The French army, who thought they had found a breakthrough, began to rush into the German position along here, but soon, after leaving the artillery support, they collided with the German support force heading for the attack, and the long-range firepower supporting their attacks had problems at this moment! Relying on the marked reference objects, the German airships that also patrolled in the night sky quickly positioned the position of the French long-range artillery, especially the two 520mm super heavy train cannons, which became the key targets! From 25 kilometers away, the Second Bavarian Army mobilized 9 380mm super heavy train cannons to cover the target!

The 750kg shell flew out of the gun at a speed of more than twice the speed of sound. A huge orange fireball rose up in the night sky. Then, the exhaust gas generated by the launching medicine formed a ring-shaped air ball and spread outward. After dozens of seconds of flight, these artillery shells with a destructive aura roared around the French artillery positions!

The first thing that was affected was a command post next to it, which was responsible for exchanging information with the front line. The wooden house was directly blown into pieces by huge shells. The aftermath of the explosion touched the engineers next to it. The shock waves and debris directly tore the fragile human body into a pile of minced meat!

Then, tons of shells fell from a distance, and a passage on the right side of the artillery position that transported shells from the underground ammunition depot was destroyed, and vehicles and personnel transporting shells were pressed under dozens of tons of stones and soil. The doomsday of this 520mm heavy cannon was not too far away. After 8 minutes of fire, a shell fell on the ring track in the front of the heavy cannon! Tons of rails and sleepers were directly blown into the sky, and an indiscriminate strafing was carried out at the personnel operating the tail of the cannon. The huge rails even smashed a hanging basket behind the cannon! How could a huge rock fall off the bullet-pushing equipment next to it. Half of the huge cannon was stuck at the tail of the cannon, and it was impossible to advance and retreat!

Just as the French were trying to push off the shell in flames, the disaster finally came, and a 750kg shell landed accurately on the rear of the 520mm train cannon! The huge power directly destroyed the rear car with a 7-axle train trailer that had been improved! It was like a giant's leg was broken, and the cannon body weighing hundreds of tons fell to one side, and the 1654kg heavy grenade in the gun position also exploded due to a violent collision!

The explosion of this shell, which was heavier than the main artillery shell of the Yamato battleship, was so powerful that the Germans' unfinished artillery shells were completed by it. With a loud bang, the artillery, which was more than ten meters long, was blown into two sections! Then when the flames ignited the other party's launching medicine next to them, the entire artillery position instantly turned into a gushing volcano, and the pillar of fire that soared into the sky was so conspicuous in the night sky. Even the soldiers on both sides of the battle line from Laon to Champagne saw the scene like doomsday!

Compared with those train cannons with great power and over 100 tons, the French's self-propelled artillery performed very well, especially the two ultra-long-range self-propelled artillery, the gpf194mm self-propelled cannon and the 155mm self-propelled howitzer. The former's range of more than 20 kilometers allowed him to avoid most of the German counterattack firepower. (In history, it was 18,900 meters. The Frenchman raised the elevation angle in this plane, so the range was longer.) When targeted by heavy train cannons, the 120-horsepower engine of this cannon can evacuate the cannon from the position at a road speed of 8 to 10 kilometers per hour. As for the 155mm self-propelled howitzer, there are many such things and move quickly. Although the range is relatively close, it still has a high survival rate.

Compared with the losses of the artillery troops, the losses of infantry and armored units on the front line made the French even more worried. More than 100 tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, and 5 of the seven infantry divisions that were put into battle were broken. In one night's battle, the French sent at least 30,000 casualties. Although this loss was not unacceptable for the French army that concentrated the four armies, it was obvious that [31 Novel Network                                                                                                                                                                                                     �

As the exposed heavy artillery and towed long-range artillery were knocked off one by one, the French's night battle also ended. The German military's evaluation of the French's night attack after the war was very intriguing, that is, it was just a little trouble.

"Our army's combat effectiveness is worrying." Betton, who had not slept all night, said to Foch, his bloodshot and haggard face revealed his fatigue and anxiety.

"The gap between us and the Germans is not only in terms of weapon quality, quantity and personnel quality, but more importantly, our soldiers have lost their fighting spirit, and an atmosphere of failure has spread throughout the battlefield. Look at the performance of our troops today, not only soldiers and low-level officers, but even senior officers are shaken when the operation is carried out. This battle is difficult to continue." Betton continued.

"The situation is worse than we thought. It seems that the original plan is no longer possible. It is hard for me to imagine how our troops will collide with the Germans in the open field." Foch also saw the shadow of the war's impending defeat, but at this time he can still try his best!

"Let Britain go, those cowboys from Australia and New Zealand can fight more than the British local troops on the Isle of Britain," said Betton. "After all, they have a group of troops. Whether they can block the Germans depends on them."

This is not an exaggeration. In fact, if we only talk about the quality of the troops, the quality of the British army on the Western Front was the highest at the beginning of the war. Unfortunately, three months later, the first British troops participating in the war either died or went to the hospital... Subsequently, with a large number of newly mobilized troops joining the battlefield, the quality of the British army began to decline, and the combat effectiveness of the colonial army from Australia and New Zealand began to show its strength. They were more eager to prove themselves in the war and find excitement than the local British people. Even many British troops from Oceania brought their own flattery and some equipment. Since the first batch of Australian and New Zealand troops were in place, this army still maintained a high combat effectiveness and strong morale!

"Very good, I will contact Lord Hanermiton immediately. If the Germans have to completely cross the defense line at the speed today, it will be about 3 days before the Germans can fully cross the defense line, which is enough for us to discuss a practical plan with the British." Foch nodded and said.
Chapter completed!