(Hey, when will the earthquake be big?)

On June 29, the French offensive started again. The first thing that kicked off this battle was the attack on Croydon. Marshal Davout personally commanded the main force of the French 1st Army to rush there, including the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions of the French 1st Army and the troops directly under the Legion, a total of 50,000. many people.

Croydon is defended by the British 12th Infantry Division, the 5th Cavalry Independent Brigade and the 6th Artillery Independent Brigade, with a total strength of about 25,000 people. The commander of the 12th Infantry Division serves as the supreme commander here. Facing the French army, which was twice as strong as his own, the major general and division commander was not to mention how depressed he was. What he thinks now is not how to keep Croydon, but how to save his life. By this time, the outcome of the war was no longer within his consideration.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, the French army's offensive began, and more than 50,000 French troops surrounded Croydon. After half an hour of artillery preparation by the artillery, the infantry launched a violent attack. At this time, the artillerymen of the British 12th Infantry Division and the 6th Artillery Independent Brigade had long been suppressed and had no power to fight back. Under Fei Teng's reconnaissance, they had no place to hide. As long as they fired their cannons, what awaited them would definitely be powerful revenge.

Croydon is still very strong as the gateway to south London. But this is only for the era of cold weapons. Under the fierce bombardment of the French army and the blasting of high explosives, the tall city walls could not stop the advance of the French army at all. When the British army on the wall was firmly suppressed by the firepower of the French machine guns and mortar organizations, the engineers immediately carried a large amount of high explosives and rushed to the city. Then there was a loud bang, and the majestic city wall was blown down, and the British army who had no time to evacuate on the city wall suffered heavy casualties. The French infantry quickly broke into the city under the cover of machine gun fire and started fierce street fighting with the British army.

As soon as the city wall collapsed, the morale of the British army plummeted, and they could only retreat steadily under the attack of the French army.

When the battle was very intense, there were fierce quarrels in the city of Croydon and the British Army Command.

"General, make up your mind quickly. The French army has already entered the city, and the soldiers are almost unable to hold back." An officer with the rank of Brigadier General said anxiously. He is Anthony, commander of the British 6th Artillery Independent Brigade.

"General, hurry up and give the order. My troops are ready. As long as you give the order, I can guarantee to break through the encirclement of the French army and open a hole for the soldiers to withdraw." The officer who is also a brigadier general said confidently . He is the commander of the British 5th Cavalry Independent Brigade, Bartley.

"The attack by the French army only lasted for more than two hours. If we break through at this time, even if we can return to London, Marshal Hammurabi will definitely not let us go." Austin, the commander of the 12th Infantry Division, had a look on his face. Said somewhat bleakly.

"Then what should we do? Should we just stay here and wait to die?" Battery said angrily.

At this time, the signal soldier came to report that the frontline position had been broken by the French army, and the French army was currently attacking the headquarters, which was less than 3 kilometers away.

"General, make a decision quickly, or it will be too late." Anthony said anxiously.

"Anthony, if your troops lose their cannons, how about their combat effectiveness?" Austin asked suddenly.

Anthony was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Austin to ask him this question, but he still answered honestly: "Without the cannon, my soldiers' combat effectiveness can't even match that of ordinary infantry."

"Then the situation will be difficult. Among our troops, my 12th Infantry Division has suffered heavy losses. The only ones that are intact are the 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade and the 6th Independent Artillery Brigade. But our enemy has 50,000 people. It may not be so easy to successfully break through." Austin said with a sigh.

"But we have to try. Don't worry, General, my cavalry will do their best to open the way." Bartley said firmly.

Austin nodded and agreed to Battery's suggestion. At 11:30 in the morning, the British 5th Cavalry Independent Brigade launched a fierce attack on the North City area of ​​Croydon, accompanied by soldiers from the 6th Artillery Independent Brigade who threw away their cannons and picked up their rifles. The 12th Infantry Division struggled to withstand the fierce attack of the French army and created conditions for the troops to break through.

For a while, the battle situation in the North City area of ​​Croydon became extremely fierce, with various gunshots and explosions ringing together. The British cavalry desperately wanted to break through the encirclement of the French army, and they launched fierce attacks on the French defense line again and again. The French army stubbornly blocked the British army in the city and prevented them from protruding out of the city.

This abnormality of the British army immediately attracted Davout's attention: "It seems that the British army is preparing to break out from the north, and ordered the cavalry regiment and guard regiment directly under the Legion to immediately support the northern city of Croydon. It is necessary to block all the British troops. In the city."

