913. Chapter 880 Miracles and Attacks (1/2)

Chapter 880 Miracles and Attacks

After being discovered by the Germans, the retreat of the British and French forces was severely affected.

The German government reacted and immediately ordered the armored forces to continue the offensive. At the same time, the Luftwaffe led by Goering continued to harass the port of Dunkirk and attack British and French ships staying in Dunkirk.

On July 11, after a short rest, the German armored forces launched a large-scale attack on Lille again.

The British, French and German troops launched a fierce attack near Lille. The number of casualties on both sides that day exceeded 50,000, and more than 200 planes crashed.

Affected by Germany's renewed offensive, the number of soldiers retreating from Dunkirk also entered a low point again, with less than 13,000 people successfully evacuating throughout the day.

On the way to the evacuation, more than 15 large transport ships and dozens of small civilian ships were bombed.

After two consecutive days of fierce fighting, there were only about 100,000 British and French troops left on the line from Dunkirk to Lille.

The number of soldiers who successfully evacuated from the previous army of more than 400,000 was as high as 287,000, which is already a quite exaggerated number.

The safety of these 100,000 people is at stake. After careful study, the British Cabinet Government decided to make a last-ditch effort for these 100,000 people.

The four armies of the new First Army had the same organization, consisting of four infantry divisions, two artillery divisions and two mechanized divisions, and the cavalry organization was abandoned.

This is something that has been promised, and Arthur will naturally not go back on it.

On July 13, 1936, the British Navy launched its last evacuation operation.

After seeing off the expeditionary force, Arthur held a meeting of the Ministry of Defense to discuss the next combat plan against the island country.

Evacuating more than 70,000 people at one time was a very difficult challenge for the British Empire.

At the same time, the Philippines and Kalimantan have each dispatched 200,000 soldiers and are constantly gathering towards the port.

In just 14 days, more than 330,000 soldiers were evacuated under the eyes of the Germans. This is definitely a miracle in the history of human war.

Next, except for the second line of defense from Amiens to Reims, and the third line up to Paris, there will be no armed forces capable of resisting the German attack.

Coupled with the 50,000 soldiers who withdrew on the 13th, the entire Dunkirk evacuation saved the lives of more than 330,000 British and French coalition soldiers. This is very meaningful to the overall strategy of Britain and France.

It can be seen from the map that, except for Sedan, which is still holding on, the so-called first line of defense of the French, that is, the Franco-Belgian border has been completely breached by the Germans.

The first is the general military mobilization situation in Australasia reported by Defense Minister Thomas.

This evacuation mobilized all ships in Britain and France, and even some Dutch civilian ships joined the evacuation forces.

The goal of this evacuation was very exaggerated. 30,000 people were left behind on the line from Dunkirk to Lille, and the remaining 70,000 people were all under evacuation plans.

In the establishment of our new army, after discussions between the Ministry of National Defense and its subordinate departments, it was decided to adopt the latest mixed establishment.

On the night of the 13th, a day regarded as ominous by Westerners, under the protection of the British Navy and the all-out fighting of the British and French joint air forces, more than 50,000 soldiers were finally successfully evacuated.

So on the next day, July 15, the Australasian Expeditionary Force, composed of the 3rd Army, the 6th Army, and the 8th Army, with a total of 200,000 troops, marched toward the ports in a mighty manner.

"Your Majesty, so far, we have mobilized more than 420,000 soldiers. Currently, these 420,000 soldiers have been initially formed into the new First Army, consisting of the 10th Army, the 11th Army, the 12th Army, and the 13th Army. .

It was also on this night that the German army officially broke through Lille and completely surrounded Dunkirk.

But there is no way. If we don't give it a try, when the Germans attack Kril, none of the 100,000 troops will be able to save them.

But miracles are miracles, and the successive failures of Lille and Dunkirk have represented a very serious crisis for the French.

On July 14, 1936, the day after the Dunkirk evacuation was completed, British Ambassador William and French Ambassador Cassel urgently requested an audience with Arthur and requested that Australasia immediately send troops to support France.

The establishment of infantry divisions and artillery divisions is the same as that of regular troops. Each infantry is 16,000 people. Each of the new First Army has a total of 64,000 infantry.

In the weaving of 2 mechanized divisions, we adopted the weaving of 1 main battle tank division and 1 mechanized division. The main battle tank division will be fully equipped with our main battle tanks and a small amount of tracked artillery.

