The 13th Belgian Infantry Division, a standard second-rate Belgian infantry division.
As the reserve infantry division of the Belgian Army, also known as the reserve infantry division, the Belgian 13th Infantry Division is relatively complete. The 13th Division has the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th Infantry Regiments, as well as a 75
The 21st Artillery Regiment of millimeter-caliber field artillery. In addition, the 13th Bicycle Reconnaissance Battalion directly under the division was separated from the division by the Belgian High Command and used to guide the British and French Allied Forces into Belgium.
It can be said that the remaining troops still have a certain degree of combat effectiveness in terms of organization and equipment.
It is precisely because of this that this second-rate division, when the Belgian Army lost all its first-rate divisions, suddenly turned into a phoenix and became one of the few units in the Belgian military that could still be used.
Leading the last quintessence of the country's military force, this should be an important task that makes people's blood flow and is assigned in critical situations.
However, the commander of the 13th Infantry Division, Belgian Major General Lukaku, was not at all excited about his current position.
Yes, the Belgian 13th Infantry Division in his hands is enough to make him, the division commander, a leading general of the Belgian Army today. Looking at the remaining defeated soldiers of less than 100,000 soldiers in Belgium, it is impossible to form an organic system like the 13th Infantry Division.
There are not many troops left.
In addition to the engineer regiment directly under the Belgian High Command, the transportation regiment and the medical regiment directly under the Belgian High Command, there are only some battalion and company level troops left.
Standing infantry divisions such as the 5th, 10th and 14th have long been wiped out at the border. Like the 3rd Infantry Division, the 17th Infantry Division and the 2nd Ardennes Chasseur Division, which are also reserve infantry divisions,
Now it has been defeated by successive German offensives.
Only the 13th Infantry Division of Major General Lukaku has formed an organic structure and is of considerable size!
"Division commander, an order came from the coalition command, requiring us to move east as soon as possible to respond to the retreating 3rd Division of the British Expeditionary Force commanded by Major General Montgomery." The lieutenant colonel's staff handed over a telegram.
The content of the telegram can be summed up in one sentence: the British Expeditionary Force was about to retreat, so the coalition command decided to use the last Belgian division-level troops to cover the rear and serve as cannon fodder.
The decision of the coalition command may make sense in terms of the overall situation. After all, they are using the 13th Division, which is still second-rate in the Belgian Army, in exchange for the safety of the main 3rd Division, which is ranked high in the British Expeditionary Force.
Retreating. Sacrifice the weak troops and surrender the strong troops. This is a reasonable choice for the coalition command.
However, this is not the best choice for the Belgians. For this country's army, they can no longer afford to lose the last well-organized division. This is the last foundation left for the Belgian Army!
"The coalition command is trying to squeeze out the last bit of use value of the Belgian Army..." Lukaku said leisurely.
Seeing that the division commander seemed to have some objections, the lieutenant colonel's staff officer who handed over the telegram reminded: "Division commander, this is an order from the coalition command, and we have no right to refuse."
In order to obtain France as a major backer, the Belgian government has completely handed over the guidance of the army to the coalition command in Paris. The Belgian government hopes that in this way, it can obtain returns from the entry support of the French army.
Of course, if the French so wish, the Belgian government will certainly not mind handing over the full power of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to the French backers. However, their air force fighter planes are all backward and outdated waste, and their navy does not even have a destroyer.
There were no small boats, and the French high command looked down upon them at all.
The only thing worth mentioning is Belgium's 220,000 army troops. This is a truly impressive force!
And if Belgium falls, the command of the Belgian Army handed over to France will be meaningless. After all, the Belgian army will not leave its country undefended and go to the French border to be cannon fodder. Even if it is used as cannon fodder, they will only
will be fooled in their own land.
Therefore, the French high command, understanding this, followed the wishes of the Belgian government and formulated the "Plan D" for the British and French coalition forces to enter Belgium to support Belgium.
But now, even though all the main forces of the coalition forces have arrived in Belgium, they are still beaten to a pulp by the German army. This is something that the Belgian government and the Belgian high command never thought of before.
"Allied Forces High Command?" Lukaku snorted coldly: "At this time, do we still need to obey the Allied Forces High Command?"
"Commander, you mean..." The lieutenant colonel looked at Lukaku in disbelief.
On the side, Lucas's adjutant and several combat staff officers with good ears also approached inadvertently.
Looking around, seeing more and more people approaching, Lukaku did not hide anything, and spoke bluntly with a louder voice: "The French people in the coalition command are already unable to protect themselves. All they are thinking about now is
They used us as scapegoats to block the German troops so that they and the British troops could escape further."
"The coalition forces have no plan to counterattack. They will not save us, so there is no need for us to count on the coalition forces." Lukaku said with a serious look: "Now if we bring our division to the front line and cannot defeat it, what can we do?
The benefit? So that the British and French can run further, slip out of our front, and then leave the Belgian army without any resistance at all, to be easily wiped out by the German army?!"
Now is the time when the Allied Forces were defeated. Ever since the German 3rd Army Group appeared in the Ardennes Mountains, the failure of the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces has become inevitable.
Everyone can see that the Allied Forces Command is helpless, and everyone knows that the German army has surrounded all the forces that the Allied Forces can use. Today's Allied Forces cannot even provide troops to relieve the siege, let alone have a chance of victory.
Although they are both in the encirclement, Lukaku's 13th Division is still relatively far inside and will be out of contact with the German vanguard for a while, so it is temporarily safe.
But now if it is sent up to fight the Germans face to face, it is estimated that this last Belgian division-level unit will be scrapped soon. By then, the troops that the Belgian high command can command will only be some battalion-level troops, companies, etc.
You can't even squeeze the gap between the teeth of the German army.
Although the combat effectiveness of the 13th Division is not high, it can be regarded as an integrated division after all. In such a large-scale war, it can still play a starting role. If it fights in battalions and regiments, the Belgian army will really not be able to do so.
It has no effect.
"Our division must not be left here meaninglessly," Lukaku said loudly: "As the last division-level force in Belgium, we must first ensure our existence. As long as we still exist, the Belgian Army
We still have a force that can be valued by the coalition command. And once we are eliminated, the coalition command will completely abandon Belgium, which has no use value!"
