CHAPTER 700: CHAPTER 700: MULTI-THREADED ADVANCEMENT

Paris City Hall meeting room.

Major Durra pointed at the map, full of confidence.

After all, Briand and Clemenceau were both professionals in fields unrelated to military, a lawyer and a doctor respectively, which made Major Durra feel at ease.

"Although Shire has successfully occupied Bicangxi, this is likely the furthest Shire Army can reach."

"Bicangxi is approximately 60 kilometers from Mayezeil, and defending such a distance would require at least 50,000 men, along with time to construct adequate fortifications."

"Otherwise, the connection between the two places is extremely fragile. Any German Army unit penetrating the middle area would sever the link!"

Briand and Clemenceau nodded frequently, deeply convinced by Major Durra’s words.

What they didn’t realize was that Durra’s theory only suited traditional infantry.

For Shire’s mechanized troops, two cities 60 kilometers apart were far from being as "fragile" as Durra suggested, and did not require 50,000 men for defense, nor necessary fortifications.

...

Eperlecques Town lies between Mezieres and Bicangxi, and this town is located at the intersection of three roads, making it an important transport hub.

Colonel Bernell, attached to the German 21st Army Group, arrived at this town with a mechanized regiment before nightfall.

This mechanized regiment was temporarily assembled by Admiral Nicholas, emulating Shire’s structure.

However, the German mechanized regiment and Shire’s mechanized regiment were two different things. They had no tanks, artillery, or armored vehicles, and certainly no infantry-artillery coordination, or infantry-tank coordination, at most they were infantry riding in trucks.

Upon arriving at the town, Colonel Bernell immediately realized he was in danger.

Which direction should the defensive line face?

On one side was Mezieres, on the other was Bicangxi.

Both sides had French forces, and both were French mechanized and armored units.

No matter which side the defenses faced, they would expose their backs to the enemy on the other side.

Unless a circular defense was built to surround themselves.

But that clearly was not a wise move, it amounted to digging a trench and shouting to the enemy with a megaphone: "We have surrounded ourselves, hit us hard with your artillery!"

Soon, Colonel Bernell found he didn’t need to consider this issue at all.

Because before he could catch his breath, the rumbling of tanks made itself heard from all directions in the darkness.

"Damn it, we’re surrounded, it’s a trap!" Colonel Bernell shouted, "Get out of here now!"

But it was already too late, French tanks rumbled onto the roads, blocking all exits, while the French forces used the tanks as a shield to unfold, constructing layers of steel defenses that encircled the German forces.

"Boom boom!" The battle commenced amidst the 75mm cannons of the "Saint Chammon" and the screaming of the German soldiers.

The so-called German "mechanized regiment" was no match for the French infantry-tank-artillery coordination.

...

Paris City Hall.

Major Durra pointed at Bicangxi on the map and analyzed:

"Bicangxi has no natural defenses, most of the city’s buildings are wooden, they cannot withstand enemy bullets and bombings."

"Shire needs time to build fortifications, but I don’t think he can. Because enemies will rush in from all directions to surround it."

"Unless he can mobilize the entire city’s populace, but even then, they can’t escape being surrounded."

...

In Bicangxi, citizens were shocked to find that the French Army, after retaking it, hadn’t built any fortifications at all.

The citizens saw no enemy, they saw no war, they just heard gunshots and explosions in the distance, followed by one victory report after another:

"They (the French Army) defeated the enemy at Morria Bridge, capturing over a thousand Germans!"

"They surrounded the Germans at Priel Bridge, killing and wounding more than three thousand!"

"They defeated the Germans near Milo Bridge!"

...

Paris City Hall, Major Durra crossed his arms and said to the map:

"Shire’s biggest mistake was choosing to attack Verdun."

"This flanking route is too long, over 130 kilometers."

"It would take them at least two days to reach their destination, giving the Germans time to catch their breath and get ready."

"I guarantee, from Bicangxi southward, Shire’s advance will get slower and slower, more and more difficult, eventually getting stuck in a quagmire with no way out!"

...

kilometers south of Bicangxi at Sodiler Town, Shire’s First Armored Division reached there in just 7 hours, more than 3 hours ahead of schedule.

While advancing toward Verdun, Shire uncharacteristically had the division advance in two parts as brigades side-by-side, instead of in a single file.

Brigades were further divided into regiments advancing along multiple routes according to the situation.

This was to find gaps in the German defensive line.

Marching at night has its troubles, tanks with almost no night combat capability can easily bump into German defensive lines and fall into hard battles.

At the same time, without aerial reconnaissance and cover at night, it’s hard to grasp the exact enemy situation.

Shire’s solution was to spread out and advance on multiple fronts.

Units encountering enemy blockades wouldn’t forcefully attack, and those penetrating German lines through gaps would encircle from behind.

Due to the German forces’ lack of preparation and insufficient time to complete fortifications, gaps were inevitable.

Thus, the German forces’ defenses crumbled repeatedly under the French’s flank and rear attacks.

Sometimes, the Germans didn’t know where those French forces came from.

Of course, this requires training.

Otherwise, just the darkness and terrain alone could turn various units, lacking communication equipment, into a disorganized mess.

On the swaying armored vehicle proceeding along the road, the aide reported to Shire: "General, we are 30 kilometers away from Verdun Defense Line. At the current speed, we should reach the destination by around 8 am tomorrow."

Shire acknowledged with a "hmm," even he was surprised by the speed.

He had expected night marches to be difficult, estimating that advancing 30 kilometers overnight while fighting was already good, but surprisingly the speed wasn’t much slower than daytime.

Clearly, the Germans were stunned by this tank-flanking tactic.

They might not understand until their deaths how the French could so quickly find the flaws in their defensive lines and then rapidly penetrate and encircle.

And this was at night!

No aerial reconnaissance, with low visibility.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shire ordered the aide: "Send a telegram to Petain, tell him it’s time to counterattack."

"Yes, General." The aide responded.

Shire was giving Petain some benefits.

Even if Petain didn’t counterattack, the First Armored Division could still crush the German forces from behind and rescue Verdun.

So, Shire wasn’t worried about whether Petain would attack.

This wasn’t about being pro-offensive or defensive, it was about being smart or not.