It is the stupidest thing to do in an armored group to fight a tough battle. De Gaulle also knows this, but now he has no choice. Not only the Führer Regiment in front of them, but the entire German army on the Somme River line were all composed of armored troops. This was almost all of Germany's armored strength. And according to the information obtained from the intelligence, a German armored cluster appeared again from the Ardennes Mountains. About three fully equipped armored divisions were advancing at full speed, preparing to fight against the current German armored cluster.
In other words, if de Gaulle does not block the Somme now or contain the assault of the German armored group, the situation will be even more sinister two days later. Of course, in that case, French reinforcements can also arrive, but in that case, the French army will definitely suffer a big loss, because the air supremacy is now basically in the hands of Germany.
De Gaulle knew that in the last war, because the main battlefield was in northern France, the birth rate in France during that period was very low. Therefore, the tragic victory made the French hate war so much now. If this war turns into that kind of large-scale war of attrition, the Germans will of course be defeated first with the joint efforts of Britain and France. But France is once again throwing its own generation into the flames of war. It doesn't matter if it doesn't win, de Gaulle thought to himself.
Now is an opportunity. The German armored group is advancing rapidly, and the distance between it and the large army has been widened. Just first curb the speed of the armored group, and then look for opportunities to annihilate them. At that time, we can negotiate peace with the Germans in a way that is honorable to both parties.
After weighing the pros and cons, De Gaulle made up his mind to destroy his newly formed Fourth Armored Division and block the German armored group on the other side of the Somme. ; "Now there is only one regiment in front of us, and you can't break through the defense of one regiment?" De Gaulle glanced at the subordinates he had promoted. When these people saw de Gaulle looking at them, they did not dare to look at de Gaulle. Finally someone whispered, "Colonel, these troops are well-equipped, and they are not generally stubborn! You can't blame us for this."
"You have the nerve to say that?" De Gaulle said angrily, "Do you know how many troops there are in front of you? There is only one regiment. Who are they composed of? Let me tell you, they are the SS of the German National Socialist Party. When you started serving in the army, they were ordinary civilians. What about now? You actually said those well-equipped nonsense in front of me!"
Those whom De Gaulle trained were silent. After a while, De Gaulle calmed down and said, "The situation is now very dangerous, even more dangerous than in 1914. France will fall into the cliff if it is not careful. Never come out again. We must fight bravely for France!"
"We understand, Colonel!" everyone said in unison, "For France..."
"For France!" De Gaulle clenched his fists and shouted uncontrollably.
In the hearts of the soldiers, the passionate Marseillaise seemed to be ringing again. Marseillaise is a hymn of freedom. As the soldiers sang Marseillaise loudly, the French offensive began again. Still led by the B1 heavy tank, this attack was full of indomitable momentum. Although the 88mm anti-aircraft gun combined with the Panzer IV tank still destroyed half of the tanks outside the defense line. But the remaining tanks still broke through the trenches and rushed into the position.
Dozens of No. 4 tanks of the Führer Regiment immediately found their opponents, and the two sides engaged in a small-scale tank battle in this small area. The 75mm long-barreled main gun on the Panzer IV tank, the 47mm main gun on the B1 heavy tank and the 75mm main gun on the belly of the vehicle constantly declare their existence to the world.
Huge explosions continued to sound on the position. Whether it was a B1 heavy tank or a Panzer IV tank, they were all turned into scrap metal amidst the explosions and returned to their original parts, leaving only a little bit of wreckage on the position. Thick smoke billows.
"Captain, the second line of defense is tight!" Amidst the sound of ticking radio buttons, the communications soldier stood up again and reported to his commander.
"So fast? Are the French crazy?" Kepler said suspiciously. Indeed, since entering France, Kepler has not seen French troops who completely ignored death. Under normal circumstances, as long as they are hit, the French will retreat quickly, so Kepler has the impression that the French can only rise so much, and in such a short period of time, the second line of defense can hardly be defended. It was completely beyond his expectation.
After thinking for a long time, Kepler ordered, "Tell them to hold on and reinforcements will arrive soon. If they collapse, we will have to turn our backs to the Somme and fight the French army!"
"Yes, commander!" the communications soldier said in a well-trained manner.
Captain Andreas quickly received Kepler's order. Looking at the groups of French infantry following the tanks, Captain Andreas smiled bitterly and said, "It's really a difficult task to complete!"
