Although Jack Churchill eliminated the German troops who blocked them very quickly, and there were no problems with the subsequent response and arrangements, the movement of the large army was still too slow, causing them to end up fifty kilometers away from Calais.
Was stopped by German troops.
Standing between them and Calais was the famous German general Rommel and his 7th Armored Division.
Although Rommel was only a newly promoted major general in the German army at this time, and did not have the title of African God of War or Desert Fox, nor was he promoted to field marshal, the 7th Armored Division, as the vanguard of the German army's attack on France,
Still just like in history, he won himself the title of "Devil's Master".
They had also fought against the British Army's new armored division before. Although the British had a slight upper hand with their more advanced equipment and the cooperation of friendly forces, they had to admit that the Germans in front of them were elite and by no means an easy target.
bone.
Not to mention that the Germans are now in a defensive position, while the British have just arrived here as if they were fleeing, and their organization is disorganized and has no ability to organize an attack.
But even so, the British cannot wait here for the Germans to surround them. They must launch an attack, and they must break through the German defense line in front of them.
Because only in this way can they reach Calais and board the ship back to England from there.
And even if they can't return to England right away, with a port city that can still maintain shipping, they can still get supplies and last longer.
So the British did not hesitate to put all the troops they could organize into the attack, formed an attack group, and launched an attack on Rommel's 7th Armored Division.
The first wave of offensive was ineffective.
The German defense was like an iron wall. The British rushed three times but failed to break the German defense and had to retreat in embarrassment.
Although only part of the 7th Armored Division arrived in Calais at this time and blocked the British army, this part of the German army still completed their mission perfectly and completed the blockade of the British army, allowing Rommel's large forces to have
Enough time to catch up and surround this British force.
As the future famous general and field marshal of the German army, Rommel's talent in military command is undoubted. Although he has not yet proved his talent with outstanding performance in the African campaign, it seems to him that he wants to annihilate the people in front of him.
It is really not difficult to support the retreating British army.
He ordered a part of the troops to launch a massive feint attack from the rear of the British army, which was the direction from which his troops came. The main force of the army was divided into two directions to outflank the British army from the side, intending to eat this force in one bite.
Not only did the British troops plan to completely annihilate them.
At this time, the surrounded British army only had one armored division, and it was not full of troops. It had been defeated all the way before, and only about two-thirds of the entire army was left.
Rommel's 7th Armored Division was fully manned and in good condition. In addition, the offensive had not been going well before. The German army had been holding its breath, and now it was time to fully unleash it.
It can be said that no matter from which aspect, this British army is hopeless.
Although there were twelve British divisions and a large number of defeated French troops in Calais, which was only fifty kilometers away from them at this time, not a single unit came out of the city to reinforce them.
At this time, these troops were huddled in the city of Calais, eagerly hoping that the transport ship sent by the British would take them away instead of turning around and fighting the Germans.
Under such circumstances, even if the British government forced the British troops in Calais to go out for rescue, no one would really fight for it at this time.
What's more, at this time, the British government did not know that this armored division was blocked by the Germans fifty kilometers away from Calais and was in danger.
In fact, if the British army really came out of the city to counterattack at this time, they could still break Rommel's siege and rescue the British armored division.
Because only one unit of Rommel's 7th Armored Division was surrounded at this time, and other German units were left behind because they could not keep up with his attack speed.
With a completely superior force, only two troops need to arrive on the flanks of the British armored division to help them block Rommel's attack from the flanks, and another troop will attack from both sides with the besieged British armored division.
, break through the blocking German army, and this British army will be able to escape.
But at this moment, no British troops in Calais planned to rescue their colleagues, even though they had received news that a friendly army was surrounded by German troops outside Calais.
At this time, even the surrounded British Armored Division itself did not feel that it had a chance to escape. The morale of the entire unit was extremely low, and even the commanders of the division were already discussing how to surrender honorably.
However, Rommel did not seem to want a group of British prisoners, let alone give this unit a chance to surrender. The offensive he launched was quite fast and fierce. He almost stunned the British army in the first place and failed to organize it at all.
Any effective counterattack.
If the British army had not been surrounded, I am afraid that this round of attack would have been enough to defeat the British army thousands of miles away.
However, not all British troops behaved like this. Jack Churchill and his comrades were among the few British troops who dared to launch a counterattack in this battle, and even launched a countercharge against the Germans.
According to the original organization, cavalry like Jack Churchill and others were only used to cooperate with tank attacks to prevent the infantry from being unable to keep up with the advancing speed of the new tanks when the infantry and tanks cooperated.
But at this time, most of the new tanks could no longer run due to lack of supplies and maintenance. On the contrary, the cavalry equipped with modified military horses still had a certain fighting capacity.
So, when Jack Churchill stood up and shouted, there were still a group of British cavalry who were unwilling to wait for death and followed him to charge against the Germans.
When all the British troops were almost waiting for death, one such unit launched a charge against the German artillery fire. It was also a cavalry unit, making them look like Don Quixote charging towards the windmill.
But at this time, no one came to laugh at them. Even the German troops they faced admired this group of British cavalry who dared to charge in the face of artillery fire. Not every unit can survive in such desperate situations.
He still has the courage and will to attack the enemy.
Undoubtedly, Jack Churchill and the British cavalry who were charging towards the German army at this moment were displaying this kind of bravery and fearlessness.
The German troops who faced their charge, after showing respect to them, pulled the trigger without hesitation and fired bullets at them.
