Under extremely unfavorable circumstances, the French army's B1bis tanks fought a close battle with the German army supported by strong air support. In many cases, they fought against superior German forces without infantry coordination, air support, or even single-handedly, and achieved significant results. Because the armor protection of B1 tanks is very good, they can resist the attack of the German 37mm anti-tank gun. In some cases, even the 75mm tank gun of the German Panzer IV tank cannot penetrate the frontal armor of the B1 tank.
As for the Renault R-35 tank with the most equipment in the French army, it is no match for the German Panzer IV tank. It can be said that even if the Panzer IV stands still, the Renault R-35 tank cannot penetrate the front armor of the Panzer IV. The Renault R-35 tanks in the Canal Zone played more of a role in deterring German armored grenadiers. These Renault R-35 tanks that appeared under orders were commendable for their courage. But facing a German armored group that was several times larger than our own and superior in quality, we could only waste two more shells.
This situation is not only known to the German armored forces now. Even the French themselves know it. Lieutenant Bilott, who had fought against the German Panzer IV tanks, still vividly remembered the power of the German Panzer IV tanks. At that time, he led his B1 heavy tank to fight against one of Guderian's 19th Armored Corps armored units in the town of Stoney.
On May 14, 1940, after the German armored forces crossed the Meuse River, Guderian ordered the German forwards to continue marching westward in order to outflank the French troops defending the Meuse River front. The town of Stoney and the nearby Stoney Heights, located in the German route of advance, were the only areas where the French could stop the Germans. From May 15th to 17th, France and Germany fought fiercely for the town of Stoney, and control of the town changed hands many times. It was not until May 25 that the Germans fully controlled the town of Stoney and the nearby Stoney Heights. This battle left a deep impression on the 3rd Armored Division, which was part of the 19th Armored Corps and participated in the battle at that time. It became the largest resistance Germany had encountered since the war began.
During the battle on the Stoney Heights on May 16, a tank named "Eure" commanded by Lieutenant Bilott broke into the town of Stoney just occupied by the Germans without any infantry or tank support. It attacked a column of the German 8th Armored Regiment, destroying at least two Panzer IV tanks and two Pak36 anti-tank guns. Its first shot destroyed the first and last tanks in the convoy at the same time. The first tank in the convoy was destroyed with its 47mm cannon, while the tank at the rear was destroyed with its 75mm cannon. The German troops in the town fired at the tank with various anti-tank weapons at hand, but none of the shells were able to penetrate its armor; according to post-war statistics, the tank was hit at least 140 times; after that, The tank passed safely through the town of Stoney. After this battle, Lieutenant Bilott's comrades called him "The Stoney Butcher."
At about 5 pm on May 16, the self-named "Lickville" tank commanded by Lieutenant Doumek attacked along the stone road and encountered a German infantry detachment. They were shot by infantry weapons and anti-tank guns. The proof is invalid. The tank dispersed the German infantry and drove them into a small village defended by the 64th Mosel Regiment. When the defending German soldiers saw the bloody tracks of the tank, they all fled.
For the German armored forces, the town of Stoney and the nearby Stoney Heights were a rare humiliation since the beginning of the war. If they knew that the French armored soldiers who had brought shame to them were in front of them, they would definitely be willing to pay any price to kill them.
The B1 heavy tank regiment here is already the last heavy tank unit in northern France. If it is annihilated, French armor will disappear from northern France. Of course General J. Gott, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, also knew that this was France's last capital, but he still put these French heavy tanks into the battlefield without hesitation.
This decision was made partly because in view of the current severe situation, General Gott believed that even if he successfully evacuated the Dunkirk area, these heavy equipment would be nothing more than an added burden and would have to be discarded sooner or later. Furthermore, General Gott also had great selfish motives, hoping that the French could prevent the British Expeditionary Force from being destroyed.
History has proven more than once that even among close allies, the period of cooperation is full of sordidness, and no one is exempt. Perhaps it was the high number of 1.2 million people killed in the last war that frightened the British people. In short, when Germany was aggressively seeking revenge, Britain's performance was not much tougher than France's. The selfish rejection of the counterattack rendezvous plan organized by General Wei Gang at a critical moment also proves this point.
No matter what, as soldiers, their mission is to obey orders, no matter how dangerous the environment in front of them is, full of dangers, as long as their superiors give orders, they must execute them without hesitation.
From the moment the tanks of both sides met to the confrontation, they began to use their own main guns to exchange cordial greetings. This is a war between steel. The two sides are fighting for their own country just like the heavily armored knights from various countries hundreds of years ago. Times have changed, and the vehicles have changed from horses to tanks, but the only thing that remains unchanged is , like the knights hundreds of years ago, they also cherish the ancient loyalty, which is to their country.
