The German high command underestimated the war in West Asia, which resulted in the offensive and defensive battles between the three major German strategic clusters in the border fortification areas controlled by China and Germany. It lasted for twenty days without significant progress. Correspondingly, various German-controlled areas
Oil fields and refining facilities were frequently attacked by the Anjiajun air force. The German army's originally relaxed fuel supply suddenly became unusually tight. ("")
After losing all the oil in the Caucasus, Egypt and most of Romania, the German army's fuel is now mainly solved through domestic oil fields and coalification technology. The other part is supplied by Italy's Libyan oil fields and distributed to France, Belgium, Denmark, and Norway.
The substantial reduction of quotas in other countries, at this time when the harsh winter is approaching, is tantamount to a resounding slap in the face to the top leaders of the Nazi Party who are advocating victory.
In order to prevent the resentment of the people in the occupying countries from boiling over, the German army knew very well from top to bottom that it must open a gap in the Anjia Army's impregnable defense line as soon as possible, and through continuous outflanks and annihilation battles, the Anjia Army could be completely driven out of West Asia.
Ensure that oil fields in Egypt, Romania and the Caucasus resume normal production.
To this end, after discussing with Goering and Jodl, Hitler summoned Keitel, chief of staff of the Supreme Command, Halder, chief of operations, and idle Wehrmacht marshals such as Brauchitsch and von Loeb to jointly formulate the "Iron Hammer"
"The plan decided to launch the main attack in the Gezira area, the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris defense lines, and then impose a thunderous blow in the south. Then the two armies would meet at the Euphrates River from north to south and from south to north to encircle the area.
After the Anjia Army was wiped out, it moved straight into Baghdad, cutting off railways and highways in one fell swoop, and then launched another encirclement battle.
Once this plan is successfully completed, one to two million South Chinese troops will be eliminated in the two encirclement circles, and the situation in the entire West Asia will change in one fell swoop.
As early as a week before the plan was launched, Hitler rushed to Beirut and convened a meeting of the main officers of the three army groups. At the meeting, Hitler shouted:
"This attack will be of decisive significance. It will allow us to firmly grasp the initiative in the international situation that is changing in favor of the axis countries. Therefore, we must go all out and use the most powerful force in the main direction of attack.
Elite regiments, the best weapons, the best commanders and a lot of ammunition. Every commander and every soldier must understand the decisive significance of this attack. The great victory we achieved at Gezira will serve as a
A torch that lights up the world!"
In order to successfully implement the "Iron Hammer" plan, the German army mobilized its most elite troops and experienced generals on the northern and southern fronts, with a total strength of eight armies and 1.6 million people. It also invested a large amount of weapons, including more than 8,000 tanks.
Including the latest "Tiger" and "Panther" tanks, more than 5,000 aircraft, more than 30,000 cannons and mortars, including the powerful and strongly armored "Ferdinand" self-propelled artillery.
In the early morning of the 12th, the German army broke through the defenses in the main direction of the Anjia Army and entered the area controlled by the Anjia Army for the first time. Before each unit was ordered to set off, each German assault force read the letter to the soldiers sent by Hitler in Berlin: "Today you will begin.
A great offensive battle, this battle will have a decisive impact on the outcome of the entire war... You should understand that everything may depend on the outcome of this battle. ("")"
At this time, the Germans did not know that in front of them there was a complete defense system that had been built in depth over the past two years, with a total depth of 150 kilometers, extending from Mosul in the north to the Tigris River in the east, and to the Tigris River in the south.
On the long front to the Euphrates River.
The troops participating in the battle include the Anjia Army's most elite tank armies, four mechanized armies from the 1st to 4th, and five motorized infantry armies, the 7th, 8th, 9th, 28th and 29th.
Including the logistics and security forces, there are a total of 1.8 million troops, with more than 25,000 cannons and mortars, 11,000 tanks, and more than 14,000 aircraft, occupying a leading position in terms of strength and equipment quality.
Absolute advantage.
According to the plan, the Anjia army will resist tenaciously and gradually abandon the long-established defense lines, gradually consuming the Germans' energy. When the Germans enter our preset encirclement, they will deal a fatal blow to the Germans.
The second line of defense was set up by the theater headquarters in a gentle hilly area 30 kilometers away from the border. As early as a year ago, the Anjia Army Engineer Corps built three trenches here, 150 meters apart.
and reinforced concrete fortifications. The third trench is located on a raised hill, about 450 meters away from the first trench. At this moment, a young second lieutenant wearing a camouflage helmet is lying at the lookout of the bunker.
He looked forward with a telescope. Below him were two I-type 75mm cannons covered by camouflage nets. The fourteen gunners, who also had young faces, looked a little nervous under the influence of the sound of cannons and explosions.
It was eight o'clock in the morning, and the sky was already completely bright. In the second lieutenant's telescope, dozens of German tanks were approaching step by step, raising clouds of sand and dust. They were followed by many armored vehicles and trucks. From a distance, they could be seen getting off the tanks.
The dense ranks of German soldiers on foot were like a swarming ant colony.
