Chapter 602 The Real Crisis

Erwin carefully observed the fortress defense line, and he found that it was a defense system with multiple firepower combinations.

The fortress's artillery can ensure their invincibility in artillery battles: the fortress can easily destroy the German artillery, but the German artillery can only hit a white spot on the fortress.

If "Big Bertha" is moved out like before, it will be easily destroyed by Charles's fighter jets.

So this is a dead end unless the Germans can always maintain absolute air supremacy, but this is impossible.

On this basis, the fortress defense line also included barbed wire fences, anti-tank trenches, minefields, and later "Saint Shamon" and fortress guns... It was simply impregnable.

Therefore, Colonel Erwin changed the offensive plan without hesitation, from storming Antwerp to penetrating into the hinterland of the British army. While surrounding Antwerp, his troops were directed towards the Belgian town of Ghent.

…

Dunkirk, British Expeditionary Force headquarters.

Kitchener and his staff were busy, and telephones and telegrams were ringing.

Haig was responsible for commanding the Battle of the Somme, and Lieutenant General Ives was unable to control the situation in Antwerp. This forced Kitchener, the Minister of War, to sit at the General Headquarters and preside over the overall situation.

A telegram was sent to Kitchener: "Your Excellency, Marshal, Antwerp has blocked the German attack."

Kitchener felt light all over. This was a rare piece of good news.

The staff members at the headquarters also breathed a sigh of relief, and the nervous movements of their hands slowed down. Several staff officers even let out a cheer.

Kitchener asked in a deep voice: "Who blocked it?"

This is very important and related to the prestige of the British army.

The staff officer was a little embarrassed, and his voice was obviously much lower: "It's the Belgian army, Marshal, their fortress defense line has worked!"

The atmosphere in the command center instantly became weird, a little depressing, a little awkward, and a little embarrassing.

The British army entered Belgium as a victor, liberator, and protector.

When Lieutenant General Ives led his elite troops from Dunkirk, he shouted the slogan to let the French see what real war is, teach the Charles how to fight, and let the Belgians know which army is the real one. Worth relying on.

As a result, not only did they fail to compare with the French army, they also failed to compare with the Belgian army.

Not to mention the comparison, they still need the protection of the Belgian army!

It was supposed to protect the Belgian army, but now it is lingering under the protection of the Belgian army.

Kitchener forced a calm "hmm" and changed the topic: "Order Lieutenant General Ives to immediately organize the troops to prepare for a counterattack!"

"Yes, Your Excellency Marshal."

Kitchener never believed that the British army was inferior to the Belgian army.

He believed that the British army collapsed simply because they were unprepared and were caught off guard by the Germans.

As long as the British army establishes a firm foothold and launches an organized and planned counterattack, it will definitely teach the Germans a harsh lesson.

At this time, another telegram was sent to Kitchener: "Your Excellency, Marshal, the German army has bypassed Antwerp and attacked our army's hinterland!"

"What?" Kitchener's face instantly lost all color. He suddenly looked up at his staff and asked nervously: "Route, where is the target of their attack?"

The staff officer looked at the telegram for a while and pointed out a route on the map: "The enemy is advancing westward along the highway, and the target should be Ghent."

Kitchener sat on his chair and was speechless for a long time.

After a long time, he muttered: "Damn it, the Germans learned Shire's tactics and used them on us!"

The characteristic of trench warfare is an egg-shaped defense. The outer shell looks very hard, but once this shell is penetrated, the inside is completely empty.

So did the British army.

Although the British Expeditionary Force at this time had nearly one million troops, most of them were concentrated on the Somme River. A total of more than 300,000 people in the Belgian direction were defeated and had no time to withdraw. They were far behind the rapidly advancing German army.

(Note: The British army has invested 54 divisions and millions of troops in the direction of the Somme River, with casualties as high as 420,000.)

"Your Excellency, Marshal." The staff officer looked at the map and said worriedly: "Once the German army captures Ghent, it will not only be a matter of the Antwerp defense line collapsing, but the entire Belgium will lose supplies, and it will even threaten Ypres and Dunkirk! "

Ypres was also undefended, and Dunkirk had only two infantry regiments with less than 10,000 men.

These are not the main points. What is important is that once Ghent is lost, the German aviation will be able to block almost all Belgian roads and railways using Ghent Airport as a base.

Coupled with the blockade of German submarines on sea routes, the entire Western Front will be in a state of lack of supplies.

By then, no matter how capable Charles's aviation regiment is, no matter how good its aircraft performance is, and no matter how powerful its armored forces are, they will face a situation where their fuel is getting less and less and they will eventually have to withdraw from the battlefield.

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Only then did Kitchener understand what the real danger was and see the real crisis.

After a moment of silence, Kitchener said feebly: "We should ask Charles for help."

"But your Excellency, Marshal." The staff officer said doubtfully, "We have already asked Charles for help."

Kitchener shook his head slowly:

"Not just planes, we need his tanks, his troops, his everything."

"Now, it is very likely that only he can save us!"

The staff officer was stunned for a moment, and then understood: "I will convey your intention to Lieutenant General Ives."

Kitchener was a field marshal, and asking him to bow to Charles would undermine the dignity of the British Empire.

Kitchener nodded gently, his eyes fixed on the map, and he was still struggling in his heart.

He knew what the price of asking Charles for help was. The British army would be trampled under Charles' feet, and would never be able to raise their heads on the land of Belgium and France again, and would never be able to look at the eyes of all soldiers, including the colonial army.

Therefore, he was still considering a possibility in his heart: Is the British army capable of reversing this situation?

After a while, the staff came back:

"Marshal, Lieutenant General Avis called back. He hopes you can give him a chance to attack."

"He believes that the main force of the German army is attacking Ghent, and its rear must be empty."

"If our army sends cavalry units to launch a counterattack to cut off the German supply line, they will not be able to penetrate our hinterland, let alone Ghent."

Kitchener laughed: "Cavalry? He thinks the cavalry is capable of cutting off the German supply line?"

This stupid guy, isn't the lesson of the Somme enough?

But then Kitchener thought again, if Lieutenant General Ives was not allowed to try, he and other commanders such as Haig would always have a little fantasy about the cavalry, always thinking that they could not play a role because their superiors did not allow it, so the cavalry would never be eliminated.

Thinking of this, Kitchener nodded expressionlessly: "Reply: Do what you want, you are fully responsible, no need to go through me!"