Chapter 593: Excellent Attack Opportunity

Charles got the news from Foch.

It was not Weygand who gave it to Charles. Foch sent a telegram to Charles openly, with a strong official tone:

“Since part of our army’s ammunition comes from the UK, it has been decided that the supply of troops in the Belgian defense zone will be handed over to the UK.”

On the surface, there is nothing unreasonable about this.

Britain and France are allies, so it is normal for them to provide supplies to their allies.

In addition, there was no problem in landing the supplies shipped from the United States in Antwerp and then transferring them to the Belgian front, as the principle of proximity was adopted.

However, anyone with a discerning eye can see the problem, and it’s a big problem.

When Tijani saw the telegram, he exclaimed:

"Great! Parliament has handed us over to the British, and they have the power of life and death over us!"

"From now on, we will have to do whatever the British tell us to do."

"Otherwise we would have to starve and freeze, or face the Germans with an empty rifle!"

Charles ignored him and continued reading the newspaper.

The Lusitania, a cruise ship full of British and American tourists, was sunk by a German submarine. 1,198 passengers and crew members sank into the sea, including at least 124 American passengers.

(The picture above shows the Lusitania, which is known as the cruise ship that changed the history of World War I because the United States used its sinking as an excuse to join the war a year later)

This caused a huge uproar in the British, American and German public opinion circles. Britain and the United States strongly condemned Germany's act of sinking civilian ships, calling it murder and robbery.

Germany argued that the cruise ship was carrying a large amount of munitions because it sank to the bottom of the sea in just 18 minutes after being hit by a torpedo, which was abnormal. It also stated that it had become a tool of war and was not a "civilian vessel."

(Note: The Lusitania was later found to be carrying ammunition and contraband)

But Britain and the United States certainly would not admit it. They used their voice to launch wave after wave of attacks on the German army in the media.

"Don't you want to say anything?" Tijani waved the telegram at Charles.

"What can I say?" Charles asked.

"I understand!" Tijanic guessed, "Your anti-submarine plan will begin soon. We will take the initiative in terms of supplies, so you don't have to worry about this."

Charles smiled and shook his head: "No, General, it's not time yet."

"Isn't it time yet?" Tijani looked puzzled.

Seeing that the 6th Army and the 1st Armored Army were about to fall into a supply crisis, it should be imminent now, but Charles actually said "it's not the time yet"?

At this time, a guard came in and reported: "General, General Winter is here and he wants to see you."

Charles put away the newspaper and stood up, saying to Tijani, "It seems that you are not the only one who is anxious."

Tijani did not understand what this meant at first, until General Winter came in, he suddenly realized that the British also wanted to launch a submarine hunting war, to be precise, the British Navy.

Sure enough, after congratulating Charles on his promotion to lieutenant general, General Winter immediately turned the topic to submarines.

"The situation is much more serious than we imagined." General Winter took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Charles. "In October, we lost 181 ships, and in November, the number increased to 259. Before the end of this month, we have already lost 325 ships. The tonnage lost in one month has reached 500,000 tons."

General Winter and Tijani both turned their eyes to Charles, as if to say, isn't it time to take action in this situation?

But Charles still said, "Wait a little longer."

"But what are we waiting for?" General Winter didn't understand.

Then he added: "There is something I think you need to know. The 'Secretary of the Admiralty' has returned to the country to serve as 'Secretary of Munitions'."

(Note: Historically, Churchill was appointed Minister of Munitions in July 1917 and was responsible for anti-submarine warfare)

The subtext of this statement is: if the submarine problem is not solved or even continues to deteriorate, the "Minister of Munitions" will be dismissed soon.

Ciel answered simply, "The destroyers are not ready yet, General. They will take some time."

General Winter was helpless. This was a problem of the French Navy and he didn't know the progress.

Tijani looked at Charles in astonishment, he knew that this was not true.

…

The German General Staff on Wilhelm Street in Berlin.

Falkenhayn was receiving Lieutenant General Nicholas and Colonel Erwin (promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel) in the conference room.

Falkenhayn politely shook hands with the two men and asked them to sit down.

"Although we lost Namur." Falkenhayn glanced at the two men and paused for a moment on Colonel Erwin: "But I have seen the entire command process. I think you did a good job in the battle, especially the final retreat, which preserved our army's strength and prevented the enemy from breaking through our defense line."

The final retreat order was suggested by Colonel Erwin. Falkenhayn believed that this young officer named Erwin was probably more talented than his superiors.

"Thank you for your approval, General," Nicholas replied.

Falkenhayn stood up and paced a few steps, trying to liven up the atmosphere. "I heard that Colonel Erwin has studied Charles' tactics?"

Colonel Erwin quickly stood up and straightened his chest: "I just don't want to die at Charles' hands, General."

Falkenhayn looked at Erwin in surprise, walked up and patted him on the shoulder, seeming to be very satisfied with Colonel Erwin's answer.

"Well," Falkenhayn asked, "what do you think? I mean, can you guess what Charles will do next?"

Falkenhayn laughed unconsciously. It was basically impossible to guess Charles' next move.

"Report to the General," Colonel Erwin replied calmly, "I may not be able to guess what Charles will do next, but I can probably guess what he will have to do."

Falkenhayn said "Oh" and looked at Erwin with interest: "What did he have to do?"

Colonel Erwin glanced at the map hanging on the wall.

Falkenhayn understood and nodded slightly in agreement.

Colonel Erwin stepped forward confidently, pointed at the map and said:

"Charles's forces are concentrated in Belgium, and the Allies recently handed over Belgian supplies to the British."

"It is crucial that both the British and the French Parliament wish to suppress Charles and his troops."

"So I judge that Charles' troops are likely to be short of supplies, including gasoline needed by the armored forces."

Falkenhayn's eyes lit up instantly. This was an opportunity, a great opportunity to attack!

"So, what you think is..." Falkenhayn asked.

Erwin pointed to the location of Antwerp:

"The British have used Antwerp as a distribution port for supplies."

"If we surround Antwerp at lightning speed and strengthen the submarine blockade at sea, the enemy on the Western Front will likely face a serious shortage of supplies!"

Falkenhayn and Lieutenant General Nicholas looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes. This plan involved the entire Western Front!

(End of this chapter)