Chapter 422: Attacking the Enemy when They Are Least Prepared

Charles raised his hand and paused in mid-air for a while, then waved it forward, and the French soldiers lurking in the darkness advanced toward the enemy's defense line in groups with rifles in hand.

This was an excellent opportunity. The enemy's defense lines and fortresses were fully exposed under the torches. The sound of them using shovels to build fortifications masked the sound of the French infantry advancing, and the firelight made it impossible for the German sentries to see the figures flashing in the darkness.

The intelligence does not deceive me. The people stationed in Antwerp are indeed a group of new recruits with no combat experience. They don’t know what war is like, let alone how cruel it is, and they have no chance to make mistakes next time!

The French army took advantage of this opportunity and made full preparations:

The barbed wire fence was cut one by one and hooked with steel ropes, and the other end was connected to an armored vehicle in preparation for being towed away.

The infantry first passed through the barbed wire and sneaked into the defense line about 50 meters away. The snipers found their positions and the machine guns occupied the commanding heights.

The artillery observer measured the coordinates and checked the calculations many times, and gave an extremely accurate Zhuyuan.

The truck guns three kilometers away laid out artillery positions that required level, and pointed the muzzles in the direction of the enemy according to Zhu Yuan.

…

After more than half an hour, Tijani felt that there was nothing more to prepare, so he just assigned numbers to the German soldiers one by one.

Only then did Charles order the armored division, which was lying two kilometers away, to move forward.

Tanks entered the offensive position one after another. The tank commander stuck his head out of the vehicle to direct the tanks to advance, followed by armored vehicles, and finally the "Saint-Salmon" tank.

At this time, "Saint Salmon" was most embarrassed.

Although the "Shire A1" tank also has the disadvantage of poor external perception, it is controlled by two people. The commander and gunner can reach the driver with his legs straightened. A kick on the left shoulder will turn left, and a kick on the right shoulder will turn right. , kicking the back means moving forward, walking smoothly and without any pressure.

(The picture above shows the internal structure of a Renault tank. The structure is simple and the crew is small, making it easy to coordinate. When there are more crews, long-term training is required to form combat effectiveness)

Of course there will be no problem with the armored vehicle. It has the strongest external perception ability. As long as the speed is slow, there will basically be no problem.

Even though the "Saint-Salmon" tank has been improved and eliminated the machine gun, it still has five crew members, and they are a little confused in the dark.

Fortunately, they were artillery pieces, and their mission was to stay behind to find suitable artillery positions and prepare for battle, so there was no big trouble.

…

At that time, Major General Marcus and his staff were discussing how to strengthen the defense of the fortress under the torch with the defense map.

"We don't need to worry about our position under fire." Major General Marcus said: "With dual fire defenses of trenches and forts, I believe no troops can break through. The problem is the fort itself."

Major General Marcus pointed his finger at the location of several forts: "These forts were blown into ruins by us. We just replaced them with bunkers. Its firepower and defense are far from the original forts. The French will definitely use These weaknesses are the breakthrough points!”

"I agree, General." The staff officer replied: "But I don't think we should build trenches. The trenches cannot stop the enemy's artillery shells. We need artillery more, artillery that can suppress the enemy's artillery, so that they can ensure the safety of these fortresses!"

The staff always had confidence in the German 105MM artillery.

But Major General Marcus didn't think so: "The Shire has bombers, Rolf. The bombers will make our 105MM artillery useless. We can't put our hope on them, so we can only use trenches and dig more trenches around the fortress." Several trenches!"

Only trenches could provide protection from enemy artillery fire and air strikes. Although they looked crude, they were effective.

However, what Major General Marcus and his staff did not expect was that the war would not advance as far as they imagined.

The most important thing about "Blitzkrieg" is not the tactical interlude, but its strategic significance.

To put it simply, it means "attacking the enemy unprepared".

However, these four seemingly clichéd words are not easy to implement on the battlefield.

Charles faced many objections when he launched this night attack:

"General, our troops have been marching and fighting all day. They are almost exhausted and can no longer fight."

"General, tanks are not suitable for night battles. Please think again!"

"General, we don't have enough fuel. Once the attack fails, we may not even be able to retreat. We will have to blow up the tanks or leave them to the enemy!"

…

Colonel Estini was the staunchest opponent. He believed that Charles was rushing to attack for immediate gain and was dazzled by victory.

He excitedly rushed into Charles's temporary office in the town of Mechelen:

"General, after daybreak, the tanks will be able to receive sufficient fuel and air support. This battle can be fought very comfortably!"

"Why should we use our own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths?"

"There's only one step left to victory, General! We can't let ourselves get into trouble!"

…

Even Tijani was dubious about Ciel's idea of ​​fighting at night, because it seemed to overturn all the conclusions he had drawn before. He who originally thought he had learned "Ciel's Theory" was once again confused.

Only one of the senior officers sided with Charles: Browne, commander of the 1st Armored Division.

But he has no brain belief. As long as it is a decision made by Ciel, he thinks it must be the right one.

Faced with all the doubts, Charles only replied: "We have made sufficient preparations, does that mean the enemy has also made sufficient preparations?"

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Although night battles would make the armored forces feel uncomfortable and constrained, at least they were prepared in action and psychology, while the enemy was completely unprepared.

The enemy was still planning how to defend tomorrow, how many reinforcements to deploy firepower, and how to face bombers, when suddenly the enemy appeared in front of them...

Everything was overturned, and it seemed that all they could do was surrender!

...

This was the situation that Major General Marcus faced.

Just as he and the staff disagreed on the direction of defense, the sound of a "rumbling" engine came faintly in the darkness.

At first, Major General Marcus thought it was his car, and they were transporting wood for strengthening fortifications.

But the sound became louder and louder, and more and more...

Major General Marcus suddenly woke up, he looked up at the staff in shock, and the staff also realized something and looked at the darkness at a loss.

If the enemy launched an attack at this time, it would be his fault, because he judged that the enemy would not fight a night battle!

Major General Marcus didn't think too much. He jumped up and shouted to the trench: "Put out the torches, immediately..."

"Bang!" A gunshot sounded, and the shouting stopped abruptly.

A bullet hit Major General Marcus' head accurately. His head tilted, and he collapsed to the ground like a skin bag that had been drained of air.