Chapter 323 France Don’t Cry 8

On April 11, 1940, the second day of the "Scythe Operation", the German Wehrmacht continued their journey of opening the door. More than a thousand Belgian defenders of the Eben-Emael Fortress surrendered in tears the night before. They paid a huge sacrifice but could not break through the defense of 100 German supermen. It was not until 9 o'clock in the evening that a German motorized infantry battalion crossed the Albert Canal and entered the Eben-Emael Fortress. As a result, the defenders of the Eben-Emael Fortress had a mental breakdown and surrendered with a white flag - 100 Germans were already unbeatable, so what was there to fight with a few hundred more?

The battle of the Fronhofen Bridge also ended at 10 o'clock in the evening on April 10. The 2nd Battalion (Motorized Infantry Battalion) of the "Adolf Hitler" Flag Team crossed the bridge and arrived at the west bank of the Albert Canal at around 9:30, and then spent 30 minutes with the 16th Assault Gun Company that had arrived earlier to defeat thousands of Belgian infantry.

Prior to this, the assault gun company and an infantry battalion of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division arrived at the Veldwezelt Bridge, and together with less than 100 supermen commanded by Lieutenant Gustav Altmann, they defeated another Belgian infantry brigade.

So far, the Eben-Emael Fortress, the Vronhoven Bridge and the Veldwezelt Bridge have all fallen into the hands of the German army. The road from Maastricht in the Netherlands to the west of the Albert Canal is completely open. The Liege-Albert Line in Belgium was broken by the German army on the first day of the war!

The only "Battle of the Cannes Bridge" that was not successful in this air assault also ended on the morning of April 11. After paying a "heavy price" of 22 deaths and 26 injuries, the "Iron Group" commanded by Lieutenant Martin Schachter finally captured the destroyed bridge and repelled a Belgian infantry brigade (actually it was an active retreat).

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

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

In the Allied General Headquarters, which was as quiet as a church, Admiral Gamelin and Admiral Verrick stood in front of a huge sand table, staring blankly at the staff placing wooden signs symbolizing the German army on the plain west of the Liege-Meuse-Albert Canal.

Although the Allied forces did not think of a decisive battle with the German army on the Liege-Meuse-Albert Canal line, Gamelin and Verrick did not expect that the defense line that had blocked the German army for more than 10 days in the last world war would completely collapse within 24 hours.

"Lord (Admiral Verrick is not Viscount Gort now, but he has the title of lord), how long do you think the 100-kilometer plain can hold back the Germans?"

"2 days... or 3 days." Admiral Verrick estimated the time, "It's still in time. The Germans can't approach Brussels until April 13 at the earliest. Our people will arrive there on April 12."

"Only one day early." Gamelin frowned. He originally expected that the Germans would be blocked for 10-15 days on the Liege-Meuse River-Albert Canal line, so that the British and French forces stationed in Belgium could calmly deploy their defenses.

"This is a very critical day, which determines the defeat of Germany!" Admiral 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, and 2.5 brigades from the 1st Reserve Armored Division were also regarded as tank brigades by Verrick). These tank brigades have as many tanks as the German armored divisions, and they are also superior in quality."

Gamelin's brows were still furrowed. He understood Verrick's meaning, which was to launch an offensive battle with the Germans on the Brussels-Dyer River line. And it was an offensive battle between mechanized forces!

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

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

The British High Command was originally reluctant to send precious Spitfire aircraft to France and Belgium-the Spitfire fighter has a complex process and its production has always been low. By April 1940, only a dozen fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force had replaced the Spitfire fighter.

These Spitfire fighters were not only responsible for the air defense of the British mainland, but also for covering the British fleet that blocked the English Channel. In addition, four squadrons were deployed to the Onyx Islands, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands to fight against the Fokker Zero fighters on the German aircraft carriers that might break through from there.

However, the ongoing Battle of Belgium was also a matter of life and death. Once the Allied forces were defeated here, the British mainland would be less than 100 kilometers away from the German front!

Germany's two "Bismarck" class battleships may be put into service in 1940, and by then the German Navy will have the strength to fight the British Royal Navy head-on - although the German Navy is still no match for the battleships, the advantages of the German Air Force and Naval Aviation are too obvious. They have high-performance fighters (BF-109 and Fokker Zero), and the conservative estimate is more than 1,000! And 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 hard to say whether the British Home Fleet can still maintain the sea control of the English Channel.

In this case, the British Empire had to consider the issue of desperate efforts. Just before Chamberlain bowed and stepped down, the British War Cabinet had decided to send "Spitfire" fighters to participate in the Belgian Campaign, and at the same time to expand the army on a large scale - if the Belgian Campaign failed, the British Empire's homeland would probably need to rely on the army to defend it!

And Gamelin now has to consider not only Belgium, but also the north side of the "Maginot Line" at the same time. If the German army achieved a breakthrough from the Luxembourg direction and outflanked the rear of the "Maginot Line", it would also be fatal to France. His eyes turned to the empty flank of the "Maginot Line". After the main force of the 1st Army Group moved westward to Belgium, the area north of Metz was almost empty. There were too many areas where the German army could break through, and the French Supreme 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 Panzer Army, who was leading his troops through the Ardennes Forest, received news that the 1st Army Group of the British and French Allied Forces had been dispatched. At this time, he was sitting in an armored command vehicle, acting together with the 19th Panzer Army, the vanguard of the 1st Panzer Group. General Reinhardt, commander of the 19th Panzer Army, was sitting next to him, holding the battle report he had just received.

The British-French Allied Forces' 1st Army Group had dozens of divisions, and of course they were mobilized in a mighty manner. It was impossible to hide from the German army with air superiority. Therefore, as soon as they were deployed, they were detected by the German Air Force.

"Great, great!" General Guderian laughed and nodded, "France is almost finished... Those dozens of divisions cannot be moved. If they are moved, there will inevitably be gaps in deployment. This time we will win."

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

"Haha, it's all death!" Guderian nodded in agreement, "I think the French actually died on the 'Maginot' line... This line of defense not only costs too much, but also now Too many troops have been invested in guarding the Maginot Line, and now they have to protect the flanks of the Maginot Line. The Maginot Line must be defended; Metz to the north of the line faces Luxembourg and must be heavily guarded; Belgium must be saved, otherwise the British will definitely not agree. In this way, how many troops can they put in Sedan? "

There are only a little over 100 French divisions that have completed training and equipment. Among them, 50 to 60 are either guarding the Maginot Line or defending the flanks of the Maginot Line. There are more than 40 divisions that can be used for mobile operations.

On the German side, there are only 19 divisions to attract the attention of the Maginot Line defenders, and the remaining nearly 120 divisions can be used for mobile operations!

In addition, most of the more than 40 divisions that the French can use for mobile operations have now been transferred to Belgium together with the very elite British Expeditionary Force. Gamelin and Joseph George naturally have very few troops to cover the center.

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

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

General Reinhardt looked at the report in his hand, "At 10 o'clock, they have reached Etal. There are still more than 30 kilometers to break through the Ardennes Valley, and there are about 50 kilometers to Sedan."

"They can engage in a firefight with the French tonight!" Guderian thought for a while, "Then they can airdrop in the early morning tomorrow... Whether we can break through in one fell swoop, we will know tomorrow morning."