Chapter 140 Ike, I greet you (first update, please subscribe)
This time, the Germans are very likely to replicate their victory in the Battle of France!
“Once the Germans succeed, our elite troops attacking the Netherlands will be cut off by Germany, and even the port of Antwerp will be occupied by the Germans...”
“At that time, this It must be a disaster!"
Bradley said.
The Port of Antwerp determines the outcome of the counterattack on the European continent. From the day the Allied forces crossed the Seine, the key to the war was no longer strategy and tactics, but logistics. This was especially true after the Allies captured the crucial port of Antwerp in early September but failed to control its access to the outside world. The German blockade and interception made the port of Antwerp a dead port, and it was not put into use until the end of November. This resulted in that although 95% of various supplies had arrived in France, only a small part of the fuel and ammunition needed by the Allied forces to invade Germany had been replenished, and the rest had been in short supply for a long time. .
The 65 Allied divisions participating in operations in northwest Europe each consumed 700 tons of fuel every day. Unable to support the two offensive forces of the "wide front" offensive strategy at the same time, Eisenhower had to rationally allocate precious military resources.
Therefore, the Port of Antwerp is related to the success or failure of the entire Western Front. Nothing but materials and logistics. If there were no ports to transport supplies, the Allies would surely suffer an unprecedented defeat on the Western Front. This is the fundamental reason why Hitler formulated the Ardennes Counterattack and targeted the port of Antwerp as his ultimate goal.
Without oil and ammunition, the millions of Allied troops now gathered in France are simply vulnerable. As long as they capture the port of Antwerp, the entire war situation can be reversed.
This is the fundamental reason why Hitler was so desperate.
To put it bluntly, it’s Stud!
If you win, you win everything. If you lose, well, you just get nothing.
"Once the Germans capture the port of Antwerp, we will have to withdraw Britain from the continent, just like the British did at Dunkirk. God willing, we can be as lucky as them..."< br>
Only God knows whether you are so lucky.
But as a military general, even if you think about it a little bit, you know that it is absolutely impossible for the Germans to make the mistake they made 4 years ago again.
This time the Germans would never give them a chance to retreat.
“We must send more troops to the Ardennes region as soon as possible.”
Because the German army launched the attack half a month in advance, most of the troops that could be mobilized in history were in Paris and other places were even resting in southern France. At this time, Eisenhower did not have many troops at his disposal, at least not many that could be mobilized to the Ardennes region in just a few days.
In this way, the two of them stared at the map, constantly adjusting their deployment, adjusting each division towards the Ardennes region. Finally, both of them set their sights on the small Belgian town that gathered seven roads and railways. town.
"Bastogne, the large German army can only regroup through there, and then penetrate Belgium, Eike."
Eisenhower pointed to the small Belgian town on the map and said:
“So we must hold Bastogne.”
“However, we only have one company there, and so few people are simply not enough. It's impossible to defend that city. "
Bradley's answer made Eisenhower fall into silence for a while. The German's left hook caught him off guard and even made him unable to deal with it.
For the first time, he had to admit that those Germans were indeed better at fighting than them.
"How many days does it take for the 101st Airborne Division to get there?"
"About seven days."
Bradley said.
"Seven days...will the Germans give us 7 days?"
Eisenhower asked rhetorically.
In fact, the question is not whether the Germans can give them 7 days, but whether their troops in that area can hold on for 7 days.
Only God knows this.
Staring at the map, Bradley thought for a while and said.
"Ike, I have a suggestion,"
"What suggestion?"
"Task Force."
"What?" Bradley explained.
"It's the task force established by the president's order. They are in Bastogne. There seem to be six or seven thousand people. They are preparing to withdraw to Patton. They seem to be preparing When Patton attacked, he followed him to pick up German equipment.” The output of their political transactions, he is not interested in the so-called task force at all.
But it didn't stop him from hearing about how those "vultures" were searching for weapons left by the Germans everywhere in France. Like the "vultures", they would sweep away the materials left on the battlefield.
For this reason, the French are very dissatisfied with these talents, because France also needs those German weapons.
"So what, aren't those "vultures" just a group of civilian contractors?"
"Ike, they are all soldiers, and they were all trained by us in India. Soldiers with many years of experience have had small-scale battles with the Germans before. Judging from the results, it seems that they can still fight the Germans..."
Bradley's suggestion convinced Eisenhower Silence fell, and as he thought, Bradley continued.
"Bastogne is essentially a town defense operation in complex terrain. There will be a lot of room for small team operations. I think they should be able to support a few, at least until reinforcements from the 101st Airborne Division arrive. There."
Eisenhower said hesitantly.
"However, this seems to be against the rules. After all, they are not American soldiers, and we just signed a contract with them."
"Ike, the most important thing now is to win. If If the Germans succeed, then we are likely to repeat the same mistake. Not only will the entire Europe be occupied by the Germans again, but hundreds of thousands of Americans will die. Ike, they are soldiers, soldiers wearing U.S. military uniforms.”
After Bradley finished speaking, Eisenhower lit a cigarette, took two puffs, paced back and forth again, and said.
"May God bless them. Send him a telegram, telling him that he must hold on to Bastogne, telling him that it is for the common cause of the allies, and asking them to fulfill their duties and hold on until reinforcements arrive... By the way, what is his name? ?”
Until this moment, Eisenhower realized that he didn’t know the guy’s name at all.
“This is not important. What is important is that we let them know the significance of this battle. Yes, they will definitely care about it and the honor of the country.”
……< br>
December 3rd, early morning.
Bastogne, even though it was after 5 o'clock in the morning, the town was bustling with noise, but the streets were full of task forces wearing US military trench coats. Many people had jumped on trucks, and the first batch of evacuated troops were preparing to evacuate. small town.
At this moment, the Communications Section received a telegram from the Allied Forces Command. The moment he received the telegram, Qian Shiliang's originally fair face lost all color in an instant.
Even the communications room was silent, with only the click of the newspaper being received and the music that the Germans were interfering with.
Everyone was stunned by the telegram they had just received.
Soon, Qian Shiliang personally took the telegram and walked to the commander's office. Before he entered, he heard the commander shouting.
"Have you made contact with the people who have withdrawn from the front? We can only wait for two days at most, and we must withdraw within two days..."
Listening to the chief's shout, Qian Shiliang walked in , stood at attention, saluted and reported.
"Sir, Allied Forces Command...no, it's an urgent telegram from General Eisenhower..."
An urgent telegram from General Eisenhower?
I don’t know why, Li Yian just felt his heart thumping, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of ominousness.
The moment he received the telegram, Li Yian could only stop yelling - I want to greet your mother!
Ike!
I want to greet all the women in your family!
I was so exhausted yesterday that I updated nearly 20,000 words in one day... I took a breath today and could only update 10,000 words...
(End of this chapter)