I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 206

Chapter 206: This is Charles' Style

The mortar suppressed the German trenches. Its range was short, but its coordination with infantry and tanks could be very tight.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the tanks, accompanied by infantry, slowly advanced toward the enemy's trenches.

The tanks were of the "Mark I" model. Its 17mm frontal armor was slightly insufficient, but this was not a major issue, as a layer of sandbags was temporarily strapped to the front of the tank before the battle to deal with it.

Even if the barbed wire was not cleared, the "Mark I" had wide tracks that could easily crush or drag it away.

However, Brownie considered one point: "The barbed wire could get tangled in the tracks and the idler wheels. Breaking through the defensive line is no problem, but we’ll need to carry out maintenance afterward, or we won’t be able to go more than ten kilometers."

Colonel Estigny agreed: "We should spend some time removing the barbed wire. This will save more time for future battles!"

Thus, the scene unfolded where the engineers cleared the barbed wire before the battle.

Suddenly, the cannon fire ceased.

German soldiers popped their heads up from the trenches, only to be startled by the sight of enemy tanks right in front of them. The tall tank bodies loomed like giants, with the dark, menacing machine gun barrels acting as their eyes, gleaming with a cold light in the rain, sending a chill down their spines.

Panicked, the German soldiers tried to organize a defense, but the machine guns suddenly opened fire, spewing flames at them.

The heavy downpour of bullets pinned them down, and before they could react, rows of grenades rained down from the sky into the trenches...

The French assault and firepower came in layers: mortars, tanks, grenades, each element working together seamlessly, leaving the Germans with no chance.

What the Germans lacked was not just tactics, but equipment.

To counter mortars, the best method, in principle, would be to use mortars.

But the Germans didn’t have mortars.

To counter grenades, the best way would also be to throw a line of grenades in front of the trenches to create a barrage. But their grenades were still in the primitive stages and were not mass-produced.

The result was that the Germans were completely suppressed by the French, unable to retaliate.

...

Bazel escaped from a sea of corpses with the cover of his subordinates. He had expected the enemy to expand their gains at the breakthrough point and attack the entire defensive line, but they did not.

The battlefield quieted down again, and as Bazel was fleeing, he looked back in confusion.

There were no enemy soldiers, no tanks, and no grenades! If it weren’t for the chaotic scene of corpses scattered everywhere, Bazel might have doubted whether the enemy had ever been there.

What had happened? They had come so quickly, and they had left just as quickly.

In just over twenty minutes, the enemy had breached the defense and left, as though they had simply passed by and decided to greet the Germans.

Colonel Effray, who had already escaped far, gasped and returned, asking in confusion, “They… they didn’t take the defensive line…”

“They went to reinforce the surrounded French forces!” Bazel answered slowly. “They are Charles’ troops!”

Colonel Effray’s face immediately filled with surprise.

Colonel Effray had always believed that Charles was just a legend, especially since he had never personally witnessed him on the battlefield. It was likely an image glorified by the French.

But what had happened today made him believe it without a doubt.

Because only Charles’ troops could have done this.

...

Berlin, Germany, General Staff Headquarters.

Falkenhayn leisurely admired the snowflakes falling outside the window. He believed that since taking command of the German army, the first major victory was finally within reach, just like the unstoppable snowstorm.

Falkenhayn was about to deliver a perfect report. He planned to use it to convince Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the Eastern Front faction.

The Eastern Front faction believed that victory on the Western Front was impossible in the short term, so the German army’s main forces should be shifted to the Eastern Front. After the Eastern Front secured a victory, the forces could be redirected to focus on France.

“These fools!” Falkenhayn muttered to himself, looking out at the white snow. “There are no troops to shift from the Western Front! Not only are there no troops to shift, but more troops are needed, or else there will be no Germany and no Eastern Front!”

At that moment, Colonel Moritz, stationed by the radio, suddenly looked up and reported, his voice panicked and almost shouting, “General, Charles’ troops have appeared! They’ve broken through our encirclement!”

Falkenhayn was startled and quickly turned his head to look at Moritz.

The people in the command room were also shocked, their actions clearly stalling.

Falkenhayn dashed back to his desk and anxiously asked, “Where? How many troops?”

Colonel Moritz walked quickly to the desk with the telegram in hand, his voice preceding him, “From the direction of Rhodes, about two thousand men!”

Falkenhayn looked up at Moritz in shock, his tone full of disbelief, “Two thousand men? Two thousand men broke through the defense held by one of our infantry divisions, over ten thousand troops?”

An army of more than ten thousand should have been able to hold off an attack by twenty thousand or more enemies, but now it was breached by only two thousand.

Colonel Moritz checked the telegram again and nodded confidently, “Yes, General, and it only took seventeen minutes. It was Charles’ 'Mark I' tanks!”

Falkenhayn grunted. It was Charles' style; he shouldn’t have been surprised.

Falkenhayn’s eyes then shifted to the map. He found Rhodes and looked at the extended line toward Tralm. He immediately pointed to the map and ordered, “Quickly send reinforcements to these two places. Charles is very likely to break through from these areas!”

“But General!” Colonel Moritz reminded, “The French are concentrating forces to attack Cape Town. They plan to flank and break through from the front…”

“No!” Falkenhayn interrupted Moritz decisively. “Charles won’t break through from the front!”

Falkenhayn’s finger traced the Cape Town area on the map, explaining, “If Charles’ troops cut through to Lorca town to rescue those two units and then break through from Cape Town, the total route will be over thirty kilometers!”

Colonel Moritz let out an “Oh” and added, “‘Mark I’ tanks need to change their tracks every thirty kilometers. They won’t be able to change tracks for hours while breaking through. Therefore, they can only take the shortest route!”

“Yes!” Falkenhayn said, pointing firmly at Lorca Town. “Unless he abandons his tanks there!”

Colonel Moritz added, “Even if he is willing to abandon his tanks, it won’t work. Without tanks, his troops won’t be able to break through Cape Town’s reverse defense!”

Falkenhayn smiled and nodded, “Charles is too arrogant. He thought he could break the encirclement with only two thousand men and change the course of the battle! This time, I will trap him as well!”

“But General!” Colonel Moritz said, looking troubled. “We don’t have any extra troops!”

Falkenhayn didn’t hesitate and immediately gave the order, “Send a message to the 4th Reserve Army, have them send reinforcements to the flanks!”

“Yes, General!” Colonel Moritz responded and immediately turned to issue the orders.

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