Facing the French armored forces here is the National Leadership Corps of the SS Gendarmerie Division. As the leading unit of the Gendarmerie Division, from the moment it was established, the soldiers of the National Leadership Corps have the best weapons and equipment in the entire German army, but Due to their lack of actual combat experience, others will inevitably doubt their true combat effectiveness. Gossips have never stopped since the establishment of this army. There is no other way to prove one's combat effectiveness to others, only through a real war. The Imperial Division Heads of State has successfully silenced opponents with its own record. Now, it is time for the national leadership to fight.
"Three o'clock! PzGr39 armor-piercing bullets, release!" Inside a No. 4 tank, the young commander, whose eyes had just left the optical sight, ordered calmly.
"Boom..." A French Renault R-35 tank immediately made a huge explosion and turned into a huge fireball. No one inside the tank escaped.
Germany has always been at the forefront of the world in the field of optics. On the basis of the optical sight of the Panzer IV tank, a stereoscopic or composite rangefinder and a mechanical ballistic computer with cams and other functional components are added. The performance is significantly improved compared to the tanks during World War I. At 1300m Within the range, the first hit rate for shooting standard targets is 50%.
"Great!" the gunner said happily, "Captain Piper, well done!"
"Don't underestimate the enemy! There are many B1 heavy tanks inside! These heavy tanks are still a threat to us! Keep moving at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour!" Although the young Piper was also very happy, he still said calmly . Coupled with Piper's handsome and thrilling face, it can make everyone scream.
Piper joined Hit in 1933? Le Youth League, joined the ordinary SS in October of the same year, SS certificate number: 132496. In January 1935, Pipe joined the SS Special Mobile Unit, and entered the "Adolf Hitt? Le Guard" after Dietrich personally reviewed it. Flag Troop", in March of the same year he was selected to enter the SS Officer School in Braunschweig to learn the knowledge needed to become a battlefield commander. After graduating from the military academy in April 1936, Pipe was awarded the rank of SS Squadron Leader III. He returned to the "Standard Guard" and served as platoon commander in the 11th Regiment of the 3rd Battalion. In February 1938, he was promoted to adjutant of the 3rd Battalion.
Later, Pipe was supposed to get to know Himmler, and he served as Himmler's aide-de-camp for a long time and met many celebrities. But Lin Wei killed Himmler early. Piper lost this opportunity, but for Piper who was eager to fight on the battlefield, this may not be bad news. For a man who had seen Germany decline and disintegrate at any time, Pipe vs. Hit? He highly admired the idea of Great Germanism, which was why he joined the "Adolf Hitt-Leger Guards". Immediately afterwards, the various guard flag units were dismantled by Lin Wei and became the earliest four armored divisions of the SS, the Gendarmerie, the Reich, the Police and the Skull. Piper entered the national leadership group of the Gendarmerie Division.
Although he needed to adapt to life again, Piper finally lived the life he needed, which was a real life in the military camp. He trained with others to familiarize themselves with the capabilities of the new tank. Only he can know the hardships involved. The ruthless Piper finally let others know that this handsome young man is definitely a good hand on the battlefield.
"At seven o'clock, the French B1 heavy tank was discovered! PzGr40 armor-piercing bullets, fire!" Piper saw the evenly matched tanks, and his blood boiled. Even when issuing the order, he changed the armor-piercing bullets to PzGr40 armor-piercing bullets, because Piper's creed is that if you respect a strong opponent, you will send him to hell.
Almost at the same time, Lieutenant Bilott's B1 heavy tank also discovered Pipe's No. 4 tank. Lieutenant Bilott, who instinctively felt the danger, immediately asked the driver to avoid it and entered a nearby mound, which was dangerous and dangerous. It escaped the attack of 75mm PzGr40 armor-piercing projectile.
"The German Panzer IV has been discovered! Let Second Lieutenant Gaudit come and join me!" Lieutenant Bilott said to the electromechanical man. With his experienced eyes, Lieutenant Bilott saw that the tank in front of him was not something he could deal with. So I immediately thought of my friend Lieutenant Gaudet. Lieutenant Gaudet was also a comrade who fought with Lieutenant Bilott in the Stoney Heights. The cooperation between the two was almost perfect. Lieutenant Bilott believed that he had Second Lieutenant Gaudet's cooperation will definitely defeat the enemy in front of him.
Before the "Tunisia" tank commanded by Lieutenant Gaudet began the attack, the tank had a slight malfunction, but it was quickly repaired. During the advance, they remained hidden among the trees for about 45 minutes as the Luftwaffe launched heavy air raids on the area.
