On the day after landing, due to the particularly smooth breakthrough, Utah Beach and Omaha Beach were completely connected in the afternoon. So, according to the plan, the US military began to advance towards their main target, Cherbourg. An important military port in northwest France and

The commercial port is at the northern end of the Cotentin Peninsula, facing the Strait of La Manche. After capturing Cherbourg, the Allied forces can send a large amount of supplies to the European continent, and rely on these supplies to crush the German resistance.

The Germans also know this, but now, the configuration of the German army is very strange. According to Lundstedt's idea, the armored forces should be deployed farther back, along the Seine River, so that they can wait

When the American and British troops advanced inland, they seized the space and launched a beautiful defensive counterattack. According to Marshal Rommel's idea, these armored units should be deployed as far forward as possible to enhance the resistance to landing.

The ideas of the two marshals were reasonable, but the dispute between them led to a tragic consequence-Hitler finally intervened directly. He adopted a conciliatory approach and combined these five vital armored divisions.

Deployed from the Seine River to the coast. This makes them unable to directly

It is not convenient to directly support the beachhead, and it is not convenient to support the second line of defense in defensive counterattacks. If the commander-in-chief of the Western Front was Marshal Manbulqun, he would of course declare that "the head of state is wise", but after the war, in his book "

In "It's all the Mustache's fault", Hitler will be scolded bloody for this.

Now, how to use these five armored divisions has become the key to the German battle. The Germans understand that the key to the battle now lies in the port of Cherbourg-soon the storm season will come in the English Channel. If the Germans can hold Cherbourg

Fort Harbor, delayed until August, even if the United States and Britain have

The artificial ports and raging storms will also make it extremely difficult or even impossible for the Allied forces to rely on the beaches to provide supplies to the landing troops. By then, as long as there are a few more days of weather unsuitable for air force operations, the Germans will

You can take back the initiative and even defeat the Allies in one fell swoop.

At this time, the two marshals Rundstedt and Rommel quickly unified their opinions. They both believed that Cherbourg was the key to victory or defeat. Whenever possible, Cherbourg's defense should be quickly strengthened.

Strength. The German infantry units should abandon some unimportant

The strongholds quickly concentrated on Cherbourg. Of course, it is difficult to hold Cherbourg with infantry alone. The Germans have been deeply impressed by the Allied attack capabilities. To hold Cherbourg, the German armored force

We must constantly flank the American troops attacking Cherbourg to contain them.

But this idea encountered two problems. The first problem came from the British army. After the British army landed on Sword Beach, they attacked Caen in the afternoon of that day. Although their attack was stationed in Caen

The 21st Armored Division was driven back, but the British would surely come back quickly.

Caen is an important transportation hub. Once Caen is captured, Paris will be directly exposed to Allied attacks. And once Caen is lost, the supply line to Cherbourg will also be cut off. If Caen cannot be secured

To ensure safety, the armored division is deployed in the direction of Cherbourg. Once Caen is lost, the armored division without supply support will be in dire straits. Therefore, if the armored division is to be deployed in the direction of Luther, Caen must be preserved.

Rommel decided that he would organize an operation, use the few armored divisions he could move, and launch a counterattack in the direction of Caen to eliminate the British threat to Caen. Then he would turn to Cherbourg.

…

The night is falling, but the lights are still bright in a house in Portsmouth. If a V1 missile falls on this house in Portsmouth, England at this time, it will definitely produce an astonishing result.

Because a large number of Allied generals are gathering here to hold military meetings to discuss the next step.

"The German troops deployed in Caen exceeded our expectations, and they also fought very tenaciously. Our attack was not smooth. The original plan to capture Caen during the march has failed." A crooked head said.

A short British man wearing a black beret and holding a big cigar was speaking, "This afternoon, the Germans launched a counterattack and repulsed us. Moreover, we got some intelligence that the enemy may

In the next few days, a large-scale counterattack will be launched against us to remove our threat to Caen - if possible, maybe they also hope to let us go to Dunkirk again. As far as I am concerned

With Rommel's understanding, he is likely to take such a risk. According to the information we got from the French resistance organization, the Germans have armored units stationed here, here, and here, but the number and strength are unknown.

