Chapter 302: Even the Wise are not Always Free from Error

Advanced chapter at my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair

Grewdo’s promotion this time was also the result of an Allied maneuver. At least within Britain, there were some who were very familiar with

Grewdo’s promotion this time was also the result of an Allied maneuver. At least within Britain, there were some who were very familiar with this Colonel Grewdo. This person was the First Lord of the Admiralty, Churchill, who had received Smith’s documents. At his suggestion, Britain had used some of its influence in Belgium to promote Colonel Grewdo to the position of commander of the Brussels garrison.

The reason was actually very simple. When Grewdo was a member of the Allied Military Control Commission in Germany, he had been an officer with an outstanding record of hostility toward the German Wehrmacht. And under his leadership, the Allied Military Control Commission had conducted multiple surprise inspections of the German Wehrmacht and had made contributions to curbing German rearmament.

In the eyes of the British and French, a Belgian officer with this record was a qualified anti-German figure, worthy of being entrusted with an important task at a critical moment. Therefore, they could rest assured in handing over the defense of Brussels to such a German-hating Belgian soldier who would never surrender to Germany.

The British had taken great pains for this retreat plan. They had chosen Grewdo to defend the Belgian capital of Brussels, turning the city into a natural fortress. This way, they could buy at least a week or more for the Allied forces. In this way, they could leisurely launch a pincer attack on Rommel’s German 7th Panzer Corps and eliminate the threat from their rear.

As for the war damage suffered by Belgium… it’s a war, how can there not be losses? Right?

In the car on the way back, the Allied commander, Gamelin, asked the British commander, Gort, with some unease, “Do you think this Grewdo won’t do something irrational?”

“I don’t think so. When this person was on a mission in Germany, he had a very prominent anti-German tendency. His own abilities are also very outstanding. He is a rare talent in the Belgian army,” Gort said. He had clearly read the analysis file on this Colonel Grewdo that had been sent from his home country and spoke with great authority.

He smiled and assured Gamelin, “When he was an officer of the Allied Military Control Commission in Germany, he took the lead in shutting down several German military factories. His methods were very impressive. And he has always been committed to the work of weakening Germany. A lot of the intelligence we have now was organized and investigated under his leadership at that time.”

“If, and I mean, if… we were to leave some weapons and equipment for our Belgian allies, would the effect be better?” Gamelin asked after a moment’s thought. “After all, if our main force moves south, we will be much stronger than the German army.”

“Personally, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gort said with a wave of his hand. “We are going south to deal with the German armored forces. Belgium also wants weapons and equipment to deal with the German armored forces. But if you think about it carefully, it’s clear that we need these weapons and equipment more.”

He advised Gamelin, “In the known directions, the ones threatening Belgium are none other than the German 2nd and 6th Panzer Corps, and they are still divided into northern and southern parts. But the German forces we need to counter-attack, as far as we know, are the German 1st and 7th Panzer Corps, which have already been proven to be Germany’s main armored forces in Poland, plus a 5th Panzer Corps—these units are being used in a concentrated manner, and their density is quite large.”

“Alright! You don’t need to say any more! I know the situation,” Gamelin said with a sigh, as if resigning himself to his fate. “Just do it according to the operational plan you have already planned. I estimate that once the decision to abandon Belgium is sent back to the country, my time as the Allied commander-in-chief will be over.”

Gort secretly gave Gamelin a contemptuous sideways glance and pursed his lips, thinking to himself, Because of your deployment, we have been put in such a passive position, and in the end, we have even committed the disgraceful act of selling out an ally. And you are still thinking about the chair under your ass? Don’t you know that if this were two hundred years ago, let alone this position, whether you could even keep your own life would depend on someone else’s mood!

But this was a complete case of the pot calling the kettle black. Gort’s decision to abandon Belgium and lead his troops to retreat to the southern part of Belgium was by no means a brilliant strategy, but merely a shameless, extreme breakthrough that most people would not even dare to think of.

The car drove slowly forward. Gamelin once again could not suppress the unease in his heart and consulted with Gort. “Why don’t we each leave a division of troops behind to help the Belgians defend Brussels? That would be safer.”

To be honest, this idea was not bad. It could both serve to stabilize the mood of their allies and also to supervise the Belgian army to continue to fight for the Allied forces. Of course, it could also really go up and help fight at a critical moment, killing three birds with one stone.

But Gort had no intention of consuming the strength of the British army in this way. He continued to shake his head in refusal. “We will not commit our own troops so aimlessly again. The number of the British Expeditionary Force is not large to begin with. If we use them in a dispersed manner again, the effect will be even worse. Of course, if General Gamelin is willing to leave a French division in Brussels, that would be for the best.”

