On July 20, the fierce battle around Lambeth finally came to an end. Although Wellington tried his best to open the gap and rescue the surrounded army, he still failed. The first two divisions sent to Brixton were blocked by part of the 2nd Infantry Division of the French 1st Army Corps, and it was very difficult to advance. On the afternoon of July 19, the 3rd Infantry Division of the 1st French Army arrived and fought fiercely with the British for control of Brixton. After that, the 3rd Infantry Division of the 89th Army also arrived. Under the joint attack of the French army, Wellington's rescue force was defeated, and the encirclement of the British army in the Lambeth area was officially closed. There was no controversy in the subsequent battles. Under the favorable blows of various French troops, all the surrounded British troops were wiped out or appended except for a very small number of people who succeeded in breaking through. In this battle, plus other areas, the British army lost another 100,000 people. From now on, the main force of the British army has been completely eaten up.
Of course, the French army also suffered certain casualties, especially the 1st Marine Division. Under the siege of the British army, the entire division had less than 6,000 people left in the end. Due to the heavy losses of the 1st Marine Division, Davout had to force them to retreat to the rear to rest. If they were wiped out, the Ministry of the Navy would definitely not let him go. The total casualties of the French army in this battle also reached more than 15,000 people.
Taking advantage of the victory, the French army launched a fierce attack again, but the British army retreated steadily due to heavy losses, and their resistance became weaker and weaker.
On July 22, the 3rd and 4th Infantry Divisions of the 89th Corps of the French Army rushed to the Vauxhall Bridge area. Unfortunately, the British Army had already blown up the bridge, but anyway, the French Army is now It can be counted as an assault to the center of London. Other units also made rapid progress. Among them, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infantry Divisions of the French 1st Army occupied the Camberwell area and attacked the Lambeth area along the Volvo route. The French 4th and 5th Infantry Divisions, together with the Legion's immediate forces, also swept across east London, capturing the areas of Lewisham and Blackheath, threatening Hammurabi's headquarters directly.
The situation is very good for the French army. Davout directly stated in the telegram to Xiao Jie: Everything is under control, and the end of the battle in South London is just around the corner.
Compared with the French army, the British army command is gloomy in foreign films. So far, they have lost 200,000 troops, and it can be said that they have wiped out all the last main forces. Now there are tens of thousands of troops left in the southern region, and about 100,000 troops in the north.
"Oh my God! Can Weber has fallen, and the damned French are marching towards us. Marshal Wellington, what should we do next?" Hammurabi asked helplessly.
Wellington was also a little confused. The failure came too quickly. In just a few days, they lost so many troops, which seriously shook his confidence. Sighing, Wellington suggested: "Your Excellency Marshal, looking at the current situation, we can't hold the southern part of the Thames. Now we have to retreat to the north and blow up all the bridges. against the French."
"You mean we should take the initiative to give up the south London area now?" Hammurabi asked unwillingly.
Wellington nodded: "Other than that, we have no other choice. If we stay here, our entire army will be wiped out."
"Alas!" Hammurabi sighed heavily, as if he had aged ten years in an instant, and then said, "Okay then, you can make arrangements. But be careful when you retreat, don't cause a rout. .”
"I will pay attention." Wellington nodded, and then went out to make arrangements.
Beginning on July 23, the British army retreated northward in a planned manner under Wellington's order. They withdrew their troops northward in sections through Waterloo Bridge, London Bridge, and Tower Bridge.
"What's going on? Why is the resistance of the British getting weaker and weaker? It doesn't make sense?" The commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of the French 89th Army was a little puzzled. In the morning of this morning, his troops actually hit the vicinity of the Imperial War Museum, and the casualties were very few. It was completely different from yesterday's situation, as if he had faced fewer enemies. Unable to figure out what the reason was, he reported the situation to the headquarters. Now, with the front narrowed, Davout's and Monty's headquarters were united again.
"What's going on? All the troops have sent telegrams, saying that the resistance of the British army has dropped significantly compared to yesterday. What the **** are Hammurabi and the others doing?" Davout asked in bewilderment.
Monty also shook his head, and he didn't know why. Is the British army ready to give up resistance? But then he overturned this idea. If the British army is going to give up resistance, they should surrender to the French army immediately. In that case, it can also reduce a lot of casualties.