But I think we did not encounter a large number of armored forces at the beachhead. Obviously, the main force of the German armored forces is not at the beachhead. Then the tank units at these positions are likely to be the main force of the German army. But this position is really

It's weird. If they want to use armored forces to counterattack us, then they'd better march through the night and launch a counterattack against us at dawn.

Position. However, judging from the current position of these troops, even if they start to advance towards Caen tonight, when they launch an attack on us tomorrow, it will probably be noon. From an offensive point of view, this time can be

Not a good time, because they have to be exposed to our attack aircraft for several hours before they launch an attack. This is a really good opportunity for our attack aircraft force.

Therefore, I hope that in the next two or three days, we can devote most of our attack aircraft, especially the 21st Attack Aircraft Wing, to the direction of Caen!"

"Monty, you already have a lot of attack aircraft?" It was General Bradley who spoke. "Our people are attacking Carentan, and they also need air power support."

"General Bradley, this is it." A lean British marshal stood up, "We do use a lot of attack aircraft, but our attack aircraft have the weakness of insufficient range. And we are now

, on the European continent, there are no forward airports for fully loaded attack aircraft taking off from England,

The stay time in these most critical areas is very limited. The PA-38s of the 21st Attack Aircraft Wing do not have this problem. They can stand by over dangerous areas for a long time and can provide us with more timely firepower.

Support. This is indeed something our storm cannot do."

"So Marshal Ted, what should we do? We also need air support." Bradley continued to defend.

"There are no very strong armored forces in your direction. With us in Caen, they don't have any spare armored forces to transfer to deal with you. Unless they transfer another unit from the Brittany Peninsula. But this is necessary

A lot of time. Before that, I think the P-51s of the Ninth Air Force are enough to support you." Montgomery replied.

"This consideration is very reasonable, but there may be some problems with the cooperation between the 21st Attack Wing and the British Army." Bradley still does not want to give up the 21st Attack Wing.

"Ron, you are the commander of the 21st Attack Aircraft Wing and an expert in air combat. Please tell me your opinion." At this time, General Eisenhower, who had been silent, spoke up.

"Okay, General!" Ron stood up and nodded towards the guys with much higher military ranks than him. "The most common problem in our cooperation with the British army is probably accidental damage. So, if we must

To deploy the 21st Attack Aircraft Wing in the direction of Caen, we must work hard to avoid accidental damage. I think that taking some measures can reduce the occurrence of this situation as much as possible."

"Be specific," Eisenhower said.

"First, we can paint eye-catching aerial identification marks on our own vehicles. Second, we can partition the airspace near Caen and set different rules of engagement based on the probability of our allies appearing in these areas. For example, from the enemy

We adopt an unrestricted attack mode on the road leading to Caen, while we adopt a relatively more cautious combat mode on the direction from the beach to Caen. In addition, our heavy bombers can also attack roads, bridges and

Strike at possible rally points to delay the enemy's advance."

…

On the night of June 6, Wolf's Den Command Headquarters.

"The head of state, Marshal Rommel, sent another telegram, requesting that the command of the five armored divisions of the Western Front Armored Group be handed over to him immediately. He also asked the head of state to allow him to voluntarily abandon some cities in order to concentrate his forces on the most critical places.

"

"What! How dare he ask for the abandonment of the city! No, never! We Germans cannot retreat even one step! Not even one step!" Hitler waved his arms angrily, as if fighting an invisible enemy.

"I know these generals too well. These nobles are all cowards! In Moscow in 1941, he just wanted to escape. If it weren't for my order, Germany would have been finished at that time! I thought Rommel was

As a civilian, he will not be corrupted by those guys! But I was wrong, he is no different from those guys now!"

"So, Führer, how should I reply to Marshal Rommel?"

"Tell him! I don't agree! Wherever we Germans go, we have to stick there like nails. Even if the whole army is annihilated, we will not take a step back!"

"Where is the armored division that Marshal Rommel wants?" the aide reminded.

"No, tell him, I won't give any!" Hitler shouted.

"Yes, the Führer!" The attendant raised his hand and saluted Hitler, preparing to reply to Rommel.

Just as he was about to walk out of the office door, he heard Hitler's voice.
Chapter completed!