Chapter 410: Battles Always Occur Suddenly

"A wider trench?" Nicholas was stunned. "Is it that simple?"

"Yes." Erwin analyzed: "I have observed the Charles tanks. The reason why the 'Charler A1' can pass through our trenches is because of the support of the tail hook. As long as we widen the trenches, their tanks may not be able to pass through!"

"Just a possibility?"

"I'm not sure, General," Erwin replied, "but we should give it a try. It's better than doing nothing!"

Major General Nicholas nodded slightly.

Let him do whatever he wants, there's no loss anyway, just don't bother me again.

Major General Nicolas then passed Erwin's suggestion to Lieutenant General Jurgen, commander of the 2nd Army.

Although Lieutenant General Jurgen was not interested in this suggestion, he passed the order on with the idea that it might be worth a try.

In fact, Erwin did more than just that. He also strengthened the barbed wire in front of the trenches and led his men to open up passages on the battlefield.

These passages extended from the Burlon Forest where the tank battalion was located to the rear of the trenches, where tank shelters were built.

Erwin ingeniously constructed the tank cover so that the "Upper Silesian" tanks faced the enemy sideways.

This is done so that the main gun and the two front and rear machine guns can function at the same time. As long as they are all rotated to the side facing the enemy, the three fire towers can fire at the same time.

Erwin was satisfied with this, and felt that he could hold off the charr's charge if they dared.

…

This tactic is indeed feasible. When Charles received the telegram and learned about these arrangements, he secretly praised them.

If the "Lady in White" had not infiltrated the German army and transmitted intelligence in real time, the 1st Armored Division would probably have been caught off guard.

Digging a wide trench may seem simple, but it is actually the primitive "anti-tank trench", which is still a difficult problem even in modern times. The only way to pass it is to fill the trench.

While the French army was filling the trenches, the German tanks could continue to output fire from inside the bunkers. The 57MM artillery was enough to penetrate the front armor of the "Charler A1" at close range, and the two machine guns in the front and rear could eliminate a large number of infantry charging and filling the trenches.

But now that he knew the Germans had made these preparations, Charles knew how to deal with it.

…

On France's Bastille Day, the German Second Army stationed on the Cambrai Line looked relaxed.

They thought that the French would not choose this day to attack, especially when they heard that Charles's troops would be on parade.

The soldiers lit cigarettes for each other and complained intermittently:

"It seems that what we need to worry about most now is the Ciel's troops."

"Yes, whenever his troops appear, we are always defeated, without exception."

"It's frustrating, but it's true. His troops are completely different from the rest of the French army, and I wonder why the French don't all train the way he does?"

"Prochno," someone immediately reminded, "Do you want the rest of the French army to be like Charles's?"

The soldiers laughed and secretly felt lucky that the French did not popularize Charles' tactics as they had thought. Some people still couldn't understand why the French did not do this.

"Hey, Captain." The soldiers waved to Erwin who was sticking his head out to survey the terrain.

These days, Erwin from the tank battalion has become a frequent visitor to the trenches.

"Be careful of snipers, Captain!" the old soldier with a muddy face warned, "They can always find you when you least expect it."

Erwin retracted his head, put away the binoculars, slowly walked to the soldiers, took the cigarette handed to him, and asked casually, "Any new information?"

"No, Captain." The old soldier lit a match and handed it over. When Erwin lowered his head to light a cigarette, he replied, "The French are going to attack the Bastille!"

The soldiers laughed.

Erwin smiled slightly, exhaled a puff of smoke, and then said, "Stay alert. The battle will always appear suddenly when we least expect it."

"Yes, Captain." The soldiers answered one after another, but no one took it to heart.

However, just as Erwin's figure disappeared around the corner of the communication trench, a rumbling sound of an engine suddenly came from the sky.

Everyone's face changed and they quickly stood up and looked up at the sky.

Erwin ran back quickly, raised the telescope and stepped onto the pedal.

The sky was filled with dark clouds and was filled with planes. Erwin immediately recognized them as Charles's Caproni bomber.

"Damn it!" Erwin cursed, "I guessed right, Charles's target of attack is here!"

Erwin did not hesitate any longer. He put away his telescope and shouted to the soldiers, "Notify your superiors and prepare for battle!"

The soldier responded, quickly threw away his unfinished cigarette, grabbed his rifle, stepped on the pedal and lay down on the edge of the trench. The signalman hurriedly carried his rifle to find their superior.

Erwin crouched and ran towards his troops, fearing that the bombers were targeting the 1st Tank Division.

If unfortunately it comes true, everything will be over.

However, while running, Erwin looked at the sky and found that the bomber seemed to be heading in the wrong direction.

Looking in the direction, Erwin discovered that their target was the 105MM howitzer position four kilometers away.

"God, they're finished." Erwin exclaimed in a low voice: "Charles has found the exact location of the howitzer position!"

Sure enough, the bombs fell towards the howitzer position with a whistling sound like a pile of falling leaves.

“Boom boom boom!”

“Boom boom!”

…

Bright flames and smoke rose simultaneously at the artillery positions, and explosions sounded one after another, like the whispers of a devil, causing the entire forest to tremble.

However, after the explosion, not all of the bombers dropped their bombs. Some of them were still hovering in the air, as if waiting for something.

Erwin understood the significance of this and quickly pulled out a signal flag from his backpack and waved it in the direction of the tank battalion.

Dozens of "Upper Silesian" tanks slowly drove out of the forest and quickly entered the bunkers to prepare for battle as they did in normal drills.

As Erwin guessed, the rumbling sound of tank engines came from the smoke on the other side of the trench, and a number of "Char A1" tanks appeared on the ground line. Its short-barreled guns swung to both sides from time to time, as if looking for its target.

"Aim!" Erwin yelled.

He could no longer have any hope in the howitzers. As soon as they opened fire, the bombers circling in the air would immediately discover them and blow them up.

This is the disadvantage of having no anti-aircraft firepower. The aircraft can wait over the target for a long time as long as the fuel allows.

However, Erwin found that his tank tactics did not seem to work.

The enemy's artillery fire was so fierce that one after another, the "Upper Silesian" tanks were often blown up before they could even see the target, even though they were hiding in tank bunkers!

(End of this chapter)