Chapter 346 The Honor of Victory

The French people experienced a process of transformation from sorrow to joy.

Charles's battle plan was kept strictly confidential, and even the city defense headquarters, including Gallieni, did not know about it.

Therefore, when the 43rd Division fled in the gas attack, everyone thought Charles had failed.

At first, some people speculated that it was a "mobile defense": "Charles' plan was originally like this. He would retreat when the enemy released poison gas, and then launch a counterattack when the poison gas dissipated, so this was not a failure."

But someone soon refuted: "That was not a 'mobile defense', it was a problem of wind speed. The high wind speed today caused the poison gas to spread quickly to the preset defense position, a full 3 kilometers away. Everyone was retreating, including the 105th Infantry Regiment."

So people fell silent.

They knew one thing: even Charles and his elite troops could not survive the poison gas, so the battle was doomed to fail.

Someone made an excuse for Charles:

"Char has done his best. This was an accident."

"Yes, it's poison gas, no one can deal with it, at least Ciel tried."

"His actions were still courageous."

…

However, people still couldn't hide the disappointment and fear on their faces.

They couldn't help but think: If Charles couldn't deal with the poison gas, it seemed that France had no choice but to surrender.

…

In the small town of Darvaz, Camille was arguing with Djokovic.

"Are you sure Charles is at the city defense headquarters and not on the front line?" Camille asked.

She had heard that Charles' 105th Infantry Regiment had been defeated in its fight against gas warfare and was nowhere to be found.

"Of course!" Djokovic answered confidently: "He is at the city defense headquarters. He was interviewed by reporters there this morning."

As he said that, Deyoka handed the "Meritorious Newspaper" to Camille, which contained a photo of Charles at the city defense headquarters, and the date was today.

Camille took the newspaper, read it, and breathed a sigh of relief.

But then he flipped through the newspaper again and looked up at Dejoka warily: "How do I know if this newspaper is 'printed privately' by you? Just like last time!"

Deyoka was stunned, and explained helplessly: "This is true, Camille, the neighbors all know it. They said that fortunately Charles was not on the battlefield, the 105th Infantry Regiment might have been wiped out."

The 105th Infantry Regiment did not retreat with the 43rd Division, and the fleeing French soldiers thought they had been poisoned in their positions.

Some speculated that the 105th Infantry Regiment did this to cover the main force's retreat.

"This is a heroic act, they kept us safe." They expressed their gratitude, their eyes still showing fear of the poison gas, and some even couldn't help trembling.

Camille breathed a sigh of relief.

She knew it was not worth being happy about, the destruction of the 105th Infantry Regiment was also a tragedy, but at least Ciel was safe, which was better than anything else.

However, the news soon turned around, and someone outside shouted:

"The 105th Infantry Regiment was victorious. They defeated the Germans and recovered the lost territory!"

"Charles is on the battlefield. He personally led the 105th Infantry Regiment to launch a counterattack against the enemy despite the poisonous gas."

"That's not 'mobile defense'. They are not afraid of poison gas and are counterattacking despite the threat of death!"

…

Camille turned pale with fright in an instant, staring at Djoka with eyes full of anger.

Djokovic was so shocked that his mouth was half open. He looked back at Camille with an innocent face. This time, everything he said was true!

…

France was in an uproar. The real intelligence had not yet been released, and everyone was speculating on how Charles and the 105th Infantry Regiment achieved victory:

"I think it was the magic of Charles. His presence at the defense line boosted the morale of the troops, which led to this victory."

"But even if their morale is boosted, they can't resist the poison gas."

"Perhaps they launched the attack at the moment when Germany released poison gas, when there was not much gas and it would take some time to take effect."

…

There are many different opinions. Everyone has different ideas.

The same thing is that everyone admired Charles's heroic act of personally going into battle to save the day, and they were also worried about Charles and his troops:

"Once again he has saved France and saved us."

"My God, that's poison gas. It's hard to imagine them charging at the enemy in the gas."

"Will they not suffer from any sequelae? I heard that many people became blind because of this!"

…

People spontaneously gathered downstairs of the city defense headquarters. They knew that this was the headquarters most closely connected with Charles, and they hoped that Gallieni could give them a definite statement to let them know that Charles was safe.

Gallieni didn't intend to say much, this was due to military confidentiality considerations, after all, the war was not over yet.

But people kept standing downstairs, gathering more and more, and were reluctant to leave even at lunch time.

At this time, Foch called.

"Congratulations, General," Foch said. "The battle is over. They have won."

But Gallieni didn't care about that.

"Charles is safe, isn't he?" Gallieni asked cautiously.

Although Gallieni knew about the gas masks, he was still worried about Charles' safety. After all, they were fighting deep in enemy-controlled areas.

"Yes," Foch replied, "It is confirmed that Charles is safe. He led the troops to attack in the poison gas, which is very brave and an example for us to learn from!"

Foch deliberately emphasized the word "attack".

This victory was in line with his "offensive theory" and praising Charles was praising himself.

Foch then added:

"After trying to break through in vain, the two German infantry regiments had no choice but to surrender to our army."

"They suffered probably over 2,000 casualties, most of them caused by their own poison gas."

These two infantry regiments were the German troops that attacked after the gas attack, and Charles's troops suddenly appeared in the rear and occupied the defense line, leaving them with only the ammunition they carried.

As a last resort, they could only consider using the ammunition abandoned in the trenches by the French army.

However, the trench was filled with poisonous gas, and their crude anti-gas cotton cloth soon became ineffective, resulting in many people falling from their own poisonous gas.

"The information blockade can be lifted now." Foch said respectfully, "I think this honor should be given to you, General, and you should tell the French people this good news!"

So Gallieni walked to the balcony and proudly shouted to the people who were anxiously waiting below:

"That's true. Charles was on the battlefield. He personally led the 105th Infantry Regiment in a counterattack under poison gas and won the victory."

"He's fine. Ciel is safe."

"Because, Charles invented a gas mask that can effectively resist the harm of poison gas!"

"With it, we no longer have to worry about the enemy's poison gas!"

People were stunned, and then suddenly burst into cheers. Some people smiled with relief, some hugged each other to celebrate, and some were so excited that tears filled their eyes!

(End of this chapter)