Chapter Thirty-Four: Bloodbath at Verdun

  PS: Today's double update, one more to come, seeking everyone's support and encouragement, thank you all for watching.

  "My dearest parents, my beautiful girl. Yesterday's gunfire took away my infinite longing for you, leaving only repeated homesickness to make me wander alone in melancholy. The thunderous cannon fire is deafening, the rolling smoke has a pungent smell that makes one dare not savor it, the flying shrapnel takes away precious lives without warning, and the rain of bullets baptizes many souls. We are crawling and struggling in the bloody storm, we are rushing to and fro under the scythe of death."

  One by one, brothers are drifting away, one by one, dreams are lost in a foreign land. A drop of hot blood wets the hot earth, and a faint sunset takes away the light of years. When can I see my beautiful and gentle girl again? When can I return to my rich and peaceful hometown? Looking at the white clouds floating endlessly in the sky, do they hide boundless hope within?

  The wet and bloody battlefield can no longer distinguish between hot blood and icy rain, the desolate trenches are crisscrossed, large and small shell craters and abandoned fortresses are scattered among them, on the crooked wooden stakes there is only a little steel wire emitting a deadly cold light, the half-body corpse is humming the final song of life.

  "Water, I need water!" The soldier's lips were cracked and could hold a razor blade, dragging his exhausted body everywhere, surrounded by corpses and blood plasma. The warrior who had been fighting all day had no joy of being alive in his heart, only a greater longing for life. The dryness in his throat, the burning in his lungs, the warrior hoped to find some water on that corpse, even just a little bit, speaking unclearly he could only convey his inner desire with a low hum, without any other thoughts.

  A crisp gunshot rang out, and the soldier searching for water of life had an extra bullet in his body. The canteen that was finally found fell to the ground with a gurgling sound as the lifeless body slumped down, and the drinking water flowed continuously from the mouth of the bottle, gradually mixing with the fresh blood flowing out of a certain hole in the body. The icy coldness of the water mixed with the scorching heat of the blood, gradually becoming another desolate scene on this land, another desolate battlefield.

  "I always thought this was a beautiful place. I'm sure it was before we got here, but now, as long as I can still breathe, I never want to come back to this godforsaken hole again!" Just after taking out another lucky one with a single shot, the shooter slid into the trench, exhausted, and replaced by another who had just climbed up to take aim at the remaining lucky ones on the battlefield.

  Looking at his own hands, stretched out in the air they absolutely would not be still, he could clearly feel them trembling. He withdrew his hands and stroked the bloodstains that had congealed on his face, the dried-up blood clots were difficult to remove, he rubbed his face hard, the numbness finally had a hint of human reaction, but the bloody stains in his hand were enough to be filthy. "Is this what they call a mask? It's just red." He shook off the dirt from his hands and slowly pulled out the black stuff from under his fingernails with his dagger.

  In the quiet trenches, everyone is doing their own thing. Occasionally someone will lament something, but absolutely no one will respond to you. If you want to strike up a conversation, then you'd better be prepared with an answer, an answer about when this endless war will end. Otherwise, the gaze of the crowd will make you feel extremely uncomfortable, although it's not despair.

  No matter when, there is always a pair of sleepy eyes, the wrinkles at the corners of the eyes are so inconsistent with age, and the steel gun in hand is so broken. No matter when, it's always a dejected look, falling into a corner of the trench, alone sucking on dry cigarettes until the fingers burn before throwing away the cigarette butt to return to reality, silently eating their own canned food, drinking a few mouthfuls of tasteless water, then leaning against the lifesaving rifle and slowly falling asleep. Although the clothes on his body had long been soaked with blood and rain countless times, stained by gunpowder and mud, except for changing socks and underwear, they had almost forgotten that their military uniforms had changed shape, of course, because they did not affect entering the dream world.

  If the gunfire at night could let him live till dawn, he would continue this kind of life, continuing to be worn down, either going mad or being killed or bombed, until he really had no feeling.

  "This is the thirty-second time, or is it thirty-three? No, that's not right, it should be twenty-nine. Or maybe fifty...". In the quiet of the night, someone was again repeating last night's mumblings, except for a low-ranking surviving officer who kicked him to shut him up, no one wanted to disturb others' sweet dreams, after all, his mumblings did have meaning, at least they could tell them how many times they had repelled the enemy's attack.

  Every day, nearly a thousand warriors die on the battlefield. Every day, thousands of soldiers are covered in blood. The roaring bullets and angry cannons are busy every day, shooting fiercely at an unimaginable rate, making people doubt the super lifespan of the barrel, suspecting that the factories in the rear are cutting corners, how can they make one cannon after another fail so quickly? How can someone report that it's about to blow up after a while? The artillerymen wonder, and the infantry is on the verge of despair. Machine gun barrels were replaced one after another, but everywhere was hot and smoldering all the time. Magazines, drums, and belts were not enough, only the golden shells scattered all over the ground told them everything, the bullets were actually sufficient in quantity.

