Listening to the ticking sound of the bell beside him, General Ian Hamilton was waiting silently, but the phone at his hand did not ring for a long time.

From 6 a.m. to 12 a.m., the general asked his adjutant to report to him every quarter of an hour on the latest situation on the front line, but he received the same reply: "Everything on the front line is calm!"

It was a strange morning for this commander, who was known as a poet and general. Previously, both the intelligence personnel of the army and the navy, and even the intelligence provided by other governments, showed that today was the date of the German main attack, and at midnight, the German army began their artillery. However, after 6 hours of artillery preparation, the German infantry did not appear, and German planes, airships and airborne soldiers who showed their skills during landing operations were nowhere to be seen.

In order to prevent the German airborne raid, Hamilton deployed more than 200 guard cavalry companies within 100 miles behind the defense line, and used 10 cavalry regiments and 15 infantry divisions as mobile units. In addition, he also launched militia armed forces to coordinate defense, but all this has not been effective so far.

In Grimsby, more than 200 kilometers away, the fortress protecting the city has turned into ruins under the fierce shelling of the German fleet. Now the German shells are slapping the entire city. The flames, thick smoke and blood have made the once beautiful port city a hell on earth. The defenders and the troops who came to reinforce the city have no choice but to the German warships outside the port. Before dawn, the two British torpedo boat squadrons who tried to approach the German fleet were wiped out under the dense artillery fire of the other side.

Similar situations were Swansea in eastern England, where it was attacked by another powerful German fleet. The German carrier-based aircraft dropped incendiary bombs in the industrial area in the north of the city, and the cannons sank all the floating objects in the harbor to the bottom of the water.

In Hamilton's view, the attacks of the German fleet were all the same as those of landing, but this situation caused the British royal family and government to retreat to the mountains in northern Scotland to be almost panicked. Their calls to inquire about the situation kept calling the local defense headquarters, which made General Hamilton a little annoyed and irritated.

Previously, Hamilton had received a mountain of intelligence. There were countless reports on German tactics and weapons. Some spies said they had received reliable news. The German army would land again in northern England or Scotland. Some spies said the German army would conduct larger airdrop operations. Some even reported that the German army would use a deadly chemical weapon on a large scale. But from the moment, in addition to the damage caused by the large-scale conventional artillery bombardment in the morning, their strong defense line was still so unshakable.

At 2 pm, a bad news reached Hamilton's command. The German fleet that had shelled Grimsby and Swansea began to land and attack! According to the observations of defenders at these two locations, a large number of landing ships appeared on the coastline, and light ships in the German fleet were sailing near the coast for fire suppression.

General Hamilton insisted on his judgment. Although both cities were behind their own defense lines, it was just a feint from the German army. Therefore, the general refused to transfer the troops to strengthen the two defenses.

At 4 pm, the calm that lasted for most of the day on the Bristol-London line was suddenly broken, and the Germans began to shell again. About 9,000 artillery pieces, nearly half of which were large caliber heavy artillery, including super cannons such as 420mm and 305mm giant cannons siege howitzers. They opened fire at the British positions almost at the same time. In an instant, people could feel tremors dozens of kilometers away. This violent oscillation like a rocking mountain lasted for 5 hours and did not end until 9 pm.

After the German second shelling ended, the front line of the front was about 170 kilometers long and quieted again. The British defense line north of the front line was in a mess, with countless large and small bullet craters on the ground, and almost all exposed fortifications were destroyed. There was no tree plant at all. Although most of the British General Army officers and soldiers guarding the front and second-line positions were hidden in deep underground tunnels and hidden places, nearly 50,000 casualties occurred in the 70 infantry divisions.

Although it was a starry night, the sight was not good. The searchlights on the British positions were either destroyed by shelling or hidden in bunkers and had not been reinstalled. However, at this time, the German ground attack began!

When he got the news, General Hamilton jumped out of his chair.

The German army's main attack was simultaneously deployed on the east and west sides of the front line, with the Hindenburg Army on the east side and the Imperial Guards - the Royal Beast Legion from East Prussia.

The world without gunfire is not quiet, and General Guderian's ears are filled with the sound of engines. The troops of other places entered the pre-departure position three days ago. At that time, in order to cover the sound of these tanks and armored vehicles when they start, they used their usual tactics - aircraft interference, that is, when the troops are mobilized, they constantly sent planes to hover over the enemy positions, and used the sound of the aircraft engine to block the sound of their own troops when they mobilized. At least in the present moment, this tactic is simple and effective. In the three days after Guderian's hybrid armored division came here, the British army on the opposite side

Basically no mobilization was made - defending this 5-kilometer-wide front with only light weapons was a Canadian infantry division equipped with only light weapons and a cannon with a caliber of less than 50 doors below 120 mm - you should know that these were not enough for Mr. Guderian's tanks and armored vehicles to crawl between teeth. Shortly after the landing operation, Guderian was awarded for his excellent performance - promoted to brigade general of the army and an iron cross. In addition, in previous combat preparations, his armored division was strengthened with great weight. At this time, his armored mixed division's combat effectiveness was close to that of the armored troops of other armies!

When the fully mechanized attack wave of attacks consisting of 207 "Stone 1" and "Stone 2" tanks, 129 "Big Knife" armored combat vehicles, 115 "Troy" armored personnel carriers, 120 artillery traction trucks, 240 troop and logistics trucks, and 1,200 motorcycles rushed to the opponent's defense line with a majestic momentum, more than 10,000 Canadian soldiers guarding there were stunned! Some of them were not even ready for combat, and the lights on the German armored vehicles were all turned on - this made the soldiers on the defensive side feel dazzled, fear and discomfort. Although the Canadians' artillery was well hidden and most of them were safe and sound in the German artillery attack, even if they had time to push the rapid-fire cannon and fire, this weak firepower could not stop the progress of the German tanks!

