Chapter 211 God, we were fooled!
The German howitzer position was in a mess, with howitzers knocked over by tanks everywhere, and groups of German artillerymen squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands in surrender.
Colonel Brown simply ordered them to surrender their weapons and destroy the guns, then let them go.
Several Western European countries treated prisoners humanely, and their combat concepts were quite "chivalrous".
In their minds, fighting is one thing, it is fighting against the enemy for the country, and they should do their best, just like knights bleeding for the emperor, it is a kind of honor and a spirit.
But if you cannot save the situation and change the outcome, you should surrender. After you surrender, you are no longer a fighter and should treat each other with kindness.
…
The German General Staff on Wilhelm Street in Berlin.
Falkenhayn is busy drawing on every troop that can be mobilized, and these troops are directed towards the same goal: to rush to Tram and Rhodes to provide reinforcements.
"These are Charles' elite troops!" Falkenhayn paced excitedly behind his desk, saying as he walked, "They have been fighting under Charles' orders since the Battle of the Marne. They know Charles' tactics and equipment. If we can surround and destroy them, it will be like cutting off Charles' left and right arms!"
There was one thing Falkenhayn didn't say. He hoped to capture a few prisoners so that he could learn Charles' new tactics and equipment from them, which might promote the progress of the German army.
This was particularly important to Falkenhayn, who even thought that the two so-called "special artillery divisions" of France were no longer important.
If possible, it doesn't matter if they break out first. Falkenhayn is very willing to exchange them for Charles's 1st Tank Brigade.
"We must stop Charles' troops at all costs!" Falkenhayn muttered to himself.
Colonel Moritz understood.
The strategic value of Charles' troops to the German army was immeasurable.
Perhaps Charles himself did not realize this, which was why he easily sent this force into the encirclement and took the risk.
Suddenly, a signalman reported with a horrified look on his face: "General, Charles' troops defeated our army's first tank regiment. Two tank squadrons (battalions) were almost wiped out. Colonel Mateo died heroically!"
Falkenhayn stopped abruptly and turned to look at the signalman in astonishment: "No, this is impossible!"
How could the Mark I, which had no artillery, instantly defeat the First Tank Regiment, which had artillery?
Colonel Moritz said nothing. He rushed forward and grabbed the decoded telegram. He glanced at it quickly and looked up at Falkenhayn: "General, it's true. Charles has deployed new tanks!"
"A new type of tank?" Falkenhayn was stunned, his expression blank. "But why don't we have any news about it? That's a tank. It takes at least an hour to drive from Rhodes to Samok, more than ten kilometers. How come no one has discovered it?"
Moritz thought for a while and guessed, "Perhaps Charles deliberately concealed its existence. He wanted us to focus on the Mark I, and then this new tank suddenly appeared and caught us off guard..."
Before he could finish his words, Colonel Moritz was stunned on the spot, and he thought of another point.
Falkenhayn also understood. He and Moritz looked at each other, and both saw shock in each other's eyes.
"God, we were fooled!" Colonel Moritz exclaimed: "He made us believe that he only had the 'Mark I', so we misjudged that the French army could only break out from Tram or Rhodes... No, no..."
Colonel Moritz walked up to Falkenhayn at a loss and said, "We should call the troops back. Charles will break out from the Cape Town area. Just as we thought before, they will attack from both sides..."
Falkenhayn shook his head lightly, looking helpless: "It's too late, Moritz, Charles deceived us, and he succeeded again!"
Moritz took out his pocket watch, checked the time, glanced at the map, sighed, and nodded slowly.
Falkenhayn was right. From the moment Charles broke through the Rhodes Line of Defense, the German army urgently dispatched troops to reinforce both wings, and it has been an hour and a half now.
This meant that it would take an hour and a half to turn these troops back.
This time was enough for Charles' troops to bypass the Samoque Straight and reach the town of Lorca.
…
The actual situation is happening much faster than they imagined.
The "Char A1" tank is equipped with a more advanced suspension system, which allows it to reach a speed of 13 kilometers per hour and can travel continuously for more than 30 kilometers without maintenance.
This actually has a lot to do with its light weight. The same track, but supporting an 8-ton "Char A1" and supporting a 17-ton "Mark I" are two different things.
Moreover, the 1st Tank Army still had infantry and tank coordination: sidecars drove ahead to scout the terrain for the tanks, and small flags were planted in advance on muddy and hard ground to serve as warnings.
(Note: Some highway bridges are paved with stones and the stones are uneven. If a tank passes through at high speed, the track will collide violently with the stones and is likely to break.)
Reconnaissance planes in the air also participated in the battle, constantly dropping "intelligence bottles" to warn: there are small groups of enemy troops ahead, there are German supply convoys ahead, there are German engineers ahead...
The three-wheeled troops attacked first, defeated the enemies that needed to be defeated, seized the spoils that needed to be seized, and repaired the bomb craters when they had time. The "Char A1" tanks that followed behind naturally had a smooth journey.
As for the Mark I tanks, Colonel Estiny commanded them to gather together at the intersection of the road in Samok Town, opened the fuel tanks and set them on fire.
Their final mission is to block the retreat route so that the enemy's pursuers cannot catch up quickly.
…
The town of Lorca, just behind the Cape Town area.
Major General Tijani arrived here with the Second Special Artillery Division and successfully joined forces with the First Special Artillery Division.
Amid the cheers of the soldiers, the dusty Major General Christine found Tijani and the two held hands tightly.
Christian took Tijani and crouched down into the makeshift anti-artillery cave. This was an enemy-controlled area, so he didn't dare to be careless.
Before entering the anti-artillery cave, Christine glanced at Tijani's troops and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
Before the war, Christine looked down on Tijani.
He didn't believe that someone like Tijani, who became a major general through connections, could achieve anything on the battlefield.
Now seeing that there are more than thirty "Saint-Chamon" and CA-1 in his team, I can't help but look at Tijani with admiration.
"Well done, General Tijani!" Christine said with a guilty look on her face: "I have already abandoned all those tanks. I didn't bring any with me!"
Tijani replied with an embarrassed look on his face: "If it weren't for the troops from Charles, we wouldn't have gotten here at all, let alone those tanks."
Then he added: "In fact, I should leave them to the enemy. They don't seem to be much better than vases!"
At least the vases were pleasing to the eye, Tijani thought, but these tanks would kill people.
(End of this chapter)
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