Chapter 608 Battle of Savoy (Part 2)

The battle surrounding the town of Le Cheira was fought on both sides by Italy and France for two days. During these three days, the 39th Division of the French Army, with its inferior troops and equipment, blocked the offensive of the 9th Army with huge casualties. .

In the end, under the onslaught of the 9th Army, the French army’s defense line in the town of Le Sierra was finally broken. Now one of the biggest targets of Army Group North in this operation, Grenoble has appeared in front of them.

However, it is not easy to take Grenoble, because in the past few days, the troops sent by the French army to Savoy have arrived one after another. As for the most important Grenoble, it is the key city of this reinforcement. The 27th, 49th, and 67th divisions of the French army have arrived in the city.

Now they are building fortifications around Grenoble, waiting for the Italian army to attack.

The main force of Army Group North, which had just captured the town of Le Sierra, did not immediately launch an attack on Grenoble. Because the ammunition consumed in the previous battle in the town of Le Cheira was not small, it was necessary to replenish the ammunition before launching an attack on Grenoble.

Although the main force of Army Group North temporarily stopped its offensive on Grenoble, the XVIII Corps, which was in charge of capturing Annecy, had already launched an offensive.

“boom boom”

The fierce shelling shrouded Annecy, from 75, 105, 150 mm shells, so that Annecy’s mainly brick buildings could not withstand the bombardment. A large number of hit houses have been reduced to ruins, and the French troops defending the place could only hide themselves in the rubble to prevent themselves from being discovered and attracting greater artillery bombardment.

But how could the shelling not cause casualties? This 150mm shell accurately hit a well-built bunker, not to mention the defenders inside the bunker, and the French soldiers outside the bunker were also brought by the shock wave. The bricks and wood chips were swept away, and a scene of Shura was presented in front of the surviving soldiers.

For the tragic situation of the French defenders, Hikaru did not feel how miserable. For him, he wished that the French officers and soldiers were destroyed by artillery, which at least prevented him and his subordinates from putting their lives in danger.

Of course, he knew that this was impossible. No matter how violent the shelling was, there would still be residual defenders, and their task was to clean up these remaining defenders.

Of course, Shikaru hopes that the shelling can last longer, especially for the many buildings in front of him, it is best to let the shells clear them. Perhaps his wish was not heard by God, so the shelling gradually stopped after a while.

“attack.”

Following the words of the leading officer, Shikaru took his platoon out of the starting position and rushed towards the street that had turned into ruins in front of him.

“boom blah blah”

As the Italians attacked, the standing French soldiers opened fire on them. The crisp sound of Lebel’s rifle sounded on the battlefield, causing many Italian troops to fall to the ground.

The Italian soldiers on the charge shot back while running, but everyone knows that the accuracy is poor at this time, and they can only hit their opponents by chance.

“Fire cover.”

After running to a half-person-high stone wall, Shikalu immediately ordered the soldiers to cover fire.

Following his orders, an organized counterattack began.

I saw that the exposed French soldiers were hit by them one after another, causing the defending French army’s firepower to be greatly reduced immediately.

The firepower of the defenders was reduced, allowing more Italian soldiers to approach the enemy. Of course, the support firepower also came.

“Boom”

The sharp sound of mortar shells boosted the morale of Italian officers and soldiers. Although this curved-firing artillery cannot be aimed directly, it can follow the footsteps of soldiers to launch support shelling, which is very helpful to them.

Not to mention that its rate of fire is fast, although the accuracy of the head is not good, but due to the dense firepower coverage, the defending French army is a little bit overwhelmed by the other.

“The enemy is coming.”

A defending French soldier immediately shouted nervously when he saw the Italian soldier who was rushing towards him.

“boom blah blah”

As he shouted, the defending French soldiers ignored the shells overhead, and immediately raised their guns and kept firing at the charging Italian troops.

The French army’s fire caused the Italian officers and soldiers to suffer a lot of casualties, but at this time they all understood that there was no way out, any hesitation and retreat would cost them their lives, and the only way to survive was to rush into the position and fight with the French army. tangled together.

So with the support of this spirit, the Italian officers and soldiers rushed forward despite the casualties, and quickly rushed to the French position.

“Grenade!”

The two sides threw their grenades at each other at the same time, and then an explosion sounded, and many soldiers fell on both sides.

At this time, the explosion of the grenade covered the front of the position with heavy smoke and dust, and a famous Italian soldier rushed into the battlefield and fought with the remaining French soldiers.

Shikaru took the lead and rushed into the position first.

“kill!”

He took a stride with a bayonet rifle and stabbed the French soldiers who hadn’t reacted in front of him, and then swung the rifle to knock down the defending soldiers who wanted to attack him. The rifle used in the overstretched hand was also thrown away. At this time, several French soldiers who found him rushed towards him with rifles with bayonets and roars.

Faced with such a tense situation, Hikaru did not panic at all, he took out the Browning pistol he had purchased and fired.

“crack, clap, clap”

Several consecutive shots made the French soldiers fall down, and their eyes were still filled with unwillingness.

At this time, other Italian soldiers also rushed into the position, which made Hikaru relieved because his pistol was out of bullets.

Picking up a rifle on the ground, Hikaru continued to charge forward with the soldiers. They wanted to widen the gap and squeeze the space for the French army.

The Italian army led by Shikalu was nothing but an inconspicuous one on the battlefield. Throughout the city of Annecy, there were offensive Italian soldiers and soldiers everywhere, and they fought fiercely with the French soldiers who were defending the city.

Although the French officers and soldiers have the advantage of defense, the Italian army has the advantage of firepower. With the artillery, machine guns, mortars and other weapons outside the city, the Italian army is constantly eroding the French positions.

Facing the cannibalization of the Italian army, the French army defended by UUkanshu www.uukanshu.com was of course unwilling. Its commander, Major General Sawyer, organized two counterattacks to try to prevent the cannibalization of the Italian army. However, the effect of the two counterattacks was not good. The French army, which had escaped the protection of the position, did not have as much support firepower as the Italian army. The results can be imagined. Both counterattacks ended in disastrous defeat.

In addition to continuing to stand firm, the French army standing firm at this time can only keep asking for help. But unfortunately, Annecy is located in the northern part of the Savoy Mountains. If you want reinforcements, you must pass through a small town called Aix-les-Bains, and this place is guarded by Cosenz himself with his own 57th Division.

The two divisions reinforced by the French army faced the defense of the 57th Division, and there was not much to do at all. The two sides fought back and forth around Aix-les-Bains. If the reinforcements want to pass the place, they have to wait until when, at least according to the current situation, it is impossible.

The lack of reinforcements is still being oppressed step by step, and the life of the defenders in Annecy is getting more and more difficult.

When the main force of Army Group North was ready to attack the city of Grenoble, the defenders of Annecy finally collapsed. They were defeated under the leadership of the commander Major General Sawyer and fled all the way west.

The capture of Annecy City also represented the completion of the 18th Army’s mission. Next, they just need to divide their troops to clean up the surrounding towns.

In addition, after learning that Annecy had fallen, the two reinforcements of the French divisions had no motivation to attack. After a sudden counterattack by Cosenz, the two divisions retreated to Belle in the Rhone Valley. It was clear that after the Italians had no way to stop the capture of Annecy, preventing them from rushing out of the mountains became the first priority.

But just as the Italian army was about to make a mess in the Savoy region, there was good news from the north that the German army had crossed the Marne and was heading for Paris.