The "all members" mentioned in the letter naturally refers to those who acted together with the team before. Since it refers to "all members" here, it means that no one on Ben's side or Paul's side will be spared. What a pity.
Qi Zhen's heart felt a little heavy.
The line of small, crooked characters below the signature was probably added later. It was obvious to everyone that it was additional information provided by the bar owner. He probably had Qi Zhen in mind when he wrote this sentence. How depressed they must have been after reading this letter.
Gather all your strength?
Isn’t it just the ten guns of everyone in the team?
Ten men went to attack the enemy's most heavily defended headquarters. Has there ever been such an excessive task in the world?
Maybe there had been, but Qi Zhen had no impression of it.
"Do we still need to assemble at this address?" Liang Sicheng asked an innocuous question.
Qi Zhen thought for a while and said: "Today is July 7th, and tomorrow will be the time for the Allied attack. We seem to have no reason to hide anywhere, so it's okay not to go to this place."
"The system did this on purpose," Zhang Chi said.
"It's intentional, but we have no choice but to accept the move." Qi Zhen said helplessly.
"Ten people attacking the enemy's headquarters is exciting to me just thinking about it." Wang Jianguo took out a cigarette from his watch, lit it, took a deep breath, and exhaled a stream of blue smoke.
Lao Wangtou started smoking, which meant that his mood had become very bad at this time.
Qi Zhen turned the piece of paper over, and suddenly her eyes narrowed, "Wait a minute, there are words on the back."
He looked at the small words above and whispered: "German Commander Meier is currently on the front line and not at the headquarters."
"Is there any difference?" Wang Jianguo sneered angrily, "We are fighting the defenders in the headquarters, not the commander. We are fighting for firepower, not brains."
"Yes, I don't feel that this information is of much use. After all, we can no longer attack east and west as before, with destroying infrastructure as the main combat goal. Now we really want to capture the German headquarters." Liang Sicheng continued. .
"Okay, don't think about it so much. I suggest that we attack the headquarters at dawn as we did last time. Now we need to discuss the battle plan and check our combat equipment." Lin Biao said.
"You have to plan to die..." Everyone felt gloomy in their hearts, but they could only keep their spirits up.
At the same time, the situation on the German side was actually far worse than the team and even the Allies imagined.
Colonel Meyer has been inspecting the defensive positions around the city of Caen. However, as far as he can see, all the soldiers of the 12th Armored Division have almost reached the end of their strength.
All the soldiers were waiting for the enemy's arrival with blank expressions. Even though the Allied offensive in the past few days has weakened a lot compared to before, these young soldiers had a hunch in their hearts that it was just the British accumulating strength and preparing to The final thunderous blow.
The victory of the mourning soldiers does not work here, because the strength of the two sides is very different. The disparity here is not the will to fight, but a simple comparison of numbers and weapons and equipment.
The last cycle of battles lasted about ten days, and the losses on both sides were huge. However, the Allies had occupied the Normandy beaches and established a landing site. War supplies could be continuously transported from the other side of the English Channel. On the other hand, the Germans On the other side, both the German mainland and the commander of the Western Front, Rommel, had been bragging that weapons and equipment support and reinforcements would arrive soon. However, a month later, they saw nothing.
There is not much expression of despair on the faces of these young soldiers. They are like the most dedicated hard workers. At this time, only numbness remains.
Colonel Meier saw this and was anxious in his heart. He had already sent several telegrams to Berlin. At first, he hoped that Germany could send troops to support, but later it turned into hoping that some weapons and ammunition could be airdropped. By the time he left the city of Caen to inspect the front line, the content had changed to hoping that Shangfeng could send troops to fight in turns.
His troops were about to be overwhelmed.
Colonel Meyer has already circled around the city of Caen. He has inspected almost all battalion-level units. He has a peaceful smile on his face to soothe the other party's mood, but his heart is already cold.
However, what he didn't know was that as early as the third day after he left Caen, a telegram had been rushed to the headquarters in Caen.
It was a telegram from the High Command on the Western Front.
The telegram conveyed Hitler's order on July 5, deciding that the 12th SS Armored Division could be replaced for rest and recuperation. However, Meier had already started his inspection at that time and did not receive this order in time.
Western Front Commander Rommel and Colonel Meier began to sarcastically do your thing and I do mine.
On the one hand, Rommel began to mobilize troops, preparing to reinforce or replace the 12th Armored Division stationed in Caen at any time. However, he thought that the 12th Armored Division was determined to drag the Allies into Caen, so he did not directly send troops immediately. Come up.
