by 23:00, cheveuges was in the hands of the xix army corps' advancing infantry formations. on their right flank, 2nd panzer's "kraftradschützen" and recon detachment had also crossed the meuse. the german aerial bombardment in the specific sector of the meuse crossing was some of the most intense ever witnessed. hermann balck, the later german general, at the time still in the rank of oberstleutnant and commander of rifle regiment 1 in 1st panzer division, also offered the opinion that low quality french artillery divisions that were poorly camouflaged further aided the german aerial attacks. balck also laid claim in an interview on 13 april 1979 to some personal responsibility for the ease of the german victory, as according to his interpretation, his previous river crossing training exercises with rifle regiment 1 over the moselle river near koblenz were decisive in enabling rifle regiment 1 to fulfill their amphibious task. balck would also claim that it was his idea after the battle of sedan to mix armored and infantry units into mixed battle groups.