(It is said that there are still relatively strong aftershocks. Our school has been closed for the past two days. Xiaoyu lived outside last night, and may only live outside tonight. When will it be big? It’s about to collapse )
"My God! Why? Why did we lose two lines of defense in one day? I need a reasonable explanation." Hammurabi stared at Bill and Wellington with red eyes.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, I don't think this is our fault. The French attack was too fierce, and the soldiers have tried their best." Bill said with his head down. He and Wellington were responsible for defending the defense lines to the west and south of London respectively. However, almost every time the area he was in charge of was broken through by the French army first, and then the area in charge of Wellington had to be defeated. So, he had to excuse himself.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Marshal, we already suffered heavy losses during the French bombing. Facing the fierce attack of the French army's more than 150,000 elite troops, it is normal for those newly formed troops to be defeated soon. ’ Wellington also explained. It's not that he wants to pull Bill, but if Bill is punished, he will definitely not have a good time.
"Don't look for objective reasons. I don't care what you do. What I want is the result. Now I give you a death order, that is, you must stop the French army's attack. At least until July 15, the outer line of defense cannot Breakthrough by the French army." Hammurabi ordered sternly.
Both Bill and Wellington looked bitter, and lost two lines of defense in one day. Only God knows whether the remaining three lines of defense can stop the French army for 5 days.
"Your Excellency Marshal, then I ask you to send us some additional reinforcements," Bill said. Now that Hammurabi had given the order to die, he had to do it with all his might. Strengthening the strength of the defense line is undoubtedly a very effective way.
"Reinforcements? Where can I find reinforcements for you now? There is also a huge gap in my current strength." Hammurabi said angrily. More than 100,000 people were lost in one day, and no amount of troops could bear it.
"Your Excellency Marshal, in that case it will be difficult for us to hold the line of defense within the time specified by you." Wellington also said.
Hammurabi thought about it for a while, and then said: "Well, I will give you four more infantry divisions. These are the last four divisions. Tomorrow, the 19th, 10th, 21st, and 22nd infantry divisions will go to the front to report. "
Bill wanted to say something more, but Wellington held him back. He knew what Bill wanted to say about giving them these newly formed troops? But, something is better than nothing. The two left after saluting Hammurabi, and there was not much time left for them now.
On July 11, the French offensive started again. A severely damaged marine division was replaced with an infantry division, so that the French army participating in the offensive remained at around 150,000.
In the morning, the overwhelming artillery fire bombarded the third position of the British army violently. The artillery fire raged for half an hour, and then began to extend to the rear of the British army, and the French infantry also began to charge.
After the artillery fire from the French army, a large number of British troops got out of the anti-gun holes, walked into the position, tremblingly held their rifles, and began to block the French army's attack. In yesterday's battle, the British army stationed on the third line of defense lost nearly 40,000 people. In order to ensure the strength of this line of defense, Wellington did not hesitate to put all the reinforcements of the four infantry divisions on it. In addition, in order to prevent these officers and soldiers from fleeing, a law enforcement team with a size of 1 regiment was specially organized. Anyone who escaped was shot on the spot. After shooting a colonel commander, he finally stabilized temporarily.
Monty was also very puzzled. From the binoculars, he clearly saw that under the fierce attack of the French army, the British army suffered heavy casualties, but they still fought to the death, and some troops were even completely destroyed. Could it be that the British army's elite troops are responsible for defending this line of defense, but it can be seen from their defense without tactical actions that they are simply recruits who have just entered the barracks not long ago.
"The attack is temporarily suspended. All the troops have dinner first, and then rest for two hours." As a last resort, Davout issued an order to retreat temporarily. After the French army retreated, cheers rang out from the British positions. They finally repelled the French attack, even if it was only temporary, it was enough for them to be happy, although this short-term victory cost them huge casualties. Although many of them were forced at the beginning, at this moment, their national pride and self-confidence were greatly satisfied, and many even found that the French army is not invincible, as long as they can work hard , then they may be able to change the outcome of the war.
