CHAPTER 693: CHAPTER 693: HOW DID THE TANK GET HERE?

While the tanks were being intensively modified at the shipyard, Shire, accompanied by guards, rushed to the east bank of the Meuse River for a field survey.

It was not safe then, the German Army’s shells were continuously raining down into the city with no predictable pattern.

Major General Brownie had tried to stop Shire: "You just need to stay in the command post, General. I will have the data you need sent to you without any errors."

But Shire refused without hesitation.

There are many things that cannot be seen or imagined from the rear command post; only by being there in person and mentally simulating the conditions can one discover them.

Moreover, this battle was of great importance, and failure would mean the complete collapse of the breakthrough attempt; Shire dared not let his guard down for even a moment.

Therefore, the speed of the current, the width and depth of various sections of the river, and the conditions of the islands and reefs in the river, were all checked one by one under Shire’s command.

Eventually, Shire chose a school as the departure point.

The school was Mezieres Primary School, located by the river.

It was chosen because the river water had flooded the schoolyard, turning this "flooded area" into a perfect departure spot:

It was several hundred meters wide, enough for more than a dozen "amphibious tanks" to line up side by side and set off simultaneously, ensuring that the tanks could land on the opposite shore almost at the same time to generate sufficient fire suppression on the enemy.

It had a concrete surface, connecting with several hard roads, meeting the driving requirements of the tanks, preventing them from getting stuck in the mud even when entering the water.

The water depth in the schoolyard had reached 1.3 meters, and the terrain was flat without obstacles, allowing the tank crews to conduct trial navigation here.

More importantly, the school was located in the middle of a "C"-shaped bend in the river.

The "amphibious tanks" could enter the water here, advance straight for a few minutes, and by drifting with the current, approach the landing site at the end of the "C"-shaped river bend.

...

The troops set out in the dark, carefully calculating the time to reach the opposite bank just before dawn.

Fortunately, a thick fog rolled in that day. Shire organized additional artillery fire, the sound of the exploding shells masking the noise of the propellers breaking the water.

Major General Brownie personally led the command.

During this, there were some dangerous moments. The rushing river formed unseen whirlpools, which spun Major General Brownie’s "amphibious tank" around in the middle of the river.

Fortunately, Major General Brownie remained calm in the face of danger. He ordered the engine to be shut down, drifted with the current, awaited a stable moment, and suddenly restarted the engine, allowing the "amphibious tank" to escape the whirlpool’s clutches under the combined effects of the thrust and inertia.

Major General Brownie was drenched in cold sweat, cursing uncontrollably: "Shire’s invention is indeed useful, but it’s practically a toy—this is murder!"

When Major General Brownie’s tank finally landed successfully, he felt like he had just been given a new lease on life. However, before he could catch his breath, they were bombarded by enemy fire.

Major General Brownie quickly retracted his head into the tank cabin, commanding the tank to move forward.

The path was filled with tanks either "stranded" or stuck in the mud.

The conditions on the other side were unknown; no one knew the terrain underwater. One misstep would get them stuck, sometimes even falling into invisible deep pits.

But Brownie, looking through the observation port to both sides, quickly found a pattern. He shouted to the driver below: "Look at the buildings on both sides; the streets must be between the buildings!"

The driver suddenly realized this, stepped on the gas, and accelerated forward down the middle of the buildings.

Sure enough, the treads parted the water and the tank smoothly moved onto solid ground.

At the same time, Major General Brownie operated the machine gun, continuously firing at the enemy on both sides.

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

...

German soldiers, who were fleeing, were hit and fell into pools of blood. The already murky water turned a ghastly red.

Some wounded German soldiers, lying on the ground, tried to get up. The water kept flooding their mouths and noses, making it hard for them to breathe.

However, the more they struggled, the more their wounds hurt. After several failed attempts to rise, they could only helplessly thrash in the water, their movements growing weaker, until they seemed to resign themselves and lay still in the water.

Gunfire echoed ceaselessly. French soldiers followed the tanks, pursuing the German Army, breaking through the enemy’s riverbank defenses at first sight.

...

At the German Army’s Meuse River command post, Admiral Nicholas was organizing the regrouping of the retreating troops.

After some thought, he reported to Fajin Han:

"General, if we block Shire’s troops completely, I mean completely encircle Mezieres,

then we might not need to abandon the defensive line north of Mezieres.

We might even be able to continue advancing towards Dunkirk!"

Fajin Han looked at the telegram, stunned for a moment. He felt that it seemed feasible; if Shire’s troops couldn’t break through in other directions, it would only carve Mezieres out of the German-controlled area without posing a significant threat to the German Army’s defensive line.

But Fajin Han was still worried that the battle might not be as straightforward as Nicholas suggested.

"Are you sure you can encircle Shire’s First Armored Army?" Fajin Han asked.

"Yes, I’m sure, General Chief of Staff!" Admiral Nicholas replied. "I can’t think of any way he could break through our lines. He must first cross the Meuse River, and even if the infantry can get across, the tanks can’t!"

"Alright!" Fajin Han wired back: "We will do as you suggest. I will instruct the troops to retake the defensive lines."

Thus, the German Army, which had just received orders to "retreat across the front line," once again received the order to "retake the defensive lines." The First Tank Division, already being transported back by train, was halted midway.

Admiral Nicholas had only one request for Fajin Han: "I need reinforcements of five artillery regiments and one infantry division, along with ample ammunition. Only then can I lock Shire’s troops in Mezieres, rendering them immobile!"

Fajin Han readily agreed to Admiral Nicholas’s request.

If it meant stopping Shire, what were five artillery regiments and one infantry division? Even doubling, tripling the reinforcements wouldn’t be an issue.

However, just as Admiral Nicholas was studying the map and planning where to deploy the arriving troops, a communication officer burst into his office in a panic: "General, Shire’s troops have landed!"

Admiral Nicholas didn’t lift his head as he responded: "Then push them back. Notify the artillery!"

He assumed that firing the artillery would solve everything.

But the communication officer replied: "General, they have already landed and broke through our lines. They, they have tanks!"

"What?" Admiral Nicholas sharply lifted his head and stared at the communication officer.

Tanks?

How did the tanks get across?

Could they have swum across?!