After the defeat of the anti-landing counterattack, the British and their colonial forces finally learned something. On this front, named Hamilton's defense line, the British army set up minefields, trench and barbed wire areas, trench and fortress areas, anti-aircraft observation stations, infantry bunkers and hidden places, anti-aircraft artillery positions and reserve assembly positions, which are almost standard German trench defense. Unfortunately, the principle of using the other way is not feasible here. The German intensive artillery fire destroyed most of the British General Army's minefields and barbed wire areas. Even the trenches that were dug enough to allow German tanks to fall into and cannot climb out were collapsed in sections. Although the trenches and traffic trenches were dug very deeply, such fierce artillery fire still made a considerable part of them useless.

Canadian soldiers eagerly anticipated that Guderian's tanks could not pass through the trenches in front of the position, and that even if they could not be destroyed, they would not be crushed by them. However, they soon discovered that the trenches alone could not stop the beasts of steel. The German tanks and combat armored vehicles rushed to the front were packed with bundles of firewood. When there were trenches that could not be passed on, the firewood was filled into the trenches. Although this method seemed clumsy, it was as effective as the noise cover of aircraft. Although the army was the German emperor, these methods were not original in his own right - both sides of the warring parties in another world had been used.

Although not all German tanks and armored vehicles can pass the blocking in front of the British positions, as the first German tank broke into the British defense line, volunteers from Canada began to withdraw from the battle - whether it was the rifles, machine guns, or the few pitiful anti-tank guns in their hands, they were not effective weapons to deal with tanks. Although bundles of grenades could blow up German tanks, the success rate and the cost of life were really high. Canadians retreated one after another, and German tank armored vehicles that crossed the trenches fired wildly with machine guns. After less than ten minutes of resistance, the offensive and defensive war turned into a unilateral massacre.

17 tanks were lost, armored vehicles and trucks were drawn, and hundreds of soldiers were drawn. Guderian harvested a 5,000-meter-long and 3,000-meter-deep British defense line in the first hour of the battle. This transaction was obviously very cost-effective. You should know that the British army built this defense line as long as the Germans prepared to attack. The Canadian masters guarding this defense line were defeated. They left behind more than 1,000 corpses, nearly 800 wounded soldiers and 2,000 prisoners, as well as the precious flanks of the British defense line on both sides. General Guderian immediately let his tank regiment and an armored regiment turn to the left wing, the same number of troops turn to the right wing, and his main force continues to advance. Behind him, General François's infantry quickly followed up, and a large hole was torn into the British defense line here.

About 20 kilometers to the right of General Guderian, the armored forces commanded by General Olger are striving to move forward, but their opponents are not simple. The 3rd Army Group of the British Army, commanded by General Alanby, is currently the most well-equipped unit in the regular British army, and Alanby, 54, can be regarded as the most outstanding commander among the British Army generals. On this 12-kilometer-long front, the spear and the strong shield collided with sparks.

As the direct general of the German Emperor, the young and talented Olger has enviable opportunities and achievements. General Guderian became the most optimistic commander of the armored forces in the army, and Olger was one of the earliest officers in the army to come into contact with tanks and the current supreme commander of the legion's armored army. On this exciting night, Lieutenant General Olger commanded the 1st Tank Division, the 1st Armored Division and the 1st and 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division. This powerful assault tip hit the flattest section on the Bristol-London front with the flattest terrain on the Bristol-London front.

, it is also a key area for the British defense - both sides are very clear about the significance of this geographical condition to the armored forces. The British commander General Hamilton not only transferred General Alanby, but also concentrated 15 front-line infantry divisions to form the 3rd Army, and also transferred the first special anti-tank force of the British Army, the 33rd Reinforced Infantry Regiment. More than 400 cannons and nearly 300 machine guns were provided to General Alanby. Although this number was very weak in front of the German army, it was quite considerable for the British army in distress.

In fact, the British army's equipment was not as bleak as it is now at the beginning of the German landing. However, the main force of the British army was defeated during the landing of the Hindenburg Army and the Battle of Southern England. Not only did the generals lose many heavy equipment, but they also lost four months to revive the situation. However, under the blockade of the German Navy, the British army did not receive enough equipment to supplement it.

Although he was surprised by the specific attack time and method of the German army like the General Command, General Alanby's troops organized relatively effective defense in a very short time. In addition to the artillery behind the position, anti-tank squads equipped with small-caliber anti-tank guns, anti-tank rifles and explosives were also scattered on the entire front. Although German armored vehicles with high headlights could shock the opponent in momentum, they also clearly exposed themselves to the opponent. At a distance of 2,000 meters, the British 37mm anti-tank guns could destroy any armored vehicle. When this distance was shortened to 800 meters, German Stone Type 1 and Type 2 tanks were also in danger of being penetrated.

Fortunately for Orger's armored forces, the British army was not equipped with enough anti-tank guns at this time. There were only about 150 anti-tank guns smuggled to Britain during the war, most of which came from British overseas colonies, while others came from France. The French were ahead of Britain's technology in this regard, and there were several secret military factories in southern France.

Under the desperate resistance of the British army, the German assault armored troops began to retreat without success, but this was not a good thing for the British. Just as the British were still cheering on the position to repel the Germans, the screaming shells fell like raindrops, and the flames instantly devoured countless lives. For Allenby, this was a "damn shelling", and the soldiers deployed on the front line lost one-third before re-retreating into the safe hidden place. The German shelling did not last long, but covered most of the British positions. The British army's well-protected artillery survived again, but a considerable number of anti-tank guns were destroyed in this shelling.
Chapter completed!