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墨書 Inktalez
Battle background: On May 10, 1940, Germany declared war on France due to dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles. Germany assembled 600,000 troops on the border of the Netherlands, while France, having received advance notice, decided to advance 800,000 army troops into Belgium to defend it.
Battle objectives: Germany's victory would be achieved by occupying all of Belgium or annihilating all organized French forces. The Anglo-French coalition's victory would be achieved by holding their positions until May 10, 1942, or by annihilating all incoming enemies.
Both sides are equipped according to the standards of the best period of the European War and can use weapons and equipment developed after the European War. Strasser glanced at the campaign objectives sent by Seeckt's people, and his mind began to race. In this military simulation game, he could not simply copy the historical Manstein plan because the direction of the attack was fixed on Belgium, which would pose significant difficulties for him. Clearly, the General Staff of the Army still only had the "Griffin Plan" from World War I to deal with France; they had no better options than to attack northern France.
However, Strasser was not worried. Ludendorff's revealed topic was still very useful; he had already discussed with Rommel and others about how to defeat France if they were to launch an attack from the direction of Belgium, and they had a logically feasible plan in place.
In the center of the conference hall, Seeckt looked at the enormous sandbox on the table and curiously asked Ludendorff, "What idea did you give that Strasser lieutenant? I'm really curious where he got the confidence to choose to attack France."
"Actually, I don't know either, because I didn't give him a plan at all." Ludendorff shrugged. "As for the attack on France, in my mind, The Griffin Plan is already the optimal solution. Marshal Schlieffen's intention in formulating the plan was good; it's just that our army's execution had issues, and Little Maoqi also bears some responsibility."
Ludendorff's explanation did not quell Seeckt's curiosity. In his view, someone who appeared so confident about accomplishing such a daunting task was either a madman or had a well-developed plan. Seeckt did not believe that Strasser was a madman.
"If you really have this ability, why didn't we find you when the General Staff of the Army formed the 100,000 National Defense Forces in 1920?" Seeckt muttered to himself.
······
In the other side of the operations room, the oldest general was using a magnifying glass to observe the map. On the mini sandbox in front of him, there were numerous French Army and British Army units digging trenches and constructing fortifications of various sizes within the territory of Belgium.
The report behind him about Major General Mark: "General, the reconnaissance aircraft sent out has successfully gathered intelligence and returned safely. The enemy has deployed approximately thirty divisions near Aachen, and there appears to be a large number of tanks deployed opposite the fortress of Liège."
"And what about the direction of Bastogne?"
"About six divisions of troops, possibly with a small number of tank troops."
The army general snorted disdainfully, "Isn't this deployment just a right-wing attack against left-wing defense?"
"I thought Ludendorff had some clever idea for this lieutenant. Turns out he just copied and shrunk The Griffin Plan. We couldn't even successfully execute that plan during the European War at the General Staff of the Army. Do you think this lieutenant and those few colonels can pull it off?"
"Since that's the case, should we just focus on digging trenches and engaging in a war of attrition?" another army general asked.
"No, we have the advantage in numbers, why not just directly take out their troops," the general replied.
It was clear that this general did not want to simply dig trenches and engage in a straightforward battle. In his view, dealing with a lieutenant with little command experience, combined with their own numerical advantage, they could completely push forward in a direct confrontation. In other words, he was ready to start micromanaging.
At this moment, he has already disregarded Seeckt's instructions.
······
In the conference room, Seeckt frowned,
"Three hundred thousand troops launched an attack on the Liège fortress. Even if Strasser brought all his heavy artillery to bear, it would take at least a week. By that time, the French Army within Belgium would have dug all their trenches, making it very difficult to take them down."
"At least adopting the Griffin Plan won't result in a total disaster," Ludendorff argued. He glanced at Strasser's deployment and knew that this lieutenant was destined to lose; he was already preparing excuses to save face.
"Not necessarily. Have you forgotten that Strasser still has two thousand tanks and two thousand armored vehicles?"
Rommel, who had been quietly observing the battle situation outside, suddenly spoke up, catching the attention of the two generals.
"Where can these tanks be deployed to make an impact? On Germany's right flank, these tanks won't be more effective against fortifications than artillery. On the left wing of the German army, even if these slow-moving tanks break through France's defenses, it would only push them back to the next line; the French have plenty of time to allocate some reserve forces to seal that gap." Seeckt was also pondering Strasser's intentions for the tanks, but his mind remained clouded on this matter.
"Who said Strasser's tanks are those slow, clumsy ones like the British?" Rommel was ready to give these two generals a lesson, drawing from the knowledge Strasser had shared with him a few days ago.
"And, we will concentrate the tanks to launch an assault on the enemy positions..."
"General, it's already the fifth day, the scorching sun fortress is about to be reduced to ruins by the enemy's heavy artillery." Major General Mark reported.
"It's okay, the position we've built within Belgium is also nearly complete. This is the advantage of knowing the direction of the enemy's attack. After we withstand the first wave of the German army's assault, we will immediately order a full counterattack." The Army General has already begun planning for the counteroffensive.
