I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 73 National Fortress

Shire had always thought that the airplane was flying within the clouds, although he had noticed that the scent in the clouds was somewhat unusual.

Soon, the pilot lowered the altitude and pierced through the heavy fog, suddenly the fire from exploding shells seemed to appear right below, and the sound even shook the wings a bit. Only then did Shire realize that the "clouds" were actually smoke, the smoke from artillery shells.

"Look!" the pilot exclaimed excitedly, "We are here, ahead is Antwerp!"

Shire wanted to see what Antwerp looked like from the air, but he was disappointed. Below, besides the occasional flicker of firelight, nothing could be seen. The smoke and ash filled the sky, blocking out even the slightest bit of light. Though it was morning, it seemed more like nighttime.

The plane continued to lower its altitude, which made Shire worry that the whistling shells passing below might hit them. Nearby, there were even visible lines drawn by the shells.

A few minutes later, the sound of gunfire gradually faded into the distance, the sky grew a bit brighter, with only a few sporadic shells exploding ahead.

Looking back, it was obvious that the rear was enveloped in smoke, and he could vaguely see several huge spherical balloons.

It seemed they had just flown through a war zone and were now entering the center of Antwerp Fortress, Shire thought.

As the airplane flew over Antwerp Airport, it circled the airport twice until soldiers below waved signal flags granting permission to land. The pilot then lowered the altitude and smoothly parked the airplane on the runway.

"How was it?" After jumping off the plane, the pilot boasted to Shire, "I told you, we would reach our destination successfully!"

He pulled a flask from his pocket and, tilting his head back, gulped down several mouthfuls in celebration.

"Hey!" A Belgian officer walked over, wearing a flat-topped felt hat, a dark blue overcoat with two rows of brass buttons, a pistol strapped to his waist, and stars on his collar indicating he was a major.

Still about ten meters away, the major rudely shouted at Shire, "French, are you here to reinforce us?"

The surrounding laughter made Shire realize the question was a taunt, so he did not respond.

Shire instructed the pilot briefly and then stepped forward to salute, pulling out his officer identification from his pocket and handing it over, saying, "Major, I am here to investigate the situation."

The major glanced at the officer identification and returned it to Shire with a disdainful expression, spitting to the side and mocking, "Well, you finally remembered us!"

The surrounding laughter broke out again.

This left Shire puzzled, for as far as he knew, Belgium had maintained good relations with France. Now it seemed otherwise.

...

Antwerp Fortress is not a traditional European fort or stronghold; it is a circular fortress group consisting of two defensive lines with a total of 29 highly fortified strongholds - 21 in the first line and 8 in the second, separated by distances ranging from 2 to 4 kilometers each, complemented by rivers and mountains to protect Antwerp City in the center.

Though Antwerp Fortress is not as famous as Liege Fortress, its strategic position is the highest. While the Liege Fortress serves to block the German Army’s invasion, Antwerp Fortress is Belgium’s last "fortress," hence it is also called the "National Fortress."

The fortress command was in chaos, as urgent calls and requests for reinforcements from the front lines came in one after another, each more urgent than the last. General Gis, the commander of the fortress, was at a loss.

Finally, General Gis ordered the communications officers to stop bringing the information to him, letting the staff handle it themselves.

"It won’t make any difference anyway!" General Gis said helplessly as he preferred to sit in his chair and daydream for a while.

Before the war broke out, General Gis made a fatal error by ordering the garrison troops to clear and burn all the bushes and trees around the fortress.

In his mind, he envisioned a battle scene where German soldiers, with bayonets fixed on their rifles, charged towards the fortress in dense formation.

To allow the fortress’s machine guns and cannons to better eliminate these enemies, naturally, those hiding spots like trees and bushes had to be removed.

However, in reality...

The Germans leisurely deployed balloons into the air, and observers in the balloons directed heavy artillery from tens of kilometers away, leisurely bombarding the fortress.

With the trees and bushes cleared, the fortress was fully exposed under the observation of the balloons.

More importantly, the German heavy artillery had a maximum range of 14 kilometers, much greater than the fortress’s 200mm artillery, which had a range of only 10 kilometers.

Thus, General Gis and all the garrison troops could only watch as the Germans destroyed fortresses one by one, day after day, with no countermeasures.

General Gis felt a bit guilty, as he was indeed responsible for all this.

However, he comforted himself with the thought that anyone else in command might have made the same error. Who could foresee such a situation?

As he closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands in distress, a communications officer cautiously approached him to report, "General, we have received a French staff officer who is here to investigate the fortress situation. Would you like to see him..."

General Gis lifted his head as if pricked by a needle, his eyes igniting with hope, "From France? Bring him here, quickly!"

Normally, a French staff officer would not likely meet General Gis.

But now, in times of war, General Gis had pinned Antwerp’s hopes on reinforcements from France and England, and he was eager to know France’s stance.

However, when General Gis saw the French staff officer, he was greatly disappointed. He was only a lieutenant, looking more like a child.

"Is there no one else?" General Gis eyed the staff officer incredulously.

It was less than a month since the war had begun, had France exhausted its forces already? They sent a child to the fortress for investigation and negotiation?

Shire did not quite understand General Gis’s meaning, he could only respond based on the literal words, "Of course there are, General! But they are busy pursuing the Germans, they are achieving victory!"

General Gis’s expression softened slightly, this was good news. If France was achieving victory, they might reach here and help Belgium drive out the Germans.

With that thought, General Gis stood up politely to shake Shire’s hand, "Welcome, Lieutenant!"

After sitting down, General Gis directly asked, "So, once you confirm the details of the fortress, will reinforcements be sent?"

Shire answered hesitantly, "I cannot answer that question, General! It is beyond my duty!"

General Gis glanced at Shire’s sleeve insignia and nodded, "Oh, of course!"

His eyes showed some despair, seemingly losing hope.