Chapter 542: The Voice of the People
The German army's quick retreat was related to Erwin.
He saw everything at the front, including the terrifying combat effectiveness of the French 1st Armored Division and how they used bridge-laying armored vehicles to easily break through anti-tank trenches.
Erwin rushed back to the Hewan District Command as quickly as possible. Despite being covered in mud and smoke, he pointed at the map and analyzed to Nicolas: "The second line of defense also relies on anti-tank trenches. The French army can still break through quickly. We have no way to stop it."
"We have tanks, not many, but they might be able to help," Nicholas replied.
His idea was to use tanks to destroy the French bridge-laying armored vehicles.
The "Upper Silesian" tank may not be able to defeat the "Char A1", but it is more than enough to deal with unarmed bridge-laying armored vehicles.
"It won't work." Erwin shook his head. "Their bridge-laying armored vehicles are covered by tanks. Besides, our tanks probably can't see the target."
Nicholas was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Rocket launcher?"
Erwin nodded. "We are not sure how many rockets they have, nor are we sure whether the tanks can withstand the bombardment of rockets. If we attack rashly, it is likely that the whole army will be wiped out."
This is the grievance of the artillery being suppressed, and even the original planned "tank defense" is useless.
Lieutenant General Nicolas was still a little unwilling: "But we still have Namur Fortress and Namur City. With them, we will have no problem holding out for three days."
"General," Erwin pointed to the map and replied, "Once the French army breaks through the second line of defense, they will bypass the Namur Fortress and the city of Namur and cut off our contact with the outside world. Three days later, even if reinforcements arrive, what can we do?"
Lieutenant General Nicolas was stunned.
It might not be a problem to defend the city for three days. The problem was that no matter how many reinforcements came, they would be destroyed by Charles's troops. No one could defeat Charles' armored and mechanized divisions in the battle outside the city.
Seeing that Lieutenant General Nicolas was still hesitating, Erwin added, "I just received intelligence that Belgium has dispatched an elite force to Mons. This force may have 50,000 to 60,000 people."
Lieutenant General Nicolas knew what this meant.
If we don't leave, we will be surrounded, and the final outcome will be being captured like the hundreds of thousands of German troops in Ghent.
"Make a decision, General." Erwin urged, "We must not only withdraw, but also withdraw immediately. Otherwise, with the speed of the Charles armored and mechanized troops, they will quickly penetrate our flanks and rear, and we will not be able to leave even if we want to!"
Lieutenant General Nicolas stared at the map and thought for a while, then finally nodded helplessly and ordered: "Retreat!"
…
This may be one of the advantages of armored and mechanized divisions. The enemies facing them will always worry about being penetrated from the flanks and rear.
If Charles were leading a low-level mechanized infantry today, the German army would most likely choose to stay and fight in the streets, and then the two armies would be stuck in a quagmire that neither side could win.
Actually, Charles didn't want the battle to end so quickly. It only took two days, which was so fast that even Charles was a little surprised.
Then the parliament would say: "Since Charles's battle at Namur is over, can he and his troops be transferred to the Somme?"
How would Charles respond then?
…
Namur Castle is one of the largest castles in Europe. It is located on a hill more than 100 meters above sea level and is surrounded by a river as a moat.
(The picture above shows Namur Castle.)
This kind of castle built in the era of cold weapons is no longer of much significance to modern wars. Its brick and stone walls cannot withstand artillery bombardment and can even be said to be a "dead place".
Charles set up his headquarters here.
Although it is a "death zone" in war, it has complete facilities and is also suitable for keeping secrets.
Charles took a shower here, put on a clean and dry new military uniform, had a nice dinner, and stood in front of the window with a glass of red wine, watching the cruise ships coming and going on the Meuse River in the rain.
He could hardly believe that he had been fighting the enemy on the battlefield not long ago.
As usual, Charles entered Namur without fanfare to receive the cheers of the Belgian people.
This approach is too dangerous. It is not worth getting shot by the remnants of the German army.
Albert I was different. He was among the first to enter the city of Namur and followed the French soldiers to take over the city.
On the other hand, the Belgian First Special Reconnaissance Army was also transferred to Namur to maintain public order and built a defense line in the east of the city to prevent a German counterattack.
They did a good job. Albert I was responsible for stabilizing the people and managing internal affairs, while Brigadier General Eden was responsible for mobilizing troops and organizing defense.
Charles hardly had to worry about the newly captured Namur.
However, the more this happened, the less Charles could find excuses to deal with the parliament.
"Major General." Tijani came out of the telecommunications room and asked Charles with a smile, "Do you know how people react to this battle?"
Charles shook his head slightly, his eyes still fixed on the river outside the window.
He doesn't have much interest in this area.
He might be excited about it at first, but as he won more and more victories, he became indifferent or even numb.
Charles didn't know that it was easy for him to talk without any pain in his waist. At this time, Haig and Nivelle, who were struggling to command the battle on the Somme River, dreamed of having a victory to save the situation.
"Paris is in chaos." Tijani poured himself a glass of red wine and walked to the window.
You can't drink during wartime, but now is the time of leisure after the war.
"Their biggest shout is not to brag about you." Tijani leaned against the window with a glass of wine in his hand, relaxed and elegant, with a smile on his face: "They confirmed two points: one is that Nivelle did give the order to attack Namur, and the other is that you can easily capture the strong city of Namur, while Nivelle and Haig still couldn't make any progress after paying the price of hundreds of thousands of people!"
Ciel said "Oh", this was what he was interested in, this was what he had mentioned before as the "double strike".
First, although Charles had said this in parliament before, parliament chose to keep it secret for the sake of "the overall situation", so it was not made public on a large scale.
The second point is that Charles captured Namur, which was thought to be impossible to conquer, in less than two days, which formed a huge contrast with the difficult situation on the Somme battlefield.
"And then?" Charles asked.
"The people want you to be the commander-in-chief." Tijani raised his glass towards Charles and said, "They believe that if you lead the French army, the war will end sooner and fewer people will die."
After a pause, Tijani added: "Not only the people, but also the grassroots officers and soldiers of the army."
Grassroots officers and soldiers like commanders like Charles because they can "reduce the number of deaths."
Then Tijani asked again, his eyes full of expectation: "Why don't you take this opportunity? I think what they say makes sense."
Ciel smiled softly and replied, "Being commander-in-chief does me no good."
That would only make him the target of public criticism, the first to stand out, and the target of parliament.
And these are not something that the people and grassroots officers and soldiers can decide!
(End of this chapter)
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