bookpower Chapter 493
Chapter 493
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Gauls actually thought that they would become Hans’ second target!
After Hans and the bear lived in peace and no war broke out, the Gauls smelled danger.
They not only re-strengthened the defense of the Maginot Line, but also transferred the 14th Infantry Division, the elite of the French Army’s elite, to Belgium to prevent the German army from launching an attack from the Low Countries as in World War I, and then attacking their homeland.
After General George Carut’s 14th Division arrived in Belgium, it inspected along the defense line of Belgium and set up its own defense line in the Liege area. Opposite here is Hans’ Aachen area in the Rhine region. If Hans wants to attack Belgium, then the first to bear the brunt is Liege.
Carut’s choice was not wrong, but the troops allocated to him by the Gaul military were insufficient. The range that an infantry division can defend is relatively small. If his own defense line is expanded, the quality of defense cannot be guaranteed.
Therefore, under the condition of ensuring quality, the width of the defense line can only be reduced as much as possible. However, Gaul did not just send an infantry division. They sent two armies to Belgium and one army to Luxembourg, with a total of nearly 200,000 people to help these two countries defend against the German attack.
If the armies of these two countries are added, the number of troops is not small.
In the eyes of the Gauls, if Hans launches an attack on them, the British Empire will have to participate in the war anyway. The British Empire is very close to Belgium, and they can quickly transport their army and then go directly to the front to fill the front.
The reason why Gaul only sent 200,000 troops to Belgium and Luxembourg is that these two places do not have a strong defense line like Maginot. If too many troops are sent, once they are attacked by the main force of the German army, then this force will become cannon fodder.
The Gauls are unwilling to let their people act as cannon fodder, so they plan to hand over this small section of defense to their allies.
Of course, the Gauls also had something to rely on for doing this. In addition to deploying some troops on the front line, they also deployed a line of defense along the Meuse River to protect the safety of their capital. Even if the German army broke through the defense line of the Low Countries, they would never break through their native defense line!
After deploying about 350,000 troops on the northern line, the Gauls turned their attention to their eastern region.
Although they built the Maginot Line on the front battlefield, this does not mean that they can sit back and relax!
The strong combat effectiveness shown by the German army in the blitzkrieg of Poland made Gaul feel terrified from top to bottom. Based on the experience of previous battles with Hans, it can be concluded that Hans’ main attack direction will definitely be chosen in the Rhine River area, where there are convenient railways and water networks to facilitate the transportation of troops and supplies.
Alsace and Lorraine happened to be the salient of Gaul. With this salient, they could threaten Hans’s hinterland. If Hans didn’t want a fire in his backyard, he should have given priority to fighting in Alsace and Lorraine, just like during the Franco-Prussian War!
To this end, Gaul deployed up to 700,000 troops in these two places, and also equipped a group army reserve in the Metz area.
These deployments consumed almost all of Gaul’s troops, so that except for the capital, the city of Bette, other places, especially the southern region, had become undefended open spaces!
So the Gauls were a little worried again. The relationship between the Banya people in the south and them was not good. Although the Banya people had followed their emperor Napoleon to fight for Gaul a hundred years ago, that was a long time ago. The current Banya was not friendly to Gaul at all, and even hostile. If the troops in some areas were completely withdrawn, would it be too arrogant? The
Gauls were a little uneasy, so they planned to recruit a batch of conscripts in the southern region to let these conscripts guard the city.
They did not expect these temporarily mobilized troops to attack the mainland of Banya, but they must protect their own land and not let the Banya people enter the country!
The war machine has been slowly moving on the European continent at this time. The Gauls’ actions cannot be considered slow. It took only five days from the German blitzkrieg to the start of military mobilization! However
, the German army was obviously faster.
On the night of November 2, 192, Guderian’s First Army had secretly arrived in the Rhine region.
At this time, the Seventh Army stationed here was also ready for battle.
The German army had very few troops in the Western Front. There was only one army before the First Army came, which made the Gauls’ vigilance not suddenly increase. They were still slowly mobilizing the military. The several armies that had just set out from the Iron Tower City had not yet arrived at the designated positions, and most of the troops were still on the road.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the German army!
So, after a day of rest, on the night of the 3rd, the two German armies split into two groups, heading towards the Benelux low-lying countries, all the way to the Ardennes Forest, and heading straight for the heart of the Gauls!!
On the 3rd, Mainzmannstein and others flew to Frankfurt in person to personally command this war!
Compared with the blitzkrieg against Poland, the German army invested fewer troops in this war, and the battle was carried out more suddenly. Of course, the risk was also greater. Compared with the weak Poland
, the Gauls on the opposite side had 149 divisions and 2.3 million people. Their total strength was more than that of the German army, and the German army could only devote 700,000 troops to the attack at this time, with a ratio of less than 1:3!
If the armies of the other side’s allies are taken into account, the comparison of the forces of the two sides will be even more disparate!
Therefore, even within the German army, many people felt that such an attack was too risky!
“General, should we wait a little longer? We have too few troops. Even if we take down the Ardennes Forest, I am afraid we will not have enough troops to expand the victory.”
These generals of the staff were generally terrified by this bold and risky battle plan. In their opinion, this plan was too risky. The First Army, which was responsible for the main attack, was in a life-or-death situation. If they failed to break through the defense line of the Ardennes Forest, it would be fine. If they broke through the defense line of the Ardennes Forest, they would be surrounded by the enemy in an instant!
The enemy’s troops were seven or eight times theirs. If they really fought, they would have no chance of winning!
Mainz shook his head and said firmly:”Fight, we must fight! This battle is fought for time difference. Although it is not good for us to fight at this time, it is even more disadvantageous for the enemy. Most of their troops are not in place. Once we attack, we can quickly disrupt their troop deployment and achieve unexpected results!”
“But what if the First Army is surrounded?”
Zeitzler, Scherner and others were still worried.
Mainz showed a cunning smile on his face and said to them:”If they surrounded Guderian, then our combat plan will be completely successful, so I am more worried that they will not do this!”
“Ah? This……”
The staff officers were stunned!
Why did they feel that they could not keep up with General Mainz’s pace?
Why was his battle plan different from what they had in mind?
Everyone looked at their superior, Lieutenant General Manstein, the Chief of the German General Staff, for help.
Manstein shook his head. Of course, he knew what Mainz meant, but telling these people directly would not have the desired effect. It would be better to let them think for themselves!
“The results will be out in a few days, so you can think about it yourself and see if you can figure out the trick!”
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t figure it out. You will see the result in five days at the latest!”
Since Manstein said so, no one asked any more questions.
Everyone is waiting, waiting for the start of this war!