"Is the landing now considered successful?" Guderian looked at the people around him blankly, wondering if it was considered successful now. After all, a month ago, he was still a complete land commander. It takes time to turn yourself into a landing commander, and the difficulty is really too great.
The people around him couldn't answer Guderian's questions. Like Guderian, they were all born in a serious Army Academy. They really didn't have much to talk about in the ocean. After thinking for a long time, they all looked at the Prinz Eugen. Heavy cruiser captain, Rear Admiral Helmut Brinkmann. Rear Admiral Brinkmann was very embarrassed by the scorching eyes from all around him. After coughing slightly to get rid of his embarrassment, he said, "I think we should make sure we are not driven into the sea before we talk about success or failure." Better!"
"Nonsense!" A bunch of army armored officers stood in a row, obviously forgetting that they were helpless about this situation just now. This was the first time for everyone! Unlike them, Guderian, who has calmed down, is thinking about how to expand the beachhead. Although Guderian lost a little just now, this period of time has been able to get Guderian out of his sleepwalking state. emotions.
Dover is the shortest place in the English Channel between Britain and France, but the landing conditions here are not very good. Only about 50,000 troops can be deployed. If the remaining troops are crowded inside, it will undoubtedly be a huge waste. Among them, the top priority now is to expand the landing area occupied by the German army. If possible, try to defeat the British army here and occupy the British army's defense line. This will not only allow the German landing troops to gain a firm foothold, but also allow the advantages of the armored cluster to be reflected.
"Order General Rommel's 7th Armored Division to maneuver toward the west coastline, and the 1st to 6th Armored Divisions to attack the British defenses frontally! As long as we can hold out for two hours, all the heavy artillery and the troops behind us will Come here!" After thinking for a long time, Guderian ordered.
"Yes, General!" Guderian's order was approved by all commanders. The victory in the Battle of France had made all commanders of the armored group very convinced of Guderian's commanding art. Now Guderian said a word, It is often more effective than the words of the army commander. This is because a series of victories have given these people a strong sense of trust in Guderian, and they no longer have the slightest doubt in Guderian's words.
Although the British army cost the German landing troops tens of thousands of casualties, they were still firmly established by the German army in just one hour. This situation left the British army commander Lieutenant General Alexander helpless. No one could compare with him. Understanding the strong combat effectiveness of the German army, Lieutenant General Alexander prepared to formulate a counterattack plan as soon as the British army retreated. But what Lieutenant General Alexander never expected was that before the numerically superior British army could counterattack, the German armored group that had just gained a foothold was preparing to attack.
The German army's attack was so fierce. In addition to General Rommel's 7th Armored Division, six armored divisions lined up and launched a fierce attack on the British defenders who had just retreated to the second line of defense. On the 4th The main gun on the tank used its own shells to compose the prelude of death. The armored grenadiers following behind watched with cautious eyes the British anti-tank members hiding in the corner, and killed them before they could take action. .
The simultaneous attack of thousands of tanks put the defense line that the British had worked so hard to build in a state of turmoil. After all, the British Army now has no advantage in any aspect except numbers. You expect ordinary people to fight like an army. Isn't that funny
Although the soldiers of the Wehrmacht are not as crazy as the soldiers of the SS, their combat literacy is higher than that of the SS. They will not make unnecessary sacrifices like the SS, but their experience makes them more difficult to deal with. In the eyes of veterans, Here, the crazy combat behavior of the SS is difficult to fight, but it is not invincible. After encountering the dominant German Wehrmacht, you will regret why you met not the armed SS. By the way, there are basically no experienced veterans left in the UK.
Before reaching the anti-tank trenches, the small battle group formed by armored grenadiers had already rushed in front of the armored group. This was because they had to occupy important positions in front of the tanks and formed a tendency to confront the British defenders. Let the armored cluster free up its own strength and choose your preferred fighting method.
