Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 5: Depressed Director

　　 "Hank, pass me the wrench, the number five... No, not this one, the long one on the left, okay, thank you." Rudolf took the tool handed over by his companion, again One head got under the hood of his 251 half-track armored command vehicle.

　　 "You try again, slowly..." Rudolph yelled out his head to his companion in the driver's seat.

　　 "Quack..." With a harsh rubbing sound from the starter motor, the armored vehicle's engine began to roar, the cylinder vibrated rhythmically, and the exhaust pipe spouted out. A choking smoke.

　　 "Try it with a few accelerator pedals." Rudolph yelled to his companion.

　　 "It's normal, there is no problem."

　　 In Rudolph’s ears, the symmetrical roar of the engine was as moving as an angel’s chant.

　　 "You guys fixed it, you did a great job, Rudolph."

　　 Lieutenant Hermann, who had been waiting on the side, yelled loudly, as the adjutant of General Guderian, he has been monitoring the maintenance of this armored command vehicle.

　　 "Thank you, sir." Rudolph closed the hood of the armored car forcefully, and then jumped off the long front of the 251.

　　 "Turn it off, don't waste gasoline." Rudolf shouted loudly while gesturing to his companion in the cab, the engine stopped after a few gasps.

　　 "It's really exciting." Rudolph patted the armored car's solid front armor with satisfaction, and then he walked towards Lieutenant Hermann while using his fingers to dig his earholes that were itchy by the roar of the engine.

　　 "Is it really repaired? Sergeant Rudolph, she won't break down anymore, right?" Herman took off his military cap and scratched his head while looking at the huge armored car.

　　"You need to know that the situation in front of the battle is not ideal, the general's mood in the past two days... You know what I mean, if this car is in the same situation as last night, you can figure it out. ."

　　"No problem, sir, I just replaced her with a new carburetor. I have checked the other parts carefully. She is now as good as she just left the factory. Don’t worry, sir, no There will be any more questions. Believe me, I use my medal to guarantee," Rudolph hurriedly replied.

　　 "Keep your medal, if there is another problem, we will all be unlucky. You should check again." Herman solemnly ordered: "Remember to fill up the car and do it at any time Preparation for departure."

　　 "Yes, sir."

　　 Herman nodded solemnly and warned Rudolph again with his eyes, then he put on his military cap and turned and walked towards a large military tent nearby. He hesitated for a while in front of the tent, he took a deep breath and settled.

　　 "Report!" Herman called out into the tent.

　　 "Come in." After getting permission, Herman opened the heavy curtain and walked into the tent.

　　 "Oh, it's Herman, is there any new information, Lieutenant."

　　German Panzer Commander, Lieutenant General Guderian is lying on the huge map table in the middle of the tent, holding a red pencil and drawing something, he just raised his head and glanced at his young adjutant, and then buried First go to that map.

　　 "Your Excellency, there is no new information yet. I'm here to report to you that your command vehicle has been repaired and you can set off at any time." Herman stood up and said loudly.

　　"Oh...Very well, let them get ready to go first. I will stay here for a while. I am waiting for the third armored regiment's report last night."

　　 Guderian drew the last line on the map. He threw the pencil on the table and then straightened up and smiled and said to his adjutant.

　　 "I see, sir. Do you want to eat now? I have asked the kitchen to prepare breakfast for you." Herman asked respectfully.

　　 "Okay, I'm a little hungry." The armored lieutenant replied with his hands on his hips while stretching his sore spine.

　　 Guderian has been working all night. Although this is not a big deal for him, who is known for his excessive energy among German generals, his current image is really incompatible with his noble status after a night of fatigue. match. He was not wearing a belt, his uniform was open, revealing the crumpled military shirt inside. The first-class Iron Cross was hanging crookedly on the collar of the untied shirt, and his sparse hair was scattered on his forehead, if not for the deep blue. His eyes still exude a look full of power and confidence, otherwise the word decadence can be used to describe his current image. Fortunately, the rigorous Dagen and Von Brausic were not present, otherwise the armored lieutenant general would be covered by the terrifying artillery fire of the two military experts.

　　"General, did you not rest last night? Do you want to give you a cup of coffee first?" Herman asked.

　　 "I slept for a while, and I’m still in good spirits. If it’s hot, let’s have a cup." Guderian picked up his water glass, poured out the cold coffee in it, and then The cup was handed to the adjutant.

　　 "General, you must pay attention to your body. If you have time, I hope you can really rest. If you are exhausted like this, it will be difficult for me to explain to the head of state." Herman started. The coffee pot sent by the orderly gave Guderian a cup of steaming coffee, he said while handing the cup to the general.

