The Rise of the Third Reich

On April 11, 1940, the day after the start of "Operation Sickle", the German Wehrmacht continued their cheating journey. More than a thousand Belgian defenders of the Eben-Emel Fortress cried and surrendered the night before. They paid huge sacrifices but were unable to break through the defense of 100 German supermen. It was not until 9 p.m. that 1 German motorized infantry The battalion crossed the Albert Canal and entered the fortress of Eben-Emel. As a result, the defenders of the Eben-Emel Fortress suffered a nervous breakdown and surrendered under the white flag - 100 Germans could no longer be defeated, so why fight with a few hundred more?

The battle on the Fronhofen Bridge also ended at 10 pm on April 10. The 2nd Battalion (Motorized Infantry Battalion) of the "Adolf Hitler" Flag Team arrived at the west bank of the Albert Canal through the bridge at around 9:30 , and then spent 30 minutes defeating thousands of Belgian infantry with the 16th Assault Artillery Company that had arrived earlier.

Before that, the assault artillery company and an infantry battalion of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division arrived at the Feldweisert Bridge, and together with less than 100 supermen commanded by Lieutenant Gustav Altmann, they defeated Another Belgian infantry brigade.

At this point, the Eben-Emel Fortress, the Fronhofen Bridge and the Feldweisert Bridge all fell into German hands. The road from the Dutch city of Maastricht to the west of the Albert Canal is completely open. Belgium's Liege-Albert defense line was broken through by the Germans on the first day of the war!

The only "Battle of Cannes Bridge" that did not succeed in this air assault also ended on the morning of April 11. After paying a "heavy price" of 22 deaths and 26 injuries, the "Soldering Iron Group" commanded by Second Lieutenant Martin Schacter finally seized the bombed bridge and repelled a Belgian infantry brigade (which actually retreated on its own initiative). ).

On the southern line of the "Liège-Albert" defense line, east of the important town of Liege on the Meuse River, the German 6th Army, led by two armored divisions, also launched a devastating offensive. By 6 pm on April 10, they had advanced 30 kilometers on Belgian soil, and the leading troops reached the outskirts of Liege. This city, which blocked the German army for more than 10 days in the last World War and bought valuable mobilization and deployment time for the British and French forces, was abandoned in the early morning of April 11.

On the morning of the 11th, the leading troops of the German 6th Army entered Liege. Less than 100 kilometers northwest from Liege is Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and Antwerp, Belgium’s largest port city, is only less than 110 kilometers away from Liege...

In the coalition headquarters, which was as quiet as a church, General Gamelin and General Verrick stood in front of a huge sand table, watching blankly as the staff placed wooden signs symbolizing the German army on Liege-Malaysia. On the plains west of the River Si-Albert Canal.

Although the coalition forces did not think of a decisive battle with the Germans on the Liege-Mause-Albert Canal line, Gamelin and Wyrick also did not think of the defense line that blocked the Germans for more than 10 days in the last world war. It completely collapsed within 24 hours.

"My lord (Admiral Verrick is not Viscount Gott now, but he has the title of lord), how long do you think 100 kilometers of plains can stop the Germans?"

"Two days... or three days." Admiral Verrick estimated the time, "There is still time. The Germans will not be able to approach Brussels until April 13th at the earliest, and our people will arrive on April 12th. There."

"It's only one day early." Gan Molin frowned. He originally expected that the Germans would be blocked on the Liege-Mause River-Albert Canal line for 10-15 days, so that the British and French forces stationed in Belgium could calmly launch their defense line.

"This is a very critical day, which determines the defeat of Germany!" General Verrick was still confident. "After we join forces with the Belgians, we will have 45-50 divisions, including 8 powerful tank brigades (3 from the British 1st Armored Division, 1 from each of the 3 French light mechanized divisions, 1st Reserve Two and a half brigades of the armored division were also regarded as tank brigades by Verrick). The number of tanks possessed by these tank brigades was no less than that of the German armored divisions, and they were also superior in quality."

Gan Molin's brows were still frowning. He understood what Weirick meant, which was to launch an offensive against the German army on the Brussels-Del River line. And it’s a battle between mechanized troops!

"But they have air superiority!" Admiral Gamelin said, "When can your Spitfires arrive?"

"We will definitely be in place before the battle begins." Admiral Verrick promised.

The British Army High Command was originally unwilling to send precious Spitfire aircraft to France and Belgium - the "Spitfire" fighter craft was complex and the output was never high. By April 1940, only a dozen fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force had been equipped with Spitfires.

