Chapter 421 Knowing Too Much
On a starry night, the German troops in Antwerp were still busy.
For fear of being infiltrated by guerrillas, the German army did not even dare to "hire" Belgians to build fortifications. They organized all the people they thought they could trust to build fortifications, including logistics personnel, communications troops, and even officers.
Surrounding the center is the city of Antwerp, surrounded by a layer of fortresses and trenches.
In the city, the manor villa originally belonging to Albert I was brightly lit, and the staff were busy trying to obtain more information through phone calls and telegraphs.
The telegrams were delivered to the police commander Major General von Marcus one after another, but his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Finally, he couldn't help but stand up with a "Teng" sound, angrily threw the telegram in his hand on the table, and asked sternly: "I just want to know the location of the French army, can anyone tell me where their main force is? I need a location, an exact location!"
No one answered because no one knew.
The staff members nervously avoided Marcus's eyes, lowering their heads like children who had done something wrong.
All the German intelligence units were on the front line, even within France, but not in Belgium.
Especially the Brussels area, which they once thought was a very safe rear area.
So once the phone lines to Brussels were cut, it became a veritable "uncharted territory" and no one knew what was going on.
The staff officer came forward with a document and cautiously reported: "General, we don't think the French army will attack tonight, and it will be early tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"How can you be sure?" Marcus asked.
The staff officer handed over a document and a compiled telegram and said: "We have contacted Major General Nicholas, who is the commander of the 1st Tank Division."
Marcus took the document and looked at it. What was written above was Nicholas's analysis of the limitations of tank combat. His conclusion was that tanks are not suitable for night battles. They can't see anything at night and are no different from a blind man.
Major General Marcus said "hmm" and his expression softened slightly. The staff team finally played a role.
The staff continued to report: "At the same time, we also received advice from Captain Erwin. He has considerable experience in tank defense warfare. He believes that digging wide trenches can effectively prevent tanks from passing through."
The staff officer handed over a schematic diagram showing how a tank would be trapped in a wide trench.
Major General Marcus understood after just one glance, and immediately ordered: "Then what are you waiting for? Immediately order the troops to dig wide trenches."
The staff officer replied awkwardly: "But general, we have many trenches but a serious shortage of manpower. We will not be able to finish half of the digging until dawn."
Marcus took a few steps back and forth behind his desk with his hands behind his back and asked, "When will the 192nd Infantry Regiment arrive?"
"It may take another two hours. The 87th Reserve Division will arrive before dawn." the staff member replied.
Needless to say, neither of these supporting armies could change the difficulties faced in constructing fortifications.
Suddenly, Marcus paused. He turned back to the map and stared at the Antwerp defense map. After a while, he said slowly: "Maybe we don't need to dig all the trenches."
The staff officer looked at Marcus in confusion, but only wide trenches could stop the tanks...
"We only need to transform one trench." Marcus pointed his finger at the front of the defense line: "Dig the first trench four meters wide to ensure that enemy tanks cannot pass."
The staff officer said "Oh" and understood what Major General Marcus meant.
If the first trench is sure to stop enemy tanks, there is no need to widen the other trenches.
In addition, the artillery in the fortress can also mark these trenches. Once the enemy tanks are blocked in front of the trenches, they will immediately suffer a devastating blow.
"I'll give the order right away," the staff officer replied.
"No." Marcus took off his military cap from the wall, put it on his head, grabbed the riding crop on the table, and ordered as he walked out the door: "I will personally supervise the construction of this trench, and immediately mobilize all available manpower. come over."
He seemed very proud of his idea, and even believed that it was the key to blocking the French attack tomorrow, even if it was Charles's troops who attacked.
…
On the Antwerp front line, the first line of defense is about 500 meters in front of the fortress circle.
There are three types of artillery in the fortress circle of Antwerp's two-layer defense line: long-range, medium, and near artillery. The short-range artillery is a 77MM field gun, and each fort has four.
The theoretical range of the 77MM field gun is 5 kilometers, and in actual combat it is mostly used for direct fire of about 500 meters.
(Note: This is the result of the suppression of the French 75-gun. The 75-gun has high accuracy, fast rate of fire, and long range. If the German 77-gun doesn't get close and try to kill the enemy with one hit, it will only be crushed by the 75-gun.)
The first line of defense is set up to cooperate with the 77MM field gun in the fort.
Marcus was very satisfied with this distance. He believed that once the enemy tanks were blocked in front of this trench, they would become the target of the 77 guns in the fortress.
"This is it!" Major General Marcus confidently shouted to the people following behind: "Wide this defense line to four meters and two meters deep. It must be completed before dawn."
"Yes, General."
One by one, the soldiers jumped into the trenches and started working with their sapper shovels.
But soon someone shouted:
"General, can we light the torches?"
"Good idea, the enemy didn't come anyway."
"Lighting a torch is more efficient!"
…
Major General Marcus looked into the darkness in the direction of Brussels in the south and nodded, saying, "No problem. As long as you finish before dawn, each person will get an extra pack of cigarettes tomorrow!"
The soldiers cheered.
Soon, torches were lit one by one, and the Germans even used a long pole to prop up the torches high so that the light could illuminate a wider area.
The German soldiers dug hard under the light, moving soil, measuring, and directing, and were very busy.
…
At this time, Charles and Tijani were lying in the grass two miles away, watching the magical operation of the German army.
"What are they doing?" Tijani put away the telescope, his tone full of doubts: "They clearly put their defense line in front of us."
Originally, the French army had no way of knowing the location of the enemy's trenches, but now it is clear.
Charles smiled and replied, "This is because they know too much."
"Know too much?" Tijani was even more confused. What does this have to do with exposing the location of the trenches?
Charles said, "Hmm," "They know that tanks are not suitable for night battles."
Tijani was stunned for a moment, and suddenly understood: Because they knew that tanks were not suitable for night battles, they thought that the French army would not attack at night, so they were confident and bold to light torches to build fortifications.
Tijani laughed, "They must have thought that after hearing the enemy tank engine, they would have time to extinguish the torches!"