CHAPTER 698: AFTER MODIFICATION: CHAPTER 698

At nightfall, Admiral Nicholas led his defeated troops to Le Teller.

To be precise, it was not an escape but a steady destruction of bridges and roads to create obstacles, while deploying scattered units for ambushes in forests and highlands.

When Admiral Nicholas arrived at Le Teller, he immediately sought out Major General Hector, commander of the 73rd Infantry Division stationed there.

"We must be ready," Admiral Nicholas said urgently to Major General Hector, "Shire’s troops are likely to strike here!"

Admiral Nicholas appeared quite disheveled, covered in dust, with a bandage on his forehead displaying a bit of bright red—a wound from the Meuse River battlefield caused by shrapnel.

Major General Hector looked at Admiral Nicholas with doubt, "General, I heard you set up obstacles all the way here."

"Yes, certainly," Admiral Nicholas replied, his eyes showing fear:

"But do you think this can stop him?"

"If you think so, you’re gravely mistaken, Major General."

"Do you know how many troops I deployed at the Meuse River? Three infantry divisions and one artillery division, a total of over seventy thousand men, yet he crushed us easily!"

Major General Hector did not respond, he merely looked at Nicholas, filled with helplessness.

Another general driven mad by Shire’s attacks, a common trait of Shire’s defeated officers—they lose confidence in everything, seeing Shire as an omnipotent god.

"Rest assured, General," Major General Hector replied calmly, "Shire’s troops are armored forces, heavily dependent on highways. From Mezieres to Le Teller, there’s only one road, with many forests and highlands along the way, so I believe..."

"I thought the same at the Meuse River!" Admiral Nicholas interrupted Major General Hector angrily, "We need to build another defensive line in the opposite direction!"

"Yes, General," Major General Hector responded vigorously.

However, he agreed outwardly but disagreed inwardly.

If Shire strikes here, we should rather prepare to escape, because by then our supply lines would have collapsed!

Clearly, Admiral Nicholas was no longer fit to command this battle.

At this moment, a staff officer approached Major General Hector and handed him a telegram.

Major General Hector glanced at it and began to laugh.

He handed the telegram to Admiral Nicholas, "General, your worries are unfounded. Shire is not attacking Le Teller. His troops are advancing along the Meuse River and have now taken Bicangxi."

"Bicangxi?" Admiral Nicholas was stunned. He rushed to the desk and found its location on the map. His face changed drastically, staggering and collapsing into a chair.

"Oh God, his target isn’t Le Teller, it’s Verdun. We’re doomed!"

...

Shire personally led the main forces of the First Armored Division to advance along the Meuse River towards Verdun.

One advantage of river-based maneuvers is the impossibility of getting lost. Moreover, they can capture bridges along the way, preventing German reinforcements from the east bank of the Meuse River.

More importantly, the Meuse River can serve as an excellent supply route.

Colonel Estiny, who arrived at noon to garrison Mezieres, led a mechanized regiment. Shire instructed him to rest in Mezieres, organize militiamen, and ensure the supply transport.

This was not difficult; it only required gathering Mezieres’ boats and forming a transport fleet to sail upstream at nightfall along the Meuse River.

The German Army on the east bank was in chaos, having neither the time nor the thought to block the river.

Tijani led the main forces of the mechanized division to capture Bicangxi.

Bicangxi was almost an empty city, garrisoned by only one German infantry battalion, and contained a field hospital with many wounded soldiers evacuated from the front lines. Tijani’s troops captured them effortlessly and seized some medical supplies.

Notably, "some" rather than "a lot," as the German Army was already facing severe supply shortages with little medical stock left.

(The image above shows the location of Bicangxi)

Bicangxi is precisely midway between Mezieres and Verdun, close to both rivers, with the farthest bridge only thirty kilometers away.

Tijani’s combat mode was to use Bicangxi as a base, leveraging the high mobility of mechanized forces to remotely blockade bridges on either side, ensuring the safety of the supply line, under the coordination of fighter jets and bombers.

The First Armored Division did not cease marching at night; Shire allowed them only an hour of rest before continuing towards Verdun.

Shire said to Major General Brownie:

"Do you know what it means to slow down? If we slow down, we’ll face more enemies who may have built defensive lines. Overcoming these defenses will cost lives!"

"So, the choice before us is: to face exhaustion or face death?"

Under Shire’s command, Major General Brownie had executed infiltration tasks more than once, understanding this principle, he shouted orders to his troops:

"Advance, or we’ll face death."

"The Germans’ rifles are pointing south; ahead of us are their backs."

"As long as we are fast enough, they won’t have time to prepare. Victory is ahead of us!"

...

During this period, tank soldiers found a day of continuous combat and marching incredibly difficult. Even with the First Armored Division’s ample preparation and redundant tank crews, each tank had an alternate driver who could share the driving.

Yet, both drivers were almost exhausted from the burdensome tasks.

Shire once saw a driver needing someone to feed him bread during rest because his hands trembled too much to hold anything.

But miraculously, when he returned to the tank and faced the controls, his strength came back.

Their sacrifices proved worthwhile: along the way, the First Armored Division encountered hardly any organized resistance.

The German Army’s reinforcements repeatedly attempted to form defensive lines but were defeated by the armored division before they could establish firm footing.

It was actually German tactical errors.

At this time, they should not follow usual protocols of trench digging, anti-tank trench construction, and setting up barbed wire.

Trenches and anti-tank trenches must be connected seamlessly to be effective, leaving even one gap allows armored units to penetrate.

This could not be accomplished in just a few days.

The First Armored Division would reach Verdun in two days.

Factoring in overnight marches, it might only take one and a half days.

The correct approach should have been preemptively deploying large quantities of mines—whether infantry mines or anti-tank mines.

(Note: Infantry mines can also threaten tanks by breaking tracks)

Of course, Shire would not share such advice with the Germans.