Imperial Overlord

Also on February 22, the British mainland, after a day of silence, the Germans launched another attack. . fastest update

The 501st Armoured Battalion, where Wittmann was located, was transferred to the flank to take part in the offensive and defensive battle of Cornwall. The British army, which had been preparing for a day, did not collapse immediately, and the two sides fought fiercely in the small town of Salisbury.

The two British infantry divisions did not retreat, causing huge casualties to the troops of the 2nd Army on the Western Front that landed on the German army.

This group army consists of seven divisions, under the jurisdiction of the combat units of two armies. As the scale of the Western Front campaign continued to expand, the Germans had to send more troops to the battlefield.

Now Liszt, the unit in command was renamed the Western Front Attack Army Group. Including the attack on the 1st Army in the west, and the attack on the 2nd Army in the west.

Among them, the 1st Army included the 1st SS Panzer Army, as well as another corps. The newly arrived British 2nd Army landed from Portsmouth and other areas, responsible for consolidating the flank and taking over the attack on the flank.

Because of the excessive logistical pressure, the 2nd Army did not have many armored units. Its attack basically relied on three independent armored battalions, which also caused the first loss of the independent armored battalion.

One Panther tank was destroyed by anti-tank mines, and the other was pierced through its side armor and exploded on the side of a westward road.

At the same time, the failure rate of the German tank units began to increase due to the continuous high-intensity attack for a week. Dozens of tanks were unable to continue fighting, and all armored units were in a state of serious dissatisfaction.

Dietrich's armored division suffered the most losses. When he attacked, he had about 300 tanks 3 and 4 in his hand.

At this point in the battle, he only had 110 tanks left in his hands. The Panzer Division of Adolf Hitler's Guard had to be withdrawn from the front to rest and replaced by the Skeleton Division to defend the line in the direction of London.

The second batch of German troops that arrived in Britain was obviously not as elite as the landing troops. Compared with the famous 1st Division of the Paratroopers and the 1st Division of the Waffen SS, most of the units under the 2nd Army are unknown.

The attack was very law-abiding, with more than 2,000 soldiers killed and more than 3,000 wounded. On the 22nd, the German army finally captured the small town of Salisbury from the British defenders.

The German army that captured here has already controlled the Salisbury Plain. Relying on this, the German army could attack the London flank northwards, or it could go westwards directly into the Cornwall plains.

With the loss of this thoroughfare, the British almost lost their tie to control the Cornish Plains.

This town may not be well known, but to the north of it is one of the most famous monuments in Britain, Stonehenge.

And the German army who took the area near Stonehenge was only about 50 kilometers away from Bristol.

Putting down the binoculars in his hand, Wittmann was still gloomy about his punishment.

He was awarded the Iron Cross First Class for the battle of the road turns, but the punishment he accepted was later downgraded to "acting platoon leader".

The reason is that he was so reckless in the battle of the road turns that he put his comrades in danger.

However, with the Iron Cross 1st Class on his chest, Wittmann still felt that all the decisions he made that day were the right thing.

"No enemy was found. The terrain here is so flat that there is no possibility of an ambush at all." Wittmann pressed the communicator on his throat and reported to his superior.

After the British lost the small town of Salisbury, they voluntarily withdrawn from this area. After the Germans had surrounded about 2,000 men and routed a regiment of British infantry, there was no decent resistance.

"Maybe, we should move on..." Inside the headset, the commander of another tank said.

They were brought here from the front, and there was no similarly fierce battle along the way. This made the whole 501st Armored Battalion very boring, so everyone wanted to go crazy.

However, the battalion commander who received the warning was reluctant to take risks. His troops were attrition too much in non-combat, which also made him unwilling to continue taking risks.

After more than a week of high-intensity battles, the Panther tanks of the 501st Armored Battalion have already lost 7 tanks due to failures.

Counting the two tanks in poor condition, one-fifth of the combat effectiveness of the current 501 armored battalion has been lost.

In this case, the battalion commander is also unwilling to disperse his own troops, preferring to follow the infantry of the friendly army and only perform some support or warning tasks.

"The British surrendered too fast. I heard that Guilford has surrendered at the 9th Mechanized Infantry Division?" The speed of news on the ground was no slower than that on the Internet.

