Chapter 420 Fuel Dilemma
Mechelen is a medium-sized town in northern Belgium with a population of over 70,000. It is 22 kilometers from Brussels and 13 kilometers from Antwerp.
Mr. Mignolet runs a gas station at the southwest intersection of the town. Recently, he had no choice but to plan to close his business.
After the Germans occupied Belgium, they drove their cars and motorcycles to gas stations every few days, but did not pay a penny after filling up the gas.
"At least they didn't cause us any trouble." The wife said with relief in her tone: "I thought they would rob us."
“You think this is a good thing?” Mr. Mignolet replied, “They just don’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. This is using our supply chain to provide them with gasoline for a long time!”
Mr. Mignolet, who was concerned about the international situation, knew that Germany was under a British naval blockade and that Britain intended to "starve" Germany in trade.
Belgian merchants were outside the blockade, and the Germans cleverly took advantage of this to obtain their valuable war resources.
"It's hard to imagine!" Mr. Mignolet complained in a low voice, "We are actually funding the Germans, and we can even say that we are helping the Germans occupy and control Belgium!"
"But what else can we do?" The wife replied in horror: "What else can we do after closing the business? Starve to death?"
After a pause, the wife added: "Besides, do you think we have the power to end the business?"
Mr. Mignolet was stunned. He realized that his wife was right. The reason they could live in peace now was because they could bring benefits to the Germans.
If we really want to end it, the Germans will come knocking on our door.
But, is it going to continue like this?
Just as Mr. Mignolet was in a dilemma, a group of tanks rumbled on the road, followed by a long line of cars. They slowly slowed down in front of the gas station and finally pulled over.
Mr. Mignolet looked at the large number of people with a look of horror: "Look, Dana, it's time to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs!"
My wife and all the employees in the store looked at these vehicles in confusion. If they all filled up with gas for free, the gas station would go bankrupt.
At this time, the tank cabin opened, and a captain with a mustache and wearing a helmet leaned out. He looked tired and his face was covered with oil.
The helmet was something Mr. Mignolet had never seen before, and neither was the uniform.
This must be the new German uniform, thought Mr. Mignolet.
The mustache captain shouted in French: "Hey, sir, do you have any gasoline? Give us some!"
Mr. Mignolet was stunned for a moment, looked at the long convoy behind him and replied: "Sorry, sir, we don't have that much gasoline."
"Add as many as you can." The mustache-wearing captain urged, "We are in a hurry!"
"Yes, sir," replied M. Mignolet, thinking that was enough.
Then he winked at his wife and employees and whispered, "Give them some extra fuel and send them away!"
His wife and employees understood and started to get busy. Several people pushed the oil barrel to the front of the tank, stood it up straight, opened the lid and connected it to the oil pump.
Mr. Mignolet went forward to greet them personally, for he was afraid that the employee would let slip the truth.
The captain with a mustache jumped off the tank, looked at the town ahead, and asked casually, "Are there any Germans here?"
"What?" said Mr. Mignolet, in amazement. Then his eyes lit up. They were speaking French, French!
"Are you French?" Mr. Mignolet looked at the tank soldier doubtfully.
The employees also stopped what they were doing and looked at the strange soldiers in front of them in surprise.
"What? Do we look like Germans?" The captain with a mustache had a faint smile on his face.
The soldiers around laughed.
"But!" said Mr. Mignolet, with a shudder of fear. "How did you get here? Where are the Germans?"
The mustache captain calmly asked back: "Isn't that the question I asked you?"
The soldiers laughed even more happily.
Then someone gave the answer: "We are from the Shire, sir. Have you heard of the Shire?"
"Of course, of course!" Mr. Mignolet was so excited that he was incoherent: "Charles, who hasn't heard of Charles? You are actually his troops, but I, I didn't even hear any gunshots..."
Mr. Mignolet looked around. Had he missed something?
"Don't doubt it." The captain with a mustache said in a relaxed tone: "We are moving too fast, and the main German force has been left far behind us. You just need to tell me if there are any Germans in the town, and if so, where are they?"
"Yes, sir." Mr. Mignolet nodded repeatedly. "There are two groups of Germans. They are stationed at the government building and the police station. They use this method to control the whole town."
"Hmm." The captain with a mustache spread out a map on the tank: "Government buildings and police stations..."
Mr. Mignolet immediately pointed out the location on the map: "Here, and here. There aren't many of them. The total force is probably less than a hundred."
A trace of disappointment flashed across the mustache captain's face. He turned his head and shouted to the back: "Luca, let Jerome take his troops to get rid of them!"
"Yes, Captain."
Then two tanks and a team of armored vehicles passed the convoy and drove along the road towards the town. On the armored vehicles sat teams of French soldiers armed with live ammunition, rubbing their hands and ready for battle.
Mr. Mignolet was sure that they were French troops coming to liberate Belgium. He turned around and shouted to his wife: "Dana, bring out all the gasoline, all of it!"
The mustache captain joked, "You seemed to say there wasn't much gas left."
"That's for the Germans, sir," replied M. Mignolet, with excitement in his eyes.
…
Charles' troops rested in Mechelen, which could also be said to be a pre-war preparation.
The biggest problem for armored and mechanized divisions is that they require a lot of fuel, especially tanks, which consume an astonishing 200 liters per 100 kilometers.
When the army advanced to Mechelen, the fuel they carried with them had been almost consumed, and the fuel in the rear could not be delivered for a while because the roads and railways were bombed by the main German force.
In addition, although the "Charler A1" has undergone several improvements and is running on the road, it still needs an overhaul every 100 kilometers, otherwise only a few of them will be able to move by the time they reach Antwerp.
But the fuel dilemma was soon resolved.
When the Belgians in Mechelen heard that Charles' troops needed gasoline, they spontaneously organized themselves to transport gasoline from nearby areas and even emptied the gasoline in their own cars.
"There are still 13 kilometers to go." Charles looked at the sky which was gradually getting darker and a new idea came to his mind.
The Germans knew that tanks had no night-fighting capability, and they would assume that the French would attack at daybreak the next day.
Should we give them a surprise now?
(End of this chapter)
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