CHAPTER 593: CHAPTER 593: THE ARROGANCE OF THE FIRST WORLD SUPERPOWER

The sound of cannon fire fills the air, smoke billowing everywhere.

The British Army’s defense line is positioned six miles east of the Antwerp fortress.

This location is actually unsuitable for setting up a defense line. It lies at the farthest range of the heavy artillery of Antwerp fortress, almost beyond its "protection range."

Major General Eden once suggested to Vice Admiral Avis, "At this distance, the fortress cannot provide fire support for the British Army; our shells might only hit your trenches."

Vice Admiral Avis replied, "Don’t worry, Major General. We don’t need the fortress’ fire support. In this direction, we are thinking of offense, not defense. Our defense line will keep advancing towards the Germans."

But the facts ended up giving Vice Admiral Avis a loud slap in the face.

...

On the German offensive line, Admiral Nicholas stood on a hill with Colonel Erwin, observing the German attack.

In this battle, the 21st Army commanded by Nicholas was the main force breaking through Antwerp.

It wasn’t just the main force; the 53rd Army, following closely behind, was also under Nicholas’ command per orders from the General Staff.

Fighter planes roared towards the enemy, densely packed like swarms of bees.

Those were modified "Fokker E2s." Although their performance didn’t match the French "Camel" fighters, most British and French planes were engaged near the River Somme, Verdun, or Namur, unable to arrive in time at Antwerp.

After all, Antwerp was in the British defense zone.

(Above: German "Fokker E2" fighter planes, with a max speed of 140 km/h, although slower than the "Camel’s" 190 km/h, it’s a significant improvement over the "Fokker E1’s" 110 km/h.)

"This is one of the few occasions where our army has air superiority," Nicholas looked at the sky full of planes, feeling a mixture of emotions.

"Indeed, General," Erwin responded, "But I believe the tanks are more crucial."

Although planes are important, their role in single battles, especially quick assaults, is quite limited.

"Are you referring to the LK1?" Nicholas turned to look at Erwin, puzzled.

He never understood why Erwin, a tank expert, held such a high regard for the light tank, even after discovering they were converted from retired cars.

"Yes, General," Erwin’s tone was firm, "The LK1 may not be outstanding, it can’t compare to the ’Char A1,’ but we are facing the British ’Whippets,’ along with British tactics."

Just then, British tanks appeared behind their defense line—at least two hundred "Whippets."

Nicholas’ expression tensed; this was not a good sign. The total number of German tanks, including those of "Upper Silesia," was only about three hundred. Considering the crude nature of the "LK1," the strengths were roughly equal, making it difficult for the German army to break through quickly.

But Erwin seemed unconcerned. He calmly said:

"The British tactics are completely different from ours and the French’s." Erwin gazed at the British defense line, "They don’t construct anti-tank trenches, and they haven’t even widened their trenches, meaning our tanks can easily breach their defense line."

It’s British stubbornness, or perhaps the arrogance of the world’s foremost power—they don’t believe their enemy has the capability to break through their defense.

Erwin added, "Their tactic is to use tanks to counter our tanks’ assault."

Nicholas raised his binoculars to survey the battlefield. Indeed, as Erwin had said, the British had positioned their tanks behind their infantry trenches, attempting to defend alongside the infantry against the German tank onslaught.

Nicholas murmured, not without concern, "The problem is, the British armored forces are as strong as ours; this tactic might hold back our assault."

Erwin shook his head lightly, "General, the ’Whippet’ might have advantages against infantry, but against tanks, it is only passively beaten."

Nicholas was momentarily stunned and put down his binoculars, asking, "Tell me why."

"Speed, General," Erwin replied:

"The ’Whippet’s’ maximum speed is only 13 km/h, while our ’LK1’ can reach 18 km/h, allowing our tanks to easily use their speed advantage to occupy favorable positions."

"Moreover, the ’Whippet’s’ four-machine gun layout creates many firepower blind spots. Approaching from its front-side almost negates its firepower."

(Above: "Whippet" viewed from its front-side, lacking a rotating turret, this angle lies within its firepower blind spot, with a large area of vertical armor facing enemy fire.)

Nicholas understood and turned to Erwin, his eyes showing appreciation, "So you’ve specially trained our tanks to approach the firing blind spots?"

Colonel Erwin smiled and nodded, "Why not?"

As they spoke, the tank waves of both armies collided fiercely.

The battle unfolded just as Erwin predicted; the two forces clashed briefly before their differences became clear—the British "Whippets" were attacked one after another by the "LK1s," which hardly suffered any losses, only stalling due to mechanical issues.

Admiral Nicholas clearly saw through his binoculars that "LK1" tanks were always using their high speed to gain advantageous positions, slowing down once in enemy fire blind spots to extend their attack time.

Additionally, the German army was equipped with powerful armor-piercing K shells, which set each British tank billowing with smoke, some even bursting into flames after their engines were hit.

He was right, Nicholas thought to himself, although the "LK1" was converted from retired cars and much cheaper than the "Whippet," the "Whippet" was utterly defenseless against it.

Then, German infantry, under the cover of tanks, stormed into the British trenches, killing wildly. Occasionally, flamethrowers spewed long tongues of fire into the British trenches, filling them with screams.

These were equipment inspired by Char submachine guns and shotguns.

Due to the immense damage dealt by submachine guns in French army close combat, the German army immediately began developing their own submachine guns, though this required time.

During this period, they urgently deployed these flamethrower devices capable of burning enemies en masse.

One by one, soldiers flaming on the battlefield, running and rolling while letting out piercing screams, sounded like the howling of wolves or the cries of owls. Even amidst gunfire, these screams penetrated every soldier’s soul, unleashing their hidden fears.

The British soldiers were terrified. They scrambled out of trenches, fleeing clumsily, not caring if this exposed their backs to the Germans. They only wanted to escape from this hellish purgatory, never to return!