Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 165 Assault Battalion, Leading the Way! (Bonus Chapter 910 for the Silver Alliance)

Although I was unsure about this first motorized march, and the sun was about to set in a little over two hours...
But urged on by Ludendorff's admonition that "speed is of the essence," Morin still gave the order for the entire battalion to board the vehicles and depart after all preparations were completed.

He sat in the passenger seat of a truck in the middle of the road, watching the friendly troops seeing them off on both sides of the road. He couldn't help but lean half his body out of the window and shout at the top of his lungs:
"Sturmbataillon, geht voran! (Assault battalion, be the vanguard!)"

The friendly soldiers on both sides of the road were instantly ignited by this shout.

At first, only the soldiers closest to him joined in the shouting, but the enthusiasm quickly spread and eventually became a deafening roar.

"Sturmbataillon, geht voran!"

"Sturmbataillon, geht voran!"

Amidst the deafening cheers, the massive convoy of sixty trucks and eighty horse-drawn carriages slowly drove out of Liege.

Lacking experience in commanding motorized units, Morin could only proceed cautiously, feeling his way forward.

Based on the knowledge he had acquired before crossing the border, he divided the entire convoy into three parts: the vanguard, the main column, and the rearguard.

The vanguard, consisting of four trucks carrying a platoon and two additional machine gunners, was tasked with providing early warning and seizing key terrain.

These four vehicles led the way 1.5 kilometers ahead of the main force, providing the main force with about ten minutes of warning time—any further would be meaningless, as there was no way to maintain contact.

After all, the entire battalion only had one large radio that Morin had 'snatched' from Ludendorff, which was used to establish contact with the battle group.

The main column was also divided into three sections: front, middle, and rear, each maintaining a distance of about 500 meters to allow enough room for deployment in case of a possible skirmish.

The battalion headquarters and the 1st Company were at the front, the 2nd and 3rd Companies were in the middle, and the 4th Company, along with the supply wagon train, brought up the rear.

As for the defenders, they also maintained a distance of 1 to 1.5 kilometers, following closely behind the main players.

Their mission was to prevent enemy attacks from the rear and to assist in handling vehicles that had fallen behind due to malfunctions in the column.

Molin originally wanted to arrange flank protection, with several squads operating one or two kilometers away from the flank of the column.

However, the off-road capabilities of these trucks are currently quite poor, and they can basically only stay on highways, so this idea had to be abandoned in the end.

After the convoy had completely left the area of ​​the Liege fortress complex, Morin's heart was in his throat.

Although Ludendorff said that the enemy troops that broke out were heading towards Antwerp, no one could guarantee that the road to Charleroi was 100% safe.

The roar of the Huijing Power engine echoed through the quiet countryside, sounding particularly jarring.

The convoy traveled at a speed of thirty kilometers per hour for two hours without any major incidents.

As darkness fell, Morin still dared not risk marching at night.

Communication methods in this era were so backward that if he were to travel in the dark, he had no doubt that if half of the caravan were still with him when he woke up the next morning, he would be lucky.

And just because these delicate trucks didn't break down along the way doesn't mean they won't break down at night.

To be on the safe side, he decisively ordered the convoy to regroup and set up temporary camp on a flat area by the roadside.

He deployed twenty observation posts and sentries to guard the area around the camp.

The battalion communications platoon also set up a tall antenna and used a foot-operated generator-like radio to make contact with the Liege command post behind them, where the signal was extremely poor.

Feeling that it wasn't very reliable, Morin thought about it again and had the communications platoon release carrier pigeons as well, for double insurance, although carrier pigeons themselves weren't exactly reliable either.

"It seems I still need to write to Patricia and ask when the communication equipment can be put into practical use."

The thought flashed through Morin's mind, and then he slowly drifted off to sleep amidst a wave of apprehension.

Perhaps the army in the southern part of the United Kingdom of Flanders was indeed decimated, or perhaps they were not yet familiar with the tactic of night raids.

In short, with Morin and the others half asleep and half awake, the night passed without any major incidents.

The next morning, when the sun shone on the earth again and it was confirmed that all vehicles and people were safe and sound, Morin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After preparations were complete, the convoy set off again, this time heading straight for a designated assembly point three kilometers north of Charleroi.

The assault battalion wasn't driving armored vehicles; these trucks were very valuable, and Morin couldn't bear to let them drive directly into the city and risk their lives.

He planned to have his troops disembark there and then launch a probing attack on the northern part of Charleroi on foot.

Using the system map, Morin quickly found an excellent, secluded parking spot for the convoy.

It was a flat woodland right next to the road, big enough to accommodate the entire convoy of vehicles and carriages.

