Chapter 880 Miracle and Attack
After being discovered by the Germans, the retreat of the British and French coalition forces was greatly affected.
The German government immediately ordered the armored forces to continue the attack, and also asked the German Air Force led by Goering to harass the port of Dunkirk and attack the British and French ships staying in Dunkirk.
On July 11, after a short rest, the German armored forces launched a large-scale attack on Lille again.
The British, French and German armies launched a fierce attack near Lille. The casualties of both sides exceeded 50,000 that day, and more than 200 aircraft crashed.
Affected by the German re-offensive, the number of soldiers retreating from Dunkirk also re-entered the trough, with less than 13,000 people successfully evacuated throughout the day.
During the evacuation, more than 15 large transport ships and dozens of small civilian ships were blown up.
After two days of fierce fighting, the British and French coalition forces on the line from Dunkirk to Lille were only about 100,000.
The number of soldiers who successfully withdrew from the previous 400,000 troops was as high as 287,000, which is already a very exaggerated number.
The safety of these 100,000 people was in danger. After research, the British cabinet government decided to make a final effort for these 100,000 people.
On July 13, 1936, the British Navy launched the last evacuation operation.
This evacuation operation mobilized all ships in Britain and France, and even some civilian ships in the Netherlands joined the evacuation.
The goal of this evacuation was very exaggerated. 30,000 people were left behind on the line from Dunkirk to Lille, and the remaining more than 70,000 people were all in the evacuation plan.
It was a very difficult challenge for the British Empire to evacuate more than 70,000 people at one time.
But there was no way. If you don't give it a try, when the Germans attack Lille, these 100,000 troops will not be able to be rescued.
On the night of the 13th, on this day that Westerners regarded as an ominous day, under the protection of the British Navy and the full efforts of the British and French joint air forces, more than 50,000 soldiers were finally successfully withdrawn.
It was also on this night that the German army officially broke through Lille and had achieved a comprehensive encirclement of Dunkirk.
Together with the 50,000 soldiers who withdrew on the 13th, the entire Dunkirk evacuation saved more than 330,000 lives of the British and French allied soldiers, which was very meaningful to the overall strategy of Britain and France.
It took only 14 days, and more than 330,000 soldiers were evacuated under the noses of the Germans. This is definitely a miracle in the history of human warfare.
But miracles are miracles. The successive collapse of Lille and Dunkirk has already represented that the French are facing a very serious crisis.
It can be seen from the map that, except for Sedan, the so-called first line of defense of the French, that is, the Franco-Belgian border, has been completely breached by the Germans.
Next, except for the second line of defense from Amiens to Reims, there will be no armed forces to resist the German attack until the third line in Paris.
On July 14, 1936, the day after the completion of the Dunkirk evacuation, British Ambassador William and French Ambassador Cassel urgently asked to see Arthur and asked Australasia to send troops to support France immediately.
This is something that has been promised, and Arthur will naturally not regret it.
So on the next day, July 15, the Australasian Expeditionary Force, consisting of the 3rd, 6th and 8th Armies, with a total of 200,000 troops, marched towards the ports.
At the same time, the Philippines and Kalimantan also sent 200,000 soldiers each, and they were constantly gathering towards the ports.
After sending off the expeditionary force, Arthur convened a meeting of the Ministry of Defense to discuss the next combat plan against the island country.
First, Defense Minister Thomas reported on the general mobilization of the Australasian military.
"Your Majesty, so far, we have mobilized more than 420,000 soldiers. At present, these 420,000 soldiers have been initially organized into the new First Army, which consists of the 10th Army, the 11th Army, the 12th Army and the 13th Army.
In the organization of our new army, after discussions between the Ministry of National Defense and its subordinate departments, it was decided to adopt the latest mixed organization.
The organization of the infantry division and the artillery division is the same as that of the regular troops, with 16,000 infantrymen each. Each army of the new First Army has a total of 64,000 infantrymen.
In the organization of the two mechanized divisions, we have adopted a main battle tank division and a mechanic division. The main battle tank division will be fully equipped with our main battle tanks and a small number of tracked artillery.
The mechanic division will be equipped with a large number of mechanized equipment such as trucks and motorcycles, and will have tracked combat vehicles, a small number of light tanks and tracked artillery." Defense Minister Thomas reported in detail.
