Chapter 427 The Disaster of the General Staff

Wilhelm Street, Berlin, Germany.

Falkenhayn's General Staff was in a mess. The staff were busy and sweating. Telegrams were flying everywhere and the phone was ringing non-stop. The air was full of depression and anxiety. Even Falkenhayn, who was famous for his calmness, was no exception.

Falkenhayn walked around the desk and asked Colonel Moritz, who was looking for a point on the map, in a deep voice: "Are you sure there are no enemies in the Tibitz area?"

Colonel Moritz hesitated for a while: "The intelligence is indeed so. One of our infantry battalions successfully jumped out of the encirclement from the Tibitz area without any obstruction."

Falkenhayn heard the hidden meaning of Colonel Moritz: "'The intelligence is so'?"

"I'm not sure, General." Colonel Moritz replied: "It's hard for me to imagine that Charles would leave such a big loophole. I suspect..."

"Suspect that this may be a trap set by Charles?" Falkenhayn understood what Colonel Moritz meant.

"Yes, yes." Colonel Moritz wiped the sweat from his forehead: "You can say that, but you may not!"

This is different from Colonel Moritz in the past. He has lost his courage and confidence.

Charles completely defeated him psychologically, although the two had never met.

This day was a disaster for the General Staff think tank.

When Charles launched the attack, Colonel Moritz judged that it would take at least a few days for Charles to make a breakthrough, and the French army would suffer heavy casualties.

"Our defense in Cambrai is very tight." Colonel Moritz analyzed: "Since the last Battle of Cambrai, we have known Charles' tactics. We have deployed a large number of 105MM caliber howitzers there, plus the First Tank Division and complete trench fortifications, which will make Charles feel like he has hit a wall!"

Falkenhayn nodded, which was similar to his judgment.

He stared at the map for a while and ordered: "Immediately transfer the 91st Reserve Division to Cambrai for reinforcement."

That was an infantry division trained in Berlin. They took the train for reinforcement. If they were fast, they should be able to reach Cambrai the next day.

Before he finished speaking, the signalman guarding the radio station exclaimed: "General, Charles has broken through our defense line, and our army has collapsed across the board!"

Falkenhayn was stunned. This reversal was too fast.

Colonel Moritz widened his eyes and looked at the signalman in disbelief, asking: "Whose report?"

His first reaction was that someone lied about military intelligence because of cowardice. Now it was only half an hour away from the start of the war. How could it collapse so quickly?

"It's a telegram from Major General Nicolas." The signalman quickly stood up and handed over the telegram.

Colonel Moritz took the telegram and read it carefully several times. He didn't see any problems. Major General Nicolas, as the commander of the 1st Tank Division, couldn't be cowardly.

"Where are our artillery?" Colonel Moritz held on to the last glimmer of hope: "105MM howitzers, why didn't they work?"

"They were suppressed by enemy bombers." The signalman replied: "It is obvious that the enemy has already discovered the exact location of our artillery positions."

Colonel Moritz swallowed his saliva and had to accept and face this reality.

Afterwards, Colonel Moritz analyzed the map again: "Charles' troops may advance to Valenciennes before this afternoon. We can transfer the 182nd Infantry Regiment from Maubeuge in the east to reinforce. The regiment has been resting on the second line for more than half a month. The troops and equipment have been replenished. If they move fast, they can build a line of defense there."

Valenciennes is at the French end near the Franco-Belgian border, more than 20 kilometers away from Cambrai.

Colonel Moritz made this judgment based on Charles' previous penetration speed.

However, Charles' previous penetration was with the "Mark 1" tank, and the infantry had not yet been fully mechanized, so the marching speeds of the two were not at the same level.

Falkenhayn did not object. Even if this infantry regiment could not stop Charles' attack, it could at least slow down his speed, and then other reinforcements would arrive continuously.

But before Falkenhayn gave the order, the signalman reported loudly: "General, the town of Vallaud has fallen, and the French vanguard has arrived in the town!"

Colonel Moritz did not think it was a big deal at first. He was not familiar with the terrain in Belgium and took it for granted that the town of Vallaud was west of Valenciennes, which meant that the French army had not yet reached Valenciennes.

As a result, after searching for a long time in the west, he could not find the town of Vallaud. A staff officer pointed out the location of the town of Vallaud: "Here, about 5 kilometers in Belgium."

Colonel Moritz was petrified instantly. After waking up, he turned his head and looked at the signalman and asked loudly: "Whose report?"

"Major General Nicolas." The signalman replied: "They were attacked by guerrillas and the French vanguard there, and were also bombed by bombers. He could only choose to abandon the tanks and equipment and retreat towards Jemon."

Colonel Moritz still couldn't believe it.

It was only two hours, and Charles's troops were able to cross Valenciennes and advance to the town of Vallo, which is more than 30 kilometers away from Cambrai?

The maximum speed of the "Charles A1" tank is only 15 kilometers per hour, and they can't reach it even if they advance at the maximum speed...

Perhaps seeing Colonel Moritz's confusion, the signalman further explained: "Colonel, intelligence says that the enemy is equipped with a car covered with steel plates. They are much faster than tanks. The French use this car to go in front to clear obstacles for the tanks."

Colonel Moritz looked embarrassed and glanced at Falkenhayn.

Falkenhayn was also anxious at this time. He didn't have time to worry about whether Colonel Moritz had made a wrong judgment. He pointed to the map and said, "Mons, send reinforcements to Mons immediately."

"Yes, General."

But it was still a step late.

In fact, it was not only a step late. When Charles' army occupied Mons, it took an hour for the German reinforcements to arrive.

Then it was Brussels.

Colonel Moritz thought there was a reserve division with more than 20,000 troops there. This time, Charles couldn't pass through quickly!

But with a bang, the ammunition depot was blown up, and the 82nd Reserve Division retreated before the French army arrived.

The last misjudgment was Antwerp.

The tortured Colonel Moritz breathed a sigh of relief at this time. He thought that Charles's attack on this day had finally come to an end.

It was dark at this time. Antwerp was also a famous "national fortress". The German army used "Big Bertha" as a stepping stone to successfully break through. Charles only had tanks and no large-caliber artillery, so he could only sigh at the city.

Even if we attack, we have to wait until the next day, Colonel Moritz thought.

However, just as Colonel Moritz and his staff worked all night to deploy troops, a telegram suddenly came: "Colonel, Antwerp has fallen, and Charles' troops have entered the city!"

Colonel Moritz, who was drawing the defense line on the map, was stunned, then calmly put down the pen in his hand and sat back in his chair, sighed lightly, and stared blankly at the void in front of him.

He was numb!