　　"Thank you." Guderian took the cup and replied with a wry smile: "I know I need to rest, but the current situation makes me unable to sleep peacefully."

　　 He took a long breath after taking a sip of coffee.

　　"You will issue these orders in a while, so that the 3rd Armored Regiment will report on their fighting last night as soon as possible and tell them that I am waiting for them. Oh, after I finish breakfast, call Sauron Dao Chief of Staff Kee came to me, I have something to discuss with him." Guderian picked up a dozen order documents on the table and handed it to Herman.

　　 "Yes, General." Herman took the file and put it in his folder.

　　 "Your Excellency General, you seem to be in a good mood today."

　　"Then you are wrong. Since the day we started the offensive, my mood has not been better."

　　 Guderian frowned and took a sip of coffee and then continued: "No one thought that the French would be so tenacious against our frontal resistance. It was incredible. They were still defending in front of our powerful firepower. Every fortress and village, every battle left me with a fragmented wall and corpses everywhere. Sometimes I can’t bear to fire at them. Their tenacious spirit is really admirable. But their tactics are dull. Suicide is no different from suicide. French soldiers have used their performance these days to prove to me that they are also brave fighters, and they can indeed be proud of their military banner.

　　 But it's really enough. I'm tired of the unnecessary sacrifice of the French. Other legions are arrogant on the vast land of France, and I, and I am trapped here, carry out this **** stupid massacre every day, without any tactics, no strategy, just attack and attack. The French seem to be determined to shed their last drop of blood in my hands. If anyone tells me that those French are cowards who will run away when they see our tanks, I will tie him to four. On the front armor of the tank, let him personally experience the power of those "cowards". "

　　 Guderian gently blew the hot coffee, then took another sip.

　　 "The **** is that it seems that only my direction can have such a tough defense. Of course, our flanking Cyprus and our encounter are similar. However, the troops in the other directions did not encounter any Trouble, any trouble! The speed of their progress is amazing.” Guderian got excited when he said that, he got up and put the coffee aside, then took the red pencil and made gestures on the map on the table.

　　"Look at Reinhardt and Holt, what their armored army encountered was really a line of defense composed of cowards. They even advanced 140 kilometers in two days. They had already thrown Paris far away. Behind me, I knew that they would have a large-scale detour next step. The infantry divisions outside the two tank groups could involve all the French troops on the eastern front. This would be a brilliant victory, and this This kind of victory is what I dream of wanting to achieve."

　　 Guderian slammed his pencil on the poor map.

　　"Look again, the 28th Infantry Corps, the Second Corps. That guy Mordel. The head of state is really good at choosing the commander. It is right to throw Mordel from the position of chief of staff of the group army. No one can seize the opportunity better than him. He always likes to drill holes in the opponent's defense. See where he has rushed. I really doubt whether there is a Frenchman in front of him. At his current rate, give him a month In time, he can lead his army to go through Italy and rush into the Mediterranean." Guderian fell into his chair in frustration.

　　"And we, what kind of enemies are we encountering here. I really don’t know how the French think about it. Maybe they know that I’m directing the attack in this direction, so they put their talents in When I get to my front, look at the French Seventh Army and the Sixth Army. There are two first-level armies standing in front of me. Wei Gang must hate me very much, he must be so, he hates me." Gu Drian said depressedly.

　　"General, don’t worry about anything. Haven’t we already broken through their defenses? It’s just that the progress is a bit slower. As long as we complete the tasks he assigned to you within the time set by the head of state, then No one can accuse you of anything. Now the head of state must have known the situation here, and he will certainly understand the difficulties you encountered." Hermann carefully comforted his officer.

　　"Worry, I don’t worry about anything. I’m just disappointed with our current offensive speed. At the beginning of the war, our attacks were so powerful and rapid, and now... You see, we two days Only 50 kilometers forward, not only lags far behind other troops, but also loses more than all troops. I have lost 30 tanks and 50 armored vehicles. If this continues, I doubt whether we can maintain our current situation. We must now make every effort to break through the front line of defense, and we must ensure that the next head of state can proceed smoothly, otherwise he will send me to Norway to guard the bunker. Even if the head of state can understand our current situation , But if we are stuck here like fools, we will be laughed at by my wicked colleagues." Guderian shook his head and sighed.

　　"Cyprus on the flanks is much more relaxed than us. They are thirty kilometers beyond us. They are not worried that their flanks will be attacked by the French because I am dragging the French here. However. The three-headed dog of **** really deserves its reputation, and only they can do that kind of tsunami-like attack. I only need to watch it once, and I can’t stand it if I watch too much. The gorgeous attack method It can only be used by a powerful army such as the regiment directly under the head of state, not to mention that they have a clever chief of staff."