“The 17th Infantry Division is currently retreating toward Brussels. Let them stay there,” Gamelin said, closing his eyes and sighing again. He suddenly felt that he had sighed more times today than in his entire life. He then continued, “To calm the hearts of the Belgian defenders, and also to make a statement with this action, to tell them that we will definitely fight our way back.”

The car was still shaking. The French 17th Infantry Division, which was being pursued by the German army in the distance and was retreating toward Brussels, did not yet know that their fate had just been cruelly decided in a cramped car.

Of course, the German forces on both fronts were not complacent because of the passive retreat of the Allied forces. They maintained a very high level of frontline combat quality and fought at the level their capabilities should have allowed.

In the north, Army Group B pursued the Anglo-French-Belgian coalition forces south all the way, capturing cities and territory and advancing triumphantly, and had wiped out a third of the French 17th Infantry Division that Gamelin had wanted to leave for the Belgian defenders. With the exception of some logistics units, all of Keitel’s troops had entered Belgian territory, completing the full occupation of the Dutch region.

Rommel continued his wild rampage in northern France. He had always been very talented in the art of bluffing. This time, he had thought of a stratagem to intimidate the French. On a main highway, he had had his tank units line up in a column and then “line up like the navy and fire broadsides to both sides.” His armored forces’ guns had roared in unison, which had indeed deterred the French troops. They had given up their plan to launch a pincer attack on Rommel’s vanguard and had routed in the direction of Cambrai.

The main Allied forces in Belgium retreated to the southwest, and Brussels also welcomed its final reinforcements—the half-crippled French 17th Infantry Division. In the vicinity of this capital city, Belgium had deployed five divisions of defensive troops. With an understrength French division, they hoped to be able to hold off the German army’s fierce attack for half a month, relying on the city.

To strengthen the defensive conviction of the Belgian defenders, in the last hour of the retreat, Gamelin had hastily promoted Colonel Grewdo to Deputy Allied Commander, promoting him to the rank of Belgian Major General. This posthumous-like honor was a reward to Grewdo in the hope that he would do everything in his power to complete the rearguard mission.

After all their calculations, Britain’s Smith and Churchill, and even Lord Gort on the front line, had all overlooked an important variable, which was the newly appointed Major General Grewdo, the commander-in-chief of the Brussels garrison.

Although in the matter of weakening Germany, Grewdo was a pioneer who was ahead of many people, and he was also an outstanding core officer in the Allied Military Control Commission, as a garrison commander, first, he lacked seniority, and second, he lacked experience. This man was a qualified staff officer but was not a great general in command of troops like Rommel or Guderian.

On the other hand, his stance of opposing German rearmament was undeniable, but this stance was based on the premise of hoping that his own motherland, Belgium, would not be harmed. His weakening of Germany and his hostility toward the Wehrmacht were not because of any deep-seated hatred for the German army, but on the contrary, were an expression of his extreme patriotism.

And at this very moment, this Belgian officer was staring with a frosty expression at the commander of the French 17th Infantry Division not far away, without saying a word.

It was clear that the atmosphere was not that of allies. The French division commander was being held down on his own desk, and in his office, the floor was littered with files that had been gathered from all over. The other places where one could stand were filled with Belgian soldiers holding guns.

“Major General Grewdo, what you are doing is a blatant betrayal of the Allied forces! You are trampling on the alliance treaty between us!” the French division commander shouted, being held down on the ground, struggling desperately. “If you let me go now, I can pretend that nothing has happened.”

“Nothing has happened? How can we pretend that nothing has happened?” Grewdo asked coldly, staring at the French division commander on the ground. “You plan to let my country be turned into a ruin to buy time for your so-called victory. What use do we have for allies like you? Why should we continue to fight this war?”

“But have you thought about it? Even if the Germans win this battle, they will ultimately still lose the war! At that time, Belgium will be buried with Germany! You will all be buried with Germany!” the French division commander said, playing his final trump card, threatening these Belgian soldiers who deeply loved this land.

“Belgium will not be buried! All of this is my personal action. In the end, only I, a traitor, will be judged. It has nothing to do with anyone else,” Grewdo said, smiling for the first time since he had entered the room, a smile so handsome and beautiful. “And I have already prepared for this.”

“Please! Let me go!” The negotiations and threats were of no use. This division commander had no choice but to change his attitude and begin to plead piteously.

“Sorry, to give the Germans a welcoming gift, we will keep the surrender a secret for a few days, until after the German army has gained the advantage,” Grewdo said with a wave of his hand, signaling for the soldiers to drag the French division commander out. “Consider this a small return gift for your betrayal! I believe that Gamelin and Gort will have a surprise!”