The Rise of the Third Reich

On April 21, 1940, an armored cluster collision of unprecedented scale was about to begin in the Arras area south of Calais Port.

At around 8:15 in the morning, one armored division (British 1st Armored Division), 3 light mechanized divisions (French 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Light Mechanized Divisions) and 1 motorized force of the British and French forces that broke out from Belgium and moved westward The huge armored group composed of the Infantry Division (the French 1st Motorized Infantry Division), and the German "Gross Deutschland" banner group (after the Battle of Stoney Town, the "Grand Deutschland" banner group immediately went north to fight with the 1st Infantry Division). The 7th Armored Division merged) and met head-on.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

The sound of the 75mm gun firing came from the front, and Rudolf Ribbentrop, who was dozing on the truck, was immediately awakened. Then he heard the company commander Captain Kruger shouting: "Get off the bus, get off the bus! Get ready to fight!"

"Everyone checks the equipment!" Platoon leader Second Lieutenant Schwarzenegger also woke up at some point.

"complete!"

"complete!"

"..."

Like a programmed robot, Rudolf Ribbentrop quickly checked his rifle, bayonet and the ammunition he carried with him, and then shouted "finished" like everyone else.

"Get out of the car!" Lieutenant Schwarzenegger put the helmet on his head and was the first to get out of the truck.

Rudolf Ribbentrop also followed out, and he found himself between a forest and a village. From the north came the sound of firing from a 75mm gun and another, possibly a 37mm gun. Apparently the No. 4 tank (belonging to the 7th Armored Division) that opened the way was exchanging fire with the enemy.

"11th Company, advance to the woods!" Captain Kruger gave the order at this time, "The 2nd Platoon will go up first, then the 1st Platoon, 3rd Platoon, company headquarters and other units will follow in order."

Second Lieutenant Gustav Schwarzenegger, who had been soundly asleep in the car a few minutes ago (the officers and soldiers of the "Grossdeutschland" flag regiment were very tired after many days of continuous marching and fighting) heard that there was going to be a fight, and he immediately Energized, he shouted loudly: "All 2nd platoon, battle formation, target woods ahead!"

The officers and soldiers of the 2nd Platoon of the 11th Company of the "Gross Deutschland" flag team encountered such scenes countless times on their way north from Sedan (on their way north, they did not encounter any major battles, but small-scale firefights occurred every day). Yes), so the soldiers spread out their formation very skillfully, and then ran towards the woods.

No French troops fired at the 2nd Platoon of the 11th Company from the woods. The woods were quickly controlled by the 2nd Platoon, and other units of the 11th Company followed suit. They began to dig foxholes and build machine gun and artillery bunkers in the woods. About 30 minutes later, two platoons of the 14th Anti-Tank Artillery Company entered the woods with three 37mm anti-tank guns and one 47mm anti-tank gun (the two anti-tank gun platoons should have six 37-mm guns, but in The 14th Company suffered heavy losses during the Battle of Stoney Town, losing almost half of its 37mm guns, and later received several 47mm guns captured from the French army).

While the 11th Company was stationed in the woods, the artillery battle ahead was still very fierce. Rumbling artillery sounds were heard in the distance. Several small groups of Junkers Ju87 dive bombers arranged in a V shape also quickly arrived to assist in the battle, making strange screams. , dive and drop bombs. There was also a fierce battle in the sky, first between the Fokker Zero and the Spitfire, and then several Bf-109s came to help.

After a while, the German trucks and half-tracks on the road next to the woods all turned around and drove away. Three No. 3 assault guns made a low roar, drove down the road, passed through the barren farmland, and rushed directly into the forest. The wheeled armored vehicles on the road drove into the village on the opposite side of the woods.

It looks like another big battle is about to begin! The veterans of the "Gross Deutschland" flag team in the woods immediately understood what was going on.

The No. 4 tank in front must have encountered a more difficult opponent, so the "Grossdeutschland" must take a defensive posture, hold on and wait for the main force of the 7th Armored Division to arrive.

…

"General, the 1st Armored Brigade encountered the main force of the German army in Arras."

In the headquarters of the Allied Forces in Belgium that had just been moved to the port of Zeebrugge, General Verrick was crossing his arms and looking anxiously at the sky outside the window - the weather was very good, and there were not even a few white clouds in the blue sky. If the Home Fleet comes to the port of Zeebrugge to pick up people now, it will definitely become a living target for German aircraft!

After hearing the report from Chief of Staff Major General Henry Bonnard, General Verrick said without looking back: "Tell Lieutenant General Brooke (Commander of the 2nd Corps of the Expeditionary Force, now responsible for commanding the 'Brooke' Armored Group). Let’s fight the Germans in Arras, and we must hold out for more than 7 days.”