  The soldiers' rifles were changed again and again, the bayonets had to be used every day like tofu, and they would become useless in two days with rolled blades. The food was always the same, the dark green can was the standard ration for every meal. To repel the enemy's attack again and again, the infantrymen had to rush around frantically. In order to strangle wave after wave of waves, the artillerymen had to touch the scorching barrel of the howitzer and adjust the direction.

  On February 21, nearly ten hours of crazy artillery bombardment turned the French army's position into a sea of fire, and the French soldiers who were responsible for defending the front line were wounded or killed on the spot by almost half. The six elite German infantry regiments that swarmed up afterwards slaughtered the remaining French soldiers clean. The French soldiers who went to reinforce from the fourth defense line were subjected to super-large-scale intense artillery bombardment and firepower suppression, while the French officers and men who struggled on the third defense line finally shed their last drop of blood, losing all field defensive lines while sacrificing for the country.

  But the French and German soldiers, with their morale high, launched one crazy charge after another. With their bravery and efforts, they bought enough time for Generalissimo Joffre, and also gave the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Front, Pétain, precious preparation time. The sacrifice of 90,000 brave men was absolutely worth it.

  On March 2, 1916, the six crack German infantry divisions finally established a foothold on the third line of defense, but at the cost of losing half their rifles and suffering casualties that were half their original strength. The enthusiasm they had set out with was replaced by exhaustion. The three lines of field fortifications originally belonging to the French army were now firmly in German hands, with trenches, barbed wire, and reinforced concrete bunkers. The Germans quickly brought their technical superiority into play, turning each line of defense into a veritable wall of steel. But who could have imagined that when soldiers' lives became as worthless as straw, even the strongest fortifications would be unable to withstand the relentless storm?

  The long and winding river of history has finally reached the place where it can exert its power, and suddenly there are two people in the world who do not belong to this world. As a result, the development of history has undergone slow changes, but their strength and the power to change the course of history must be accumulated over time to become strong. By that time, the two major figures' interference with history had thoroughly begun to erupt, and what was changed first had actually started very early.

  The outbreak and development of World War I's main events have not changed, but the increasing appearance of weapons on the battlefield that do not belong to this war are directly changing what should be dead, failed, or successful tactics and battles, just like the Battle of Verdun, whose current state is vastly different from another time and space.

  In another time and space, the French army was indeed unable to withstand the German army's crazy artillery bombardment and powerful attack, quickly losing its first line of defense and losing a large number of troops and weapons. However, they did not lose their remaining two field fortifications. All this is due to the fact that the German army's firepower striking ability is more powerful than in another time and space. The German army's firepower striking ability to stop the French army's support also fell through with the appearance of light and heavy machine guns, mortars and other weapons. And so history officially began to play a joke on the 21st day at dawn amidst the thunderous artillery fire.

  It was not the French army that was fooled, nor was it the German army. The French soldiers used their dare-to-fight and dare-to-clash courage to make the German army stop in front of the fourth line of defense, and did not allow themselves to be humiliated by the Germans like they were in another time and space, with over 10,000 being taken prisoner. On the other hand, the German army's so-called elite troops finally encountered French soldiers who were just as strong, and although their tactics could not match those of the German soldiers, they had a sense of resistance because they had a consciousness that behind them was their beautiful home and great motherland.

  Playing horizontally is not to be feared, but those who are not afraid of death are the most terrifying. It's a pity that the German army's elite six divisions with over 100,000 men encountered several tens of thousands of lunatics who put their lives on the line, and after rounds of bloody battles, they were also exhausted and lost the ability to continue attacking, leaving the task of striking the French army to the artillerymen and reinforcements. In the later stages, in response to increasingly crazy counterattacks, German soldiers thoroughly lost their offensive edge and could only be exhausted by responding to wave after wave of human tides that came at any time.

  On March 3, 1916, the new French commander-in-chief Joffre finally arrived at the Verdun front, which was shaken by gunfire. However, the best "gift" to welcome him was a piece of news that just before he arrived at the command post, a French light infantry regiment had been defending the Douaumont fort in the northeast of Verdun and was finally occupied by the German army.

  The French soldiers on the three wild battle defense lines almost all sacrificed their lives for the country, while this infantry regiment handed over an important artillery position to the German army without firing a shot, allowing the crazy German army to shoot out shells that hit its own positions within several hours. So when Pétain arrived at the front line, the first thing he did was to execute the commander of this infantry regiment in front of all the division-level officers of the Central Army Group. Then he used a bright red pen to draw a red line on the Verdun defense map and said: "Anyone who retreats beyond this line will be killed without mercy!"