The artillery shells from the rear of the German offensive column fell very densely on the front-line position held by the Anjia Army. The advancing German tanks stopped from time to time to fire, or directly carried out imprecise artillery fire in a slow-moving state. "
The sound of "dong dong" cannons is like beating war drums, which is breathtaking.
On the front of our army's position, Anjia officers and soldiers equipped with automatic rifles, general-purpose machine guns, mortars of various calibers, 37mm anti-tank guns, 75mm recoilless rifles and a large number of Type II rocket launchers are patiently waiting for the battle to come.
.
"The Germans didn't dispatch many tanks. After a few shots, they were gone!"
The second lieutenant lying on the sand dune said confidently to the correspondent on the side. The correspondent nodded in agreement and did not think there was anything wrong with the platoon leader's words at all.
You must know that the anti-tank artillery that supports the defense line is equipped with the new Type I 75mm cannon, which is a simplified version of the Type I 75mm anti-aircraft gun that represents the highest achievement in gun casting technology. It has a total length of 6.1 meters and is in full combat status.
It weighs 1,100 kilograms, and its total weight in marching state is 1,800 kilograms. It has an astonishing muzzle velocity of 780 meters per second, a range of 15 kilometers, and a maximum rate of fire of 25 rounds per minute. (Temple)
Due to the simplified design and significant weight reduction, this 75mm cannon is very easy to maneuver and fight quickly. The production time is reduced by 1/3 and the production cost is reduced by 2/3 compared with the German 75mm anti-tank gun. It can be used within a thousand meters.
In terms of distance, it penetrates 115 mm at a right angle and 100 mm alloy steel plate at a right angle at a distance of 1,500 meters. Its hit rate and destruction rate are astonishing.
"Dong dong——"
The sound of artillery coming from the front position sounded much softer than the I-type 75mm cannon. The gunners on the gun position became more and more focused. After a while, in their sights, the sound of an armor-piercing shell hitting a German tank appeared.
Flames and black smoke.
In order to adapt to operations in the West Asian desert and Gobi region, German tanks were uniformly decorated with dark brown spots and stripes on a brown background. Some tanks were temporarily painted with brown color blocks on gray paint, which was very confusing.
However, in front of the well-trained Anjia Army infantry anti-tank gunmen, such colors will not help change their fate of being killed in one shot - even the 37mm anti-tank gun with limited power is enough to fire at a distance of 600 meters.
It can penetrate the armor of the Panzer II tank with a thickness of only 20 mm, and the 75mm recoilless rifle is enough to penetrate the 80 mm thick armor of the Leopard tank at a distance of 800 meters when firing a five kilogram rocket extended range armor-piercing projectile.
Armor.
Located in a bunker on the hillside of a hill more than 200 meters high two kilometers behind the defense line, the commander of the 19th Division, Colonel Ji Lin, was looking at the battle situation briefings from various positions on the front line with unusual coldness. In the previous battle, the 19th Division Commander
Relying on its defensive positions, the division successfully repelled three German attacks. However, so far, the German army has still launched regiment- and brigade-level attacks, which are not enough to show the true strength of the German army.
You must know that the morale of the current German army is very high. Since this place is only more than thirty kilometers away from the border, the five or six German armies that have not had time to disperse are like an extremely powerful axe. The real
The test is yet to come!
"Master!"
Major Shi Jin, chief of the division's communications section, stood nervously next to an individual radio station, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand, and said to Ji Lin with a serious face: "The German army is attacking again, this time there are hundreds of tanks!"
The rumbling sound caused by the explosion of artillery shells outside the bunker has lasted for about a quarter of an hour. According to the pattern of the first three attacks, a brief shelling will be followed by a fierce attack by German tanks and infantry groups.
"I know, I'll go take a look!"
Ji Lin put the briefing in the guard's hand, took off the telescope from the guard's neck, strode to the lookout of the bunker, raised the telescope and observed carefully.
At this time, in the sky outside, a German formation consisting of forty or fifty fighter jets and nearly a hundred bombers rushed towards the front of the defense line with great force.
Correspondingly, nearly a hundred jet fighters of our army came up from the eastern sky, and the two sides launched a life-and-death fight in the air thousands of meters in front of the position.
Some German bombers did not care about the Anjia Army fighter planes behind them and flew over at low altitudes, tilting a large number of black bombs towards the Anjia Army's defensive positions. Although most of the bombers were hit by our Air Force fighter planes and intensive ground anti-aircraft artillery fire.
shot down, but these aerial bombs still caused a certain degree of damage to our defense line.
Ji Lin knew that the air battle would not end for a while. The performance of the German fighter planes was much worse. Even if they could not be completely wiped out this time, most of them would definitely be left behind. He immediately shifted his attention and saw the wilderness in front of the Anjia Army's frontline position.
The remains of dozens of German tanks are scattered around. It is impossible to judge the models of these tanks from their appearance, but the remaining gun barrels are generally of small caliber. Therefore, Ji Lin can immediately judge that these should be German light tanks. Due to their
He was fast and rushed to the front of the team. Unexpectedly, his originally cheerful march was hit hard and became a delicacy for his division.
