I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France - Chapter 611
In the center of Antwerp, the headquarters of the British First Army.
Lieutenant General Ives walked anxiously around the headquarters. The sound of artillery fire in the distance became louder and louder, and from time to time, German fighter jets passed overhead with a roar.
They have full control over the skies over Antwerp, flying at low altitudes at will to find targets they deem valuable.
The person who was most unwilling to fail in this battle and least willing to ask for help from Charles was Lieutenant General Ives.
Since being transferred to the Antwerp defense line, Lieutenant General Ives and his troops have always lived in the shadow of the Shire.
Although Lieutenant General Ives was nominally the commander of Antwerp, he was never in full control of the defense at any time.
Needless to say, the French army and even the Belgian army and militia only listened to Charles.
When the charr dispatched troops to attack Namur, Lieutenant General Ives didn’t know anything about it. He didn’t get the information until the charr occupied Namur.
“We are the best.” Lieutenant General Ives said boldly to his subordinates more than once: “The troops of Shire are not worth mentioning in front of us. We need a battle. When that day comes, people will know us.” The power!”
Lieutenant General Ives was convinced of this.
The reason is simple. Britain is the world’s most powerful country, and the First Group of the Expeditionary Force in his hands is the most elite force in Britain. They are experienced, well-equipped and well-trained. No one can match them, even Xia Xia. Your troops.
On this day, the battle broke out suddenly.
Although the initial battle was unfavorable, it was just because he was unprepared and was caught off guard.
That must be it!
After a long time, Lieutenant General Ives stopped. He raised his head and asked his staff: “How is the situation in the underground warehouse?”
“Report to the general.” The staff member replied: “The German fighter planes provided cover for the Stormtroopers in batches. Major General Eden commanded the troops to launch several charges, but they were repulsed by them.”
Lieutenant General Ives frowned: “Tell Major General Eden that we need the supplies in the warehouse to launch a counterattack, and ask him to hurry up!”
“Yes, General.”
After a while, the staff officer ran back quickly and reported excitedly: “General, Major General Eden successfully recaptured the underground warehouse. The German fighter jets also gave up their blockade of the warehouse. We can obtain supplies from the underground warehouse.”
“Very good!” Lieutenant General Ives breathed a sigh of relief. This was a good start.
“Send someone immediately to retrieve supplies.” Lieutenant General Ives ordered.
“Yes, General!”
What Lieutenant General Ives didn’t know was that the reason why Major General Eden had this “success” was because of what he said was “launching a counterattack.”
The British army was in a hurry to seek death, so why bother to stop them?
What’s more, the ammunition of the British army is not common to the Belgian army and the French army, so it is useless to keep it.
…
At two o’clock in the afternoon, the British First Army entered the fortress defense line and prepared for action.
After some reorganization, the British army looked much more energetic. They all wore helmets and held rifles in their hands, lining up in neat formations in the trenches, waiting for orders.
Lieutenant General Ives communicated with Major General Eden and formulated a counterattack plan.
“I need your artillery to provide us with cover.” Lieutenant General Ives pointed at the map and said, “Including the ‘San Salmon’ tank.”
“But ‘Saint Shamon’ can’t hit anything.” Major General Eden replied.
Although the “Saint-Salmon” tank is equipped with a 75-mm gun with a range of 8 kilometers, it has limited visibility hidden in the vehicle body. After a few shots, the vehicle body will be filled with toxic smoke, so the actual combat accuracy is not high.
It is more suitable for defense, or to follow the troops in the attack to suppress enemy deep artillery.
“I don’t need them to hit anything.” Lieutenant General Ives replied: “All I need is that it can create some smoke on the battlefield.”
“Okay, General.” Major General Eden nodded helplessly: “As you wish.”
Major General Eden looked at the attack diagram drawn by Lieutenant General Ives on the map and shook his head secretly.
This is a traditional offensive tactic. The infantry breaks through from the front and the cavalry penetrates from both wings. Lieutenant General Ives hopes to break through the German defense line and intercept it while the German army is not yet stable.
This is simply courting death.
How could the Germans not be wary of cavalry?
However, Major General Eden knew that nothing he could say would be useful, and at the same time he did not want to say anything.
Let the battlefield teach these arrogant British a lesson!
…
With a piercing whistle, the British soldiers crawled out of the trenches, bayonets pointed, shouting and charging towards the German defense lines.
Cannonballs came and went, exploding in the crowd.
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Groups of British soldiers were thrown into the air and rolled several times and fell. Some fell to the ground and died, some were covered in blood and twitching, and some had their arms and legs blown off and screamed at the top of their lungs.
But no one went to help them. The soldiers passed by them one after another, clutching rifles in their hands and looking directly at the German defense line opposite.
They knew that only by rushing into the enemy trenches as quickly as possible would they not be helplessly waiting for death like these comrades lying on the ground.
The cavalry on both wings launched a charge at the same time. They advanced faster and faster, and soon they were flying with all four hooves, leaving deep hoof prints on the ground and bringing up mountains of mud and snow.
The knight on the horse lowered his body, holding the reins tightly with one hand and waving the saber with the other. The gleaming tip of the saber pointed straight ahead, as if he couldn’t wait to break through the oncoming wind and insert it into the enemy’s chest.
However……
The German machine guns rang out, and bullets flooded towards the British army.
The infantry fell in groups like wheat being cut down, neatly covered with blood.
The cavalry was beaten to pieces, and the horses that were charging forward at high speed were hit by bullets and plunged into the snow. The knights on horseback were thrown out and fell to the ground. They rolled several times before stopping. Blood burst out of their ears, mouths, noses and eyes, and they gasped for breath.
The whistling of airplanes suddenly sounded in the sky. Fighter planes dived at high speed in the shadow of the sun. Two rows of bullets mercilessly hit the charging cavalry, raising a bright red.
The horses screamed in the cold wind, and a crazy massacre was taking place in the no-man’s land.
But all this was just the beginning.
With a rumbling sound of motors, the German army launched a counterattack against the British army under the cover of dozens of tanks.
The tanks were also divided into two wings, and they rushed towards the oncoming cavalry at the fastest speed.
The cavalrymen who could not dodge were knocked down and crushed under the tracks one after another, and both the men and horses were turned into a pile of meat paste.
The British cavalrymen in front stopped the charge, but the rear kept squeezing in, and the horses and men were thrown to the ground in a miserable state.
Even Major General Eden could not bear this scene. He grabbed the phone and shouted to Lieutenant General Ives: “You should stop, immediately, this is meaningless!”
But Lieutenant General Ives refused without hesitation. His tone was cold, with confidence and pride: “No, Major General, this is war!”