Chapter 973 Liege Fortress

The Liege Fortress was indeed indestructible, but these fortresses were usually built on high ground at an altitude of 100 to 200 meters, from which they could launch fire strikes on the plains below.

The advantage of this design is that it can expand the defenders' field of vision and increase the range of artillery, allowing the fortress's firepower to play its maximum role.

But the disadvantages are also obvious: the fortress has many blind spots in firepower and is powerless against enemies who have rushed to the high ground and are around the fortress.

(The picture above is a plan view of the Liege Fortress. The 12 fortresses form a ring. The "Longxin" in the red circle is the "Longxin Castle" mentioned above.)

…

When formulating her battle plan, Christine did not consider this to be a weakness in the fortress.

"Although what you said is true, General," Christine said:

"But our soldiers must rush through their firepower to get close to those high ground."

"And according to the German firepower configuration, I mean each fortress has more than 200 artillery pieces and countless machine guns."

"It is almost impossible for our soldiers to reach their fortress alive."

This is what Albert I wanted to say. The fortress’s “darkest fire spot” was an open secret, and as the King of Belgium, he certainly knew it.

However, if the enemy wants to break through several fortresses, they will use a cross-fire network composed of long-range artillery, medium-range artillery, short-range artillery, and machine guns, with barbed wire, roadblocks, and mines in between.

I am afraid that even if I suffer a few casualties on the Somme, I won’t be able to get close.

Therefore, the "fortress weakness" that Charles mentioned does not actually exist.

"We don't have to rush through the fire circle to get close." Charles said, "Have you forgotten that we have paratroopers? They can land directly near the target fortress, or even on top of the fortress."

(The picture above shows a part of the Liege Fortress, whose top is flat enough for a person to stand. During World War II, when the German airborne troops attacked the Eben-Emael Fortress, they parachuted to the top of the fortress with directional parachutes and then blasted it at close range to capture the fortress.)

"Parachutes?" Christine asked doubtfully, "Can they land on top of the fortress? I thought they couldn't control where they landed."

Christian had studied Charles's airborne landings at Saarbrücken, and he had even considered developing such air-dropped troops in the 6th Army, so he knew some details about parachutes.

"Most of them are uncontrollable," Ciel replied, "but some modified parachutes can be."

That was a directional parachute developed by Charles in advance, which could control the flight trajectory in the air.

This made Christine and Albert I very happy.

"I knew the lieutenant general would have a way." Albert I nodded with a look of relief: "If we can parachute directly around the fortress, there will be no problem. We may even be able to occupy the fortress completely."

But Christine thought for a moment and objected:

“That may still not be enough.”

"The fortresses can provide mutual fire support, General. They are 3 to 5 kilometers apart."

"For example, if we attack Fort Longsing, the forts of Olonne and Landing on both sides of it can use artillery fire to cover Fort Longsing."

The smile on Albert I's face froze. This was indeed a problem.

The German firepower and personnel were hidden inside the fortress, protected by 3-meter-thick reinforced concrete, which could theoretically withstand the bombardment of 210MM caliber artillery.

Therefore, as long as the Germans adopted this "bombing themselves" tactic, they could inflict heavy losses on the paratroopers who "closely" attacked the fortress, and then eliminate them.

Charles was prepared for this. He calmly asked, "What if the fortresses on both sides can't defend themselves?"

…

Fortress of Liege.

White parachutes floated in the sky, one after another, fluttering like paulownia catkins dancing in the air.

Major General Friedrich did not hesitate. He put away his telescope and ordered the signalman beside him: "Send the 3rd Infantry Regiment here, immediately!"

There is an infantry division stationed in the city of Liege. Their main task is to maintain public order and ensure the supply of various fortresses.

Although the combat quality of these troops was questionable, Major General Friedrich believed that the time had come to use them.

French airborne troops will put the fortress on the defensive.

After thinking for a while, he added an order: "Contact Fortress No. 12 and No. 2 and have them prepare for fire support!"

"Yes!" The signalman passed down the orders one by one.

However, before the order was delivered, Major General Friedrich was surprised to find that Forts No. 12 and No. 2 on both sides were under attack by the French army.

One after another, the planes dived down from the sky at high speed with a sharp sound, and suddenly changed to climbing when they were about to hit the fortress.

At the same time, an explosion was heard, and thick smoke and flames rose into the sky.

Soon after, another plane dropped bombs. They even formed a circle, rolling in the air like wheels and diving alternately to drop bombs.

(Note: This was a bombing tactic used by the German army during World War II. Although the accuracy of dive bombers was high enough, it was still difficult to hit the target with an error of 30 meters. The German army used bomber formations to drop bombs in a cycle, and the bombers behind could make fine adjustments based on the flight trajectory of the friendly forces in front and the offset of the bombing point to further improve the hit rate.)

Just as Major General Friedrich was amazed at the French ability to develop such a fierce bomber, the Chief of Staff ran up to him in panic and reported:

"General, fortress No. 12 and No. 2 requesting help. The bombs dropped by enemy bombers can penetrate the fortress."

“They have suffered varying degrees of damage.”

"A turret at Fort No. 2 has been blown down, and the tunnel has collapsed, causing heavy casualties."

Major General Friedrich was stunned.

How could this French bomber penetrate the 3-meter-thick reinforced concrete on the top of the fortress?

…

There is some element of luck involved.

Charles has done a test and found that a high-speed dive by a bomber with a 500-kilogram armor-piercing explosive bomb hung on its belly can barely penetrate three-meter-thick reinforced concrete.

The reason why the German Fortress No. 2 could be damaged as soon as the war started was that the fortress of the Liege Fortress had been bombarded several times by German artillery of various calibers during the German attack in 1914, and some of the artillery was replaced after the collapse of "Big Bertha".

Its overall structure did not reach the strength of 3 meters of concrete, which is why it achieved unexpected results.

But this also scared the German army half to death.

What they have in mind is:

If French bombers could penetrate the top 3-meter-thick concrete layer so easily, then did they just need to bomb the fortresses one by one?

In other words, as long as there is enough time and bombs, the French bombers can flatten all the fortresses one by one.

Therefore, the Belgian army's initial helplessness appeared on the German army, and it seemed that they could only wait for death.

The only difference is that Belgium’s opponent is the “Big Bertha” heavy artillery, while the German army’s opponent is the “dive bombers” from the air!

(End of this chapter)