Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 72 Goodbye to Heilingen

The Imperial Army did not stay in Belfort long.

Although the several infantry regiments that surged forward like a tide broke through the Farlan defense line in a very short time, the artillery regiment's almost venting bombardment made the imperial soldiers find that they did not have the conditions to garrison Belfort immediately after entering Belfort.

Less than 20% of the buildings remained intact, and all the rest were more or less completely destroyed. The fire was so serious that it almost dyed half the sky red.

It was almost morning when Brian learned about the two railways in Belfort.

Unfortunately, the current Seventh Army is just like the Fallanian First Army. Half of its troops have been withdrawn due to problems on the main front, which directly led to the remaining troops being unable to successfully seize Belfort from the enemy.

To be precise, it’s not that they can’t take Belfort away.

But they couldn't hold on.

Ryan was naturally well aware of this news.

He hadn't expected to defeat Belfort from the beginning.

There are two main purposes for the operation to seize the headquarters.

The first reason was that Ryan did not want to face the Farnian divisions with the few troops he had, especially when these troops began to try to launch an offensive along the Vosges Mountains.

The second reason was that he was not ready to let the Farlans realize the importance of camouflage so early.

As a result, both tasks were completed fairly well.

The only problem lies in the subsequent report.

Strasbourg, Alsace, three days after the fall of Belfort.

The cathedral is still the favorite headquarters base of the Imperial Army so far. Although the real headquarters are actually in some places with underground fortifications, the view here is better.

As soon as Ryan got off the car, he greeted several colonels he had met a few days ago. After learning that General Hellingen had "questioned" many officers from the seventh episode, he took a whole package of reports that had been prepared long ago from Brinkmann and walked towards the courtyard outside the church.

Before entering the door, Ryan saw two anti-aircraft guns placed on the road outside the villa, with the muzzles pointing high into the sky.

The crew members in charge of the operation were scattered around, sitting on wooden boxes and sandbags, either drinking water or fanning themselves with books and boards.

The military jacket he took off was casually hung on a barricade nearby, and watermarks could be seen all over his back.

The officer next to him was sitting leisurely on a chair at the door of the sentry box, reading a novel of unknown origin in his hand, and occasionally making a few marks on it with a pen.

"Has the training just ended?" Ryan glanced at General Hellingen's "office building" and found that there were still a few people standing at the door. He first went up to the soldiers of the anti-aircraft artillery team, put his briefcase on the ground, and prepared to take out a cigarette.

"That's not the case!"

A corporal spoke hoarsely, pointing southwest to several balloons hanging outside the city. "We're going to have an air defense drill later. Do you see those things? We'll have to shoot at them all afternoon!"

"Won't the general find you noisy?"

Ryan looked curiously at the three-story brick building in the courtyard. The distance between the two sides was at most more than 100 meters, so the sound of artillery fire must have been enough to cover it.

He knocked out a few cigarettes and handed them to each soldier, and then symbolically handed them to the squad leader of the artillery squad, a second lieutenant.

"Thank you, Captain."

The artillery squad leader nodded, took out his lighter tactfully, and lit Ryan's cigarette first, and then his own.

He took a shallow puff, his eyes closed, as if savoring the flavor, but then he immediately stubbed out the cigarette and placed it on the crack of a sandbag beside him, with an embarrassed expression: "The general doesn't like to see us smoking outside, even if there are no shells."

"Hey, look at my brain."

Ryan then remembered that he was next to the anti-aircraft gun and tried to put out the cigarette, but saw the soldiers waving their hands.

"No need. He doesn't like to see us smoking. Outsiders can do whatever they want."

"That's really uncomfortable." Ryan put out his cigarette and looked at the soldiers: "How long have you been here? I didn't see you when I came here before."

"Three days." The lieutenant's words were unclear: "Today is the fourth day." "Then there's no need to put it here?"

Ryan still felt a little strange.

Strasbourg was not on the front line at all, and there was obviously something wrong with having two anti-aircraft guns outside the headquarters.

The artillerymen had the same idea.

But how can they ask questions?
I could only sit there, enduring the temperature of over 30 degrees, and waiting for the afternoon to come.

Seeing this, Ryan was not prepared to bother them any more.

The longer he stayed here, the longer these soldiers would have to wait to be questioned by General Hellingen's adjutant.

He wouldn't go so far as to affect others just to satisfy his curiosity.

Without saying anything more, Ryan turned and walked towards the building not far away.

All the officers queuing at the door had disappeared, leaving only a female secretary wearing a white shirt with black polka dots and a long skirt, holding a note and looking around.

"Are you looking for someone?" Ryan walked forward.

The secretary held the note and said, "Captain Flig, he should be here by now."

"Then you don't need to look for me," Ryan took off his hat, "I am here."

"Oh, look at my eyes." The woman quickly opened the door for Ryan, walked into the hall in high heels, and pointed in the direction of Ryan: "The general is waiting for you in the innermost room."

Ryan simply thanked him and walked towards the room the other party mentioned with his briefcase.

He knocked on the door three times and waited for a few seconds before speaking: "Ryan Flig, reporting in!"

"Please come in."

Hellingen's voice came from inside.

Ryan immediately pushed the door open and found General Schubert was also in the office.

"Your Excellency General Schubert." He nodded to the other party and looked at Hellingen.

Hellingen didn't say anything at first. He just gestured to Ryan to sit down, wrote a few more things on the paper, and then lowered his head and said, "I heard about your story, Captain."

"You really did something wrong about Belfort."

Hellingen said this, but there was no hint of blame in his tone: "But the circumstances are special, and Brigadier General Brian has also endorsed your actions, so let's just leave it at that."

"Didn't the prisoner confess anything?" Ryan's heart tightened. He looked at Heilingen, but felt that he shouldn't mention this at this time.

Then Ryan heard Hellingen angrily curse:
"That idiot from Farlan is obsessed with attacking. He can't even remember how many of his legions were withdrawn. What the hell can he get out of this?"

After cursing, Helingen's tone softened a lot.

He said:

"The other generals have explained everything clearly, but we are currently unable to threaten the Farlan defenses. The main force in the north has diverted too many troops, and it's already difficult for us to hold the current front."

As he said this, he took out a document from the drawer and placed it in front of Ryan.

Ryan took a look and found that it was the paper he had written for Schubert.

What does this old man want to do?
He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Then Ryan heard Hellingen's voice.

"Let's talk about this motorized unit you mentioned."

(End of this chapter)