Chapter 694: Mezières’ Dilemma
"We can change the landing location." Major General Browne suggested: "There is a bridge about 7 kilometers upstream from here..."
"The Germans must be ready," Charles rejected the idea.
It is not difficult to blow up or block a bridge with firepower. All you need to do is install some explosives or mobilize a battalion of artillery.
Tijani spread his hands helplessly: "Like I said, let's just stay here!"
Suddenly, the whistling sound of artillery shells was heard in the air, and then dozens of artillery shells exploded in the city one after another.
This caused panic among the people in the city. For a while, there were shouts and screams everywhere, and faint screams and crying.
Charles and his companions stood at the window and looked out.
The artillery shells continued to fire into the city one after another.
Soon, Mezières, which had just been celebrating, was filled with smoke and fires broke out in several places.
Charles looked at the flames of war outside and said thoughtfully, "So, do you still think we can achieve the final victory by staying here?"
"What?" Tijani looked puzzled, then he suddenly understood: "You mean the German shelling is a counterattack? No, no, they can't get through either!"
"Not a counterattack, Major-General," Charles answered. "If they can surround and kill us at Mézières, they may even be able to hold the line north of it."
"But Mézières is a major transportation hub..." Tijani replied.
"Indeed," replied Charles; "but they could build a railway round about Mézières, and that would not take much time."
Then Charles added: "At the same time, they can continue to bombard civilians to cause panic, while the Germans are gathering more and more on the west bank of the Meuse River. How long do you think we can hold out like this?"
Tijani was silent.
Although the French army seized a lot of supplies that could meet the needs for a period of time, the German army could easily blow the city to pieces as long as they had enough artillery.
Charles gave the order in a deep voice: "Transfer personnel to the Ardennes Mountains, along with supplies."
"Yes, General." The staff officer turned around and went down to make arrangements.
Soon, the people of Mezieres moved to the northern mountainous area with their families, and soldiers and vehicles continued to distribute supplies from the train station.
If Charles had not continued to harass the German army with bombers, the train station would have been flattened by the German army by now.
However, this does not mean that Mézières is safe.
As night fell, Charles, Tijani and Browne discussed the river crossing plan under the light of the map. The signalman came forward to report: "General, German reinforcements have arrived at Sedan, and there is an estimated infantry division."
Charles and the others looked at each other and saw worry in each other's eyes.
Sedan is on the same side of the Meuse River. Once the German army builds fortifications there, the 1st Armored Army will be surrounded and unable to go anywhere but stay here and be bombed.
"If we continue like this, we may have no choice but to return the way we came." Brownie.
"Or, we can attack Sedan first," Tijani suggested. "I mean, we can attack Sedan while the Germans are still struggling to gain a firm foothold. They won't be able to stop our attack."
"But what's the point?" Browne objected. "And once our main force attacks Sedan, the Germans will cross the river and attack Mezieres. If we lose Mezieres, we won't be able to retreat."
"What else can we do?" Tijani said anxiously, "Do we really have to withdraw?"
Brownie said nothing, as this seemed to him to be the only option.
The Germans didn't need to capture Mézières, they just needed to blow it into ruins with artillery!
The headquarters fell into silence.
After a long while, Charles sighed softly: "It seems that I have no choice but to take a risk."
"Take a risk?" Brownie and Tijani looked at Charles at the same time. Does this mean there is still a way?
…
On the west bank of the Meuse River, the disheveled Lieutenant General Nicolas hid in the newly built half-buried fortification, staring at the yellowed map under the oil lamp.
He was always thankful that he had retreated to the west bank of the Meuse River in time and blew up the bridge, otherwise the consequences would have been disastrous.
Lieutenant General Nicolas frowned and said nothing until his staff reported that the 107th Infantry Division had arrived to reinforce Sedan, then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's obvious that Charles is helpless in this situation." Lieutenant General Nicolas analyzed to the staff: "The most important thing about his tactics is speed. Once he is blocked by our army and cannot move forward smoothly, he will have nothing to fear."
"Yes, General." The staff officer agreed: "This is not the positional warfare that Charles is good at. Moreover, his armored forces are blocked by us in the city where they cannot deploy."
Lieutenant General Nicolas nodded slightly.
He suddenly found that he seemed to have found a blessing in disguise.
Before this, all the limelight was stolen by Erwin and his 1st Tank Division.
Now, if he could defeat Charles's First Armored Army here, he would not only be able to hold his head high but also overturn Falkenham's opinion of him.
Thinking of this, the exhausted Lieutenant General Nicolas regained his energy. He turned his gaze to the map again and gave the order in a deep voice:
"Send a batch of ammunition from the rear right away before dark, and also artillery. Bring all the artillery nearby."
"Also, withdraw the 96th Infantry Division and send it to Sedan."
"Send out another signalman to bring all the troops withdrawn from the front line to garrison here!"
Lieutenant General Nicolas's judgment is:
The defense line on the west bank of the Meuse River was basically safe, and Charles had no means to cross the river.
The most dangerous place at this time was Sedan. One infantry division there might not be able to stop Charles' attack, so an infantry division was transferred from the coastal defense line to reinforce Sedan.
As for the gaps in the coastal defense line, they can be filled with troops withdrawn from the defense line.
This idea seems to be fine on the surface, but what Lieutenant General Nicolas did not expect was that this actually left Charles with a rare breakthrough opportunity.
…
The sky is dotted with stars.
The northern section of the "C"-shaped encirclement of the city of Mezieres is close to the banks of the Meuse River in the Ardennes Mountains.
The German 96th Infantry Division was originally stationed here, and they spent several hours building fortifications.
This is not an easy task in the terrain where the river water overflows the embankment and even floods into houses.
They had to build trenches with sandbags, and would shiver in the icy river water while hiding in the fortifications. They also had to constantly pay attention to the rising river water and ensure that the ammunition would not get damp.
Therefore, they all felt relieved when they heard that they were transferred to Se.
The soldiers expressed their blessings to the engineering troops who came to take over the defense:
"The defense line is yours now. We have built the fortifications. No need to thank me!"
"Enjoy it. I think the most important thing is to make sure you don't freeze to death before the enemy arrives."
"I'm sorry, there's no place to sleep here because the ground is full of water. You'd better stay standing all night!"
…
(End of this chapter)
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