CHAPTER 434: CHAPTER 34: ALL IN SHIRE’S CALCULATIONS?

Fuxu has been extremely busy these past few days.

The troops he deployed were no longer just the 9th Corps; he had supplemented them with two more divisions, but Mons was like a meat grinder. After just a few days, the troops had to retreat due to heavy casualties.

After a few days of fighting, not only did they fail to break through the German Army’s blockade, but they were also driven out of Mons step by step.

On the other hand, the Germans built a new defensive line around the 9th Corps.

Fuxu stared at the map in a daze, and after a long while, he blurted out, "Maybe Shire is right."

"What?" Wei Gang didn’t understand what Fuxu meant, but immediately thought of Shire’s request for the 9th Corps to follow up using cars and trains.

"No, General," Wei Gang replied. "This has nothing to do with that, we have already discussed it..."

"I know," Fuxu interrupted Wei Gang. "Such a march is very dangerous and easy to ambush."

Fuxu picked up a document and placed it on the table, saying, "But no matter how dangerous, even if ambushed, would it result in this?"

Wei Gang was stunned.

It was a casualty report from the past few days of the attack on Mons. The 9th Corps had suffered over 20,000 casualties with no progress, and they were at risk of being surrounded by the German Army because the 9th Corps was deep inside enemy lines alone.

Without waiting for Wei Gang to respond, Fuxu added, "The key point is that we have achieved nothing after such heavy casualties. We’ve been blocked at the Mons line and unable to move. If we had used trains and cars to advance back then, we might have captured it in an hour."

Fuxu felt ashamed, feeling like he had ruined Shire’s plan. Now the Germans were escaping from Mons in large numbers, while Shire’s troops were struggling due to lack of fuel and infantry.

Thinking about this, Fuxu smiled self-deprecatingly. Despite being the founder of French military theory, he had become a hindrance in Shire’s plan.

As he was sinking into self-blame, a signalman stepped forward to report, "General, there’s a call from Shire."

Fuxu acknowledged with a hum but did not reach out to take it.

It was probably another inquiry about the attack, Fuxu thought.

Perhaps out of guilt or awkwardness, Fuxu feared receiving Shire’s telegram and facing him.

Unexpectedly, the staff officer reported, "Shire said they have already occupied Pouvoir Village and hope the General can send troops to take over."

"Pouvoir Village?" Fuxu looked puzzled.

Not long after, he found the location of Pouvoir Village on the map and exclaimed, "Shire actually occupied Pouvoir Village? The Germans had heavily guarded it!"

Wei Gang also couldn’t believe it and asked the signalman, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," the signalman replied. "Over 20,000 German troops stationed in Pouvoir Village have surrendered, and Shire said they would dispatch an armored division to break through for our army."

Fuxu and Wei Gang were stunned. They were amazed that over 20,000 German soldiers surrendered so easily, while they had estimated it would take at least equivalent forces to take Mons.

Then, the atmosphere turned awkward.

After all, they were the Northern Army Group, with hundreds of thousands of troops and the main force of the French Army. Yet, they needed Shire’s armored division to break through for them!

This made them feel like they were being "taken care of" like children.

...

On a Sunday morning in Paris, people on their day off roamed the ancient streets, with the smell of coffee and fresh croissants filling the air.

However, those queuing up seemed to have lost interest in them. Everyone was talking about the Belgian battlefield and Shire’s legendary achievements, even though they were strangers to each other.

"I heard Shire is in trouble. The Germans used submarines to block the oil supply channel by sea."

"Don’t worry, nothing can stump Shire. He has already called on guerrillas to collect fuel."

"But civilian fuel is limited and unsustainable. If this continues, the situation might not be optimistic."

...

This analysis had some validity.

The Germans didn’t completely blockade Belgium or plunder all the fuel to break the British blockade.

Now, when it reached this extent, fuel became the key factor in determining the victory of the battle. The Germans would undoubtedly destroy it mercilessly.

Therefore, the outcome was still uncertain.

But suddenly, someone shouted, "Shire won! He successfully occupied Pouvoir and captured over 20,000 Germans!"

"Is it true?" People were skeptical.

"Absolutely! The good news came from the City Defense Headquarters. They are already reprinting newspapers!"

The crowd erupted at once, smiles and joy appeared on everyone’s faces, eyes filled with surprise and admiration:

"How did he do it? Was it a counterattack?"

"I heard Shire’s troops totaled just over 20,000, but he managed to capture more Germans than that!"

"No, only over 6,000 attacked Pouvoir, and they captured several times more Germans."

...

People were having heated discussions.

Most had no idea where Pouvoir was or its significance; they were just amazed by the number of over 20,000 captured Germans.

...

Fajin Han, at the Berlin Staff Headquarters, knew exactly what the loss of Pouvoir meant.

"Reinforcements, I need reinforcements," Fajin Han said. "I need two divisions, no, a whole corps."

"General, we have no extra troops," Colonel Moritz said.

"Then redeploy from the front lines," Fajin Han shouted. "Or urgently draft; we cannot let Pouvoir fall."

Colonel Moritz did not reply, quietly watching Fajin Han.

Fajin Han vented for a while, then weakly sat back in his chair.

Pouvoir had already fallen and couldn’t be retaken. It was a fact they had to face.

Shire’s armored main force was there. Pouvoir was another suitable area for tank warfare. Any troops sent in would be annihilated by Shire’s forces.

It was like infantry launching an assault on an enemy trench.

Shire’s tanks were like moving "trenches." Wherever they went was an impenetrable defensive line!

After a long time, Fajin Han looked at Moritz in pain and said, "We might have been tricked!"

"What?" Colonel Moritz didn’t understand what he meant by that.

"Shire is actually short on fuel," Fajin Han gestured towards Pouvoir on the map. "Did you consider that if Shire had already gotten fuel from the British as we thought, he would only need to occupy Pouvoir?"

Colonel Moritz suddenly realized, his face turning pale instantly. "You mean, everything we did was within Shire’s calculations?"

Fajin Han nodded weakly.

How ridiculous they were to think they had seen through Shire’s scheme.