As they faced an attack from the German Air Force, the French General immediately realized the direness of the situation.
But by then, the arrow was on the string and had to be shot, the front-line troops had already been ordered to attack, and the idea of withdrawing safely from the enemy's onslaught was clearly a pipe dream.
Under the current circumstances, they could only sacrifice a portion of the troops at the very front, trying to preserve those in the rear to avoid excessive casualties.
Since the enemy had already made defensive preparations in Namur ahead of time, it also meant that the German Army was clearly aware of their own movements.
The French General had a headache; he didn't understand whether it was the detachment sent to Charleroi that had revealed its movements or if it was the main force that had inadvertently exposed their tracks.
