Chapter 768 Yani Town

The rain grew heavier, and lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the grim silhouette of the tanks amid the rolling thunder.

The bean-sized raindrops hit the tank's armor, making a "patter patter" sound, as if counting down the enemy's life.

After crossing the river, the 1st Armored Division headed straight for Metz, followed closely by the 1st Mechanized Division.

The two newly formed motorized divisions attacked along the Meuse River in two directions.

They would outflank the German Meuse River defenses from the rear, allowing Pétain and Foch's forces to cross the river and launch a full-scale attack on the enemy.

At this time, Pétain and Foch knew nothing about the war situation. Charles's battle plan was not revealed to them. They thought that such a confrontation would last at least several months or even longer.

…

Pétain was still in Bizensi commanding his troops to build fortifications. He was very careful and made detailed firepower allocation for each bridge:

The bridgehead was surrounded by a semicircular trench, and an anti-tank trench was dug in front and covered with barbed wire.

The second level of firepower came from several Maxim machine guns, which used cross-fire to blockade the bridge deck.

The third one is the mortar, the fourth one is the 75mm cannon, the fifth one is the howitzer...

As a "defense expert", Pétain wanted to fill the bridge with bullets and shells.

And this is true for every bridge, some of which are even reinforced with bunkers.

He was very proud of his "masterpiece" and thought that even if Charles were to attack the defense he had set up, he would be in danger of death.

At this time, the staff officer answered the phone and hurried to him: "General, the First Armored Army called, Charles' troops have broken through the Meuse River defense line, and the 72nd Motorized Division is attacking the enemy's defense line on the other side. I hope our troops will be ready for the attack!"

Pétain was stunned for a long time before asking, "What did you say? Charles broke through the Meuse River defense line? How did he do it?"

…

Unlike Pétain, Foch was always planning an attack while in Mézières.

What he had in mind was to expand the victory with Mézières as a base.

The advantage of Mézières is that it is on the east bank of the Meuse River and there is no difficulty in crossing the river.

However, Sedan stood in the way of progress. It was a fortress city full of castles and fortifications that were easy to defend and difficult to attack.

(The picture above is the Sedan Castle, which has been preserved to this day)

Especially since Sedan is stuck in the narrow passage between the Ardennes Forest and the Meuse River, it blocks the exit like a huge rock.

Foch considered a number of options for attack:

Like the Shire, they attacked from the Ardennes Forest, bypassing Sedan.

But after the last battle the Germans were prepared, their defenses had penetrated deep into the forest and they had built fortifications there.

Attack from the Meuse?

This did not seem to work either. The Germans had deployed two howitzer regiments at Sedan, and their firepower was enough to block the river.

Just when Foch was frowning, the signalman reported to him in surprise: "General, Charles successfully crossed the Meuse River, and his troops are heading north along the river to attack the German coastal defense forces. I hope we can be ready to support them!"

Foch thought he had misheard: "Charles' troops have crossed the river? How did he do it?"

…

The town of Yanni is on the way from Verdun to Metz.

Manstein arrived here first with his mobile brigade, and he planned to give Charles a "surprise" here.

After arriving, he immediately ordered his men to expel the residents of the town.

He believed that it would be more advantageous to deploy anti-tank guns in the town, as houses, streets, buildings, etc. would serve as excellent cover for anti-tank guns.

Manstein knew that it would be better for the German army to leave the residents behind.

The residents were all French, and Charles's troops were afraid to act rashly and were inevitably timid in fighting.

But as a nobleman, Manstein disdained to do such a thing.

"I want to win in an upright manner," Manstein said to his men. "I want Charles to accept defeat with all his heart, and let everyone know that Charles can be defeated. Victory will always belong to us and to Germany!"

Perhaps inspired by Manstein's bold words, the morale of the mobile brigade was high and they were actively preparing for battle.

While the troops were busy, Manstein asked his staff, "Do you know how Charles crossed the river?"

On the way he was puzzled by this matter. That was the Meuse River. How could Charles break through the defense line and penetrate into the hinterland in just half an hour?

"No, Colonel," the staff officer replied, "we have received no intelligence."

The time was too short, and the defeated German troops had no time to report to their superiors, so of course it was impossible for their superiors to pass the information down.

Because of this, Manstein knew nothing about Charles' new tank. He was still thinking about the scene where anti-tank guns overturned the "Charr A1" one after another.

Several planes flew low over the sky, without strafing or dropping bombs.

The rain curtain prevented them from doing anything more than a cursory reconnaissance, which was one of the reasons why Manstein's troops were able to arrive here safely and in time.

Manstein looked up in the direction the plane left, then turned and gave the order: "Order, everyone prepare for battle, the enemy is coming."

Those planes were used to scout the enemy situation ahead for Charles' troops.

But of course, they probably didn't find anything.

This means that Charles is likely to plunge headfirst into this encirclement.

…

But Manstein was wrong.

The reconnaissance planes did not discover the German troops ambushing in the town, but they saw groups of residents being driven out of the town and reported the situation to Charles in a timely manner.

Charles immediately guessed that the German army had set an ambush in the town of Yani.

"What should we do?" Tijani frowned and asked, "Yani Town is the only way to go. It's not impossible to bypass it, but it will add at least three hours to the journey."

Three hours is a conservative estimate, it will actually be much longer.

Because the longer the time goes, the more German troops will surround us and block our way forward.

Charles didn't hesitate and ordered in a cold voice: "Attack as fast as possible!"

…

Manstein set up his headquarters in the church in the center of the town. Standing on the bell tower, he could easily observe the French attack with a telescope.

The road passes by the right side of the church. If Charles' troops can reach here, Manstein may have a chance to meet him.

But Manstein believed that Charles could not do it.

Because the street only allowed three tanks to pass side by side, as long as two tanks were destroyed, Charles's way forward would be blocked.

This was a battle without suspense, Manstein thought, Charles' undefeated myth would definitely be shattered here!

Suddenly, the rumbling sound of a tank engine was heard from the other end of the road.

Here we come!

Manstein immediately turned the telescope in the direction where the sound came from.

There was a faint shadow of a tank in the rain, getting closer and clearer.

Finally, two tanks traveling side by side entered the aperture of the telescope.

When Manstein saw the tank clearly, his eyes suddenly widened.

Damn, that's not the "Charter A1", that's a new type of tank, and it looks much bigger and thicker than the "Charter A1"!

(End of this chapter)