The dense bullets could not stop the French soldiers from charging desperately. One soldier was shot and fell, and another soldier rushed up immediately. After a while, he rushed to the area where soldiers from both sides were in close contact, so Otto Koum had to worry about the safety of his soldiers.
"These bastards!" Otto Koum had to stop this seemingly exciting shooting training for fear of accidentally injuring the German soldiers in front. The stormtroopers were still on the side and shouted, "Long live the great SS, soldiers, use your sapper shovels to beat these damn French guys out!"
"Yes, my commander!" The SS soldiers who were fanatical about fighting did not lack the courage to fight. No matter what kind of battle they faced, they would move forward fearlessly. If Lin Wei were here , must be very happy, because he finally succeeded in allowing the SS, which had been tempered by brutal battles on the Eastern Front after 1942, to advance ahead of schedule.
The brutal hand-to-hand combat immediately turned from a small group fight into a large-scale life and death fight. No one can guarantee their absolute safety now, because in war, anything can happen at any time. Soldiers from both sides struggled together, using all the deadly methods they had heard in the world on the enemy in front of them. Whether in a muddy ditch or in the middle of a flat position, there are constantly falling soldiers who are unable to get up. Seriously wounded soldiers who have lost their combat effectiveness and have blood on their faces are lying on one side and wailing unconsciously.
More people are facing the constantly rotating opponents in front of them. If they are not careful, they will be knocked to the ground.
"Colonel Kepler, the French army's attack momentum is more fierce than expected. It is unprecedented since entering France! Now we and the French are intertwined in the position, and more reinforcements are needed to drive them out! "The radio soldiers following Otto Koum quickly reported the situation here to the headquarters. Hope to get support from the headquarters.
Kepler immediately received the telegram asking for help, but fell into deep hesitation. Although the Führer Regiment is affiliated with the SS, so its establishment is much larger than that of the ordinary Wehrmacht, but no matter what, it is still impossible to fight a war of attrition head-on with a division. If Kepler had a solid defense line, he would certainly be able to block a division's attack, but the period from the British Air Force blowing up the bridge to the French armored division's attack was less than an hour.
It is impossible to complete even a little solid fortification in such a short period of time, so the so-called defense line of the Heads of State Regiment is not much different from nothing. The Führer Regiment was fighting a war ahead of its time with de Gaulle's 4th Armored Division. Its level of 'advancedness' could only be matched by the Napoleonic Wars a hundred years before World War I.
An hour had passed now, and Kepler didn't know what was going on with the battle at the main ferry. It is the battle there that determines fate. , "What's the progress of the National Leadership Group now? Tell them that the French offensive is very fierce and we can't hold on anymore. I hope they can speed up the progress so that they can support us!"
"Captain, the progress is normal. The bridge will be repaired soon, but what if the British Air Force comes again?" the staff officer asked. In fact, everyone has this concern. If the British Air Force comes again, the Heads of State Regiment can only rely on itself. , and even explain everything here.
"Don't worry about this situation!" Kepler said confidently, "Compared with our air force, the British Air Force cannot compare with us in any point. I think the current fighter wing of the Imperial Air Force must be The whole of France is searching for the perpetrators. So we don’t need to worry about things in the sky. What I’m worried about now is what if the French army breaks through the second line of defense before the bridge is repaired? What can you think of Think of a way?" Kepler asked, looking at the staff.
The surrounding staff officers looked at each other, exchanged opinions, and finally said, "Commander, in this situation, the only and feasible way is to maintain the status quo. Because after entering France to fight, I think everyone has also We have all discovered that in fact, the French army has better weapons and armor than us, and they equip the army with even more artillery than our Wehrmacht. If we support Battalion Commander Otto Koum and drive out the French soldiers, this will It’s not difficult for us, but if we do this, the French artillery’s artillery will hit us right away!”
"What do you mean, do you want Otto Koum to withstand it on his own?" Kepler asked suspiciously.
"No, commander, you misunderstood me!" the staff officer explained, "What I mean is that we must maintain contact with the French in order to avoid artillery fire and avoid these large-scale casualties. If we fight like this If we continue, even if we win in the end, the Heads of State Regiment may cease to exist! Although I hate the tactic of sending troops to the front bit by bit, there is no better way now!" The staff officer was helpless. said.
