Chapter 693 "C" Shape Encirclement

However, the First Armored Army's offensive was neither as easy nor as successful as it seemed to outsiders.

The destruction of the Meuse River Bridge by the German army put Charles' subsequent offensive in a difficult position.

…

At Mezieres Airport, Major General Browne, commander of the 1st Armored Division, personally led a force to occupy and clear the area, and then deployed a tank company and an infantry battalion to provide security.

Major General Browne looked at his watch and when he looked up he heard the roar of planes in the sunset sky.

Soon, a group of aircraft came into sight.

The planes separated in the air: the "Camel" fighter circled in the air for alert, while the two "Avro" biplanes protected in the middle lowered their altitude and finally landed on the airport runway one after another.

Coming down from the plane were Ciel and Tijani.

When Charles jumped off the plane, he looked around and felt something was not real.

He had been planning hard for more than half a month, and even started laying out the plan a month ago. Finally, it seemed that he was just around the corner to capture Mézières.

But Charles immediately understood what was going on: there was the Ardennes Mountains between Mezières and Charleroi, and it would be very difficult for the armored troops to get over there, but the plane went in a straight line, and they got off the plane before they had even had time to get comfortable after more than 30 kilometers.

Major General Browne came forward with his guards: "General, you can actually command in Namur..."

"Really?" Charles asked expressionlessly, "What about Major General Estiny? And what about the Meuse Bridge? Why was it blown up?"

Major General Browne was speechless.

There were actually many unexpected events during this trip through the Ardennes Mountains.

The original plan was to split the troops into two groups before crossing the Ardennes Mountains, with one group heading straight to Mezieres and the other crossing the Meuse River downstream to seize the Meuse River Bridge.

(The red line in the above picture is the marching direction, and the light blue curve on the map is the direction of the Meuse River, which flows from south to north through the Ardennes Mountains. This is why Mezieres is very prone to flooding. When the river flows into the Ardennes Mountains, the river channel becomes narrower and it is not easy to discharge floodwaters. Once the water volume upstream increases, it is very easy to cause floods in Mezieres)

(The picture above shows Mezieres flooded in 1995)

In Charles' plan, a mechanized regiment led by Colonel Estiny should first rush to the west bank of the Meuse River and occupy the unguarded Meuse Bridge.

This not only controlled the bridge, an important transportation route, but also cut off the German army's retreat from the rear.

However, Colonel Estiny's troops got lost and have not arrived yet.

However, the main force led by Major General Browne unexpectedly "encountered" the enemy in the Ardennes Mountains and had to fight.

Hence the current situation: the German army fled to the west bank of the Meuse River and then blew up the bridge to block the advance of the 1st Panzer Army.

Brownie led Charles into the airport building, which contained a furnished office.

This was originally a German air force base, but because it was too close to Charleroi, all the planes were withdrawn half a month ago.

Brownie felt emotional as he looked at Charles, who was sitting at his desk with an intimidating presence.

A year ago, Charles was still a young boy when he grabbed his bicycle in Darwaz and asked him to lead the way.

He has now grown into a famous general who can even destroy a country with ease.

Thinking of this, Brownie couldn't help but smile.

Charles did not notice Brownie's psychological changes. He looked at the map and asked in a deep voice, "Where is Colonel Estiny now?"

"Not sure, General." Major General Browne found a location on the map: "Maybe it's here. After marching west, the terrain became very complicated. Colonel Estiny encountered a deep ravine that could not be crossed. He planned to go around it, but he went further and further and ended up getting lost."

This is why the road in the second half is not paved.

The second half was very close to the German army. If the scouts and engineers continued to build roads and bridges as before, they would easily be discovered by the enemy and their strategic intentions would be exposed.

Charles asked again: "When will they arrive?"

"Tomorrow at the latest." Major General Browne explained: "It will be dark soon. Marching at night is dangerous and slower."

Charles frowned: "Where are the enemies? What's their situation?"

"The enemy has assembled at least three infantry divisions." Brownie pointed to the Meuse River on the map and said, "They are deployed along the river bank. It is obvious that they hope to block us in the city of Mezieres."

Although the city of Mezieres was easy to defend and difficult to attack, it was also difficult to attack: the Meuse River formed a "C"-shaped semi-encirclement around the city. The German army blew up the bridge and deployed its troops along the river, thus encircling the First Armored Army in the city.

Tijani interjected: "Tomorrow, even if Estinius's troops come back, it will be useless."

Ciel nodded in agreement.

After realizing that they were surrounded, the German army was retreating from the front line in a steady stream, and reinforcements were coming from the south.

Although they were moving slowly under the harassment of bombers, it would not be a problem to gather 4 to 5 divisions tomorrow.

And Estinni's troops only had one mechanized regiment of more than 2,000 people, which was not enough to have much impact on the west bank. Instead, they might be surrounded and annihilated by the German army.

"Order Estiny," Charles ordered, "Stay hidden when you arrive tomorrow, and don't act rashly."

"Yes, General." The staff officer responded and went to pass on the order.

The command center fell into silence and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Brownie felt that he had messed up the plan and felt a little guilty.

Tijani, however, made himself some coffee as if nothing had happened, and then made a cup for Charles and Brownie respectively.

He looked relaxed as he served Charles coffee:

"Please, Admiral, it's fine now."

"We captured this place and cut off the German transportation routes, forcing the Germans to retreat."

"We have achieved our strategic goal. What else do you want?"

"We could have surrounded many German troops like we did before, or maybe even more!" Charles' voice was filled with regret.

Tijani laughed, but he didn't say anything. He just raised his coffee cup and continued drinking.

That expression seemed to be saying: Greed is greed, that’s enough!

This is Tijani's character. As a rich second-generation, he doesn't have high demands on anything. As long as he is successful, a small failure is not a big problem.

This mentality seems to be a good thing in life, but it is not advisable on the battlefield.

"This is a war, Major General." Charles reminded, "We must seize any possible opportunity on the battlefield to expand our victory. Otherwise, the enemy you let go today may very likely defeat you or even kill you tomorrow."

Tijani was stunned, and after thinking for a while, his expression gradually became solemn.

"That's right, Lieutenant General." Tijani nodded. "That's a great philosophy of war."

But then he raised his chin towards the Meuse River on the map: "But we can't seem to do anything about it. It's a pity that we didn't bring amphibious landing ships and landing craft, otherwise there might still be hope!"

(End of this chapter)