Volume 1: Development and Growth is the Truth Chapter 32: It's Only Just Begun
"Oh God, are we still on the offensive?"
After the super-large-scale artillery bombardment, German soldiers almost strolled towards the French army's position. The French army's position, which had been plowed through by hundreds of millions of shells like raindrops, could no longer see the trenches that were densely packed and interconnected with barbed wire, and the large and small firepower points that were scattered all over the place. Now the entire position was like it had been blown by a super-hurricane for several hours, with various types of weapon parts scattered everywhere, burning wooden stakes, and pieces of corpse residue, with large and small shell craters scattered all over the place, and if you weren't careful, you would step on a piece of charred human flesh.
Karl and the others were veterans who had been through countless battles, unlike others who went to see God too early, but lived until today, which also proved that their military quality was absolutely excellent. Facing a piece of ruins of human hell, they still did not put down the vigilance in their hearts, their eyes were as sharp as hawks, checking the front, and the rifles in their hands could shoot out fatal bullets at any time.
Along the way, hundreds of thousands of people in six divisions were divided into three waves and lined up in parallel lines, slowly advancing deep into the French military position. Karl and others must have been among the first wave, with orders to "not let go of any living soul". So even if it was a corpse that had been blown to pieces, they still needed to add another knife and stir vigorously before continuing on their way. Slowly crawling up the small slope, the trees that originally stood upright on the slope had long since become wooden stakes, emitting white smoke. And all over the slope were fortifications that had been blown away and scattered everywhere, half-bags of sand, segments of barbed wire, half-steel helmets, charred palms, half-pulled thighs, etc.
As soon as I walked up the small ridge, the person in front shouted: "Watch out for shrapnel!" Looking around, there was no one on the entire first line of defense, and large and small shrapnel were reflecting dazzling golden light under the sunlight. Underfoot, there might be a sharp fragment waiting to kiss my flesh at any moment. However, being stabbed or cut on the battlefield, with poor environment and insufficient disinfectant, it can almost be declared that one's combat effectiveness is lost, even sacrificing the country.
Six crack German infantry divisions advanced in waves from a 10-kilometer-wide front line, expecting to engage the French army in a fierce battle, but instead they strolled into the first line of defense with ease, met with an eerie silence.
Very soon, the first wave of troops stayed behind to sweep the first line of defense. They slowly cleared away the shrapnel and then redeployed the defensive lines. The trenches that had been blown out of shape were slowly restored, while the French army's large firepower points that had been destroyed began to be transformed by the German army into treasures, using sandbags to set up machine gun positions. The artillerymen also made preparations, ready at any time to provide support for the main force that had already advanced to the second line of defense.
The troops advancing to the second line of defense were slower than before, and the French army's position was divided into four lines. Many shells fell in the middle part of the fourth line of defense, especially the second line of defense with more complete defensive fortifications, which suffered even more severe shelling than the first line of defense. Fortunately, many underground concrete shelters were built inside the second line of defense, and many soldiers hid inside at that time, even if they were stunned and passed out, they recovered by now. However, as soon as they regained consciousness and crawled out of the destroyed entrance, they faced a dense mass of German troops.
Without waiting for an order to open fire, the machine gunners, who had stopped at every section of the route and were ready to shoot, now fully demonstrated the advantages of universal machine gun firepower. The French soldiers who crawled out of the broken holes almost didn't have time to raise their guns, aim or find cover before being pierced by bullets flying from all directions. Under the cover of the machine guns, German soldiers immediately began to encircle and surround the holes, and after completing the encirclement, hand grenades flew in, and the intense explosions and fierce bombardment quickly killed all the French soldiers who had crawled out of the holes, while those inside didn't dare come out at all.
A moment's hesitation on the battlefield meant the loss of the initiative, and the German soldiers who seized this opportunity fully demonstrated their excellent tactical skills, quickly surrounding the entrance to the cave while flamethrower troops armed with the latest model followed up, waiting for an opportunity in the shooting blind spot of the French soldiers hiding inside the cave.
After a larger wave of hand grenades and machine gun bullets swept through the already badly damaged entrance, the French soldiers' firepower was greatly reduced. The flamethrower immediately sprayed a long flame at the entrance under the cover of two infantrymen. The "puff... whoosh" sound accompanied the ejection of mixed combustible materials and intense combustion, and the damaged entrance instantly became a sea of fire. After the flamethrower finished firing for the first time, it advanced several steps forward and started spraying fire again at a closer distance from the entrance.
While the soldiers behind and scattered around had already made shooting preparations, after the flamethrower's performance ended, one by one, the burning men crawled out of the cave, rolling to put out the flames on their bodies, but what relieved them from pain faster were the German soldiers' Mauser rifles.
