In the early morning of April 12, 1940, in the German Airborne Hunter General in Saarbrucken, airborne general Kurt Student was anxiously waiting for the news forward in the combat room.

In his opinion, the airborne operation in Sedang-the west bank of the Maas River was a test that would likely have to be paid a high price! Use an elite airborne hunting division to test the reality of the French army on the front line of the Maas River.

If the French really transferred the main forces of the 1st coalition army group to Belgium and Metz as expected by the German General Staff and the Western Front Headquarters, then the assault of the elite 1st Airborne Hunter Division would be successful. If the French army still deployed quite powerful troops on the front line of the Sedang-Maas River, then the 1st Airborne Hunter Division would fall into a tough battle with heavy casualties.

However, the sacrifice of the airborne hunters would not be meaningless, because if the French army was found in the Sedang-Maas River, we can infer the deployment of Metz's French troops, so as to adjust the offensive plan in a timely manner. Of course, there are also plans a, b and c. If the French army deployed the main force in Sedang-Maas River, then the German army could break through Metz.

After all, the French had just such a small amount of troops, and it was impossible for them to deploy enough troops in all places. The empty gate must exist, either in Metz or in Sedang-Maas... I think the French dare not put the empty gate in Belgium, because that would put the British Empire in a desperate situation.

Since Britain is an island country, it has always been a large navy and small army. The size of the British army in peacetime cannot be compared with traditional army powers like France. The size of the army in peacetime is too small, which has caused the British army to expand slowly during wartime. Moreover, the British army also likes to play the elite route and will not expand the "miscellaneous army" of hundreds of divisions in sloppy.

So now the British Expeditionary Forces sent to the 10th Division to the European continent are all seed troops that have been trained very hard, with a large number of professional officers and senior non-commissioned officers. If they were all left in Belgium, the new recruits who were training in the UK would have to command the unqualified non-commissioned officers.

Considering that the closest distance between Belgium and the British mainland is less than 100 kilometers, and the strong strength of the Luftwaffe and Naval Air Force, once most of the army officers, non-commissioned officers and Belgium are lost, the British mainland will be in a terrible situation where they may be invaded and fall at any time... This is likely to force Britain to seek compromise with Germany!

So now the choices for Ganmolin and Joseph George are very limited.

"Genius," Major General Bruno Broyle, chief of staff of the Airborne Forces, suddenly shouted in the combat room, "Success! Success! Major General Trett's telegram (the commander of the 1st Airborne Hunter Division): The operation was successful! And it was a great success!"

"Great!" Student received the telegram, glanced at it, then walked to a red telephone, picked up the receiver and dialed the phone from the Western Front Headquarters. He reported the news of the success of the airborne operation to General Manstein, who served as the chief of staff at the Western Front Headquarters.

"Marson, the airborne troops succeeded!" Manstein put down the phone. He could no longer suppress his excitement. "The first wave of raids was a complete success. The two regiments of the 1st Airborne Hunter Division were successfully airborne west of the Sedang-Maas River. They were not resisted in most areas! This shows that the French's troops in the Sedang-Maas River were very empty... There will be soon broken through by the 1st Armored Cluster!"

The current commander-in-chief of the Western Front is Marshal Hamsterstein, who is also the official chief of staff of the General Staff of the General Staff of the General Staff of the General Staff. Now the command system of the German Wehrmacht is in a battle-one style. The General Staff can be divided into Berlin headquarters and front headquarters during wartime, and the Chief of General Staff or the First and Second Military Chiefs shall serve as the important commander-in-chief of the Front. If the Chief of General Staff himself serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Front, then the First Military Chiefs of General Staff shall act as the Chief of General Staff.

Since Hessmann had served as the commander-in-chief of the front in the Polish campaign, the Chief of Staff Hamsterstein was the Chief of Staff Hamsterstein this time. However, Hamsterstein did not propose his own combat plan, but instead, the commander-in-chief meeting decided to choose the "Manstein Plan" as the model and formulated the "Sick Swipe Operation".

Unlike the situation where Manstein himself was suppressed by the army during the Battle of France, Manstein now served as the chief of staff of the Western Front with the support of Hessmann.

"Very good!" Marshal Hamestein breathed a sigh of relief, and a rare ease appeared on his overly serious face. "Erich, what advice do you have for the next move?"

