CHAPTER 685: CHAPTER 685: INTERSPERSED FORESTS

North of Meziere City, a corner of the Arden Forest.

Vehicles camouflaged with foliage one after another drove along the muddy road into the forest. As soon as they stopped under the shade, a bunch of German Army engineers rushed up to unload.

Mezieres served as a supply center and logistics transfer station. To avoid concentrated supplies being bombed by the French Army, the German Army extended the road into the forest and built temporary warehouses to ensure the safety of their materials.

Elsewhere, two German Army officers were carefully shielding their cigarettes from the cold wind as they lit them.

Finally, the cigarettes were lit, and the two men were satisfied as they puffed on them.

"I haven’t had a leave for a year, Captain," the bearded Lieutenant complained, "I’m not even sure if I can hold on."

"You should consider yourself lucky, Lieutenant," the Captain replied without expression, "You can still say ’I haven’t had a leave for a year.’"

The Lieutenant was momentarily stunned, then the two men let out nervous laughs.

Another meaning of "a year without leave" was that he had survived a year since joining the army, while many others only lived for a few days.

After laughing for a while, the bearded Lieutenant cursed viciously, "Goddamn it, I don’t even understand why we’re fighting this war..."

"Shh!" The Captain stopped the Lieutenant, looking around warily.

"Relax," the Lieutenant said, "Many people are saying it, we’re just speaking the truth."

The Captain raised his hand to stop him, reminding, "Listen carefully, what is that sound?"

The Lieutenant listened intently, and through the mountain wind came a vague "crackling" sound, like branches breaking, and the rumbling of a motor.

"Maybe it’s others doing construction," the Lieutenant said dismissively, "You know, our warehouse is almost full."

"Really?" The Captain hesitated, looking back at the vehicles coming and going, found the Lieutenant’s reasoning made sense.

They were over 100 kilometers away from the front line in the Arden Mountains. What else could be there besides their own vehicles?

This must be battlefield syndrome, the Captain thought, since he had just come back from the front line and hadn’t yet adjusted to the "peace" at the rear.

The two didn’t take it seriously, continuing their conversation as they smoked.

Finally...

"Crack," a wrist-thick tree was crushed, its branches and leaves whipped up a dust storm as it advanced towards them.

The Captain was startled, coughing and cursing into the dust, "What’s going on? Don’t you see there are people here? This is a warehouse..."

However, as the dust settled, a tank appeared in front of the Captain.

A 37MM caliber cannon, with the flag of France painted on the turret, and a few soldiers in French Army uniforms and helmets followed behind.

Both sides were stunned.

The Captain was the first to react, hurriedly reaching for his Luger pistol at his waist, but before he could pull the trigger, several bullets flew at him, knocking him into a pool of blood.

The German Army engineers went into instant chaos, scattering like frighted ants, scrambling for their rifles nearby.

But some still stood rooted to the spot, staring in disbelief at the tank slowly approaching, seemingly unable to comprehend that the enemy could appear before them.

...

In Meziere City, Admiral Nicholas was still brooding about being "ignored".

Suddenly, a few gunshots came from the northern Arden Mountains, followed by several explosions.

"What’s going on?" Admiral Nicholas looked in the direction of the sound.

"I’m not sure, General," a staff officer answered, "It could be the French guerrillas."

"Those bastards," Admiral Nicholas cursed irritably, "Send troops to reinforce and wipe them all out!"

"Yes, General!" The staff officer turned to relay the order.

Admiral Nicholas sat back down sullenly, unbuttoning the top button of his collar.

Now even the guerrillas dared to provoke him!

However, before he could settle in, the gunfire from the mountains grew more intense. Among them were even the sounds of "Saint Etienne 2" machine guns.

Admiral Nicholas frowned. Could French guerrillas be equipped with "Saint Etienne 2" light machine guns?

Even the regular French Army hadn’t fully outfitted them with these guns.

At this moment, a communication soldier guarding the telephone shouted anxiously, "General, tanks have been spotted in the Arden Mountains, they are ’Char A1’!"

"What?" Admiral Nicholas jumped from his chair as if pricked by a needle, "Impossible!"

How could ’Char A1’ appear in the rear?

Could it be that Shire’s troops had crossed the Arden Mountains?

A chill ran down his spine, and Admiral Nicholas felt his hairs stand on end. He screamed at the communication soldier, "Immediately, mobilize all our forces to reinforce; we must keep them confined in the forest!"

Admiral Nicholas, once a tanker division commander, knew that tanks were unsuitable for combat in mountains and forests.

So the best solution was to keep them in the forest.

Otherwise, if they reached the plains, the German Army’s nightmare would begin.

But just as Admiral Nicholas hurriedly took his gun belt off the wall and fastened it, the sound of machine guns firing reached his ears.

Nicholas felt an overwhelming sense of dread.

It had to be Shire’s troops; only his troops were equipped with submachine guns.

And this weapon was a deadly tool for close combat, making Nicholas’s hope to use forest close combat against the French likely futile.

...

The rain-soaked Dunkirk was engulfed in flames of war.

Major General Erwin was commanding his troops to launch the final assault on the British lines.

The British attempted to stop the German tanks using an old method: battleship cannons.

But Major General Erwin had a counter-strategy; he ordered his soldiers to release smoke in the upwind direction.

The smoke, combined with the drizzle and the dust stirred up by shells, shrouded the entire coast, including Dunkirk, in a thin veil.

The reconnaissance seaplanes launched by battleships circled in the sky, but could never make out friend from foe and identify bombing coordinates.

At this point, Major General Erwin ordered the tanks to charge.

The Battle of Dunkirk unfolded beneath the city, the British suffering heavy casualties under the tank attacks, abandoning their positions, and retreating into the city.

"Now," Major General Erwin proudly raised his head, waving his hand with a voice full of confidence, "Dunkirk is ours, march into the city and cheer, warriors!"

However...

"General!" The communication soldier yelled, "The French Army has appeared in Meziere."

"What? What did you say?" Erwin looked at the communication soldier in disbelief, "Mezieres? How is that possible?"

"Shire’s troops may have crossed the Arden Mountains to ambush Mezieres!" The communication soldier replied, "Admiral Nicholas wants you to return and provide reinforcements immediately!"

Major General Erwin was stunned, jaw dropping.

At this moment, he finally understood why Shire had been holding back his forces!