Chapter 710: Bomber Suppression
Truk town.
The French soldiers who did not enter the battlefield stared blankly at the flames rising from the forest.
They thought that Charles could lead them to win the battle, but they never thought they would win in this way, and they never expected the enemy to be defeated so miserably.
Many people were ready to sacrifice themselves because they heard that their opponent was the German 1st Tank Division.
"This is Germany's only tank division, and they have drawn their bravest and most combat-experienced veterans to form this unit."
"Not long after we formed our tank regiment, the Germans also had their own tanks and tank divisions."
"Yes, they are learning about us, and targeting us at the same time. They may be the enemy that knows us best!"
…
But none of that happened.
Charles even sent only one armored battalion, with only 32 tanks entering the battlefield.
The soldiers all thought that this armored battalion was sent out as bait, and they looked at them with tragic eyes. They thought that few people in this armored battalion would be able to come back alive.
However……
All it takes is a fire.
Planes would fly overhead and drop bombs, flames would rise through the forest, and all the advantages the enemy had would be reduced to ashes in an instant.
The soldiers exclaimed:
"What was that? Did our planes hit their fuel depot?"
"No, who would be stupid enough to leave gasoline next to the front line? Those are our bombs, and the flames from the bombs!"
"Yes, that must be Ciel's invention. He blew the enemy's tank into a sea of fire!"
…
Then, everyone focused their attention on Charles in the command vehicle, their eyes full of respect and gratitude.
Some people even clapped their hands and shouted to Charles:
"Great command, General. Great battle."
"We didn't expect victory to be so easy!"
…
Ciel smiled softly and nodded to them.
This victory was actually not easy. The soldiers did not realize that if Charles had not noticed something was wrong, the 1st Armored Division would probably have been in a tough battle by now.
Major General Brownie stared blankly at the sea of fire in the forest.
Brownie was the one who was mentally prepared. Xia told him to "use incendiary bombs to set the forest on fire."
But he did not think that the "incendiary bombs" that ignited the forest would cause much damage to the German tanks. That would take time and a process.
But the German tanks were able to rush out of the forest before the fire spread.
It was obvious that he was wrong.
This type of incendiary bomb burns at its most intense speed once it starts burning, with no intermediate process, and the German tanks have no time to escape.
It took him a while to take a deep breath, as if he had just reacted.
He looked back at Charles and asked, "General, the enemy may be escaping. Should we pursue them?"
"No, Major General." Charles rejected this plan: "Do you think the Germans are completely unprepared?"
"What?" Brownie was puzzled.
What else can we prepare for after it has burned down like this? Even if we were prepared, it would be useless.
At this time, the sound of artillery shells whistling came from the sky, and then artillery shells exploded in pieces in the open area ahead.
Brownie understood that the Germans had prepared their artillery.
If we had been in a hurry to pursue them just now, we would have suffered heavy casualties under the cover of artillery fire.
…
The artillery fire coverage was an order given by Erwin.
But the purpose is different. The previous preparation was to bomb Charles' armored forces, and now it is to cover the evacuation of the remaining troops of the 1st Tank Division.
The troops were badly burned.
The flames that splashed out after the incendiary bomb exploded attached to people and tanks like glue and could not be shaken off no matter how hard they tried.
Some soldiers took off their clothes and put out the flames to rescue their comrades. However, not only did they fail to put out the flames, but the flames grew larger and larger, and they even set themselves on fire, burning several people in succession.
Some soldiers were worried that the tank would catch fire, so they hit it with branches or covered it with mud, but it actually clung to the mud and burned, spreading the fire everywhere.
After being ignited, more soldiers ran around or rolled on the ground, howling in pain.
Once they grab something, they hold on to it tightly because of the pain, and eventually die together with their innocent comrades.
…
Erwin was also badly burned.
His staff officer was on fire and was howling in front of Erwin. Erwin did not hesitate to take two guards forward to put out the fire. As a result, he and one of the guards were both covered in flames and could not get rid of them.
The guard's hands were burned like a piece of dry wood, with hot steam coming out of the blackness.
Erwin managed to escape because he endured the pain and quickly took off all his clothes, but his burned arm was still burning.
At this moment, Erwin, who was in the sea of fire, felt a chill in his heart: Is this the flame from hell? Why have I never seen or even heard of it? Is everyone going to die here today?
At this time, Erwin discovered that the radio station was fortunately not set on fire.
"Order the artillery!" Erwin reacted suddenly and shouted, "Tell them to fire immediately and as long as they can!"
"Yes, General." The signalman responded and passed on the order.
At the same time, Erwin gave the order to retreat.
Abandon all the tanks, they can't get through the woods.
The survivors retreated eastward along the forest and were safe as long as they crossed the Meuse River two miles away. Charles' armored forces had to stop there.
…
German artillery shells exploded one after another in the open ground, and the smoke, dust and forest fire merged together to create a world like purgatory.
Major General Browne was a little anxious. He came to Charles and reported, "General, there is an enemy force approaching us from the northwest. An infantry division will arrive in about half an hour."
That was the message from the communication bottle dropped from the plane.
Now, either they have to pass through under the artillery fire, or send out a troop to block the following infantry division, or take a detour if that doesn't work.
Charles took out his pocket watch and looked at it, then calmly replied, "Wait a little longer!"
Just when Brownie was about to ask "What are you waiting for?", a group of "Caproni" bombers flew in the sky.
To be exact, there were two groups. They flew in two directions towards the artillery positions hidden in the forest, dropping incendiary bombs one after another.
Just like before, flames shot up into the sky again from the depths of the forest, and there were loud noises from artillery shells exploding, so loud that even the ground shook a few times.
Brownie got it.
Everything is under Charles' control.
The bombers had been circling the road or nearby until the German artillery bombardment exposed the position, and then they appeared and added fuel to the fire.
Not long after, the sound of artillery fire gradually subsided.
All that was left in the open field was a cloud of dust raised by the shells. Mixed with the heat waves and black smoke coming from the forest, it kept rolling, as if making a final effort to stop the advance of Charles' armored division.
But it's all in vain!
(End of this chapter)
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