"Tunisia" and "Mismitsch" stopped at the entrance of the Canal Battlefield, and were about to reach the entrance of the Canal Battlefield. The French heavy equipment was abandoned on the roadside. At about 12 noon, they withdrew from here. "Mismitsch" advanced along the abandoned French convoy, "Tunisia" following behind it. They passed an area where tanks were fighting. The battlefield was in a mess, and tank wrecks were lying in the open swamps. However, no German targets were found. Suddenly, the "Mismitsch" in front began firing with its two guns. The "Tunisia" moved to the left, but due to the thick smoke after the firing, the commander could not see what was happening in front. The "Mismitsch" continued to move forward after firing, and after firing its cannon, headed towards the center of the battlefield.
"Tunisia" is about 100 meters behind it. Suddenly, Lieutenant Gaudit discovered his target: a long line of German armored vehicles and light tanks parked on both sides of the road. "Mismitsch" turned onto an adjacent road 150 meters ahead of "Tunisia". After the "Mismitsch" opened fire, several German armored vehicles began to catch fire in an open space at the end of the road. "Tunisia" began to kill the German armored vehicles parked on the roadside one by one. "Tunisia" made two rounds along the road to the canal, firing at every tank. "Tunisia" later lost visual contact with "Mismichael" because the latter believed that crossing the canal zone in the southeastern area was dangerous because the Germans might deploy heavy troops to attack here. Second Lieutenant Gaudit's basis was that he had recognized the remains of German tanks here as units of Guderian's 19th Armored Corps.
At this time, Second Lieutenant Gaudite received the news from Lieutenant Bilott and immediately turned the car around and rushed towards Lieutenant Bilott's position. However, France is in very short supply of experienced tankers like Lieutenant Gaudite and Lieutenant Bilott. Although a few B1 heavy tankers with very good technical experience have achieved very good results. However, most French tanks collapsed when they encountered German armored groups.
In the west, the tank battle between the armored group and the French armored forces was still in full swing. To the east, General Bock's Army Group B also intensified its attack on the troops of the Kingdom of Belgium. The tenacious resistance of the Royal Belgian Army has always prevented Army Group B from fully cooperating with the armored group to encircle and annihilate the British and French coalition forces in the Dunkirk area. Now Army Group B is no longer prepared to continue this situation.
The Royal Navy, although temporarily blocked by the Luftwaffe, was unable to approach the coast of the port of Dunkirk. However, seeing that the British and French coalition forces, which were already in dire straits, saw new hope after the appearance of the British Royal Navy, and glowed with strong combat effectiveness, the Skeleton Division and Rommel's 7th Armored Division in the east made little progress.
For this reason, General Bock, commander of Army Group B, ordered that the Royal Belgian Army must surrender within one day. General von Reichenau, commander of the Sixth Army, and General von Kuchler, commander of the Eighteenth Army, received the order. All troops were immediately put into the battlefield to encircle and annihilate the Belgian army, and smashed several attempts by the Belgian army to break out.
In fact, at this time, King Leopold III of the Kingdom of Belgium was already preparing to surrender. As early as May 25, Leopold III discussed the surrender with government officials. In the king's base camp, a showdown meeting was held between the king and three cabinet members, including the prime minister and the foreign minister. They advised the king for the last time not to surrender and to be a prisoner of the Germans, because if he did so, "he would To be like the Hacha of Prague”. They also reminded him that he was not only commander-in-chief but also head of state. Resistance can continue in exile.
By May 27, it was indisputable that the battered Belgian army was in dire straits. In order to enable the British and French troops to escape and break out to the south, they heroically agreed to extend their front. Although the Belgian army fought tenaciously, the extended front quickly collapsed. Leopold also did not learn that Lord Gott had received an order from London on May 26 to retreat to Dunkirk and try to save the British Expeditionary Force. At 12:30 noon on May 27, he telegraphed Goth to tell Goth that he would soon "be forced to surrender to avoid collapse." But the British commander was busy and constantly on the move, so he did not receive the telegram. He later confirmed that he first heard of the surrender shortly after 11pm on 27 May, finding himself "suddenly faced with a twenty-mile-wide gap between Ypres and the sea, with enemy armor You can get to the seafront through here.” As for the king's superior military commander, General Wei Gang, he got the news from a telegram sent by the French liaison officer at the base camp in Belgium after 6 p.m. He later said that the news came to him "like a bolt from the blue, without any prior knowledge."
The Belgians fought tenaciously under conditions of extremely disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves. They never surrendered under Luftwaffe bombing or when German armored forces attempted to intercept them. The same cannot be said for some of the other Allied forces in the campaign. The Belgian army held out for 18 days, and could have lasted longer if they had not been trapped together with the British Expeditionary Force and the French Northern Army, and it was not their fault that they were trapped in the siege.