Chapter 436 We Are Surrounded Again

"Blitzkrieg" means "attacking the enemy when they are unprepared" at the strategic level and "attacking the enemy when they are tired" at the tactical level.

It means never attacking the enemy's well-prepared defenses, as that would only make you sink into a terrible quagmire and unable to extricate yourself.

Tanks are not artillery batteries. Their greatest advantage is mobility. They bypass those strong cities and fortifications and use thick armor, artillery, and machine guns to deal with those infantry who have almost no resistance.

This is what was called the "pincer offensive" in World War II.

At the same time, the German front-line commanders still have a lot of freedom. They can choose to fight or not according to the situation, or choose the offensive route by themselves. As long as the general direction is correct, there is no problem.

Therefore, many orders are made in an occasional state, with almost no rules that make the opponent at a loss.

At this time, Charles bypassed Mons, which the German army had prepared with great effort and could even be said to have exchanged blood and life.

Originally, Falkenhayn thought it was all worth it, but after being bypassed by Charles, all of Falkenhayn's efforts and preparations were in vain.

A gap in the encirclement?

Charles has built another encirclement on the outer layer, and Mons is in it, so it certainly cannot be called a "gap".

Is urban warfare the grave of tanks? Buildings and ruins make it difficult for tanks to move?

Charles' tanks did not even drive in, so there is no grave, let alone difficulty.

...

Puville is a small village almost forgotten by time. There are more than 100 households in the village, with a total population of only more than 300. The only high-rise building in the village is the church on the west side, but it is a wooden building like other houses.

A few days ago, a large number of Germans poured into the village and broke its tranquility.

It is located exactly ten miles east of Mons, which can serve as a contact point and material transfer station for the German army to break out.

Thousands of wounded soldiers evacuated from Mons also gathered here, and the number of wounded soldiers is still increasing. The field hospital is overwhelmed and urgently needs cars, carriages and other possible means of transportation to transport them away.

The first to be stationed here was an infantry regiment, a reinforcement from Charleroi. They were made up of several logistics troops, and most of them were facing the battlefield for the first time. When they heard that they had to defend against Charles' troops, their faces turned pale.

"This is not a battle we can handle."

"We have not received relevant training, and I have never even seen a tank."

"If Charles can defeat our tank division, why do they think that we can stop Charles?"

...

This is the dilemma inside the German defense line. It is difficult to organize an effective defense with its lack of troops.

But they still built a field defense line outside the village, with the task of defeating all pursuing enemies and covering the retreat of the main force.

Soon, the German troops withdrawn from the encirclement also gathered here, more and more, and finally reached more than 20,000 people. They were organized to strengthen the fortifications.

After a few days of preparation, the defense line extended from the small river in the north to the nameless mountain in the south. The trenches were built in several layers, and barbed wire and widened trenches for anti-tank were laid.

Apart from digging like crazy, they didn't know what else they could do.

Major General Jonas, who commanded this unit, was a little shabby. His 109th Infantry Division was stationed in Cambrai a few days ago, but was divided into several parts and completely dispersed under the impact of the French army.

Now he is commanding the scattered soldiers who are gathered together.

However, Major General Jonas is still confident in his defense line.

"We don't expect to stop Charles' army." Major General Jonas said: "Our goal is very simple, to delay Charles' offensive and cover the main force's retreat. Just cover the main force's retreat!"

Considering that a large number of friendly troops may withdraw one after another, Major General Jonas also opened a passage in the barbed wire in front of the defense line. It is enough for infantry to pass through, but it is too narrow for tanks to attack.

In addition, he laid thick wooden boards on the widened trench as a bridge.

The thickness of the wooden boards has been carefully considered. Soldiers and cars can pass through, but they cannot support the weight of tanks.

Major General Jonas also arranged demolition experts nearby, who would use explosives to blow up these wooden bridges when necessary.

Major General Jonas arranged his headquarters in the village. He took a glance and chose the church because it was the only commanding height in the village and the surrounding area was flat. As long as a few lookouts were arranged, the situation within a few miles could be seen at a glance, unless it was at night.

Unless it was at night!

…

In the early morning of that day, Major General Jonas fell asleep on his desk.

Since taking over the defense line, he has been trying to find his shortcomings and thinking about what other ways to stop Charles' possible attack.

Although the artillery was not brought out of the encirclement, burying explosives might be a good idea.

Or organize a demolition team to blow them up with cluster grenades!

Damn, where are our tank troops? And what about the planes?

Why can't we see their shadows when we need them!

In a daze, Major General Jonas was awakened by a barking dog. He looked up vigilantly at the dark window and saw a few figures.

"What's going on?" he asked the signalman.

"It's the villagers." The signalman replied: "They said they were going to worship. We occupied the church, so they had to gather somewhere else."

Major General Jonas said "Oh", today is Sunday.

He looked at the candle behind him and silently made a cross on his chest.

This was forced by the situation. God would not blame those who just wanted to save their lives.

Soon, the village became quiet, empty and without any sound, only a few early birds chirping on the branches.

Major General Jonas suddenly felt something was wrong, he took out his pocket watch and looked at it, it was 5:30 in the morning.

"Do the villagers usually go to church so early?" Major General Jonas asked.

The signalman looked confused: "I don't know, General, maybe they are going to a place far away, maybe to the church in the neighboring village."

Although it was a guess, it was reasonable. They couldn't gather in the wild!

Major General Jonas didn't take it too seriously, but he felt a little uneasy.

He lay back on the table and thought about it. He decided to make himself more comfortable, so he just took a few steps and lay on the bench in the church.

At this moment, a "rumbling" sound came faintly in the darkness.

Major General Jonas thought it was an illusion at first, but the sound became louder and louder.

He suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from the bench, pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

Then his face changed drastically, and he shouted at his subordinates:

"Damn it, it's Charles's troops, it's tanks!"

"We were deceived, the villagers are not praying, but received a message to withdraw from the battlefield."

"Prepare for battle, everyone enter the trenches!"

...

Before he finished speaking, the lookout on the roof responded: "But General, the enemy is not coming from the front, they are behind us!"

"What?"

Major General Jonas was stunned on the spot, the enemy is in the rear?

They were surrounded again? !