CHAPTER 680: CHAPTER 680 TANK BATTLE

Montreuil, British Expeditionary Force Command.

Haig was frantically busy inside a corner of a collapsed wall, with wounded soldiers being carried away and routed soldiers being replaced everywhere outside.

Shells whistled through the air and exploded nearby.

The noise of fighter planes was constant, occasionally diving down to strafe the ground, causing the British Army below to scream in misery.

The British Army’s resistance in Montreuil was extremely difficult.

Their artillery range couldn’t match the enemy’s 105MM howitzers, they had fewer planes than the enemy, and their tanks were not as advanced as the enemy’s.

Most critically, nearly all of the British Army’s defenses were oriented towards Belgium; no one expected the Germans to advance along the River Somme and then attack from behind.

The British Army would have been driven into the sea by the German Army, but fortunately, Kitchener asked Belfort for help and secured three battleships, including the "Queen Elizabeth," and five cruisers, whose naval guns managed to hold off the German assault.

"General!" A communications soldier ran to Haig amidst the shelling, shouting at the top of his voice: "Good news, the Russians have launched a counter-offensive on the Eastern Front and have won!"

Haig merely glanced back at the communications soldier before focusing again on the map, thinking about how to thwart the Germans’ next attack.

He didn’t trust the Russians, believing that even if they were to counter-attack, it would be on a small scale with no impact on the overall battle situation.

As for winning, Haig thought it would be good enough if they could stabilize their own lines; he had no hope for their victory, not even a bit.

Unexpectedly, the communications soldier reported: "The Russians, led by General Brusilov, have killed or wounded over 100,000 German soldiers!"

Haig was stunned; he suspected he had misheard and looked back at the communications soldier in disbelief: "What did you say? 100,000?"

"Yes, General." The communications soldier handed him the telegram.

Haig looked at the telegram: it indeed said 100,000. What was happening with the Russians?

But this was a surprise, an absolute surprise!

"Excellent!" Haig’s tightly knit brows relaxed immediately: "The Russians’ victory on the Eastern Front means much less pressure for us."

Haig then asked, "How are the Russians doing? Is their victory ongoing?"

"I believe so, General." The communications soldier responded: "The Russians prepared thoroughly for this counter-offensive, gathering 570,000 men to launch an attack on Austria-Hungary’s lines, and the Austro-Hungarian army is collapsing!"

Haig nodded contentedly, exhaled deeply, and once again turned his eyes to the map.

But this time, his thoughts were on offense, not defense.

This was the British Army’s opportunity, Haig thought. Seizing on the German Army’s disorganization to launch a counter-offensive and achieve victory was the only way to restore the dignity of himself and the British Expeditionary Force.

He even assumed an air of confidence and told his staff: "We’ll lure the Germans here to extend their supply lines and use the Lis River defenses to semi-encircle them. Now is the time for us to counter-attack, to teach the Germans a lesson and make them writhe under our guns!"

(The Lis River is to the east of Montreuil, and Montreuil is wedged between the Lis River defensive line and the English Channel, which is why Erwin is attacking Montreuil.)

Haig’s words were a form of embellishment, a strategy; he cleverly transformed the British Expeditionary Force’s prior defeat into luring the enemy deep.

If he could lead the British Army to turn defeat into victory, everyone would be impressed by his ingenuity and military prowess.

The staff understood and took note of his words, planning to leak them to the press for publicity in favor of Haig’s counter-attack and the resulting victory.

However, before the staff could relay the message, a communications soldier guarding the telephone suddenly reported loudly, his voice shrill with panic like a nightingale’s cry: "General, the Germans are attacking, their tanks have torn through our defenses along the Lis River! Colonel Terence is requesting reinforcements!"

Haig was stunned; he hadn’t expected the Germans to launch an offensive with concentrated armored units rather than taking a defensive posture, especially attacking the Lis River defense line.

Were they planning to bypass Montreuil?

Haig’s face turned ashen.

All of the British Expeditionary Force’s troops were concentrated in Montreuil for defense; to the north were mostly logistics units, wounded soldiers, and newly arrived reinforcements, with the defensive lines in the opposite direction.

If the Germans broke through along the Lis River and pushed inland, it would be like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, causing widespread slaughter.

"The Germans could march straight to Dunkirk!" Haig’s recently restored confidence was shattered again, leaving him more flustered than before.

He realized that if the German Army reached and captured Dunkirk, an important supply port, tens of thousands of British troops would have no choice but to surrender or swim back to Britain across the English Channel.

"Reinforcements!" Haig shouted hoarsely: "Send reinforcements immediately, dispatch all the tanks, we must stop the Germans’ advance!"

...

The British and German armies engaged in humanity’s first large-scale tank battle along the banks of the Lis River in the rain and fog, with over 800 tanks involved in total on both sides.

However, it was more of a massacre than a tank battle.

Erwin had anticipated that the British would send tank units for reinforcement, so he organized his forces for defense near the Lis River while attacking.

"This is their weakness!" Erwin allowed a slight smile to form on his lips as he saw the British tanks in his binoculars: "But they really should have waited for our tanks to pass!"

The British "Whippet" tanks were no match for the German tanks, which was one of the reasons Erwin had been able to chase the British Expeditionary Force continuously.

Erwin confidently raised his hand and gave a gentle wave forward.

"Advance!" shouted the German commander, his voice cold and full of confidence.

The tanks led the troops forward magnificently, their steps steady and eyes determined.

The outcome was predictable, the British Army suffered a significant defeat despite fielding over 500 tanks, nearly double the German number.

Haig had hoped they would bring glory to the Sun Never Sets Empire, but in reality, they ended up as piles of smoking and flaming scrap metal.

Meanwhile, the German tanks had minimal losses, with only over fifty of their 200 tanks lost, many of which were due to mechanical issues.

The victorious German 1st Tank Division did not stop, continuing their northward advance towards Dunkirk under Major General Erwin’s personal leadership.

Major General Erwin was taking a risk; his tanks didn’t even have enough fuel to reach Dunkirk.

But Erwin still believed he had a chance of winning.

"We’ll get the fuel," Erwin said in a relaxed tone to his subordinates: "What you need to do is watch for approaching cars and not rush to blow them up with a single shot, as they might be carrying the gasoline we need!"