Chapter 517: withdrawal

   "Crunch, crunch!"

  The tank's tracks were crushed on the ground, making a compressed sound. The soldiers of the Anglo-French coalition forces on the defense line were even more numb. Some timid people even wet their pants in fright. If the officers hadn't been suppressing them, they might have turned around and fled. When facing these steel monsters, people will feel fear.

   "Tank guns, aim me a little bit. German tanks are not indestructible. As long as our tank guns can hit them, we can destroy them!" A French officer encouraged the gunners.

  Several gunners, although very frightened, still carried out the order and manipulated a 37mm anti-tank gun, preparing to attack a German tank.

   "Fire!" With the officer's order, the tank gun fired.

   "Boom!"

  The solid armor-piercing projectile roared and flew out of the barrel. In the blink of an eye, the shell hit a German tank. The front armor of the tank, like tofu, was easily cut by armor-piercing bullets. Fragments shot out in all directions, killing the tank soldiers inside in an instant. At the same time, the shell also hit the ammunition depot behind the tank, causing a martyrdom explosion. The entire tank ignited into a fireball.

   "Good job, we killed the German tank. Keep up the good work and kill another German tank." The officer applauded loudly.

   It's just that they never had a chance to destroy another German tank. Sensing the threat, the German tanks immediately launched an attack. A shell hit the battery. The tank gun was overturned, and several gunners were killed.

  Although, in the face of the attack of the powerful German armored forces, a very small number of officers and soldiers of the British and French allied forces chose to resist. Their resistance also caused certain casualties to the German armored forces. Overall, however, these casualties were very limited.

  The resistance of the Anglo-French coalition forces, like a praying man's arms, will be easily crushed by the German armored forces.

  Especially when the German air force appeared on the battlefield, bombing and strafing the German anti-tank firepower points made the anti-tank forces of the British and French coalition forces that had suffered heavy losses even worse. Under such circumstances, the consequences can naturally be imagined.

  The track of the tank easily crushed the barbed wire and directly crushed it to the position of the British and French coalition forces.

"Da da da!"

  The machine guns on the tanks began to fire, and the dense bullets were massacring the positions of the British and French allied forces, smashing the soldiers of the British and French allied forces who had no time to escape.

   "Go to hell! Damn the Germans!" A French soldier, holding an explosive package, rushed towards the German tank. However, before he got close to the tank, he was knocked to the ground by the machine gun fire on the tank.

  More and more tanks entered the positions of the British and French coalition forces and began to slaughter these poor soldiers. Countless German infantry fighting behind the tanks also took the opportunity to break into the positions of the British and French allied forces. With the assistance of tanks, they wiped out the soldiers of the British and French coalition forces on the position.

  The British and French allied forces, which suffered heavy losses, began a large-scale retreat. However, on the south bank of the Marne River defense line, there were only two lines of defense left by the British and French allied forces. After the first line of defense is breached, the German army will immediately attack the second line of defense. It is almost impossible for the British and French allied forces to resist. Under such circumstances, where can they retreat?

   "God! Run away, we can't resist the German attack."

   "Cowards, you cowards, come back to me." A British officer shouted loudly.

  However, then a tank rushed in front of him. The tank ran over him directly, and the severe pain made him let out that heart-piercing scream. When the tank passed by, there was only a pool of muddy meat left on the ground. Long bloodstains appeared on the ground along with the tank's tracks. It can be seen that there is still a lot of meat in the gaps in the track of the tank. A German soldier happened to see this scene. Then, he bent over and vomited loudly.

   Facing the attack of the German armored forces, the first line of defense of the British and French allied forces was broken through without even holding out for an hour. The remaining troops fled to the second line of defense in a panic.

  However, the officers and soldiers of the British and French allied forces obviously have no confidence in whether they can hold the second line of defense. The German army used tanks on a large scale during the offensive. The powerful attack power of this armored weapon was really irresistible to them.

"Your Excellency Marshal, the first line of defense has been breached. The Germans are about to attack the second line of defense. It is estimated that before noon, our second line of defense will also be breached. The Germans will completely break through the entire Marne River Defense Line." Admiral Foch smiled wryly.

  Although, they had expected such a result a long time ago. However, they could not have imagined that the German army's attack would be so swift and violent that they could not stop it at all.

"Once the second line of defense is also breached, our troops stationed in Champagne-Chalons, Epernay and Château Thierry may completely fall into the encirclement of the Germans. At that time, these troops will only have A dead end." Admiral Foch continued.

  Although, the French 2nd Army, 4th Army and British Expeditionary Force 2nd Army stationed in these three cities have suffered heavy losses. However, there are still many troops that are still fighting. If the second line of defense is also breached, then these three cities will be completely surrounded by the German army. The consequences of the officers and soldiers of the British and French coalition forces trapped in these cities can be imagined.

   "There is no other way. We have tried our best, but we still cannot resist the German attack." Marshal Xiafei sighed.

   "Yes, Your Excellency the Marshal. We have done our best." Admiral Foch said.

  This time, failure is inevitable. However, this is not because of their own reasons, but because the Germans are too strong. They are so strong that they are no match for the Germans even if they try their best.

   "The army has already suffered too much loss, and it cannot continue to fight like this. Otherwise, it is not far from collapse." Marshal Xia Fei said. In his heart, it seemed that he had already made up his mind.

"Command the troops, retreat! The 2nd Army, the 4th Army, the 6th Army, the 8th Army, the 9th Army and the 2nd Army of the British Expeditionary Force, retreat to Paris. The 3rd Army and the 5th Army, from Vernes Climb and evacuate to the south." Marshal Joffre ordered.