CHAPTER 424: AFTER THE MODIFICATION: CHAPTER 424 "BLOCKADE" NEWS

Due to one misjudgment after another, Colonel Moritz no longer dared to make judgments lightly.

Thus, the question of whether "Tibet is safe" remained unresolved.

It is located between Mons and Brussels, and according to intelligence, there is a 30-kilometer gap in the French Army’s encirclement.

Did the encirclement not have time to close?

Shire’s troops have already passed through this area; they only need to leave some troops to guard it.

Moreover, this is Shire—a genius military strategist—how could he possibly make such a low-level mistake?!

But, what if this is Shire’s mistake?

We should seize this opportunity immediately and order the troops to break out!

No, this could be a trap. Shire might be waiting for the German Army to enter the area and then use tanks and armored vehicles to annihilate them.

"This area is flat and open," Colonel Moritz said hesitantly. "It’s very suitable for tank and armored vehicle combat. And our army, in pursuit of speed, can only break through lightly equipped. If surrounded here, it would be a massacre."

Pausing for a moment, Colonel Moritz added, "Additionally, the French Army has air superiority, and once we enter this area, we will be bombed by bombers."

It must be this, Colonel Moritz thought; Shire’s plan is exactly this.

Fajin Han hesitated; he didn’t know which possibility to believe.

But there was one thing that was certain, there was still a chance to break out; not breaking out meant waiting to die on the spot.

After considering for a while, Fajin Han finally decided to abandon the open terrain of Tibet and break out from Mons instead.

...

Having been awake for a whole day and night, Shire slept in the rest room inside the fortress. Despite the poor environment and air quality, he slept soundly until he woke groggily around two in the afternoon.

Yawning, Shire opened the door and returned to the operations room, which was used as the command center.

Tijani had been there the whole time; despite his bloodshot eyes, he stubbornly refused to sleep.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on the battle," Tijani said. "Besides, this battle can be considered the greatest ever; it’s practically a miracle. I can’t imagine how you can sleep after experiencing all this!"

Tijani became more and more excited as he spoke. "We have created history, Commander. Now is the most crucial moment to finish, and we should persist to the end."

Shire seemed indifferent and unaffected by the need for sleep. If something needed his decision, he could simply be woken up.

Moreover, sleeping allowed better "history-making."

The logic was simple, but many people couldn’t think of or achieve it.

...

As Tijani flipped through the telegrams and saw Shire coming out, he slightly raised his head and said, "The German reinforcements have arrived, but they are ten kilometers away and haven’t dared to launch an attack."

He then passed a telegram to Shire.

Shire responded with a "Hmm," took a glance at the telegram, and placed it back on the table.

A fortress like Antwerp might not withstand armored and mechanized units, but it was a nightmare for infantry from the World War I era. As long as there was enough ammunition, however many people came up, it would be a suicide mission.

Still thinking of using "Big Bertha" to blow up the fortress?

That belonged to the time when the air force had not yet joined the war.

If they dared to try now, "Big Bertha" would become an excellent target for bombers.

Thus, Antwerp was absolutely safe. It was like a nail driven deep behind enemy lines, unbreakable.

After Shire sat down at his desk, Tijani continued, "The Germans are breaking out from Mons, this happened an hour ago."

Shire was stunned; he couldn’t understand this maneuver. Why break out from Mons?

"The 9th Corps should have reached Mons, right?" Shire asked.

"Yes." Tijani nodded. "They are currently engaging the German Army in urban warfare in Mons, fighting for control. The roads and railways are almost paralyzed."

"Then why did the Germans choose to break out from Mons?" Shire asked, puzzled, as he looked at the map and found Mons. "They could easily drive through Tibet."

Choosing difficulty over ease was baffling.

"Who knows?" Tijani lifted his head and chuckled. "Maybe the Germans want to stay farther away from you."

Mons was about a hundred kilometers from Shire’s forces, indeed farther.

Then Tijani thought of a possibility: "Do you suppose they worry about being ambushed by tanks and armored vehicles if they break out from Tibet?"

"Perhaps." Shire remembered that the terrain there was wide and open, suitable for armored units.

Then Shire understood: "It means they don’t know we are short on fuel."

The most severe aftermath of the infantry failing to follow up promptly was the fuel supply not arriving, while the small quantities of fuel from the civilians were only enough for Shire’s advance into Antwerp.

Right now, the armored units could only remain in Antwerp without fuel.

"That’s correct," Tijani said, growing more convinced, wearing an incredulous smile. "Luck is on our side, Commander. If they keep thinking this way, their breakout will be much slower, giving us a chance to close the encirclement."

Then he thought of another crucial point: "So, shouldn’t we seal the information? I mean, if our fuel shortage news leaks from Antwerp, the enemy will flow out of the gap like a tide."

Logically speaking, that’s the right approach.

But Shire shook his head: "It’s very difficult to completely seal the information, General. There will always be a few who escape, even if Antwerp is a heavily fortified fortress."

Tijani nodded in agreement.

Even a prison surrounded by high walls and guards could have escapees, let alone a field defense line.

"That’s not ideal," Tijani frowned.

Shire thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps we have another way."

"Another way?" Tijani’s eyes brightened, and his tiredness seemed to lessen.

Shire nodded: "We can deploy tanks on the fortress defense perimeter to organize defense."

"But this won’t help much, Commander," Tijani laughed. "You said it yourself; tanks should be used for mobility, not as stationary artillery..."

Shire said nothing, just quietly looked at Tijani.

Tijani suddenly realized: "If tanks are used as stationary artillery, they won’t need fuel, and no one would notice they’re out of fuel!"

Shire nodded: "Then, we can concentrate all the remaining fuel and have a few tanks patrol around Antwerp. Guess what they’ll think?"

Tijani laughed heartily: "They’ll definitely believe we have plenty of fuel."

This addressed the issue at its root; even if German soldiers sneaked out of Antwerp and reported, it would not be "The French Army is short on fuel."

"Has General Winter responded?" Shire asked.

Shire had contacted General Winter for help in solving the fuel problem.

Antwerp was a seaside city, and fuel could be transported by the Royal Navy.

Tijani nodded: "Their transport ships will arrive in two days, along with reinforcements."

Thus, the German Army only had two days left for their breakout attempt.