Chapter 508: Street Fighting (2300 votes plus updates)

  The large number of anti-tank weapons equipped by the British army caused a lot of losses to the German army who were out of reach. Especially those anti-tank guns posed a deadly threat to German tanks. As for those anti-tank guns, it is almost impossible to penetrate the frontal armor of German tanks. Of course, once the side armor is hit, it is still easy to penetrate.

   Fortunately, after the initial discomfort, the German armored forces also realized their own threat. This made them pay attention to the threat of the British anti-tank weapons during the battle. Destroy it before the British anti-tank guns can fire. In this case, it will undoubtedly be able to effectively reduce losses.

  With the assistance of the German armored forces, the outer defense line deployed by the British army outside Rouen did not play much role at all, and was quickly broken through by the German army.

   After taking down the outer line of defense of the British army, the German armored forces stopped their attack and retreated to the rear to rest. The task of continuing to attack the city of Rouen was left to the infantry.

   When Admiral Crook and Lieutenant General Ludendorff got the loss data of the armored force, they both frowned. In this battle, the losses of the armored forces were very large.

  1st Armored Division, 24 tanks were destroyed. In the 8th Armored Division, 17 tanks were also destroyed. You know, this was not damage caused by a malfunction, but was directly destroyed by the British. With the continuous improvement of technology, the reliability of tanks has been greatly improved. However, the enemy is not idle, and the vigorously developed anti-tank technology undoubtedly poses a great threat to the German armored forces.

   "General Ludendorff, when fighting on the Eastern Front, didn't the losses of the armored forces be so great?" Admiral Crook asked.

Lieutenant General Ludendorff shook his head: "On the Eastern Front, almost none of our tanks were destroyed by the Russian army. They were all damaged due to malfunctions and other reasons. But now, our tanks are directly destroyed by the British. It can be seen that the British and French allied forces already have weapons against our armored forces."

   Admiral Crook nodded: "So, when our armored forces are put into use, they won't achieve the same victories as they did on the Eastern Front."

   "Yes, General. And in the use of armored forces, you should be more cautious." Lieutenant General Ludendorff added.

"However, the role of the armored forces is still irreplaceable. At least, with the assistance of the armored forces, we easily broke through the outer defense line of the British army. The next attack on the city of Rouen will be in charge of the infantry. "Admiral Crook said.

  After seeing the power of the British anti-tank weapons, it is even more impossible for Admiral Crook to send armored troops into street fighting.

   "Yes, General." Admiral Ludendorff nodded. Under such circumstances, he certainly would not ask the armored troops to participate in street fighting.

   Subsequently, General Crook and Lieutenant General Ludendorff discussed and decided to attack Rouen in two ways. Among them, the 1st Army attacked from the north, and the 8th Army attacked from the east. The two legions each dispatched three infantry divisions to participate in the first round of attacks.

  Although the 1st Army has the most troops and is well-trained, it can be called the strongest army in the German army. However, the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Army is not weak either. In terms of equipment, the 8th Army is the most well-equipped among the various German armies. Training is also the strongest. This makes the 8th Army's strength inferior to that of the 1st Army, but its combat effectiveness is not weak at all. Especially for street fighting, the 8th Army was the earliest unit in the German army that specialized in street fighting training.

   Several infantry divisions of the German army entered the urban area of ​​Rouen after only one round of charge. Then, a brutal street battle started.

"Da da da!"

  A general-purpose machine gun of the German army was erected on a roof, and kept firing at the positions held by the British army. Under the firepower of the German army, the British soldiers on the ground couldn't even lift their heads.

  Under the cover of machine guns, the German infantry launched an attack on the British positions.

   "Grenade launcher, launch!" A second lieutenant platoon leader ordered.

   Soon, the grenadiers launched an attack, and one by one howitzers entered the British position. The explosion sounded, and the British soldiers on the ground were thrown off their feet by the bombing.

   The snipers also occupied a favorable terrain and began to kill the British soldiers.

  Under the tactics of the German army, the British army defending this street suffered heavy losses and was completely suppressed.

   Following such an opportunity, the German soldiers immediately launched an offensive and rushed to a place less than 20 meters away from the British defense line.

   "Grenade, throw!" Following the order of the slightly officer, more than 20 grenades flew towards the British army's position.

   Continuous explosions sounded, and the British army on the position suffered heavy losses from the explosion of the German grenade. The rest of the troops were also dizzy.

   Before they could react, the German army had already broken into their position.

   "Bang bang bang!"

  Soldiers on both sides fought hand to hand, and the German submachine guns and pistols played a very strong role in such battles. Before the rifles in the hands of the British soldiers could fire, they were killed.

  This allowed the three infantry divisions of the German 8th Army to advance quickly after they entered the city of Rouen and wipe out the remaining enemies in the city. On the other hand, the German 1st Army, although their advancing speed was very fast, but also, their casualties were not small. At least, compared with the casualties of the Eighth Army, it is undoubtedly much greater.

   This surprised General Crook. After learning about the street fighting tactics of the 8th Army, he couldn't help but sigh that the 8th Army has really become the benchmark of the German army. All other legions need to learn from the 8th Legion. General Crook even pointed out that after the end of this war, all German armies need to be reorganized and trained based on the 8th Army as a blueprint. Only in this way can the combat effectiveness of the German army be raised to a higher level.

  In this case, it is undoubtedly good news for Qin Tian. This means that his influence will expand to the various regiments of the German Army, which will undoubtedly be very helpful for him to further grasp military power.

  The German army was in the city of Rouen like a broken bamboo, beating the 1st Army of the British Expeditionary Force, in a panic and suffering heavy losses. Not only lost a large number of positions, but also the casualties of the troops were astonishing. This shocked Admiral Haig, commander of the 1st Army of the British Expeditionary Force. He is even more pessimistic about the future of the battle.