Chapter 835 We Will Surround the Germans
The French reinforcements arrived at seven in the morning of the third day.
It was led by Major General Monuri, deputy commander of the reserve army group, with a vanguard of one army, followed by two more armies, totaling 150,000 people.
When the soldiers heard that they were going to reinforce Charles, they stayed up day and night for two consecutive nights and arrived 20 hours ahead of schedule.
But it was still too late. The German army had occupied Reims and made defensive deployments.
The three hills near Reims formed a perfect German defensive line:
Mont Saint-Thierry, 10 kilometers to the west, is located between the Seine and Marne rivers. Building a defense line here can perfectly block Maunoury's reinforcements.
Mount Momberg, 15 kilometers to the south, ensures the German army's reinforcements and logistical supply lines.
Mount Beihan, 12 kilometers to the east, blocks attacks from the west direction of Bizang.
To the north was the long and winding Seine River. The German army focused on guarding the bridges and deployed mechanized troops to prevent the enemy from forcing a crossing.
Once reinforcements arrived, the armored forces would head straight to Mézières to completely close the encirclement.
…
After deploying his troops, Pershing hurried back to Bizhangxi to see Charles with trepidation.
To Pershing's surprise, when he saw Charles, he found that the latter was enjoying breakfast and reading a newspaper, looking relaxed, as if he was on vacation.
Pershing rubbed his eyes. Everyone thought that Charles was facing a difficult choice: abandon his troops and escape, or stay here and wait to die.
But he acted like nothing happened.
Is this the demeanor of a great general like Charles? An inexplicable sense of shame arose in his heart.
Charles saw Pershing, he put down the newspaper, took a sip of milk and swallowed the dry bread in his mouth.
"What is the matter, General?" asked Charles.
Pershing was stunned by the question.
After the defeat, the US troops were kicked out of the Le Francois area by the Germans, Reims was occupied by the Germans and the supply lines were cut off, facing a huge crisis.
And Charles actually asked "What's the matter?"!
Shouldn't he have slammed the table in anger, pointed at Pershing's nose and yelled:
"You are no better than the British!"
"I have already told you how to fight, and I have given you the most advanced equipment and the most abundant ammunition, but you still lost the battle!"
"Do you want me to teach you how to do each step?"
…
Pershing was unsure whether Shire was the "calm before the storm" and he spoke with a slightly nervous tone:
"I'm sorry, Admiral. I screwed up."
"I didn't take into account the German Stormtroopers. I should have learned from the British failure."
"In fact, I have considered it, but the defense line is too long and our deployment was too hasty, so..."
Charles agreed:
"You are correct, General. The 'rolling defense' requires multiple lines of defense."
"This means that the number of troops on each line of defense will not be too large. Each line of defense is just a simple field fortification. They cannot stop the infiltration of the Storm Troopers."
"As for the high ground around Reims, your soldiers have no experience and no training in high ground warfare or night combat. It is also not your fault."
Pershing shook his head and sighed:
“Thank you for your understanding.”
"But there is no reasoning on the battlefield. If you lose, you lose."
"I should have strengthened the defense of the high ground to ensure the safety of my rear, but I overlooked this point..."
Charles interrupted Pershing:
"You have done a great job, I am telling the truth."
"You have fought for a total of 37 hours, suffered more than 5,000 casualties, and persisted for another 8 hours when your supply lines were threatened."
"If it were the British army, they would have collapsed and fled."
This surprised Charles.
In his memory, the US military always relied on its advantages in equipment and ammunition to fight, but its morale was not satisfactory and it was easy for them to collapse and retreat.
But this time they showed rare tenacity on the battlefield, even though they were new recruits.
Pershing was embarrassed by the compliment: "To be honest, this is all your credit, Lieutenant General."
"My credit?" Charles was puzzled.
Pershing nodded. "They believe in you. I mean my soldiers. They believe in your equipment, your tactics, and that you will win. This is the main reason why they maintain their morale and keep fighting."
Ciel smiled slightly: "Then they must be very disappointed in me."
"No, Lieutenant General." Pershing replied quickly: "They are disappointed in themselves. We almost succeeded. No one thought that the Germans would sneak infiltrate. This is our fault. It has nothing to do with your command and tactics."
Pershing was telling the truth.
The American soldiers themselves did not believe that they had such resilience, and the "roller defense" tactics were well implemented on the battlefield. It was not difficult to foresee that the German army would be defeated if it continued.
This proves that Charles' tactics are effective.
But unfortunately, the US military failed to detect the German infiltration in time. They were in chaos and command failed in the night battle, which was the main reason for their defeat.
Then Pershing asked, "What shall we do now, Lieutenant General?"
Pershing had no experience in commanding a battle of this level, nor had he ever been surrounded by the enemy, so he had no idea what to do.
"It's simple." Charles gave the answer: "Break through."
"But..." Pershing took a step forward and said to the map in front of Charles, "This doesn't seem to be that easy."
Charles did not answer but asked: "The German reserve troops are on their way to Reims, right?"
"Of course." Pershing nodded.
The German reserve 17th Army was originally on the east bank of the Meuse River, preparing to force a crossing of the Meuse River when Charles' troops were transferred.
But Charles did not move, and the German 18th Army unexpectedly occupied Reims.
The German battle plan was adjusted accordingly, and the 17th Army rushed to Reims to reinforce so that the 18th Army could be freed up to attack Mézières.
"Then," said Charles, "I can free up my hands to attack Lance."
"Attack Reims?" Pershing looked puzzled:
"The complex terrain of Reims is not suitable for armored units to fight, Lieutenant General."
"And we don't have much time."
"Once the German 17th Army arrives, their strength will increase to more than 400,000 men."
More than 400,000 people are not many for the French and American armies.
The French army, including reinforcements, has more than 500,000 troops, while the US army has a total strength of 300,000, which is still twice that of the German army.
However, the terrain of Reims made it easy to engage in a protracted battle.
As their supply lines are cut off, the French and American coalition forces will have less and less ammunition, and will eventually lose their combat effectiveness and will have only one option left: surrender.
But Charles was full of confidence.
"Don't worry, General," Charles said, "the battle will be much faster than you think. We will surround the Germans before the German 17th Army arrives."
"Surround the Germans?" Pershing couldn't believe what he heard.
That meant that Charles would have to capture all the high ground around Reims in a short period of time.
But the Germans built complete fortifications and deployed heavy troops there. How is this possible?!
(End of this chapter)
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