Buzz..., a buzzing sound began to appear in the sky, and gradually the sound became louder and louder. Guderian immediately picked up the telescope, and suddenly a large formation of bombers appeared from the sky, "Asshole, they are British bombers!" Guderian cursed.
"Keep calm and prepare anti-aircraft weapons!" Paul & Hausser, who discovered it at the same time, shouted. Whether it was due to negligence or the belief that the French sky was already dominated by the Luftwaffe, Guderian and Paul Hausser did not expect to prepare a sufficient number of anti-aircraft guns like they did when they forcibly crossed the Meuse River last time.
Whoosh..., the British Air Force bombers tilted their anger that had been suppressed for a long time, and the bombs they dropped continued to explode among the troops crossing the river. However, the British finally learned the lessons of the air battle on the Meuse River. They did not carry out ultra-low-altitude bombing because they were afraid of the numerous anti-aircraft guns. Of course, if they knew that Guderian was not prepared, it would be another result.
"I didn't expect that the British actually had an air force active! Boom..." A bomb exploded not far from Paul and Housel, stirring up pieces of dust, and Paul and Housel immediately realized that it was still... When you are on the battlefield, you cannot be half-hearted.
"Contact the Air Force quickly! Tell them that in San Quentin, the armored group was bombed by the British Air Force, and tell them to come quickly!" Guderian yelled.
"General, we are already in contact!" replied the officer in the armored group who was responsible for contacting the Air Force.
Although the sudden appearance of the British Air Force caused Guderian's armored group to fall into temporary chaos, the well-trained soldiers under Guderian's command immediately prepared the necessary anti-aircraft weapons, the Krupp 88mm anti-aircraft gun. , this weapon once again played a role.
Although according to historical evolution, this weapon will eventually evolve into a specialized anti-tank weapon for the German army, Guderian still believes that anti-aircraft guns are its true calling. This is the most successful anti-aircraft gun developed by Gustav. . For the time being, I only have my own job as an honest author. He continued to declare his anger to the British bombers in the sky.
British bombers can fly high enough, but as the king of anti-aircraft guns, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun does not have the same rate of fire as ordinary small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, but it has a very significant advantage, that is, it is powerful. Compared with the 40mm and 37mm anti-aircraft guns of Britain and France, the 88mm anti-aircraft guns are obviously more than one level higher in power.
Otherwise, if you can't hit it, if you hit it, you will definitely not be injured. It will definitely destroy the machine and kill everyone. Now the 88mm anti-aircraft guns, combined with some small-caliber anti-aircraft guns, form an air defense network that is not very powerful, but is effective enough. After all, the British Air Force also suffered huge losses in the air battle over the Meuse River, and could no longer break through this seemingly inexplicable air defense network. Furthermore, these British air forces were specially transferred from the British mainland by Churchill. They can be said to be the last air power in the British mainland. Churchill would never let these remaining forces uselessly impact the German air defense network again.
Boom..., a British bomber disintegrated in the sky and turned into a large ball of fire. We were greeted by bursts of applause and cheers from the German armored soldiers nearby. But their heroes were still aiming and shooting at this time.
"General Paul Hausser!" the signal soldier who had just put down the radio hurriedly shouted; "The Imperial Division Headquarters Regiment that had crossed the river at Pironni Ferry received a call. In front of them, French troops appeared, and they had never appeared before. French Armored Division!”
"What? French armored division?" Paul Hausser said in shock. Ever since the war started, Paul Hausser knew that although France had an armored division in name, it never knew how to use it. The Führer Regiment that followed him from the Polish campaign would never care about that kind of French army. Then the only possible guess is that this armored division is definitely not an ordinary French armored division pretending to be one.
Paul Hausser, who had been thinking for a long time and had no idea, shook his head, which was already aching, and ordered, "Whether it is the French army, the Somme cannot be a place to delay action. Tell the Führer Regiment to hold on, no matter what." No one is allowed to retreat!"
"Yes, General!" The correspondent raised his hand in salute and immediately disappeared from Paul Hausser's eyes.
"General Paul Hausser, what happened!" Guderian, covered in dust, just walked in from outside the headquarters and asked, "I just saw the correspondent leaving in a hurry. What happened!"
"We are in trouble now! Gamelin seems to be quite capable!" Paul Hausser patted his wrinkled military uniform and said, "French armored troops appeared at the Pilonny Ferry. So far we don't know whether they are Who is leading it? I want to contact the headquarters. Maybe the Gestapo should know who our new opponent is?"
"So is there any problem with the Heads of State?" Guderian asked.
