Chapter 207 Riddle
Falkenhayn knew the Shire well, but he also didn't know the Shire.
Falkenhayn had seen every battle of Charles and knew every piece of equipment invented by Charles, especially the Mark I tank.
He even boldly analyzed, estimated, and guessed what kind of tactics Charles would develop around tanks in the future.
But unfortunately, Falkenhayn once again fell behind and failed to keep up with Charles.
…
When Charles was analyzing the battle plan on the train, he emphasized: "When breaking through the Rhodes direction, you must use the 'Mark I' type. The new type of tank cannot be exposed!"
Brownie and Colonel Estiny hummed in unison. They thought that Charles was using the new tanks as a secret weapon. Fortunately, when Samok faced the German tanks directly, he caught the Germans off guard.
How could they have imagined that Charles's action had another meaning: the "Mark I" tank had a fatal flaw: it needed to replace tracks every 30 kilometers.
But this flaw can sometimes be turned into a weapon.
…
At the Paris Defense Headquarters, Gallieni has gotten rid of the disgusting parliamentarians and returned to the headquarters.
He was confused when he received the intelligence from the reconnaissance plane: "We are attacking Cape Town fiercely, and the two surrounded troops are also trying their best to break out in the direction of Cape Town. Why are the Germans transferring the troops in the direction of Cape Town to the two wings? And in such a hurry!"
Charles' eyes remained fixed on the map hanging on the wall. His tone was lazy, as if he was answering an irrelevant question: "Because of the 'Mark I' tank!"
"What does this have to do with the Mark I tank?" Gallieni looked at Charles in confusion.
"The tracks of the Mark I tank need to be replaced every thirty kilometers!" Charles answered casually.
"Well, then?" Gallieni asked.
As soon as he said this he understood that the straight-line distance between Tram and Rhodes was 25 kilometers, which was the distance that the "Mark I" could possibly drive back or break through, at least that was what the Germans thought.
(Note: In fact, the Mark I could not drive back unless it always took the road and there was no war along the way, but the Germans did not know this)
From this, we can conclude that the "Mark I" departed from Rhodes and arrived at the central town of Lorca to rescue the two trapped troops, and then either returned to Rhodes or continued to advance and break out of Tram.
Choosing any other direction to break out would have made it "impossible" because the distance would be longer and the Mark I would have to change tracks.
"So!" Gallieni laughed. "You set a trap for the Germans?"
"No, General!" Charles said calmly, "I am just giving the Germans a riddle. If the Germans are smart enough, they will guess the riddle correctly, but they will get a wrong answer."
Gallieni added: "If the Germans have guessed the riddle wrongly, or have not discovered it at all..."
Charles replied: "Then I can only choose to break out from Tram or Rhodes, and the result of doing so is likely to be unsuccessful. Because no matter which one we choose, our flank will be exposed to the 4th Reserve Army in Cape Town."
Gallieni nodded: "By then, the 4th Reserve Army will likely gather four divisions to launch a fierce attack on our breakout force. Even if we succeed in breaking out, we will still suffer heavy casualties!"
Ciel nodded calmly.
Gallieni laughed: "We are very lucky. The Germans are not stupid, but not that smart either. It's just the degree you want!"
Then he stared at the map for a while and asked again: "I'm a little curious, Major, how do you plan to deal with the German tank forces? I heard that the enemy deployed tanks on the Samok Straight, and their tanks are designed to target the 'Mark I'..."
"My tank also has a gun!" Charles replied calmly, "Besides, my tank is also designed to target the Germans."
Gallieni said "Oh" and nodded slightly. The little guy thought of all the possibilities.
…
The Samok Straight is named after the small town of Samok near it.
The road is as straight as a flagpole, with hills and highlands stretching for more than ten kilometers on both sides. Although the altitude is not high, it forms a canyon-like terrain with only a few exits.
The French 2nd Special Artillery Division was trapped in it.
The division commander, Major General Tijani, was desperate. He found that the Germans, with the support of tanks, had built a line of defense in the rear.
The exit at the rear was only one and a half kilometers wide, where the Germans built an arc-shaped trench facing the depths of the straight road.
"Set up the artillery!" Major General Tijani ordered loudly: "Use artillery fire to support the infantry to break through!"
However……
The Germans were equipped with at least twenty 105MM howitzers.
As soon as the French army set up their artillery, German artillery shells whizzed in.
In an instant, cannons, artillerymen and shells were blown into the sky in a flash of fire.
Major General Tijani looked at the heights on both sides and realized that the Germans must have deployed artillery observers there. They only needed a pair of binoculars to accurately calculate the position of the 75mm guns and then use the phone to inform the 105MM to carry out the bombing.
A feeling of powerlessness arose in Major General Tijani's heart.
This was a desperate situation, an impossible place to break out of. Why did one easily step into this trap?
Because of the highway, "Saint-Chamon" and CA-1 must take the highway.
In addition, General Joffre ordered, "Get to the town of Lorca as quickly as possible," and this straight road was the shortest route.
The Germans anticipated this, so they set up a tight trap and waited.
"Where are the reinforcements? Where are our reinforcements?" Major General Tijani asked weakly.
"General!" the signalman replied, "They let Charles take over the command. Charles' troops have broken through Rhodes, and the reinforcements are behind us!"
Tijani's eyes lit up. Charles' troops?
But then he shook his head slightly and whispered, "Charles' troops are of no use. His tanks only have machine guns. They can't be a match for the enemy!"
Tijani had seen German tanks through the telescope. They were like mobile fortresses, with artillery and dense machine guns that could penetrate Charles' "Mark I" from any direction.
At this moment, a plane roared past Tijani's head and dropped a bottle.
That was how planes communicated with infantry on the ground. The pilots would put intelligence in bottles and drop them on the ground to communicate with the infantry.
The sky still belongs to France, and that is the only thing that makes Tijani thankful.
Soon, the signalman got the intelligence and reported excitedly: "General, Charles' troops will arrive here in 20 minutes. Charles hopes that we can break out to the north!"
"North?" Tijani was puzzled. That was another exit blocked by German artillery fire, not the direction from which the reinforcements were coming.
Is this information wrong?
(End of this chapter)
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