Chapter 678: Guiding the Enemy to Attack
This was where Charles had miscalculated: the 6th Army did not manage to hold every position.
Christine had only properly prepared for one—one of the three southern entrances into the Ardennes Mountains from Charleroi.
Or rather, they had indeed prepared—just not adequately.
This was Tassigny's idea, and he personally led the troops: a single understrength infantry regiment equipped only with light gear, totaling just over two thousand men.
After receiving Charles's order to seal off the Ardennes Forest, Christine's first instinct was to dispatch a mechanized division south of Charleroi as quickly as possible to block any German escape.
This misunderstanding was partly due to the vagueness of Charles's order.
Because the strategic goal of "penetrating the Ardennes" was highly classified, Charles could only instruct Christine to "send infantry into the Ardennes and do everything to stop German forces from entering the mountains or escaping through them!"
Christine immediately thought of the 2nd Mechanized Division.
This division had been modeled after Charles's 1st Mechanized Division, and Christine believed this was the best way to learn from and implement Charles's tactics.
In Christine's mind, mechanized infantry were still infantry—just riding vehicles.
Now was the perfect moment for a mechanized division to shine: it had few tanks and high speed. If they abandoned the tanks, they could reach the target area within a day.
Moreover, the division's mobility and firepower made it ideal for conducting a fluid blockade against the Germans.
Pointing at the map, Christine said:
"We can divide the 2nd Mechanized Division into two brigades, station them to the west and south, and completely encircle Charleroi. Then we'll follow up with two infantry divisions for reinforcement, and have the 1st Special Artillery Division launch a frontal assault!"
It was a truly grand encirclement plan: two infantry divisions, one mechanized division, and one armored division—four divisions totaling nearly 70,000 troops to surround 5,000 Germans in Charleroi.
Clearly, Christine took Charles's first combat assignment to him very seriously.
However, the newly promoted staff lieutenant colonel, Tassigny, objected to this approach.
After studying the map for a while, he pointed to Charleroi and analyzed:
"This may not be a good idea, General."
"I've heard that the enemy in Charleroi has no intention of holding the city—they're merely awaiting orders to retreat."
"If we deploy the 2nd Mechanized Division, we'll likely expose our plan to encircle them from the very beginning."
"If the enemy retreats into the Ardennes before we arrive, we'll fail the mission handed down by headquarters."
But Christine disagreed:
"The Germans won't withdraw that quickly, Lieutenant Colonel. You may not know this, but Charleroi is a major industrial hub—it's important to the Germans."
Tassigny stuck to his viewpoint:
"If that's the case, General, why didn't the lieutenant general (meaning Charles) take Charleroi himself?"
"We all know the 1st Armored Corps is in Namur. He could have dispatched the 1st Mechanized Division and handled it easily."
"But he gave the mission to us—and specifically emphasized 'infantry'..."
As he spoke, Tassigny turned his gaze to Christine, waiting for a response.
Christine paused. Tassigny had a point.
If Charles's mechanized division could have done the job, why delegate it?
Clearly, the key to this mission was the use of "infantry"—so as not to "alert the enemy" and let the Germans flee into the Ardennes.
But Christine then stared at the map again, troubled:
"What if the Germans have scouts? Even if we use infantry, it'll be hard to keep things hidden from them."
This presented a dilemma: to stop 5,000 Germans, you needed a sizeable force. But any large infantry unit would be easy to detect, even on foot.
"Unless we use small units and move lightly equipped," Tassigny replied.
"Small units?"
"Yes," Tassigny nodded. "One infantry regiment, under 2,000 troops. We might even disguise ourselves as Belgian militia to confuse the Germans."
At the time, Belgian militia were numerous, but the Germans ignored them—except for the 1st Special Reconnaissance Corps working with Charles.
Christine considered for a moment, then frowned and shook his head:
"Two thousand troops can't seal off the entire southern side. There are at least three mountain paths into the Ardennes."
German forces fleeing into the Ardennes would have to use these roads—they couldn't just carve new ones through the wilderness.
"We don't have to guard every point," Tassigny said. "We only need to hold one."
"You know which route the Germans will choose?" Christine didn't quite understand—was Tassigny relying on luck?
"No, General," Tassigny shook his head. "But we can guide them to choose the route we want."
Christine looked puzzled. Guide them?
Tassigny calmly pointed to the three mountain entrances on the map:
"We'll place small forces at each pass and create the illusion of a larger presence."
"Then, at Entrance 3, we'll leave traces or make some noise to draw German scouts there."
"Finally, our forces at that entrance will appear to be overwhelmed by the Germans' recon troops…"
Christine immediately grasped the brilliance of Tassigny's plan.
The Germans would assume that French forces had stretched their deployment to Entrance 3 and that it had been overrun—thus creating a breach.
Having scored a victory and created a gap, the Germans would naturally choose that spot to break out.
What they wouldn't know is: it was the only entrance with an ambush waiting.
"But the Germans number over 5,000, Lieutenant Colonel," Christine asked. "We have only 2,000 lightly armed men. How do we stop them?"
"General," Tassigny replied confidently, "the Germans are lightly armed too."
Christine froze, then realized—of course.
To retreat into the Ardennes, the Germans couldn't bring heavy gear.
With both sides lightly armed—and with the French having the advantage of terrain, preparation, and defensive fortifications—the 5,000 Germans might truly be no match for less than half their number.
After a moment's thought, Christine made his decision:
"Excellent idea, Lieutenant Colonel. You'll personally lead a regiment to ambush in the Ardennes."
"I'll have the mechanized division ready."
"As soon as the Germans take the bait, or when the time is right, I'll lead the mechanized division to reinforce you!"
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1