A little further away in the field of vision is the new German attack force mentioned by the communications section chief Shi Jin. The advancing German tank group, due to the visual error caused by the camouflage color, seems to be a pile of moving sand dunes. At a rough look,
After checking it again, Ji Lin calculated that there were about a hundred tanks, and there were a large number of armored vehicles and infantry following behind these tanks. At first glance, it seemed quite overwhelming.
This time, the German tanks that entered the attack were not in a hurry to fire. They quietly advanced to about a kilometer away from the front-line position, then stopped moving forward, and then launched a rapid and direct fire towards the Anjiajun position.
The fierce shelling saw flashing fires, billowing smoke, and cement slabs from bunker fortifications, broken parts of various firearms, and sawdust blocks from ammunition boxes being thrown into the air in the trench area of our army's front line.
If we go back to the joint exercise held by our army and the Third Tank Army last year in the military region, Ji Lin will definitely call in attack aircraft or army aviation units to attack to suppress the German tanks. However, this time the theater headquarters is considering the sequential consumption of German troops.
At the same time, it gives the Germans the illusion that our army has done its best, inducing the enemy to go deep and continuously divide its troops. It is best to use less advanced weapons that are beyond the scope of the German army's understanding.
After the German army carried out a fierce bombardment, the tank in front suddenly started to move, and then quickly increased its speed to the maximum. Like a rushing sea, it violently rushed towards the Anjia Army's defense line. The dust raised by the tracks covered the sky.
As the sun moved, the tanks and armored vehicles following behind were disappearing and appearing in the smoke. The German infantry did not care about the fatigue of the long journey and trotted behind. The entire German offensive group turned into a heavy weight.
Hammer, hit the Anjiajun position hard.
"Bang bang——"
The 37mm anti-tank guns and 75mm recoilless rifles deployed on the Anjia Army's first and second line positions opened fire on the German tanks. These light and easy-to-use artillery pieces have been used since the Anjia Army began to standardize their equipment.
As a standard infantry-standard anti-tank weapon, it is capable of dealing with light and medium tanks and fortifications with ease. Coupled with the Type III rocket launcher, the German army has suffered enough in previous border battles.
Despite being disturbed by smoke and dust, the anti-tank artillery fire of the Anjia Army infantry still maintained a high degree of accuracy. Each No. 2 tank and the BT and T series light tanks captured from the Soviet army were directly penetrated by the anti-tank artillery fire.
Exploded, paralyzed or damaged, but as the battle progressed, the German Tiger and Panther tanks approached the front line. The gunners of the Anjia Army finally painfully discovered that their armor-piercing shells were not effective against the Tiger tanks and the armor thickened to 120 mm.
The Leopard D tanks were helpless and watched helplessly as their artillery, heading and parallel machine guns put increasing pressure on our defense line.
With the order from the frontline field commander, the anti-tank artillery fire deployed on the third line of defense officially appeared!
In addition to the 75mm cannon, the 75mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun used for air defense also joined the battle. With the roar of "dong dong", the shells fired by the artillery group flew towards the German tank formation in front of the position with a low trajectory.
, I saw one German tank after another, regardless of size and shape, being hit by artillery fire and exploding. Some of them were penetrated by armor-piercing shells and even exploded extremely violently. The multi-ton turret was actually lifted into the air.
Then they fell heavily to the ground, and some even turned into violently burning fireballs.
When the German armored vehicles and infantry entered the gun range, the infantry on the Anjiajun position fought back with extremely fierce firepower, especially the sudden attack of the III-type rocket launcher. After concentrated use, the power was extremely shocking. Only one was seen.
The rockets rushed towards the target with a flaming tail. The German tanks and armored vehicles that were lucky enough to escape the artillery fire turned into coffins of fire.
As the most powerful 75mm anti-aircraft gun at present, the I-type 75mm anti-aircraft gun has a muzzle velocity of 885 meters per second. Since what is deployed here is a self-propelled reinforced anti-aircraft gun, the gun truck is equipped with an automatic loader. The rate of fire is
It can reach up to 45 rounds per minute, and with the commander, tracking radar and ballistic computer integrated into the vehicle body, its power is extremely amazing.
When more than thirty 75mm self-propelled anti-aircraft guns fired together, the dense rain of bullets broke the backbone of the German offensive troops at lightning speed. Wherever they went, those who could barely withstand three or four artillery shells
The attacking Tiger tanks and Leopard D tanks were suddenly hit by more than ten artillery shells in a row. There were explosions and steel fragments were thrown around in the intense firelight.
Seeing the unusually strong firepower of the defenders, the German army finally abandoned a large number of tanks and infantry corpses in embarrassment and retreated beyond the range of the artillery. The German army's fourth attack ended in a disastrous defeat with the loss of more than a hundred tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ps: Thank you for the big rewards from Xiangxiang, Dead Man’s Big Head, Tian Dabang, Qiliang Eel, and Proud Aaron. Thank you brothers for your subscriptions, recommendation votes, and monthly votes!
The emperor hereby appeals to subscribe. Subscription is the key data related to whether an author can survive in real life by writing. Therefore, please support me brothers and come to subscribe to support! Your few cents will enable the emperor to continue to work.
Keep writing without getting distracted, thank you!