Chapter 610 The Power of the Masses
Charles was taking advantage of Albert I's appeal, or rather, the power of the masses.
This is due to two considerations:
First, among the supplies seized from the German army, there were a large number of German rifles. More than 40,000 rifles were seized when the German defense line was broken through. German supply convoys were captured along the way and warehouses will be occupied later. It is foreseeable that more guns and ammunition will be seized.
The French army has no use for these weapons. The Belgian First Special Reconnaissance Army may be able to use the ammunition but not the rifles, and they have too many bullets.
Then why not arm the people along the way?
Forty thousand rifles can equip forty thousand militiamen, regardless of gender, as long as they are taught how to shoot.
Second, the quality of the German army is not very good at this point in the war.
In particular, the elite troops had been transferred to Antwerp to take on the main attack mission, and most of the troops left in the rear and hinterland were new recruits.
The quality of these recruits is not much different from that of the Belgian militia, but the Belgian militia has the courage to "defend their country" and may be better fighters than the German recruits. In the end, the role they can play may be much greater than imagined.
The facts were exactly as Charles thought.
After knowing his mission, Albert I immediately organized his troops to garrison behind the French army and build supply lines along the way, while distributing surplus rifles to civilians in villages and towns along the way to organize militias.
More importantly, he also organized a cavalry to take a shortcut and get ahead of the army, delivering news to the towns leading to Hasselt along the way, so that people could prepare to welcome Charles' army.
One of the reasons why the First Armored Army's advance was slow was the snow on the road.
The heavy snow in recent days had covered the roads with a thick layer of snow. It was common for car wheels to get stuck in it and slip. Moreover, after being pushed out of one pit, they would fall into another pit soon after. Although they were called armored and mechanized troops, they were actually not much faster than people walking.
A tank with tracks might be better, but the chassis of the "Char A1" is very low, and the steel plates in front of it are like a bulldozer, pushing forward against the snow and getting more and more, requiring soldiers to keep clearing it in front.
These problems almost disappeared after 2pm.
Belgian citizens knew that Charles' troops would pass through their villages and towns, so they spontaneously organized themselves to clear the snow.
Along the way, the troops could see citizens wearing cotton-padded clothes and shoveling snow, both men and women, young and old, all of them busy and breathing hard.
As the French troops passed by, they waved enthusiastically and shouted greetings in French:
"Hello, salute you!"
"Thank you, my friends from France."
"You are heroes. Give my regards to General Charles!"
…
Sometimes Charles was among them, though he hid in an armored reconnaissance vehicle so that they could not recognize him.
Charles didn't want them to recognize him because it would bring unnecessary trouble or even danger.
…
Leuven, temporary headquarters of the German 21st Army.
Nicholas and Erwin sat in silence in front of the map, surrounded by busy staff officers running back and forth, trying their best to understand the movements of Charles' troops through telephone and telegram.
After a long while, Nicolas asked, "Can Hasselt hold on?"
Colonel Erwin responded simply, "No, General, that's impossible."
Hasselt had only two infantry regiments, and they were reserve forces responsible for maintaining public order and protecting railway stations and supplies, while his opponent was Charles' First Armored Army.
The corner of Nicholas' mouth twitched, he stood up and pointed at the map and said:
"We may still have a chance. We can transfer fighter jets to Hasselt."
"Just like before, our fighters have a numerical advantage and it is possible to gain air superiority."
"Once we gain air superiority using Hasselt as a base, we can hold it until reinforcements arrive!"
Erwin hung his head like a defeated rooster, his tone helpless:
"It's too late, General."
"Charter's planes will intercept from Brussels and Namur."
"At the same time, his ground forces will arrive in Hasselt in about ten hours. By then, our planes will have to face not only Camel fighters, but also Charles A1 tanks!"
Nicholas added: "We can reinforce Hasselt from two directions!"
The two directions refer to the fortresses of Leuven and Liege, especially the latter, where two infantry divisions are deployed.
“General.” Colonel Erwin shook his head. “The Liege Fortress cannot reinforce Hasselt. You know why.”
Nicholas sighed and nodded slightly.
Most of the troops in the Liege Fortress were garrison soldiers, who were trained to surround the fortress and block the attacks of the Charles.
Sending them to fight in Hasselt would undoubtedly be a huge waste.
More importantly, who can guarantee that Charles will not change his target and attack the Liege fortress?
Erwin gritted his teeth and said, "Order a withdrawal, General. If it's too late, we will probably end up like Lieutenant General Baird."
Lieutenant General Baird was the highest-ranking German general who was surrounded in Ghent and surrendered to Charles. He has become a negative example for the German army.
Erwin never imagined that he would end up in a similar situation one day.
"Retreat?" Nicholas looked at Erwin in disbelief. "Do you know how many troops we have on the way to attack? They have already penetrated deep into the heart of Belgium. It is impossible for them to return and escape the encirclement within ten hours."
"I know." Erwin replied with difficulty, "But we can break out from other directions while Charles' main force is attacking Hasselt. There is no other way."
Nicholas sat back down in his chair heavily.
This means that all the tanks cannot come back, and half of the fighter planes may have to be left behind because Charles' fighter planes are waiting for them on the retreat route.
The German army had been hiding its strength for so long and had finally accumulated these equipments, but now they were all burned to ashes.
“General.” Seeing that Lieutenant General Nicolas was still unwilling to give up, Erwin emphasized, “What we should consider now is not whether we can defend Hasselt, but whether we can break through and how far we can break out.”
Lieutenant General Nicholas nodded. He believed in Erwin's judgment. Although the failure was due to Erwin, he was not to blame for the outcome of the battle.
The reason why he was still in trouble in the end was because his opponent was Charles.
No one could defeat Ciel, and it was no shame to be defeated by him. Erwin was still the only one who almost defeated Ciel.
After a while, Lieutenant General Nicolas turned his gaze to the Dutch border on the map and said slowly, "Perhaps, we can have more people break out of the encirclement."
Erwin understood what Lieutenant General Nicolas meant. He nodded and said, "This may be a solution."
After all, the Netherlands was surrounded by Germany. In this era where force determines everything, if the neutral Netherlands did not make a "fair" choice, it might face an attack from the German army.
(End of this chapter)
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