I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 973 Liège Fortress
The Liege fortress was indeed impregnable, but these fortresses were usually built on high ground at an altitude of 100 to 200 meters, providing a commanding view of the plains below.

The advantage of this design is that it can expand the defenders' field of vision and increase the range of artillery fire, allowing the fortress's firepower to play its maximum role.

However, its drawbacks are also obvious: the fortress has many blind spots in its firepower, making it powerless against enemies who have already stormed the high ground and are surrounding the fortress.

(The image above is a plan of the Liege fortress, with 12 fortresses forming a ring. The "Lonsin" in the red circle is the same as the "Lonsinburg" mentioned earlier.)
……

When formulating the battle plan, Christine did not consider this a weakness of the fortress.

“What you say is true, General,” Christine said.
"But our soldiers have to break through their barrage of fire to get close to those high grounds."

"And according to the Germans' firepower configuration, I mean each fortress had more than two hundred cannons and countless machine guns."

“It would be almost impossible for our soldiers to reach their fortress alive.”

This is also what Albert I wanted to say: the blind spots in the fortress's firepower are an open secret, and as the King of Belgium, he certainly knew it.

However, if the enemy were to break through the crossfire network of several fortresses consisting of long-range artillery, medium-range artillery, short-range artillery, and machine guns, there would be barbed wire, roadblocks, and landmines in between.

I fear that even suffering several casualties on the Somme would prevent them from getting close.

Therefore, the "weakness of the fortress" that Charles mentioned does not actually exist.

“We don’t necessarily have to break through the firing zone to get closer,” Charles said. “Have you forgotten that we have paratroopers? They can airdrop directly near the target fortress, or even on top of it.”

(The image above shows a section of the Liege Fortress, whose flat top is large enough for a person to stand on. During World War II, German paratroopers used directional parachutes to land on the top of the fortress during their attack on the Eben-Emmel Fortress, and then used close-range explosives to capture the fortress.)
"Parachutes?" Christine asked doubtfully. "They can land on top of the fortress? I thought they couldn't control their landing point."

Christine had studied the Charles airborne assault on Saarbrücken and even considered developing such air-dropped troops within the 6th Army, so he knew some of the details of parachutes.

“Most are uncontrollable,” Charles replied. “But some modified parachutes can.”

That was a directional parachute developed by Charles in advance, which could control the flight trajectory in the air.

This delighted Christine and Albert I.

“I knew the lieutenant general would have a way.” Albert I nodded with satisfaction. “If we can parachute directly to the vicinity of the fortress, there won’t be any problems. We might even be able to capture the fortress completely.”

But Christine, after a moment's thought, objected:
"This may still not be enough."

"The fortress's firepower can cover each other, General, they are spaced 3 to 5 kilometers apart."

"For example, if we attack 'Lonsingburg,' the 'Ologne' and 'Landing' forts on either side can bombard 'Lonsingburg' with artillery fire."

Albert I's smile faltered; this was indeed a problem.

The German firepower and personnel were hidden inside the fortress, protected by 3-meter-thick reinforced concrete, which could theoretically withstand bombardment from 210mm caliber artillery.

Therefore, by employing this "self-destruction" tactic, the Germans could inflict heavy losses on paratroopers attacking the fortress at close range, and then eliminate them.

Charles was prepared for this, and he calmly countered, "What if the fortresses on both sides are also in dire need of defense?"

……

Liege Fortress.

White parachutes began to fall from the sky, one after another, fluttering like sycamore fluff. Major General Friedrich didn't hesitate; he put away his binoculars and ordered the communications officer beside him, "Bring the 3rd Infantry Regiment here, immediately!"

An infantry division was stationed in Liège, and their main tasks were to maintain order and ensure the supply of the fortresses.

Although these troops were of questionable combat quality, Major General Friedrich believed that it was time to use them.

French paratroopers will put the fortress at a disadvantage.

After thinking for a moment, he added the order: "Contact fortresses 12 and 2 and have them prepare for fire support!"

"Yes, sir!" The communications soldier relayed the orders one by one.

However, before the order was delivered, Major General Friedrich was surprised to find that Forts No. 12 and No. 2, located on both sides, were under attack by the French army.

One after another, planes swooped down from the sky at high speed with a piercing shriek, then suddenly began to climb just before they were about to crash into the fortress.

At the same time, an explosion was heard, and thick smoke and flames shot into the air.

Then another plane dropped bombs, and they even formed a circle, rolling in the air like wheels as they alternately dove and dropped bombs.

(Note: This is a bombing tactic used by the German army during World War II. Although dive bombers were already quite accurate, a 30-meter error still made it difficult to hit the target. The Germans used formation bombers to drop bombs in a cyclical manner, and the bombers behind could make minor adjustments based on the flight paths of friendly aircraft ahead and the offset of the bombing point to further improve the hit rate.)
Just as Major General Friedrich was marveling at how France could develop such a formidable bomber, the Chief of Staff rushed to him in a panic and reported:

"General, Fortresses 12 and 2 are calling for help. Enemy bombers are dropping bombs that can penetrate the fortresses."

"They have suffered varying degrees of damage."

"One of the turrets in Fort No. 2 has been destroyed, the tunnel has collapsed, and casualties are heavy."

Major General Friedrich was dumbfounded.

How could French bombers penetrate 3 meters of reinforced concrete on the top of a fortress?

……

There was an element of luck involved.

Charles conducted tests showing that a bomber diving at high speed with a 500-kilogram armor-piercing explosive bomb mounted under its fuselage could barely penetrate 3 meters of reinforced concrete.

The reason why the Liege fortress could be damaged at the start of the war was that the fortress had been bombarded several times by German artillery of various calibers during the German attack in 1914, and some of them were replaced after being destroyed by the "Big Bertha".

Its overall structure could not reach the strength of 3 meters of concrete, which is why it was able to achieve unexpected results.

But this terrified the German army.

What they were thinking was:

If French bombers could so easily penetrate the top 3-meter-thick concrete layer, wouldn't it be enough to just bomb the fortresses one by one?

In other words, given enough time and enough bombs, French bombers could raze all the fortresses one after another.

Thus, the same predicament that the Belgian army faced was now being experienced by the German army, who seemed to have no choice but to wait for their demise.

The only difference was that Belgium's opponent was the "Big Bertha" heavy artillery, while the Germans' opponent was "dive bombers" from the air!
(End of this chapter)