"It should be fine. After all, the national leadership team of the Military Police Division is with them!" Paul Hausser asked, "What's going on outside? Is the British Air Force gone?"
"Not yet, but the situation is under control! However, dozens of tanks were lost and the bridge was blown up! But I am now preparing to re-build the bridge," Guderian replied quickly.
"Yes, as long as one of the several river crossing points is successful, we can rescue the remaining crossing points and quickly defeat the enemy on the opposite side!" Paul Hausser agreed, "But the troops who have already crossed the river will be killed next. During the time, you have to rely on yourself!”
"That's what war is like!" Guderian also lamented.
At Pilonny Ferry, Captain Kepler of the Heads of State was squatting depressedly in the newly built headquarters. His soldiers were still digging trenches hard because they had discovered traces of the French armored forces. The surprise attack by the British and French air forces was stalled on the other side of the river and failed to cross the river successfully. Therefore, the support that can be given to the Heads of State Regiment is now very limited. In other words, the current Heads of State Regiment has to rely on itself.
"Asshole, I don't care who you are! Don't think that the SS is easy to bully!" What depressed Kepler the most was that no other ferry had noticed the French troops' actions, and the ferry that deceived him had. Kepler felt that this was deliberately aimed at him. In fact, Kepler wronged the French army. It's not that they didn't come, they just couldn't run as fast as the armored division, and they are still on the way.
"Regiment Commander, General Paul Hausser is calling!" read the incoming signal soldier, "In view of the sudden appearance of the British Air Force, the river crossing plan has encountered waves, but the Imperial Air Force will drive them away soon! The Führer Regiment appears opposite The French armored force, currently we don’t have accurate information about who its commander is! But you don’t have to worry, the Führer Regiment already has a strength comparable to the first-class troops of the National Defense Forces, but it has not yet encountered a man of sufficient weight. Opponent, this is a good opportunity, Kepler, prove the strength of the Heads of State to others immediately, Paul & Hausser!"
"Commander, the leader of the National Military Police Division Leaders Group told me that repairing the bridge will be left to them, and let us concentrate on dealing with the French!" A bookish-looking man just came in. This man is the third party of the Führer Regiment. The commander of the battalion, Otto Koum.
"Very good, Koum." Kepler patted his beloved general on the shoulder and said, "We are the Führer Regiment. If we are afraid of the French, the entire SS will probably look down on us, and the Führer Regiment will probably be dismissed. Withdraw, come, let’s discuss how to fight this battle!”
De Gaulle was sitting in an armored command vehicle, holding binoculars in both hands and observing the front attentively. Now De Gaulle was very ambitious. Because it has just received an order from the General Staff to form an armored force. After receiving the news that the German army was preparing to forcefully cross the Somme River, de Gaulle rushed over immediately, preparing to give the damn Germany a showdown here.
"How far is it from Pironny?" De Gaulle asked anxiously. Before arriving, he had received assurance from the staff that the British Air Force would definitely blow up the German army's bridge. However, there was an obvious lack of cooperation between the British and French armies. The British Air Force was fully operational, but the French Army was still on the way. De Gaulle was speechless at the cooperation between the two armies, but he could only urge the anxious troops to move forward.
"Colonel, we are still about ten kilometers away from Pilonni!" the staff officer replied immediately.
"Oh!" De Gaulle replied absently, then fell into deep thought. I once proposed the centralized use of tank troops in France, but it was shelved. Instead, I saw the emergence of armored clusters from hostile countries in my homeland. This is such a travesty.
Armored warfare places great emphasis on the ability of armored forces to separate themselves from infantry. More importantly, in order to maintain the sustained strike capability of armored forces, logistics and artillery support need to keep up with the progress of armored forces. On the other hand, the reliability of vehicles has also become very important. Important combat indicators are more important than the commonly mentioned indicators of firepower, armor, and mobility.
After meeting the above conditions, the bigger the armored force, the better. Germany was the first to form an armored division that met the above conditions. The Soviet Union did not have an armored force until 1944. In the later period of the United States, due to its strong logistics capabilities, any tank regiment was equipped with A motorized infantry division is an armored division. However, the firepower of the tank unit is still relatively weak. How to complete the breakthrough without heavy artillery in the areas that must be broken through? The German invention was to use air force instead of heavy artillery, using dive bombers as long-range artillery. This tactic caught France off guard after the war began, and the defenses of Sedan quickly collapsed.
Thinking of this, de Gaulle turned to look at the newly formed and still dilapidated Fourth Armored Division, and sighed secretly.