It seems that the French defense on the front line of the Sedang-Maas River is only a matter of time, but what to do after the breakthrough is controversial within the German army. According to Manstein's original plan, after breaking through the Sedang-Maas River, the German Army Group A Group must bear at least two tasks at the same time. The first is to go south to Metz to capture the rear of the "Magino" defense line; the second is to form an armored cluster with the fallen armored division (Manstein's plan is three armored divisions) and the motorized infantry division to kill Dunkirk and Calais, and cut off the land contact between the main force of the coalition forces in Belgium and the French mainland.

Subsequently, the Manstein Plan made two amendments to the "Hersman Amendment" and the "Rondsted Amendment", thus becoming the "Sick Swallow Action" plan.

The "Hersmann Amendment" puts the elite British and French coalition forces in Belgium to the north (the main mechanized and motorized forces of the British and French forces in this direction) in the first place.

The "Longdsted Amendment" significantly increased the strength of the Army Group A to 64 divisions, and increased the plan to attack Metz from southern Luxembourg. This plan was not only a filing for the Seedon-Maas River front line when it was difficult to break through, but also the main force of the French army surrounded the "Macino" defense line (a large number of people, but mostly ordinary infantry divisions), and the need to open up the logistics line of the Army Group A.

"Marson, I suggest splitting and using the First Armored Army," said Manstein. "The main force of the 19th Armored Army and the 15th Armored Army of the 1st Armored Army will continue to carry out the mission of going north to encircle Dunkirk and Calais. The 41st Armored Army and the 5th Armored Division of the 1st Armored Army (belonging to the 15th Armored Army) of the 1st Armored Army will be classified as the 12th Army of the Klester Cavalry. The 12th Army will first be responsible for carrying out the southward encirclement of Metz, and cooperate with the large number of infantry of the Army of A to encircle Metz's enemies, creating conditions for the encirclement of the enemy on the "Magino" defense line."

The dozens of French divisions surrounding the defense line of "Magino" are actually the main purpose of the "Manstein Plan". Moreover, Marshal Hamestein and General Longdested also agree to regard the enemy of the defense line of "Magino" as the main goal!

Marshal Hessman and General Guderian were the main targets of breaking into Belgium.

"Is the group of a group capable of carrying out the south and north missions at the same time?" Marshal Hamestein seemed a little hesitant. His concerns make sense. If the 41st Panzer Army and the 5th Panzer Division were assigned to the 12th Army, then the 1st Panzer Army heading north would lose 3 armored divisions, leaving only 4 armored divisions.

"Marson, we have now fully obtained the Luxembourg railway system," said Manstein. "This allows the large number of infantry in the Group A to move quickly to the north of Metz, so that we can attack Metz's enemies. Once Metz is captured by our army, the Group A can easily cut off the retreat route of the French main force stationed in the "Magino" defense line... According to reliable intelligence, although the 50 French divisions there have a large number of artillery, they have very weak mobility and are not equipped with enough trucks to drag heavy artillery. As long as we can cut off the railway line, they will not be able to move."

The defenders on the "Magino" defense line were not mobile troops at all. Their mission was to defend the defense line with a decisive force. Naturally, they did not need to be equipped with a large number of trucks, and even insufficient large livestock. According to the plan of the French Command, if the troops there needed to be mobilized, they should be carried out through railways rather than highways.

Therefore, as long as the railway line can be cut off, dozens of divisions there will be unable to retreat to Paris, so there is no way to talk about the Paris defense battle. Because Stalin's Red Army fought very hard in Kiev and Brest (they were also very difficult in Finland), many German generals realized the difficulties of the battle against big cities. Therefore, the "Paris Defense War" that would not happen at all became a matter of great concern for a group of German generals... Under the control of this thinking, the dozens of divisions behind the "Magino" defense line became a big trouble for the German army.

Therefore, the plan to attack the enemy of Macino after annihilation of Belgium is not much supported by Hessman and Guderian.

"As for the northward mission of the 1st Armored Army," Manstein said, "I think the main constraints on them are not troops but fuel. The use of most infantry divisions of the 12th Army and the A Army Group on Metz can reduce the pressure on the logistics line."

This view actually makes sense. If the main force of the Group A Army Group does not attack Metz (you can take the train), then they must pass through the Arden forest. At that time, dozens of infantry divisions slowly crawl on several narrow roads, and it will be difficult for the trucks transporting fuel to pass.
Chapter completed!