Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 145 De Gaulle's Good Luck

Ten minutes earlier, in the town of Monkorn, at the temporary supply depot of the German 19th Panzer Corps.

In a makeshift outpost built from rotten planks, a sentry approached his comrade.

"Hey Fritz, got a cigarette? Mine's finished."

"I don't have many left either. This is the last pack, so I'll have to use it sparingly."

Sparks ignited, appearing and disappearing in the darkness, with smoke rising.

The humidity was high at night, and the thick fog seemed to burst out of a tattered plush toy, suddenly forming a huge cloud that blocked my view. The moisture made my clothes feel wet and uncomfortable.

"This damn weather changes so suddenly, I don't even have any clean socks left," the first guy complained, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he kept tapping his boots.

"This place is by the river, and it looks just like this in May." His companion patted him on the shoulder and put another cigarette in his mouth.

"But it's okay, the weather in Paris is always nice at this time of year, we might be able to have a good vacation after we get into the city."

"Are they so sure? The French still have hundreds of thousands of people in front of them."

"Hehe, you don't know, do you? Maybe we can handle not only the French, but also those troublesome British."

"They say they're going to cordon off the beach area already, and those guys are probably figuring out which direction to run in..."

Rumble rumble rumble~~~ Crackling crackling~~~~
The sound of engines and tracks grinding against each other interrupted their conversation. The roar of armored vehicles grew closer through the thick fog.

"Huh? Did we say last night that there were tanks to be redeployed?" the soldier asked his comrade, somewhat puzzled.

"Wait, something seems off." The veteran reached for his rifle and placed his other hand on the hand-cranked siren.

That's too late.

Boom! ! !

The next second, more than a dozen Renault FT-17 tanks broke through the fog and charged straight toward the town!

Watching the steel torrent break through the night, the young man instinctively opened his mouth wide, while the veteran grabbed the crank handle of the siren.

A tank's gun emplacement was aimed at him.

boom! ! !
With a cannon shot, the wooden houses flew into the sky, and the French tank units swarmed in.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"The French are here! Come out quickly!"

"Start the tank quickly!"

Due to the swiftness of the operation, the German lines were stretched out, and the entire town was occupied not only by the 1st Panzer Division's transport convoy, but also by two independent motorized companies and the 10th Panzer Division's reconnaissance team.

The most fatal problem at this point was the disorganized structure and lack of unified command.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang! ! ! ! ! !
Boom! Boom! Boom! !

Gunfire erupted throughout the town as French tanks rapidly advanced, sweeping through the entire town.

At this point, another seemingly insignificant advantage of the Renault FT-17 became apparent.

As a refurbished version of an older model, 15 of the 80 tanks underwent communication modifications, being equipped with ER 28 shortwave radios with antennas.

"Attack the anti-tank positions first! Don't let the Germans gather!" The shortwave radio had a communication range of only 500 meters and the signal was not very good, so De Gaulle had to shout into the radio from the command vehicle.

However, compared to other tanks that are still using signal lights to communicate, this is sufficient.

Boom! Boom! The sound of artillery fire rang out, and six anti-tank guns were destroyed. The German army's most threatening weapon was taken out in the first instance.

The remaining German troops, hastily engaged in battle, could only retaliate with light weapons.

when!when!when!when!
Rifle bullets struck the tank armor, sending sparks flying. The Renault light tank's thin armor was more than enough to deal with ordinary bullets.

Rumble~~~
Several Panzer III tanks parked outside were starting up urgently, while several Renault FT-17s were already pressing forward like knives.

At such close range, even a 35mm caliber main gun would be sufficient.

boom! ! ! boom! ! ! boom! ! !
At a distance of just over ten meters, it was almost like being executed by being bombarded on the spot. After taking several hits on the turret ring, which only had 12mm of armor, the Panzer III, which was far superior in performance to its opponent, was rendered useless and crippled.

"Charge! Drive the Germans out!" About 2000 French infantrymen, carrying rifles, charged into the town, shouting.

To ensure surprise, the 4th Armored Division launched its attack without even assembling its entire force, leaving the infantry behind. By the time they launched their attack, the tanks that had been the first to charge in had already been inside for five minutes.

When the German troops came out of their camp, they encountered a French charging force.

Puff puff puff puff puff!
Thump!! Thump!!

The sounds of automatic weapons and infantry grenades began to ring out in the streets, then quickly subsided, eventually becoming sparse.

Perhaps because they had suffered such a crushing defeat before, the French were incredibly lucky this time. The German army was driven out of Moncornet before they could even organize any organized resistance.

On May 17, 1940, in the early morning, de Gaulle led the 4th Panzer Division in a surprise attack on the town of Moncolnet from the south under the cover of heavy fog.

Two hours later, the French army occupied the town center, not only driving the German troops out of the town, but also destroying five tanks and capturing hundreds of German logistics personnel.

French engineers began bombing the town's railway lines to disrupt German oil tanker transport and destroy German supplies already stockpiled.

Even at this point, de Gaulle still had a sense of unreality.

Is this a win?
-
Twenty kilometers away, at the headquarters of the German 20th Panzer Corps, Guderian took off his glasses, which were fogged up, and held them in his hand.

The glass lens was squeezed by the palm of his hand, making a cracking sound, just like the mood of this armored general.

A newly translated telegram lay on the table.

[Moncornet was attacked by French armored forces, and the town center fell. The 7th Regiment of the 10th Armored Division is organizing a counterattack, and the fighting is still ongoing.]

Even without reading the telegram, Guderian knew that something had happened in the direction of Moncolnet; thick black smoke was rising in the sky—the French army was burning their stored supplies.

"Calm down. The French can't organize a large-scale counterattack right now. We need to stay calm." Guderian took a deep breath to regain his composure.

Unfolding the map, Guderian picked up a pencil and drew a line on it as if with a knife.

"Record."

The adjutant behind him picked up his notebook, and Guderian began to issue orders swiftly.

"Order the 1st Armored Division to halt its advance toward Saint-Quentin and turn back immediately. It must be back in Moncorny within 20 hours."

"The 7th Regiment of the 10th Armored Division should suspend its attack for now and just keep an eye on things. Don't scare him away."

"The 8th Air Force takes off and sends Stukas to bomb the D17 highway first, leaving the French here."

"Also, prepare a vehicle and head to the 10th Armored Division headquarters. I need to go check things out ahead."

Guderian issued several orders in succession, glanced at the thick smoke on the horizon, and muttered to himself, "Stealing candy from someone else's pocket? My candy is more likely to get stuck in my throat."

(End of this chapter)