A few hours earlier, the 9th Mechanized Infantry Division, under the cover of the 114th Division, had taken Guildford and opened another passage to London.

Now the Germans have almost occupied the entire southern suburbs of London. London is next to the bay on one side, so it's pretty much surrounded on both sides by now.

"I heard that Basingstoke is already fighting, and the 113th Division, which was just transferred from our side, is attacking there. I heard that the battle is quite hard." Another well-informed commander announced that he New news heard.

Wittman listened to the chat in the earphone, and looked at the forest at the end of the plain in the distance, his eyes were a little slack.

The battle has been fought so far, and the British have no intention of surrendering at all. The battle is still going on fiercely, and it is still going on fiercely, as if it will never end.

Although he likes this feeling very much, like the thrill of defeating the enemy and getting a medal, but he can't see any sign of the end of this war.

"Maybe, go to London and the war will be over?" Wittmann leaned against his tank hatch and murmured as he looked into the distance.

At the same moment, leaning against a large bare tree, paratrooper Lyman was enjoying a moment of tranquility.

The troops of the 1st Parachute Division had now largely withdrawn from the fighting, and the front had been replaced by troops of the Waffen SS.

Student waited for the order, and his troops were the first to land on British soil and would be the first to leave by boat.

Li Le was unwilling to consume his own paratroopers in such a place, so he transported the 2nd Army up to replace the 1st Paratroopers who suffered heavy losses as soon as possible.

"Lyman! I heard that we will be leaving by boat in the afternoon?" Gunther stood under the big tree with a shiny second-class Iron Cross on his chest, smiling from ear to ear.

Because there weren't many ships to bring in food and ammunition, and no more medicines, the Germans gave as much honor as possible to the soldiers on the front lines.

Ryman has been awarded the Iron Cross First Class, and several of Ryman's men have received the Iron Cross Second Class.

After returning, they will also attend a grand welcome ceremony, in which they will also receive a paratrooper airborne British Assault Medal.

If you count the Assault Medal from the Netherlands and Belgium, the Malta Assault Medal, and the Crete Assault Medal, the medal on Lehmann’s chest is not too small.

The paratroopers have always been the most elite assault force in the German army. Lehmann was able to participate in all battles in this unit, and he was already a very experienced commander.

After more than a week of fierce fighting, the number of paratroopers killed in action is exaggerated and frightening. About 7,000 paratroopers were killed in the UK, accounting for a quarter of the total number of paratroopers involved in the war.

If it weren't for the follow-up supplements, and the tenacity and tenacity of the paratroopers themselves, this unit should have collapsed long ago.

Of course, although the number of casualties is staggering, most of them were later glider landing troops. There are many new recruits in these units, and it is relatively easy to supplement training.

"Yes! I will move to Dover in a while, get on the ship there, and return to France to rest." Lehmann nodded and said to Gunther with some joy.

Being able to go home, be away from the front lines and get a vacation is definitely something to celebrate for soldiers on the battlefield.

Especially Lehman, he has not been home for a year, he doesn't even know what his hometown has become now.

"God bless!" A soldier with a radio that captured the British troops sat in the distance, suddenly and loudly prayed with a look of surprise.

Then there was a commotion around the soldier, and everyone stood up in unison, and they were at a loss to discuss the content of the radio station just now.

"What happened?" Gunther looked suspiciously at the commotion~www.wuxiamtl.com~ and asked Lyman beside him.

Lehman angrily pushed the head of Gunther, who was blocking his line of sight, and stood up, walked over and asked, "What's wrong? What fake news did the enemy broadcast to disturb our army?"

"Sir! This time it's not the British German radio station, it's our own radio station!" the paratrooper, holding the radio in his palm, replied in frustration.

"Oh? What's the news that can make my heroic soldier panic like this?" Lyman looked at the subordinate and asked a question that interests him.

"Sir report... just now, it was said on the radio..." The paratrooper stammered, wanting to repeat what he had heard.

At this time, the radio began to repeat the previous broadcast: "Two hours ago, the great commander of the Imperial SS, the most loyal soldier of the people, the wise and excellent Himmler, died of a heart attack. in my own home..."

After hearing the news on the radio, Lehmann knew that a man with eyes who often spoke on the radio and was the national leader of the SS had died...