"Come on! Attack me." Bartley, who was watching the battle from the front line, roared angrily. The 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade has been attacking for more than half an hour. Although they have successfully pulled out several firepower points of the French army, it is still a lot worse to completely break through the French army's defense line. And now, the loss of the 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade is also very large. There are only 5,000 people in the brigade, and now there are only more than 3,000 people left. The 6th Artillery Independent Brigade, which followed them, also lost more than 1,000 people. It can be said to be a heavy loss.

Under Batley's order, his soldiers had to launch a fierce attack again. And their offensive seemed so weak in front of the French army's firepower network composed of heavy machine guns, squad machine guns and mortars. In charge of the attack north of Croydon were the three infantry regiments of the 2nd Infantry Division of the 1st French Army. They quickly broke through the Croydon City Wall, but unexpectedly encountered a counterattack from the British army, and they were caught off guard and lost thousands of people. But then they used the ruins and other obstacles to form a brief line of defense, and blocked the British army here. The pressure they are facing now is actually not great, but the consumption of ammunition is very high. After several fierce battles, their ammunition has been consumed by more than 80%. If the British army continues to attack several times, they may have to fight the British army with bayonets. In this case, the commander of the French army, the deputy commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, had to order the troops to save bullets. But in this way, their firepower suddenly weakened a lot.

Batley also sensed the obvious changes in the French army, and immediately ordered a strong attack. For a while, the French army's positions were full of dangers, and some places were almost about to be breached. Seeing this situation, Bartley smiled. In his opinion, victory is already in sight. However, what he didn't expect was that suddenly, a cavalry came out from the side, and it could be seen from the military uniform that it was a French cavalry. Suddenly, Bartley's heart went cold. The British 5th Independent Cavalry Brigade, which had already suffered heavy losses, was not an opponent of the French 1st Army Cavalry Regiment at all, and was soon completely suppressed. The French army also launched a counterattack in a timely manner. With the arrival of the French 1st Army Guards, everything was settled. Under the attack of the superior force of the French army, the British army, consisting of the 5th Cavalry Independent Brigade and the 6th Artillery Independent Brigade, was quickly defeated. Their defeat also affected the British 12th Infantry Division.

The battle lasted until two o'clock in the afternoon. Seeing that there was no hope of victory and no hope of breaking through, Austin led more than 6,000 remnants to surrender. Together with him, Anthony, the commander of the 6th Artillery Independent Brigade, and the 5th Cavalry independent The brigade commander, Batley, chose to commit suicide at this time. He hoped to use this method to maintain his honor. Although the French army won this battle, it also paid the price of more than 4,000 casualties.

Almost at the same time, the battle for the French army to attack Reading also started. Under the leadership of Monty, more than 60,000 French troops launched a fierce attack on the British troops stationed in Reading, which were comparable in strength to them. The battle was very fierce, and its intensity even surpassed the battle in Croydon~lightnovelpub.net~ Since everyone has the same strength, the advantage of the French army is that the soldiers' combat effectiveness, weaponry and morale are superior to those of the French army. The British army, but the resistance of the British army is also very tenacious. After the French army invaded Reading, they even actively competed with the French army for every street, every building, and even every ruin, making it difficult for the French army to move forward. In particular, the two places of Reading's pier and the city hall are the focus of competition between the two sides. The city hall of Reading, after being occupied by the French army, changed hands four times, but the French army then captured the tall buildings around the city hall and set up multiple firepower points composed of heavy machine guns on it, targeting the front of the mayor hall. The square was blocked by fire, which completely repulsed the British attack. Even so, when it got dark, the French army only occupied half of the city of Reading. And the losses were very serious. In today's battle, Monty's troops suffered a total of more than 7,000 casualties. Of course, the losses of the British army are definitely two to three times that of the French army. After nightfall, the fighting did not stop. The British army used the cover of night several times to try to regain their positions, but they were all repelled by the French army.

Late at night on the 6th and 29th, the British Minister of War received the battle report of the day. At present, he has the largest official position in the entire London area, and all affairs here are handled by him. After receiving the battle report, Hammurabi's expression changed. He did not expect that the reorganized British army would still be so vulnerable. Especially in the Croydon area, it failed after only resisting for 5 hours, and the entire army was wiped out, which made people very angry. However, he has no extra energy to take care of these, because the French army is very close to London.