"Report, the Air Force's reconnaissance airship sent a telegram. They found that a large number of British troops were withdrawing to the north of London through Waterloo Bridge, London Bridge and Tower Bridge." An hour later, the signaler brought the results of the Air Force's reconnaissance.
"Damn it, order all the troops to step up the attack immediately, and don't let the British army go away." Davout ordered angrily. He blamed himself a little. If he hadn't been so indecisive just now, he would have wiped out a large number of British troops. Now that the British army has suffered heavy losses, how can they still have the ability to set traps for the French army?
"Okay, Marshal. You don't have to blame yourself. Things have already happened. Now it's time to find a way to remedy it." Monty persuaded. Just now he did not expect that the British army would take the initiative to retreat, which was completely beyond his expectation.
Under Davout's order, various departments of the French army launched a fierce attack. The British army in charge of the rear was quickly defeated, and in less than half an hour, the entire south London area fell into the hands of the French army. However, due to previous delays, most of the remaining British troops retreated to north London, and the French army only wiped out more than 20,000 British troops who were too late to retreat. And all the bridges over the Thames were blown up by the British army. For the French army to cross the Thames, it is simply more difficult than reaching the sky.
After the British army withdrew to north London, they deployed a large number of troops on the north bank of the Thames to prevent the French army from crossing the river. It made Davout and the others sigh.
After capturing south London, the French took a three-day rest to replenish ammunition and supplies. Dawu and other senior generals are studying the plan of crossing the river. However, it's been 3 days and I have no clue. But one thing is certain is that if the French army launches an offensive rashly, it will definitely be smashed on the north bank of the Thames where the army is heavily stationed.
"It doesn't matter, instead of waiting helplessly, why not launch a tentative attack and see what the effect is?" Davout said irritably.
The others had no choice but to agree to Davout's proposal.
On July 26, the 3rd Marine Division concentrated a regiment's strength and launched a tentative attack at Lambeth. Davout tried to send all the strength of the two battalions to the opposite bank through the small boats they had collected with great difficulty. However, the wish is good, but the reality is cruel. Due to the wide surface of the river, the artillery of the French army could not give favorable artillery support to the landing troops. In fact, except for those large-caliber cannons, other cannons could not reach the opponent at all. The ships of the French army distributed on the river were moving targets for the British artillery.
Seeing the small boats blown up one after another, Davout and others felt very uncomfortable. During the process of crossing the river, at least two boats carrying people from companies were destroyed, and the lives and deaths of the soldiers on board were also uncertain. They landed, but the threat faced by the French landing force did not end. They were blocked by at least one division of the British army. Before they had time to build a beachhead, the British counterattack began. More than one regiment of the British army wanted to land and the French army launched an attack. The French army's position was quickly broken through. Cruel hand-to-hand combat was staged on the beach. Due to the absolute disadvantage in numbers, the French army retreated one after another. But behind them was the wide Thames, and they had no escape. The battle ended soon. The two battalions of the French army participating in the attack were completely destroyed. Many people were drowned in the river~www.mtlnovel.com~ They hoped to escape back to the south bank, but the wide Thames The river buried them.
"Marshal, do you want to continue?" The commander of the 3rd Marine Division asked tremblingly.
"No need, let's call it a day." Davout said helplessly. Through today's battle, it has also been proved that the plan to forcibly cross the Thames River is unfeasible. The British army, waiting for work, could easily smash their landing.
"Your Excellency, perhaps we can cross the river from other areas? For example, the upper reaches of the Thames." Morris suggested.
"It won't work. We lack boats, so it's impossible to cross the river on a large scale, unless we build a pontoon bridge, but if we build a pontoon bridge, we probably won't succeed, and the British will definitely try their best to stop it." Monty thought for a while and proposed a different Opinion.
"Maybe we can ask the navy for help. If there is a navy fleet, we can easily suppress the British army, and large transport ships can also solve our transportation problems." Carl suggested.
Hearing this suggestion, everyone's eyes lit up. Davu also swept away the haze of the past, laughed and said: "Okay, contact the navy immediately, we need their help."