Chapter 974 Changing the battlefield with one's own strength
Only then did the paratroopers slowly descend to the ground.
Major General Friedrich was surprised to find that some paratroopers were actually pulling the ropes to control the parachutes to change their trajectory and fly towards "Lonsingburg".
"General, we should go back!" the staff officer reminded.
Major General Friedrich was unwilling to give in, as he knew that returning to the fortress under such circumstances would almost mean waiting for death.
He even thought about pulling out the soldiers in the fortress to organize a defense.
However, he knew it wouldn't work.
Most of the soldiers in the fortress are technical soldiers. They are responsible for operating artillery, carrying artillery shells, and learning how to fire more accurately.
Except for the machine gunners, they had rarely touched a rifle. Pulling them out of the fortress to resist the elite French paratroopers was almost tantamount to seeking death.
In the end, Major General Friedrich followed his staff back to the fortress and closed the thick iron door.
The only hope now is to defend the fortress and delay time, waiting for reinforcements from Liege City to arrive.
But the horror had just begun.
The fortress was being attacked at close range by the enemy, just like a tiger with its claws tied.
The German soldiers could only aim their guns and cannons at the paratroopers landing on the plains, but often they would only fire a few shots when suddenly a grenade would be thrown in through the firing hole.
Or the cannon would explode without warning.
It was not actually an explosion of the barrel, but a grenade thrown into the barrel by a paratrooper outside the castle.
It would be fine if there was no shell in the barrel. If there was a shell and it was about to be fired, it would cause a violent explosion inside. The gunner would fly dozens of meters with the exploding gun body, and even the ammunition piled at the rear would detonate, causing the entire interior to "buzz".
The explosion frightened Friedrich so much that he shouted, "No firing, everyone, stop firing, and remove the shells!"
But it was too late.
Just as the artillerymen were busy moving the shells, a column of fire suddenly rushed in from the firing hole. It was like the poisonous fire spewed by an evil dragon, instantly burning the artillerymen into firemen.
Then, amid the soldiers' screams and cries, more shells exploded.
Shrapnel and cement debris flew everywhere, and the entire fortress shook as if there was an earthquake.
Major General Friedrich was blown several meters away by the shock wave. After he took a breath, he climbed up with difficulty and found that he could not hear anything, only a "buzzing" sound, and there seemed to be liquid flowing on his cheeks.
When I reached out and touched it, I found that it was blood oozing from the ear canal.
It's not over yet.
When Major General Friedrich regained consciousness, he discovered that the iron gate of the fortress had exploded again. It was blown open by the enemy from the outside using explosives.
Then, grenades with blue smoke were thrown into the fortress.
Major General Friedrich sighed inwardly. Instead of ending it like this, he should have pulled the soldiers out to fight. At least they could have resisted and died with more dignity.
…
The telegram reached the General Staff in Berlin.
Hindenburg was stunned when he took a look at it. After a long while, he turned his dull eyes to William II and said, "The Fortress of Liege has been breached, Your Majesty."
The command center fell silent in an instant. The phone calls and telegraph beeps stopped. Even the staff officer who was delivering the documents stood there staring blankly in that direction.
William II, who was organizing the 1st and 2nd tank divisions to intercept the French army, looked up in surprise. After a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed: "This is impossible, Marshal, stop joking."
Hindenburg shook his head and handed over the telegram: "This is not a joke, Your Majesty."
William II took the telegram and glanced at it. His smile froze on his face instantly, and his eyes were filled with shock: "Airborne troops? And bombers? Bombers that can penetrate three meters of concrete?"
He slowly sat back in his chair, muttering to himself:
"God, how stupid was I to think I could beat Ciel!"
"No one can defeat him, no one!"
"This is wrong, I shouldn't have trusted them..."
Hindenburg suddenly looked up at William II.
He heard some rumors that William II was trying to bypass France and reach some kind of agreement with Britain and the United States.
Can this be true?
The “they” that William II referred to was referring to Britain and the United States?
Ludendorff didn't notice anything. He stepped forward and suggested: "We still have a chance. The 1st and 2nd Tank Divisions have not yet fought with the enemy. We just need to transfer them back to the Ruhr area..."
Hindenburg shook his head: "It's too late. The French First Armored Army has already made contact with them. Even if there is no battle, they will not be able to withdraw from their positions smoothly!"
Ludendorff understood that Charles's 1st Armored Army would chase the 1st and 2nd Tank Divisions. By the time they retreated to the Ruhr area, they would have lost half of their forces and would be unable to fight again.
…
Fortress of Liege.
"Fort Roncing" was the first hole opened by the French army, followed by forts No. 12 and No. 2 on both sides of it.
The Germans fought bravely, and the remaining fortresses persisted in resisting even though they knew they would die.
But Charles didn't care about that.
He commanded the bombers to concentrate on bombing the "Laudis" fortress, and airdropped a group of paratroopers to the "Liers" fortress, easily capturing the two places.
At this point, the Liege fortress was opened and the city of Liege was occupied by the influx of French troops.
Whether the other seven fortresses surrendered or not had no effect on the French army. The Second Armored Army under the Sixth Army had been continuously crossing this so-called most solid fortress and stepping into German territory.
…
Albert I, accompanied by General Eden and the Belgian army, marched into the city of Liege in high spirits to receive the cheers of the people.
He excitedly shouted to the citizens:
"Today is a memorable day. We have recovered all the land of Belgium."
"But, gentlemen, our fight is not over yet, far from it!"
"Because we cannot be satisfied with the liberation of Belgium. We must follow Charles' footsteps and fight with him for world peace and for the freedom of mankind!"
The citizens excitedly raised their hands and cheered.
…
Paris, France.
People had just heard that Charles had launched an attack on the fortress of Liège, and their discussion was still:
"How many days do you think it will take for Ciel to capture the city?"
"Instead of a few days, I think it will take at least a few weeks, and it will probably cost a lot of casualties."
"Yes, Liege is different from all other fortresses. Without heavy artillery, it will be helpless."
…
However, before the speculation ended, news came that Charles had successfully broken through the Liege fortress and advanced into Germany.
No one can believe this is true:
"But now it's only three hours before the Ciel launches its attack. It's the strongest fortress in the world."
"This can't be true. How could Ciel blow up those fortresses? In just over three hours!"
"You're kidding, right? Today is April Fool's Day. You can't just say something like that!"
…
Gallieni was grinning in the minister's office holding the triumphant telegram: "What a terrible guy! He has changed the entire battlefield by himself. The era of fortresses is gone forever!"
(End of this chapter)
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