Chapter 765 Crossing the River
Outside the city of Nancy, smoke billowed and the sound of gunfire rang out one after another.
The battlefield was littered with the wreckage of the "Char A1" tanks. Many tanks were on fire, and the ammunition exploded in the flames, blowing the already dilapidated tank bodies to pieces.
Erwin's First Tank Division broke into the French artillery positions. They stabbed into the fragile artillery group like a sharp knife, and smashed the "Saint-Samond" and "Truck Gun" into pieces.
The gunners who had little experience in infantry combat either fled or were killed on the spot. Those who were quick to act quickly knelt on the ground and raised their hands in surrender.
Afterwards, dozens of truck-mounted guns were immediately taken over by the German army, and the "Saint-Samond" was blown up by German grenades.
The German army preferred simple and easy-to-operate truck guns. As for the "Saint-Samond", in their eyes it was a waste of precious gasoline and tank soldiers.
Erwin's tank division did not stop after achieving victory in the first stage, they continued to advance along the road.
Not far ahead of them was the rear of the French Special Mechanized Division located east of Nancy...
Gamelin fled in panic with his command center, leaving behind more than 30,000 of his men, who were divided and surrounded by the German army.
In addition, a large number of military supplies, including gasoline and ammunition, were seized by the German army.
That was the preparation Gamelin made to take Nancy and then penetrate into Metz along the highway. He didn't expect that he didn't use it and gave it all to the Germans.
…
Erwin immediately moved his command center to a captured French armored vehicle.
His command vehicle was originally an EV4 armored vehicle, but Erwin would always use French armored vehicles produced in Charles whenever possible.
(The picture above shows the German armored vehicle EV4 during World War I)
Although the EV4 armored vehicle is equipped with four Maxim machine guns with powerful firepower, it is bulky, small and has no sight line.
Although the French semi-open armored vehicle is only equipped with a machine gun and has no firepower protection and is insufficient on the surface, it is the best choice for commanding operations:
The semi-open compartment helps the commander observe the situation in any direction and can quickly jump out of the car to escape in extreme cases.
The firepower on the vehicle is indeed insufficient, but the infantry on board can be converted into external firepower at any time and is very flexible.
The most important thing is that it has a large space and a high speed. It can run very fast if it is equipped with a radio and carries a communicator and a guard.
When Erwin heard that it was designed by Ciel, he couldn't help but praise it: "Ciel always knows what is most needed on the battlefield, and can produce the most practical equipment with the simplest and cheapest cost."
Then he sighed: "This is exactly the kind of general we need, but unfortunately he is our enemy!"
At this time, Erwin looked at the defeated French army and felt more and more that something was wrong.
He asked the signalman to send a telegram to Manstein: "Do you still think this is Charles's army?"
"No, General," Manstein replied, "You are right, they are not Charles's troops, they are the 2nd Special Artillery Division commanded by Gamelin, which is part of Army Group East."
Manstein had obtained this information from his prisoners.
Erwin's face changed and he called back, "So, we were fooled!"
"I don't think so, General." Manstein replied stubbornly: "We just mistook it for Charles's troops, and Charles probably doesn't know this. I am willing to regard this as our warm-up battle."
"No!" Erwin answered. "Charles knows that, and he will seize the opportunity. It is very likely that he did it on purpose. His purpose is to..."
Then Erwin understood: "Metz, his goal has always been Metz! Return to Metz immediately!"
Erwin did not hesitate and immediately ordered his troops to leave the battlefield.
But it was too late.
Even though the German army had achieved a complete victory, they could not just leave the battlefield. They needed to wait for friendly infantry to catch up and take over the defense.
Otherwise, you may lose all your advantages or even be defeated by the enemy.
While Erwin was busy, Charles' bombers had already launched bombing on the railways and roads from Nancy to Metz.
At the same time, Erwin received a telegram: "General, Charles' troops are crossing the river near Verdun, and the 69th Infantry Regiment requests reinforcements!"
"Cross the river?" Erwin stared blankly at the telegram in his hand: "Charles chose to cross the river instead of attacking the bridge?"
Then he asked himself and answered:
"Could it be that he is using an amphibious tank again?"
"No, that's impossible!"
"But how can he cross the river?!"
…
It is true that the Charles did not use amphibious tanks.
The German army had made targeted preparations for this. They deployed many 77MM infantry guns along the Meuse River and set up barbed wire along the river.
The most lethal of these is barbed wire.
It has barbs that can not only get tangled up in the Amphibious Tank's propeller, but once it hooks onto its rubber tent it will also cause it to deflate and become unable to escape.
Of course, Charles would not be stupid enough to cross the river in this way again.
Tijani raised a similar question to Erwin: "Why don't we choose to attack the bridge? It will be much easier than crossing the river, General."
"You thought this was easier?" Charles asked.
"Of course." Tijani nodded affirmatively:
"We have tanks. As you said, the new tank 'Char B1' has been put into service."
"We should use these new tanks to rush across the bridge. I can't wait to see that."
"It's going to be a lot harder to cross the river, no doubt about it."
Charles nodded slightly, but replied in the negative: "So, the Germans think so too."
"What?" Tijani didn't understand what Charles meant.
"The Germans have deployed a large number of troops at the bridgehead, Major General." Charles pointed his finger at the other side of the Meuse River on the map. "You have been in Bizenxi for some time, you should know this!"
"Yes, but what's the problem?" Tijani replied: "If it were me, I would also deploy heavy troops at the bridgehead."
Charles continued, "They also marked the bridgehead with artillery, including 105MM howitzers. Once we attack along the bridge with tanks, we will be bombarded mercilessly by the Germans!"
Tijani objected: "We have bombers, generals, and incendiary bombs, with which we can suppress the enemy artillery."
Charles shook his head slowly:
"We can do that, but have you ever considered that if a few tanks are destroyed, the narrow passage will be blocked."
"All our troops will then be blocked west of the Meuse."
"Besides, the enemy may blow up the bridge. Do you have a plan to deal with it?"
Tijani was speechless.
There is indeed no solution to the problem that the Germans blew up the bridge.
However, isn’t war an adventure?
What other options are there besides seizing the bridge?
Tijanyi didn't believe that crossing the river would be easier than seizing the bridge!
(End of this chapter)
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