บท 79: 79
"Keep moving forward! "Pushing the hateful British and French into the sea!"
Guderian, who rushed to Dunkirk as soon as Boulogne was captured, boarded the No. 4 command tank and led the attack.
The morale of the German soldiers soared at the sight of the corps commander personally riding a tank and encouraging the soldiers on the front line.
The number of Allied troops surrendering in front of the German army's reckless attack increased significantly.
Guderian instructed the front-line troops to concentrate on advancing, leaving the capture of prisoners to the follow-up troops.
The soldiers only made sure that the prisoners were disarmed and then hurried on.
The surrendering soldiers, whose weapons were collected, stood in silence, and were officially taken prisoner only after meeting the soldiers of the supply unit or military police.
A small hotel that survived artillery fire and air raids blocked the German advance.
Soldiers of the French Navy's land battle corps inside the hotel fought the Germans with the support of a platoon of Somua S40 tanks.
The Germans, who were hindered by machine guns and snipers positioned at every window, brought in the Broom Bear, which was very active in the Battle of Warsaw.
When Broom Bear, who blocked Somua S40's 75mm armor-piercing bullets at close range, fired a 15cm grenade, the entire hotel collapsed.
If Broom Bear's 15cm grenade hit, many buildings were likely to collapse.
"The road has been cleared!"
"Let's go, bastards!"
The Somua S40s were handled by the following Panzer 4s.
The German army used a strategy of blowing up fortified buildings with Broom Bear whenever they appeared.
The strategy was very effective.
What one infantry company could not solve in two hours, Brumbear solved with one cannonball. Every time Brumbear's main gun fired, the building collapsed, and the Germans continued to advance. The French tried to defeat Broom Bear, but none of their attacks worked against Broom Bear, who was protected by his heavy armor.
May 23rd at 9pm.
The Germans were now only 5km away from the Dunkirk beaches.
***
The French defense line, which suffered great damage in two battles in the morning and afternoon, was eventually broken through.
When the French defense line was breached, the British army, which was in charge of the rearguard of the French army, was put on alert.
The soldiers hid in the trenches and prepared for battle, waiting for the sound of Tank 4's engine.
Graham, whose bladder was tense due to tension, pulled down his pants and urinated in the corner of the trench.
Maybe it was because I was getting older, but my urinating stream was weak.
As his body felt lighter, Graham quickly pulled up his pants. He hasn't shown up yet.
But it was certain that in the next few minutes the enemy would appear before them.
The evidence was the gunfire and engine sounds coming from the front. As the sound grew louder, the soldiers' tension reached its peak.
"Jerry guys, if you're going to come, come quickly. What are you doing to scare people?"
Hopkins was chewing his cigarette as if nothing had happened, but even though he boasted that he had just eaten some, he couldn't wipe the nervousness off his face.
Ensign Moore was devastated after the Battle of Arras.
He still appeared authoritative in front of the soldiers, citing his authority as an officer, but the soldiers who saw him trembling in battle no longer feared or found him difficult.
Ensign Moore also seemed to have noticed this and became more cooperative with Graham than before.
"Sergeant Graham, have you checked the status of your platoon members?"
Although the fact that he still speaks informally has not changed.
"Everyone is ready for battle. And the platoon leader."
"Something?"
"There was a question among the platoon members about when the meal promotion would take place."
"Would rice be passed over in this situation? "I won't be there until tomorrow morning, so tell them to handle it on their own."
"All right."
I thought it was just in case, but it was the same. There was no plan to have food this evening either.
It was news that came as a surprise to the soldiers, who had been barely holding on since the afternoon, clutching their hungry stomachs. Graham sighed.
When I returned to my seat, I found Hopkins munching on something. said Hopkins, reading the expression on Graham's face.
"Is this evening the same as yesterday?"
"okay. It's an individual battle. "But what are you eating?"
"These are combat rations for the French. I figured it out before. Would you like some?"
"Give me one."
The French army's combat rations given by Hopkins were dried figs.
Graham hated sweets, but since he was in no position to eat food right now, he quickly poured it into his mouth.
"······Hot it. "It's so sweet."
"Is this sweet? What happened to your tongue?"
"That's what I want to ask. This isn't-"
"It's Jerry!"
Graham's words were cut off by a soldier's shout. The sound of machine gun fire was immediately heard, and Graham and Hopkins reflexively raised their guns.
The German army, which had been secretly infiltrating, was caught by the gaze of an observant soldier.
As soon as word spread that German troops had appeared, the soldiers opened fire. Then a scream in German was heard from the front.
"who is this! "Who gave the order to shoot!"
Lieutenant Moore, angry that the soldiers had fired without his orders, shouted, but no one listened to him.
The Germans, who had been attacked first by the British, also quickly took cover and fired in response.
The first soldier to spot the Germans fell backwards. There was a bullet lodged between his eyes.
The German army that launched the attack was numerically inferior to the British army, but was able to overwhelm the British army in firepower thanks to the StG39 and MP38.
