novelraw Chapter 607: As Long as You Don’t Pay Attention, There Will Be No Trouble
Chapter 607: As Long as You Don’t Pay Attention, There Will Be No Trouble
Today, there’s only one Chapter due to some matters, apologies!
...
At four-thirty in the morning, Shire’s troops arrived in Hasselt ahead of schedule.
Originally, Shire planned to rest for two hours and wait until dawn to launch the attack. After all, fighting urban warfare with tanks at night was highly disadvantageous, as a few bundles of cluster grenades could be thrown from buildings and ruins at any moment, crippling the tanks.
However, when Shire arrived, he found this unnecessary.
Before the army could enter the city, Hasselt was already in chaos with gunfire everywhere.
Many buildings were set ablaze, and the entire city looked like a burning torch. Belgians were running and cheering all around, and in the firelight, several isolated German soldiers could be seen being beaten by Belgian civilians.
The Belgians welcomed the French Army as they arrived, holding various weapons—rifles, wooden sticks, even farm tools and kitchen knives.
Tijani maintained sufficient caution; he sent out staff to inquire about the situation, but the answers from the dozen people he questioned varied significantly:
"Chase them quickly, friends; the Germans are about to escape."
"They have a defensive line in the city which we can’t break through."
"I heard the Germans brought reinforcements for a counterattack, you must be careful!"
...
Tijani eventually gave up asking as he realized that continuing to ask would probably yield a hundred different answers, making it risky to act rashly without a clear understanding of the situation.
It wasn’t until half an hour later that they found a militia leader who had infiltrated the city.
To be precise, it wasn’t "found", but rather the leader, knowing Shire’s forces had arrived, approached them voluntarily.
The officer wore civilian clothes but had a military cap and a pistol at his waist. He was brought before Shire, and he excitedly reported:
"It’s an honor to meet you, General."
"We’ve captured part of the train station and armed civilians with the weapons we seized."
"Most of the area is under our control now, only the train station and city hall still have some German troops putting up a last-ditch resistance."
Tijani spread a map in front of him and asked, "Can you point out where the enemy is and how many there are?"
The leader stared at the map for a long time but couldn’t provide any specific answers.
"The situation is chaotic, General," the leader replied. "Some buildings can’t be determined whether they are held by the Germans or by our own people."
Tijani shrugged helplessly and turned his gaze towards Shire.
His expression indicated that the information was very limited, and the troops still did not know where to attack.
Shire understood the situation. Urban warfare combined with night combat meant that even regular troops sometimes couldn’t discern the situation, let alone guerrilla fighters, militia, and armed civilians.
The fact they hadn’t mistakenly attacked each other was already good, and it might have already happened more than once.
They didn’t care because they could blame it on the Germans.
"Deploy the tanks," Shire ordered.
"General," Tijani quickly intervened, "this could cause unnecessary casualties. I think we should wait until daylight."
Tanks weren’t much effective in the dark and could instead become targets for the German Army.
But Shire insisted on his view:
"We need to end the battle quickly to avoid any delays."
"If the Germans are holding out in buildings, the tanks can serve a purpose."
"We’re not attacking as a single unit but dispersing the tanks among the militia, letting them guide the tanks to attack those formidable strongpoints."
The militia might not clearly describe the situation on a map, but each specific direction and position actively engaged in combat knew where they encountered resistance and couldn’t advance.
The battle progressed as Shire had anticipated. Once the tanks were deployed, their advance speed significantly increased, and by the break of dawn, Hasselt was entirely under French control, amid cheers.
The captured supplies were far more than expected.
The train station had twenty-three large underground warehouses filled with supplies, an abundance of food, firearms, and ammunition.
Five of the warehouses stored fuel for both tanks and planes.
These were scarce resources for the French Army, instantly relieving the fuel pressure for the 1st Armored Army.
Shire then redirected a batch of fighter planes, which, in coordination with those at Brussels and Namur airports, created an anti-aircraft network to prevent the German Air Force from escaping.
...
In Amsterdam, the capital of Holland, it was once a small fishing village in the 12th century, but it had become the most important port and largest city in Holland.
Queen Wilhelmina, after handling her morning affairs, stood by her office window, overlooking the snowy scene below, gently swirling a glass of wine in her hand.
Her mood was like the vast snowfall, covering all the ugliness and revealing only beauty.
(Picture of Queen Wilhelmina of Holland)
The war had entered its third year by now, and Queen Wilhelmina was not aware of the developments in the conflict. Even the now-world-renowned Shire was only vaguely known to her.
Holland was a neutral country, and she would not participate in a war unrelated to her nation, so she saw no need to pay attention.
Or perhaps the Queen was afraid of paying attention, fearing that doing so might inadvertently involve her nation.
The crisp sound of high heels echoed behind her, suggesting some urgency.
The Queen did not turn around, believing that as long as Holland stayed out of the war, there would be no unresolvable problems.
However, trouble finally came knocking.
"Your Majesty," reported the secretary, Louise, "the German ambassador wishes to speak with you."
The Queen frowned slightly, "About what?"
"I think," Louise replied, "the Germans might want to request passage through Holland."
The Queen turned sharply, looking at her secretary in shock.
Louise handed her a document, introducing as the Queen reviewed it, "Last night, Shire’s 1st Armored Army surrounded over two hundred thousand German troops. The Germans have only two options to escape, one is to break through Shire’s defense line, the other is..."
"Through Holland?" The Queen saw the situation clearly in the map; the Germans had no retreat route left.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Queen felt a chill on her face, like a cold wind had blown through.
Damned Shire, he shouldn’t have used the Dutch border to encircle the Germans; he should have known this would invite trouble into Holland.
What to do now?
"Your Majesty," Louise reminded her, "the German ambassador is still waiting outside."
Hesitating for a moment, the Queen responded, "Tell him to come in later, I’m busy!"
Louise shook her head helplessly, "I’ve already said that, but he insists on waiting outside."
"Let him in then!" The Queen sighed inwardly.
She regretted not going abroad for a few days. She should have understood the battlefield situation earlier, especially when it was approaching Holland.