The French counterattack at Kortrijk, Belgium, shook the German High Command. They had entered the war with confidence, but there was always, in the back of the mind, the fear that they had misjudged -- that France really was as powerful as all the military experts had predicted, and Germany lacked the staying power to actually succeed against her.
But German pride would not allow that uncertainty to rule their actions for long. A gauntlet had been thrown, and honor demanded that a response be forthcoming.
Not lacking for flexibility of mind, the German Generals chose to cease two offensives against Belgium -- one against Liege, and one against the Belgian capital at Bruxelles. Forces from those battles, including Gen. Nehring's First Kavalleriedivision, were rushed to support the spearhead along the central front.
Meanwhile, panzers under Gens. Model and Geyr von Schweppenburg, supported by Gen. Detmering's cavalry skirmishers, continued to push south toward Cambrai. They were met by one of France's more modern motorized infantry divisions, but the French were outnumbered and outmatched.
Capturing the city of Cambrai in the wee hours of 27 October, the Panzers pushed south while the cavalry remained to hold their line of retreat. Detmering's mounted warriors, however, quickly came under pressure from all directions, and Gen. Dietl's infantry also came under attack at Aalst, as the French sensed an opportunity to cut off the panzers.
Gen. Busch renewed the attack upon Bruxelles in an attempt to distract part of the counterattack. Gen. Model's panzers, then came under attack by a French armored division. The Germans were hoping for a breakthough, but as it was they were still meeting the mass of the French Army where they had been waiting to meet the assault. It seemed there would be no easy penetration -- they would have to best their foes head to head.
And yet, the French tanks pulled their punch and withdrew before really engaging. Model took advantage by continuing his drive south, aiming for St. Quentin. Gen. von Arnim, to the northwest, was pushing along the coast toward Boulogne. An airborne assault had been planned to capture more coastal territory and to ease the armored drive, but by the time to paratroopers were ready to fly their mission, von Arnim was already crossing their landing fields. The mission was scrubbed.
The twin German drives were turning into a sharp pincer movement, slicing south and threatening to connect well behind the enemy front lines, where defenders were scarce and scattered. The French were compounding their peril by continuing to push north, heedless of the threat. The more the French armies pushed north, the more it seemed a large part of their forces might be trapped in isolation and reduced once supplies ran out.
Despite the seemingly good news from France, Yugoslavia begged off from another overture to join the Axis. And the United States of America worried many by announcing that, though remaining strictly neutral, it would gear up for war production.
As the 27th wore on, the German generals began to feel like the French counterattack wouldn't pay off for France. In fact, that it might backfire and be a benefit to the German attack. More victories were being seen in Belgium, and the attack upon the Belgian capital was again resumed, attempting more to wear down the defenders than to push on in outright. All thoughts of surrounding the Belgians had passed, but things looked grim for them anyway.
Gen. Geyr von Schweppenburg's 2nd Panzers attempted to widen the exploit through Cambrai and even to initiate what had long been planned in command circles -- a thrust to cut off the Maginot Line from behind. At the time such plans were made, it was assumed that Belgium would have already fallen and the way would be clear to support such a spearhead more broadly. As it was, plans didn't seem to have entirely changed. It just meant that the remainder of the Belgian Army would be thrown into the isolated pocket with the French.
The morning of the 28th brought a queasymaking uncertainty again. Gen. Detmering's cavalry was flagging at Tournai, and efforts were being made to rush reinforcements to prevent his total collapse. In an act of relative desperation, a division of motorized infantry was divided, a brigade left behind to guard the supply lines at Aalst whilst Gen. Dietl's Waffen SS Standarte rushed forward to Detmering's aid.
The French armored division which had avoided meeting its counterparts at Cambrai had been redirected against the cavalry, which sowed panic in the ranks and threatened to cut off the German southern advance.
Meanwhile, French motor wagons delivered an infantry division to hold 2nd Panzer away from Soissons at the banks of the Aisne River. Gen. Geyr von Schweppenburg attempted to force the crossing, but reality took hold when his supply lines began to dry up, and he thought better of pressing his attack. At about the same time, three French infantry divisions crashed into his flank. In frustration he ordered a halt and turned his line to defend his position.
But 5th Panzer had pushed to Aucher, not too far north of Paris, and St. Quentin fell to Gen. Model's panzers. It still seemed possible that the German pincer might close, west of St. Quentin, but rivers screened the French infantry position they would have to overwhelm. Gen. von Manstein made the fateful decision to turn the attack north, and to flank the French from the south.
