Chapter 418: Liberating Brussels

Major General Khalil was about to order reinforcements, but was interrupted by a thunderous roar.

The ground shook violently like an earthquake, and the shattered glass fell "clattering". Several fragments collapsed, leaving a bloody mark on Major General Khalil's face.

Ai Fuli's hand, which was holding the window sill, was also injured by the glass and was bloody, but they didn't pay attention to it. These were not worth mentioning.

"It's an ammunition depot." Afuri looked at Major General Khalil in horror: "It might have been bombed!"

The "maybe" should be dropped, Major General Khalil thought, it was obvious.

Everyone in the command post was in shock. They stopped what they were doing one by one and looked in the direction of the explosion. A huge plume of smoke was rising there, and there were faint cries and wailings.

At this time, the communications soldier hurriedly came to report: "General, the guerrillas attacked the ammunition depot."

The veins on Major General Khalil's forehead twitched. He ignored the communications soldier and asked Alfry through gritted teeth: "How much ammunition do we have?"

"Only training ammunition, General." Avery replied: "On average, there are thirty rounds of ammunition per person, and there are probably only more than three thousand grenades."

This is the amount before training. It is almost noon now, and half of it may be consumed in half a day of training.

"Where are the other ammunition reserves?" Major General Khalil asked again.

Avery shook his head.

Brussels is the rear area, at least it was the rear area before. No one would store ammunition here. This only ammunition depot is for training.

Major General Khalil did not hesitate and turned to reprimand the staff who were at a loss in the room: "What are you still waiting for? Contact the possible units immediately, anyone and anywhere, as long as there is ammunition!"

"Yes." The staff immediately took action. Some contacted their superiors to report the situation, some contacted nearby troops, and some contacted the train.

Three hours, if the speed is fast, it seems that it is still enough to transport ammunition by train.

But Avery shook his head slightly: "It won't be useful, General. Air supremacy is in the hands of the French army. Since Charles has spent so much effort to blow up the ammunition depot, it is impossible to leave such a big hole to give us a chance to replenish ammunition."

Major General Khalil looked at Alfuli blankly, speechless, as if he had received an electric shock.

…

Avery was only half right. At this time, the Charles was indeed using bombers to attack Brussels' transportation lines, especially the railways.

But at this time, the bombers were not enough. They had to suppress the German howitzers, cooperate with the guerrillas, and bomb important German targets. Then they were unable to undertake the task of destroying transportation lines and blocking Brussels.

On the other hand, Charles considered that the effect of using bombers to attack traffic lines was not ideal, especially on roads. A batch of bombs would blast a small hole in the road, which could be filled with soil and normal traffic would resume.

Therefore, this task is mostly completed by the guerrillas.

They attacked everywhere and artificially created "landslides" on the railways and roads leading to Brussels.

Some even started preparations a month ago. They dug the road foundation into a hollow and supported it with logs. When they needed to cut off traffic, they only had to saw the logs.

As a result, only two routes remained in Brussels, which was originally connected in all directions: the road and railway from Mons to Brussels, and the road and railway from Brussels to Antwerp, which were reserved for Charles's troops to pass through.

But even for these two routes, the highlands on both sides were occupied by guerrillas, and explosives were buried on the roads. Once the German ammunition trucks passed by, they would still be blown up.

…

After a round of contact, Major General Khalil finally understood his situation. Brussels was almost in a state of siege.

Not to mention ammunition, even food is difficult to transport in, and reinforcements are even more difficult to think about. They are either far away in Germany or on the front line a hundred kilometers away, and may be in collapse.

The order from Lieutenant General Diem, commander of the Army Group, came in the telegram: "No matter what difficulties there are, we must stick to Brussels and never retreat even one step!"

Major General Khalil glanced at the telegram before crumpling it into a ball and throwing it on the ground.

"Call back." Khalil said in a calm and firm tone: "Tell the Lieutenant General that we can't complete the mission. If we stay here, we can't do anything except surrender. Therefore, I refuse to execute the order!"

As he spoke, Khalil turned his questioning eyes to Alfuly.

Avery nodded slightly in agreement.

With a force without ammunition in the Belgian capital, surrounded by guerrillas who want to kill the Germans, Charles's troops will arrive in a few hours...

What to keep?

If you stay, you will either be killed by the enemy or become a prisoner. There will be no third possibility.

…

Brussels was not captured by the Charles; it was liberated before the Charles troops arrived.

At first, people didn't react much. Even if they saw the Germans withdrawing from the city like bereaved dogs, they thought it was a normal movement of the Germans.

The guerrillas who knew the situation took to the streets with guns on their shoulders and shouted: "Come out, gentlemen, we are free! The days of the German occupation of us are over!"

People couldn't believe this was true. They asked doubtfully:

"We really won?"

"But why didn't you see our army?"

…

It is indeed difficult to believe that the Germans could be driven out of Belgium with just a few guerrillas and a few broken guns.

The guerrillas responded proudly:

"It's Charles, Charles' troops are advancing towards Brussels!"

"The Germans knew they could not defeat the Shire's forces and had no choice but to flee."

"They won't come back, as long as we can help Charles win!"

...

At this time, people gradually believed it. They cheered like a festival. The whole city was boiling. People rushed to the streets to celebrate with each other. Some people spontaneously organized to welcome Charles' troops.

More than an hour later, Charles' troops arrived in Brussels.

The French army was welcomed like a hero. The Belgians generously presented flowers and food to the troops. Some Belgian women even excitedly gave hugs and kisses to the French soldiers.

Charles and Tijani made some preparations before entering the city. They changed into military uniforms of low-ranking majors and second lieutenants, and hid radio stations and other things that would expose their identities.

This was to prevent the German army from leaving people in the city to carry out assassinations.

Charles was unwilling to die for accepting cheers and thanks. In his opinion, these were dispensable, but his life was his own, and there was only one.

But Charles was finally recognized.

A girl holding flowers and lifting her skirt chased the armored vehicle frantically, and when she caught up, she climbed up desperately.

She stood firm and handed the flowers to Charles, panting: "Thank you, sir, very grateful..."

Her voice stopped, her smile froze on her face, and then her beautiful blue eyes suddenly flashed with excitement, and she exclaimed: "Charles, God, you are Charles!"