At this time, Guderian and Paul Hausser also encountered trouble at the crossing of Saint-Quentin. Their opponent was the newly formed Sixth Army in France, and the commander of the army was General Tachion. However, at Guderian's request, the Air Force finally sent Stuka dive bombers to conduct continuous bombing before the French Sixth Army arrived on the battlefield, buying time for Guderian to repair the bridge.
General Tacien also knew that this operation could not be delayed. However, when the French air force was almost completely wiped out, General Tacien had no choice but to order the troops to advance against the bombers in the sky. However, when they were bombed by the bombers, the old man There were soldiers falling behind or looking for bunkers to avoid bombings, so General Tachion had to stop all the time. This bought Guderian some time to repair the bridge.
"Go forward, sons and daughters of the motherland, rise up quickly, a glorious day is waiting for you! Look, the tyrant is raising the flag stained with blood towards us, raising the flag stained with blood! Do you hear? The brutal soldiers are howling in our land. They rushed to you and killed your wife and children. ..." When de Gaulle was preparing to annihilate the Führer Regiment with all his strength, the soldiers of the 4th Armored Division were not timid. They followed the B1 heavy tanks to the German army's In the position.
At this time, the two sides were fighting together. The Panzer IV tank faced off against the B1 heavy tank. Although the defensive power of the Panzer IV tank was not as strong as the B1, the 75mm long-barreled main gun on the turret was enough to penetrate the B1 armor. Therefore, the French soldiers' expectations that the B1 would beat up the German tanks did not appear. Instead, the double-reverse tanks exploded one after another.
But this did not affect the faith of the French soldiers. Encouraged by the high-pitched Marseillaise, the French soldiers rushed into the German positions like a tide.
"The French, generous warriors, must know how to fight! Forgive the poor victims, they regret beating us, they regret beating us. But those bloodthirsty tyrants and his accomplices, this group of tigers, leopards and wolves, actually tore apart Mother’s breast!”
"Are the French crazy?" Captain Andreas sighed, holding the borrowed telescope and watching the French soldiers rushing into the trenches crazily. "This is a tough battle! It can't go on like this! It's easy for France to fight. The defense line behind is also dangerous!"
"Brothers!" Captain Andreas looked at the people around him, "The head of state once said that our struggle can only have two results: either the enemy will step on our corpses, or we will step on the enemy's corpses. , the leader also said that survival on the battlefield depends on whether the enemy is dead! We are noble German warriors and will never let these humble French people defeat! And Captain Kepler has sent reinforcements! Immediately We can see the panic on the faces of those French people!"
"Hey, Hit? Le!" Captain Andreas was answered by a roar like a mountain and a tsunami.
Captain Andreas led a group of people to rush out of the trenches and met the French infantry rushing towards them. The two sides shot at each other within a range of tens of meters. In the trenches street by street, the two groups continued to use The gap in shooting time is getting closer and closer.
A French soldier made the first leap and rushed into the trench where Captain Andreas and the others were. Captain Andreas had quick eyesight and quick hands. He immediately picked up the engineering shovel next to him and put it over his head. Split the brains of the French soldiers who rushed over.
The two sides immediately turned into a hand-to-hand battle because of the French soldier's impulse. Both sides seemed to want to vent all their hatred from the Napoleonic War/Franco-Prussian War and the World War. Both sides had only one purpose, and that was to make the death in front of them possible. The French (Germans) disappeared.
This is just a microcosm of the entire position. At this point in the battle, French soldiers had already rushed into the trenches laid out by German soldiers. A life-and-death battle is now taking place in every location. In trenches, beside ditches, and in wheat fields, both sides are doing their best to kill each other. The two gangs used everything that humans could use. The French used gun butts, spurs, and grenades. The German soldiers used engineer shovels, daggers, and rifles. Finally, they used rocks, fists, and teeth. In short, everything that can be fatal will come into play here.
When the commander of the third battalion of the Führer Regiment came here with reinforcements, what he saw was such a deadly landscape. Soldiers on both sides were covered in blood, but they were still fighting each other, and behind the French soldiers, there was a steady stream of Soldiers kept shouting Marseillaise and rushed over here.
"Stop them!" Under the command of Otto Koum, everyone raised their light and heavy weapons and fired at the French soldiers who were still preparing to cross the defense line. But this still could not stop the French soldiers who had already seen the hope of victory. They charged fearlessly despite the heavy rain of bullets.