The company commander immediately requested support from headquarters, but the battalion headquarters flatly rejected the company commander's request for support.
-There is a battle going on here now. Therefore, support is difficult. Try to hold on as long as you can.
"Damn it, how can I hold on here any longer?!"
"It's a tank!"
When Panzer 4 appeared, the soldiers fell into panic. When Graham saw the tank's long gun barrel, he cursed without even realizing it.
"Enemy tank in front! Distance 360, armor-piercing bullet!"
"Loaded!"
Before the tank's turret rotated, the gunner pushed an armor-piercing round into the chamber. When the loading was finished, Captain Po's hand went down.
"Shoot!"
The 2-pounder's 40mm armor-piercing round hit the front of Panzer 4, but ricocheted. When the first shell bounced aimlessly, the gunner immediately changed his target to the turret. Fortunately, the tank crews were still unable to figure out where the shell came from.
The second armor-piercing shell was loaded, and the gunner turned the handle to aim at the turret of Tank 4.
And fire.
"Hit!"
The armor-piercing round that hit the front of the turret penetrated the armor and injured the gunner. When the penetration was successful, the anti-tank artillerymen shouted hurray. Cheers came from the trenches.
"yes! That's right!"
"Good!"
As a flash of light erupted from the tank gun, the cheers were cut off. Because the chamber was loaded with grenades in advance, the tank gun could be fired without difficulty even when the gunner was injured.
It took some time for the operator to move to his post to replace the injured ammo, but the shots fired moments before had reduced the 2-pounder to a pile of scrap metal.
"Damn it, what the hell is that guy? "You're fine."
Graham was dumbfounded.
Even though the shell clearly penetrated, the tank was still moving. He was left speechless by the unbelievable sight he saw.
"Now we are all dead."
Hopkins spoke in a despairing tone and fired the machine gun.
The Boyds anti-tank rifle hit the front of Panzer IV, but had no effect.
Two Ketzhens also arrived and fired MG40s at the British troops in the trenches. The enemy's fire was so strong that the British soldiers could not raise their heads.
A German soldier charging with the support of a machine gun jumped into the trench.
Soon there was a commotion in the trench. There was swearing, shouting, and screaming, and then several gunshots rang out.
"Jerry's in the trenches!"
"Throw the grenade!"
A soldier who stood up to throw a grenade was hit squarely by an MG40, separating his upper body and causing the grenade to roll to the floor, tearing two soldiers in the same trench to pieces.
German troops also infiltrated Graham's trench, but Graham shot them with a rifle and knocked them down.
Graham picked up the MP38 dropped by the German soldier who had fallen after being hit by Graham's bullet and pulled the trigger at the German soldier running into the trench.
As the German soldier, whose chest was mangled, fell, the soldier who jumped into the trench with him ducked to the right.
"Hopkins!"
"Why again!?"
"This place will be breached soon! "Get your gear and get out of the way!"
When I looked around, there wasn't a single friend.
Before we knew it, only two people, Graham and Hopkins, remained in the front line trench.
All the other soldiers were either dead or scattered. The two, who realized the situation a little late, took their weapons and ammunition and left.
As I ran along the traffic lane with my body half bent, a German soldier appeared in front of me. Before Graham could fire a shot, the German soldier ducked to the right.
"Hopkins, grenade!"
"Here it is!"
After receiving the grenade from Hopkins, Graham pulled out the safety pin, counted three seconds, and threw it with all his might.
There was an explosion and the sound of a bag of potatoes falling over. When we went to the place where the grenade exploded, we saw the corpse of a German soldier with his lower body mangled leaning against the wall of the trench.
"Uh, Graham, Sergeant? Yes, he was alive."
As we continued past the corpses of German soldiers with their lower bodies crushed, Lieutenant Moore appeared. The surrounding area was full of corpses of our soldiers who had been killed by enemy fire.
"Where are I and the rest of the platoon? "Are you and I the only ones who survived?"
Ensign Moore stuttered violently. It was the complete opposite of his usual bravado and arrogance.
I felt not only bewilderment but also pity at Graham's 180-degree change in his superior.
"I guess so. "Platoon leader, are there any other platoon members?"
"Uh, none. "I, I am the only one who survived..."
"Where is the company commander?"
"H-how do I know that!?"
Lieutenant Moore, who had been stuttering, suddenly screamed. Was she mad because she thought she was being ignored?
But Graham realized that wasn't the case. Ensign Moore's eyes were completely relaxed.
This guy is out of his mind.
Ensign Moore, who was mumbling something to himself, suddenly turned around and gave an order to Graham.
"I-I'm not dead yet. Lord, I mean, he's not dead. therefore······."
"Platoon leader, calm down."
"What is calm! Now, you ignore me too-"
Lieutenant Moore's expression, which had been speaking bluntly, gradually changed to one of astonishment.
Panzer 4 had crossed the trench and was approaching where they were. Graham shouted as he saw the turret rotating.
"Get down!"
Graham and Hopkins were able to survive by lowering their posture before the 75mm grenade landed.
But Ensign Moore was different.
