firepower were simply unable to fight against Italian infantry with single rifles. The paratroopers quickly occupied a stable position, and the pilot troops launched a light signal on the ground. Polish comrades guide the target.

The battle went more smoothly than the headquarters expected. The emergence of paratroopers completely disrupted the deployment of the Italians, and severely hit the morale of the Italians. In particular, the sudden destruction of the Italian command organization led to the entire The combat system fell into hopeless chaos.

The German assault infantry battalion, which received the signal of action immediately, began to attack the Italian defense line along the road opened by artillery. But when the 6th Army soldiers roared and rushed to the Italian positions, there were collapsed trenches and shattered corpses everywhere, as well as large groups of Italian officers and soldiers squatting in the bullet-proof trenches.

These poor guys have been stunned by the terrible heavy artillery, but their superiors have repeatedly refused their requests to retreat, which is tantamount to severing the hope of these soldiers surviving from the battlefield. So when these people saw the German infantry rushing into the position with a rifle, it was almost like seeing a savior. They quickly threw away their weapons, raised their hands, and stammered German to demand surrender to the German Sixth Army.

ps: Thank you for your rewards and monthly tickets. I will continue to work hard.

Thank you. (To be continued.)