"Okay, okay, this is the only thing we can do!" Kepler said helplessly.
Otto Koum's hard days have just begun. Otto Koum took advantage of the rest time of the French soldiers. Otto Koum finally waited for a call back from the headquarters. It was very simple. In short, it meant sticking to it. "Damn..." Otto Koum's first reaction when he saw the call back was to curse. This is very unbelievable for an SS soldier, because of all the instructions they have received since joining the SS. , in addition to how to fight, it is how to be a collective with aristocratic temperament. In public situations, any disrespectful behavior is not allowed, which can be seen from the ordinary oath of the SS.
"Your clothes are flawless; your words and deeds are modest and dignified; your house is always clean and tidy."
"Respect the troops, respect your superiors. Discipline and friendship are strength, courage and loyalty are virtues."
"Have a good rest, we can only rely on ourselves now!" After a short period of thought, Otto Koum adjusted his mentality and ordered calmly.
The soldiers who received the order immediately lay down wherever they could rest. For them, this kind of face-to-face fighting was a huge physical and psychological torture. Everyone must seize the time to adjust their mentality. That's what the training they received before they went into battle said.
"The French are coming up!" A loud shout made all the soldiers who were resting just now rush out of the trenches reflexively.
"Idiots, come back!" Otto Koum shouted, "Are you desperate for your life? Let the French rush in on their own, instead of us rushing out to be targets, and defend them well!" After high-intensity It was obviously the first time for the soldiers fighting that they felt that war could be so tiring. They forgot what they usually learned during training and rushed forward as soon as they heard the French were coming. However, Otto Koum did not have the same brain short-circuit as ordinary soldiers. Under his organization, these soldiers did not fall into chaos or be killed.
While the Führer Regiment was still fighting bloody battles, St. Quentin, which was the main ferry, was bombarded by the Imperial Air Force. Although the French Sixth Army finally managed to get there, Guderian had already crossed with a division of troops. On the Somme River, under the attack of Stuka dive bombers in the sky and tank groups on the ground, the initiative in the battle of Saint-Quentin was in the hands of the Germans from the beginning.
The only things that could cause trouble for Guderian and the others were the various obstacles on the road and some ambushes ambushing them on both sides of the road. The former does not have any Allied military cover, but it is a little troublesome for the latter, because it is difficult for the marching column to find the ambushes hidden in the dense forests on both sides of the road during the high-speed march, and some of them are stragglers who spontaneously organize to block them. Some of the German "extras" were intentional actions by senior Allied commanders, who hoped that doing so would slow down the German advance. The French even sent cavalry units to raid the German rear supply columns. It was hoped that this suicidal cavalry raid would have the effect of delaying the German advance.
However, for the German army, this tactic did not appear to be very effective. Because it is an armored force and it is also a vanguard. So Guderian did not take these artificial obstacles seriously. He just ordered his armored troops to sweep forward. If there is any obstruction, they will fire indiscriminately regardless of whether there are people or not, and Paul Hausser also ordered all troops to imitate Guderian's tactics to attack. During the march, a large number of German tanks and half-tracks usually directed the firepower of machine guns, 20MM cannons, and 75MM cannons toward a forest or hillside where they seemed to be the easiest to ambush. This kind of aimless shooting can force the ambushing French artillery and infantry to be unable to fight and automatically abandon their positions and flee.
Behind Guderian, tanks quickly crossed the bridge without any hindrance, adding new power to the attacking force in front. The Stuka dive bomber once again proved its ability to replace long-range artillery, and its position in the Blitzkrieg was unparalleled. The German armored forces easily tore through the defense line composed of infantry, exploited the loopholes in the defense line to penetrate, and prepared to divide and encircle the French army again like in Poland.
The intensity of the battle at the main crossing made De Gaulle anxious, but he was powerless. The German SS in front of him was also very difficult to deal with. Even de Gaulle admired his disregard for death. Therefore, when the purpose of the battle could no longer be achieved, de Gaulle first ordered the troops to withdraw from the battlefield.