Chapter 329 France Don’t Cry XIV
"Your Majesty the 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, "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, when the troops of the 12th Army will come to take over the defense."
According to the order from the Western Front Headquarters, the 12th Army will obtain the three armored divisions originally belonging to the 1st Armored Army, and then use them as a guide to move south to seize the Verdun area and cut off the retreat of the 'Maginot' Line of Defense. The time for the delivery of troops by the two armies was 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 Highlands to The 10th Armored Division and the "Grossdeutschland" Flag Army.
Guderian finally confessed: "Early this morning, a French infantry regiment and two tank battalions arrived at the Monte-Diu Highlands first and were defeated by the troops of the 1st Armored Division. I don't think the French will give up. You want to Be careful."
Those defeated by the 1st Armored Division were the 213th Regiment and the 4th and 7th Tank Battalions of the French 55th Infantry Division. At this time, in addition to the French tanks being incorporated into the light mechanized division, reserve armored division and light cavalry division, They are all organized into tank battalions, and will be assigned to infantry divisions as needed during wartime.
The 4th and 7th tank battalions are equipped with the FCM-36 tank, which has a very advanced "design concept" but very poor performance. This tank has a diesel engine, welded body, sloped armor and a 37mm gun, and the thickest part of the frontal armor reaches 40mm. As a light tank (total combat weight of 12.35 tons), its firepower and defense are absolutely top-notch. However, its speed is a bit slow, with a maximum speed of only 24 km/h, and its diesel engine is not very powerful, so it breaks down easily.
In the battle early this morning, these slow and sturdy small tanks encountered the No. 3 tank and the No. 3 assault gun (a 3-shot gun used as a tank). As a result, they were beaten to the point of losing their armor and armor, and two tank battalions were lost. Without the Type 36 tank, the infantry of the 213th Regiment also suffered heavy losses and fled all the way until they encountered the French 3rd Reserve Armored Division and 3rd Motorized Division coming from Reims.
"How can the FCM-36 be vulnerable?" General Flavigny is a recognized tank warfare expert in the French Army, and he is very familiar with the performance of the French FCM-36 tank. When he heard that these tanks, which were considered very strong defense among light tanks, could be easily penetrated by German tanks, he was immediately surprised.
"General, I'm afraid the 37mm gun can't produce such results." Brigadier General Antoine Brocard, commander of the French 3rd Reserve Armored Division, is also an expert in tank warfare. He knew after listening to the descriptions of several officers of the 213th Infantry Regiment. German tanks definitely 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 tanks have stronger firepower than we thought."
The four tank battalions currently owned by the German armored divisions are also configured as "two heavy" and "two light". The two "heavy" tank battalions are equipped with No. 4 tanks, No. 3 tanks and No. 3 assault guns, and the two light ones are equipped with No. 4 tanks, No. 3 tanks and No. 3 assault guns. The tank battalion is equipped with 38t tanks.
The French 4th Tank Battalion and 7th Tank Battalion were very unfortunate to encounter a German heavy tank battalion, equipped with No. 3 tanks and No. 3 assault guns.
"Only with charB1 heavy tanks can we deal with them," Brigadier General Anthony Brocard suggested. "We must wait until all the intact charB1 heavy tanks have arrived and are 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.”
"It will 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 arrival of the 2nd Reserve Armored Division, we will be more confident."
General Flavigni shook his head, "I'm afraid we won't be able to wait for the 2nd Reserve Armored Division," he thought for a moment, "and we can't wait until the night of the 15th. Once the Germans occupy the Monte-Diu heights first, our The trouble is big. Let the leading troops of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division capture Stoney Town first, and we will launch a 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 to hold the Monte-Diu heights...I think, there There will be an unforgettable bloody battle!”