"General, the 12th Army has lost more than 50,000 people in today's battle! There are still a large number of soldiers who have been frightened. They hide behind like quail, and dare not fight on the front line. This battle How to fight!" General Robert, the commander of the British 12th Army, complained to General Haig.
"General, the 13th Army's losses are also very large. The German offensive is too fierce and powerful! We can't resist it at all!" The commander of the 13th Army, General George, also looked very ugly.
If before fighting the German army, they still thought that the German army was in vain, then now, they know the strength of the German army. What's more, their performance was even worse than the troops they laughed at.
"I know! But, we still need to persevere as much as possible!" Admiral Haig said.
The battle has only started for one day, and the two armies can't hold on anymore. The Secretary of War, Richard Haldane, wanted to keep them on the southern line for a month. How could that be possible?
"General, if possible, it is best to give us some reinforcements! Otherwise, I really can't hold on anymore." Admiral Robert said.
General Haig did have reinforcements in his hands, a group army of more than 200,000 people. Moreover, this group army is still considered elite. However, this group army was reorganized by selecting soldiers from the broken troops in the southeast theater. After suffering a big defeat in the southeast theater, the fighting spirit of these soldiers has been seriously affected. It is undoubtedly very difficult for them to take up arms to fight against the Germans. Even Admiral Haig didn't know what kind of performance these guys would have on the battlefield.
However, the current situation is already very tense. If reinforcements are not sent to the front line, the front line may really collapse.
"Well, tomorrow morning I will deploy troops from the 1st Army to reinforce you. I hope that everyone can try their best to hold on!" Admiral Haig said.
Admiral Robert and Admiral George nodded. They now think that even one day is a luxury. However, they knew the order from Richard Haldane, and if they retreated now, there was really no way to explain it. Therefore, they can only bite the bullet and grit their teeth to fight for a longer period of time.
On the morning of September 15, the German army, which had rested for the night, continued to attack. Although, Admiral Haig mobilized a lot of troops from the 1st Army to reinforce the front line. However, the British army was still beaten and retreated steadily under the fierce German attack.
Although, the British army can rely on the buildings in the urban area to defend. However, under the previous shelling and bombing by the German army, the buildings in the urban area have been almost destroyed. There are ruins everywhere. The fortifications built by the British army in the urban area were also destroyed. It also caused heavy losses to the British troops stationed in the urban area.
After the German army entered the urban area, the German artillery positions moved forward for a full two or three kilometers in order to provide more direct fire support to the attacking German army.
"Mortar, destroy that bunker of the British!"
On a narrow street, the German army was suppressed at the corner. At the corner at the end of the street is a British bunker. Inside the bunker, a heavy machine gun was firing. Several German soldiers were killed.
"Company Commander, that bunker can hit the blind spot of our shelling, and the mortar can't reach it!"
"Damn it! Contact the regiment headquarters, we need artillery reinforcements!" the company commander ordered.
The communications soldier immediately contacted the regiment headquarters.
"Sir, the regiment headquarters asked us to evacuate here, and they will carry out a round of fire coverage here in five minutes!"
The company commander nodded, and then led the troops to withdraw from the street.
The British army on the defense line couldn't help cheering after seeing the German army retreating. Although the German army was strong, they were at least temporarily safe after defeating the German attack.
Five minutes later, there was a sharp whistling sound in the sky. This made the faces of the British officers and soldiers whose smiles had not faded change drastically. Of course they knew what these sharp whistling sounds meant.
"My God! Shelling! German shelling!"
Countless panicked British soldiers ran out from the line of defense, trying to escape into the bomb defense hole.
However, it was too late by this time. The shells have fallen!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Intensive explosions sounded, and the British soldiers who had just escaped from the position were instantly torn to pieces in the explosion. The human body is very fragile at this time. Life at this moment is undoubtedly extremely fragile.
Even the bunker with the British army was blown to pieces during the German shelling.
When the German shelling stopped, a group of German soldiers returned to the street. But they soon discovered that there were no enemies left. In other words, there are no living enemies anymore. The British troops on the previous garrison positions were all killed, and there were stumps and broken arms everywhere.
"God! Are we here to fight or to collect the bodies of the British! This battle is too simple!" a German soldier complained.
In his opinion, this battle is too easy, it is no longer a war, it is clearly just a game. Relying on their powerful firepower, the German army bullied the weak British.
"Idiot! Of course the battle is fought like this? Don't you still want to charge with the powerful firepower of the British? That's a fool's job, and it will kill you!" an old soldier cursed.
These recruits, thinking about strange things in their minds all day long, have no idea how cruel the battlefield is. Veterans who have experienced brutal battlefields believe that this tactic is the best now. Because this can minimize their own casualties. And no matter at what time, the greatest wish of those ordinary soldiers is to be able to survive the war.
The four corps of the German army attacked the British army's southern defense line very violently. Although the resistance of the British army was also very resolute, they were suppressed by the powerful firepower of the German army, and their losses were so great that many British troops collapsed directly under the strong pressure of the German army.
Originally, the British Minister of War Richard Haldane hoped that the cabinet general would be able to hold out on the southern defense line for a month. But in fact, the German 8th Army captured Epsom in just three days. Afterwards, the 8th Army began to advance to the northeast, threatening to kill all the British troops on the southern defense line. This frightened the British army and directly led to the collapse of the British army across the board.