The mechanics will be heavily equipped with mechanized equipment such as trucks and motorcycles, and will have tracked combat vehicles, a small number of light tanks, and tracked artillery. "Defense Secretary Thomas reported in detail.

Arthur nodded and had no objection to the establishment of the new First Army.

In fact, the so-called establishment of the new First Army was the result of reforms carried out by the Ministry of Defense after discussions at Arthur's suggestion.

Through Germany's excellent achievements in Europe, countries all over the world have understood two facts, that is, the decline of cavalry and the rise of tanks.

Although it is not denied that cavalry still plays a certain role in some special terrains, on the frontal battlefield, when cavalry faces tanks, they are often slaughtered.

Of course, perhaps there may be other results when facing a country like the island country that is famous for its iron tanks.

But there is no shortage of iron ore in Australasia, and even light tanks and armor can completely withstand cavalry troops.

Not to mention the medium and heavy main battle tanks, with their powerful firepower and excellent armor protection capabilities, even if they stand and let the cavalry units fight, there is nothing the cavalry can do.

In addition to the fact that the cavalry is declining and tanks are rising, the infant-tank coordinated combat method generally adopted by Germany in blitzkrieg warfare has also attracted the attention of Australasia.

In World War I, there was no such method of combat with infantry and tanks. Because the tank denning rate in World War I was too high, the tank remained motionless on the battlefield, and the infantry behind the tank became a living target.

But now, more than 20 years later, tank technology in various countries has improved significantly. The more obvious point is that the failure rate of tanks has been greatly reduced, and it has become one of the main forces of various countries.

The reason why Germany is killing all over Europe is that in addition to the German army's ability to launch attacks without fear of death, the impact of German armored forces on other countries is also a very important reason.

The reason why France was at a disadvantage in the battle with Germany was not only the fear of the French before the war and their reliance on the Maginot Line, but also the fact that France did not attach great importance to armored forces. The number of armored forces was far away. Far less exaggerated than Germany.

In fact, it’s not surprising when you think about it. Compared with Britain, France was obviously the country that suffered more damage in World War I.

The First World War had already caused great pain to the French people. The American influenza pandemic in the latter part of the First World War only added fuel to the French people's grief.

It took more than ten years to finally get over the shadow of World War I and the American influenza pandemic, but the economic crisis broke out soon after.

France's newly restored economy and industry were once again hit hard, and the French were completely devastated, and they no longer had any hope of becoming a world hegemon.

Even the European hegemony that the French have always boasted about has a lot of moisture.

If the French are really the well-deserved European hegemon, why would France take the initiative to build the Maginot Line instead of once again frightening Germany's subordinates?

France spent a large amount of its budget building the Maginot Line, and its investment in the army and navy will naturally be reduced. Since the outbreak of the war, France has not been able to possess large-scale armored forces. This is also the reason why the French army has been retreating steadily in the face of the German army.

If it weren't for the British Air Force's timely support to France, the French would obviously not be a match for Germany and Italy just by virtue of their number of aircraft.

Needless to say, the impact of losing air supremacy in World War II went without saying.

On July 17, 1936, the first batch of Australasian supplies destined for Britain and France successfully arrived at the southern French port of Marseille.

Britain and France attach great importance to this batch of supplies, because this batch of supplies not only contains 400,000 rifles, 2,225 artillery pieces, and 120 tanks, but also 220 aircraft, 550 trucks, and 1,200 motorcycles.

Of course, Britain and France certainly did not receive this batch of weapons and equipment support for free.

According to the agreement between Arthur and the British and French ambassadors, this batch of weapons and equipment was freely distributed by Britain and France. Britain and France will also pay weapons purchase funds to Australasia at a price 20% lower than the current market price based on their respective proportions of weapons and equipment.

Even though Britain and France were given a 20% discount, Australasia would definitely not lose money and would even make a huge profit.

You know, the current price of weapons has increased by at least 30% compared to the peacetime period when Australasia produced this batch of weapons and equipment.

This is because the war did not last long and the consumption of weapons and equipment in each country was not large.

As the war continues, the vacancies and demand for weapons and equipment in various countries are increasing, and the weapons and equipment will become more and more valuable.

Of course, no matter what happens, Australasia will not lose.

Except for the rifles, machine guns and artillery equipment that support Britain and France, which are all newly produced, tanks and aircraft are all backward products in Australasia's inventory.

Of course, compared with the most advanced tanks and aircraft of Britain and France, it is actually considered to be Europe's first-class technology, and it can be used to fight this war.