There are carrots and pits on the battlefield. How can there be so many idle troops to move back and forth.
On Colonel Meyer's side, the remaining forces of the 12th Division were equipped in the most scientific way. All the soldiers of the Youth Corps arrived at the new front line again, where they reorganized Caen's final defense to face the most difficult situation. The moment has come.
The initiative is no longer in their hands, it just depends on how the Allies make moves.
Let’s bring our perspective back to the city of Caen.
For many people, this is bound to be a sleepless night.
This is true on the Allied side, and it is true on the team's side.
After everyone in the team discussed the battle plan, it was already three o'clock, and the hour and minute hands were once again positioned at ninety degrees on the dial.
"That's it, there's still half an hour left, let's take a break." Qi Zhen coughed lightly and made a final statement.
"It feels like this time is more difficult than the Normandy landing." Wang Jianguo sighed.
"I just hope that after this battle is over, we will complete the game. Otherwise, I don't dare to think about any problems later." Liang Sicheng said.
Then he turned his head and asked Zhang Qi beside him: "Are you nervous?"
Zhang Qi didn't have the team's intercom and had been staying with Liang Sicheng. At this time, his voice was trembling: "How about I stop causing trouble for you?"
"It's okay. If you stay with me, I won't let you rush in. Don't be so afraid." Liang Sicheng patted his shoulder in an old-fashioned manner.
This comfort is worse than no comfort at all.
"I just wanted to come up with an idea..." Zhang Qi felt aggrieved.
Liang Sicheng said no more.
Everyone in the team closed their eyes and recharged their energy for the final battle.
At half past three, everyone left the hiding house and disappeared into the vast night.
At 4:30 in the morning on July 8, the Allied attack on the city of Caen began!
The first shot was fired by the famous battleship "Rodney", which bombarded the northern part of Caen with its 406mm heavy artillery. The entire city was suddenly awakened by this situation.
Sharp air-raid sirens echoed in the city, and many people ran out of their homes in panic. However, more people had learned from the previous experience and did not rush to evacuate, but waited and waited.
However, this is what caused many people to lose their lives forever.
Thunder roared from afar.
Wave after wave of Royal Air Force combat formations launched fierce bombings on the city of Caen and the surrounding areas!
Boom boom boom!
In less than half an hour, the British dropped hundreds of tons of bombs in the Caen area, almost turning the area into a scorched earth!
In the city of Caen, countless houses were turned into ruins, and countless people were crushed under the ruins, dying on the spot or wailing in despair.
The Germans had nothing to do against the bombers far above the sky. They could only hide in the air defense fortifications and wait for them to get away.
But as soon as the bombing ended, the British troops participating in the offensive came in force.
The Allies are sure to win this time, just as Montgomery said!
Participating in this attack were the British 3rd and 59th Infantry Divisions, the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division, the 105th Artillery Brigade, the 4th and 107th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments, the 6th North Stafford Regiment and the 2nd South Stafford Wing, accompanied by a large number of tanks and armored vehicles.
It is almost rushing towards the Caen area in a crushing manner!
The Germans ignored the possibility of bombs falling from the sky again and immediately built a tight defensive formation in the fortifications. The two sides began the most brutal battle in the ruins!
Faced with the superior strength and fierce attack of the Allies, Meier's grenadiers still held on to the core of the defense. As the battle gradually lost command and organization, the soldiers of the 12th Armored Division continued to fight with the instinct of survival, almost as if they were themselves. The devastating battle once again held back the fierce offensive momentum of the British and Canadian armies!
Countless soldiers fell, and countless more soldiers came up to fill up. The iron fist roared and hit Sherman, turning the most powerful steel behemoths into scraps.
The Panther tank has always been the confidence of the 12th Armored Division, but now this confidence is becoming increasingly insufficient.
At the beginning of this battle, both sides skipped the probing phase and directly entered the fierce battle. The initial bombing and the pressure of the Allied forces caused the position originally held by the 12th Division to instantly collapse. , the average battle loss of the grassroots troops once reached 10%, and the highest reached 30%!
Montgomery, who obviously no longer focused on any tactics, chose the simplest and crudest combat method at this time.
At all costs and sacrifices, we must complete the victory in one battle, take advantage of equipment and troops, crush and push the opponent, and completely let the Allies gain a foothold on the Western Front battlefield!
Known in history as Operation Telford!