Arthur nodded and had no objection to the organization of the new First Army.
In fact, the organization of the so-called newly established First Army was the result of the reform after the Ministry of Defense discussed it under Arthur's suggestion.
Through Germany's excellent record in Europe, countries all over the world have understood two facts, that is, the decline of cavalry and the rise of tanks.
Although it is not denied that cavalry still has a certain role in certain special terrains, on the front battlefield, cavalry often only get slaughtered when facing tanks.
Of course, perhaps when facing a country like the island country that is famous for its iron tanks, there may be other results.
But Australasia is not short of iron ore, even light tanks, armor can completely resist cavalry troops.
Not to mention the medium and heavy main battle tanks, with their powerful firepower and excellent armor protection, the cavalry would have no way to stop them even if they stood there and let the cavalry attack them.
In addition to the fact that the cavalry was weakened and the tanks rose, the infantry-tank coordinated combat method commonly adopted by Germany in the blitzkrieg also received the focus of attention in Australasia.
There was no infantry-tank coordination combat method in World War I. Because the tanks in World War I had a high rate of collapse, the tanks were motionless on the battlefield, and the infantry behind the tanks became live targets.
But now, more than 20 years later, the tank technology of various countries has been significantly improved. A more obvious point is that the failure rate of tanks has been greatly reduced, and they have become one of the main forces of various countries.
The reason why Germany was so powerful in Europe was not only that the German army could launch attacks fearlessly, but also the impact that the German armored forces brought to other countries was also a very important reason.
The reason why France was at a disadvantage in the war with Germany was not only because of the French fear before the war and their reliance on the Maginot Line, but also because France did not attach importance to armored forces, and the number of armored forces was far less exaggerated than that of Germany.
In fact, it is not surprising to think about it. Compared with Britain, France was obviously the country that suffered more damage in World War I.
The pain brought to the French by World War I was already great, and the American influenza in the late period of World War I brought the French grief like adding fuel to the fire.
It took more than ten years to get out of the shadow of World War I and the American influenza, and the economic crisis broke out again.
France's newly restored economy and industry suffered a heavy blow again, and the French were completely devastated and no longer had the hope of becoming the world hegemon.
Even the European hegemony that the French have been boasting about is very watery.
If the French are really the well-deserved European hegemon, why should France take the initiative to build the Maginot Line instead of scaring Germany, the defeated general, again?
France used a large amount of budget to build the Maginot Line, and the investment in the army and navy would naturally decrease.
Since the outbreak of the war, France has not been able to have a large-scale armored force, which is why the French army has been defeated by the German army.
And the impact of losing air supremacy in World War II is naturally needless to say.
On July 17, 1936, the first batch of materials transported from Australasia to Britain and France successfully arrived at Marseille, a port in southern France.
Britain and France still attach great importance to this batch of materials, because this batch of materials not only has 400,000 rifles, 2,225 artillery pieces and 120 tanks, but also has 220 aircraft, 550 trucks and 1,200 motorcycles.
Of course, Britain and France certainly did not receive this batch of weapons and equipment support for free.
According to the agreement between Arthur and the British and French ambassadors, this batch of weapons and equipment will be freely distributed by Britain and France. Britain and France will also pay Australasia for the purchase of weapons at a price 20% lower than the current market price according to the proportion of weapons and equipment they obtain.
Although the price was 20% off for Britain and France, Australasia would definitely not lose money, and would even make a lot of money.
You know, the current price of weapons has risen by at least 30% compared to the peacetime period when Australasia produced this batch of weapons and equipment.
This is because the war did not last long, and the consumption of weapons and equipment in various countries was not large.
As the war continued, the gaps and demands for weapons and equipment in various countries became larger and larger, and the weapons and equipment at that time would become more and more valuable.
Of course, Australasia would not lose money no matter what the situation was.
In addition to the latest production of rifles, machine guns and artillery equipment provided to Britain and France, all tanks and aircraft were backward products in Australasia's inventory.
Of course, compared with the most advanced tanks and aircraft in Britain and France, it is actually the first-class technology in Europe at present, and it can be used to fight this war.
These tanks and aircraft solved the urgent needs of Britain and France.