The journey of about an hour in the morning proceeded smoothly. Along the way, the convoy only saw some farmers and did not see any Flanders soldiers.

However, after asking a few old farmers in the Netherlands, Morin also received a new piece of information in the "Intelligence" tab.

A portion of the breakout force from the Liege Fortress battle group (1422 men) has headed towards Charleroi.

Just after 9 a.m. on August 8, the four vanguard trucks arrived at their destination, and the soldiers immediately disembarked. The platoon responsible for forward reconnaissance quickly advanced, establishing the first line of defense.

The four trucks then turned into an open area by the roadside, turned off their engines, and began the inspection.

Before long, the main convoy also arrived one after another.

Morin set up the temporary camp headquarters in the middle of the woods, and the soldiers of the 1st Company who got off the vehicles first quickly dispersed and built a temporary defensive line around the camp.

By this point, Morin was unsure whether his large convoy had been discovered by the enemy.

However, at least for now, his system map remains clean, with no red soldier icons representing the enemy appearing.

Almost half an hour later, just as he was directing the companies to disembark in an orderly manner and preparing to assign the next task.

The messenger from the platoon that had gone out to scout and guard the front came running back, panting, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Report to the battalion commander!"

Charleroi, Charleroi North Town

The messenger, supporting himself on his knees and panting heavily, managed to utter a complete sentence after a long while.

"It seems...it seems there isn't a single soldier in the city!"

Not a single soldier?

When Morin heard the news, his first reaction was not surprise, but a furrowed brow.

How could such a good thing happen in this world?
How could an important border city, a transportation hub connecting the Republic of Gaul, be left undefended?
No, this "empty city strategy" is way too obvious!

"you sure?"

Morin stared at the messenger and asked in a serious tone:
"How far did you scout? Did you spot any defensive fortifications?"

"Reporting, Battalion Commander! Our platoon leader led us all the way to the first street on the outskirts of town, and we didn't see a single soldier! There were only some civilians hiding in their homes!"

"There are fortifications, but they are very rudimentary, just barricades made of sandbags, with empty spaces behind them!"

After taking a large gulp of water from the water Morin handed him, the messenger added...

"We also found some abandoned ammunition boxes and supplies. It looked like they had retreated in a hurry, so the platoon leader quickly sent me back to report the situation."

The withdrawal was very rushed.
This scene looks so much like the city of Liege.

Could it be that news of the capture of Liège has already reached here, scaring away the garrison in Charleroi?
This possibility cannot be ruled out, but Morin still dares not let his guard down. Moreover, the intelligence provided by the system previously stated that a Liege fortress combat group of more than 1400 people had broken through to this side.

Morin opened the system map, zoomed in to the area of ​​Charleroi, and carefully scanned it back and forth.

Charleroi is divided into two cities, north and south, by the Samble River.

Besides its geographical location, the city's importance also lies in the bridges that span the river within its walls.

If the Ludendorf Battle Group, along with a large force from the Second Army, were to cross the river quickly from here, then controlling the bridges within the city would be of paramount importance.

Once the bridge is destroyed, the entire army will have to cross the river using the less efficient pontoon bridges, which will also slow down their advance.
Thinking of this, Morin immediately summoned Kleist and Manstein, instructing them to organize the parking of the follow-up convoy and the assembly of the troops.

Then, under Kleist's rather 'resentful' gaze, he led the 2nd Company, which had just disembarked and completed its assembly, and sped towards Charleroi.

The 2nd Company, composed of former Imperial Guard soldiers, was quite excited about this.

"It's finally our turn!"

Company Commander Wolf was overjoyed and, during the forced march, he strictly instructed the soldiers of the 2nd Company to make a good impression on Morin.

After all, it is a rare opportunity to operate alongside the battalion commander.

The company commanders of the four companies in the training assault battalion all regarded this operation, personally directed by Morin, as a kind of 'reward'.
Soon, the forward guard detachment of the 2nd Company met up with the platoon that was conducting reconnaissance. At this time, they were already guarding a main road in the northern part of Charleroi.

When Morin arrived with the 2nd Company, he indeed found that the North City was completely 'undefended'.

However, this did not make Morin feel that it was a good thing; on the contrary, it made him feel increasingly uneasy.

"The north city is undefended. Damn, are they planning to blow up the bridge and then hold out for the south city?!"

A sudden alarm bell rang in Morin's mind, and he immediately ordered the 2nd Company to advance towards the Sambur River.

After issuing the order, Morin sent back a messenger to inform Kleist to bring the main force of the training assault battalion to advance in this direction immediately.

Just then, gunfire suddenly erupted from the direction of the river.

(End of this chapter)