Chapter 168: Plan XVII

Because of the vehicle transport, the soldiers of the 1st Company and 3rd Company covered the three-kilometer distance to the North City almost in the blink of an eye.

When the trucks stopped at the edge of the North City, Klaus and the 3rd Company Commander led their respective troops running into the urban area, and the few soldiers responsible for receiving them at the intersection let out a collective sigh of relief almost simultaneously.

“Sergeant Major Klaus! You’re finally here!”

One of the receiving soldiers was so excited to see Klaus’s muscular figure that he almost cried.

“The Battalion Commander and the others are at the Central Bridge ahead; they’ve cleared out the enemy at the bridgehead!”

“Well done!”

Klaus patted his shoulder, then turned and yelled at the soldiers behind him.

“Keep up! Faster, faster!”

Soon, the main forces of the 1st Company and 3rd Company reached the bridgehead on the South Bank of the Central Bridge.

When Klaus and the 3rd Company Commander saw Morin huddled behind a piece of cover at the bridgehead, the anxiety in their hearts finally dissipated.

“Battalion Commander!”

“You’ve arrived.”

Morin, who had been writing and drawing on a map with his head down, looked up at them with a smile. With two more companies suddenly at his disposal, the panic in his heart instantly vanished.

“What’s the situation?” Klaus walked up to Morin and asked in a lowered voice.

“The enemy in the South City has broken up into small groups and drilled into the city.” Morin briefly explained the situation. “The 2nd Company has controlled the other two bridges on the east and west flanks, but their forces are somewhat dispersed.”

“I need your two companies to immediately enter the South City and clear out the remaining enemy forces!” Morin pointed at the map and gave orders to Klaus and the 3rd Company Commander.

“Remember, the usual drill… advance by platoon, alternate cover, and push steadily! Do not rush forward!”

“Street Fighting is not the same as field combat; a stray shot can come from any corner at any time!”

“Fully utilize our firepower and training advantage! Although the enemy wants to engage us in Street Fighting, they clearly have no experience. Don’t let me see us overturn in the ditch!”

“Understood!” Klaus and the 3rd Company Commander responded in unison.

They were both experienced veterans and naturally understood the dangers of Street Fighting.

Soon, under Morin’s watch, the soldiers of the 1st Company and 3rd Company quickly and orderly entered the South City of Charleroi in Assault Squad formations.

Fierce gunfire soon erupted in the streets and alleys of the South City. The roar of MG14 Light Machine Guns and MP14 Submachine Guns, mixed with the blast of hand grenades, echoed everywhere.

The Flanders soldiers, who had just scattered and hidden in the urban area, ran head-on into the soldiers of the Instruction Assault Battalion, who were vastly superior in tactical proficiency and firepower, before they could set up effective defensive positions.

The fighting was almost entirely one-sided. Just as Morin had said, the Flanders soldiers had no experience in Street Fighting, only knowing how to barricade an intersection.

But the Instruction Assault Battalion would never charge an intersection frontally in this situation. They would infiltrate around the flank, then greet the enemy with a barrage of explosives, causing the Flanders soldiers’ defense lines to collapse. They often fell to the ground, or were riddled with bullets, before they could even figure out where the enemy came from.

The entire clearing operation was smoother than Morin had anticipated. By the night of August 8th, as the gunfire in the South City gradually subsided, the Instruction Assault Battalion had completely controlled the entire Charleroi urban area and all three bridges in the city.

Aside from suffering over twenty casualties, they successfully eliminated three hundred stubbornly resisting Flanders soldiers in the city and captured over 100 more.

Morin set up the temporary command post in a relatively intact small building at the South Bank bridgehead. Kleist also arrived here with the 4th Company, Battalion Headquarters, and the Supply Train, linking up with the main force.

By this point, the entire Instruction Assault Battalion had successfully established a foothold in Charleroi.

Meanwhile, in Hirson, about fifty kilometers southwest of Charleroi.

This was the location of the Gallic Fifth Army Group Headquarters.

The few Flanders Dispatch Riders who rushed out of Charleroi City that morning finally arrived here as night fell, after nearly a full day of desperate riding.