  The arrival of the old general, through such a thunderous means, quickly rekindled the fighting spirit of the French army on the front line. Many officers had previously thought that the German army had already attacked to the fourth line of defense, and Verdun was no longer hopeful of being defended. However, the old general's heroic ambition quickly awakened many generals. The slogan "Defend Paris, Defend France!" instantly rekindled the exhausted soldiers' enthusiasm, while Pétain's subsequent series of deployments laid a solid foundation for this crazy reversal victory in France.

  "If we are to hold Verdun, we must reorganize our troops and accumulate strength. I have already contacted General Joffre, who agrees to send 200,000 reinforcements and 30,000 tons of supplies to Verdun, as long as we can withstand the German attack until the supporting forces arrive, France will certainly win the final victory!"

  Beauregard spoke confidently to the many officers in the headquarters, his snow-white mustache not making him look old at all, but rather matching his calm words and showing his wisdom and cunning, especially with the sharp glint in his eyes. "Although the situation is critical, as long as we are united, we will definitely be able to hold Verdun. So, what's most important for us now is not how to hold Verdun, but how to get 200,000 troops and tens of thousands of tons of supplies to the front line? Let me add, I need a week, or even less time."

  Within a week, at least 200,000 troops and 30,000 tons of supplies must be transported to the front line, otherwise Verdun will not be able to withstand it. Such logistical transportation requirements are really hard to imagine, but with Verdun on the verge of falling, time is pressing and does not wait for anyone. The one-week transportation time is already the limit that General Pétain can tolerate, and also the limit of the remaining French army's ability in Verdun at present. If the German army knows the specific situation of the French army and increases its attack intensity, the deadline of one week may be greatly shortened.

  "We can take the road from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun, which is currently the only one that has not been completely destroyed, while the others have been cut off or destroyed by German artillery. Even if we repair them, it would still be necessary to transport under threat of German guns, which is very dangerous and cannot guarantee our capacity. But this single road also poses a problem."

  "What's wrong?"

  "This road is only six meters wide!" The officer in charge of logistics became Bedan's sole interlocutor at this moment.

  "Everyone calculates, 200,000 people and 30,000 tons of materials, how many trains are needed to complete the transportation!" Bai said, as if grasping the last straw, while beckoning the logistics officer to come before him. "I came by this road, but I'm not very clear about the specific situation of the road because I was busy reading materials and resting in the car. Of course, this is not the time to talk nonsense. I just want to confirm whether this road can accommodate heavy vehicles?"

  "Reporting to the commander, the road surface of this highway is not very good and does not have the capacity for heavy vehicles to pass through, especially with a large number of heavy vehicles passing through multiple times over a long period!"

  The logistics officer had just said that, the officers on the side had already calculated the answer, and three thousand 10-ton heavy trucks were needed to transport without day and night. Of course, if smaller vehicles are used, more cars will be needed. "Commander, this road is absolutely unbearable for heavy trucks with a load of over 10 tons to roll for a long time. Six thousand vehicles with a load of around 4 tons can also complete the task. However..." The logistics officer expressed his opinion very excitedly, and it was clear that the condition of this highway was indeed not ideal.

  "I know what you're thinking, this six-meter-wide dirt road can't withstand the constant pounding of thousands of vehicles. But Verdun needs this road, great France needs this lifeline. It will be our sacred path to victory." As he spoke, Pétain stood up and looked around at the officers with faces that said "it's impossible", their brows furrowed in worry. Raising his voice to an unusual loudness, he declared: "From today on, mobilize a force of 10,000 men or more to maintain this road at all costs, ensuring it can handle the continuous passage of 4,000 heavy trucks. I expect to see the supplies and 200,000 troops arriving continuously within four days. And from now on, this road must remain open until we achieve a decisive victory in the Battle of Verdun."

  Before Petain's various intimidation actions, everyone had a number in mind. The fate of offending this old gentleman was like that of the light infantry regimental commander. General Petain's pistol could be pulled out at any time to shoot anyone. After several hours of coordination, dozens of bulldozers and excavators began to frantically dig and fill on the highway, and the road roller continuously pressed the crushed stones specially made by the artillery into the highway, slowly making it more solid and flat. As more engineering vehicles were towed from all over France to the front line, the speed of repairing the highway became faster, and the quality of the highway gradually met the requirements of logistics transportation.

  The Amamiya Group's heavy trucks, which were stored in warehouses all over the country and had not yet been sold, also received a special notice. All the trucks were mobilized to the front line of Verdun, and around March 6, 1916, the four thousand heavy-duty trucks that Bedan needed began transporting the first batch of supporting soldiers, towing some artillery, and embarking on a crazy journey of uninterrupted supply transportation. Of course, some cars did not transport materials and soldiers, but gravel, cement, diesel fuel, and explosives, which would be used for road maintenance. These cars were used to transport construction materials for highway construction, carrying great hopes, allowing the people of Verdun, even the entire French nation, to see hope.