Although the British 1st Armored Division and the French 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Light Mechanized Divisions (actually not light at all, with powerful S35 heavy tanks) were dispatched, General Wyrick was not sure of victory at all. Because these top-notch mechanized troops from Britain and France were defeated by the German armored forces on the Belgian battlefield. Under the repeated attacks of German aircraft and armored forces, they had already suffered heavy losses and their morale was very low.

"Henry, what's the news from the Navy?" Admiral Verrick asked.

"The main force of the local fleet has been dispatched, and we can start executing the 'Generator Plan' tonight."

According to the current "Generator Plan", the main force of the British Home Fleet will also participate in the withdrawal operation. The battleship formation of the Home Fleet will patrol at the eastern entrance of the English Channel to drive away the main force of the German High Seas Fleet that may be approaching - if two "Bismarck" class ships (actually only one is available) come over, it will be a "fight" Jutland"-style sea battle!

At the same time, starting from the night of the 21st, cruiser and destroyer formations will enter the three ports of Zeebrugge, Ostend and Nieuwport, and quietly transport away the British troops who have retreated there. If 81,000 yuan is transported every night, 50,000 to 60,000 people can be transported away in a week.

It turns out that this is a "generator plan" focusing on "smuggling". However, once the main force of the German army approaches Zeebrugge, Ostend and Nieuwpoort, they will have to transport people at all costs. At that time, the British government will call on all the residents of the southern coast of Britain who own ships to join in the rescue operation of the expeditionary force... It depends on what can be fished out.

…

"Marshal, the British Home Fleet has moved."

News of the dispatch of the British Home Fleet quickly reached the German headquarters in Zossen - there were agents of the Central Security Service in several ports where the British Home Fleet was stationed, and there were German submarines operating near those ports. Therefore, it is basically impossible to keep the dispatch of the large fleet secret.

"Has the Home Fleet moved?" Hersman was looking at the photos (bombing effect photos) sent by Admiral Kesselring at this time. When he heard the news, he immediately thought of "Generator". He looked at Kesselring and Halder, "The British are running away, and the Home Fleet is here to pick them up."

"We have destroyed the port," Kesselring said. "From the photos, the bombing looks pretty good."

"There are still three ports on the Belgian side, Zeebrugge, Ostend and Nieuwport." Halder reminded, "And destroying port facilities does not mean that the port is completely paralyzed."

In other words, some can always be removed! In the historical "Operation Dynamo", the British were originally prepared to withdraw at least 30,000 people under the full attack of the German army - this was the worst plan.

"Arrange the bombing of Zeebrugge, Ostend and Nieuwpoort tomorrow!" Hessmann ordered without hesitation.

"Marshal, the Western Front Headquarters hopes to retain these three ports." Kesselring said, "That is the starting point for attacking the British mainland."

The plan to land on the British mainland was made by Hersman himself, and of course there needed to be a port to cross the English Channel. These three ports in Belgium, plus Calais, Dunkirk in France, and Antwerp in Belgium, are the starting points for the planned landing troops.

"Blow it up!" Hessman said. "Blow them all up. It will be impossible to land in 40 years."

"Okay." Kesselring nodded, "Then we will dispatch the He-111 for an air strike tomorrow." He thought for a while and then said, "Should we retain a certain number of bombers and Fokker Zeros to deal with the British Home Fleet? Main force?”

This is of course a must! Because as long as the main force of the British mainland fleet is blown up, the world war will be won! Although such an opportunity is not big, you can't be unprepared.

"Leave this to the naval aviation." Hessman ordered. "Starting tomorrow, the naval aviation will no longer participate in the bombing of enemy ground forces and will all return to the Wilhelmshaven base to stand by."

"Does the High Seas Fleet need to be dispatched?" Halder asked again.

Now that the High Seas Fleet has a very powerful battleship - the "Bismarck", it seems that it can go out to show off its power again.

However, the strength of the British home fleet has also recovered a lot. The battleships/battlecruisers injured in the air raid at Scapa Flow have been repaired, and the overhaul of the "Hood" has been completed. If there is to be a decisive fleet battle, it is obviously not enough to rely on one Bismarck and one Gneisenau.

"It is better not to move," Hessman said. "It will be safer to wait until the Hindenburg class is completed and then go out to fight the British decisively."

The "Hindenburg" class is the H class. The first ship and the second ship will be launched in June. The names have been chosen. The first ship is named after Marshal Hindenburg, and the second ship is the "Ludendorff" . When these two battleships (estimated in 1942) and the two "Zeppelin" class aircraft carriers (Zeppelin and Moltke) are completed, the German High Seas Fleet should have the strength to defeat the British Home Fleet... The premise is of course that it cannot Then lose existing battleships and aircraft carriers.