The Rise of the Third Reich

"Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief, the total losses, including Ms.406, D.520, H-75, Hurricane, Breguet, Blenheim, Amio-350, and LeO-451, total 712 aircraft. The losses are There are more than 1,200 crew members..."

"God, what have I done?" General Gan Molin's face turned a little blue after listening to the staff report. In just one day of fierce air combat, the British and French forces lost 712 aircraft and 1,200 crew members. This is a fatal loss! The aircraft may still be purchased from a democratic arsenal, but the loss of crew members is difficult to make up for. Those people are all elites who were trained and selected with high standards and strict requirements before the war broke out. It is not easy to replenish them. After losing so much at once, the vitality of the Air Force will be seriously damaged.

"The bombing has achieved the expected results, right?" Admiral Gamelin looked at the staff officer.

"A certain effect has been achieved..." the staff officer replied, "but the specific situation still needs to be confirmed by reconnaissance aircraft."

The scene of the Sedan-Maas River air battle was very chaotic. The German ground-to-air firepower network was extremely dense, causing British and French aircraft to flee. Even if the bombs were dropped, they were dropped randomly, and it was unclear whether they hit the target. However, many surviving crew members reported that the bombs hit the pontoon.

"So where are our counterattack forces?" General Gamelin didn't think about the results of the bombing. The losses of 712 aircraft and more than 1,200 crew members were already lost. Even if the pontoon bridge was blown up, the gain would not be worth the loss.

"General Charles Henziger of the 2nd Army reported that the 213th Regiment and the 4th and 7th Tank Battalions of the 55th Infantry Division had arrived 15 kilometers south of Sedan, near the Mont-Diu Heights. They were there and The Germans fought a battle and lost dozens of FCM-36 tanks.

In addition, the 3rd Armored Division and the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division of the 21st Army (belonging to the 6th Army) starting from Reims (the division is called motorized, but is not equipped with trucks to transport infantry) have also approached Monte- Diu Heights. "

The Monte-Dieu Highlands is a dangerous location south of Sedan. If the French army can occupy this highland, it will threaten Sedan. If the Germans had occupied the Monte-Dieu heights, the Sedan breakthrough could have been consolidated.

Of course Gamelin knew the importance of the Monte-Dieu Highlands. He thought for a moment and then asked: "Did the 3rd Reserve Armored Division suffer an air attack during its march?"

"There was no air raid, but we encountered people who had difficulty escaping and blocked the road, so we walked very slowly."

The 3rd Armored Division and the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division set out last night. Originally, these two divisions would have eaten a lot of bombs during the day. However, the air battle over the Meuse River attracted most of the fighters in this direction, and without sufficient fighter cover, the German dive bomber attack aircraft did not dare to penetrate too deep into French airspace.

Gamelin breathed a sigh of relief: "Send power to General Joseph George and ask him to assign the 21st Army to the 2nd Army (the army that is guarding the Metz fortification area), and then order General Henziger to launch a counterattack, at all costs At the cost of controlling the Monte-Dieu heights, and counterattacking towards the German crossing of the Meuse River, blocking the German breakthrough."

"Commander-in-Chief, I am afraid that three divisions cannot complete such a task." General Wyrick, commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, reminded him, "Especially since the German army still has air superiority."

Before today, all the Germans had was air superiority. But after the great air battle on the Maas River, absolute air supremacy already belonged to the German army! Even if Britain and France now have a fighter jet that can threaten the BF-109 and Fokker Zero, they will no longer be able to compete for the sky.

Therefore, today's situation where the 3rd Reserve Armored Division and the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division can march without aircraft bombing may be difficult to reproduce.

"No problem," Gamelin gritted his teeth, "I will order the air force to cover at all costs, and more charB1 heavy tanks will definitely arrive. We will do our best by then, and the fate of France will be in this battle!"

After hearing this, Admiral Verik frowned tightly. He knew that this counterattack was Gamelin's last ditch effort. If the French army cannot win in the Monte-Diu Highlands, then not only the French army stationed at the "Maginot" line of defense may be surrounded, but even the British and French forces that penetrate deep into Belgium will be in big trouble.

…

"General Sauer, Colonel Weschulin, your task now is to capture the Monte-Dieu Highlands and the town of Stoney (located in the highlands), and then hold them there."

Guderian also realized the importance of the Monte-Diu Highlands at this time, but his main force had to advance north to deal with the French 9th Army, so he gave the task of occupying and guarding the highlands to the 10th Armored Division and the "Grossdeutschland" banner unit.