　　"His Excellency Manstein is indeed an unparalleled military genius. Under his leadership, Cyprus may be the most powerful army in the world."

　　 At this time, the order soldier walked into the tent carrying the breakfast. Herman took the tray containing the breakfast from the order soldier. After retreating the order soldier, he placed the tray respectfully in front of Guderian.

　　"Please have breakfast first. I think after this difficult period, the battle behind us will become smoother. You must know that our Guderian army is not something that the French can stop."

　　"I hope so. General Manstein is a clever commander. I hope he can lead Cyprus to destroy the French logistics supply base as soon as possible, so that my positive pressure can be reduced a little. We can see if the chief of staff's plan is as useful as he said." Guderian picked up the knife and started cutting his breakfast.

　　"General, please take your time, I'll see if the report of the Third Armored Regiment has been sent." Herman respectfully asked for instructions.

　　 "Well, remember to call your Chief of Staff to come over."

　　 "I see, sir." The adjutant nodded in greeting and walked out of the tent.

　　 "I hope the Third Armored Regiment will not let me down." Guderian muttered in a low voice, then forkped a piece of sausage and stuffed it into his mouth.

　　 Guderian may now be the most depressed commander on the German Western Front. The armored force he led smashed into the toughest defensive area of ​​the French Army. For two full days, the 19th Panzer Corps only advanced a pitiful fifty kilometers, and his colleagues on the left had already broken through the French line of defense and started advancing in depth toward France.

　　 Ron Destedt regained his command of the Army Group A. Paris has been tightly surrounded by his army, and now the general who has just been out of his cage for three days is triumphant. With the three legions and group army command headquarters under his personal command, they slowly crawled towards the French capital at a pure outing speed. His two armored groups and twenty infantry divisions are madly cutting into the depths of the French eastern front. They not only cut off the passage of the ten French divisions on the Maginot Line to withdraw to the French interior, and the two French army groups on the eastern front. The road of retreat to the south of France has already caused a siege of the two armies, and these French forces will never escape to the warm south.

　　Three elite infantry divisions are cooperating with the troops of Group C Army Group to starve the ten French divisions in the strong armored fortresses of the Maginot Line. According to Xu Jun’s plan, there is no need to consume the precious lives of German soldiers and German resources for these ten divisions. As long as they are temporarily besieged, and when the French government surrenders, these troops will hand over the solid line of defense. Own hands.

　　 The Army Group B on the center line is advancing towards the center of France in a chaotic manner. Not only is the offensive speed fast, but they have no formation at all. Now the infantry units of Group B are fighting with divisions as units. Each unit is walking on the map set by the General Staff before the war. They can freely attack any target that appears on their offensive route. .

　　The task of the infantry divisions of the Group B army group is to create chaos. From the map, their attack routes are simply strange. It is not so much an attack route as it is a mess, but in fact these seem to be The chaotic route was drawn after careful planning by the staff of the War Bureau. Each division is very clear about their mission. They operate strictly according to the overall timetable. If the attack goes well, the timetable will be accelerated, and vice versa. No unit can speed up or slow down the attack.

　　 This seemingly irregular and logical offensive line completely confuses the French defense forces. For example, the 37th Infantry Division of the German Army, when he first started the offensive, he was on the left flank of the entire army group. Two days later, the French saw him in the offensive sequence on the right wing. The German troops penetrated the entire line of defense like mercury. They interspersed through the gaps that the French did not pay attention to and detoured behind the garrison troops, and then attacked from directions that the troops could not imagine.

　　 In the eyes of those French commanders, German troops appeared everywhere around them, and they were suffering from attacks by German troops from all directions. The French commanders had to constantly mobilize their reserves, and they kept mobilizing those troops to the key positions they thought. As a result, these precious troops had to bear the bombs of German bombers in the open fields of France. They caused more losses during the march than during the battle. The defense line built by three reserve second-rate armies on the French midline was cut to pieces by the group of first-class headless flies, and then eaten by them in small bites. The logistics system of the French army in the center line had been torn to pieces by those German troops that were constantly interspersed with each other, so the French army began to appear as a whole division and was forced to surrender due to exhaustion of ammunition and food.

　　 The German infantry has achieved brilliant results, and they can finally make the armored units not dare to underestimate them. The most incredible thing is that in this kind of chaotic attack, the logistics work of the B army group can be kept in order. Because those troops are all infantry divisions, there will be no unmatched supplies. The logistic units of the B Army Group marched along the French railway line. They spread the supply bases evenly across the front. The logistic units of each division could seek supplies from the nearby supply bases. The early road congestion has ended. The excellent transportation facilities in France have indeed saved a lot of energy from the German logistics department. Now they can deliver the urgently needed supplies of the front troops to any corner of the front in time.

