Chapter 421: Knowing Too Much
Under the starry night sky, the German troops in Antwerp were still busy.
Fearing infiltration by guerrillas, the Germans didn’t even dare to "hire" Belgians to build fortifications. They mobilized everyone they deemed trustworthy, including logistics personnel, signalmen, and even officers, to construct defenses.
Layers of forts and trenches surrounded the city of Antwerp at the center.
Inside the city, the former villa estate of King Albert I was brightly lit. Staff officers bustled about, trying to gather more information via phone and telegraph.
One telegram after another landed on Major General von Marcus's desk, but his frown only deepened.
Finally, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He stood up abruptly, slamming the telegrams onto the desk in anger, and shouted, “I just want to know the location of the French forces! Can anyone tell me where their main force is? I need a location, an exact location!”
No one answered because no one knew.
The staff officers avoided Marcus's gaze nervously, each looking like a child caught doing something wrong.
All of the German intelligence units were at the front lines or inside France, but none were in Belgium.
Especially in the Brussels area, they had considered it a safe rear zone.
Thus, when the telephone lines to Brussels were cut, it became a true "unknown zone." No one knew what was happening there.
A staff officer cautiously stepped forward, holding a document, and reported, "General, we believe the French will not attack tonight. At the earliest, it would be at dawn."
“How can you be so sure?” Marcus asked.
The staff officer handed over a document and compiled telegraphs. “We’ve been in contact with Major General Nicolas, commander of the 1st Tank Division.”
Marcus took the document and skimmed it. It contained Nicolas’s analysis of the limitations of tank warfare. His conclusion: Tanks were unsuitable for night combat. At night, they were as blind as bats.
Marcus grunted in acknowledgment, his expression softening slightly. At least the staff officers had contributed something.
The officer continued his report, “We also received advice from Captain Erwin, who has considerable expertise in anti-tank defense. He suggested that widening the trenches would effectively prevent tanks from crossing.”
He presented a diagram showing how tanks would be trapped by widened trenches.
Marcus only glanced at it before understanding the principle. He immediately ordered, “Then what are we waiting for? Order the troops to start digging wider trenches.”
The staff officer hesitated. “But General, we have many trenches, and we’re severely understaffed. Even by dawn, we won’t complete half of them.”
Marcus paced back and forth behind his desk, hands clasped behind his back, and asked, “When will the 192nd Infantry Regiment arrive?”
“It will take another two hours. The 87th Reserve Division will arrive before dawn,” the staff officer replied.
It didn’t need to be said; neither reinforcement could resolve the challenges of constructing the fortifications.
Suddenly, Marcus halted. He turned back to the map and stared at the defensive layout of Antwerp. After a while, he said slowly, “Perhaps we don’t need to widen all the trenches.”
The staff officer looked at him in confusion. Only widened trenches could stop tanks…
“We only need to modify one trench,” Marcus said, pointing to the foremost defensive line on the map. “Widen the first trench to four meters to ensure the enemy tanks can’t cross.”
The staff officer let out an “Oh” of understanding.
If the first trench could definitely block enemy tanks, there was no need to widen the others.
Additionally, the artillery inside the forts could target these trenches. If the enemy tanks were stopped in front of the trenches, they would immediately become sitting ducks for the artillery.
“I’ll issue the orders right away,” the staff officer said.
“No.” Marcus grabbed his military hat from the wall, put it on, and seized the riding crop from his desk. As he strode toward the door, he ordered, “I’ll personally oversee the widening of this trench. Mobilize all available manpower immediately.”
He seemed quite pleased with his quick thinking, even believing it could be the key to stopping the French attack the next day—especially if the attack was led by Charles's troops.
...
On the Antwerp front line, the first defensive line lay about 500 meters ahead of the fortifications.
The two layers of fortifications around Antwerp were equipped with long-range, medium-range, and short-range artillery. Among them, the short-range artillery comprised 77mm field guns, with each fort housing four.
The theoretical range of the 77mm field gun was five kilometers, but in practice, they were mostly used for direct fire within 500 meters.
(Note: This was due to suppression by the French 75mm gun, which boasted higher accuracy, faster firing speed, and longer range. Unless the 77mm gun could move in close for a decisive strike, it would simply be overwhelmed by the 75mm.)
The first defensive line was designed to work in tandem with the 77mm field guns in the forts.
Marcus was satisfied with this distance, believing that once enemy tanks were halted in front of this trench, they would become easy targets for the 77mm guns inside the forts.
“This is the spot!” Marcus declared confidently to the troops following him. “Widen this trench to four meters and deepen it to two meters. It must be completed by dawn.”
“Yes, General.”
One by one, the soldiers jumped into the trenches and began working with their entrenching tools.
Before long, someone called out, “General, may we light torches?”
“Good idea. The enemy isn’t here yet anyway.”
“Lighting torches will make the work more efficient!”
...
Marcus looked south toward the darkness in the direction of Brussels and nodded. “Fine. As long as you finish by dawn, everyone will get an extra pack of cigarettes tomorrow!”
The soldiers cheered.
Soon, torches were lit, and the Germans even raised some on long poles to illuminate a wider area.
Under the torchlight, the German soldiers worked diligently, digging, hauling dirt, measuring, and directing, all in a frenzy of activity.
...
Meanwhile, Charles and Tigani were lying in the grass just two miles away, observing the Germans’ baffling actions.
“What are they doing?” Tigani put down his binoculars, his tone full of confusion. “They’re openly exposing their defenses to us.”
Originally, the French had no way of knowing the exact locations of the enemy trenches, but now it was crystal clear.
Charles chuckled and replied, “It’s because they know too much.”
“Know too much?” Tigani was even more puzzled. How did this relate to exposing their trench positions?
Charles nodded. “They know tanks aren’t suited for night battles.”
Tigani was silent for a moment before suddenly realizing: Because the Germans knew tanks weren’t suited for night combat, they assumed the French wouldn’t attack at night. Hence, they boldly lit torches to build fortifications.
Tigani burst into laughter. “They must think they can hear the enemy tanks’ engines and extinguish the torches in time!”