In mid-May 194, the German 19th Motorized Corps, commanded by Gudeurion, broke through the French defenses on the Maas River and rapidly advanced towards the English Channel. The GD Infantry Corps, which was attached to the Army, was sent to the Stoney Plateau to protect its left flank. In the process of advancing, the French air force kept bombing them, but they did not stop their advance, but accelerated their advance, and continued to advance against enemy fire.
The GD's large force quickly reached Mesonselle, just a few kilometers away from Stoney. According to this report, an armored detachment of the French ** reached the neighboring town of Mondstadt in order to stop the German offensive. The commander of the German infantry, Schulwellin, immediately ordered his fighters to dig trenches, arrange artillery and prepare for battle. The task of the 3rd Regiment was to guard the main roads of the town, the rest were scattered in the surrounding woods and farmland. The GD infantry were people who had experienced numerous wars, they knew very well the importance of trenches and thorny fortifications, so they were more than willing to obey the command of their superiors and build a solid fortification in the shortest possible time.
At this time, Guderian's panzer division had broken through the French defense line from several other directions and approached the back of the French ** team. Communication between the French Second and Ninth Corps was interrupted, and the French reserves were diverted elsewhere. The situation of the French Second Army was very dangerous, and Stoney was their line of defense. If the French were able to push the Germans back here, they would be able to stabilize the situation and regroup their defenses. If the French were defeated here, they would probably be wiped out and the future of France would be affected.
At the heart of the Battle of Stoney was the village of Stoney, which was located on an elevated site overlooking the Maas River. As long as you occupy this place, you can control the whole situation. In the early hours of 15 May, the war began. A small group of fighters of the 3rd Battalion, under the cover of Stuka fighters, launched an attack on the village of Stoney. The French troops laid fortifications outside the village and the village, firing at the Germans from all sides. Most of the French teams are mainly rifles, with only a small number of machine guns and assault rifles, even in close combat. With the support of the 14th Anti-Tank Army, the Germans quickly captured the village, with only a few stubborn French still holding on. The GD infantry thought they had won the battle, but they were very wrong.
Soon, the 45, 49, 3 tank companies of the 3rd French Infantry Division, almost 100 tank regiments, drove up on the Stoney plateau. The 14th and 15th German Anti-Tank Battalions attacked French tanks with their anti-tank guns and rocket artillery. However, they soon realized that their guns were useless in front of the tanks of the French. The Germans had to cling to the woods to hide from the French tanks. The French increased their tanks and the German anti-tank guns were decreasing, and the Germans were completely at a disadvantage.
The battle was the hardest battle for the GD infantry since the start of the war, and the anti-tank missiles were of no use against the French tanks. Knowing that the situation was critical, Schwelin immediately appealed to Indel Lange for help. The assault artillery was the best of the war vehicles, and they quickly arrived on the scene and engaged in a fierce fire confrontation with the French tanks. Every time the French tank **, the earth trembled, and the German anti-tank guns were frequently destroyed.
However, the French tanks were not invincible to the German assault artillery and rocket artillery, so they also suffered serious damage. In nearly 10 hours of hard fighting, the French lost 33 tanks, the German infantry also lost more than 600 people, and a large number of tanks and artillery were destroyed. In the end, the Germans held Stoney and repelled the French counterattack. After this battle, the GD Corps had four days to rest, but they also knew that this was only a short period of peace, and that there was still a bigger battle to come.