Chapter 540: MTY Armored Bridging Vehicles
Though Erwin had recognized the threat, he refrained from announcing it openly. He understood that drawing attention to the reality—that Charles had found a way to overcome the anti-tank ditches—would only spread panic among his soldiers. Panic might inevitably come, but delaying it, even slightly, could buy them precious minutes of disciplined resistance.
Thus, the battle unfolded as initially planned. German infantrymen, encouraged by their officers, began firing on the approaching French forces, sending bullets toward the advancing armor. Unfortunately, most bullets ricocheted harmlessly off thick armor plating, doing little but adding noise and confusion.
Amid the rattling of gunfire, Erwin briefly considered his options, then quickly made his way to the rear. He had to find the commander of the infantry artillery positioned behind the lines—Major Benjamin, a young officer promoted rapidly due to severe attrition among senior officers.
Before Erwin even spoke, Benjamin desperately blurted out, "Lieutenant Colonel, my artillery units have suffered terribly. We urgently need reinforcements!"
"There won't be any reinforcements, Benjamin," Erwin replied grimly, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "We must rely solely on what we have here. Our only goal now is to hold out for three days until reinforcements arrive."
Benjamin's face paled. "But we only have twelve functional guns left!"
Erwin ignored the implicit fear in the major's voice, instead guiding him to a nearby observation point along the trench. From there, he indicated several strange-looking French vehicles that carried long, metal bridge-like structures.
"Do you see those tanks? Those right there, and those?" Erwin urgently pointed them out. "Prioritize those machines as your primary targets. They must be destroyed at all costs!"
"What are those things?" Benjamin asked nervously.
"You don't need to understand precisely what they are," Erwin said sternly. "Your job is simply to aim and fire as accurately as possible."
"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel," Benjamin responded, visibly terrified. He knew well what awaited him: enemy artillery would respond immediately, destroying whatever remained of his gun crews. Yet he also knew his duty left him no alternative.
Erwin had some hope that the dispersed positioning of his remaining artillery might complicate French targeting, making their rocket barrages less effective. Unfortunately, reality proved otherwise.
As soon as the first German 77mm shells flew toward the strange French bridging tanks, Erwin heard again the horrifying whistling of incoming rockets. Instead of blanket barrages, however, the French rockets struck with surprising precision, instantly annihilating individual German artillery pieces, leaving crews scrambling desperately into trenches for cover.
"How could this happen?" Erwin whispered bitterly to himself. He understood suddenly that these rockets weren't simply massed artillery; they were being individually targeted, accurately directed toward each of his remaining guns.
He didn't know Charles had developed portable infantry rocket launchers—small rocket batteries installed covertly on higher ground, allowing precise strikes at individual targets. His own forces had nothing comparable. Once more, Charles had effortlessly overcome yet another of his carefully prepared defenses.
At that moment, Erwin finally acknowledged inwardly what he had feared all along—the battle for Namur was essentially already lost. Charles's new weapons had eliminated the vital elements of Erwin's defense strategy. With his artillery neutralized, and those odd bridging tanks about to cross the anti-tank ditches, defeat loomed inevitably.
Erwin briefly felt bitterly resentful. He had believed himself prepared, convinced he had anticipated every eventuality. Yet again, Charles had stayed ahead, unveiling innovation after innovation that shattered all his carefully laid plans. It almost seemed unfair; he had prepared so diligently, yet each time Charles managed to counteract him perfectly.
However, deep down, Erwin knew it wasn't mere chance. His own preparations were traditional—effective in theory but well-known and predictable: standard anti-tank ditches, barbed wire, entrenched artillery. Charles's preparations, meanwhile, were innovative, targeted, and original, precisely crafted to neutralize the enemy's expected defenses.
Resigned, Erwin watched through binoculars as the strange French bridging tanks arrived at the first anti-tank ditch. As German infantry fired desperately, their bullets pattered uselessly off the heavy armor, completely ineffective.
Then, to Erwin's astonishment and dread, the bridging tanks slowed smoothly, coming to rest just short of the trench. Within seconds, long steel bridge structures began extending steadily from their chassis, quickly spanning the wide ditch. In less than two minutes, a complete armored bridge now lay firmly in place, capable of supporting even heavy armored vehicles.
This scene repeated along the line. Within mere moments, multiple sturdy steel bridges covered the formidable obstacle Erwin had counted upon for defense.
German soldiers stared in shock and disbelief, realizing their last effective line of defense had been rendered instantly useless. Panic quickly spread among them, their courage rapidly dissolving into fear and hopelessness. Gunfire slowed dramatically as many lost the will to resist.
Some soldiers desperately turned to Erwin, crying out, "Lieutenant Colonel! What should we do now? How can we possibly stop them?"
But Erwin had no answer to give.
Realistically, all he had left to stop the French armored onslaught were rifles and bayonets, absurdly inadequate in the face of Charles's overwhelming technological advantage.
Those strange vehicles were Charles's newly introduced MTY Armored Bridging Vehicles, inspired by Russian designs. Their simple construction allowed for rapid mass production, even in wartime conditions, yet their operational effectiveness proved astonishingly high.
The MTY vehicles functioned by pushing out extendable steel structures from their chassis, rapidly bridging gaps or trenches in seconds. Although not especially advanced compared to later models, they were more than sufficient to overcome World War I era anti-tank ditches.
Now, French tanks smoothly moved across the new bridges, rolling effortlessly over what had once been Erwin's strongest defensive feature. Behind them came waves of confident infantry, pouring through breaches in German lines that had existed mere moments earlier only in Erwin's worst nightmares.
Erwin could do nothing but watch, feeling utterly powerless. His intricate, painstakingly designed defenses had failed catastrophically, defeated by the creativity and innovation of his adversary.
Gripping his binoculars with trembling hands, Erwin bitterly understood the inevitability of defeat. As French tanks rolled relentlessly toward his lines, he realized that all his effort, strategy, and determination had been in vain.
Once more, he found himself facing an opponent who remained consistently ahead of him in every conceivable way.
And yet, despite the hopelessness, Erwin refused to allow complete despair to take hold. He knew that if nothing else, he owed it to his soldiers to resist until the very last moment, to give them leadership and resolve, even in defeat.
Clenching his jaw resolutely, Erwin turned to his men, rallying them for one last desperate defense, knowing full well it was a doomed effort.
Across the muddy battlefield, French forces advanced methodically, crossing easily over the once-feared anti-tank ditches, leaving Erwin and his men with nowhere left to retreat.
(End of Chapter 540)
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