Battle of the Third Reich

"General! Telegrams from the 1st Infantry Division and Headquarters!" Another communications soldier ran up with two telegrams.

"give me."

Montgomery took the telegram and looked at it. He first read the telegram of the first division. He wondered why the first division sent a telegram to himself. Wasn't it said that the second and fourth divisions supported him? After reading the telegram, Montgomery showed a surprised expression.

He hurriedly read the headquarters telegram again. After reading the headquarters telegram, Montgomery's somber face finally showed a smile.

"The retreat order is canceled. We will insist here that the first division arrives and order the front position to be strengthened again. The enemy's shelling will be more accurate after dawn."

Then Montgomery walked back to the command post in spite of the doubtful eyes of the staff around him. Montgomery was so happy in his heart, but he insisted on not letting others see his joy from his expression. He was always proud that he did not allow others to see through his inner world.

It was finally saved, and maybe it would be possible to get rid of the current situation of being beaten and defeat. Lord Gott ordered all troops without defensive missions to rush to Arras as soon as possible, and he and the two brigades as pioneers, and the second and fourth infantry divisions of the Second Army as backups. The main force of the Expeditionary Force followed.

But what I didn't expect was that the first infantry division of the Army, as one of the main forces, was too agile. As a result, they have now surpassed the two support divisions and become the closest unit to themselves. They had just contacted Gott’s headquarters and learned of their situation here. As a result, they asked Gott to fight and asked them to support themselves first. Gott has also agreed to their request, and now they are moving closer to themselves at the fastest speed, I believe they can meet with themselves in an hour.

Montgomery couldn't help but be grateful for the first aid division's timely assistance, and was fortunate that he now finally didn't have to violate military orders.

What delighted him most was that the 1st Infantry Division also carried the only second Royal Tank Regiment in the entire British Expeditionary Force that had not yet been lost, and had 18 "Matilda" Type 2 tanks and 64" "Matilda" type one tank. This is exactly what I need most.

I originally planned to retreat because the two supporting infantry divisions, even if they caught up in time, could not help my attack. Infantry will never be able to capture that city. If supported by the Air Force, there is still half the chance of success. However, the Royal Air Force’s aircraft in France suffered heavy losses, and the airports were behind the French, which could not help themselves at all. Moreover, even if they were dispatched, the German Air Force was not there to watch, and it was not outnumbered by then. The local air force was ordered not to leave the British mainland, so it was impossible to expect.

But now with a tank, it’s different. Montgomery has a special interest in this kind of tank with heavy armor. He believes that the Germans don’t have a weapon that can deal with that tank. He has seen the Germans with his own eyes. The anti-tank artillery shell hit the tank immediately after being shot. If these tanks are suddenly attacked and propelled quickly, the time to pass through the battlefield will be short, and the Germans can break through each other's frontier positions before they can organize such heavy artillery bombardments. Even if the Germans had time to fire the guns, there would be only one or two rounds, and if they were not directly hit, the shrapnel alone would not hurt their armor.

When they rushed into the enemy's frontal position, these tanks could destroy the enemy's frontal position and cause chaos. Then, while the Germans were busy dealing with those tanks, their infantry could swarm up, break through the enemy's frontier and take advantage of the situation to kill the city. When their infantry and the Germans started to fight together in the street fighting in the city, the terrible heavy artillery of the Germans would not be effective unless they were ready to kill their own people. At that time, relying on the strength of almost three infantry divisions to occupy the urban area of ​​Alas will be a matter of stability. If the infantry's impact is fast enough, it may be possible to capture those terrible artillery pieces. In the end, those artillery pieces move so slowly that the Germans cannot drag them away.

Montgomery conceived his battle plan with excitement. He felt that if he attacked according to his plan, he would definitely succeed. Now he just waits for the tanks and the first infantry division to arrive.

When the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon on May 27, 1940, Montgomery finally looked forward to the reinforcements he was waiting for.

Harold, the commander of the 1st Infantry Division. When General Alexandre walked into his command post, Montgomery rushed up and hugged him warmly. Montgomery could not express his joy for the arrival of the 1st Infantry Division by other means.

After the two division commanders had treated each other as usual, Montgomery talked to Alexander about his battle plan. After listening to it, Alexander couldn’t help but frown. Although he passed the destroyed artillery position of Montgomery on the way, he still didn’t want to believe that the two ordinary infantry regiments in Germany could have such powerful firepower. He indicated that he would go to the frontier position to take a look.

Montgomery accompanied him to the forefront command post. When Alexander saw the miserable sight of the forefront position, he was stunned. Leaving aside the wounded soldiers, just look at the collapsed trenches and bunkers to see how powerful the shells were, not to mention the hell-like scene on the battlefield. The broken bodies of a whole group of British officers and soldiers were still lying where they died last night. The blood flowing beside the huge craters has accumulated small blood pits, which makes the miserable battlefield even more terrible. .