These tanks and aircraft are an urgent need for Britain and France.

In order to withdraw more than 300,000 troops, Britain and France have lost more than 500 aircraft on the line from Dunkirk to Lille.

Although both countries are constantly producing weapons and equipment domestically, it obviously takes a long time for a powerful country to completely transform from a state of peace to a state of war.

At least the economic status transformation of Britain and France is obviously much slower than that of Australasia.

Australasia was already prepared for war and could be said to be in a semi-war state.

After Arthur declared war, all walks of life in Australasia mobilized and quickly shifted to a state of war.

Some garment factories in Sydney and Melbourne have been temporarily recruited and quickly transformed into workshops for the production of military uniforms.

Some boot manufacturers have also modified their production lines under the call of the government and transformed into military boots manufacturers.

Arthur's domestic appeal allowed Australasia to change its war status smoothly and quickly.

But there is obviously no figure like Arthur in Britain and France to coordinate the planning and call on the people and businesses across the country.

Even now, there are still quite a few voices of peace advocates in Britain and France. If a substantial war had not broken out with Germany, and the people had begun to turn into warring factions, I am afraid that these peacekeeping factions would have done something to make the country less stable.

Back to Australasia.

More than 20 days have passed since the landing battle started on June 26.

A week after the landing battle began, that is, on July 3, the Philippine and Kalimantan armies finally withstood the pressure of the island country's army, firmly occupied the beach, and moved towards Naha, the largest city in the Ryukyu region.

During this week, the Philippine and Kalimantan armies suffered a large number of casualties, with the death toll exceeding 70,000, and the total casualties approaching 200,000.

But what can be clearly felt is that after experiencing the baptism of this war, the combat effectiveness of the Philippine and Kalimantan armies has been significantly strengthened.

If the current army is used to conduct another landing battle, the casualties of this army should be reduced by part, and the landing battle can be completed in less time.

Now that he has initially completed the training of the army, Commander Christie naturally has no reason to delay any longer.

On July 23, 1936, under the order of the 9th Army Commander Christie, Australasia officially began a full-scale attack on Ryukyu.

Although the aerial bombing is more intense than before, the islanders have become accustomed to this kind of bombing. After all, what they faced was only the army of the Philippines and Kalimantan, and the pressure on the ground forces was very small.

What Commander Christie needs is the insensitivity of the islanders.

At 8 o'clock in the evening on July 23, more than 100 Sop-34 transport planes transported thousands of Australasian soldiers, heading towards Naha, an important city in the Ryukyu Islands, and the port in the north of Naha.

After more than a week of war, Australasia has also initially figured out the deployment of the island country's troops on the Ryukyu Islands.

The two most important areas in the Ryukyu Islands are Naha and the port.

There are about two divisions of troops defending the frontal battlefield, and more than half of the divisions are stationed near Naha and the port.

Although the defense is relatively tight, the two divisions stationed in Naha and the port are actually two C-type divisions without much combat effectiveness.

The landing battle will determine the life and death of the Ryukyu Islands. Those who defended the Australasian army during the landing battle were the two A and B divisions that were truly capable of fighting.

In addition to transporting more than 6,000 soldiers, this airborne landing will also transport a certain number of artillery and machine guns to help these more than 6,000 soldiers set up certain defensive positions according to the terrain after successfully attacking cities and ports.

Apari in the Philippines is 1,100 kilometers away from the Ryukyu Islands. This also means that it takes at least more than six hours for a Sop-34 transport plane to make a round trip.

In these more than six hours, the tasks of attacking cities and ports, organizing defensive lines, and holding positions could only be accomplished by these more than 6,000 soldiers.

Of course, as long as they can hold on, the second batch of more than 6,000 soldiers will arrive smoothly in more than six hours to help the first batch of arriving soldiers strengthen their defensive positions and even repel the islanders.

As long as they can successfully attack the cities and ports of the Ryukyu Islands, the nearly 100,000 island troops stationed in the Ryukyu Islands will have nowhere to escape and will be annihilated by the Australasian army.

Although the two Type C divisions do not play a big role, the Ryukyu Islands still have a Type A division and a Type B division.

The elimination of these two divisions will be a blow to the confidence of the island country's army, and it can also effectively attack the island country's effective forces.

Even if the island country can mobilize more troops in the future, the combat effectiveness of these troops is destined to be unable to compare with the A and B divisions.

An update for today.