335 Compressions

Compared with the high degree of mechanization of the German armored forces, more German army units seem to be only a little bit stronger than they were during the First World War. They still have to carry weapons and heavy luggage on dirt roads, still use old-fashioned bolt-action rifles and even share a piece of soap.

Although the German army widely used armored vehicles, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and even war horses, expanding the army by 1.5 million at once is still an amount that a military industrial enterprise cannot afford. Many weapons had to be eliminated before use, and many individual soldiers had to use various defective products.

Cars were never enough. At the beginning, all artillery units were required to have trucks to tow large-caliber artillery, but this plan obviously could not meet the needs of military expansion. Later, the 150mm caliber artillery was towed by cars, while the 75mm mountain guns were all transported by pack horses.

At the beginning of military expansion and preparations, the Army General Command required that more than half of the soldiers in all troops must be equipped with automatic or semi-automatic weapons, that is to say, the proportion of mp-44 assault rifles and g43 semi-automatic rifles should account for about half. But later, because of the rush to mobilize the troops, the mp-44 was insufficient and had to be replaced by the g43. The g43 was insufficient and had to be replaced by the mp-38/40 submachine gun that was eliminated that year. In the later stage, even the mp-40 was gone, so the Mauser 98k had to be used . Most of the light infantry of the current i Army and almost all the rear garrisons are using the Mauser 98k rifles eliminated by other main forces.

Fortunately, the German light industry is supplemented by half of Poland and other regions. The number of military uniforms and tactical vests is still sufficient. Although the quality of tents and some canvas products is not reliable, the quantity is enough to meet the expansion of the German army. The requirements of the military force are such that many troops are now changing into camouflage uniforms for use in the upcoming spring.

The factories in Germany are working overtime day and night, and the vehicles produced are not even fully equipped for the several group armies fighting on the front line, let alone the second-line troops behind them. Many second-line army vehicles are only equipped to the battalion level. In other words, an infantry battalion only has a few cars at the battalion headquarters.

More troops retain the ancient organization of cavalry, and these cavalry are not so much traditional cavalry as it is more accurate to say that they are infantry moving forward on horseback at high speed. These soldiers use a lot of horses for nothing more than to follow the armored troops Use it as fast infantry later.

Of course, for some of the equipment issues mentioned above, as a main infantry division, the situation of the 7th Infantry Division in the hands of Colonel Frederick is much better. As well as the mp-44 and g43 rifles in the hands of the infantry, his troops are equipped according to the earliest standards.

Moreover, as a reserve panzergrenadier unit that is focused on training, this infantry division has a regiment equipped with armored vehicles and assault guns, which is simply the ace unit in the German infantry division. Because there are so many excellent and excellent weapons and equipment, when the 7th Division attacked the French army,

It made the French defenders on the opposite side very depressed.

At this moment, Frederick is inspecting one of his artillery positions, where two 150mm cannons are desperately tilting ammunition towards the Anglo-French coalition forces in the distance. Two German soldiers were controlling the shooting angle and direction of the artillery, and more soldiers were moving the shells back and forth.

Speaking of the German 150mm caliber cannon, it can be regarded as an epoch-making product that draws on the strengths of others. The barrel of this cannon was actually a masterpiece designed by Soviet designers. Because of the cooperation between the two parties, Akado's spies used some means to get it back to Germany. Of course, the Germans tried their best to reduce the weight of this cannon. They didn't even equip the artillery shield, and reduced the weight of this cannon to three and a half tons in one go.

However, this modification is also accompanied by unsatisfactory places, such as the reduction of the caliber, which led to a decrease in the range of this artillery, which was reduced to only 11.2 kilometers. Although the range is slightly less, the advantage is that they are more mobile and flexible. These new German howitzers are rolling forward with the troops, and they rarely fall behind.

Coupled with the support of Germany's huge and effective railway transportation line, the heavy weapons of the entire German army kept up with the rhythm of the attacking troops in the early stage, and they did not fall behind at all due to their own inconvenience. Now these easy-to-move cannons have left an indelible shadow on the hearts of the British and French allied forces.

"I just got the news that the 2nd Battalion has started to cross this area. The 4 No. 3 assault guns of the Independent Armored Battalion are covering the frontal attack of the 1st Battalion, Colonel." The chief of staff of the division pointed to a field map and introduced: "The British troops on the opposite side abandoned the hill and the area without returning fire, and lost a dozen of their 25-pound guns."