Only then did Alexander fully believe in Montgomery's words. He also participated in World War I, knowing that without these tanks and airplanes, these infantrymen would never want to seize enemy positions covered by heavy artillery. The artillery, like Montgomery, is also a 25-pound infantry artillery. And those heavy 203 mm heavy howitzers are still slowly advancing here with the military headquarters, and now they can’t be as terrible as the Germans by their own ignition power. Firepower contends. He now fully agrees with Montgomery's battle plan, and he feels that this is indeed the only way to deal with the Germans on the opposite side.

Montgomery discovered the reason that his artillery was annihilated. A huge balloon floated above Arras. It was far away from the British position. Due to the threat of German artillery, its anti-aircraft guns could not approach the front position, so it could not threaten it. However, it was able to get a panoramic view of its entire position. It is believed that this observation balloon found its own artillery position based on the fire light of its artillery launch last night.

Now Montgomery feels that there is a big problem in his plan. If his tank unit strikes, it will definitely be seen by the observation balloon. The attack will lose its abruptness, and the threat of the tank being hit by the opposing heavy artillery will increase. But if you want to kill the balloon, it is impossible. Your own anti-aircraft gun may be found before it enters the position, and then it will be blown into a pile of scrap iron.

"Yeah, since the Germans can bombard their own artillery positions, it means that their artillery can cover their entire positions. If they can’t see clearly when it was dark last night, then it’s dawn now and their position, The positions of the newly arrived first division were placed in front of them without any cover. Why didn’t they bombard them immediately? It’s been an hour and the Germans haven’t shown any signs of bombardment. Purposeful?" Montgomery lowered his head in contemplation.

"Mondy, what are you thinking about?" Alexander asked curiously.

"I was thinking that the Germans behaved abnormally, as if there was something we didn't know about. I now feel more and more that we are stepping into a trap." Montgomery replied solemnly.

"So where do you see the Germans acting abnormally?"

Alexander still hadn't figured out what Montgomery was talking about. Montgomery immediately told his analysis and foresight to Alexander carefully. After listening to Montgomery's analysis, Alexander felt that the German's behavior was indeed very problematic. He very much agreed with Montgomery's opinion, and he asked Montgomery.

"If you think what we should do now? Originally I thought that if we attacked with tanks, we might suffer some losses, but there is still hope for success. But listening to you now makes me think that even we The tank attack may also be defeated, and according to your hunch, the Germans may have more powerful tricks waiting for us. Do we still have to retreat? Gott will eat us raw, you don’t know he is right How enthusiastic this plan is. Now we are running out of time. If we decide to attack, we have to attack immediately. If this continues, we will have a big problem when the German tank divisions are finished tomorrow. "

"Tomorrow..." Montgomery felt as if he had thought of some key question. He stood there staring blankly, thinking desperately in his head.

Suddenly, he raised his head and grasped Alexander's shoulder with both hands.

"Alexander! What if those German tanks are okay? What if they are fuel-rich and don't need to be trimmed at all!"

Alexander stared blankly at the excited Montgomery. He was obviously frightened by Montgomery's assumptions. He immediately thought that if Montgomery's assumptions were correct, then all this is the most dangerous risk set by the Germans. Trap, and if the Germans succeed, the British Expeditionary Force will be wiped out. But this is really crazy. Will the Germans come up with such a trick?

"Mondy, you really scared me. If this is true, then it is terrible. But can you be sure that your idea is correct?"

"Of course! I finally want to understand, I finally know why those Germans will easily expose their weaknesses to us, why they suddenly withdrew the tank troops, and why they are in this most important transportation hub There are only two infantry regiments, and why these two infantry regiments have more firepower than one army.

I all want to understand. They want to lure our main force out of the Ayr Canal area. Then use those armored divisions that do not need to be trimmed to suddenly penetrate the main side and rear and the wings. Divide and surround us, annihilate in this area. Arras in front of us is a huge bait, and it is a bait that we can hardly swallow. The job of the two German infantry regiments was to draw us here, and then use their heavy artillery to stop our offensive, drag us, and wait until our troops were blocked on this plain so that their armored divisions were in We attacked us at an unexpected time and place.

This plan is really wonderful. The person who came up with this plan is an extremely cunning hybrid, but he is also the greatest war genius I know. I can't believe there is such a guy in the German team. If I have the opportunity, I must see for myself what this guy is who can play with the entire British Expeditionary Force in his palm. I also want to know what method he used to get their old-fashioned headquarters to agree to implement such a huge, sophisticated and crazy plan. "

Montgomery was so excited that he couldn't control himself. He thought he had completely broken through Xu Jun's plan, and he flushed with excitement at the huge conspiracy he could find before the expeditionary troops stepped into the trap.

"Mongo... Mondy. It seems that you are right. You did guess the German plan, but, I think we may have understood it too late." Alexander's complexion turned pale. He stared blankly at the horizon behind Montgomery.

Montgomery quickly turned to look in the direction of Alexander.

As the billowing smoke rose in the distance, countless tanks and armored vehicles emerged from the horizon, and they roared toward the flank of their position. A German flag with a red cross and a black cross fluttered high in the wind on the turret of the fierce tank No. 4 at the front.

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