, For these reasons, the French army's offensive encountered huge resistance. The third line of defense seemed to be an insurmountable moat, blocking the way for the French army to London.
The battle lasted until July 13, and it has been 3 days. During the 3 days, the cumulative casualties of the French army reached 20,000, while it is conservatively estimated that the British army lost at least 70,000 people. However, Davout and the others were puzzled, why did this happen? Are the British ready to fight their final battle here?
In fact, the real situation is like this. After Wellington discovered that the third line of defense had repeatedly repelled the French attack, he realized that if he defended here with all his strength, he might be able to stop the French attack. But the casualties were huge, and they had no extra reinforcements at all, so he began to deploy troops from the 4th and 5th lines of defense to support the 3rd line of defense. The 4th line of defense and the 5th line of defense mobilized the strength of 6 infantry divisions, which was almost 60% of the total strength of the latter two lines of defense. Of course, such disadvantages are also obvious. If he defends the third line of defense with all his strength, if the third line of defense is breached, the French army will drive straight into London.
On July 14, in order to quickly break through the third line of defense of the British army, restore the morale that had begun to decline again, and at the same time be able to cope with questions from Paris, Davout asked the Air Force to carry out a major attack on the third line of defense of the British army. Large-scale intensive bombing operations. That morning, densely packed airships appeared over the British third line of defense and carried out bombing. In order to kill and injure the British army as much as possible and destroy the air-raid shelters they built, all the bombs used in this bombing were heavy aerial bombs of more than 250 kilograms.
During this bombing by the French army, the air-raid shelters that Wellington and the others had placed high hopes on were destroyed one after another, and a large number of British troops were killed or buried alive. According to post-war statistics, more than 50,000 people were killed or buried alive, causing the British army to lose one-third of its combat effectiveness in a short period of time.
The bombing of the airship had just passed, and the French artillery began to bombard again. It's just that the target of their bombardment this time is not the British position, but the area behind the British third line of defense prevents the British army from assisting the third line of defense. At the same time, the infantry assault had already begun. All the troops launched a fierce attack on the third line of defense of the British army. This time, the heavily damaged British army was no longer able to stop the attack of the French army. After the defense line was breached, their hard-won confidence collapsed.
When the French air force began to bomb, Wellington was shocked after seeing its powerful power, knowing that the French army was doing its best this time. Immediately after the bombing of the French army ended, he immediately requested the 5th and 4th lines of defense, and organized all troops to support the 3rd line of defense. However, it was too late now, and all their tens of thousands of reinforcements were intercepted by French artillery fire, making it difficult to support the third line of defense. If they break through forcefully, then no one can tell how many of their tens of thousands of people can pass through the blockade.
At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the third line of defense of the British army was completely occupied by the French army. Less than 40,000 British troops defending here fled back, and the rest were either killed or captured.
Afterwards ~www.mtlnovel.com~ Davout seized this opportunity and immediately launched a new offensive. However, under the fierce attack of the French army, the 4th and 5th lines of defense of the British army could not even defend. No. At 7 o'clock in the evening, the vanguard of the French army had exchanged fire with the British troops defending the city of London.
It took a total of 5 days. The French army broke through the 5 lines of defense built by the British army around London, wiped out about 300,000 enemies, and approached the city of London. The French army’s own losses were also nearly 30,000. The losses were very serious, especially the aerial bombs. The two large-scale bombings consumed all the aerial bombs in reserve, and the French Air Force was unable to carry out bombing missions for a long time.
After breaking through all the defense lines of the British army, Davout immediately sent a telegram to Paris to report the battle situation, and at the same time asked for assistance, especially in terms of ammunition supply.
"Your Majesty, Marshal Davout and the others finally broke through the five British defense lines and began to attack the city of London. It's just that their ammunition supply can't keep up, and the logistics department has been working, but they still can't meet their requirements. "Eck said with some embarrassment.
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Jie gave a suggestion: "Let the air force stationed in the UK help transport the ammunition. Nearly 200 airships transport it once, which is enough to fight against the heads of state for several days."