When they delivered the urgent military intelligence from the front line to General Charles Lanrezac, the commander of the Fifth Army Group, the Gallic General’s face was etched with shock and disbelief.

“What? The Saxon vanguard has reached Charleroi?!”

Lanrezac shot up from his chair, his coffee cup clattering to the floor, shattering into pieces.

He had only learned of the fall of the Liège Fortress yesterday. At the time, like most other Gallic generals, he believed it was merely a false rumor deliberately spread by the Saxons to undermine their morale. After all, the Liège Fortress cluster was famous worldwide for its strength, and it had recently been reinforced with Large Anti-Air Magic Guided Devices specifically to counter the Saxon Armored Airships…

In their view, even if the Saxons threw their full might at it, they could not possibly capture it in such a short time. The Gallic Republic Army General Staff was also frantically trying to verify the veracity of this news.

But who could have imagined that in just one night, the Saxons had not only truly captured the Liège Fortress cluster but had already advanced to the Gallic border!

“Did these Saxons grow wings?!” The ridiculous thought uncontrollably flashed through Lanrezac’s mind.

A distance of nearly a hundred kilometers from Liège to Charleroi! How did they manage to cover such a long distance in such a short time?

Furthermore, their vanguard unit had already displayed such terrifying combat power, quickly routing hundreds of Charleroi defenders with just one or two companies… What about their main force?

Could it be that the Saxon military might had already reached this level?

A chill ran from the soles of Lanrezac’s feet straight to the top of his head. He realized that the situation he had worried about most was likely coming true.

The North was the Saxons’ main direction of attack!

With this realization, Lanrezac could no longer sit still. He rushed to the communications room, grabbed the microphone of a wired telephone, and roared at the operator.

“Connect me to the General Staff! I need to speak to the Chief of the General Staff! Immediately! Now!”

Soon, the operator connected the call to the General Staff. Lanrezac took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound less panicked.

“Commander-in-Chief, this is Lanrezac.”

An old, calm voice came from the other end of the line—it was Joseph Joffre, the Chief of the Gallic Army General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Army.

“Lanrezac, is there an emergency at this late hour?”

“Yes, Commander-in-Chief!” Lanrezac no longer concealed his anxiety, speaking at a rapid pace: “My fears have come true! The Saxons have broken through the Liège Fortress cluster. Their vanguard has arrived in Charleroi this morning and engaged the local garrison!”

“I just received a messenger with a desperate plea for help sent by the Flanders 31st Infantry Regiment Commander. The situation is extremely urgent! The Saxons could cross the Sambre River and launch an attack on us at any moment!”

However, Joffre on the other end fell into silence after listening to his report. After a while, he slowly spoke, his tone remaining steady.

“Lanrezac, are you certain the source of this intelligence is reliable?”

“Extremely reliable! It was told to me personally by a Flanders Dispatch Rider!”

“Don’t be agitated, my General.”

“The General Staff has also received similar intelligence, but after analysis, we believe this is likely a Saxon feint.”

“A feint?” Lanrezac could hardly believe his ears.

“Commander-in-Chief, they have already punched through the Liège Fortress cluster and are at our border! How can this be a feint?”

“Based on our consistent assessment, the main force of the Saxons is deployed along the Alsace and Lorraine front.” Joffre patiently explained.

“Their forces in the North are insufficient to sustain a large-scale offensive… The rapid fall of the Liège Fortress is indeed beyond our expectation, but this is likely an accidental victory achieved through the use of some new weapon or tactic we do not yet understand.”

“What you are seeing is probably just a small, fast-moving unit they sent out, whose purpose is to harass our flank and pin down our troops, thereby creating opportunities for their main attack in the South.”

Joffre’s words left Lanrezac feeling powerless. He realized that he and the Commander-in-Chief were not on the same wavelength at all. Joffre’s mind was focused only on his grand ‘Plan XVII’: only on recapturing Alsace, Lorraine, and the southern outlet to the sea, and washing away the humiliation of the ‘Sago War.’ The Central and Southern fronts were the most important objectives of this war in his mind.

“Commander-in-Chief, I must caution you!” Lanrezac emphasized. “Once the Saxons cross the Sambre River, the northeast approach to the capital, Paris, will be completely undefended! The safety of the entire nation will be severely threatened!”

