Chapter 432: Charles' Trap

Albert I supported Colonel Eden's statement.

"The guerrillas may not be as good as the British in terms of military quality." Albert I said: "But they are better in courage. They are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend their homeland. In addition, we can also quickly develop a large number of people, including Areas controlled by the Germans!”

Colonel Eden confirmed this statement: "There is no doubt about it."

When Colonel Eden said this, he looked at Charles, as if to express a certain attitude.

"As for the issue of confidentiality." Albert I thought for a moment and then said: "What if the Germans know it? Escape? Then let them escape!"

He was more concerned about regaining his territory than how many Germans he captured.

But in the long run, capturing more Germans can reduce the difficulty of regaining the country. The two actually mean the same thing.

Albert I knew this, but he wanted to take a step back and recover part of it first, especially regaining and stabilizing the capital Brussels, which was very meaningful to boost morale and inspire people.

But Tijani objected: "That may not be the case, Your Majesty."

"What do you mean?" Albert I asked.

"The Germans wanted to escape because they thought we had enough fuel," Tijani replied.

This seemed to be nonsense, but Albert I understood it clearly: "You mean, if they knew that we were short of oil, they might choose to counterattack instead of escaping?"

Tijani nodded, then flipped the map and pushed it in front of Albert I, tracing the route with his fingers for analysis:

"On the 35-kilometer line from Brussels to Antwerp, except for an armored regiment in Brussels and a mechanized battalion in Mechelen, there are no other forces."

"But it is 'safe' because we can defend it on the move with armored and mechanized units."

"Once the Germans choose to break out from this area, they will be flanked by armored and mechanized forces on both sides."

Albert I half-opened his mouth: "The so-called 'security' is based on the availability of fuel?"

Tijani nodded slightly, and then asked: "Once the Germans know that we have no fuel, do you know what will happen?"

Albert I looked at the map and considered it for a while, then nodded slightly to express his understanding.

"So the danger is not only Tibbits, but also Brussels, the town of Mechelen, and all the places along this intersection." Albert I lost the color on his face: "The Germans may in turn surround these towns, including Brussels?”

"Yes." Tijani nodded: "Once these towns are surrounded, they will be fatal. Tanks and armored vehicles without fuel will not be able to fight, and ammunition will be exhausted during the enemy's attack. It is only a matter of time before they are captured by the Germans. The only safe place now seems to be Antwerp, which is by the sea.”

Then Tijani laughed at himself: "It seems that Antwerp is not safe now, if the British don't provide fuel."

Tijani turned his attention to Charles. Although he was reluctant, he still suggested: "Otherwise, we should do what the British want. The price is too high and we can't afford it. The British have noticed this."

Albert I's face became very ugly. He wanted to say no, but found that he couldn't say it, so he could only swallow bitterly.

According to his own wishes, he never wanted Ciel to surrender.

But it’s not him, it’s Belgium and all its citizens!

Charles smiled easily. He did not answer Tijani, but asked: "Has the ammunition that the British promised to deliver arrived?"

That was ammunition shipped from Dunkirk.

The British method of blockading the Germans was to lay mines outside all German-controlled ports, including Antwerp.

Only the British knew about the safe passage and refused to tell outsiders. Even if France wanted to transport ammunition into Antwerp by sea, it had to go through Britain.

This is also the reason why the "Admiral of the Admiralty" can go up Cachar's neck in fuel.

"A batch has just arrived." Tijani replied, and then asked in confusion: "Why are you asking?"

Then Tijani added: "Do you need me to remind you? What's coming is ammunition, not fuel!"

"I know." Charles replied calmly: "But the Germans don't know."

…

It was another sleepless night, and Falkenhayn's general staff headquarters in Berlin's Wilhelmstrasse was brightly lit.

The extremely busy Falkenhayn wished he could drive a car to the front line in person to see what was going on.

So far, they can only continue to fight for Mons with the French army, and have a difficult breakout under French artillery fire and aircraft bombing.

However, such a breakout was very costly. Heavy equipment and even cars could not pass through. The howitzers pulled by horses could only be left temporarily for fear of being frightened and blocking the highway. Not only was such a breakout slow, the troops also continued to suffer casualties.

When Falkenhayn was at a loss, Moritz stepped forward and reported: "General, the news from the front line is that the French army is relying on the guerrillas to collect fuel from the people."

"The French army is short of oil?!" Falkenhayn's eyes lit up and he immediately turned his attention to the map.

If the French army is short of fuel, this battle will have another outcome.

In the end, the only thing the French army can get is Antwerp, a seaside city, and the rest will be recaptured by the German army.

But after watching for a while, Falkenhayn couldn't help but raise his head in confusion when he saw Moritz didn't respond.

"I think there's something wrong with that, General," Moritz said.

"What's the problem?" Falkenhayn asked.

"If the French army was short of oil, would they really let the guerrillas collect it with such fanfare? That's the guerrillas. This is clearly telling us this information."

Falkenhayn was stunned, that was indeed the case, Ciel could not be so stupid.

Then Moritz pointed to the map and said: "Antwerp is close to the sea. They can easily transport fuel from the UK or Dunkirk. As far as I know, they have three large transport ships entering the port of Antwerp."

That was the intelligence sent by the remaining German military radios, and it was absolutely reliable.

"In addition." Moritz pointed to Brussels and said: "Our intelligence officers there heard the sound of tank engines. They guessed that at least hundreds of armored vehicles and tanks were reinforced in Brussels."

This happened after dark. The French army must have wanted to hide something by doing this.

Falkenhayn was silent for a while, and finally sighed in disappointment: "You are right, this is another trap set by Charles. He hopes that we will turn our main force to the open ground instead of Mons, cunning guy."

Falkenhayn guessed correctly, this was indeed Ciel's trap.

It's just that he didn't see it through, but jumped down firmly!