"Colonel," Guderian said to Colonel Weschulin of the "Grossdeutschland" banner, "your infantry regiment is now assigned to the 10th Armored Division." Then he told the division commander of the 10th Armored Division, Major General Ferdinand Sauer. Said, "Major General, take your people to occupy the town of Stoney and defend there until the 17th. At that time, the troops of the 12th Army will come to take over the defense."

According to the order of the Western Front Headquarters, the 12th Army will get the three armored divisions that originally belonged to the 1st Armored Army, and then use them as the vanguard to go south to seize the Verdun area and cut off the retreat of the "Maginot" Line. The time for the two armies to hand over troops is on the 16th. Before that, Guderian wanted to make full use of the three armored divisions, so he gave the seemingly "easy" task of defending the Monte Diu Heights to the 10th Armored Division and the "Greater Germany" Flagship.

Guderian finally confessed: "This morning, a French infantry regiment and two tank battalions have arrived at the Monte Diu Heights first and were defeated by the troops of the 1st Armored Division. I guess the French will not give up, you should be careful."

The 213th Regiment and the 4th and 7th Tank Battalions of the 55th Infantry Division of the French Army were defeated by the 1st Armored Division. At this time, the French tanks were organized into tank battalions except for the light mechanized divisions, reserve armored divisions and light cavalry divisions. In wartime, they will be assigned to infantry divisions as needed.

The 4th and 7th tank battalions were equipped with a very advanced "design concept" but very poor performance FCM-36 tank. This tank has a diesel engine, a welded body, sloped armor and a 37mm gun, and the thickest part of the frontal armor is 40mm. As a light tank (combat weight 12.35 tons), its firepower and defense are absolutely top-notch. But its speed is a bit slow, with the fastest speed of only 24 kilometers per hour, and its diesel engine is not very good, so it is easy to break down.

In the battle this morning, these slow and sturdy small tanks encountered the No. 3 tank and the No. 3 assault gun (a 3-gun used as a tank), and were beaten to pieces. The two tank battalions lost the No. 36 tanks, and the infantry of the 213th Regiment also suffered heavy losses and fled all the way until they met the French 3rd Reserve Armored Division and the 3rd Motorized Division coming from Reims.

"How could FCM-36 be vulnerable?" General Flavigny is a recognized tank warfare expert in the French Army and is very familiar with the performance of the French FCM-36 tank. When he heard that these tanks, which are considered very strong among light tanks, were easily penetrated by the German tanks, he was shocked.

"General, I'm afraid that the 37mm gun can't achieve such a result." Brigadier General Anthony Brocard, the commander of the 3rd Reserve Armored Division of the French Army, is also an expert in tank warfare. After listening to the descriptions of several officers of the 213th Infantry Regiment, he knew that the German tanks must have more powerful firepower than the 37mm gun.

He said: "This should be a 47mm or 50mm gun. In addition, the short-barreled guns used by those tanks without turrets should be 75mm caliber... It seems that the German tank firepower is stronger than we thought."

The four tank battalions of the German armored division are also "two heavy" and "two light" configurations. The two "heavy" tank battalions are equipped with No. 4 tanks, No. 3 tanks and No. 3 assault guns, while the two light tank battalions are equipped with 38t tanks.

The 4th and 7th tank battalions of the French army were very unfortunate to encounter a German heavy tank battalion, equipped with No. 3 tanks and No. 3 assault guns.

"Only charB1 heavy tanks can deal with them," Brigadier General Anthony Brocard suggested, "We must wait until all intact charB1 heavy tanks are in place and ready, and we must wait for the arrival of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division... I think we can attack on the night of the 15th."

"Will it take another 24 hours?" General Flavigny asked with a frown.

"Yes, it will take another 24 hours." Brigadier General Anthony Brocard replied, "If we can wait for the 2nd Reserve Armored Division to arrive, we will be more confident." General Flavigny shook his head, "I'm afraid we can't wait for the 2nd Reserve Armored Division," he thought for a while, "and we can't wait until the night of the 15th. Once the Germans take over the Monte Diu Heights first, we will be in big trouble. Let the vanguard of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division occupy the town of Stoney first, and we will start defense there and give the Germans a head-on blow!" "Defense?" Brigadier General Anthony Brocard was stunned, "But the order from above is to attack." "No, we don't have the power to attack," General Flavigny's judgment of the strength of both sides was accurate, "Now all we can do is hold the Monte Diu Heights... I think there will be an unforgettable bloody battle there!"