“I understand your concern, Lanrezac.” Joffre’s tone remained unperturbed. “However, we cannot allow a small-scale enemy raid to disrupt our overall strategic deployment.”

“The Southern front is the key to determining the outcome of this war! As long as we can breach the Alsace-Lorraine line in one decisive blow and penetrate deep into Saxon Empire territory, the threat from the North will naturally be neutralized.”

“To ensure the absolute success of the Southern offensive, I even hope you can detach two more divisions from the Fifth Army Group to reinforce the Second Army Group in the South.”

Joffre’s last sentence completely ignited Lanrezac’s fury. Detach two more divisions?! Was he insane?!

“No! Absolutely not!” Lanrezac could no longer contain himself. He furiously grabbed an ink bottle from the desk and smashed it violently onto the floor. The ink bottle shattered, splattering black ink everywhere.

“Commander-in-Chief! With all due respect, your decision is gambling with the fate of the entire Gaul!” he yelled almost a roar into the microphone.

“My Fifth Army Group only has a total of fifteen divisions right now! And most of them are troops called up before the war!”

“All our heavy artillery has been transferred out! The few 75mm Magic Guided Cannons we have left are merely a drop in the ocean! The two squadrons of the Templar Knights were already transferred to the South by you a long time ago!”

“If the Saxons truly arrive with their main force, how can the small number of troops I have possibly hold back that wolf-like army that could quickly conquer the Liège Fortress?!”

“Do you not realize what the consequences will be if the line is breached?!”

Lanrezac’s roar echoed through the Fifth Army Group Headquarters. The surrounding staff officers and generals were terrified into silence.

On the other end of the phone, Joffre fell into a long silence again. Lanrezac’s words forced him to re-examine the current situation. He admitted there was some truth to Lanrezac’s concerns. If the Saxons had indeed committed significant forces to the North, the pressure on the Fifth Army Group would be extremely severe.

However, his attention quickly returned to a telegram on his desk. It was the latest battle report from the Southern front. The content of the telegram was simple and highly encouraging.

[The First and Second Army Groups have successfully entered the Alsace and Lorraine regions. The enemy facing them is retreating steadily. Our army morale is high, and victory is within sight!]

[The Southern Army Group is also launching a fierce attack on the Mediterranean sea outlet controlled by the Saxons. The offensive is currently proceeding smoothly.]

All the intelligence seemed to confirm the long-held assessment of the Gallic Army General Staff: ‘Plan XVII’ was being executed flawlessly. The balance of victory was already beginning to tilt toward Gaul.

With this thought, the slight wavering in Joffre’s resolve instantly vanished. He picked up the microphone again, his tone returning to its previous calmness and firmness.

“Lanrezac, I understand your predicament.”

“Out of prudence, I agree that your Fifth Army Group may advance to the border area to construct defense lines and prepare for battle.”

“However, I will not provide you with any reinforcements.”

Joffre’s tone was final.

“I must concentrate all my forces to ensure the decisive breakthrough of Alsace in the center, followed by an outflanking movement from within Saxon territory to the North, to permanently eliminate all enemy forces within the Grand Duchy of Flanders.”

“If we win this battle, we might even permanently defeat the Saxons in one blow!”

Hearing this, Lanrezac was completely disheartened. He knew that nothing he said could change the mind of the stubborn Commander-in-Chief.

“I understand, Commander-in-Chief.” His voice was filled with weariness and disappointment.

With that, he hung up the phone. The conversation between the two ended poorly.

“General…” An Aide-de-Camp cautiously stepped forward.

Lanrezac waved his hand, signaling him not to speak further. He walked over to the large map, looking at the small mark for Charleroi, his expression becoming intensely serious. Since he couldn’t rely on the General Headquarters, he would have to rely on himself.

“Pass on my order!” He spun around and commanded all the officers in the headquarters.

“Order the Third Corps, subordinate to the Fifth Army Group, to immediately assemble! They will march overnight toward Charleroi!”

“The Eighteenth Corps and Fifth Corps will deploy on the left and right flanks, respectively, to coordinate the advance!”

(End of this Chapter)

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