One by one, the hidden bunkers and anti-tank ditches were being cleared out, but the French army, with its vast scope and numerous troops, still managed to withstand the dense firepower of the German army's attack. Moreover, the remaining French soldiers on the third line of defense, who had not yet had time to retreat, began to rush towards this side under the organization of low-ranking officers. At a critical moment, the artillery forward observer correctly guided the large-scale firepower coverage of the reserve artillery in the rear, and some of those executing the task of suppressing French artillery were temporarily withdrawn to provide firepower support for the infantry. As a result, some French soldiers who shouted and stumbled forward with rifles towards the German army were quickly covered by dense artillery fire, and before they even saw the enemy's face, they were blown up into pieces.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the three divisions guarding the first line of defense quickly left behind the necessary defensive forces and charged towards the second line of defense. They wanted to concentrate their superior forces to solve the remaining French army on the second line of defense at the fastest speed. The German army, which originally had an absolute advantage in numbers, added more power, and the French soldiers on the second line of defense soon tasted the bitter taste of a bloody battle.
"Kill!!"
The troops that took part in the first wave of attacks were among the best-prepared German forces, with a high proportion of seasoned soldiers, over 70% of whom had been blooded in previous battles. The ferocity and savagery of these troops was further fueled by their numerical superiority, which led them to abandon shooting and charge forward with fixed bayonets, quickly becoming entangled with the French defenders who were fighting desperately. For the French soldiers, a brutal hand-to-hand combat had suddenly begun.
The German army, with its numerical superiority, almost surrounded the remaining French troops on the second line of defense, and the scattered French troops soon became isolated islands in a turbulent sea. The roaring German soldiers were almost three to one, and soon the bayonets no longer shone with a cold light, but were stained with bright red bloodstains. Of course, some French soldiers soon chose to abandon their weapons and raise their hands high.
Before the German army could transfer the prisoners and prepare for an attack on the third line of defense, the French army, like a cockroach that couldn't be killed by explosives, still charged out of the smoke-filled artillery fire, in groups of three to five, towards the German army. At the critical moment, the machine gunners who had not participated in the close combat quickly turned their muzzles around and relied on the large and small craters scattered all over the place, and more machine gunners were able to set up their temporary positions.
Before long, the artillery fire that had been intensively bombarding the third line of defense slowly came to a stop. The cold wind blowing continuously soon carried away the smoke on the battlefield, and more French troops were seen emerging from the hiding caves in the fourth and third lines of defense, gathering together and rushing towards the German army.
"Attack is the best defense!" For the German army that had just occupied the second line of defense, there was no time to set up a defensive position at this moment. Even if a machine gun and a mortar were already in place, they could not withstand the continuous and prolonged impact of the French army.
"Defend Verdun, defend France!" The junior officers of the French army stood on high ground, shouting at the top of their lungs. Their cries gave the soldiers even more courage, at this critical moment when neither side had a complete defensive position, only each other's bayonets and strong bodies to rely on, only tenacious fighting spirit and conviction could be relied upon.
The two sides' fierce battle quickly became like two mad wild bulls, colliding and inflicting casualties on each other. The non-automatic rifles fired one shot at a time, requiring the bolt to be pulled back, which was extremely time-consuming. Therefore, without exception, soldiers from both sides chose to charge after firing their bullets, with bayonet-equipped rifles becoming the only effective weapon in close combat, especially the large buttstock, which could knock someone out or break bones if hit.
Bayonet thrusts, stirring, big withdrawals, grid blocking, forcing bayonet thrusts, waves of knife stabs into the belly with a "puff" sound kept rising on the long battle line. The German army, which had an advantage in numbers, quickly gained the upper hand, and the front line of the battle slowly moved towards the third defensive line of the French army. The French officers soon realized that such tactics were like delivering food, and fewer and fewer infantrymen flew to the German army with an advantage in numbers, while more people chose to stay on the third defensive line with geographical advantages, aiming at the German army and shooting slowly.
The German artillery quickly regained its composure, and the slightly cooled-down cannons were again engaged in frantic firing. The large number of French troops who chose to stay on the third line of defense soon became individual targets, and the shells that fell from the sky immediately told them how painful it was to be shelled without cover. The third line of defense, which had been cleared many times, had no hiding places except for shell craters and small trenches, and they were also very fortunate to be on top of a small hill, which was simply the best time for the densely falling shells to play their role.
The German troops quickly shortened the distance of their attack during the artillery strike, and when the dense cannonade gradually subsided, they were already close to the undulating hills. Soon, under the cover of machine guns, they launched an offensive, with soldiers armed with Mauser rifles rushing to seize the brief gap in French firepower at a speed almost like a 100-meter dash.
Bang bang bang.
The French army first opened fire with a general-purpose machine gun, and these people who were originally hiding in the pit became the strongest force on the third line of defense. The continuous firepower of the general-purpose machine gun, combined with their geographical advantage of being high and low, quickly harvested the lives of the German army like cutting wheat.
Soon, the heavy machine guns on those fixed positions also opened fire. The firepower of ZJQ-1 was already very good, and with the French army's reluctance to abandon the Maxim heavy machine gun, they quickly formed a firewall, while the mortar shells that continued to fall into the German army also played a corresponding role.
Of course, as a cover for the assault troops, machine guns are not vegetarian, although they face enemies with a bit of geographical height, but the elevation ability of universal machine guns supported by triangular brackets is also impressive, especially short and rapid bursts of fire and swift long bursts. The firepower points on the French army's position were extremely threatening, and the most favored ones were the machine gun firepower points. The capable German artillerymen did not let the infantry fight alone.