Manstein attacked toward Hazebrouck, and Gen. Model hooked north toward Lille. This gambit might still connect the arms of the pincer, and might also rescue Tournai before the lines fell apart. At the very least, if Tournai fell, this strategy raised the likelihood of reopening supply lines to any isolated German divisions within the day.
The complicated supply situation was confounding the logistics officers. The stubborn Belgian defense at Ghent was playing havoc with any effort to widen the supply routes and increase the volume of critical fuel to the panzers to the south. The kessel at Bruxelles added to the woes of the transport officers. Neither Bruxelles nor Ghent seemed close to falling, but Tournai sure seemed like it might. The coastal provinces which had been captured were of little help, since the British still maintained control of the sea and the narrow passage along the shore wasn't enough to replace the central lines that were about to fail.
Fuel was the key to the whole German blitzkrieg, and fuel was no longer flowing past Antwerp.
Tournai finally fell around midday of the 30th of October. French motorized infantry set up blockade lines along the main roads south, and began to entrench in preparation for the inevitable assault.
Gen. von Manstein's relief efforts at Hazebrouck were close to succeeding, but delay tactics were preventing his breakthrough. Gen. Model's and Gen. Geyr von Schweppenburg's panzers began to idle and wheeze to a stop, settling into a mostly defensive fight north of the Aisne. Fortunately, the French had no unspent strength to throw against them. It seemed a temporary stalemate.
It was the role of Gens. Guderian and Nehring, newly arrived from the north, to tip the balance. They fell upon the French lines at Tournai before they had properly dug in, and began to sorely test them.
The campaign in France seemed to teeter, offering a possible nod to either side, but not clearly favoring either.
If the panzers were in great need of fuel, so were the thirsty German fighter squadrons which had recently relocated to newly captured Dutch and Belgian airbases. The chaos of relocating air and ground support units had disorganized the squadrons, and the fact that new lines of supply had to be set up in order to keep the engines running only complicated efforts to mount a local aerial campaign with such short-ranged fighters.
The French Air Force had the advantage of having not needed to relocate, and having solid internal supplies of fuel. They continued to operate sporadically against the Luftwaffe, and a few French bombers still ventured forth to harrass the German advance.
And.... <<narration off>>
I don't think I've had an update on the Production Queue since the beginning of the year 1938. These Queues very much dictate and limit German strategy, so it's important, I think, to see where we stand.
German losses have not been terribly significant, so my reinforcement costs are relatively low. Our supply stockpiles remain expansive, so I'm not all that concerned about supply production either -- just transport. We've got some garrisons which can be placed soon in the Netherlands, and which will free those infantry units to move south into battle. We also have 7th Panzer nearly ready. At the rate our French campaign is going, there's every chance she'll have time to get organized and move into position in order to make a difference.
Those anti-aircraft batteries will all be completing soon. I know it feels wrong to have so much IC tied up in AA, but I still feel like it might come in handy if British bombers become a major problem over a long period of time, which I have every reason to expect at this point will happen.
You'll also notice that, by the end of the year, we'll be completing whole new thoroughfares through the Dutch countryside. I've got nearly 30 IC committed to improving infrastructure, which will ultimately help us to solve our dire supply problems. Germany really was spoiled, in the 1930s, having so many well-maintained roads throughout the Reich. The Dutch rural byways were really in sad shape by comparison, and that wasn't helping our advance.
Yes, as we continue down, we see more panzers. All over the place. And garrison divisions, which, remember, are actually worthwhile in HPP, as opposed to vanilla HOI 3, because they don't rely on researching silly "garrison techs" -- they use the same technologies as regular infantry, except they're perhaps one generation removed (HPP has common events which redistribute the old weapons of front line units to the garrisons as our upgrades take hold in our favored divisions.
I also still have coastal fortresses underway. I'm really concerned that we may face a year or two of possible stalemate with Britain, and I don't want to have to worry about where they might try to land and stage a reinvasion of the continent once I take France. Hence the forts and AA.
Thanks again for reading! I'll begin working on another update, soon, but remember I'm still working 65 hours a week so finding time to actually complete such a project is difficult. New update in 2-3 weeks, I'm afraid.
Comments welcome and encouraged! Thank you!
