Chapter 765 - 765: Crossing the River

Outside Nancy, smoke filled the air as artillery explosions and gunfire echoed incessantly.

The battlefield was littered with the burning wreckage of "Charles A1" tanks. Many of the disabled vehicles had caught fire, ammunition detonating violently and further tearing the mangled hulls apart.

Erwin's First Tank Division had broken through directly into the French artillery positions. Like a sharpened knife slicing through paper, the German tanks effortlessly scattered the vulnerable French artillerymen, overrunning their hastily arranged defensive positions.

The artillery crews, lacking meaningful infantry support, either fled in panic, were swiftly cut down, or surrendered desperately on their knees, hands raised pleadingly.

Within minutes, dozens of valuable French "truck-mounted artillery" pieces had fallen intact into German hands. Less fortunate were the heavier "Saint-Chamond" vehicles, quickly destroyed by German hand grenades. To the Germans, the "Saint-Chamond" was cumbersome and inefficient—wasting precious gasoline and trained crews. They much preferred the straightforward, versatile truck-mounted guns.

After achieving their initial breakthrough, Erwin's tanks didn't slow their momentum. They continued rapidly down the main road, quickly closing in on the exposed rear of the French Special Mechanized Division east of Nancy.

General Gamelin and his command team fled in disgrace, abandoning over 30,000 troops, now hopelessly encircled and cut off by German forces. Vast amounts of ammunition and fuel supplies—prepared for the planned assault toward Metz—also fell directly into German hands.

…

Immediately after capturing the artillery positions, Erwin transferred his command to a captured French armored vehicle. Originally, his command vehicle was a German EV4 armored car, but Erwin had always preferred vehicles designed by Charles whenever available.

Although the German EV4 armored car mounted four Maxim machine guns and boasted heavy armor, it was also bulky, cramped, and severely restricted visibility. By contrast, the French half-open armored vehicles, designed by Charles himself, had only one mounted machine gun and seemingly minimal armor protection. But what made them vastly superior in Erwin's eyes was their excellent suitability for battlefield command:

Their open design provided commanders full visibility in every direction, and commanders could quickly leap clear of danger. Although their onboard firepower was modest, the infantry riding inside could instantly dismount to fight, offering flexible and responsive protection. Most crucially, these vehicles were spacious and fast enough to accommodate a radio, communication personnel, and bodyguards comfortably.

When Erwin learned these vehicles were Charles's personal design, he'd openly praised his enemy: "Charles always knows exactly what a battlefield needs—and how to produce it cheaply, simply, and effectively."

He'd lamented bitterly afterward, "We desperately need generals like him. It's a pity he's fighting against us."

Now, seeing the utter chaos and easy collapse of the French forces near Nancy, Erwin's suspicions intensified. Something felt terribly wrong.

He quickly instructed his radio operator to contact Manstein: "Do you still believe these are Charles's troops?"

"No, General," Manstein replied promptly. "You were correct. I've confirmed with captured French officers—this was Gamelin's Second Special Artillery Division, belonging to the Eastern Army Group."

Erwin's expression turned grim as he replied urgently, "Then we've been fooled!"

Manstein, however, remained stubbornly optimistic. "I disagree, General. We simply misidentified this division as Charles's forces. Charles probably wasn't even aware we'd make such an assumption. Consider this merely a warm-up battle."

"No!" Erwin insisted sharply. "Charles definitely knew we'd react like this. He planned this deliberately. His actual objective is—"

Realization suddenly dawned on him: "Metz! Charles's true goal was always Metz. We must return there immediately!"

Without hesitation, Erwin began issuing orders to withdraw his troops. But it was already too late. Even with a clear tactical victory, immediate disengagement was impossible. German infantry support still lagged behind, and abandoning their current positions prematurely could sacrifice all they'd gained—or worse, allow the French forces to regroup and counterattack.

As Erwin desperately tried to extricate his units, reports flooded in of French bombers systematically targeting railroads and highways between Nancy and Metz, severing key transportation and reinforcement routes.

Simultaneously, another urgent telegram arrived: "General! Charles's troops are crossing the Meuse near Verdun. The 69th Infantry Regiment urgently requests immediate reinforcements!"

"Crossing the river?" Erwin stared blankly at the telegram, struggling to grasp the implication. "Charles is crossing directly instead of attacking the bridges?"

He answered his own question in disbelief, "Is he using amphibious tanks again? No—that's impossible!"

Yet he couldn't shake the question: how exactly was Charles crossing the Meuse without attacking the bridges?

…

Indeed, Charles had abandoned the idea of using amphibious tanks again. The Germans had thoroughly prepared this time, deploying multiple 77mm infantry guns and barbed-wire obstacles along the riverbanks. Particularly deadly were the barbed-wire nets submerged just beneath the water surface, capable of snagging tank propellers or puncturing their flotation screens.

Charles, naturally, wouldn't fall into such an obvious trap.

Tijani had posed a similar question to Erwin's doubts earlier: "General, why don't we just attack the bridges directly? That seems far simpler than a river crossing."

Charles responded skeptically, "Do you really think it would be easier?"

"Certainly," Tijani had argued firmly. "We now have the new 'Charles B1' tanks operational, right? I'm eager to see them smashing across bridges to break German lines. Crossing rivers under fire is obviously far riskier."

Charles nodded thoughtfully but then firmly rejected the idea: "Precisely—because the Germans also see attacking bridges as our easiest choice."

Tijani looked puzzled. "What do you mean, General?"

Charles patiently explained, tapping his finger on the map near the Meuse River, "The Germans have heavily fortified the bridges—surely you've noticed during your time at Buzancy?"

"Yes, of course," Tijani admitted readily. "I would've done the same myself."

Charles continued calmly, "They've pre-targeted the bridges with artillery, including 105mm howitzers. If we launch a direct tank assault over any bridge, German guns would immediately destroy our columns."

Tijani countered stubbornly, "But General, we have bombers and incendiary munitions. We could neutralize enemy artillery effectively!"

Charles shook his head slowly:

"We might succeed temporarily, but consider this: it takes only one or two disabled tanks blocking a narrow bridge to stall our entire advance."

"Furthermore, what about enemy demolition charges? If they blow the bridges mid-attack, what's our backup plan?"

Tijani fell silent, unable to answer convincingly. Bridge demolitions posed a critical problem indeed.

Still, Tijani couldn't fathom that crossing the river itself would prove simpler than seizing the bridges outright. War inevitably involved risk—weren't bridges the obvious, least risky option?

Charles, however, clearly thought otherwise.

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