Chapter 610: The Power of the People
Charles was deliberately leveraging King Albert I's influence—specifically, harnessing the power of the masses.
There were two primary reasons for this decision:
Firstly, among the captured German supplies were vast quantities of German rifles and ammunition. After breaking through German lines earlier, the French forces had already seized over forty thousand rifles. With ongoing captures of German supply convoys and warehouses anticipated along their route, they would soon acquire even more weaponry.
These captured arms were unusable for the French forces. Although the Belgian First Special Reconnaissance Army could use some German ammunition, they didn't require these surplus rifles, nor could they realistically expend all of the ammunition themselves. So why not arm the local Belgian populace along their route?
Forty thousand rifles meant arming forty thousand civilian militia fighters. Regardless of gender, anyone capable of learning how to handle a weapon could fight.
Secondly, after such intense and prolonged combat, the quality of German troops had significantly declined. Their elite units had been committed to attacking Antwerp, leaving mostly inexperienced recruits to defend rear positions.
These German recruits' combat skills were now hardly superior to those of ordinary Belgian civilians, who—motivated by the urge to defend their homes—might even fight more fiercely. Under these circumstances, the civilian militias' impact could greatly surpass expectations.
Events quickly unfolded just as Charles envisioned.
Upon receiving his instructions, Albert immediately began organizing his troops. His forces followed behind the French army, systematically securing towns along the route to establish a stable supply line. At the same time, Albert distributed surplus German rifles to the local populations, rapidly forming militias.
More significantly, he dispatched cavalry units ahead of the advancing forces, riding quickly to inform every town and village leading up to Hasselt that liberation by Charles's forces was imminent. This allowed residents to prepare themselves adequately.
One factor that had slowed the French First Armored Division's advance was heavy snowfall. Accumulated snow on roads caused vehicles to repeatedly slip and become bogged down. Despite their status as a mechanized force, they sometimes moved barely faster than infantry.
Tanks fared slightly better thanks to their tracks, but even the "Charles A1" tanks, with their low chassis, constantly gathered snow at their fronts, requiring soldiers to repeatedly clear the way.
However, after around two o'clock in the afternoon, these difficulties started diminishing significantly.
Belgian citizens, informed that Charles's forces would soon pass through their towns, spontaneously mobilized to clear the snow. Everywhere, Charles's troops encountered local men, women, and even children eagerly shoveling snow, making the roads passable again.
As French troops passed through, the locals greeted them enthusiastically, waving and shouting encouragement in French:
"Greetings to you all! We salute you!"
"Thank you, friends from France!"
"You are our heroes! Give my regards to General Charles!"
Occasionally, Charles himself was among these passing troops, concealed within his armored reconnaissance vehicle, unnoticed by the cheering civilians. Charles preferred to remain unrecognized, as being openly identified would only draw unwanted attention—and potential danger.
At Louvain, inside the temporary headquarters of the German 21st Corps, General Nicholas and Colonel Erwin stood silently over a map. Staff officers around them bustled urgently, communicating by telephone and telegram to obtain accurate intelligence on Charles's movements.
After a long silence, Nicholas finally spoke, his voice heavy with concern. "Can we hold Hasselt?"
Colonel Erwin responded bluntly, shaking his head: "No, General, it's impossible."
Hasselt was defended by only two infantry regiments, units primarily assigned to policing and guarding supplies—hardly suitable to withstand Charles's elite First Armored Division.
Nicholas grimaced slightly, standing to point at the map. "Perhaps there's still a chance. We could send fighter aircraft to Hasselt. With numerical superiority, our fighters might secure air supremacy again. If we establish air dominance from Hasselt, we could delay until reinforcements arrive!"
Colonel Erwin looked defeated, shaking his head again. "There's no time, General. Charles's aircraft from Brussels and Namur will intercept us immediately. In roughly ten hours, his ground forces will reach Hasselt. Then we won't just face 'Camel' fighters but also his 'Charles A1' tanks."
Undeterred, Nicholas persisted, "We could reinforce Hasselt from two directions—Louvain and the Liège fortress, especially the latter. Two infantry divisions are stationed there."
"General," Erwin sighed heavily, "the Liège fortress troops cannot reinforce Hasselt—you know the reason."
Nicholas nodded slowly, understanding the point. The troops at Liège were primarily fortress defenders, trained specifically for defensive operations around their own stronghold. Sending them into open combat against Charles's offensive forces would be senseless, and would leave Liège vulnerable to a sudden attack by Charles himself.
Erwin added firmly, "We should order a withdrawal, General. Any delay risks our becoming another General Baird."
General Baird, captured after being surrounded at Ghent, had become a notorious example of failure for the German Army. Erwin never imagined facing such a grim scenario himself.
"Withdraw?" Nicholas stared incredulously at Erwin. "Do you realize how many of our forces are currently advancing deep into Belgium? They can't possibly return within ten hours—there's no escaping the encirclement!"
"I understand, General," Erwin admitted painfully, "but our only option now is to attempt breakouts in other directions while Charles focuses his attack on Hasselt."
Nicholas sank back heavily into his chair. Erwin's suggestion meant sacrificing all their tanks, and likely losing half their fighter aircraft as Charles's pilots waited patiently to ambush them. The German Army had carefully rebuilt and conserved these precious resources, only to see them evaporate instantly.
"General," noticing Nicholas's continued resistance, Erwin urged with greater emphasis, "we must now focus solely on saving as many men as possible. Hasselt is already lost. The only question is how many we can save."
After a long pause, Nicholas's gaze shifted to the map's northern border, to the Netherlands. Quietly, he suggested, "Perhaps we can save more by retreating through the Netherlands."
Erwin understood immediately, nodding slowly. It was a dangerous political maneuver, but a practical solution. The Netherlands, entirely surrounded by Germany, would have little choice but to comply. After all, neutrality had limited weight when confronting an overwhelming German presence.
(End of Chapter 610)
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