"It seems that there is a problem with their logistical supplies, and the resistance is not as tenacious as the previous few days." Friedrich frowned as he watched a 150mm cannon in the distance fire another shell, and put his eyes on the scissors. In front of the type periscope, he looked at the hit hill in the distance.

About ten seconds later, probably because he saw the explosion there, he straightened up, looked at the map in the staff officer's hand, then pointed to it and said: "Before tonight, push forward to camp here. Give the army The Ministry sent a telegram, telling the general that according to the current situation, we need to send a reconnaissance force immediately to confirm the night movement of the British defenders."

Just opposite the 7th Infantry Division, in the headquarters of the 1st Armored Division of the British Expeditionary Force, a group of officers were moaning and moaning at the map with sad faces.

They retreated all the way from Brussels to here, and were chased and retreated by German infantry and armored forces. Hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles were lost on the way, but they still haven't been able to shake off the German army behind them until now.

What frustrates them the most is not the fast pursuit of the German soldiers, but that the fuel and ammunition on hand are about to bottom out. A large amount of ammunition and fuel stored in northern France became the spoils of war for the German Army Group A, and that seemingly safe transportation route has now become an area under German control. British forces are now more vulnerable than ever.

"Master! Lord Gort told us to retreat urgently, but we are not infantry! They left as soon as they raised their legs, what about us? What do you want us to retreat without fuel?" the head of a tank regiment complained. .

"Yes! Commander! We have already lost a regiment of tanks! Now if we lose another batch of tanks, we will lose half of our equipment to the German army!" The commander of another armored regiment has now become After leaving the bare commander, all the tank units in his hands have now been lost to the German army, leaving only a few hundred tankers to follow him as infantry and continue to retreat.

"If we had known the current situation at the beginning and left half of the tanks early, the remaining tanks could be returned to France at least! It's good now! Even if we concentrate fuel now, it is only enough for more than 100 tanks to return to France. What does this tell us to use to fight German tanks?" The chief of staff also scolded: "Those French idiots are really allies of the Germans!"

Now the German tanks are already attacking the southern part of Belgium. The 5th Light Armored Army is sweeping across the southern part of Belgium. Rommel's armored forces are also actively coordinating the attack to the north. The current Anglo-French coalition forces are retreating steadily. They are retreating To the retreat location chosen long ago - Dunkirk.

If you can't imagine a death road to hell, look at the route of the Anglo-French Allied Forces' retreat, with hills of supplies piled up on both sides, discarded because of lack of ammunition, cannons and guns. There are allied soldiers who have to wait for the Germans to come and capture them because of hunger. Sometimes, in order to save fuel and supplies, Gan Malin had to order the entire regiment to surrender to the Germans.

At least 500 tanks were discarded on the side of the road due to lack of fuel and maintenance parts, which made the German army terrified. If Army Group A hadn't moved fast enough, these equipment might completely destroy Army Group B.

At the beginning, the British and French allied forces would use grenades and explosives to destroy the discarded tanks. Later, there were too many to destroy, and grenades became a resource that they dare not waste, so those tanks and armored vehicles were discarded there intact. Just remove some parts.

In fact, the main reason is that the advance speed of the German front-line troops far exceeded the expectations of the British and French allied forces. The German infantry used cars, mules, horses and even bicycles to advance crazily. , had to give up to the chasing German army.

Frederick's 7th Infantry Division once seized 12 abandoned British tanks. These tanks were neatly parked on the side of the road, and their engine compartments were opened, but the engines and other equipment were still inside. Apparently, the British engineering corps wanted to disassemble these parts for spares, but this plan was hastily abandoned due to the attack of German soldiers.

The officers of the British 1st Armored Division scolded the street for a long time, but failed to come up with a decent countermeasure, so they had to abandon another 30 tanks and continue to retreat in the direction of Dunkirk.

Colonel Frederick continued to lead his 7th Infantry Division to follow closely behind and continue the pursuit. He knew that he was getting closer and closer to the English Channel. Once the British and French allied forces were surrounded, German soldiers could easily wipe out these troops lacking ammunition, medicine and fuel.

The core of the strategy now placed in front of the German generals is very simple, nothing more than two words - compression!