Chapter 689: Forest Interspersed

North of Mezieres, in a corner of the Ardennes Forest.

Cars camouflaged with vegetation on top drove into the forest one after another along the muddy road. As soon as they stopped under the shade of the trees, a group of German engineers rushed up to unload the cargo.

Mezieres was a supply center and material transfer station. In order to prevent the materials from being bombed by the French army due to excessive concentration, the German army opened the road into the forest and built simple warehouses to ensure the safety of the materials.

On the other side, two German officers were carefully lighting cigarettes for each other, shielding their hands from the cold wind.

Finally it was lit, and the two of them puffed away smoke contentedly.

“I haven’t had a vacation in a year, Captain,” the bearded lieutenant complained. “I’m not even sure I can keep it up.”

"You should consider yourself lucky, Lieutenant," the captain deadpanned, "You can still go 'a year without a vacation.'"

The lieutenant was stunned, and then the two of them laughed neurotically.

Another meaning of "a year without a holiday" is that he lived for a year after joining the army, while many people only lived for a few days.

After laughing for a while, the mustache lieutenant cursed: "Fuck it, I don't even understand why we are fighting this battle..."

"Shh!" The captain stopped the lieutenant and looked around.

"Don't worry." The lieutenant replied, "Many people say so. We are just telling the truth."

The captain raised his hand to stop him and reminded him: "Listen carefully, what's that sound?"

The lieutenant listened carefully and heard a faint "cracking" sound in the mountain wind, like breaking branches, and the roar of a motor.

"Maybe other people are working on it!" The lieutenant said unconcernedly, "You know, our warehouse is almost full again."

"Really?" The captain hesitated. He looked back at the cars passing by and felt that what the lieutenant said made sense.

This is the Ardennes Mountains, more than 100 kilometers away from the front line. What else can you have besides your own car?

This is battlefield syndrome, the captain thought, because he had just come back from the battlefield and had not yet adapted to the "peace" in the rear.

The two didn't take it seriously and continued the previous topic while smoking.

finally……

"Crack", a tree as thick as a wrist was crushed down, and the branches and leaves brought up a strong wind and raised dust that flew towards the two people.

The captain was startled. He coughed a few times and yelled at the dust: "What's going on? Don't you see anyone in front? This is a warehouse..."

However, the dust gradually cleared and a tank appeared in front of the captain.

37MM caliber artillery with the French flag printed on the turret. There are also several soldiers following behind, and their clothes and helmets are obviously French.

Both sides were stunned.

The captain was the first to react and hurriedly reached for the Ruger pistol at his waist, but before he could pull the trigger, several bullets flew out and knocked him down in a pool of blood.

The German engineers were thrown into chaos in an instant, running around like frightened ants looking for their rifles mounted nearby.

But there were still some people standing there motionless, staring blankly at the slowly approaching tanks, as if they couldn't believe that the enemy would appear in front of them.

…

In the city of Mezières, Lieutenant General Nicolas was still complaining about being "ignored".

Suddenly, several gunshots were heard from the direction of the Ardennes Mountains in the north, followed by several explosions.

"What's going on?" Lieutenant General Nicholas looked in the direction where the sound came from.

"I'm not sure, General," the staff officer replied. "It could be the French guerrillas."

"These bastards." Lieutenant General Nicolas cursed irritably: "Send out reinforcements and wipe them out, all of them!"

"Yes, General!" The staff officer turned around and passed on the order.

Lieutenant General Nicolas sat back in his chair sullenly and unfastened the collar from under his neck.

Now even the guerrillas are riding on his head!

However, before he could get comfortable, the gunfire from the direction of the mountains became more and more intense, including the sound of gunfire from the "Saint-Etienne 2" machine gun.

Lieutenant General Nicolas frowned. Can the French guerrillas also be equipped with the "Saint-Etienne 2" light machine gun?

Even the French regular army was not fully equipped with this machine gun.

At this moment, the communications soldier who was guarding the phone a few meters away suddenly shouted in a nervous voice: "General, a tank has been spotted in the direction of the Ardennes Mountains. It's the 'Charter A1'!"

"What?" Lieutenant General Nicholas jumped up from his chair as if he was pricked by a needle. "This is impossible!"

How could "Char A1" appear in the back?

Could it be the Charles's troops who passed through the Ardennes?

A chill ran down his spine, and Lieutenant General Nicolas's hair stood on end. He yelled at the signalman like crazy: "Mobilize all the troops immediately to reinforce them. We must stop them in the forest!"

Lieutenant General Nicholas, who was once the commander of a tank division, knew that tanks were not suitable for fighting in mountainous areas and forests.

So, the best thing to do is to keep them out in the forest.

Otherwise, once they were allowed to enter the plains, the German army's nightmare would begin.

However, just as Lieutenant General Nicholas hurriedly took the belt from the wall and buckled it on himself, a burst of "da da da" sounds from a submachine gun came into his ears.

Nicholas was in a bad state.

It was indeed Charles's troops. Only his troops were equipped with submachine guns.

However, this weapon is an effective close combat weapon, and his idea of ​​relying on the forest to fight in close combat to stop the French army is likely to fail.

…

Dunkirk is engulfed in war in the rain.

Major General Elwin commanded his troops to launch the final attack on the British defense line.

The British tried to stop the German tank charge with an old-fashioned method: the guns of their battleships.

But Major General Erwin also thought of a way to deal with it. He ordered his soldiers to release smoke in the upwind direction.

The smoke, drizzle, shells and dust raised made the entire coast, including Dunkirk, seem to be covered with a veil.

The seaplanes released by the battleships circled in the air, but they could not distinguish the positions of the enemy and our own, and could not determine the bombing coordinates.

At this time, Major General Erwin ordered the tanks to launch a charge.

A great battle broke out outside the city of Dunkirk. The British army suffered heavy casualties under the tank attack and abandoned their positions and fled back into the city.

"Now." Major General Erwin raised his head and waved his hands proudly, his voice full of confidence: "Dunkirk is ours, march into the city and cheer, warriors!"

However……

"General!" the signalman shouted. "French troops are at Mézières."

"What? What did you say?" Erwin looked at the signalman in disbelief: "Mezieres? How is that possible?"

"Charles's troops are likely to sneak through the Ardennes to attack Mezieres!" The signalman replied, "Lieutenant General Nicolas wants you to return immediately!"

Major General Erwin was stunned.

At this moment, he finally understood why Charles had been sitting on the sidelines!

(End of this chapter)