He tried to run backwards instead of lying down, but was thrown out of the trench by the impact of the explosion.
As the smoke cleared, Graham was able to find Ensign Moore pinned down outside the trench.
The ensign's neck was bent at a bizarre angle.
"Hopkins? "Are you alive?"
"It's alive!"
Hopkins suffered a large scar on his cheek from falling to the ground, but somehow he survived.
Due to the impact of the explosion, the outer wall of the trench collapsed and dirt poured out, blocking the road.
I tried to go back, but the Germans were coming along with the tanks.
Every time the dead soldiers were trampled and crushed by the track of the tank, there was a terrible sound of bones breaking.
"What do we do now?"
Hopkins asked.
There are no living allies, the road is blocked, and the German army is approaching from behind. It was truly the worst situation.
Graham shook his head desperately. But no matter how hard I racked my brain, no sharp number came to mind.
"······Let's surrender. "We've done enough."
Graham and Hopkins put down their weapons and raised their arms. A squad of German soldiers armed with assault rifles advanced past them.
A German medic instructed the two men, who were standing alone among the German soldiers who were busy advancing, to follow them in broken English.
German medics wore white-painted helmets, so they could be distinguished from a distance.
When we arrived with the medic, a wounded German soldier with a gunshot wound to the abdomen was lying on a stretcher.
"listen."
The wounded soldier was unconscious or had fainted. Only the faint sound of breathing showed that he was not dead.
***
May 24, 1940
Dunkirk, France
"The 68th Infantry Division's defense line has collapsed."
"The British Army's 19th Infantry Regiment, which was defending the right side of the 21st Infantry Division, has lost contact. "The adjacent 8th Juave Regiment has also been out of contact for an hour."
"This is a message from the 12th Mechanized Infantry Division and the 60th Infantry Division. The German tank-"
Admiral Jean-Marie Charles Abrial, Vice Admiral of the French Navy, the most senior member of the French military inside the Dunkirk siege, listened in silence to the pouring news.
The French army under Admiral Abrial put up a brave resistance against the German army, but the French defense line was broken through one after another in front of the onslaught of the German army armed with powerful new weapons such as tanks, Stukas, and assault rifles.
Even he, who passionately led his subordinates and took the lead in everything in the early stages of the war, bowed to the news of our army's subsequent defeat, retreat, and siege.
He quietly smoked a cigarette while listening to reports from his subordinates like a man well versed in everything.
"dismissal."
The adjutant, who had been quietly carrying out his duties despite receiving shrapnel wounds from an enemy air raid, opened his mouth with difficulty. The adjutant's eyes were trembling slightly.
"The Germans will invade the headquarters within 30 minutes. "You must evacuate quickly."
"Evacuate."
Abrial laughed bitterly at the adjutant's words.
"It's been a long time since we were surrounded by Bosch, so where are you running to?"
"Evacuation from the beach is still in progress. "If you leave now, you can escape to England."
Although the admiral felt grateful to the adjutant who was genuinely concerned about his safety, he did not know that those words were empty words. Abrial said.
"Didn't you listen too? They said they would stop the rescue operation and withdraw within an hour. is not it?"
"······It's true."
"Yes, there will be room for at least one old man like me. But how could I escape alone, leaving my soldiers in limbo? "I ordered them to defend their position until the end."
"······."
Abrial didn't know how history would judge him if he ran away.
No doubt, his descendants will evaluate him as 'a general who ordered his soldiers to die, but ran away to find a way to survive.'
In actual history, thanks to the efforts of Abrial and the French army under him, 340,000 Allied troops were able to safely withdraw to England.
Although the number of troops who have succeeded in withdrawing so far due to changes in history is less than half of the original historical number, even that would have been impossible without Abrial's efforts.
Immediately after the withdrawal operation was completed, Abrial led his troops and surrendered to the German army.
He could have run away to England whenever he wanted, but he didn't.
This is because he cannot run away, leaving behind his subordinates who faithfully carried out his orders.
"Order the soldiers to destroy weapons and fuel. There is no point in continuing to fight. "It only sacrifices innocent soldiers."
He took out a new cigarette, and the adjutant lit it.
Abrial, who was sitting on a chair and slowly savoring a cigarette, muttered helplessly.
"We did our best. Our country will also recognize our struggle..."
***
At dawn on May 24, 1940, the French army commanded by Admiral Abrial surrendered to the German 19th Panzer Corps.
The 19th Armored Corps, which accepted Abrial's surrender, was unable to withdraw to England and fired its final bombardment at the Allied forces stranded on the beach.
It took exactly 30 minutes for the corps artillery to exhaust all its ammunition.
After a 30-minute bombardment, the Allied forces announced their intention to surrender. Guderian accepted this immediately.
With this, the 'Siege of Dunkirk' officially ended.
By the end of the siege of Dunkirk, 25,000 British soldiers and 4,000 French soldiers had succeeded in escaping to England.
Of the 350,000 troops left on the beach, 90,000 British soldiers and 50,000 French soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing, and the surviving soldiers were taken prisoner.
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