The armored cluster now wants to show its speed and use powerful blitzkrieg to silence the British who are not good at land warfare. The armored cluster quickly approached the anti-tank trenches dug by the British army. The tank army with blitzkrieg experience would naturally not repeat Lin Wei's helpless behavior in Spain, letting tanks drive into the trenches to fill the trenches. Guderian would not do this In Guderian's opinion, every piece of combat power of the armored forces is extremely valuable. If the British defense can be bypassed, there is no need for Lin Wei's behavior that is tantamount to self-mutilation.
Facts have proved that Guderian's stability is indeed necessary. Just ten minutes later, Rommel, who was attacking westward, seemed to have sent him good news. The British defense line in the west was far less tight than the frontal line. This also proved that Guderian's guess was that the British would not be able to build an impregnable defense line in just one month. You must know that both France's Maginot Line and Germany's Siegfried Line took several years. Time and more than a million laborers were used to build it. The British may have the energy to use millions of laborers, but they do not have time to complete the theoretical defense line. As Guderian expected, the British army can only adopt focused defense.
"The infantry troops continue to attract the main British troops head-on, and the armored clusters circle back from the west opened by General Rommel to attack behind the British!" Guderian ordered without hesitation, then looked at his watch and said, "Next A group of landing troops should arrive in an hour. I don’t believe that we can’t withstand even an hour. Even if we can’t encircle and annihilate the British defenders, I will give it a try!”
Guderian wanted to use 150,000 landing troops to encircle and annihilate 200,000 British troops. This plan was really bold, but in the war all the above things could happen. In fact, a year later, Guderian would use 200,000 more The Armored Corps encircled and annihilated one million Soviet Red Army troops in the Battle of Kiev. This is a story for another day.
The infantry troops followed Guderian's instructions to contain the British defenders. At this time, the armored group turned around and attacked westward. After they defeated the insignificant defenders ten kilometers to the west, they would detour behind the British defenders and follow Guderian's instructions to engage in an encirclement and annihilation battle.
Things have been developing smoothly. After the powerful armored group broke through the meager defenders on the western defense line, Guderian looked at the officers around him and said with a smile, "I think we can now report the landing to the Supreme Command. News of success!”
News of the successful landing in Britain immediately reached Berlin, the German capital. In the conference room of the Supreme Command, William II, Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal von Blomberg, and Army Commander-in-Chief General von Brauchitsch were all anxious. They are waiting for news from Guderian, because this battle has attracted the attention of the world. Other powerful countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union have set their eyes on the small Dover. If this battle is lost, they will start the war. The German army's invincible record since then will be broken. Therefore, for William II and many generals, victory in the battle was more important than anything else.
So when the news of the successful landing came, the conference room, which had been very depressed because of the lack of news, immediately erupted into cheers like a mountain roar and a tsunami. The first battle between the German army and the British army was the decisive battle. As long as the German troops successfully landed, Britain's fate was already sealed. Everyone who is doing it obviously understands this truth.
"Leader, I have two pieces of good news!" Lin Wei's adjutant Robert C. Crawford said with a smile.
Lin Wei raised his head, ignored Crawford, and continued busy with his own affairs, because Lin Wei knew that Robert C. Crawford would definitely tell the truth. Sure enough, after waiting for a long time, Robert C. Crawford still didn't wait for Lin Wei to speak, so he could only say, "Leader, General Guderian successfully landed in the UK!"
"I know! What else?" Lin Wei didn't even raise his head. Obviously, this news had been expected by Lin Wei.
Robert C. Crawford shook his head helplessly and said, obviously dissatisfied with Lin Wei's reaction and continued; "Also, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop has returned to Berlin. According to our information, the Romanian military leader General Antonescu has probably agreed to our conditions and allowed the imperial army to move into Romania! This should be due to the aggressive threat from the Soviets. The Romanians seem to have been aware of the Soviet ambitions and are ready to win over us. Come to guarantee Romania’s independent status!”
"Well!" Lin Wei finally stopped his work, stood up and turned around twice and said, "Very good, this way our oil line in Romania is guaranteed, and after entering Romania, we can connect us with the Soviet Union To level the front, we won’t have to worry about our disadvantage in the southeast! This is a win-win situation for both us and Romania!”