CHAPTER 674: CHAPTER 674: LEADING THE ENEMY TO ATTACK

This is where Shire was wrong; the 6th Army was unable to hold on to every point.

Kristen was prepared at only one point, one of the three entrances to the Arden Mountains to the south of Charleroi.

In other words, they were indeed prepared.

This was Tassin’s thought, and it was he who personally led the troops, which consisted of only one understrength infantry regiment equipped with light equipment, totaling more than two thousand men.

Upon receiving the order from Shire to block the Arden Forest, Kristen’s first reaction was to send a mechanized division to cut south of Charleroi as quickly as possible to prevent the enemy from fleeing.

This was related to Shire’s unclear command.

Due to the high secrecy of the strategic intent of "penetrating the Arden Mountains," Shire could only give Kristen the order: "Send infantry into the Arden Mountains with all efforts to prevent the German Army from entering the mountains and escaping from here!"

Kristen immediately thought of the Second Mechanized Division.

This division was modeled after Shire’s First Mechanized Division, as Kristen believed that this was the best way to learn and implement Shire’s tactics.

Kristen’s idea was that mechanized divisions are still infantry, just infantry on vehicles.

It was time for the mechanized division to shine. With few tanks and high speed, they could arrive at the target area in one day if they left the tanks behind.

Additionally, the mechanized division could use its mobility and combat strength to maneuver and block the German Army.

Pointing at the map, Kristen said, "We can divide the Second Mechanized Division into two parts by brigade, stationing them in the west and south to completely encircle Charleroi. Then we can follow up with two infantry divisions for reinforcement, while the First Specialized Artillery Division launches an attack from the front!"

This encirclement plan was considered luxurious. Two infantry divisions, along with one mechanized division and one armored division—a total of nearly 70,000 troops—would surround the 5000-strong German Army in Charleroi.

This shows how much importance Kristen placed on the first combat mission given to him by Shire.

However, this plan somewhat resembled the "theory of offensive" direct frontal battle, albeit using mechanized and armored units.

Just then, Tassin, newly promoted to colonel staff, stopped Kristen from doing so.

Tassin thought for a moment while looking at the map and then pointed at Charleroi:

"This might not be a good idea, General."

"I’ve heard that the enemies in Charleroi have no intention of holding out; they’re just waiting for the order to retreat."

"If we dispatch the Second Mechanized Division, it might immediately reveal our intention to encircle them."

"If the enemy retreats into the Arden Mountains ahead of us, we won’t be able to complete the task assigned to us by the command."

But Kristen thought otherwise: "The Germans won’t retreat so quickly, Colonel. You might not know that Charleroi is an industrial town; it’s very important to the Germans."

Tassin insisted on his viewpoint:

"General, if that’s the case, why didn’t the Vice Admiral (referring to Shire) recapture Charleroi himself?"

"We all know the First Armored Army is in Namur. The Vice Admiral could easily do it by dispatching the First Mechanized Division."

"He gave this task to us and specifically mentioned ’infantry’..."

Saying this, Tassin turned his eyes to Kristen, waiting for his response.

Kristen was taken aback, realizing that Tassin had a point.

Why would Shire’s mechanized division complete the task, and why would he need his own mechanized division?

Therefore, the focus of this mission was on "infantry" to avoid alarming the German Army and to prevent them from escaping into the Arden Mountains.

However, Kristen then looked at the map and hesitated: "If the Germans have scouts, even infantry would have a hard time evading detection."

There was a contradiction: To block 5000 German soldiers, a certain number of troops are needed. But with enough numbers, even if they were infantry, marching in formation would be hard to avoid German reconnaissance.

"Unless we use small units and advance lightly," Tassin answered.

"Small units?"

"Yes." Tassin nodded. "An infantry regiment, keeping it under two thousand men. Perhaps we can disguise as Belgian militiamen to confuse the Germans."

The Belgian militia also had large numbers at that time, but the German Army had always disregarded them—except for those assisting Shire’s First Specialized Reconnaissance Army.

Kristen pondered for a moment, frowned, and shook his head: "Two thousand men. We can’t block the entire southern area with so few troops; there are at least three spots that can lead into the Arden Mountains."

Kristen was referring to the mountain paths leading into the Arden Mountains.

The German Army would also take the mountain paths to enter the Arden Mountains; they couldn’t just start from scratch and carve out a new path.

"We don’t need to hold every point," Tassin replied. "We only need to hold one point."

"Do you know which point the Germans will retreat from?" Kristen didn’t quite understand Tassin’s meaning—was he planning to rely on luck?

"No, General," Tassin shook his head. "I don’t know, but we can deliberately guide the Germans to retreat from a specific point."

Kristen looked puzzled—deliberately guide?

Tassin calmly pointed to the three passes in the Arden Mountains on the map and explained:

"We can allocate a small number of troops at each mountain pass to create the illusion of a troop deployment."

"Then, leave signs or make some noise at Pass 3 to attract the German scouts."

"Finally, our troops will be overrun by the German scouts here..."

Kristen immediately understood the cleverness of Tassin’s plan.

The Germans would naturally assume that the French Army was at its limit when they placed their forces at Pass 3, and their scouts would break through this weak point.

Having won and created a breakthrough in the encirclement, the Germans would surely choose to break out from there.

What they wouldn’t expect is that this would be the only entrance with an ambush laid out.

"But the Germans have more than five thousand men, Colonel," Kristen asked. "We have only two thousand light troops. How can we stop them?"

"General," Tassin confidently replied. "The Germans are also lightly equipped."

Kristen was stunned but soon understood.

The Germans, intending to retreat into the Arden Mountains, certainly wouldn’t carry heavy equipment.

The enemy and our forces were both lightly equipped. The French Army, prepared, fortified, and occupying advantageous positions, might indeed overpower the 5000-strong German Army, even if their numbers were halved.

After a brief consideration, Kristen made his decision:

"Good idea, Colonel. Lead a regiment to ambush in the Arden Mountains personally."

"I’ll have the mechanized division ready."

"Once the Germans are deceived or the time is right, I’ll immediately lead the mechanized division to reinforce you!"