Chapter 529 Their Scandal Is About to Be Exposed

The fierce artillery fire sounded again, that was the artillery suppression requested by Monty.

He thought that if there were tanks covering the infantry, they could avoid being affected by the shells to a certain extent, and this might be a good time to suppress the artillery fire.

This idea seemed to be right. Under the attack of the British artillery, the German firepower instantly became much smaller, and there was still a shadow of the German retreat.

The British tanks took this opportunity to speed up, and the soldiers in the rear also began to charge. Then with a loud shout, Monty successfully led his men into the first trench of the German army.

Unexpectedly, victory came so easily, and Monty was ecstatic.

However, before he had time to consolidate his position, the Germans launched a counterattack.

At this time, the tank stopped in front of the trench and dared not move forward. The driver was not sure whether he could cross the trench widened by the Germans in front of him, and they did not dare to take risks easily without orders.

The tank machine gun kept firing at the German army, firing in several directions at the same time, making it output like a hedgehog covered with spikes.

However, it stopped in front of the trench and could not move, which made it a target for the German 77MM gun.

"Boom boom!"

After a burst of gunfire, several tanks were instantly blown into pieces, and some were on fire.

Then, the German 105MM long-range artillery also roared, and its shells screamed in the air with a terrifying sound, from far to near, and the sound gradually changed from sharp to roaring.

Finally, "boom boom boom" bombed the position randomly, shaking the ground, and Monty felt like a boat that could be overturned at any time in the wind and waves.

He risked stepping on the high ground of the stomp and looking back, and saw that there were only a few of the dozens of tanks behind that could move, and they were still being bombed and had nowhere to hide.

Monty suddenly realized that he had been fooled. This was a trap set by the Germans.

The reason why the German 105MM artillery came so accurately and quickly was because they had long aimed at this line of defense, the Germans' own line of defense.

The British army was able to achieve such a smooth "victory" because the Germans took the initiative to give up their positions and put the British army under bombing.

The shells continued to hit the trenches that the British army had just occupied one after another.

The Germans' calculations were both insidious and careful.

The range of their 105MM caliber artillery exceeded that of all the artillery of the British and French coalition forces. If they pulled them far away and aimed at their own defense line, no artillery would be able to reach them.

The German artillery could bomb as long as they wanted.

Fortunately, the German trenches were nearly three meters long, and there were anti-artillery holes in them, which provided good protection for the British army.

However...

Monty in the trench immediately thought that after the Germans bombarded those tanks with artillery, a large number of infantry would come up to retake the trench.

We will be killed here, and a chill rose in Monty's heart. They were surrounded by artillery and unable to move, and they were isolated and helpless.

Monty did not hesitate. He shouted to the staff amid the rumbling of artillery fire: "Pass the order down, retreat as soon as the artillery fire stops!"

The staff was stunned. Shouldn't we launch a charge as soon as the artillery fire stops?

We are winning the first stage, and now is the time to pursue the victory!

"Retreat!" Monty confirmed his order: "Retreat as soon as the artillery fire stops!"

"Yes, Captain!" The staff took several signalmen to pass the order.

Monty's judgment was correct.

As a result, the Germans did not expect the British to suddenly retreat in the gap between artillery fire. They were still thinking of surrounding these British in the trenches and annihilating them all, but they let them escape accidentally.

...

Antwerp Airport.

Charles was counting the number of rocket launchers and rockets sent to Mons.

Rocket launchers and rockets were eventually sent to Mons to launch an attack on the Namur Fortress, so there was no need to go to Antwerp first and then transfer to Mons.

This was not only redundant, but also easy to expose their own strategic goals.

As for the rockets that have been delivered to Antwerp, they are used for troop training and as a reserve.

The two rocket artillery regiments are basically in place, but the rockets are still slightly insufficient, with only more than 20,000 rockets.

Steed was puzzled by this: "Major General, more than 20,000 rockets have far exceeded the ammunition base of the two artillery regiments!"

He calculated it based on the ammunition base of the French howitzers. There are 72 guns in the two artillery regiments, 100 ammunition for each gun, and one base is 7,200.

Charles replied: "You seem to have forgotten that a rocket launcher has 12 launch tubes, Mr. Steed."

Steed's cold sweat instantly flowed down his forehead, which means that more than 80,000 rockets are needed for one ammunition base!

Charles is not sure how many rockets are needed.

This depends on how many artillery the Germans have deployed in the Namur Fortress and the actual combat effect of the rockets.

However, it is definitely right to produce more rockets. Even if it does not have a launch tube, it only needs to be placed on the sandbags in front of the position and connected to the battery to launch.

Just as Charles was calculating how many rockets to allocate to the two rocket artillery regiments, Tijani came out with a telegram:

"Good news, the Germans have sent reinforcements to the Somme River."

"They have at least transferred two artillery regiments from Verdun, and there are also signs of mobilization in the Namur Fortress, but it is not clear how many troops have been transferred."

Charles said "hmm" and continued to calculate on paper.

The Germans should have transferred more troops from the Namur Fortress.

After all, the French army's strategic intention to attack Namur has been exposed, and mainstream generals including Kitzinger, Haig, and Nivelle are deeply trapped in the public opinion trap of "borrowing a knife to kill".

In addition, the British and French coalition forces have already attacked the Somme River with all their strength, and it is basically impossible for the French army to attack Namur.

So, what is the point of leaving the artillery in Namur?

"This may be related to the British deployment of tanks." Tijani said: "They made the Germans feel pressure."

"Tanks?" Charles stopped his actions and looked up at Tijani.

"Yes." Tijani handed Charles a newspaper with a bit of pride on his face: "Your intelligence is not always so timely, Major General."

Charles took the newspaper and saw that it was written in a prominent position "The British Army deployed new tanks on the battlefield for the first time and won a major victory", and a photo of a tank was attached next to it.

Charles recognized it as the British "Whippet" at a glance.

This is a very interesting tank. The British believe that as long as there are machine guns in four directions, there is no need to rotate the turret.

What's more, they believe that this tank can fire in three directions at the same time, so it is much stronger than the single firepower of the rotating turret.

(Note: The Whippet usually has three crew members: driver, commander, and machine gunner. Generally, one machine gunner takes turns to operate four machine guns. In extreme cases, one machine gunner can be added, and with the commander, three machine guns can be fired at the same time)

Charles smiled coldly: "Their scandal is about to be exposed."

It is too obvious whether the tank wins or loses. The soldiers can see it, and this cannot be hidden.

The British only care about calming people's hearts, but they didn't expect that this might lead to more terrible consequences.

Tijani looked at Charles in astonishment: "Scandal? What scandal?"