CHAPTER 415: REVISED: CHAPTER 415 UNPREPARED

Before Shire could stop her, the young girl waved to the people around and cheered, "Here he is, Shire is by my side, Shire is here!"

People turned their eyes to Shire. Many of them had taken refuge in Antwerp and had seen Shire back then, so they quickly recognized him:

"It’s really him, Shire is there!"

"He’s grown up, looks much more mature."

"God, he’s actually fighting with the troops, such a respectable hero!"

...

Shire had no choice but to stand up and wave to the people.

This triggered another round of cheers. People swarmed towards the armored vehicle, eager to present flowers and shake hands with Shire:

"You saved us, General, once again."

"I deeply apologize for what happened in Antwerp, it wasn’t our intention!"

"Thank you for saving Belgium again!"

...

Shire could only smile and respond one by one.

But in fact, he felt a chill on his scalp. At this moment, if a German sniper was lurking nearby or in a building, his life as a general would come to an end!

Fortunately, the guerrillas stepped forward to block the people and scolded loudly, "This is war, Shire has to hurry to pursue the enemy. Do you want to help the enemy escape?"

Only then did the people consciously make way for the army to pass through, but the cheers still grew louder.

The convoy finally passed through Brussels without incident, and Shire breathed a sigh of relief.

Tijani looked at the several lipstick marks on Shire’s face and teased with a smile, "Our general is invincible on the battlefield but nearly drowned by women’s lipstick!"

The nearby soldiers burst into laughter.

Shire hurriedly wiped the lipstick marks off his face, but the more he wiped, the stickier it seemed.

This made Tijani and the soldiers laugh even more as they didn’t expect the calm and collected general on the battlefield to still be like a child in life.

After laughing for a while, Tijani took out a map from his pocket, propped himself up on the edge of the vehicle, and sat next to Shire spreading out the map, "Now, after passing through Mechelen, it’s about 35 kilometers to Antwerp."

Shire countered, "You intend to ask how we should capture it?"

"Of course," Tijani nodded, "It’s the most important link!"

Only by capturing it can we close the encirclement of the German Army.

"It’s not easy to capture it," Tijani pointed at the map, "Although there is only one new regiment of the German Army stationed there, Germany has time to send reinforcements. Besides, I heard they have strengthened defenses and repaired several forts."

Shire nodded.

This was a side effect of the Dardanelles Strait campaign. Shire previously tried to make the Germans believe that the British Army would land from the north and attack Belgium from behind.

"I want to know what preparation you have for this?" Tijani asked with interest.

"I have no preparation," Shire replied.

"Impossible!" Tijani laughed.

But seeing Shire’s serious look, his smile gradually disappeared and was replaced by worry, "No preparation at all? This could lead to our total defeat!"

Shire calmly replied, "You are prepared, and so are our troops."

"What do you mean?" Tijani looked at Shire in confusion.

Shire looked back and forth.

Tijani seemed to understand, "You mean the armored and mechanized units?"

"Yes," Shire’s eyes turned to the spot on the map where Antwerp was located.

"But Antwerp has fortresses and 200MM and 150MM artillery," Tijani was a bit anxious, "They can undoubtedly destroy our tanks and armored vehicles effortlessly."

Before this battle, Tijani had also done his utmost to review relevant information.

"I have been to Antwerp, and I know what those fortresses are like, General," Shire said as if it was a trivial matter, "When they were built, no one knew what a tank was."

Tijani uttered an "Oh", "You mean they are difficult to hit moving targets?"

Shire nodded, "Just like the Germans’ 105MM artillery."

The inner and outer fortress rings of Antwerp seemed formidable, but all the designs were aimed at the infantry attacks of the enemy, with no consideration for armoured and mechanized units that could resist fragments.

Shire concluded, "We just need to ignore those fortresses, treat them as if they don’t exist, and we should be able to win."

"Should be able to?" Tijani looked at Shire in disbelief, "You’re not sure either?"

If they couldn’t, it could potentially mean the annihilation of the whole army!

Shire spread his hands, "This is war, General. Until the end, no one can be sure."

...

Ben Nevis in Britain is an extinct volcano and also the highest peak in Britain. The summit is covered with snow all year round, attracting a large number of mountaineering enthusiasts.

Albert I was one of the mountaineering group members. At that moment, they were gathered around a bonfire enjoying lunch, preparing to rest for a while to recover their strength before continuing.

Albert I organized this climb to vent his frustration. He planned to use this opportunity to clear his mind.

In the past few months, he had been striving to lobby for the British Army to land from the north, sparing no expense, even bribing British MPs with huge sums of money.

However, just when everything seemed settled, and everyone thought the British Army would land from the north, the Dardanelles Strait campaign commenced.

What further frustrated Albert I was that he had recently learned the truth from General Winter.

"Do you really think Shire planned to land from the north?" General Winter said on the phone, "No, Your Majesty. From the beginning, Shire never intended to land there, it never changed. We just messed up."

"Impossible," Albert I replied, "He told me himself, he believed landing from the north was more suitable..."

"Your Majesty," General Winter interrupted Albert I, "That was just to deceive the Germans. Doing this could make the Germans think the offensive at the Dardanelles Strait was a feint, which would buy us more time."

Albert I was stunned.

He realized he had been used, used by Shire, like a fool!

Why did it happen this way?

He considered Shire a friend, a confidant, the hope of Belgium. If anyone could save Belgium, it would undoubtedly be Shire!

However, he had deceived himself and everyone else. Albert had even told the citizens that victory was imminent, and Shire would lead his troops to liberate them...

Albert thrust his hiking stick into the stony ground, seemingly as if stabbing the enemy with a sword.

"Your Majesty!" At this moment, the radio operator who was guarding the radio looked at Albert I with astonishment, "They say Shire’s troops have advanced into Belgium and have liberated Brussels!"

"What?" Albert I jumped up as if pricked by a needle, "Say that again! Is this true?"