Chapter 598: Do you still want to compete with Charles?

At this time, Major General Eden and Lieutenant General Eves had already rushed back to their respective command posts.

Major General Eden's headquarters was located in the center of the fortress group, which was the "Bueno" Fort that Charles had previously used as his headquarters.

To be precise, it is not the "center of the fortress group", but the center of the fortress group facing the German offensive line. Here you can have a more intuitive overview of the entire situation and can more conveniently command the operations of the surrounding fortresses.

More importantly, this place is not far from the underground warehouse where supplies are stored, only one kilometer.

However, Major General Eden seemed unable to do anything.

A black mass of German fighter planes flew in from the sky, almost covering the entire sky. They roared over the fortresses that had no anti-aircraft firepower, swooped down and strafed the cars on the road.

(Note: When the fortress was built, airplanes had not yet been invented, and even if they were invented, no one thought it would become a weapon, so the fortresses of this period had basically no air defense)

Only then did the driver on the ground react and fled in panic.

But the road was so crowded that they couldn't move at all. They ran around like headless flies, and then either collided with other cars or got stuck in the snow and couldn't move.

German fighter planes took this opportunity to launch an attack.

Amidst the intensive gunfire, some cars were smoking, and some cars overturned on the roadside because their drivers were dead, with the ammunition and supplies in the cars scattered all over the ground. Only a few cars managed to accelerate on the road, but they were still devastated by the fighter planes that followed them.

Finally, there was a loud bang and the ammunition exploded. Flames shot up into the sky and the car was instantly blown to pieces. Soon the fire spread to the surrounding areas and nearby drivers hurriedly jumped out of their cars and fled.

However, the German fighter planes still refused to let them go. They climbed, circled, and dived over and over again, and used machine guns to shoot bullet lines in the snow to chase the fleeing drivers and soldiers.

There were pools of bright red blood everywhere on the white snow, which was shocking to the eye.

…

More than 20 minutes later, Lieutenant General Avis hurried back to the headquarters.

But he soon realized that it would be better to stay at the front line than to return to the headquarters. At the front line, at least he could see some of the situation, but in the headquarters he was completely in the dark and knew nothing.

Lieutenant General Avis's headquarters was located in the city center, more than ten miles away from the front line. The front-line troops collapsed at the first moment and were unable to send back any intelligence.

"Where is the enemy?" Lieutenant General Ives asked the map.

"We don't know, General." The staff officer looked terrified: "The troops were in chaos. They were defeated before they had time to report the situation."

"Where's the reconnaissance plane?" Lieutenant General Ives ordered: "Send the reconnaissance plane up!"

"General," the staff officer replied with difficulty, "We have lost contact with all our reconnaissance planes, and the airport has suffered heavy losses from enemy attacks. We no longer have anything that can fly into the sky."

"So what else do you know?" Lieutenant General Ives roared, "Don't you know only that you are being attacked?"

The staff officer was speechless, it was indeed the fact.

It was not until then that Lieutenant General Avis realized the importance of air force.

Air superiority is in the hands of the enemy and communication equipment mainly relies on telephones. It is easy to get into a situation where you don't know where the enemy is or where your own troops are, and you can't command at all.

Another ten minutes passed before intelligence was gradually gathered.

But most of that was outdated information, because it was sent up by the signalmen half an hour ago.

Or it could be less important information, such as the convoy in front of the underground warehouse being attacked by German fighter planes.

Suddenly, an idea flashed to the staff officer: "General, why don't we ask the Belgians?"

Lieutenant General Ives instantly became alert: "Contact Major General Eden immediately!"

The Antwerp forts were in fixed locations and each was equipped with a telephone, so they were obviously more aware of the situation on the front line.

Soon the call was connected, and Major General Eden reported worriedly:

"The situation is very bad, Your Excellency Lieutenant General."

"Your army has been routed, and the deserters are attacking our lines."

"There are deserters everywhere in sight. The Germans are probably trying to drive your troops away. Their tanks are almost running behind your troops. If we open fire, we will inevitably cause accidental casualties."

Lieutenant General Ives answered very straightforwardly and firmly: "Open fire, Major General. Don't worry about accidental injuries. Casualties are inevitable."

If we don't open fire, there will be greater casualties and we may even lose the entire line of defense.

"In addition," Major General Eden added, "the German 'Storm Troopers' have crossed the fortress line and are operating in the rear."

"Crossing the fortress line?" Lieutenant General Elvis was shocked.

"Yes," Major General Eden replied. "They must have sneaked into the defense line last night in the dark and lurked. I don't know how they used it, but there were Germans everywhere."

Lieutenant General Ives's face turned pale instantly: "Their target may be the warehouse, Major General, please ensure the safety of the supplies."

"God, you're right." Major General Eden exclaimed, "I heard that our fleet suffered heavy casualties at sea, and the Germans sent out a large number of submarines to block the route?"

"Yes." Lieutenant General Ives replied.

"This means we can't lose this batch of supplies!" Major General Eden emphasized: "If we lose them, we're finished!"

The front line was breached in an instant, resulting in a large loss of supplies. The sea transport lines were blocked again. If there were problems with the supplies in the underground warehouse again, all the troops would be in a state of lack of supplies and would not be far from collapse.

At this moment, a staff officer ran to Lieutenant General Ives in panic and said, "General, the warehouse was attacked by the German army. It should be the 'Stormtroopers'."

Lieutenant General Avis immediately relayed the news to Eden: "They are attacking the warehouse. Can you send reinforcements?"

"Of course." Major General Eden agreed immediately. After a pause, he said, "Tell your men not to blow up the warehouse. It's better to surrender than to blow up the warehouse!"

Lieutenant General Ives thought it made sense.

There is still hope as long as the warehouse remains. Even if it falls into the hands of the German army, the Belgian army may be able to recapture it.

But if it was blown up, the Antwerp defense line would inevitably collapse due to lack of supplies.

Lieutenant General Ives didn't think much about it and agreed immediately: "I agree, Major General, please send reinforcements as soon as possible."

Then he turned to his staff and ordered: "The supplies must be protected at all costs. Even if we surrender, you are not allowed to blow up the supplies!"

"Yes, General!"

What Lieutenant General Elvis didn't know was that Major General Eden on the other end of the phone was waiting for this. When he heard Lieutenant General Elvis' order, a disdainful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

This idiot handed over the supplies so easily.

Do you still want to compete with Charles?

(End of this chapter)