"But General, the enemy's main tank force has not shown itself yet. We don't know their movements. It might be better not to attack recklessly," Major General Mark expressed some concern. So far, only a few scattered tanks from the German army have appeared in the direction of the Sunburst Fortress.
"Don't worry, those tanks must be held in reserve in the rear. Once the Sunburst Fortress is captured, those tanks will definitely come up to attack," the Army General confidently stated.
Indeed, as he had said, ten minutes later, on the seventh day of the battle, the Sun Fortress was captured. The German army, after a brief rest, launched a fierce attack on the heart of Belgium, targeting Hanni. The new tanks deployed by Strasser also appeared on the battlefield. These tanks provided cover for soldiers during the assault, just like the tanks from World War I. However, against the countless barbed wire and interconnected bunkers forming a defensive line, their effectiveness was not much better than that of the A7V tanks from World War I.
"See? The role of tanks in trench warfare is not much stronger than that of artillery. Order the First Army Corps to counterattack immediately after repelling the enemy's assault and annihilate the invading forces," the general commanded with great enthusiasm.
In the operations room on the other side, Strasser looked at the movements of the French Army on the map, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
"They finally couldn't hold back and launched a counterattack," Bock said with a laugh.
"We deliberately slowed down the attack speed on the right flank and reduced the intensity of the left-wing assault to keep them distracted, making sure their attention remained focused on the right flank while buying time to dig out a defensive line in Aachen," Rundstedt glanced at the sandbox.
"Now is the time for the paratroopers of Student to make their entrance."
······
On the sandbox, within the borders of Belgium, the French Army has already withstood the German army's attack on the right flank and has turned to counterattack. Due to the fact that the fortress of Liège, which was occupied by the German army, has been reduced to ruins and is not suitable for defense, the German army withdrew from there after holding out for a day.
"The battle, we have already won it," the Army General proudly announced, taking a bottle of champagne and drinking a big gulp.
"Wait a minute, General," the Lieutenant General, after receiving a message from the battlefield, hurried over with a panicked expression to report,
"In the direction of Bastogne, we have been attacked by enemy tanks. The enemy has used paratroopers to land behind our defense lines. Our four divisions are unable to withstand the two-pronged attack of tanks and infantry. The first line of defense is about to collapse."
"How is that possible?" The major general choked on the alcohol in his throat, clutching the table and coughing violently.
"Each of our rear defenses only has a single division. How many enemy forces are advancing?" asked Major General Mark, patting the major general's back.
"Originally, there were only six divisions opposite Bastogne, and we could hold out for at least a week. But at this rate of attack, Verdun may fall in three days. I suspect the enemy has at least twelve divisions."
"But where did they get so many troops? Weren't they all in Aachen?" brigadier wondered.
"It's the armor vehicles. We overlooked the mobility of the armor vehicles. They were initially in Aachen, but after the battle started, they secretly moved south and have been lurking in Bastogne. No wonder the German army didn't launch a large-scale attack on the Liege fortress," the general finally calmed down and began to analyze.
"Don't panic. Order the next defensive line to hold their ground and use the terrain to delay the enemy. Order all of Sedan's reserve forces to move towards Bastogne. Once the reinforcements arrive, their offensive will no longer be a threat."
General Staff of the Army began to get busy, and the atmosphere in the room was no longer as leisurely as it was at the beginning, but filled with tension.
"General, it's not good. The enemy's attack speed is too fast, Bastogne has already fallen."
"General! The enemy has airdropped paratroopers on the essential route for the Sedan support troops, and now they won't be able to reach the battlefield on time."
"General! The enemy's tank troops are moving northward along the Ardennes Forest with Bastogne as the pivot point, and have reached the outskirts of Brussels. Our main force in Hanni is in danger of being encircled."
The army general took a gulp of white wine and stared at the real-time map on the sandbox.
At this moment, on the small battlefield of Belgium, the German army has achieved a semi-encirclement of the French Army. The Anglo-French coalition of nearly 600,000 people is fiercely attacking the German army's front line in Hanni, but their rear has been cut off by the German army's armored troops. When the German army continues to advance north and captures Ghent, they will be completely surrounded. At this time, Ghent has no divisions, because no one would have expected the German army to advance so far from the battlefield to the city.
"How to proceed? General, it's too late to gather troops towards Ghent, we are about to be surrounded." The lieutenant delivering the message had a mournful face, it seemed that their lifelong reputation was about to be ruined by a lieutenant.
"Shut up! It's not time to surrender yet!" The general gave him a punch.
"Since there's no turning back, let's fight our way out. Order Hanni's troops to advance immediately and break through this encirclement!"
······
On the sandbox, the French Army about to be surrounded begins to move forward, desperately trying to carve out an escape route from the German army stationed ahead. However, it's clear that the German army was well-prepared, having constructed numerous temporary fortifications that are not much inferior in quality to those built by the French Army. The French Army runs headlong into the defensive line of the German army.
"Do you want to compare attack speed with me? Not bad, at least you're stronger than Gamelin." Strasser smiled lightly, "But is it too late to realize that now? How can a person possibly outrun a machine?"
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