CHAPTER 406: CHAPTER 406: BATTLES ALWAYS APPEAR SUDDENLY

"Wider trenches?" Nicholas was stunned. "Is it that simple?"

"Yes." Erwin analyzed: "I have observed Shire’s tanks, the reason why the ’Shire A1’ can cross our trenches is because of the support of the tail hooks. As long as we widen the trenches, their tanks might not be able to get through!"

"Might not?"

"I’m not sure, General." Erwin replied: "But we should give it a try, it’s better than doing nothing at all!"

Major General Nicholas nodded slightly.

Let him do whatever he wants, after all, there won’t be any loss, as long as he doesn’t bother me again.

So, Major General Nicholas passed Erwin’s suggestion to Vice Admiral Jorgen, commander of the Second Army Group.

Vice Admiral Jorgen was not very mindful of this suggestion, but he conveyed the order with the idea that there was no harm in trying.

In fact, Erwin didn’t just do this, he also strengthened the barbed wire in front of the trenches and opened passages on the battlefield with his men.

These passages extended from the tank battalion in the Buerlong Forest all the way back to the rear of the trenches, and tank shelters were built.

Erwin creatively designed the tank shelters so that the "Upper Silesia" tanks faced the enemy sideways.

By doing this, the main cannon and the two machine guns at the front and rear could be used simultaneously. As long as they rotated to face the enemy, the three firepower points could shoot at the same time.

Erwin was satisfied with this. He felt he could withstand Shire’s charge, as long as they dared to come.

...

This tactic was indeed feasible, and Shire secretly praised it when he received the telegram informing him of these arrangements.

If it weren’t for the "Lady in White" who had infiltrated the German Army and was transmitting real-time intelligence, the First Armored Division might have been caught off guard.

Widening the trenches seems simple, but it is actually a primitive anti-tank trench. Even in modern times, it’s still a problem, and the only way to get through it is to fill it.

And while the French Army fills the trenches, the German tanks can continuously fire from their shelters. The 57MM cannons are enough to penetrate the frontal armor of the ’Shire A1’ at close range, and the two machine guns can kill large numbers of charging and trench-filling infantry.

But now that they knew about the German preparations, Shire knew how to deal with it.

...

On France’s National Day, the German Second Army stationed on the Kemmel Line appeared very relaxed.

They believed that the French would never choose this day to attack, especially since they had heard that Shire’s troops would be present at the parade.

The soldiers passed cigarettes among each other, complaining intermittently:

"It seems that our biggest worry now is Shire’s troops."

"Yes, as soon as his troops appear, we are always defeated, without exception."

"It’s very frustrating, but it’s true. His troops are completely different from the other French Army units. I’m really curious, why doesn’t the French Army train like his troops?"

"Prohno." Someone immediately reminded: "Do you really want the entire French Army to be like Shire’s troops?"

The soldiers laughed, feeling secretly relieved. Fortunately, the French didn’t adopt Shire’s tactics across the board, though some still didn’t understand why the French Army didn’t.

"Hey, Captain." The soldiers waved at Erwin, who was peering out and surveying the terrain.

In recent days, Erwin of the tank battalion had become a frequent visitor to the trenches.

"Watch out for snipers, Captain!" A veteran with a face full of mud warned: "They always find you when you least expect it."

Erwin retracted his head and put away his binoculars, walking over to the soldiers and taking a cigarette handed to him, casually asking, "Any new developments?"

"No, Captain." The veteran lit a match and handed it over, replying as Erwin lowered his head to light the cigarette: "The French have all gone to storm the Bastille!"

The soldiers laughed.

Erwin smiled slightly, exhaled a puff of smoke, and instructed: "Stay vigilant, battles tend to erupt when we least expect them."

"Yes, Captain." The soldiers answered one after another, but no one took the words to heart.

However, as Erwin’s figure disappeared around the bend of the communication trench, the sound of engines suddenly rumbled from the sky.

Everyone’s expressions changed, and they quickly got up to look at the sky.

Erwin ran back swiftly, raised his binoculars, and stepped onto the platform.

The sky was filled with a black mass of planes, and Erwin immediately recognized them as Shire’s ’Caproni’ bombers.

"Damn it!" Erwin cursed: "I guessed it right, Shire’s attack target is here!"

Without hesitation, Erwin put away his binoculars and shouted to the soldiers: "Notify your officers, prepare for battle!"

The soldiers responded, quickly discarding their half-smoked cigarettes, grabbing their rifles and scrambling onto the platform, while the signalmen hurriedly grabbed their rifles and went to find their officers.

Crouching, Erwin ran towards his unit, worrying that the bombers’ target might be the First Tank Division.

If that was the case, everything would be over.

However, while running, Erwin looked at the sky and noticed that the direction of the bombers seemed off.

Following the direction, he found that their target was the 105MM howitzer position four kilometers away.

"My God, they are doomed." Erwin muttered, "Shire has discovered the exact location of the howitzer positions!"

Sure enough, bombs fell like a bunch of leaves, whistling towards the howitzer positions.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

"Boom, boom!"

...

Bright flames and smoke rose simultaneously from the artillery positions, the sound of explosions continuous, like the whispers of demons, making the entire forest tremble.

However, after the explosions, not all the bombers had dropped their bombs. Some were still circling in the sky, seemingly waiting for something.

Erwin understood the meaning behind this and hurriedly pulled out a signal flag from his backpack, waving it towards the tank battalion.

Dozens of ’Upper Silesia’ tanks slowly emerged from the forest, swiftly entering their shelters and preparing for combat as they had practiced.

Just as Erwin suspected, the rumbling of tank engines came from the smoke on the other side of the trenches, and a line of ’Shire A1’ tanks appeared on the horizon, their short-barreled cannons swinging from side to side as if searching for their targets.

"Aim!" Erwin shouted.

He couldn’t rely on the howitzers anymore. As soon as the howitzers fired, the circling bombers would immediately spot them and bomb them to pieces.

This was the drawback of not having anti-aircraft firepower; planes could linger over the target as long as fuel permitted.

Despite this, Erwin realized that his tank tactics also seemed futile.

The enemy’s artillery was too fierce, round after round. The ’Upper Silesia’ tanks were often destroyed before they even saw the target, even with their shelters!