Chapter 697 How did the tanks get here?
While the shipyard was busy modifying the tanks, Charles and his guards rushed to the east bank of the Meuse River for an on-site inspection.
It was not safe at this time, as German artillery shells were pouring into the city continuously and in a random manner.
Major General Browne once tried to stop Charles: "You just need to stay at the headquarters, General. I will have someone deliver the data you need to you. There will be no mistakes."
But Charles refused without hesitation.
There are many things that cannot be seen or imagined while staying in the rear headquarters. Only by being there and playing out the scenes in your mind can you discover them.
Moreover, this battle is of great importance. Failure would mean a complete failure of this infiltration. Charles dared not take it lightly at all.
Therefore, the speed of the water flow, the width and depth of each section of the river, as well as the sandbanks and reefs in the river were all verified one by one under Charles' command.
Finally, Charles chose a school as his starting point.
This is Mézières Primary School, and it is located by the river.
It was chosen because the river flooded the school playground, and this "flood area" became the perfect starting point:
It is several hundred meters wide, enough for more than a dozen "amphibious tanks" to line up and set off at the same time, which can ensure that the tanks land on the opposite bank almost at the same time to form sufficient firepower suppression on the enemy.
It is a cement road surface connected to several hard roads, which meets the driving requirements of tanks and will not get stuck in the mud even if it enters the water.
The water depth in the playground section is 1.3 meters, and the terrain is flat and free of obstacles, allowing tank soldiers to conduct sea trials here.
More importantly, the school is located in the middle of the "C"-shaped river channel.
The "amphibious tank" was launched from here and moved forward in a straight line in more than ten minutes. After drifting with the waves, its lateral speed just approached the landing site at the end of the "C"-shaped river channel.
…
The troops set out in darkness, calculating the time so as to reach the other side just before daybreak.
Fortunately, there was a heavy fog that day, and Charles organized another artillery counterattack in order to use the sound of the exploding shells to cover up the sound of the propeller hitting the water.
Major General Browne personally led the team in command.
There were some dangerous situations during the journey. The rushing river water formed some invisible whirlpools, which carried Major General Brownie's "amphibious tank" around in the middle of the river.
Fortunately, Major General Browne remained calm in the face of danger. He ordered the engine to be shut down and the tank to drift with the current, waiting for the moment when the vehicle body was stable and then seizing the opportunity to start suddenly. The "amphibious tank" successfully got rid of the "entanglement" of the vortex under the dual effects of thrust and inertia.
At that time, Major General Brownie was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't help but curse: "Charles, that bastard, his invention is indeed useful, but it's just like a toy. This is simply murder!"
When Major General Browne's tank finally landed successfully, he felt like he had saved his life. But before he could even catch his breath, he was immediately hit by a hail of enemy bullets.
Major General Browne retracted his head into the tank cabin and directed the tank forward.
The route was littered with tanks that had become "stranded" or stuck in the mud.
The situation on the other side of the river is unpredictable, and no one knows the road conditions below the water. If you are not careful, you will get stuck and unable to move. Some people even fall into invisible deep pits.
But Brownie looked to both sides through the observation hole and soon found a pattern. He lowered his head and shouted to the driver below: "Look at the buildings on both sides, there must be a street in the middle of the buildings!"
The driver suddenly came to his senses, stepped on the accelerator and sped forward along the middle of the building.
Sure enough, the tracks created trails of water and successfully rushed onto the hard ground.
At the same time, Major General Brownie operated the machine gun and continuously fired at the enemies on both sides.
“Da da da!”
“Da da da da!”
…
The fleeing German soldiers were knocked down in a pool of blood, and the already turbid water was instantly dyed a shocking red.
Some wounded German soldiers fell to the ground and tried to get up because the river water kept blocking their mouths and noses, making it impossible for them to breathe.
However, the more they struggled, the more pain they aroused in their wounds. After trying several times, they were unable to get up and could only struggle helplessly in the water. Their movements became smaller and smaller, and finally they gave up as if they had accepted their fate and lay motionless in the water.
Gunfire rang out one after another. French soldiers followed the tanks and chased the Germans all the way. They broke through the German riverside defense line in just one encounter.
…
At the German Meuse River Command, Lieutenant General Nicolas is organizing the reunion of the retreating troops.
He thought for a while and reported to Falkenhayn:
"General, if we can block Charles's troops, I mean completely surround Mezieres."
"Then we may not need to abandon the line north of Mezières."
"We can even go on to attack Dunkirk!"
Falkenhayn stared at the telegram for a while. He felt that there seemed to be no problem. If Charles' troops could not penetrate into other directions, they would only dig Mezieres out of the German-controlled area and would not pose much threat to the German defense line.
But Falkenhayn was still worried that the battle situation would not be as simple as Nicholas thought.
"Are you sure you can encircle Charles's First Armored Corps?" Falkenhayn asked.
"Yes, I am sure, Your Excellency, Chief of the General Staff!" Lieutenant General Nicolas replied, "I can't think of any way he can break through our defense line. He must first cross the Meuse River. Even if the infantry can come over, the tanks can't do it!"
"Okay!" Falkenhayn called back, "Just as you said, I will have my troops retake the defense line."
Therefore, the German army, which had just received the order to "retreat across the board", received the order to "recapture the defense line". The 1st Tank Division, which was already being transported back on the train, also stopped halfway.
Lieutenant General Nicolas had only one request to Falkenhayn: "I hope you can add five artillery regiments and an infantry division to me, as well as sufficient artillery shells, so that I can block Charles's troops in Mezieres and make them unable to move!"
Falkenhayn readily agreed to Lieutenant General Nicholas' request.
If we can stop Charles, what does five artillery divisions and one infantry division mean? We can double, triple, or even more.
However, just as Lieutenant General Nicolas was looking at the map and thinking about how to deploy these upcoming troops, the signalman rushed into his office in panic: "General, Charles' troops have landed!"
Lieutenant General Nicolas responded without even looking up: "Then beat them back and notify the artillery!"
He took it for granted that all problems could be solved by artillery fire.
However, the signalman replied: "General, they have landed and broken through our lines. They, they have tanks!"
"What?" Lieutenant General Nicholas suddenly looked up at the signalman.
tank?
How did the tanks get here?
Did it swim over here? !
(End of this chapter)
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