Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

Chapter 252: The End of France (22)

The German soldiers on the position looked at the sudden bombing in stunned silence.

When the smoke cleared, a scene that could only be described as horrific appeared before everyone's eyes. As far as the eye can see, there are dense craters, and the vicinity of these craters is covered with corpses of French soldiers. Because the shelling came so suddenly, most people didn't even have a chance to lie down before being pierced by the storm of shrapnel.

Countless corpses, some with no heads or missing limbs, almost none of them complete. The entire battlefield was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke and blood, which was so suffocating that people could not breathe.

A German soldier muttered. "What kind of cannon is this?" After all, even the German soldiers, not everyone has seen this kind of rocket launcher "performance".

"This should be a new weapon. I have never seen such a density of fire attacks." The German soldier in the foxhole next to him shivered and lit a cigarette, looking at the Shura field-like open space in the distance and responded blankly. .

The heavy pontoon bridge that was rushed slowly was finally built. Guderian ordered five self-propelled rocket launcher armored vehicles to cross the river first to support Highland A. These 122mm self-propelled rocket launchers have a range of more than 10,000 meters. After crossing the river for a while, they stopped and fired a wave of rockets.

Each self-propelled rocket launcher armored vehicle is equipped with 4 rows of 60 rocket launch tubes. Five vehicles were launched at the same time, and 300 rockets hit the battlefield.

When the rockets fell, the French division commander in the rear command post knew that it was impossible to continue the attack, and decisively issued the order to retreat.

Unfortunately, before they had time to move, German tanks appeared on the high ground opposite.

One after another, German tanks drove down the high ground and headed straight for them.

Seeing this scene, the French soldiers on the front line suddenly became a mess and collapsed in an instant. The terrible round of shelling just now extinguished all the determination and courage of these soldiers. At this moment, they desperately threw away their backpacks, rifles and everything that became a burden, and fled towards the rear desperately. Between honor and survival, they firmly chose the latter.

Those who were injured could only kneel on the ground and raise their hands high, constantly praying that the rushing German soldiers would be merciful and let them live.

But Guderian didn't want to waste time taking in these prisoners here. "I don't have time to capture you! Put down your weapons, get off the road, and stay out of the way!"

After finally driving these French troops aside, the armored troops continued to rush forward.

There were a few French tanks that bravely tried to block the German attack, but they had no effect except for vividly interpreting what "a mantis' arm acts as a chariot". Well, it's not that it didn't work. Seeing those heroic tanks being blown up in an instant, the rest of the tank crew quickly climbed out of their cars and raised their hands high.

Just as the French front line collapsed, the rear command post was also in chaos. Support staff and wounded soldiers jostled for seats in the truck. The staff officers were busy processing various telegrams and documents on hand, destroying radio equipment. The troops have been defeated, and no one can care about anyone now.

But before they could escape, another round of rockets struck. Although it did not directly hit the French headquarters, it frightened the people in the headquarters. No one knew whether the next shell would fall on their head.

The frightened division commander hurriedly ordered to find a piece of white cloth and hang it up as high as possible.

Guderian also ignored them and went straight to Moncorne. Montcornet is more than 70 kilometers away from Sedan, where the French 2nd Army and 9th Army combine.

Soon, the news that the main force of the German army had crossed the Meuse River quickly reached Paris, France.

French Prime Minister Reno called Commander-in-Chief Gamelin in panic. "Commander-in-Chief, I heard that the main force of the German army has crossed the Maas River. Is it true?!" He prayed from the bottom of his heart that Gamelin would tell him that the news was false and that the German army was blocked on the other side of the river.

Unfortunately, reality is so cruel.

Gan Molin was also distressed by the news at this time, and replied weakly. "Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister, the main armored force of the German army has crossed the Meuse River. The troops we sent to intercept have been defeated. They are now moving towards Moncorne."

"Then do you have any countermeasures?" Renault was certainly not an idiot, and it was faintly heard from Gamelin's frustrated tone that he was helpless. After all, to be a good lawyer, it is essential to be aware of what is happening. And Renault was also an excellent lawyer before.

It seems that this commander is not worthy of this important task!

The thought of changing the commander-in-chief flashed through Renault's mind! And he immediately thought of a more suitable candidate.

Maxime Weygand!

Wei Gang can be said to be the hero of France's last victory over Germany. He served as chief of staff for five years to Ferdinand Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces during World War I. He was capable, resourceful, experienced and energetic.

In fact, Renault had privately discussed with Daladi earlier on to replace Gamelin and appoint Weygand, but he gave up because he could not convince Daladi.

In this situation, Daladi probably has no reason to object.

Of course Gamelin on the other end of the phone didn't know that Prime Minister Reno had already made up his mind to replace him. "We have dispatched two armored divisions (dissatisfied units) to intercept the German army. However, if they cannot be stopped, not only the 9th Army and the 2nd Army are facing huge risks, but even the troops fighting in Belgium are at risk of being surrounded."

"What?!" Renault was shocked. He didn't expect the situation to be worse than he expected. "Then don't we have to withdraw the troops in Belgium quickly?"

Gamelin didn't think so, but if they retreated rashly, the German troops in Belgium and the Netherlands would close up; if they were not careful at that time, an active retreat would turn into a major rout, and they could not afford to take this risk.

Hearing Gamelin's explanation, Renault's dislike for him increased even more. It was Gamelin who vowed to ensure that the German army's main attack direction would be Belgium and transferred all the troops to Belgium. Now it seems that it is not a self-destruction. Fire pit? ! "Then what should we do? You don't plan to watch our soldiers fall into an encirclement, do you?"

"Of course not. What we can do now is to keep the 9th Army as stable as possible, while the 2nd Army will find ways to counterattack to see if it can seal the gap." At this point, Gan Molin hesitated for a moment before speaking. own plan. "Our troops in Belgium must also be prepared to retreat by sea, but this will require British assistance."

"Retreat by sea?" As long as these troops can escape from the encirclement, let alone retreat by sea, Renault will agree to dig a tunnel to retreat. "Then you should quickly make a detailed plan and I will contact the British side."

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