Chapter 421 Knowing Too Much
On the starry night, the German troops in Antwerp were still busy.
Due to the fear of being infiltrated by guerrillas, the German army did not even dare to "hire" the Belgians to build fortifications. They organized all the people who were considered trustworthy to build fortifications, including logistics personnel, signalmen, and even officers.
The city of Antwerp is surrounded by layers of fortresses and trenches.
Inside the city, the manor villa that originally belonged to Albert I was brightly lit, and staff officers were busy trying to get more information through telephones and telegrams.
Telegrams were handed to the German police commander, Major General von Marcus, one after another, but his brows were getting deeper and deeper.
Finally, he could no longer hold back and stood up with a bang. He angrily threw the telegram in his hand onto the table and asked sternly: "I just want to know the location of the French army. Can anyone tell me where their main force is? I need a location, an exact location!"
No one answered because no one knew.
The staff officers nervously avoided Marcus' gaze, lowering their heads like children who had done something wrong.
All the German intelligence units were at the front and even in France, but not in Belgium.
Especially the Brussels area, which they once thought was a very safe rear area.
So once the telephone lines to Brussels were cut, it became a veritable "unknown area" and no one knew what was happening.
The staff officer came forward with a document and reported carefully: "General, we believe that the French army will not attack tonight, and will attack at the earliest in the early morning of tomorrow."
"How can you be sure?" Marcus asked.
The staff officer handed over a document and a compiled telegram, saying, "We have contacted Major General Nicholas, the commander of the 1st Tank Division."
Marcus took the document and looked at it. On it was Nicholas' analysis of the limitations of tank combat. His conclusion was: tanks are not suitable for night combat. They can't see anything at night and are no different from blind people.
Major General Marcus said "hmm" and his expression eased a little. The staff group finally played a role.
The staff officer continued to report: "At the same time, we also received advice from Captain Erwin, who has considerable experience in tank defense warfare. He believes that digging wide trenches can effectively prevent tanks from passing through."
The staff officer handed over a schematic diagram that showed how tanks could be trapped by wide trenches.
Major General Marcus understood it at a glance and immediately ordered: "What are you waiting for? Order the troops to dig wider trenches immediately."
The staff officer replied in embarrassment: "But General, we have many trenches but a serious shortage of manpower. We won't be able to finish half of the digging by dawn."
Marcus walked back and forth behind his desk with his hands behind his back and asked, "When will the 192nd Infantry Regiment arrive?"
"It may take another two hours. The 87th Reserve Division will arrive before dawn." The staff officer replied.
Needless to say, neither of these two reinforcements could change the difficulties faced in building fortifications.
Suddenly, Marcus paused, turned back to the map and stared at the Antwerp defense map. After a while, he said slowly, "Perhaps, we don't need to widen all the trenches."
The staff officer looked at Marcus in confusion, but only wide trenches could stop the tanks...
"We only need to modify one trench." Marcus pointed at the front of the defense line and said, "Make the first trench four meters wide to ensure that enemy tanks cannot pass through."
The staff officer said "Oh" and understood what Major General Marcus meant.
If the first trench is sure to stop enemy tanks, there is no need to widen other trenches.
In addition, the artillery in the fortress can also mark these trenches. Once the enemy tanks are blocked in front of the trenches, they will immediately suffer a devastating blow.
"I'll give the order right away," the staff officer replied.
"No." Marcus took his military cap off the wall, put it on his head, grabbed the whip on the table, and walked out the door while giving orders: "I will personally supervise the construction of this trench. All available manpower will be transferred here immediately."
He seemed very proud of his sudden inspiration, and even thought that it was the key to stopping the French attack tomorrow, even if the attacker was Charles's troops.
…
On the Antwerp front, the first line of defense was about 500 meters in front of the fortress circle.
There are three types of artillery in the fortress circles of Antwerp’s two lines of defense. The short-range artillery is the 77MM field gun, and each fort has four.
The theoretical range of the 77MM field gun is 5 kilometers, and in actual combat it is mostly used for direct fire at about 500 meters.
(Note: This was the result of suppression by the French 75mm gun. The 75mm gun had high accuracy, fast firing rate, and long range. If the German 77mm gun did not approach the enemy and try to kill them with one shot, it would only be crushed by the 75mm gun.)
The first line of defense was set up to cooperate with the 77MM field gun in the fortress.
Marcus was very satisfied with this distance. He believed that once the enemy tanks were blocked in front of this trench, they would become targets for the 77mm guns in the fortress.
"Here it is!" Major General Marcus confidently shouted to the people following behind him, "Widen this line of defense to four meters and two meters deep. It must be completed before dawn."
"Yes, General."
The soldiers jumped into the trenches one after another and worked with their engineering shovels.
But soon someone shouted:
"General, can we have a torch?"
"Good idea. Anyway, the enemy is not coming."
"Lighting torches is more efficient!"
…
Major General Marcus looked towards the darkness in the south towards Brussels and nodded, "No problem, as long as you finish before dawn, each of you will get an extra pack of cigarettes tomorrow!"
The soldiers cheered.
Soon, torches were lit one after another. The German army even used a long pole to prop up the torches high so that the light could illuminate a larger area.
The German soldiers were digging hard under the firelight, some were transporting earth, some were measuring, some were directing, and they were very busy.
…
At this time, Charles and Tijani were lying in the grass two miles away, watching the German army's magical operation.
"What are they doing?" Tijani put away the binoculars, his tone full of doubt: "They clearly put their defense line in front of us."
The French army had originally had no way of knowing the location of the enemy trenches, but now it was clear.
Ciel smiled and replied, "It's because they know too much."
"Know too much?" Tijani was even more confused. What does this have to do with exposing the location of the trenches?
Charles hummed, "They know that tanks are not suitable for night combat."
Tijani was stunned for a moment, and suddenly understood: because they knew that tanks were not suitable for night combat, they thought that the French army would not attack at night, so they felt confident and bold to light torches and build fortifications.
Tijani laughed: "They must have thought that they would have enough time to put out their torches after hearing the engines of the enemy tanks!"
(End of this chapter)
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