Chapter 428 "Block" News
Due to repeated misjudgments, Colonel Moritz no longer dared to make judgments easily.
So "Is Tibbitt safe?" becomes an unclear question.
It is located between Mons and Brussels, and intelligence showed that there was a 30-kilometer-wide gap in the French encirclement.
Was it because the encirclement didn’t close in time?
Charles' troops have already passed through this area, and they only need to leave some troops to garrison.
Besides, that was Charles, a genius military strategist, how could he make such a low-level mistake? !
But what if this was Ciel's mistake?
We should seize this opportunity immediately and order our troops to break out!
No, this could be a trap. Charles might be waiting for the Germans to enter an area and then surround and annihilate them with tanks and armored vehicles.
"This area is flat and open," Colonel Moritz said hesitantly, "it's very suitable for tanks and armored vehicles. But our army can only break through lightly in order to pursue speed. Once we are surrounded here, it will be a massacre."
After a pause, Colonel Moritz added: "In addition, the French army has air superiority. Once our army enters this area, it will be bombed by bombers."
That must be it, thought Colonel Moritz, that is what Charles is planning.
Falkenhayn hesitated, not knowing which possibility to believe.
But one thing is certain, there is still a chance to break through, otherwise you can only wait to die where you are.
After considering for a while, Falkenhayn finally decided to abandon the open terrain of Tibize and break out from Mons instead.
…
Charles, who had not rested for a day and a night, took a nap in the lounge of the fortress. Although the environment and air were not very good, he still slept soundly and did not wake up until around two o'clock in the afternoon.
Yawning, Ciel opened the door and returned to the operations room which served as the headquarters.
Tijani was there the whole time, and even though his eyes were red and bloodshot, he still refused to sleep.
"There has to be someone paying attention to the war," Tijani said. "Besides, this battle can be said to be the greatest battle. It is simply a miracle. I can't imagine that you can still sleep after going through all this!"
Tijani became more and more excited as he spoke: "We have made history, Brigadier General. Now is the most critical finishing moment. We should hold on to the end."
Charles looked indifferent. It didn't affect his sleep. If there was anything that required him to make a decision, just wake him up.
What's more, a good night's sleep will help you to "make history" better.
The principle is simple, but many people just can't think of it or do it.
…
Tijani, who was reading the telegram, saw Charles coming out, raised his head slightly and said: "German reinforcements have arrived, but they dare not launch an attack ten kilometers away."
As he said this, he handed a telegram to Charles.
Charles said "hmm", took the telegram, glanced at it and put it back on the table.
A fortress like Antwerp might not be able to stop armored and mechanized troops, but it was a nightmare for the infantry during World War I. As long as there was enough ammunition, no matter how many people came up, they would be killed.
Still want to use "Big Belsa" to blow up the fortress like before?
That was before the Air Force went into war.
If they dare to do this now, this stupid guy "Big Bertha" will become a perfect target for bombers.
Therefore, Antwerp was absolutely safe, like a nail driven into the rear of the German army, unbreakable.
When Charles sat down at his desk, Tijani added, "The Germans are breaking out of Mons an hour ago."
Charles was stunned. He didn't quite understand this operation. Why did they have to break out from Mons?
"The 9th Army should have reached Mons by now?" asked Charles.
"Yes." Tijani nodded. "They are fighting with the Germans in the streets of Mons for control. The roads and railways are almost paralyzed."
"Then why did the Germans choose to break out at Mons?" Charles looked at the map in confusion and found the location of Mons: "They could have just driven through Tibitz."
This is giving up the easy and choosing the difficult, causing trouble for yourself.
“Who knows?” Tijani looked up and smiled: “Maybe the Germans just want to stay away from you.”
Mons was nearly a hundred kilometers away from Charles's troops, indeed farther.
Then Tijani thought of a possibility: "Do you think they are worried about being ambushed by tanks and armored vehicles when they break out of Tibiz?"
"Maybe." Charles remembered that the terrain in that area was open and indeed suitable for armored units to fight.
Then Charles understood: "This means they don't know we are low on fuel."
The most serious consequence of the infantry's failure to follow up in time was that fuel could not be delivered, and the limited fuel available in the civilian sector was only enough for Charles to enter Antwerp.
Now the armored forces had nowhere to go but Antwerp.
"That's right." The more Tijani thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. He had an incredible smile on his face: "Our luck has come, Brigadier General. If they keep thinking like this, the speed of breaking out will be much slower, and we will have the opportunity to close the encirclement."
Then he thought of a key point: "So, should we block the news? I mean, if the news that our army is running low on fuel spreads from Antwerp, the enemy will pour out of the gap like a tide."
It stands to reason that this should be done.
But Charles shook his head. "It is difficult to keep the news secret, General. There will always be a few people who escape, even if Antwerp is a heavily defended fortress."
Tijani nodded in agreement.
Even a prison surrounded by high walls and full of guards can be escaped, let alone a field defense line.
"That's not good." Tijani frowned.
Charles thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps we have another way."
"Another way?" Tijani's eyes lit up, and the tiredness on his face was much less.
Charles nodded: "We can deploy tanks on the fortress defense circle to organize defense."
"But this is useless, Brigadier General." Tijani laughed: "You said that tanks should be used for mobility rather than as artillery positions..."
Charles said nothing, just looked at Tijani quietly.
Tijani suddenly realized: "If the tank is used as a turret, it does not need to be started, and no one will notice that it is out of fuel!"
Charles nodded. "Then we can pool all the remaining fuel and use it to send a few tanks around Antwerp. What do you think they will think?"
Tijani laughed. “They must have thought we had plenty of fuel.”
This is to solve the problem from the "source". Even if German soldiers sneaked out of Antwerp, what they reported could not be that "the French army was short of fuel."
"Has there been any response from General Winter?" Charles asked.
Charles contacted General Winter to resolve the fuel problem.
Antwerp is a coastal city and fuel can be transported via the Royal Navy.
Tijani nodded: "Their transport ship will arrive in two days, along with reinforcements."
Therefore, the German army only had two days to break out.
(End of this chapter)
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