I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France

Chapter 703: Only Defeat Awaits Shire

In the early morning, a beam of golden light pierced the sky and spread across the open ground outside the town of Truk. The sound of artillery fire came from the south; Petain’s forces were launching a fierce attack on the German Army’s defensive line.

Inside the town, there were faint signs of people moving slowly. Coffee shops opened, ready for business; smoke from kitchen chimneys rose into the air, and the incoming breeze carried a hint of freshly baked bread.

On the other side of the town was a forest filled with oak trees bearing green leaves. Mist rolled in the sunlight, blending indistinguishably with the smoke from the town.

Shire lay prone on the hood of an armored vehicle, peering through binoculars and observing everything repeatedly, but he found no suspicious signs.

Behind him were tanks and armored vehicles, their armor dotted with crater-like bullet holes, telling of the fierce fighting from the night before.

The soldiers were travel-worn; their faces bore marks of exhaustion, yet their eyes shone with excitement and thrill.

Victory was within reach; the first armored division was about to create another miracle.

And this victory was going to be epic, solving several major issues in one strike:

Rescuing the British trapped in Dunkirk, saving their millions of troops from the danger of being annihilated by the Germans.

Recapturing the River Somme area, which had seen heavy casualties and could not be retaken.

Recapturing Verdun, which had been in a months-long stalemate with no progress.

...

Everyone was waiting for this moment to come; now only the final push remained.

But what puzzled people was that Shire ordered a halt and the troops to regroup at this moment.

"General," Major General Brownie lay beside Shire and asked in a low voice, "Is there a problem?"

Shire replied softly, his voice calm, "There is no one here."

Major General Brownie looked puzzled. He stuck his head out and glanced at the open ground ahead, looking confused, "Isn’t it normal that no one is here? This area is suitable for tank combat. Even if the Germans wanted to stop us, they wouldn’t choose this place."

"But what if they are waiting here with tanks?" Shire asked.

Major General Brownie was stunned, "You mean, the German Army’s first tank division?"

Looking at the terrain ahead again, a trace of fear appeared in Major General Brownie’s eyes.

If the German tank unit was ambushed in the forest, they could launch a sudden attack when the French Army passed through, cutting the French Army into two segments that couldn’t support each other.

Shire nodded slightly and asked, "Have you found their position?"

"No, General," Major General Brownie shook his head.

Since yesterday, the German first tank division had disappeared under the reconnaissance of the French Army. Although the French Army had sent out multiple batches of fighter jets to search, they could not find any trace of them.

"If we cannot find the Germans’ tanks, there is only one explanation," Shire said, "They are on the train."

Brownie thought about the railway two miles away. The Germans could transport the first tank division there and set up an ambush ahead of time.

"They are well hidden," Shire put away the binoculars, still staring at the forest, "I can’t find any flaw, but they overlooked one thing: this place is only 5 kilometers from Verdun. Regardless of whether it is suitable for tank combat, they should have mobilized troops to stop us from advancing!"

After speaking, Shire whispered a few words to Brownie, who responded and went down to arrange it.

...

In the forest of the town of Truk, disguised tanks were indeed hidden, ready to spring into action.

This was Erwin’s decision.

At that time, his tank unit had just withdrawn from Dunkirk and was urgently boarding trains, intending to attack Mezieres along the railway line.

This was Admiral Nicholas’ order:

"There are too many supplies seized by the French in Mezieres. It has become their supply base."

"I also discovered that the French Army has replaced their rifles with our Mausers."

"That means they are using our ammunition now. So, Mezieres is a priority!"

This statement seemed fine. Once the Germans retake Mezieres, they could cut off the French Army’s supplies from the source.

But Erwin hesitated. He looked at the unfolded map in his hand, deep in thought.

Is there enough time?

It would take at least a day to reach Mezieres and recapture it.

This was just "at least."

The fact was that Mezieres had the Meuse River as a barrier, making it very difficult for the first tank division to deploy forces for an attack.

Unless, like Shire, the tanks could cross the river with balloons.

How did that guy come up with such an idea?

He managed to let tanks cross the river directly, achieving an almost impossible victory eventually!

After pondering for a while, Erwin concluded that it was meaningless to return to Mezieres and recapture it.

He reported to Vice Admiral Nicholas:

"Shire’s target is likely Verdun."

"His speed is fast. It would only take a day or two to penetrate there."

"By then, even if we occupy Mezieres, it won’t change anything. We will still face defeat."

The fact was indeed so.

Once Shire broke through Verdun from the rear.

All the preparations Petain made at Verdun would become Shire’s base: Verdun had a large stockpile of ammunition and supplies, and plenty of soldiers.

By then, Shire would lead Petain’s army back along the same route, with the supply line flowing down the Meuse River.

The only way to prevent all this from happening was to intercept Shire’s troops before they penetrated Verdun.

Erwin confidently said, "As long as Verdun is in our hands, Shire’s troops will surely be caught in our encirclement, and victory will be ours!"

Vice Admiral Nicholas was already in a panic, his mind only thinking about capturing Mezieres, capturing Mezieres!

It was only when he saw Erwin’s telegram that Vice Admiral Nicholas suddenly realized and agreed to Erwin’s plan. At the same time, he felt ashamed: compared to Erwin, he was indeed lacking, even though his rank was higher than Erwin’s.

Erwin’s train changed direction as night fell because there were no French aircraft watching at that time.

He arrived in the town of Truk more than three hours before Shire’s troops.

The first thing Erwin did was clear out the town of Truk and hand the villagers over to the German infantry for control. He knew these French people were likely to reveal the German ambush here.

To avoid arousing Shire’s suspicion, while ambushing in the forest, Erwin brought in a regiment of infantry to pose as villagers, maintaining activity in the town.

So, the smoke, the villagers, the coffee shops - they were all fake.

Once the battle began, these soldiers would cooperate with the first tank division to attack Shire’s first armored division from both sides.

Additionally, Erwin brought in two artillery regiments. They completed their test-fire, setting coordinates on the open ground.

Erwin’s plan was:

When Shire’s first armored division passed through the open ground along the road, they would first be subjected to artillery fire.

Then the tanks would charge out of the forest, splitting the first armored division in two.

Finally, they would defeat them piece by piece.

As long as they could crush Shire’s first armored division, all problems would cease to be problems, and Shire would only face defeat.