In order to withdraw the more than 300,000 troops, Britain and France had lost more than 500 aircraft from Dunkirk to Lille.
Although both countries are constantly producing weapons and equipment, it obviously takes a long time for a powerful country to completely transform from a peaceful state to a war state.
At least the economic transformation of Britain and France is obviously much slower than that of Australasia.
Australasia was already prepared for war, and it can be said to be in a semi-war state.
After Arthur declared war, all walks of life in Australasia were mobilized and quickly transformed into a war state.
Some clothing factories in Sydney and Melbourne have been temporarily requisitioned and quickly transformed into workshops for producing military uniforms.
Some boot manufacturers, under the call of the government, also modified their production lines and transformed into manufacturers of military boots.
Arthur's appeal in the country made Australasia's transition to a war state very smooth and rapid.
But Britain and France obviously don't have a figure like Arthur to coordinate and call on the people and enterprises across the country.
Even now, there are still quite a few voices of peace advocates in Britain and France. If the actual war with Germany had not already broken out and the people had not begun to turn to the war party, I am afraid that these peace advocates would have done something to make the country less stable.
Let’s talk about Australasia.
A week after the landing battle began, on July 3, the Philippine and Kalimantan armies finally withstood the pressure of the island army, steadily occupied the beach, and advanced towards Naha, the largest city in the Ryukyu region.
During this week, the Philippine and Kalimantan armies suffered a large number of casualties, with the death toll exceeding 70,000 and the total casualties approaching 200,000.
But it can be clearly felt that after the baptism of this war, the combat effectiveness of the Philippine and Kalimantan armies has been significantly strengthened.
If the current army is used to carry out another landing battle, the casualties of this army should be reduced, and the landing battle can be completed in less time.
Since the preliminary training of the army has been completed, General Christie naturally has no reason to delay any further.
On July 23, 1936, under the order of the 9th Army Commander Christie, Australasia officially launched a full-scale attack on Ryukyu.
Although the air bombing was more intense than before, the islanders were already accustomed to this kind of bombing. After all, they were only facing the armies of the Philippines and Kalimantan, and the pressure on the ground forces was very small.
What General Christie needed was the complacency of the islanders.
At 8 o'clock in the evening of July 23, more than 100 Sop-34 transport planes transported thousands of Australasian soldiers to Naha, an important city in the Ryukyu Islands, and the port north of Naha.
After more than a week of war, Australasian also initially understood the deployment of the island army in the Ryukyu Islands.
The two most important areas of the Ryukyu Islands are Naha and the port.
The front battlefield has about two divisions of troops for defense, and Naha and the port each have more than half of the division's troops stationed.
Although the defense is still tight, the two divisions stationed in Naha and the port are actually two Type C divisions that do not have much combat effectiveness.
The landing battle determines the life and death of the Ryukyu Islands. In the landing battle, the two Type A and Type B divisions that are truly combat-capable are guarding against the Australasian army.
In addition to transporting more than 6,000 soldiers, this airborne operation will also transport a certain number of artillery and machine guns to help these more than 6,000 soldiers form certain defensive positions according to the terrain after successfully attacking cities and ports.
Aparri in the Philippines is 1,100 kilometers away from the Ryukyu Islands. This also means that the time required for the Sop-34 transport plane to travel back and forth is at least more than six hours.
In these more than six hours, the task of attacking cities and ports and organizing defense lines and holding positions can only be completed by these more than 6,000 soldiers.
Of course, as long as they can hold on, the second batch of more than 6,000 soldiers will arrive smoothly after more than six hours to help the first batch of soldiers to strengthen their defensive positions and even repel the islanders.
As long as the cities and ports of the Ryukyu Islands can be successfully attacked, the island army of nearly 100,000 people stationed in the Ryukyu Islands will have nowhere to escape and will be annihilated by the Australasian army.
Although the two Type C divisions are not very useful, the Ryukyu Islands still have a Type A division and a Type B division.
The destruction of these two divisions is a blow to the confidence of the island nation's army, and it can also effectively strike at the island nation's manpower.
Even if the island nation can mobilize more troops next, the combat effectiveness of these troops is destined to be incomparable to that of the Type A and Type B divisions.
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