Battle of the Third Reich

Vol 3 Chapter 24: start

At 9:30 PM on May 26, 1940. France, Duée, Altois, France, the road leading to the provincial capital Arras.

The commander of the British Infantry Army Third Infantry Division Bonard. labor. Major General Montgomery stood in front of his "Morris" mobile command vehicle and watched with concern the rolling traffic and infantry columns passing in front of him.

The troops have been marching continuously for a day, and now there are more than ten kilometers away from the offensive position. Although the soldiers still maintain strong morale, their bodies are very tired. If the troops are in their current state and they are allowed to attack the German positions tonight, it may be too reluctant for the soldiers, and it may be difficult to achieve the expected results.

Now that he has a direct third infantry division, Gott has also given the two disabled divisions to his command.

Their former commander is now being questioned in London to investigate why they stepped back and gave up Arras without permission. Think about those two guys really unlucky. Their troops were handicapped when they were commanded by others, and Arras gave up after receiving Gott's order. Now the Army Department has counted all this on their heads and became two extra large scapegoats. I wish I wouldn't be like them.

Montgomery turned and looked again at the map laid on the hood, next to which was a horse lantern made by his lieutenant. Montgomery thought, and he was thinking about the same problem throughout the day today. Did the Germans really leave a gap for the British?

According to the available information, only two German infantry regiments are defending Aras in front of him. On the defense line against the French south, the Germans only had one mechanized infantry division. Now, according to the strength of one division and two brigades, you should be able to easily break through this line of defense. However, Montgomery always felt something was amiss, and he smelled a trace of conspiracy from the Germans' behavior.

If the Germans set a trap, then they must have ambushed a considerable number of troops nearby. Montgomery looked at the map and wondered where he would ambush his troops if he was a German commander. The infantry division takes at least one day from Cambrai to Arras, and half a day if it is a mechanized force. If the Germans set a trap, it should be ambushing troops on both sides of Arras. When they attacked Arras, they waited for the opportunity to attack their flanks and even surrounded themselves. But if this is the case, his troops must ambush within ten kilometers of Alas, otherwise they will not be able to attack themselves in time.

If you let yourself break into Arras, the Germans without the support of the armored forces would no longer be able to recapture it from their own hands. At that time, your own backup troops rushed here continuously, and finally tore this hole into the south of France.

But these are all my own guesses, at least until now I have not obtained any information to prove my assumptions, maybe I just thought too much. Even the latest Air Force reconnaissance report obtained at noon today said that no signs of German activity were found within 50 kilometers of Arras, and the enemy armored forces in Cambrai were still being repaired there. The two German infantry regiments in Arras were also hurriedly constructing field operations and digging trenches. It seemed that the Germans felt something, and they were ready to die there. Judging from the performance of the two infantry regiments, they couldn't see any strong backup.

But be careful. Montgomery has always been known for his safety first. He made up his mind. If he did not know whether his flanks were ambushed by the enemy, he would never rush to attack Arras. Although his third division can be called elite, he cannot take risks.

"Major Callaham."

Montgomery called his adjutant.

"Yes, General."

"Immediately ordered the 5th Infantry Division and the 50th Infantry Division to spread out to our two wings. The search range of the reconnaissance unit was wide to a range of five kilometers from the two wings, but they should pay attention to concealment. Report to the division headquarters as soon as possible. ."

"Observe, general, I will do it immediately."

Montgomery then jumped into his command vehicle and merged into the marching march.

At eleven o'clock on the evening of May 26, 1940. Tournai Barracks, Belgium.

Xu Junzheng and his commanders were sitting in the briefing room of the battle headquarters, waiting for the final piece of information. In the past two days, his main focus has been on how to get his troops running in each other. He ordered two actual combat drills per day, but all the troops participating in the drills were based on a small unit of the company as a unit to combine the troops of the various divisions.

As a result, after these drills, the officers and men of the 7th Panzer Division and the 1st and 3rd Infantry Divisions have already fought together. And the regiment and regiment, company and company, infantry and artillery tanks have been very skilled in cooperation. After daily realistic combat exercises, the morale of the soldiers has also been elevated to the extreme.

What made me most happy was that through these exercises, I found several talents in the officers of the 1st and 3rd Infantry Division. For example, the current commander of the 1st Infantry Division was originally the chief of the 22nd Infantry Regiment. The colonel, the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, was originally the deputy commander of the 8th Infantry Regiment, Colonel Ludwig. Now they and Mueller have become their left and right arms. And Hans also exploded his military talent, and now he has served as his army chief of staff. Dougan and Randolph also became their own intelligence analysts.

These people are slowly playing their own light in their respective positions. I believe that one day, they will become as dazzling as the sun.

"General, Alas's telegram arrived." Hans hurried into the briefing room with a telegram.

"Oh, finally here, take it." Xu Jun excitedly took the telegram from Hans, looked at it, and then booed.

He raised his head and looked at his officers with anxious eyes, nodded and said.

"Yes, gentlemen. The last message we waited on the telegram." He picked up the telegram and read it.

"Alas to the headquarters, firelight!"

"They started attacking!"

"That means the information is true, haha, they really got into the trap."

"Can we act?"

"Don't be noisy! Listen to the general."

The officers shouted with excitement when they heard the telegram. Xu Jun stood up, and the officers quickly closed their mouths, staring at their commander with anticipation.

"Gentlemen, it is time to order all the troops and officers to gather in the open space beside the barracks."

"Comply, General." The officers answered excitedly, and finally they were about to begin.

Half an hour later, Xu Jun took his senior officers to stand on the high platform built by the barracks and looked at the neatly arranged troops in front of him.

Countless huge lights illuminate the team under the stage. A total of fifty thousand German officers and soldiers were lined up in a dozen huge squares. The tanks were also neatly parked at the last side of the line. Everyone held their breaths and waited for the commander they worshiped to issue an attack order.

Xu Jun walked to the microphone in the middle of the high platform. He looked at the more than 50,000 soldiers standing upright below him, and he couldn't help but burst out with strong pride. This is his army.

He shouted into the microphone.

"Colonel Mueller!"

Standing next to him, Mueller, his deputy commander, hurried to another microphone and answered.

"Yes, General!"

"Are these my soldiers?"

"Yes, general."

"where are they from!"

"Great Germany, general!"

"They are strong."

"Yes, very strong, general!"

"They are brave."

"Yes, very brave, general!"

"They are very loyal!"

"Yes, incomparable loyalty! General!"

"What are they afraid of?"

"No fear except failure, general!"

"How will they treat the enemy?"

"Straight into hell, general!"

"They are very cruel."

"Only for our enemy, general!"

"What's their name?"

"General Corps of "Cyprus"!"

"This is a noble name."

"Yes, very noble, general!"

"What does this name stand for?"

"Except for the undead and noble warriors, no enemy can pass through in front of him alive. General!"

"Müller! Now you can lead my brave legion to tear up all the enemies that are blocking the road?"

"Be ready anytime! General!"

At this time Xu Jun roared with excitement.

"Then let's go! I'm here to order now! The "Noose" plan, officially started!"

After finishing Xu Jun saluted Mueller.

"As you wish, General!" Mueller paid a respect to Xu Jun respectfully.

Then he roared to the 50,000 officers and soldiers who were stimulated by Xu Jun and his conversation.

"I command! "Cyprus", move on!"

"Go forward! "Cyprus"!"

Fifty thousand officers and men burst into an excited roar!

As the order was issued, the teams saluted one by one toward the high platform one after another and left the open space in succession, boarding the military vehicle parked aside.

The long convoy accompanied by the tank roared towards the unknown darkness of the west.

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