Chapter 529: Original text: Chapter 529 They have at least 10 artillery regiments
Namur, Belgium.
This is a city with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Its architectural style differs slightly from other Belgian cities and is more reminiscent of Florence, Italy.
However, this city, with its many charming bridges, canals, and castles, has suffered greatly from the ravages of war due to its strategic location.
(The picture above shows the architecture of Namur)
This day, Namur woke up in the morning mist and the sound of church bells, as usual.
Streets paved with stones gradually filled with pedestrians. A group of fully armed German Army patrol soldiers, with their weary bodies and uneven steps, walked by, and pedestrians dodged out of the way. Bicycles also stopped, casting wary and fearful looks at the German soldiers.
Once the patrol team passed, people breathed a sigh of relief and continued their journey.
They greeted each other with smiles on their faces.
However, a keen observer could notice that their eyes and movements occasionally betrayed some hint of disappointment.
They were disappointed that the flames of war hadn’t reached Namur.
When news of Shire’s army about to attack Namur arrived, people seemed calm but secretly spread the word:
"Do you know? Shire’s army is about to hit here."
"Are you sure? Is it really Shire’s army?"
"Yes, absolutely certain. Everyone in Paris is discussing this. It’s Shire’s army!"
"That’s great, we’re about to be liberated!"
...
For Belgians, and for people all over the world, wherever Shire pointed, there would be freedom.
But they rejoiced too early.
Soon, new news arrived:
"They say Namur isn’t suitable for Shire’s army to attack."
"Yes, I heard that too. It’s a trap set specifically for Shire."
"They’re attempting to use Namur to kill Shire and his army."
...
This threw the people of Namur into deep despair.
Namur could actually be used as a "trap to kill Shire," which shows just how difficult it is to recapture!
This also means that the liberation of Namur is far off, and even Shire has no way to deal with it.
...
Not only did Belgians think this way, but so did the German soldiers stationed outside in the River Bay District.
The German Army deployed two infantry divisions, one tank division, and strengthened six artillery regiments here, pouring in a significant amount of forces.
The commander was Nicholas, recently promoted to Vice Admiral, the 21st Corps Commander and the Chief of the 1st Tank Division.
Upon taking office, Nicholas immediately promoted Erwin beyond his rank to a lieutenant colonel (previous rank was captain).
Due to Erwin’s previous excellent performance, he had become the most trusted adviser of Vice Admiral Nicholas.
...
Vice Admiral Nicholas set up his command post in the forest of the River Bay District, in a standard semi-buried bunker, where he could clearly see through the observation window the artillery deployed in the River Bay District and the highway on the opposite side of the river.
This was the safest place; the enemy could hardly break through that natural "moat."
"We can’t let them withdraw their troops anymore!" Erwin agonized, looking at the increasingly fewer troop symbols on the map.
Since the River Somme battle began, nearly half of Namur’s forces had been withdrawn, leaving only one infantry division, another infantry regiment and two tank regiments, along with three artillery regiments.
"Relax, lieutenant colonel!" Vice Admiral Nicholas’s gaze crossed the observation window, looking at the slowly flowing Meuse River in the morning mist, lost in thought.
He remembered his hometown, not far from home there was such a river. Wonder if the river water here will flow to there.
"This is very dangerous for us, General." Erwin complained: "Especially since we only have three artillery regiments, we need to use these artillery to blockade two highways and coordinate with the defense line. Also, many of our shells have been transported away by them."
Vice Admiral Nicholas leisurely turned around and replied:
"As a senior officer, we should consider the overall situation, lieutenant colonel."
"You know what I mean. The French have virtually no possibility of attacking Namur, while the River Somme is being fiercely attacked by nearly a million enemy troops."
"Obviously, they need artillery and troops more than we do."
Erwin objected: "I know, General. But I believe Shire will attack Namur!"
"Reason?" Vice Admiral Nicholas raised an eyebrow.
Erwin was stunned, shook his head: "No reason, General, it’s an intuition."
Then he added: "If I have to give a reason, it should be that Shire always acts unexpectedly. When everyone thinks they won’t attack, he will choose this place instead."
Vice Admiral Nicholas laughed and handed Erwin a cigarette: "I can’t use something like that to persuade Fajin Han."
Erwin fell silent, took the cigarette and pulled out a match to light it for both, accepting Vice Admiral Nicholas’s saying, but the worry on his face didn’t reduce at all.
Halfway through the cigarette, he turned his gaze back to the map.
If Shire were to attack Namur, he would certainly consider destroying the artillery in the River Bay District first.
Can Shire achieve this?
Under normal circumstances, it’s impossible, as the French Army has no artillery with a range beyond 105MM howitzers, and moreover, the German Army was prepared to release smoke, undeterred by French bombers.
However, Shire must do this, otherwise, attacking Namur Fortress wouldn’t be feasible.
Therefore, Erwin believed he should think more about how to defend the line if the artillery were destroyed or suppressed!
Just at that moment, sudden "swish-swishing" sounds came from the other side of the Meuse River.
Erwin and Vice Admiral Nicholas, as if pricked by needles, rushed to the observation window, raised their binoculars, and looked in the direction of the sounds.
All they saw were rows of missiles flying toward the River Bay District, trailing long vapor trails.
Not missiles, but rockets, only rockets would emit such visible vapor trails.
"Artillery strike!" Vice Admiral Nicholas shouted.
Erwin rushed back to his desk and grabbed the phone, shouting: "Counterattack, organize a counterattack immediately!"
"Boom-boom-boom!"
"Boom-boom!"
...
The ground shook, rows of rockets exploded in the River Bay District, instantly plunging the scene into smoke and flames, the whole ground seemed to be on fire, trees were felled, soil was tossed into the air, and of course, the artillery hidden in fortifications.
And the continuous "swish" sounds still persisted, explosions were still happening one after another.
"God, they have at least ten artillery regiments!" Vice Admiral Nicholas exclaimed, being artillery-born, he knew the intensity of this bombardment.
But his mind was still in a muddle, not understanding what had happened.
How did such a massive artillery regiment escape the eyes of the frontline soldiers?
And at such a close range, the actual distance might not even be 8 kilometers!