Chapter 889: Snow Queen Offensive
The first heavy snow in Fremen came slowly and late.
The lead-gray sky was like a heavy steel plate pressing down on the battlefield. Snowflakes were falling one after another at first, and soon they were as dense as goose feathers flying in the sky.
Bomb craters, footprints, bloodstains, corpses, etc. were quickly covered by the heavy snow, and the fortifications and tank wreckage were decorated into small white hills, looming in and out of sight.
Pershing hid in the trench, carefully holding up a telescope and observing the German positions opposite, with a thick layer of white on his shoulders.
After a long time, he retracted his neck and hid in the trench, sitting on the step with a frown on his face and not saying a word.
According to Haig, the British and American forces should have launched an attack long ago.
Haig seemed eager to prove that his decision was correct. He jumped up and down like a grumpy rabbit during this period: "We should seize the time and attack as soon as possible. We may not be fully prepared, but the Germans are the same. This is our chance to attack!"
"But this is far beyond our original plan," Pershing retorted. "Our plan is a multinational coordinated attack. Now only Italy has responded, and its response is irrelevant because it not only does not help but also needs our reinforcements."
The Italian war situation was in crisis at this time.
Falkenhayn's troops were unable to effectively break through the Romanian defense line, so they had to resort to the second best option of transferring part of the German troops to Italy to assist the Austrian attack.
As a result, the Italian army was completely defeated by the infiltration war of the "Storm Commandos".
This was something that neither the enemy nor our side had expected, because the German army had used the "Storm Troopers" infiltration warfare many times, and it was even cracked by Charles in Reims using a more sophisticated and advanced infiltration warfare.
Italy was completely unprepared.
As a result, in the Battle of Caporetto, Italian Chief of General Staff Cadorna did not know how to respond. The chaotic command resulted in 300,000 people being captured and 400,000 people fleeing. The Italian army retreated 140 kilometers until the Piave River, where it used the terrain to stabilize its defense line.
The German-Austrian coalition forces that fought against them suffered only about 70,000 casualties.
Pershing held Haig's battle plan in front of him and said, "This battle plan was wrong from the beginning, but you still intend to proceed according to the original plan. What kind of victory do you think we can achieve in the end?"
"Why not?" Haig asked back: "We have advantages in all aspects, more than 3,000 artillery pieces, more than 2 million shells, more than 500 tanks and millions of soldiers, which is enough to flatten the entire Germany!"
In order to avenge the previous defeat or to achieve a victory without Charles, the British Expeditionary Force concentrated almost all its equipment and resources in the Lorraine region.
Pershing waited quietly for Haig to finish. "I have only one request, Lieutenant General. Wait a little longer."
"What are you waiting for?" Haig's eyes were filled with anger, and his tone unconsciously became higher. He even slapped the table in protest: "What's the point of waiting like this? Can it make the battlefield different?"
"Yes, Lieutenant General," Pershing replied, "I am waiting for the battlefield to be different."
"What?" Haig looked at Pershing in disbelief. Is this guy crazy?
Pershing explained word for word:
"I looked it up, and it usually snows in December in Lorraine."
"The cold will freeze the ground, making it firmer, which is good for our tanks, as they won't get stuck in the mud or in craters."
"Also, the Fremen are in an open area with almost no hiding place, while the German defense line is in the highlands and forests. I think the snowy season will be more advantageous for us."
Haig was speechless. He didn't expect Pershing to think of these things. It seemed that he had learned something from Charles.
In order to hide his embarrassment, Haig glanced at the calendar on the desk:
"No problem, I'll wait another week."
"A week from now, whether it snows or not, we should attack."
"Otherwise, the Germans will close their fortifications, Brigadier General."
…
Now that the heavy snow had arrived as expected, Pershing no longer had any reason to stop Haig's plan.
He took out his pocket watch and waited quietly, watching the time tick by until eight in the morning.
“Boom boom boom!”
“Boom boom!”
…
Thousands of artillery pieces roared almost at the same time, and the German positions that had just been covered with snow were instantly overturned.
The barbed wire was blown into the sky, and the bunkers and machine gun fire turned into deep pits.
The U.S. military was fully prepared. Artillery observers recorded every firing point and calculated all the parameters so that they could blow them all up as soon as the war started.
After fifteen minutes of preparation, the artillery fire began to advance deep into the territory.
At Pershing's command, tanks drove out of the bunkers, followed by teams of soldiers holding rifles. In an instant, a steel army emerged from the originally empty battlefield.
The British troops on the right wing were no exception. Their soldiers, wearing hat-shaped helmets, followed the tanks.
The US military used the "Charter A1" and the British Army used the "Whippet" and "Independence".
At a glance, the two armies were like the two claws of a giant crab, encircling the German border town of Saarbrücken from the left and right.
…
Saarbrücken Headquarters.
Major General Erwin was promoted to commander of the 3rd Army because of his successful breakthrough, and his 1st Tank Division was handed over to Manstein.
But Major General Erwin did not think this was an honor. He knew that he was promoted because most of the generals of the 18th Army were captured in Reims, and the army was short of officers with command ability and combat experience.
"Promotions are usually based on victory," Erwin told Manstein, his voice gloomy, "not on running away, or, as they say, 'successful retreat.'"
"Don't worry, General." Manstein comforted Erwin: "It will be different. You should have heard that Charles has stopped the attack. He decided to build a defense line in Metz, and it is a huge 'super defense line'."
"Yeah." There was a hint of regret in Erwin's eyes.
Should Charles attack, the German defenses would likely collapse under his attack.
"In other words." Manstein said with a hint of disdain: "We will face the British and American troops in the future."
Then he pointed his finger at the map and said, "I guess their offensive focus is here, Saarbrücken."
Erwin agreed.
Saarbrücken is one of Germany's important coal mining and steel industrial cities.
When Germany ruled Lorraine and Alsace, large amounts of coal and iron ore were transported here to factories to produce guns and ammunition, which were then sent to the battlefield in large quantities.
Even now, it still supplies more than one-fifth of the Hindenburg Line's equipment and ammunition needs.
"Since we already know the direction of their attack," Manstein added, "why don't we set a trap for them?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