　　The performance of the Luftwaffe is also very good. The Second and Third Air Forces have completely controlled all air dominance on the battlefield. At the beginning, some French fighters bravely took off and resisted. Their bravery and fear caused some trouble to the Luftwaffe. But this problem was solved immediately. French planes were often bombed into a pile of scrap iron by the ensuing German bombers as soon as they landed. For a while, such expensive bonfires were lit on every airport of the French Air Force. The Luftwaffe completely occupied the French sky, and they could launch attacks on any seemingly valuable military target without any interruption.

　　With the continuous advancement of the field airport, the German angels of death can now spread fear and death unscrupulously towards the French army on the ground. The sharp howling of the dive bomber and the thunderous roar of Heinkel echoed throughout the whole Over the battlefield. The French soldiers' counterattack against the Luftwaffe was weak and powerless. The number of German aircraft shot down by ground forces was less than the number of aircraft lost due to malfunctions or control errors. Whether it was a bomber or a fighter jet, the German pilots happily hovered over the French positions, adding their medals with the losses of the French army.

　　 Guderian was arranged on the western front of the entire battlefield, and the troops attacking from here were the elite of the German army. Their mission is very critical. They have to break through the French lines and capture important ports along the coast. If they occupy those ports and transportation hubs, it will be the deadliest blow to France. France will not be able to obtain reinforcements from his overseas colonies and the British government. Judging from the current situation, relying on the power they have accumulated now is absolutely unable to withstand the attacks of the powerful German army.

　　 The French also deeply understand this. They put the strongest and most elite forces on the western line of defense. The French are determined to protect the coastal cities and the southwestern provinces at all costs. The French are the most Affluent cities also gather in that area. As long as those areas are still in the hands of France, they still have the opportunity to counterattack.

　　 The French resolutely gave up their easy-to-attack and difficult-to-defend capital. They even gave up the eastern front battlefield that they believed would definitely be occupied. They retreated the French government cabinet and the financial, cultural, and industrial institutions. Among the coastal cities in the southwest, the regions in eastern and southern France that are not yet occupied are also busy retreating important institutions toward the sea.

　　 As a result, Guderian ran into the strongest line of defense that the French were determined to defend to the death. Had it not been for the Luftwaffe's control over the sky and the ability to give him uninterrupted air support, his loss would definitely be more than just this. The French soldiers in front of him knew that they were the last line of defense, and they were willing to use their lives to defend the Third French Republic.

　　 In front of the soldiers with this firm will and the last batch of elite weapons in France, Guderian, like Guderian, can keep up the offensive speed and break through the French three-tier defense by stalking. The species can already be classified into the strong and fierce class. If it were Kruger or the like who launched the attack instead, he might have already called for reinforcements to the command.

　　 In fact, Guderian has not yet encountered the strongest resistance from the French, because another beast has already attracted most of the attention of the French opposite him. The Cypress Army relied on his powerful offensive power and ingenious tactics to advance into the depths of the French defensive circle. The powerful combat power came from the fanatical worship of the direct commanders and the denseness that he possessed. The firepower, and the exquisite tactics come from his new commander. Manstein was appointed as the new chief of staff of the corps on the day of meeting with Xu Jun. According to Xu Jun’s secret order, Mueller must fully obey the command of this chief of staff during the battle~IndoMTL.com~Manstein Yin became the one who really pulled the belt on Cypress's collar.

　　The new head of state not only rescued him from the terrifying place of the Berlin military prison, but also gave himself such a high regard. Manstein couldn’t express his gratitude. In return, he made up his mind to fight the battle even if he tried all his strength and wisdom.

　　 As a result, as soon as this military genius took off, Cypress's offensive method changed. The original completely crazy dog ​​attack was strictly prohibited. Cypress changed his previous rampage style and began to make a lot of tricks. Strictly speaking, he was launching an attack in accordance with the textbook catalog of the German Army Tactics Department. Every regular or irregular tactic was taken out, and the legion commanders changed their tricks to launch attacks against the French position again and again. The three divisions are like a huge grinding disc taking turns to smash the enemy on the opposite side. Cypress relied on the tactics that made the opponent invincible and the powerful air and ground firepower, he broke through the four lines of defense of the French, and is attacking the fifth line of defense in the depth of France at a steady speed.

　　 But the Guderian Legion, which was relatively weaker than him, could only be left behind. As a result, Guderian became the slowest person in the entire German army. It is no wonder that the armored director will be depressed until now. .

　　 "General, the report of the 3rd Armored Regiment is here." Herman opened the curtain and hurried into the tent, holding a telegram in his hand.

　　 Guderian raised his head, and when he saw the unnatural look on his adjutant’s face, he couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that he was going to review a batch of killed lists.