Chapter 529 Their Scandal Is About to Be Exposed
Fierce artillery fire rang out again, it was the artillery suppression ordered by Monty.
He believed that if there were tanks providing cover in front of the infantry, they could avoid being hit by artillery shells to a certain extent, and this might be a good time to suppress the infantry with artillery fire.
This idea seemed to be correct. Under the attack of British artillery fire, the German firepower instantly became much smaller, and there was still a vague sign of the German retreat.
The British tanks took this opportunity to speed up, and the soldiers in the rear also began to charge. Then with a loud shout, Monty successfully led his men into the first trench of the German army.
Monty was ecstatic as he did not expect victory to come so easily.
However, before he could consolidate his position, the Germans launched a counterattack.
At this time, the tank stopped in front of the trench and dared not move forward. The driver was not sure whether he could cross the trench in front of him that had been widened by the Germans. Without orders, they did not dare to take risks easily.
The tank machine guns kept firing at the German army, firing in several directions at the same time, making it fire like a hedgehog covered with spikes.
However, it was parked in front of the trench and could not move, which made it a target for the German 77MM gun.
“Boom boom!”
After a burst of artillery fire, several tanks were instantly blown to pieces, and some even caught fire.
Immediately afterwards, the German 105MM long-range artillery also roared, and its shells made a terrifying whistling sound in the air, from far to near, and the sound gradually changed from sharp to roaring.
Finally, there was a burst of "boom, boom, boom" explosions on the position, the earth shook and Monty felt like a small boat that could capsize at any time in the wind and waves.
He risked his life by stepping on the high ground and looking back. He saw that among the dozens of tanks behind him, only a few were able to move, and they were still being bombed with nowhere to hide.
Monty suddenly realized that he had been fooled. This was a trap set by the Germans.
The reason why the German 105MM artillery was so accurate and so fast was because they had long been aiming at this line of defense, the Germans' own line of defense.
The British Army was able to achieve "victory" so smoothly because the Germans took the initiative to give up their positions and left the British Army vulnerable to bombing.
The shells continued to fall, one after another, onto the trenches that the British had just occupied.
The Germans' calculations were both sinister and thorough.
The range of its 105MM caliber artillery exceeds that of all the artillery of the British and French forces. If they are pulled far away and aimed at their own defense line, no artillery will be able to reach them.
The German artillery could bomb with confidence and for as long as they wanted.
Fortunately, the German trenches were nearly three meters high and contained anti-artillery holes, which provided good protection for the British army.
However……
Monty in the trench immediately thought that after the Germans bombarded the tanks with artillery, the next step would be for a large number of infantry to come up and retake the trench.
We will be killed here, a chill ran through Monty's heart. They were surrounded by artillery fire, unable to move, and isolated and helpless.
Monty did not hesitate. Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, he shouted to his staff, "Pass the order down. Retreat as soon as the artillery fire stops!"
The staff officer was stunned. Shouldn’t they launch a charge as soon as the artillery fire stopped?
We are winning the first stage, and now is the time to press on!
"Retreat!" Monty confirmed his order: "Retreat as soon as the artillery stops!"
"Yes, Captain!" The staff officer brought several signalmen to pass on the order.
Monty was right.
As a result, the Germans did not expect the British to suddenly retreat during the interval between artillery fire. They were still thinking of surrounding these British in the trenches and annihilating them all, but they accidentally let them escape.
…
Antwerp Airport.
Charles is counting the number of rocket launchers and rockets sent to Mons.
Rocket launchers and rockets will eventually be sent to Mons to launch an attack on the Namur Fortress, so there is no need to go to Antwerp first and then transfer them to Mons.
This is not only unnecessary, but also easily exposes one's own strategic goals.
As for the bazooka rockets that have arrived in Antwerp, they are used for troop training and as reserves.
The two rocket artillery regiments are basically in place, but the number of rockets is still slightly insufficient, with only more than 20,000 rockets.
Steed was puzzled: "Major General, more than 20,000 rockets far exceed the ammunition base of the two artillery regiments!"
He calculated it based on the ammunition base of the French howitzers. There were 72 guns in two artillery regiments, and 100 rounds of ammunition for each gun, so the base number was 7,200 rounds.
Charles replied: "You seem to have forgotten that a rocket launcher has twelve tubes, Mr. Steed."
Steed's forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat, which meant that more than 80,000 rockets were needed to form the ammunition base!
Charles wasn't sure exactly how many rockets were needed.
It depends on how much artillery the Germans deploy at the Namur Fortress and the actual combat effectiveness of the rockets.
However, it is definitely not wrong to produce too many rockets. Even if it does not have a launch tube, you only need to place one on the sandbags in front of the position and connect it to the battery to launch it.
Just as Charles was calculating how many rockets to allocate to each of the two rocket artillery regiments, Tijani came out with a telegram:
"Good news, the Germans are sending reinforcements to the Somme."
"They have at least transferred two artillery regiments from Verdun. There are also signs of mobilization at the Namur Fortress, but it is not clear how many troops have been transferred."
Charles said "hmm" and continued to calculate on the paper.
The Germans should have transferred more troops from the Namur Fortress.
After all, the French army's strategic intention to attack Namur had been exposed, and mainstream generals including Kitzinger, Haig, and Nivelle were all trapped in the public opinion trap of "killing with a borrowed knife."
In addition, the British and French forces had already launched a full-scale attack on the Somme River, making it basically impossible for the French army to attack Namur.
So, what is the point of keeping the artillery in Namur?
"It may have something to do with the British bringing in tanks," Tijani said. "They put the Germans under pressure."
"Tank?" Charles stopped what he was doing and looked up at Tijani.
"Yes." Tijani handed Charles a newspaper with a smug look on his face. "Your intelligence is not always timely, Major General."
Charles took the newspaper and looked at it. In a prominent position it was written: "The British Army used new tanks on the battlefield for the first time and achieved a major victory", with a photo of a tank attached next to it.
Charles recognized it immediately as a British Whippet.
This is a very interesting tank. The British thought that as long as there were machine guns in all four directions, there would be no need for a rotating turret.
What’s more, they believe that this tank can fire in three directions simultaneously and at the same time, and therefore has much more firepower than a single rotating turret.
(Note: The Whippet usually has three crew members: driver, commander, and machine gunner. Normally, one machine gunner takes turns to operate four machine guns. In extreme cases, an additional machine gunner can be added, and together with the commander, three machine guns can be fired at the same time)
Charles smiled coldly: "Their scandal is about to be exposed."
The victory or defeat of the tank was too obvious, and the soldiers saw it all, and it could not be hidden.
The British were only concerned with calming people's hearts, but they did not expect that this might lead to more terrible consequences.
Tijani looked at Charles in astonishment: "Scandal? What scandal?"
(End of this chapter)
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