Chapter 211 God, we were fooled!
The German howitzer positions were in a mess, with howitzers knocked over by tanks everywhere, and groups of German artillerymen squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands surrendering.
Colonel Brown simply ordered them to hand over their weapons and blow up the artillery, and then let them go.
Several Western European countries were more humane to prisoners, and their combat concepts were quite "chivalrous".
In their minds, fighting is one thing, that is, fighting for the country and the enemy, and it is right to do your best, just like a knight bleeding for the emperor, that is a kind of honor and a spirit.
But if you can't save the defeat and can't change the result, you should surrender. After surrendering, you are no longer a soldier, and you should treat each other kindly.
...
William Street, Berlin, German General Staff.
Falkenhayn is nervously drawing every troop that can be mobilized, and these troops are pointing to the same goal: rushing to Tram and Rhodes for reinforcement.
"This is Charles' elite troops!" Falkenhayn paced excitedly behind his desk, saying as he walked: "They have been fighting under Charles' orders since the Battle of the Marne. They know Charles' tactics and equipment. If they can be surrounded and eliminated, it would be equivalent to cutting off Charles' left and right arms!"
There is one thing Falkenhayn didn't say. He hopes to capture a few prisoners so that he can learn Charles' new tactics and new equipment from them, which may promote the progress of the German army.
This is particularly important to Falkenhayn. He even thinks that the two so-called "special artillery divisions" in France are no longer important.
If possible, it doesn't matter if they break out first. Falkenhayn is very willing to exchange them for Charles' First Tank Brigade.
"We must stop them, Charles' troops, at all costs!" Falkenhayn muttered to himself.
Colonel Moritz understood.
The strategic value of Charles' troops to the German army is immeasurable.
Perhaps Charles himself did not realize this, which is why he easily sent this unit into the encirclement and took the risk.
Suddenly, a signalman reported with a horrified face: "General, Charles's troops defeated our army's first tank regiment, two tank squads (battalions) were almost wiped out, and Colonel Mateo died heroically!"
Falkenhayn stopped abruptly and turned his head to look at the signalman in astonishment: "No, this is impossible!"
How could the "Mark I" without artillery instantly defeat the first tank regiment with artillery?
Colonel Moritz didn't say anything. He rushed forward and grabbed the telegram that had just been decoded. He glanced at it quickly and looked up at Falkenhayn: "General, it's true. Charles has invested in a new type of tank!"
"New tank?" Falkenhayn was stunned, his expression blank: "But why don't we have any news at all? That's a tank. It takes at least an hour to drive from Rhodes to Samok, more than ten kilometers. No one has discovered it?"
Moritz thought for a while and guessed: "This may be that Charles deliberately concealed its existence. He intended for us to focus on the 'Mark I', and then this new tank suddenly appeared and caught us off guard..."
Before he finished speaking, Colonel Moritz was stunned on the spot. He thought of another point.
Falkenhayn also understood. He and Moritz looked at each other, and both saw shock in each other's eyes.
"God, we were fooled!" Colonel Moritz exclaimed: "He made us believe that he only had the 'Mark I', so we misjudged that the French army could only break out from Tram or Rhodes... No, no..."
Colonel Moritz walked to Falkenhayn at a loss: "We should transfer the troops back. Charles will break out from the Cape Town area. Just as we thought before, they will attack from both sides..."
Falkenhayn shook his head lightly, helpless: "It's too late, Moritz, Charles deceived us, he succeeded again!"
Moritz took out his pocket watch to check the time, glanced at the map again, sighed and nodded slowly.
Falkenhayn was right. From the moment Charles broke through the Rhodes defense line, the German army urgently dispatched troops to reinforce the two wings. It has been an hour and a half now.
This means that it will take an hour and a half to turn these troops back.
This time is enough for Charles' troops to bypass the Samok Straight and reach the town of Lorca.
...
The actual situation is much faster than they imagined.
The "Charr A1" tank can reach a speed of 13 kilometers per hour because it is equipped with a more advanced suspension system, and can travel continuously for more than 30 kilometers without maintenance.
This is actually also closely related to its light weight. The same track supports an 8-ton "Charr A1" and a 17-ton "Mark I".
Moreover, the First Tank Army still has infantry and tank coordination: sidecars drive in front to scout the terrain for tanks, and small flags are inserted in advance on muddy and rigid ground to warn.
(Note: Some highway bridges are paved with stones and the stones are uneven. If tanks pass at high speed, the tracks and stones may break violently.)
Reconnaissance aircraft in the air also participated in it. They kept dropping "intelligence bottles" to warn: there are small enemy forces ahead, German supply convoys ahead, German engineers ahead...
The sidecar troops rushed to attack first, defeated those who should be defeated, seized those who should be seized, and repaired the bomb craters in time. The "Charr A1" tanks following behind naturally had a smooth journey.
As for the Mark I tanks, Colonel Estiny commanded them to gather together at the intersection of the road in Samok Town, opened the fuel tanks and set them on fire.
Their final mission is to block the back road so that the enemy's pursuers cannot catch up quickly.
…
The town of Lorca, directly behind the Cape Town area.
Major General Tijani arrived here with the Second Special Artillery Division and successfully joined the First Special Artillery Division.
Amid the cheers of the soldiers, the disgraced Major General Christine found Tijani, and the two held their hands tightly.
Christine and Tijani ducked into the temporary artillery-proof hole. This was an enemy-controlled area, and he did not dare to be careless at all.
Before getting into the artillery hole, Christine glanced at Tijani's troops, with a hint of surprise in her eyes.
Before the war, Christine looked down upon Tijani.
He didn't believe that someone like Tijani, who became a major general through connections, could accomplish anything on the battlefield.
Now seeing that there are more than thirty "Saint Shamon" and CA-1 in his team, I can't help but look at Tijani with admiration.
"Well done, General Tijani!" Christine looked ashamed: "I have given up all those tanks, and I didn't bring any of them!"
Tijani replied with an embarrassed look: "If it weren't for Ciel's troops, we wouldn't be here at all, let alone those tanks."
Then he added: "In fact, I should leave them to the enemy. They seem to be no better than vases!"
The vases were at least pleasing to the eye, Tijani thought, but the tanks were killing people.