These "Spitfire" fighter jets are not only responsible for the air defense of the British mainland, but also cover the British fleet blocking the English Channel. Another four squadrons were deployed to the Onyk Islands, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands to counter Fokker Zero fighters on German aircraft carriers that might break through there.

However, the ongoing Belgian campaign is also a matter of life and death. Once the coalition forces are defeated here, the British mainland will be less than 100 kilometers away from the German frontline!

Germany's two "Bismarck" class battleships may enter active service in 1940. By then, the German Navy will have the strength to compete head-on with the British Royal Navy - although the German Navy is still no match for battleships, the German Air Force and The advantages of naval aviation are too obvious. The high-performance fighter jets they own (BF-109 and Fokker Zero) are conservatively estimated to be more than 1,000! There are also a large number of high-performance bombers or attack aircraft such as Ju88, Ju87, He-115 and Fokker 99. Once they cooperate with battleships, it is difficult to say whether the British Home Fleet can maintain sea control of the English Channel.

In this case, the British Empire had to consider the issue of desperate measures. Just before Chamberlain bowed down, the British war cabinet had decided to send Spitfire fighter jets to participate in the Belgian campaign, and also to massively expand the army. If the Belgian campaign failed, the British Empire would probably need to rely on the army to defend its homeland. !

Gamelin now has to consider not just Belgium, he also has to pay attention to the north side of the "Maginot" line of defense. If the German army breaks through from the direction of Luxembourg and outflanks the back of the "Maginot" line of defense, it will be equally fatal to France. His eyes turned to the empty flanks of the Maginot line. After the main force of the 1st Army Group marched westward into Belgium, everything north of Metz was almost empty. There were too many areas where the German army could break through, and the French High Command had too few reserves...

…

"General, the main force of the 1st Army Group of the British and French Allied Forces has been dispatched!"

At noon on April 11, General Guderian, commander of the 1st Armored Group, who was leading his troops through the Ardennes Forest, received news that the 1st Army Group of the British and French coalition forces was dispatched. At this time, he was sitting in an armored command vehicle, operating with the 19th Armored Corps, the vanguard of the 1st Armored Group. General Reinhardt, the commander of the 19th Armored Corps, was sitting next to him, holding the battle report he had just received.

The 1st Army Group of the British and French allied forces consisted of dozens of divisions. Of course, the mobilization was huge, and it was impossible to hide it from the German army, which had air superiority. Therefore, as soon as it was dispatched, it was detected by the German Air Force.

"Okay, great!" General Guderian laughed and nodded, "France is almost finished... Those dozens of divisions cannot move. If they move, there will inevitably be gaps in deployment. Now we win deal."

Admiral Reinhardt smiled and said, "If we don't move, Belgium will surrender right now. Once Belgium surrenders, the British may have to withdraw their troops and go back to defend their hometown. Isn't it a dead end for France to fight alone?"

"Haha, it's all dead anyway!" Guderian nodded in agreement, "I think the French actually died on the 'Maginot' defense line... This defense line not only cost too much, but also invested too much now. We must use more troops to defend, and not only the Maginot Line, but also the flanks of the Maginot Line. The Maginot Line must be defended; Metz to the north of the defense line faces Luxembourg and must be heavily guarded; Belgium must be rescued, otherwise the British will definitely not agree. How many troops can they have in Sedan?"

There are now over a hundred French divisions that have completed training and equipment. Fifty or sixty of them are either guarding the "Maginot Line" or defending the flanks of the "Maginot Line". The divisions that can be used for mobile operations are More than forty.

On the German side, there were only 19 divisions used to attract the attention of the defenders of the "Maginot" line of defense, and the remaining nearly 120 divisions could be used maneuverably!

In addition, most of the more than forty divisions that the French had available for mobile warfare were now transferred to Belgium with the very elite British Expeditionary Force. Gamelin and Joseph George naturally had very few troops to cover the center.

Guderian looked at his watch. It was now 12:13 noon on April 11, Berlin time.

"Where are the Grossdeutschland and the 3rd Armored Division?" Guderian asked, "When can they arrive near Sedan?"

Admiral Reinhard looked at the report in his hand and said, "We have arrived at Etal at 10 o'clock. There are still more than 30 kilometers to break through the Ardennes Valley, and there are still about 50 kilometers to Sedan."

"They can exchange fire with the French tonight!" Guderian thought for a while, "Then they can airborne in the early morning of tomorrow... We will know tomorrow morning whether we can break through in one fell swoop."