Maine and New Brunswick province are right next to each other. The plain area south of the Appalachian Mountains alone that is suitable for attack is more than 300 kilometers long. This forced the U. S. military to assemble a huge force in Maine for this reason. Otherwise, the troops would be too sparse and it would be impossible to establish a solid defense line along such a long border. Let alone resist German offensive.
In order to resist German offensive at Maine, US Army deployed ten armies at Maine. In addition, in order to strengthen the banker combat capabilities of the US military deployed in Maine, US Army also deployed 20 of the 61 independent tank battalions in Maine. This has further strengthened the US military's banker power in this area.
You know, the ten armies deployed by the US military in Maine have 10 Armored Division, with more than 3,900 tanks of various types. The US military's independent tank battalions are each equipped with 53 tanks. 20 battalions is a total of 1,060 tanks. All added up, there are nearly 5,000 tanks. This is undoubtedly a very powerful armored force.
You know, the German Army Group B that confronts the US military only has a total of more than 3,000 tanks. Kingdom of England and Wales and two Army Group are only equipped with a small number of tanks. Moreover, almost all of them are tanks retired by German military.
This makes German military have fewer tanks than the US military.
In terms of quality, the US military naturally knows how powerful German military and Tiger-Panther tanks are. Therefore, the US military deploys heavy Armored Division and heavy independent tank battalions in Maine as much as possible. M26 tank is probably the only tank that can compete with Tiger-Panther tanks of German military. Of course, in front of German military's 'King Tiger tank' tank and 'Mighty Tiger' tank, M26 tank still had no choice but to be killed. On the other hand, the performance of the 'Panther tank' tank is only slightly more advanced than that of the M26 tank, and the gap is not big.
The US military's 10 group armies and 20 heavy independent tank battalions are deployed on a 300-kilometer defense line. The five armies of German Army Group B and the 10 armies of Kingdom of England and Wales and two Army Group are also deployed on the defense line. However, Germany Army Group B is undoubtedly the main force of the offense. The Kingdom of England and Wales Army's two Army Group are fine for defense. But if it is used for offense, I'm afraid it won't be able to handle it. Therefore, their mission is to fight with German military to expand the results after German military tears apart the US military's defense line. Compared with the elite troops of the US military, the Kingdom of England and Wales Army is naturally inferior. But if it's a smooth battle, they are equally capable.
On the morning of April 12, although German military Army Group A and Army Group C were still marching, they had not yet been deployed. However, German Army Group B will not wait any longer. According to the predetermined plan, they will give priority to launching an attack. This can hold back the main force of the US military and create favorable conditions for the other two Army Group to break through.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Fierce shelling rang out on this section of the St. Croix River south of Mike Adam. The main forces of German Army Group B are deployed on this section of the defense line. Although it was blocked by the St. Croix River, German military had never paid much attention to this small river, which was less than fifty meters wide in many sections. German Army Group B has already been prepared and can launch a cross-river operation at any time.
On the German artillerymen position, large-caliber heavy artillery was firing fiercely. 210mm Heavy Howitzer, 150mm heavy duty Howitzer, 105mm Light Howitzer, 75mm Field Gun. Even the frontline infantry's 120mm Heavy Mortar, an 80mm medium mortar, was firing wildly. All the artillerymen tried to hit the most shells on the heads of Americans on the other side of the river in the shortest time, destroy the fortifications that Americans had worked so hard to build, and blow all the Americans hiding inside to pieces.
Although, since last winter, the US military has been building fortifications on the defense line in an attempt to rely on natural rivers and fortifications to withstand German offensive. It even caused German military to hit his head and bleed bloody in front of these fortifications, causing heavy losses. However, under the fierce bombardment of German military's heavy artillery, their defenses were rapidly crumbling like piles of sand.
"Boom!"
A 210mm artillery shell hit a section of the US military's defense line. The fifty-meter-long trench collapsed. Two machine gun fire points were also blown into the sky in the explosion.
The defense lines stationed by the two group armies, US 5th Army Corps and 7th Army Corps, became the key targets of German Army Group B's attack. Although the strength of these two group armies was not weak, they were still unable to withstand the fierce attacks from 8th Army Corps, 3rd Army Corps and 13th Army Corps under the jurisdiction of German Army Group B.
"Damn it, where is our artillery? Why haven't you fought back? Are they going to wait until we are all killed by Germany people before they open fire?" A US soldier complained very dissatisfied.
"Our artillery is all hidden and we don't dare to fire at all. Otherwise, German aircraft will not let them go." said a second lieutenant officer.
This is undoubtedly a very helpless thing for the US military. Although US Army's artillery is also very powerful, it is not much weaker than German military. But unfortunately, German Air Force now has control of the air. When German artillerymen fired fiercely, German Air Force also dispatched a fleet of aircraft to launch bombings to further destroy the US military's defenses.
Under such circumstances, if the US artillery dares to fire, it will inevitably become the target of German Air Force. By then, their artillery and artillery will have suffered heavy losses under the fierce bombardment of German military. Rather than wasting it in vain, it is better to continue hiding it. When German military attacks, fire at them again. In this case, it can also play a greater role.
However, when the German military infantry launches an attack, the German Air Force aircraft fleet will definitely appear in the sky to provide air cover for the ground troops. It is almost impossible for the US artillery to cause serious damage to German military's effective forces at that time.
German military's fierce bombardment lasted for a full hour. Under the fierce bombardment of German military, the US military's defenses were severely damaged. It can be said that more than 80% of the fortifications were destroyed. The casualties were also very high.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, Marshal Guderian issued the order to attack. German 3rd Army Corps, 8th Army Corps and 13th Army Corps immediately launched attacks at three river crossing points.